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 PRIESTHOOD

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PRIESTHOOD

Priesthood. — The word priest (Germ. Priester; Ft. pretre; Ital. prete) is derived from the Greek vpea^inepos (the elder, as distinguished from vewrepos, the younger), and is, in the hieratical sense, equivalent to the Latin sacerdos, the Greek iep^s, and the He- brew '■;. By the term is meant a (male) person called to the immediate service of the Deity and authorized to hold public worship, especially to offer sacrifice. In many instances the priest is the religious mediator between God (gods) and man and the appointed teacher of religious truths, especially when these in- clude esoteric doctrines. To apply the word priest to the magicians, prophets, and medicine-men of the religions of primitive peoples is a misuse of the term. The essential correlative of priesthood is sacrifice, consequently, mere leaders in the public prayers or guardians of shrines have no claim to the title priest. Our subject may be conveniently treated under four heads: I. The Pagan Priesthood; II. The Jewish Priesthood; III. The Christian Priesthood; IV. The Blessings arising from the Catholic Priest- hood.

I. The P.\G.iN Priesthood. — A. — Historically the oldest of pagan religions, the most fully developed, and the most deeply marked by \-icissitude is that of India. Four diWsions, distinct in historj- and nature, are recognizable: Vedism, Brahminism, Buddhism, and Hinduism. Even in the ancient Vedic hymns a special priesthood is distinguishable, for, although originally the father of the family was also the offerer of sacrifice, he usualh' sought the co-operation of a Brahmin. From the essential functions of prajnng and singing during the sacrifice arose in Vedism the three classes of sacrificing (adhvariu), singing {ud- gatar), and prajing priests (holar). The four cate- gories of soldier, priest, artisan or farmer, and slave developed formally in later Brahminism into the four rigidly distinguished castes (Dahlmann), the Brah- mins meanwhile forging ahead of the soldiers to the position of chief importance. The Brahmins alone understood the intricate and difficult sacrificial cere- monial; thanks to their great knowledge and sacri- fices, they exercised an irresistible influence over the gods; a pantheistic explanation of the god Brahma invested them with a di^•ine character. The Brahmin was thus a sacred and inviolable person, and to murder him the greatest sin. Brahminism has WTongly been compared with medieval Christianity (cf. Teich- miiller, "Rehgionsphilosophie", Leipzig, 1886, p. 528). In the Middle Ages there was indeed a priv- ileged priesthood, but not an hereditan,' priestly caste; then as now the lowest classes could attain to the highest ecclesiastical offices. Still less justified, in view of the pantheistic character of the Brahminic religion, are all attempts to trace a genetic connex- ion between the Catholic and Indian priesthoods, since the monotheistic spirit of CathoUcism and the characteristic organization of its clergj' are irrecon- cilable with a pantheistic conception of the Deity and the unsocial temper of a caste system.

The same remarks apply with even greater force to Buddhism which, through the reform introduced by King Asoka (239-23 b. c), forced Brahminism into the background. As this reform inaugurated the reign of Agnosticism, lUusionism, and a one-sided morality, the Brahminic priesthood, with the decay of the ancient sacrificial services, lost its raison d'etre. If there be no eternal substance, no Ego, no immortal soul, no life beyond, the idea of a God, of a Redeemer, of a priesthood forthwith disappears. The Buddhist redemption is merely an ascetical self-redemption wrought by sinking into the abyss of nothingness (Nirvana). The bonzes are not priests in the strict sense; nor has Buddhist monasticism anything beyond the name in common with Christian mona.sticism. Modern zealots for Buddhism declare with increasing boldness since Schopenhauer, that what they chiefly

desire is a religion without dogma and without an alien redeemer, a sennce without a priesthood. It will therefore perhaps appear all the more extraor- dinary' that Buddhism, in consequence of the efforts of the reformer Thong-Kaba, has developed in Tibet a formal hierarchy and hierocracy in Lamaism (Lama= Brahma).

The monasticism and the religious ser\'ices of Lama- ism also present so striking a similarity with Catholic institutions that non-Catholic investigators have un- hesitatingly spoken of a "Buddhist Catholicism" in Tibet. Pope and dalai-lama, Rome and the city of Lhasa are counterparts; Lamaism has its monas- teries, bells, processions, litanies, reUcs, images of saints, holy water, rosarj'-beads, bishop's mitre, crosier, vestments, copes, baptism, confession, mass, sacrifice for the dead. Nevertheless, since it is the interior spirit that gives a religion its characteristic stamp, we can recognize in these exiemals, not a true copy of CathoUcism, but onl)- a wretched caricature. And, since this religious compound undoubtedly came into existence only in the fourteenth centurj-, it is evident that the remarkable parallelism is the result of Cathohc influence on Lamaism, not \ace versa. We can only suppose that the founder Thong-Kaba waa educated by a Catholic missionary'. Of modern Hin- duism, Schanz draws a gloomy picture: "In addition to ^'ishnu and Siva, spirits and demons are wor- shipped and feared. The River Ganges is held in special veneration. The temples are often built near lakes because to all who bathe there Brahma promises forgiveness of sin. Beasts (cows), especially snakes, trees, and lifeless objects, serve as fetishes. Their offerings consist of flowers, oil, incense, and food. To Siva and his spouse bloody sacrifices are also offered. Xorareidolatrj' and prostitution wanting" ("Apolo- gie d. Christentums", Freiburg, 1905, II, 84 sq.).

B. — In the kindred but ethically superior religion of the Iranians (Parseeism, Zoroastrianism, Mazde- ism), which unfortunately never overcame the theo- logical dualism between the good god (Ormuzd= Athura-Mazda) and the wicked anti-god (Ahriman= Angro-Mainj-u), there existed from the beginning a special priestly caste, which in the Avesta (q. v.) was divided into six classes. The general name for priest was athravan (man of fire), and the chief duty of the priesthood was the fire-sen'ice, fire being the special symbol of Ormuzd, the god of light. After the de- struction of the Persian monarchy only two categories of priests remained: the officiating {znalar, joli) and the ministering (raihwi). Both were later succeeded by the Median magicians [magus), called in modern Parseeism mohed (from mogh-pati, magic-father). In addition to the maintenance of the sacred fire, the duties of the priests were the offering of sacrifices (flesh, bread, flowers, fruit), the performance of purifications, prayers, and hj-mns, and instructing in the holy law. Sacrificial animals were placed on a bundle of t^ngs in the open air, lest the pure earth should be defiled with blood. The human sacrifices, customarj' from time immemorial, were abolished by Zoroa-ster (Zarathustra). In ancient times the fire- altars were placed in the open air, and preferably on the mountains, but the modern Par.sees have special fire-temples. The haottia, as the oldest sacrifice, calls for particular mention; manufactured out of the narcotic juice of a certain plant and used as a drink- offering, it was identified with the Deity Himself and given to the faithful as a means of procuring immor- tality. This Iranian haoma is doubtlesslj' identical with the Indian sotna. the intoxicating juice of which (asckpms acida or sacrosternma acidinn) was supposed to restore to man the immortality lost in Paradise (see Eucharist). ^\Tien, during the reign of the Sassanides, Mithras the sun-god — according to the later .Avesta, high-priest and mediator between God and man — had gradually supplanted the creative god