new church life: september / october 2013
The Nature of the Priesthood
It is true that the clergy are shepherds of the church. That is the Latin meaning
of the term pastor, namely, a shepherd. And as shepherds, they visit the sick
and the lonely, and generally provide spiritual care for those who need spiritual
care. It is a ministry they offer. But that does not go to the heart of priesthood
as described in the Heavenly Doctrines.
The fundamental statement regarding the office of priests is found in
Arcana Coelestia (The Secrets of Heaven), nos. 10789ff., a statement repeated
in The New Jerusalem and its Heavenly Doctrine, nos. 311ff. This statement,
titled “Ecclesiastical Government,” is divisible into three parts. Here is the first:
There are two things which in human society must be in order, namely matters
having to do with heaven and matters having to do with the world. Matters having
to do with heaven are called ecclesiastical; those having to do with the world are
called civil.
Order cannot be maintained in the world without officials (praefecti) to observe
all that is done according to order and all that is done contrary to order, and to
reward those who live according to order and punish those who live contrary to
order.
If this does not happen, the human race must perish. For owing to his innate
heredity, everyone wishes to rule over others and to possess the goods of