Personal Faith and the Priesthood (Teachings of the Orthodox Church) Christianity. Orthodoxy. Catholicism. Sense of life. Articles for Christians.
Don't be anxious for your life, what you will eat, nor yet for your body, what you will wear.                Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing.                Consider the ravens: they don't sow, they don't reap, they have no warehouse or barn, and God feeds them. How much more valuable are you than birds!                Which of you by being anxious can add a cubit to his height?                If then you aren't able to do even the least things, why are you anxious about the rest?                Consider the lilies, how they grow. They don't toil, neither do they spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.                But if this is how God clothes the grass in the field, which today exists, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith?                Don't seek what you will eat or what you will drink; neither be anxious.                For the nations of the world seek after all of these things, but your Father knows that you need these things.                But seek God's Kingdom, and all these things will be added to you.               
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Personal Faith and the Priesthood (Teachings of the Orthodox Church)
   

QUESTION:

For years I have felt drawn to the priesthood. However, I have one major obstacle to being a priest. I must confess that I am an atheist, or at the very least a very skeptical agnostic. Does this condition absolutely bar me from entering the priesthood? ... or are my own spiritual problems no reason to resist the urge to help the souls of others?

ANSWER:

YOU WRITE: For years I have felt drawn to the priesthood. However, I have one major obstacle to being a priest. I must confess that I am an atheist, or at the very least a very skeptical agnostic. Does this condition absolutely bar me from entering the priesthood?

RESPONSE: Absolutely. The "heart and soul" of the priesthood is found in proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ as the "Son of the Living God most High." If you do not believe in God, how can you proclaim Him in all honesty? If you do not believe in God, how as a priest could you reveal His presence in the lives of the people you are charged to guide spiritually, or proclaim that God loves and forgives them, or proclaim that they will spend eternity in His presence? It would be quite impossible for a non-believer to stand in the midst of believers and encourage them to strengthen their belief in a God that he himself denies.

YOU WRITE: ...or are my own spiritual problems no reason to resist the urge to help the souls of others?

RESPONSE: There is an old saying, "You can't share what you don't have." It would be my opinion that, if you are interested in helping people but you have no religious convictions or belief in God, you might consider becoming a secular social worker, where you would not be expected to offer any sort of spiritual advice, nor to proclaim the existence of God.

Hope this helps.
In Christ,
Father John Matusiak






Published in January 2011.









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