The following thoughts is just a personal opinion, based on
my
experiences.
I agree that some of our leaders, both laity and clergy, especially
in places like America, have not been great role models to follow at
times. Yet, we are anyway bound to fail if we think of any of these
as our role models -- we ought to have just one role Model --
Christ, and none but Christ.
The point is about the authority of the priests. I am a person who
believes that our priests need to be more empowered. They need to be
given more power to take decisions for the good of the church.
Today , a priest is bound by many hassles including the "red tape"
of taking consent from many others for doing even the smallest
things. Why are we tying the hands of the clergy like this??
I had once voiced an opinion that a priest in a local parish must be
given "X" amount of money to work with JUST FOR HIS MISSIONARY WORKS
(I am not speaking of the salary for a priest) My opinion could be
based on the situation of the priests from the place where I come
from, and may not be applicable everywhere.
I have seen that some priests want to do a lot of good things, but
do not have the resources at their ready disposal. I have seen that
many priests are approached by people in need, and the priest is
unable to help due to lack of funds.
Accountablity is very important, but so is trust. When we have
trusted a priest to be our spiritual father, allowing him to plead
for us each Sunday during the Holy Liturgy for our sins, we ought to
have more trust in him to handle the things he needs to handle for
the church.
Today, the priests especially in America, are seen as mere
employees. I feel it is wrong to think this way. It is wrong to
bring up our children with such a mentality. Let us not use stray
incidences here and there and think of them as the "rules". In the
Church heirarchy, the priests command a very honorable position.
They are our spiritual fathers, our kings and they command respect
in the kingdom of God. True, we are all followers of Christ who
wanted all of us to be servants, and not masters, yet let us give
respect where respect is due.
Thanks,
Mathew
Austin,TX
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IndianOrthodox/message/4002
experiences.
I agree that some of our leaders, both laity and clergy, especially
in places like America, have not been great role models to follow at
times. Yet, we are anyway bound to fail if we think of any of these
as our role models -- we ought to have just one role Model --
Christ, and none but Christ.
The point is about the authority of the priests. I am a person who
believes that our priests need to be more empowered. They need to be
given more power to take decisions for the good of the church.
Today , a priest is bound by many hassles including the "red tape"
of taking consent from many others for doing even the smallest
things. Why are we tying the hands of the clergy like this??
I had once voiced an opinion that a priest in a local parish must be
given "X" amount of money to work with JUST FOR HIS MISSIONARY WORKS
(I am not speaking of the salary for a priest) My opinion could be
based on the situation of the priests from the place where I come
from, and may not be applicable everywhere.
I have seen that some priests want to do a lot of good things, but
do not have the resources at their ready disposal. I have seen that
many priests are approached by people in need, and the priest is
unable to help due to lack of funds.
Accountablity is very important, but so is trust. When we have
trusted a priest to be our spiritual father, allowing him to plead
for us each Sunday during the Holy Liturgy for our sins, we ought to
have more trust in him to handle the things he needs to handle for
the church.
Today, the priests especially in America, are seen as mere
employees. I feel it is wrong to think this way. It is wrong to
bring up our children with such a mentality. Let us not use stray
incidences here and there and think of them as the "rules". In the
Church heirarchy, the priests command a very honorable position.
They are our spiritual fathers, our kings and they command respect
in the kingdom of God. True, we are all followers of Christ who
wanted all of us to be servants, and not masters, yet let us give
respect where respect is due.
Thanks,
Mathew
Austin,TX
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IndianOrthodox/message/4002
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