(Updated December 23, 2024)
This Quote Archive is on the Offices of Bishop, Priest, and Deacon. Each Archive is a treasury of original source quotes on various topics relevant to the Catholic Faith, and addressed in Becoming Catholic articles. They are intended to help people explore the “gold, silver, and precious gems” that have been mined and sifted from the sources of the Great Tradition by Eternal Christendom as a labor of love for our readers, and all seekers of Truth. They are periodically updated as more research is completed.
Some Quote Archives cover topics that include multiple sub-topics, in which individual quotes only address particular sub-topics. The Priesthood is obviously one such topic. Therefore, in order to help readers more easily identify the sub-topics addressed in each quote, they will be listed in the order below after each citation.
The sub-topic in this Quote Archive:
- PRIESTESSES (women “priests”)
St. Ignatius of Antioch (died c. 107) | EAST
St. Ignatius of Antioch, Letter to the Magnesians (c. 107)
(§2) Since, then, I have had the privilege of seeing you, through Damas your most worthy bishop, and through your worthy presbyters Bassus and Apollonius, and through my fellow-servant the deacon Sotio, whose friendship may I ever enjoy, inasmuch as he is subject to the bishop as to the grace of God, and to the presbytery as to the law of Jesus Christ, [I now write to you]…
(§6) Since therefore I have, in the persons before mentioned, beheld the whole multitude of you in faith and love, I exhort you to study to do all things with a divine harmony, while your bishop presides in the place of God, and your presbyters in the place of the assembly of the apostles, along with your deacons, who are most dear to me, and are entrusted with the ministry of Jesus Christ, who was with the Father before the beginning of time, and in the end was revealed. Do all then, imitating the same divine conduct, pay respect to one another, and let no one look upon his neighbor after the flesh, but continually love each other in Jesus Christ. Let nothing exist among you that may divide you; but be united with your bishop, and those that preside over you, as a type and evidence of your immortality…
(§13) Study, therefore, to be established in the doctrines of the Lord and the apostles, that so all things, whatsoever you do, may prosper both in the flesh and spirit; in faith and love; in the Son, and in the Father, and in the Spirit; in the beginning and in the end; with your most admirable bishop, and the well-compacted spiritual crown of your presbytery, and the deacons who are according to God. Be subject to the bishop, and to one another, as Jesus Christ to the Father, according to the flesh, and the apostles to Christ, and to the Father, and to the Spirit; that so there may be a union both fleshly and spiritual.
St. Ignatius of Antioch, Letter to the Trallians (c. 107)
(§2) For, since you are subject to the bishop as to Jesus Christ, you appear to me to live not after the manner of men, but according to Jesus Christ, who died for us, in order, by believing in His death, you may escape from death. It is therefore necessary that, as you indeed do, so without the bishop you should do nothing, but should also be subject to the presbytery, as to the apostle of Jesus Christ, who is our hope, in whom, if we live, we shall [at last] be found. It is fitting also that the deacons, as being [the ministers] of the mysteries of Jesus Christ, should in every respect be pleasing to all. For they are not ministers of meat and drink, but servants of the Church of God. They are bound, therefore, to avoid all grounds of accusation [against them], as they would do fire.
(§3) In like manner, let all reverence the deacons as an appointment of Jesus Christ, and the bishop as Jesus Christ, who is the Son of the Father, and the presbyters as the Sanhedrin of God, and assembly of the apostles. Apart from these, there is no Church. Concerning all this, I am persuaded that you are of the same opinion. For I have received the manifestation of your love, and still have it with me, in your bishop, whose very appearance is highly instructive, and his meekness of itself a power; whom I imagine even the ungodly must reverence, seeing they are also pleased that I do not spare myself. But shall I, when permitted to write on this point, reach such a height of self-esteem, that though being a condemned man, I should issue commands to you as if I were an apostle?…
(§7) Be on your guard, therefore, against such persons [heretics/schismatics]. And this will be the case with you if you are not puffed up, and continue in intimate union with Jesus Christ our God, and the bishop, and the enactments of the apostles. He that is within the altar is pure, but he that is without is not pure; that is, he who does anything apart from the bishop, and presbytery, and deacons, such a man is not pure in his conscience.
St. Ignatius of Antioch, Letter to the Philadelphians (c. 107)
(Greeting) Ignatius, who is also called Theophorus, to the Church of God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, which is at Philadelphia, in Asia, which has obtained mercy, and is established in the harmony of God, and rejoices unceasingly in the passion of our Lord, and is filled with all mercy through his resurrection; which I salute in the blood of Jesus Christ, who is our eternal and enduring joy, especially if [men] are in unity with the bishop, the presbyters, and the deacons, who have been appointed according to the mind of Jesus Christ, whom He has established in security, after His own will, and by His Holy Spirit…
(§7) For though some would have deceived me according to the flesh, yet the Spirit, as being from God, is not deceived. For it knows both whence it comes and whither it goes [John 3:8], and detects the secrets [of the heart]. For, when I was among you, I cried, I spoke with a loud voice: Give heed to the bishop, and to the presbytery and deacons. Now, some suspected me of having spoken thus, as knowing beforehand the division caused by some among you. But He is my witness, for whose sake I am in bonds, that I got no intelligence from any man. But the Spirit proclaimed these words: Do nothing without the bishop; keep your bodies as the temples of God; love unity; avoid divisions; be the followers of Jesus Christ, even as He is of His Father.
St. Polycarp (69-155) | EAST
St. Polycarp, Letter to the Philippians
(Greetings, §§5-6, 11)
(Greeting) Polycarp, and the presbyters with him, to the Church of God sojourning at Philippi: Mercy to you, and peace from God Almighty, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior, be multiplied…
(§5) …Wherefore, it is needful to abstain from all these things, being subject to the presbyters and deacons, as unto God and Christ. The virgins also must walk in a blameless and pure conscience.
(§6) And let the presbyters be compassionate and merciful to all, bringing back those that wander, visiting all the sick, and not neglecting the widow, the orphan, or the poor, but always “providing for that which is becoming in the sight of God and man” (Rom. 12:17)…
(§11) I am greatly grieved for Valens, who was once a presbyter among you, because he so little understands the place that was given him [in the Church]…
The Martyrdom of Polycarp
At length, when those wicked men perceived that his body could not be consumed by the fire, they commanded an executioner to go near and pierce him through with a dagger. And on his doing this, there came forth a dove, and a great quantity of blood, so that the fire was extinguished; and all the people wondered that there should be such a difference between the unbelievers and the elect, of whom this most admirable Polycarp was one, having in our own times been an apostolic and prophetic teacher, and bishop of the Catholic Church which is in Smyrna. For every word that went out of his mouth either has been or shall yet be accomplished.
St. Justin Martyr (c. 100-165) | EAST
St. Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho
[W]e [Christians] are the true high priestly race of God [1 Pet. 2:9], as even God Himself bears witness, saying that in every place among the Gentiles sacrifices are presented to Him well-pleasing and pure. Now God receives sacrifices from no one, except through His priests.
St. Irenaeus of Lyon (c. 130-c. 202) | EAST/WEST
St. Irenaeus of Lyon, Against Heresies (c. 180)
(Book 1, Ch. 13, §2) | PRIESTESSES
Pretending to consecrate cups mixed with wine, and protracting to great length the word of invocation, he contrives to give them a purple and reddish color, so that Charis [perhaps Sige, the consort of Bythus], who is one of those that are superior to all things, should be thought to drop her own blood into that cup through means of his invocation, and that thus those who are present should be led to rejoice to taste of that cup, in order that, by so doing, the Charis, who is set forth by this magician, may also flow into them. Again, handing mixed cups to the women, he bids them consecrate these in his presence. When this has been done, he himself produces another cup of much larger size than that which the deluded woman has consecrated, and pouring from the smaller one consecrated by the woman into that which has been brought forward by himself, he at the same time pronounces these words: “May that Charis who is before all things, and who transcends all knowledge and speech, fill thine inner man, and multiply in thee her own knowledge, by sowing the grain of mustard seed in thee as in good soil.” Repeating certain other like words, and thus goading on the wretched woman [to madness], he then appears a worker of wonders when the large cup is seen to have been filled out of the small one, so as even to overflow by what has been obtained from it. By accomplishing several other similar things, he has completely deceived many, and drawn them away after him.
St. Clement of Alexandria (c. 150-c. 215) | EAST
St. Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor
(Ch. 11) …But additions of other people’s hair are entirely to be rejected, and it is a most sacrilegious thing for spurious hair to shade the head, covering the skull with dead locks. For on whom does the presbyter lay his hand? Whom does he bless?…
(Ch. 12) …Innumerable commands such as these are written in the holy Bible appertaining to chosen persons, some to presbyters, some to bishops, some to deacons, others to widows, of whom we shall have another opportunity of speaking. Many things spoken in enigmas, many in parables, may benefit such as fall in with them. But it is not my province, says the Instructor, to teach these any longer. But we need a Teacher of the exposition of those sacred words, to whom we must direct our steps…
St. Clement of Alexandria, The Stromata (c. 207)
Those, then, also now, who have exercised themselves in the Lord’s commandments, and lived perfectly and gnostically [knowledgeably] according to the Gospel, may be enrolled in the chosen body of the apostles. Such an one is in reality a presbyter of the Church, and a true minister (deacon) of the will of God, if he do and teach what is the Lord’s; not as being ordained by men, nor regarded righteous because a presbyter, but enrolled in the presbyterate because righteous. And although here upon earth he be not honored with the chief seat, he will sit down on the four-and-twenty thrones, judging the people, as John says in the Apocalypse.
For, in truth, the covenant of salvation, reaching down to us from the foundation of the world, through different generations and times, is one, though conceived as different in respect of gift. For it follows that there is one unchangeable gift of salvation given by one God, through one Lord, benefiting in many ways. For which cause the middle wall which separated the Greek from the Jew is taken away, in order that there might be a peculiar people. And so both meet in the one unity of faith; and the selection out of both is one. And the chosen of the chosen are those who by reason of perfect knowledge are called [as the best] from the Church itself, and honored with the most august glory—the judges and rulers—four-and-twenty (the grace being doubled) equally from Jews and Greeks. Since, according to my opinion, the grades here in the Church, of bishops, presbyters, deacons, are imitations of the angelic glory, and of that economy which, the Scriptures say, awaits those who, following the footsteps of the apostles, have lived in perfection of righteousness according to the Gospel. For these taken up in the clouds, the apostle [1 Thess. 4:17] writes, will first minister [as deacons], then be classed in the presbyterate, by promotion in glory (for glory differs from glory [1 Cor. 15:41]) till they grow into a perfect man [Eph. 4:13].
Tertullian (c. 155-c. 220) | WEST
Tertullian, Prescription Against Heretics (200)
(Ch. 41) | PRIESTESSES
The very women of these heretics, how wanton they are! For they are bold enough to teach, to dispute, to enact exorcisms, to undertake cures—it may be even to baptize.
Tertullian, Baptism (203)
(Ch. 1) | PRIESTESSES
The consequence is, that a viper of the Cainite heresy [a female heretic], lately conversant in this quarter, has carried away a great number with her most venomous doctrine, making it her first aim to destroy baptism. Which is quite in accordance with nature; for vipers and asps and basilisks themselves generally do affect arid and waterless places. But we, little fishes, after the example of our ΙΧΘΥΣ [“ikthus,” meaning “fish”] Jesus Christ, are born in water, nor have we safety in any other way than by permanently abiding in water; so that most monstrous creature, who had no right to teach even sound doctrine [being a woman], knew full well how to kill the little fishes, by taking them away from the water!
Tertullian, On the Veiling of Virgins (206)
(Ch. 9) | PRIESTESSES
It is not permitted to a woman to speak in the church [1 Cor. 14:34-35; 1 Tim. 2:11-12]; but neither (is it permitted her) to teach, nor to baptize, nor to offer, nor to claim to herself a lot in any manly function, not to say (in any) sacerdotal office.
St. Hippolytus of Rome (c. 170-235) | WEST
St. Hippolytus of Rome, On the Apostolic Tradition (c. 215)
(§§8-9, 11) (pgs. 96, 102, 113) | PRIESTESSES
(§8) When a presbyter is elected, the bishop should lay a hand upon his head, the presbyters likewise touching him, and he shall be chosen as we said before… 96 | 102
(§9) And when a deacon is installed let him be chosen in accordance with those things which were said above, in the same way the bishop alone laying hands. Just so we prescribe that at the ordination of a deacon the bishop alone lays hands, for the reason that he is not ordained to priesthood, but to serve the bishop, that he might do those things which are commanded by him. For he is not a participant in the council of the clergy but looks after and indicates to the bishop what is necessary, not receiving the spirit of the presbytery which the presbyters share, but that which is entrusted him under the power of the bishop. For which reason the bishop alone shall ordain a deacon: on a presbyter however the presbyters also lay their hands because of the common and like spirit of their order. For the presbyter has authority in this matter only, that he may receive; he does not, however, have the authority to give. Therefore he does not appoint clergy; at the ordination of a presbyter he seals, as the bishop lays hands… 102 | 113
(§11) When a widow is appointed she does not receive laying on of hands but is chosen by the name. If her husband has been dead a long time, let her be appointed…But a hand shall not be laid on her because she does not lift up the sacrifice nor does she have a proper liturgy. For the laying on of hands is with the clergy on account of the liturgy, whereas the widow is installed on account of prayer, which is for everybody.
Origen (c. 184-c. 253) | EAST
Origen, Exhortation to Martyrdom
(§30) (pg. 114)
And likewise we learn that as the High Priest Jesus Christ offered Himself in sacrifice, so the priests, whose leader He is, also offer themselves in sacrifice; for this reason one sees them at the altar as their proper place.
Origen, Homily 17 on Luke 2:33-38 (c. 235)
(§10) (pg. 75)
Not only fornication, but also a second marriage, excludes someone from office in the Church. Anyone twice married may be neither a bishop nor a presbyter nor a deacon nor a widow [1 Tim. 5:9-16]. Perhaps in this sense will a twice-married man be ejected from the assembly “of the first-born and the spotless” (Heb. 12:23), “the Church, which has neither spot nor wrinkle” (Eph. 5:27)–not to be cast into eternal fire, but to be denied a place in the kingdom of God.
Origen, Homily 20 on Luke 2:49-51
(§5) (pg. 86)
Children, we should learn to be subject to our parents. The greater is subject to the lesser. Jesus understood that Joseph was greater than he in age, and therefore he gave him the honor due a parent. He gave an example to every son. Sons should be subject to their fathers; and, if they have no fathers, they should be subject to those who serve as fathers. But why am I speaking about parents and children? If Jesus, the Son of God, is subject to Joseph and Mary, shall I not be subject to the bishop? God appointed him a father to me. Shall I not be subject to the presbyter [priest], whom the Lord’s choice set over me? I think Joseph understood that Jesus, who was subject to him, was greater than he. He knew that the one subject to him was greater than he and, out of reverence, restrained his authority. So each one should realize that often a lesser man is put in charge of better men. Sometimes it happens that he who is subject is better than he who appears to be in authority. Once someone who enjoys a higher position understands this, he will not be lifted up in pride by the fact that he is greater. He will know that a better one is subject to himself, just as Jesus was subject to Joseph.
Firmilian of Cappadocia (c. 200-268) | EAST
Firmilian of Cappadocia, Letter 74: To St. Cyprian (256)
(§10) | PRIESTESSES
[T]here arose among us on a sudden a certain woman, who in a state of ecstasy announced herself as a prophetess, and acted as if filled with the Holy Ghost. And she was so moved by the impetus of the principal demons, that for a long time she made anxious and deceived the brotherhood, accomplishing certain wonderful and portentous things, and promised that she would cause the earth to be shaken. Not that the power of the demon was so great that he could prevail to shake the earth, or to disturb the elements; but that sometimes a wicked spirit, prescient, and perceiving that there will be an earthquake, pretends that he will do what he sees will happen. By these lies and boastings he had so subdued the minds of individuals, that they obeyed him and followed whithersoever he commanded and led. He would also make that woman walk in the keen winter with bare feet over frozen snow, and not to be troubled or hurt in any degree by that walking. Moreover, she would say that she was hurrying to Judea and to Jerusalem, feigning as if she had come thence. Here also she deceived one of the presbyters, a countryman, and another, a deacon, so that they had intercourse with that same woman, which was shortly afterwards detected. For on a sudden there appeared unto her one of the exorcists, a man approved and always of good conversation in respect of religious discipline, who, stimulated by the exhortation also of very many brethren who were themselves strong and praiseworthy in the faith, raised himself up against that wicked spirit to overcome it; which moreover, by its subtle fallacy, had predicted this a little while before, that a certain adverse and unbelieving tempter would come. Yet that exorcist, inspired by God’s grace, bravely resisted, and showed that that which was before thought holy, was indeed a most wicked spirit. But that woman, who previously by wiles and deceitfulness of the demon was attempting many things for the deceiving of the faithful, among other things by which she had deceived many, also had frequently dared this; to pretend that with an invocation not to be contemned she sanctified bread and celebrated the Eucharist, and to offer sacrifice to the Lord, not without the sacrament of the accustomed utterance; and also to baptize many, making use of the usual and lawful words of interrogation, that nothing might seem to be different from the ecclesiastical rule.
St. Gregory Nazianzus (c. 329-390) | EAST
St. Gregory Nazianzus, Oration 2: Defense of His Flight to Pontus, and the Priestly Office (362)
Since, however, I have mentioned Paul, and men like him, I will, with your permission, pass by all others who have been foremost as lawgivers, prophets, or leaders, or in any similar office—for instance, Moses, Aaron, Joshua, Elijah, Elisha, the Judges, Samuel, David, the company of Prophets, John, the Twelve Apostles, and their successors, who with many toils and labors exercised their authority, each in his own time…
St. Jerome (c. 342/347-420) | EAST/WEST
St. Jerome, Letter 14: To Heliodorus the Monk (c. 373/374)
(§8) | KEYS
Far be it from me to censure the successors of the apostles, who with holy words consecrate the body of Christ [the Eucharist], and who make us Christians [in baptism]. Having the keys of the kingdom of heaven, they judge men to some extent before the day of judgment, and guard the chastity of the bride of Christ. But, as I have before hinted, the case of monks is different from that of the clergy. The clergy feed Christ’s sheep; I as a monk am fed by them. They live of the altar [1 Cor. 9:13-14]; I, if I bring no gift to it, have the axe laid to my root as to that of a barren tree [Matt. 3:10]. Nor can I plead poverty as an excuse, for the Lord in the gospel has praised an aged widow for casting into the treasury the last two coins that she had [Luke 21:1-4]. I may not sit in the presence of a presbyter [see Letter 146]; he, if I sin, may deliver me to Satan, “for the destruction of the flesh that the spirit may be saved” (1 Cor. 5:5). Under the old law he who disobeyed the priests was put outside the camp and stoned by the people, or else he was beheaded and expiated his contempt with his blood [Deut. 17:5, 12]. But now the disobedient person is cut down with the spiritual sword, or he is expelled from the church and torn to pieces by ravening demons.
St. John Chrysostom (c. 347-407) | EAST
St. John Chrysostom, The Priesthood (c. 388)
(Book 2, §2) | PRIESTESSES
For those things which I have already mentioned might easily be performed by many even of those who are under authority, women as well as men; but when one is required to preside over the Church, and to be entrusted with the care of so many souls, the whole female sex must retire before the magnitude of the task, and the majority of men also; and we must bring forward those who to a large extent surpass all others, and soar as much above them in excellence of spirit as Saul overtopped the whole Hebrew nation in bodily stature: or rather far more [1 Sam. 10:23].
(§5) …For they who inhabit the earth and make their abode there are entrusted with the administration of things which are in Heaven, and have received an authority which God has not given to angels or archangels. For it has not been said to them, “Whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in Heaven, and whatsoever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in Heaven” (Matt. 18:18). They who rule on earth have indeed authority to bind, but only the body: whereas this binding lays hold of the soul and penetrates the heavens; and what priests do here below God ratifies above, and the Master confirms the sentence of his servants. For indeed what is it but all manner of heavenly authority which He has given them when He says, “Whose sins ye remit they are remitted, and whose sins ye retain they are retained?” (John 20:23). What authority could be greater than this? “The Father hath committed all judgment to the Son” (John 5:22). But I see it all put into the hands of these men by the Son. For they have been conducted to this dignity as if they were already translated to Heaven, and had transcended human nature, and were released from the passions to which we are liable.
Moreover, if a king should bestow this honor upon any of his subjects, authorizing him to cast into prison whom he pleased and to release them again, he becomes an object of envy and respect to all men; but he who has received from God an authority as much greater as heaven is more precious than earth, and souls more precious than bodies, seems to some to have received so small an honor that they are actually able to imagine that one of those who have been entrusted with these things will despise the gift. Away with such madness! For transparent madness it is to despise so great a dignity, without which it is not possible to obtain either our own salvation, or the good things which have been promised to us. For if no one can enter into the kingdom of Heaven except he be regenerate through water and the Spirit [baptism], and he who does not eat the flesh of the Lord and drink His blood is excluded from eternal life [the Eucharist], and if all these things are accomplished only by means of those holy hands, I mean the hands of the priest, how will any one, without these, be able to escape the fire of hell, or to win those crowns which are reserved for the victorious?
(§6) The Jewish priests had authority to release the body from leprosy, or, rather, not to release it but only to examine those who were already released, and you know how much the office of priest was contended for at that time. But our priests have received authority to deal, not with bodily leprosy, but spiritual uncleanness—not to pronounce it removed after examination, but actually and absolutely to take it away. Wherefore they who despise these priests would be far more accursed than Dathan and his company [Num. 16], and deserve more severe punishment. For the latter, although they laid claim to the dignity which did not belong to them, nevertheless had an excellent opinion concerning it, and this they evinced by the great eagerness with which they pursued it; but these men, when the office has been better regulated, and has received so great a development, have displayed an audacity which exceeds that of the others, although manifested in a contrary way. For there is not an equal amount of contempt involved in aiming at an honor which does not pertain to one, and in despising such great advantages, but the latter exceeds the former as much as scorn differs from admiration. What soul then is so sordid as to despise such great advantages? None whatever, I should say, unless it were one subject to some demoniacal impulse.
For I return once more to the point from which I started: not in the way of chastising only, but also in the way of benefiting, God has bestowed a power on priests greater than that of our natural parents. The two indeed differ as much as the present and the future life. For our natural parents generate us unto this life only, but the others unto that which is to come. And the former would not be able to avert death from their offspring, or to repel the assaults of disease; but these others have often saved a sick soul, or one which was on the point of perishing, procuring for some a milder chastisement, and preventing others from falling altogether, not only by instruction and admonition, but also by the assistance wrought through prayers. For not only at the time of regeneration [baptism], but afterwards also, they have authority to forgive sins. “Is any sick among you?” it is said, “let him call for the elders of the Church and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up: and if he have committed sins they shall be forgiven him” (Jas. 5:14-15). Again: our natural parents, should their children come into conflict with any men of high rank and great power in the world, are unable to profit them. But priests have reconciled, not rulers and kings, but God Himself when His wrath has often been provoked against them.
St. John Chrysostom, Homily 1 on Philippians (c. 402)
“Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, fellow-Bishops and Deacons: Grace to you, and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ” (Phil. 1:1).
Here, as writing to those of equal honor, he does not set down his rank of Teacher, but another, and that a great one. And what is that? He calls himself a servant, and not an Apostle. For great truly is this rank too, and the sum of all good things, to be a servant of Christ, and not merely to be called so. The servant of Christ, this is truly a free man in respect to sin, and being a genuine servant, he is not a servant to any other, since he would not be Christ’s servant, but by halves. And in again writing to the Romans also, he says, “Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ” (Rom. 1:1). But writing to the Corinthians and to Timothy he calls himself an Apostle. On what account then is this? Not because they were superior to Timothy. Far from it. But rather he honors them, and shows them attention, beyond all others to whom he wrote. For he also bears witness to great virtue in them. For besides, there indeed he was about to order many things, and therefore assumed his rank as an Apostle. But here he gives them no injunctions but such as they could perceive of themselves.
“To the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi” (Phil. 1:1).
Since it was likely that the Jews too would call themselves saints from the first oracle, when they were called a “holy people, a people for God’s own possession” (Ex. 19:6; Deut. 7:6; etc.); for this reason he added, “to the saints in Christ Jesus.” For these alone are holy, and those hence-forward profane. “To the fellow-Bishops and Deacons.” What is this? Were there several Bishops of one city? Certainly not; but he called the Presbyters so. For then they still interchanged the titles, and the Bishop was called a Deacon. For this cause in writing to Timothy, he said, “Fulfill your ministry,” when he was a Bishop. For that he was a Bishop appears by his saying to him, “Lay hands hastily on no man” (1 Tim. 5:22). And again, “Which was given you with the laying on of the hands of the Presbytery” (1 Tim. 4:14). Yet Presbyters would not have laid hands on a Bishop. And again, in writing to Titus, he says, “For this cause I left you in Crete, that you should appoint elders in every city, as I gave you charge. If any man is blameless, the husband of one wife” (Tit. 1:5-6), which he says of the Bishop. And after saying this, he adds immediately, “For the Bishop must be blameless, as God’s steward, not self-willed” (Tit. 1:7). So then, as I said, both the Presbyters were of old called Bishops and Deacons of Christ, and the Bishops Presbyters; and hence even now many Bishops write, “To my fellow-Presbyter,” and, “To my fellow-Deacon.” But otherwise the specific name is distinctly appropriated to each, the Bishop and the Presbyter.
St. Augustine (354-430) | WEST
St. Augustine, Answer to Petilian the Donatist (402)
However, if all men throughout all the world were of the character which you most vainly charge them with, what has the chair done to you of the Roman Church, in which Peter sat, and which Anastasius fills to-day; or the chair of the Church of Jerusalem, in which James once sat, and in which John sits today, with which we are united in catholic unity, and from which you have severed yourselves by your mad fury?
Why do you call the apostolic chair a seat of the scornful? If it is on account of the men whom you believe to use the words of the law without performing it, do you find that our Lord Jesus Christ was moved by the Pharisees, of whom He says, “They say, and do not,” to do any despite to the seat in which they sat? Did He not commend the seat of Moses, and maintain the honor of the seat, while He convicted those that sat in it? For He says, “They sit in Moses’ seat: all therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not” (Matt. 23:2-3). If you were to think of these things, you would not, on account of men whom you calumniate, do despite to the apostolic seat, in which you have no share. But what else is conduct like yours but ignorance of what to say, combined with want of power to abstain from evil-speaking?
St. Augustine, Of the Heresies (428)
SOURCE: St. Augustine, Rev. Liguori G. Müller, OFM, trans., The De Haeresibus of Saint Augustine (Washington, DC: The Catholic University of America Press, 1956).
(§27) (pg. 77) | PRIESTESSES
The Pepuzians, or the Quintillians, get their name from a certain place where Epiphanius says is a deserted city. They, considering this to be something divine, call it Jerusalem. They grant leadership only to women so that among them women receive the dignity of the priesthood, for they say that Christ was revealed to Quintilla and Priscilla under the appearance of a woman in that same city of Pepuza; for this reason they are also called Quintillians after her.
St. Cyril of Alexandria (c. 376-444) | EAST
St. Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on John
(Commentary on 20:21-23) (pg. 368)
Our Lord Jesus Christ transforms the outline of the law in to the power of the truth when He consecrates through Himself priests of the divine altar. In fact He Himself is the ram of consecration [Lev. 8:23]. He consecrates through true sanctification, making them sharers of His nature through participation with the Spirit and strengthening, as it were, human nature to a power and glory that is superhuman.
St. Patrick (400s) | WEST
St. Patrick, The Confession of St. Patrick (c. 452)
I am Patrick, a sinner, most unlearned, the least of all the faithful, and utterly despised by many. My father was Calpornius, a deacon, son of Potitus, a priest, of the village Bannavem Taburniae; he had a country seat nearby, and there I was taken captive.
I was then about sixteen years of age. I did not know the true God. I was taken into captivity to Ireland with many thousands of people—and deservedly so, because we turned away from God, and did not keep His commandments, and did not obey our priests, who used to remind us of our salvation.
St. Patrick, Letter to the Soldiers of Coroticus (c. 452)
I, Patrick, a sinner, unlearned, resident in Ireland, declare myself to be a bishop. Most assuredly I believe that what I am I have received from God. And so I live among barbarians, a stranger and exile for the love of God.
Councils
Council of Elvira (c. 300)
(Can. 19)
Bishops, presbyters, and deacons may not leave their own places for the sake of commerce, nor are they to be traveling about the provinces, frequenting the markets for their own profit. Certainly for the procuring of their own necessities they can send a freedman or a hireling or a friend or whomever: but if they wish to engage in business, let him do so within the province.
Ecumenical Council of Nicaea (325)
It has come to the knowledge of the holy and great Synod that, in some districts and cities, the deacons administer the Eucharist to the presbyters, whereas neither canon nor custom permits that they who have no right to offer should give the Body of Christ to them that do offer. And this also has been made known, that certain deacons now touch the Eucharist even before the bishops. Let all such practices be utterly done away, and let the deacons remain within their own bounds, knowing that they are the ministers of the bishop and the inferiors of the presbyters. Let them receive the Eucharist according to their order, after the presbyters, and let either the bishop or the presbyter administer to them. Furthermore, let not the deacons sit among the presbyters, for that is contrary to canon and order. And if, after this decree, any one shall refuse to obey, let him be deposed from the diaconate.
(Can. 19) | PRIESTESSES
Likewise in the case of their deaconesses, and generally in the case of those who have been enrolled among their clergy, let the same form be observed. And we mean by deaconesses such as have assumed the habit, but who, since they have no imposition of hands, are to be numbered only among the laity.
Council of Laodicea (360)
(Can. 11, Epitome) | PRIESTESSES
(Can. 11) Presbytides, as they are called, or female presidents, are not to be appointed in the Church.
(Epitome) Widows called presidents shall not be appointed in churches.
Other Documents
Didascalia Apostolorum (c. 225)
(Ch. 15) (pg. 133) | PRIESTESSES
It is neither right nor necessary therefore that women should be teachers, and especially concerning the name of Christ and the redemption of His passion. For you have not been appointed to this, O women, and especially widows, that you should teach, but that you should pray and entreat the Lord God. For He the Lord God, Jesus Christ our Teacher, sent us the Twelve to instruct the People and the Gentiles; and there were with us women disciples, Mary Magdalene and Mary the daughter of James and the other Mary; but He did not send them to instruct the people with us. For if it were required that women should teach, our Master Himself would have commanded these to give instruction with us. But let a widow know that she is the altar of God; and let her sit ever at home, and not stray or run about among the houses of the faithful to receive. For the altar of God never strays or runs about anywhere, but is fixed in one place.
Apostolic Constitutions (c. 400)
(Book 3, Part 1, §6) | PRIESTESSES
We do not permit our “women to teach in the Church” (1 Cor. 14:34), but only to pray and hear those that teach; for our Master and Lord, Jesus Himself, when He sent us the twelve to make disciples of the people and of the nations, did nowhere send out women to preach, although He did not want such. For there were with us the mother of our Lord and His sisters; also Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Martha and Mary the sisters of Lazarus; Salome, and certain others. For, had it been necessary for women to teach, He Himself had first commanded these also to instruct the people with us. For “if the head of the wife be the man” (1 Cor. 11:3), it is not reasonable that the rest of the body should govern the head. Let the widow therefore own herself to be the “altar of God,” and let her sit in her house, and not enter into the houses of the faithful, under any pretense, to receive anything; for the altar of God never runs about, but is fixed in one place. Let, therefore, the virgin and the widow be such as do not run about, or gad to the houses of those who are alien from the faith. For such as these are gadders and impudent: they do not make their feet to rest in one place, because they are not widows, but purses ready to receive, triflers, evil-speakers, counsellors of strife, without shame, impudent, who being such, are not worthy of Him that called them. For they do not come to the common station of the congregation on the Lord’s day, as those that are watchful; but either they slumber, or trifle, or allure men, or beg, or ensnare others, bringing them to the evil one; not suffering them to be watchful in the Lord, but taking care that they go out as vain as they came in, because they do not hear the word of the Lord either taught or read. For of such as these the prophet Isaiah says: “Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive: for the heart of this people is waxen gross, and they hear heavily with their ears” (Isa. 6:9-10).
(Book 3, Part 1, §9) | PRIESTESSES
Now, as to women’s baptizing, we let you know that there is no small peril to those that undertake it. Therefore we do not advise you to it; for it is dangerous, or rather wicked and impious. For if the “man be the head of the woman” (1 Cor. 11:3), and he be originally ordained for the priesthood, it is not just to abrogate the order of the creation, and leave the principal to come to the extreme part of the body. For the woman is the body of the man, taken from his side, and subject to him, from whom she was separated for the procreation of children. For says He, “He shall rule over thee” (Gen. 3:16). For the principal part of the woman is the man, as being her head. But if in the foregoing constitutions we have not permitted them to teach, how will any one allow them, contrary to nature, to perform the office of a priest? For this is one of the ignorant practices of the Gentile atheism, to ordain women priests to the female deities, not one of the constitutions of Christ. For if baptism were to be administered by women, certainly our Lord would have been baptized by His own mother, and not by John; or when He sent us to baptize, He would have sent along with us women also for this purpose. But now He has nowhere, either by constitution or by writing, delivered to us any such thing; as knowing the order of nature, and the decency of the action; as being the Creator of nature, and the Legislator of the constitution.
(Book 3, Part 2, Intro-§16) | PRIESTESSES
(Intro) Ordain also a deaconess who is faithful and holy, for the ministrations towards women. For sometimes he cannot send a deacon, who is a man, to the women, on account of unbelievers. Thou shalt therefore send a woman, a deaconess, on account of the imaginations of the bad. For we stand in need of a woman, a deaconess, for many necessities; and first in the baptism of women, the deacon shall anoint only their forehead with the holy oil, and after him the deaconess shall anoint them: for there is no necessity that the women should be seen by the men; but only in the laying on of hands the bishop shall anoint her head, as the priests and kings were formerly anointed, not because those which are now baptized are ordained priests, but as being Christians, or anointed, from Christ the Anointed, “a royal priesthood, and an holy nation, the Church of God, the pillar and ground of the marriage-chamber” (1 Pet. 2:9; 1 Tim. 3:15), who formerly were not a people, but now are beloved and chosen, upon whom is called His new name as Isaiah the prophet witnesses, saying: “And they shall call the people by His new name, which the Lord shall name for them” (Isa. 62:2).
(§16) Thou therefore, O bishop, according to that type, shalt anoint the head of those that are to be baptized, whether they be men or women, with the holy oil, for a type of the spiritual baptism. After that, either thou, O bishop, or a presbyter that is under thee, shall in the solemn form name over them the Father, and Son, and Holy Spirit, and shall dip them in the water; and let a deacon receive the man, and a deaconess the woman, that so the conferring of this inviolable seal may take place with a becoming decency. And after that, let the bishop anoint those that are baptized with ointment.
(Book 8, Part 3, §§24-25, 28) | PRIESTESSES
(§24) I, the same, make a constitution in regard to virgins: A virgin is not ordained, for we have no such command from the Lord (1 Cor. 7:25);for this is a state of voluntary trial, not for the reproach of marriage, but on account of leisure for piety.
(§25) And I Lebbaeus, surnamed Thaddaeus, make this constitution in regard to widows: A widow is not ordained…
(§28) …A deaconess does not bless, nor perform anything belonging to the office of presbyters or deacons, but only is to keep the doors, and to minister to the presbyters in the baptizing of women, on account of decency. A deacon separates a sub-deacon, a reader, a singer, and a deaconess, if there be any occasion, in the absence of a presbyter. It is not lawful for a sub-deacon to separate either one of the clergy or laity; nor for a reader, nor for a singer, nor for a deaconess, for they are the ministers to the deacons.
