Role Of Priest Research Articles

The Spartan Kingship: Some Extended Notes on Complex Duality

The Spartan Kingship: Some Extended Notes on Complex Duality Dean A. Miller The Spartans, then, have given these prerogatives to their kings: (to hold) two priesthoods, of Zeus Lakedemon and of Zeus Ouranios . . . Herodotus The Persian War VI 56 The Spartan kingship has attracted attention from ancient times, not least because during the Archaic and Classical florescence of the Greek polis, when the office of king tended to become extraneous and obsolete, the Lakedemonian state not only kept its royal office intact but maintained a royalty manned by not one but two kings—a dual kingship. Herodotus and then Xenophon examined this curious regal phenomenon, from their different ideological vantage points, and Aristotle and Plato had something to say as well, as did Thucydides. Later, Plutarch, in his Bios of the Spartan “lawgiver” Lykurgus (paired with Rome’s Numa), provides us with some valuable information, and Pausanias adds much more out of his odd and special, völkisch, often demonstrably archaic, fund of data. It was laconically typical of the Spartans not to examine their own institutions, except obliquely. We know that Sparta drew its kings from two royal houses, the Agid and the Eurypontid, and that this geminated kingship was itself derived semi-mythically, the two kingships said to descend from the twin [End Page 1] sons of Aristodemos, Sparta’s founding father figure (Herodotus VI 52). The actual or historical origin of the Spartan double kingship has been variously explained, but the precise aetiological explanation is not much of a target in the present study; it does appear likely that the two lines did not appear simultaneously, and that the Eurypontid line was junior to the Agid, being the more recently enroyalled. 1 It seems clear that despite the purposive archaism of the Spartan system—primarily built on, or at least stated in, their so-called Lykurgan Constitution—the two Spartan kings retained no exceptional powers centered on any primitive or, in Claire Préaux’s important definition, “magical” realm: a recent and thoroughly documented study by Pierre Carlier agrees that these two Spartan royautés did not carry the dangerous charge implicit in the office of the “sacred king,” though they might well have had what Carlier calls a “supernatural halo” derived from the “mystique de la gémellité.” 2 How and why the potent area of the sacred (that is, of intrinsic sacrality, not the administration of the sacred) was detached from the Greek kingly office is, of course, a matter of importance, but little will be attempted on that subject here. The Spartan king, then, was neither “sacred” nor, by definition, a monarch; he (they) maintained certain magisterial and juridical responsibilities, and he (they) was or were involved in the state’s military function, as war-leaders. Even in this military area the king’s powers were circumscribed: according to what we know of the Spartan “constitution,” the nomoi, he could not make war off his own bat, for example, and his behavior (and his success or failure) while he led the Spartan army in the field was legally scrutinized by the Gerousia and the Ephorate, much as the acta of a Roman proconsul, under the Republic, had to be scrutinized and franked, usually by the Senate. 3 The Spartan king, or kings, would thus seem to turn a relatively unmysterious face to the gaze of the inquiring political or institutional historian. The kings were, however, involved in certain religious or, more precisely, cultic activities in the role of priests, that is, serving as the managers of correctly-conducted state sacrifice where they were the orchestrators of the mode of civic appeal to, or contact with, the gods, [End Page 2] though the Spartan king was never regarded as “the interpreter of the [will of] the gods.” 4 Yet the king could hold priestly offices of some resonance, especially the two priesthoods of Zeus—of Zeus Lakedemon and Zeus Ouranios—cited in Herodotus; a second series of royal-priestly activities is drawn from Xenophon and Plutarch and again shows a dual or opposed modality as well as some other, odder features. Because of the opposed thrust of the two instances of royal priesthood or sacrifice...

ECONOMICS AND AFFIRMATIVE ACTION IN A DEMOCRATIC SOUTH AFRICA: ABOUT VALUES, WELFARE AND CHOICE AMONG ALTERNATIVE INSTITUTIONS IN THE FACE OF CONFLICT

Freedom of Ihe pike is death for the minnow' Isaiah Berlin ‘Our world is an eighteen wheelerfull of dynamite, careening down the headway with the pedal to the metal—and the driver is little more than a monkey driven by a mishmash of outmoded emotions and the mistaken illusion that he is something better’. Jon Franklin This viewpoint argues against ‘the high priest role’ of economic analysis and economists ‘playing God’. When there are conflicting interests, as is the casebetween races in South Africa, economics does not provide tools for solving or abolishing this conflict. In the end the economist is still left with the need to choose between conflicting interests. The best that economists can do is to try to understand this conflict and to provide information which can be the background for policy-makers and people when choosing preferences and institutions. This includes both value and value-free knowledge when predicting the substantive consequences of change and alternative rights for the different races in South Africa. However, even only providing information does not free the economist from taking sides in the face of conflict; the plea is therefore to explicitly account for hislher own value judgements or that of the institution being served.

Agents of Change: The Roles of Priests, Sisters, and Lay Workers in the Grassroots Catholic Church in Brazil

There has been an underlying assumption in much of the research on the Roman Catholic Church in Brazil that activism toward social and religious change is stimulated by the church hierarchy. That assumption is called into question by the present research which examined five dioceses in the northern state of Maranhao. Evidence is presented here to show that, even in dioceses where the bishop is not supportive of innovation, priests, sisters, and lay church workers are organizing base ecclesial communities (CEBs) that help to facilitate the empowerment of poor people. This article also questions the urban bias of much of the research on Brazilian CEBs, the majority of which are located in rural areas, and suggests that further studies need to be conducted in rural base communities in different parts of Latin America.

Sacrifice and cosmic war

Sacrifice is also a central theme in Judaism’s most famous off-shoot, Christianity. The New Testament contains a sacrificial paradox, however, for its most holy figure largely eschews the role of priest; instead he plays the role of the sacrificed lamb. Self-sacrifice–martyrdom –may be found in several ancient traditions. Moving away from the subject of motivation, and returning to the displacement of violence and the role that religion plays in it, according to both S. Freud and Rene Girard, symbolic sacrifice is the primary mechanism for displacing violence. The rhetoric of warfare is as prominent in modern religious vocabulary as is the language of sacrifice, and virtually all cultural traditions are filled with martial metaphors. Cosmic warfare is more than just a metaphor; it is the grand context in which all of life’s struggles, including political ones, make sense. Rituals of sacrifice fit into this general pattern of religious rhetoric: they are enactments of cosmic war.

‘Reformed Pastors’ and Bons Curés: the Changing Role of the Parish Clergy in Early Modern Europe

Over the last half century, a number of sociologists on both sides of the Atlantic have tried to define the contemporary role of the ministry. Among the ideas which emerged from their work, three are relevant for our purpose here. The first was that a number of roles which well-intentioned if not always well-qualified clergy had tried to play in the past had been lost or were being lost to rival professions, few of whose members were in holy orders: doctors and psychiatrists, marriage guidance counsellors and social caseworkers, solicitors and schoolteachers. Sociologists detected a sense of what was called ‘role uncertainty’ among the English clergy, and a feeling that in future they should be trained in new skills such as counselling. Allied to this disquiet was another concern, that the administrative and organizational side of the minister’s work was threatening to swamp the more important traditional roles of priest, pastor, and preacher. A third suggestion was that in an increasingly secular society the status of the ministry was declining. For centuries, it was argued, the clergy had enjoyed a unique place in society because of their sacerdotal functions and special skills, but this was now changing: the value of the Christian ministry in the eyes of the laity was falling behind that of more ‘useful’ professions such as medicine and the law.

Argument and role: Monsignor John A. Ryan on social justice

This article examines Monsignor John A. Ryan's advocacy on behalf of social reform between 1892 and 1945. It is argued that Ryan took the roles of priest, prophet, and politician, and that each of these roles called forth its own distinctive form of argumentation on behalf of social change. By examining each of these roles and Ryan's use of argument from authority, causality, and circumstance, both the form and dimensions of Ryan's rhetorical career are revealed. Social role, rather than political philosophy, is shown to be the motivator of argumentative technique.

The Rest That Remaineth: A Study of Five Poems by George Herbert

The Rest That Remaineth: A Study of Five Poems by George Herbert by Andrée Luxton In his 1976 explicetion of "The Pulley," Stuert Hunter suggests Psalms 95 and Hebrews 3 and 4 as possible sources for George Herbert's use of the term "rest" in thet poem. In his useful commentery, Hunter notes Poul's reference to "the Sebboth repose of the feithful."1 He continues, "Biblical scholars are generally agreed that the Old Testament understanding of the meaning of the Sabbath encompassed not only the idea of physical repose but also the promise of a future final Sabbath rest for the faithful in the bosom of God." Hunter concludes that at "the bosom of God" Herbert's pulley finally reaches its "point of stasis, or finel rest" where "men's restlessness is satisfied." Hunter's recognition of the relationship between Hebrews 3 and 4 and "The Pulley" is both volid and important. So is his reolizotion of the essentiel connection between "Sebboth rest" and eternal rest in the Epistle to the Hebrews. However, the implications of the Hebrews passage and its relotion to Herbert's The Temple extend much further. The following detailed analysis of Hebrews 3 and 4, paralleled with a close reeding of both "The Pulley" ond an additional four Herbert poems — "Aaron," "Peace," "Sunday," and "Even-song" — will show something of Herbert's broader consideration of the ideals of rest explored by the author of Hebrews.2 Hebrews 3:14 end 4:14 frame the Hebrews passage on rest. Hebrews 3: 14 reeds, "For we ore mode portokers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfest unto the end," and Hebrews 4:1 4, "Seeing then that we have a greet high priest, thot is pessed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession." Here lies the assurance of belief. In Hebrews 3:14 the perfect tense of "gegonamev" ("we have become") suggests both a present and a continuous relationship between the human and the divine. Then in 50Andrea Luxton Hebrews 4:14, the dependent douse that transletes from Greek as "Seeing then ... let us hold fast" relies on the certointy of "we hove e greet high priest." The relationship remains conditional, dependent on humanity's belief; however, the humonity end divinity of Christ thet fits him for the role of high priest ensures humenkind's ecceptonce end its "right" to shore with Christ in the kingdom.3 Between these two verses of assurance, the author of Hebrews uses typology as he looks to the past, present, and future in order to define the "rest" of the kingdom. He first notes the unbelief of the Israelites that prevented their entering into God's rest and the relevence of the promise of rest in the deys of David. Both these situations carry overtones of physical rest and rest from strife, as well as the accompanying spirituel rest. Then the outhor introduces ß second rest, the rest of God connected to creetion and the Sabbeth (verse 4). However, all these preceding rests are types to an ontitype of e much more fulfilling rest (verse 9). This better end final rest Donald Hagner defines as "the rest that is meant to be the portion of Christians (this mey indeed be subdivided into the rest available at present and the future rest of eschatology proper)."4 Some disagreement exists among commentators on Hebrews as to whether this last rest is only in the present, or both present and future. However, most agree with Hagner and see implicit in the final promise a "present rest" to enjoy "in anticipation of the final eschatological rest."5 This, of course, would be the antitype to which all types point. The author of Hebrews helps distinguish between the rests of the present and future by introducing a different Greek word in Hebrews4:9. In his discussion of "The Pulley," Hunter cleims that "Paul" uses the Greek term "katapausis" to suggest "the Sabbeth repose of the feithful"; "ketepausis" does recur eight times throughout Hebrews 3 and 4 and the cognate verb three times.6 However, in Hebrews 4:9 "ketopousis" is replaced by "sabbatismos." It is...

The Ministry of Disciples: Historical Reflections on the Role of Religious Priests

There is an old maxim of the Fathers that is still current—though I cannot repeat it without a touch of shame, since I have not been able to avoid my own sister, nor escape the bishop's hands—namely, that a monk ought by all means to fly from women and bishops. For neither of them will allow a person who has once become bound to them by ties of familiarity to care, any longer, for the quiet of his cell, or to continue with pure eyes in divine contemplation, rapt in his vision of holy things.

Temples hindous et prêtres de la Déesse

Hindu temples et priests of the Goddess A study of the present situation of brahmin priests in a Hindu temple leads one inevitably to broader problems, concerning the role and status of Hindu priests, their relationship with the authorities who control the temples, and, more generally, to the problem of religion and power in the Indian-Hindu context. The priests studied here are those of the Goddess, an aspect of the deity especially near to the Hindu devotee. The cult of the Goddess has always been very important in India. Some of its recent developments are of especial interest since they illustrate the remarkable vitality and resilience of hinduism, and show how its symbols can operate as an integrating factor within the broader process of change in modern India.

The physician as priest, revisited

Despite much resistance from the medical profession, the notion persists in our culture that the physician plays a priestly role. Medical resistance must be taken seriously. It stems from legitimate concerns that the priestly role implies an unwelcome broadening of medical responsibilities, expectations of moral expertise, and being on the receiving end of people's most intense existential hopes. On the other hand, the nature of illness and healing makes it inevitable that physicianswill take on ministerial functions in their medical work. This essay attempts to recover the notion of the physician as priest on the basis of theological and religious reflection on the nature of ministry and pastoral care.

Liturgical Vestments And The Priest Role

The purpose of the research was to examine the dynamic nature of a specific role, that of the Catholic priest, and to identify associations between clothing change and role change. Propositions concerning change in role clarity and role character provided the conceptual framework. Chasubles that had been custom designed at St. Francis Convent, Hankinson, North Dakota, were the data for the research. Diversity and type of vestment design were analyzed for 650 chasubles produced during three decades. The decades of the 1950s through the 1970s were associated with changes in the priest role, the liturgy, and priest‐laity relations. Standard deviations, a measure of diversity based on the Pearson chi square, means, and frequencies were used to describe the data. Vestments from the 1960s, when the priest role was unclear, were more diverse in percent of area covered by embellishment, number of motifs per garment, and design organi zation than were vestments from the 1950s or 1970s. Lower percentages of em bellishment, fewer motifs per garment, and simpler design organization on 1970s than 1950s chasubles were considered symbolic of change in priest‐laity relations. Questions are raised for future cross‐role research.

Religious Authority in Archaic and Classical Athens

The paper considers who has the right in the Athenian state to act authoritatively both in the name of, and in matters of, religion. It discusses the role of priests, the demos, magistrates, oracles, chresmologoi/manteis, exegetai, epimeletai, epistatai, and hieropoioi. A descriptive catalogue is included of the priesthoods, arranged according to cult; this includes a summary acount of the sanctuaries, evidence for the appointments, status, festivals, origins of the cult, and of the emoluments and honours involved, together with the identity of holders of these offices, where known. This is followed by an account of the magistrates, religious experts, and assistants. It is concluded that the ultimate authority lay outside the purview of the Athenian state, with the god himself, normally Apollo but less frequently Zeus, to whom personal enquiry had to be made by official delegation of the Athenian state to his oracular shrine, though this does not mean the shrine had the right of intervention; the oracle could sanction but could not propose. Religious authority in Athens was the monopoly neither of the citizen body as a whole nor any particular group of individuals within it, but a discrete prerogative shared out among a number of corporations comprising amateurs as well as experts, clergy as well as laity.

On the examination of the role of the episcopalian priest in the pastoral ministry

The purpose of the research was to identify empirically and measurably those dimensions considered important by laity in evaluating their priest. The 83-item questionnaire was developed from existing instruments and from an interview survey carried out on laity from a national selection of Episcopal parishes. 221 parishes responded with complete data. A factor analysis was performed on the data yielding eight useable factors: (a) Pastoral sensitivity, (b) Administrative Skills, (c) Scholarship, (d) Personal Integrity, (e) Innovation, (f) Personal Spirituality, (g) Meaningfulness of Services, and (h) Laity Involvement. The results of the research were seen as a beginning insight into what the laity perceived as important aspects of their parish priest's role, and an instrument to measure these dimensions for further research was produced.

The ambivalent role of the physician in the child abuse syndrome

The reluctance of physicians to get involved with child abuse can be attributed to the problem of role conflict. Physicians derive their social authority from the Aesculapian tradition. This form of social authority is fragile and easily subverted, yet of utmost importance if physicians are to retain their effectiveness in the role of priest, healer and counsellor. In the child abuse syndrome, however, physicians are required by law and circumstances to report such cases to social welfare and law enforcement agencies. This at once casts the physician into the role of police collaborator. This ambivalence can be rationalised by regarding the family unit, rather than just the child, as the patient, and the referral to the social agencies as a “medical consultation”.

The Jesuits and the Holocaust

W hile much has been written about the Roman Catholic Church and the Holocaust in the past two decades since the publica tion of Rolf Hochhuth's The Deputy, little has been published about the role of priests and religious orders in the lands under the control of the Nazis. It is the object of this article, then, to focus on the Society of Jesus in the period from 1933 to 1945 to determine its contribution at the time of the Third Reich insofar as this relates to the Nazi persecutions.1 Generally, the attitude of the J esuits toward the Third Reich did not differ substantially from that of the papacy when Adolf Hitler ruled Germany, for there was a close relationship of the Society of Jesus to the papacy by tradition and to Pope Pius XI (1922-39) and Pope Pius XII (1939-58) by friendship.2 Yet, with respect to the Jews, the attitude of the papacy as well as that of the Jesuits was so restrictive that it is not surprising to find authors who are critical of the Jesuits when their major publication in Rome, Civilta Cattolica, was not entirely free from anti-Semitism. That this was not unique for them is evident from similar stands taken by other Jesuits in the 1930s before Pope Pius XI condemned anti-Semitism as irreconcilable with Christianity.3 If there was ambiguity in the position of the Jesuits regarding anti-Semitism, this disappeared before the outbreak of World War II. The inter vening years had shown how strongly the members of the Society of

Pastoral Counseling as Sacramental Act

Pastoral Counseling centers are burgeoning because a whole new community of persons is developing with new sacramental needs. The anachronistic methods of the institutional church have resulted in the pastoral counselor taking on the role of priest and performing the fourfold Eucharistic function (take, bless, break, give) in therapy. Pastoral counseling is now a sacramental act, and may in fact develop into a sacrament. Pastoral counselors have a unique combination of psychological and theological training, though in their zeal for professional acceptance they often emphasize the former at the expense of the latter. The pastoral counseling community has a responsibility to use its unique training to influence the institutional church to effectively meet the new sacramental, liturgical, and spiritual needs of its people. To be able to inform the growth of the historical community of faith and to adequately function sacramentally in the therapeutic setting, pastoral counselors must first examine their own spirituality.

The Theology of Eucharistic Consecration: Role of the Priest in Celtic Liturgy

The Theology of Eucharistic Consecration: Role of the Priest in Celtic Liturgy

Combining the roles of ?Priest? and ?physician?: A clinical case

In antiquity the healing role was usually performed by one person-a "priest-physician." This also applied to hypnotism. As science emerged, eventually the roles of physician and priest were separated and performed by different persons. In the present case the roles of "priest" and "physician" were again united, resulting in significant improvement for the patient. Previously the separated roles had been ineffective.

Nineteenth-century Asante medical practices.

Most of the literature concerning traditional African medical practice has dealt with aspects often deemed ‘irrational,’ such as the role of priests, shrines, magic and religious ritual. M. J. Field's work demonstrates convincingly that these aspects of medical treatment in Ghana are essential in mitigating and curing psychosomatic illnesses as well as controlling neuroses. The emphasis on religious and psychological methods of treatment, however, can often lead to less perceptive conclusions, such as those of U.S. doctors visiting Ghana in 1960 who stated flatly that traditional medical practices there consist solely of ‘ignorance and superstition’ and that ‘witchdoctor … medicine man and native doctor are synonymous terms.

Family therapy and communion

There has been a shift of healing authority in our culture from priestly practitioners to scientific and medical practitioners. As part of this change the care and healing of stressed or broken families is now seen as the responsibility of the family therapist. A consequence of this has been some role confusion on the part of the clergy and therapists. A comparison of the symbolic complex of belief and value systems used in MacGregor's team-family method of family therapy and Joseph Haroutunian's theology of the church shows four striking similarities. The implications of these similarities for the continued confusion or clarity of the roles of priest and therapist are noted.