Priest and Bishop

Biblical Reflections

by

Raymond E. Brown, S.S.

Wipf and Stock Publishers

eugene, oregon

Wipf and Stock Publishers

199 West 8th Avenue, Suite 3

Eugene, Oregon 97401

Priest and Bishop

By Brown, Raymond E.

Copyright© 1970 Society of St. Sulpice

ISBN: 1-57910-277-8

Publication Date: January, 1999

Previously published by The Missionary Society of St. Paul, 1970.

Reproduced by permission of the Society of St. Sulpice, 1999.

Copyright © 1970 by

The Missionary Society

of St. Paul the Apostle

in the State of New York

CONTENTS

Preface

1. The Biblical Background of the Catholic Priesthood

I. The Old Testament Background

A. The Character of the Israelite Priesthood

B. The Functions of the Israelite Priesthood

II. The New Testament Background

A. The Absence of Christian Priests in the NT

B. The NT Antecedents of Priestly Ministry

1. The Disciple

2. The Apostle

3. The Presbyter-Bishop

4. The One Who Presided at the Eucharist

2. Are the Bishops the Successors of the Apostles?

I. The New Testament Evidence about Apostles and Bishops

A. Bishops and the Lucan Picture of the Twelve Apostles

1. What the Lucan Apostles Were Not

2. The Role of the Twelve according to Luke

B. Bishops and the Pauline Picture of Missionary Apostles

1. The Pauline and Lucan Apostles Compared

2. The Apostle Paul and Bishops

II. Succession in the Church to Apostolic Functions

A. Functional Succession to the Pauline Apostolate

B. Functional Succession to the Apostolate of the Twelve

III. The Ecumenical Implications

TO

PATRICK W. SKEHAN

PROFESSOR OF SEMITIC LANGUAGES

THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA

In gratitude for what I have learned from him both about the Bible and about priestliness.

PREFACE

This booklet has a very limited goal. Its size should forewarn the realistic reader that no complete, scientific treatment of the biblical background of priesthood is envisaged. Perhaps the word “reflections” in the title will convey my approach and intention: I have culled the Scriptures to offer material for thought at a crucial moment in the history of the Roman Catholic priesthood. With the whole Christian world looking on, we Catholics have entered a sometimes acrimonious debate with ourselves as to what should be expected of those who are in the special ministry of the Church, i.e., the priesthood—What manner of life should our priests live and what work should they do? Also under review is the role of the bishop, said traditionally to possess the fullness of the priesthood. We are asking whether the authority structure on all levels should be more collegial or democratic and what such a change would mean in light of the traditional theology of the episcopate. Ecumenically we are pondering our relationships to other churches in which there is no episcopate in apostolic succession.

In all these debated questions proponents of very different positions are resorting to Scripture for justification. For some the whole goal of the priesthood is summed up in the words of Jesus ...