REV. DANIEL ROHAN The calling of a priest: purity, faith and love

I have been an Orthodox priest for 24 years and would like to share my thoughts on the priest and his religion.
The priest represents the intents and purposes of religion, for religion is the vocation of the priest. He is ordained, set apart and consecrated to maintain the integrity of the Orthodox Christian faith, always remembering that he is responsible to God and humanity for the life he lives and the decisions he makes. He is the instrument in God's hands to bring those without God and without hope to a saving knowledge of God and Christ.
The priesthood is more than a profession, vocation or avocation. It is a calling from God. It is God taking people whom he is pleased to call and fitting them with grace, faith and power to minister to him and his people, preparing them to be channels of blessings to those whom they meet daily.
The priesthood -- to be God-fearing, God-honoring and effective -- is a clear-cut call from God.
St. Paul's words
St. Paul writes to his spiritual son, Timothy, in 1 Timothy 4:12: "Let no man despise thy youth, but be thou an example of the believers, in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity."
First, St. Paul says the priest must be an example by his speech. There is perhaps nothing that would impress people of the character of any person, particularly a priest, more than his speech. The priest should not engage in any conversation that may be frivolous or unbecoming of the dignity of his holy calling.
Christ said, "Out of the surplus of the heart the mouth speaks," which means that a person's language issues from the heart.
Many times during my ministry, I have said things which I've regretted. All of us, without exception, offend with our language more than any other means. I was often angry with myself for having left unsaid something which would have edified the hearers. Sometimes we priests are afraid to state the truth for fear that someone might not like it. But the priest must state the truth without fear or favor, because God, rather than men, must be obeyed.
Right action
The priest is to be the right example in conduct. Nothing could take the place of conduct in the life of the individual, especially the priest. The lives of our Lord Jesus Christ; his Blessed Mother, the Virgin Mary; and all the Apostles were examples of how a Christian should live.
When Jesus said, "I am come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly," he was saying that his mission was to make men and women better people. He came to change us and make us conform to his image: To be Christian is to be Christlike.
The priest should be the right example by his love to all people. Love, in the Christian sense of the word, is the badge that distinguishes Orthodox Christians from non-Christians: It is the mark of discipleship. Did not our Lord mean this when he said, "By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."
"God is love," said the Apostle John, "and he that loves is of God." In the world, we discover that this godly principle is often absent. We must realize that the only cure for our ills is the kind of love manifested by the Savior.
Firm in belief
The fourth principle is faith. Faith in God and in Christ, faith in ourselves and in humanity as a whole, is the foundation of all Christian virtues. "Have faith in God," Jesus reiterated.
"Faith is the victory which overcomes the world," affirmed the Apostle John. When our faith in God is not the caliber it should be, then we can't have confidence in any person.
St. Paul in his second letter to Timothy reminds him of the falling away of people from the Christian faith that is to take place in the future. But Paul lays the burden on Timothy to instill faith.
A priest is also to be an example in purity. The priest's religion must be saturated by piety, patience and perseverance. Think evil of no man; overcome evil with good; love all without distinction as Christ loved them.
The Old Testament says, "The priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law of his mouth, for he is the messenger of the Lord of Hosts."
The New Testament says, "Study to show yourself approved by God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."
So then the priest is a messenger of God approved by God, and therefore should be an unashamed worker in the vineyard of the Lord.
XThe Rev. Daniel Rohan is pastor of St. Mark Orthodox Church in Liberty.