The Priesthood of Jesus Christ
In Greek the voice priest is i`ereu,j and it designated
he who performed any cultic function at the i`ero,n
(temple or sanctuary). The supervisor or keeper of
a temple was called avrciereu,j (arch-priest) in
Greek olwdg" !hk (high priest) in Hebrew. In turn,
Latin renders for i`ereu,j the voice sacerdos and for
avrciereu,j it renders pontifex. The voice sacerdos is a
derivative of Sacer, a verb which describes the
action of consecrating, i.e., of separating something
or someone for God. With the Latin we can say
that the priest sacerdos is thus he who has been
separated to be God’s very own, he who has been
consecrated to God.
To be a priest means to be a mediator, it is to be
one who is located between God and humanity; it
is also to be the bridge that allows the
«communion» (koinwni,a) between the Creator and
its creature. The word koinwni,a is by definition an
union of affective love, i.e., an union which emerges
from the most gutsy feeling that exists between
two beings: in the manner of the love of a mother,
or the love of God the Father for God the Son.
Koinwni,a is also an union of effective love, i.e., a
union that empowers the being of those who are in
love to live a life in perfect harmony under the
protection the insoluble bond of love.
The Incarnation of the Son of God in the person of
Jesus Christ made it possible for humanity to
recuperate the primeval state (Gen 1:26-27; 2).
Christ is the only Pontifex capable of dispensing
God’s gifts (descending mediation) and the only
one capable of offering (immolating) the only
pleasing offering to the Father (ascending
mediation), which is his very own person as a
sacrificial victim. Christ is Pontifex because he is
Mediator understood as Son of God (Man-God); as
man he is under God and as God he is above men:
his natural position is, thus, that one of being in
the middle: (Mediator). In him God and men are
united perfecte, semel et semper.
In this sense the pontificate inaugurated by Jesus
Christi s totally diverse from the priesthood of the
OT. The Letter to the Hebrews stands in History
as an solid witness to the apostolic Church of the
most precious gift God has given us: that is, the
gift of Salvation through the loving auto donation
of the Son and Archpriest Jesus Christ. It is under
the kenotic action of the dynamis of Divine Love
that the Aporia death-life; suffering-love; and
cross-redemption have been transformed in an
unquestionable reality of liberation.
Recent studies show three possible roots for the
Hebrew word Priest !hk = avrciereu,j Some see its origin
in the Acadian root kanû, which literally means «to
prostrate»; According to this, the priest is the man who
prostrates himself in adoration; he is in the face of God,
i.e., Coram Domino. Some, see the etymology coming
from the Semitic root kŵn, which means «to stand up»;
With this one, the priest is the man standing at the
sanctuary, he assists and offers worship in face of God,
which is also Coram Domino. More recently, A. Cody
has proponed that the word cohen !hk comes from the
Syrian root kahhen, meaning «prosperity»; So the priest
is the man through which the divinity gives blessing
and prosperity to the those worshiping.