The Presbyters Project

II.5. De sacerdotibus.

(1) Quod est sacerdotii fundamentum uel quo auctore pontificalis ordo adoleuit in saeculo? Initium quidem sacerdotii Aaron fuit; quamquam et Melchisedech prior obtulerit sacrificium et post hunc Abraham, Isaac et lacob; sed isti spontanea uoluntate, non sacerdotali auctoritate, ista fecerunt. (2) Ceterum Aaron primus in lege sacerdotale nomen accepit, primusque pontificali stola infulatus uictimas obtulit [...]

Here follows the quotation from Exod 29:4-9.

(3) Quo loco contemplario portet Aaron summum sacerdotem, id est episcopum fuisse; nam filios eius presbiterorum figuram praeministrasse. Fuerunt enim filii Aaron et ipsi sacerdotes, quibus merito adstare debuissent leuitae sicut summo sacerdoti. Sed et hoc fuit inter Aaron summum sacerdotem et inter filios eiusdem Aaron qui et ipsi erant sacerdotes, quod Aaron super tunicam accipiebat poderem stolam sanctam et coronam auream mitram et brachiale aureum et superhumerale et cetera quae supra memorata sunt, filii autem Aaron super tunicas lineas cincti tantummodo et tiarati adstabant sacrificio dei. [...]

Here follows the typology according to which Aaron is a type of bishop, his son of presbyters, and Moses of Christ.

(5) Hactenus de primordiis sacerdotalibus in ueteri testamento; in nouo autem testamento post Christum sacerdotalis ordo a Petro coepit. Ipsi enim primum datum est pontificatum in ecclesia Christi. Sic Ienim loquitur ad eum dominus: Tu es, inquid, Petrus et super hanc petram aedificabo ecclesiam meam et portae inferorum non uincent eam. Tibi dabo claues regni caelorum. Hic ergo ligandi soluendique potestatem primus accepit, primusque ad fidem populum uirtutis suae praedicationis adduxit. Siquidem et ceteri apostoli cum Petro pari consortio honoris et potestatis effecti sunt, qui etiam in toto orbe dispersi euangelium praedicauerunt. (6) Quibusque decedentibus successerunt episcopi qui sunt constituti per totum mundum in sedibus apostolorum; qui iam non ex genere carnis et sanguinis eleguntur, sicut primum secundum ordinem Aaron, sed pro uniuscuiusque merito quem in eum gratia diuina contulerit; [...]

Here follows the quoatation from 1 Sam 2:30.

(7) Quattuor autem sunt genera apostolorum: unum a deo tantum ut Moyses; alterum per hominem et deum ut Iosue; tertium tantum per hominem, sicut his temporibus multi fauore populi et potestatum in sacerdotium subrogantur; quartum autem genus ex se est sicut pseudoprophetarum et pseudoapostolorum. Quid sit autem nomen apostolorum, apostoli in latina lingua missi interpretantur quia ipsos misit Christus euangelizare ad inluminationem omnium populorum.

(ed. Lawson 1989: 56-59)

II.5. On priests.

What is the foundation of the priesthood or from which founder did the order of pontiffs arise in this world? Clearly Aaron was the beginning of the priesthood. Although Melchizedek offered sacrifice prior to him and Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob after him - these men did so by spontaneous will, not by the authority of priesthood. (2) In addition, Aaron was the first one in the Law to accept the name of priest, and the first to offer sacrifices, adorned with the distinct priestly stole. [...]

Here follows the quotation from Exod 29:4-9.

(3) In this place it ought to be considered that Aaron had been the high priest, that is, the bishop. His sons had ministered beforehand as a type of the presbyters. They were the sons of Aaron and priests themselves, to whom the Levites had rightly been bound to minister as also to the high priest. But there was another difference between Aaron the high priest and the sons of Aaron, who themselves were also priests: Aaron, over the tunic, received the poderem, the holy stole, and the gold crown miter and the gold bracelet and the ephod, and the other things that were mentioned above. The sons of Aaron, however, over the linen tunics had only cinctures and tiaras, when they were offering sacrifice to God. [...]

Here follows the typology according to which Aaron is a type of bishop, his son of presbyters, and Moses of Christ.

(5) Thus far concerning the first priests in the Old Testament. In the New Testament, however, after Christ the order of priesthood began with Peter. For to him the pontificate in the church of Christ was given first. Thus the Lord said to him: "you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven" [Matt 16:18-19]. He was therefore the first to receive the authority of binding and loosing, and the first to bring people to faith by the power of his preaching. And since the other apostles also became equal sharers with Peter in honor and authority, they also preached the gospel, dispersed throughout the whole world. (6) Coming after them, there succeeded the bishops, who have been set up throughout the world in the seats of the apostles. They are not chosen now from descent by flesh and blood, which was done first according to the order of Aaron, but by each one's merit, which divine grace has bestowed on him. [...]

Here follows the quoatation from 1 Sam 2:30.

(7) There are four kinds of apostles: the first is from God, as in the case of Moses. The second is through man and God, as Joshua. The third is only through man, since in these times many are called into the priesthood because of the approval of people and authorities. The fourth, however, is a category unto itself, as of pseudo-prophets and pseudo-apostles. As for the name of apostles, however, in the Latin language apostles is translated as "sent" because Christ sent them to evangelize for the illumination of all peoples.

(trans. Knoebel 2008: 71-73, slightly altered)

Discussion:

They quotation from Virgil is from Aeneid VI.25. Among other pagan and classical sources Isidore had used is also Aulus Gellius, Macrobius, Pliny, Quintilianus, Varro, and Vegetius (see the complete list of Isidore's sources in Knoebel 2008: 23-26).

Place of event:

Region

Iberian Peninsula

City

Seville

About the source:

Author: Isidore of Seville
Title: De ecclesiasticis officiis, On the Ecclesiastical Offices, De origine officiorum
Origin: Seville (Iberian Peninsula)
Denomination: Catholic/Nicene/Chalcedonian

Isidore was born probably ca 560, he became the bishop of Seville in 600, and he held that office to his death in AD 636. He wrote several works, among them the De ecclesiasticis officiis composed certainly after AD 598 (the composition of the Moralia in Job by Gregory the Great which are used by Isidore in the books 5 and 6). We cannot establish another terminus ante quem than the year of death of Isidore, although some scholars proposed that the De ecclesiasticis officiis were written before the composition of Chronicon in AD 615 (Lawson 1989: 13*-14*). The argument is based on the assumption that the list of Isidore`s writings composed by Braulio, bishop of Saragossa is ordered chronologically, but, as was demonstrated by its most recent editor (Martin 2006: 64-73), most certainly it is not the case.

Isidore composed the treatise at the request of Bishop Fulgentius of Écija (see the dedicatory letter at the beginning of the book). The De ecclesiasticis officiis is also one of the most important sources for the early Spanish liturgy.

Edition:

C.M. Lawson ed., Sancti Isidori episcopi Hispalensis de ecclesiasticis officiis, Corpus Christianorum. Series Latina 113, Turnhout 1989

Translation:

Isidore of Seville, De ecclesiasticis officiis, translation and introduction by T.L. Knoebel, Ancient Christian Writers 61, New York 2008

Categories:

Described by a title - Presbyter/πρεσβύτερος

Described by a title - Sacerdos/ἱερεύς

Ritual activity - Reconciliation/Administering penance

Equal prerogatives of presbyters and bishops

Theoretical considerations - On priesthood

Theoretical considerations - On church hierarchy

Pastoral activity - Teaching

Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL: M. Szada, Presbyters in the Late Antique West, ER1288, http://www.presbytersproject.ihuw.pl/index.php?id=6&SourceID=1288