The Presbyters Project

Book 20

10. [...] Quod autem, cum dixisset: in istis secunda mors non habet potestatem [Rev 20:6], adiunxit atque ait: sed erunt sacerdotes Dei et Christi et regnabunt cum eo mille annis [Rev 20:6]: non utique de solis episcopis et presbyteris dictum est, qui proprie iam uocantur in ecclesia sacerdotes; sed sicut omnes christos dicimus propter mysticum chrisma, sic omnes sacerdotes, quoniam membra sunt unius sacerdotis; de quibus apostolus Petrus: plebs, inquit, sancta, regale sacerdotium [1 Pet 2:9].

(ed. Dombart - Kalb 1955, 719-720)

Book 20

10. […]Now, after it says, "Over these the second death has no power'', it goes on to say, ''but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and they shall reign with him a thousand years” (Rev 20:6). Clearly, this does not refer only to bishops and presbyters, who are now properly called priests in the Church. Rather, just as we call all Christians ''christs” by virtue of their mystical anointing, so we call all Christian "priests” because they are all members of the one priest. That is why the apostle Peter says that they are ''a holy people, a royal priesthood” (1 Pet 2:9).

(trans. W. Babcock, slightly altered)

Discussion:

The passage shows that Augustine explained the term "sacerdos" as referring primarily to the bishops and the presbyters.

About the source:

Author: Augustine of Hippo
Title: The City of God, De civitate Dei, On The City of God
Origin: Hippo Regius (Latin North Africa)
Denomination: Catholic/Nicene/Chalcedonian

“The City of God” was meant by Augustine to provide the Christians with the arguments against the accusations, raised especially after the sack of Rome in 410 AD, that their religion was inferior to the pagan cults that protected the Roman state in a better way. The first ten books of the “City of God” are a critique of the Roman religion and philosophy. The next twelve discuss the relation between the eternal City of God and the Earthly City.

Augustine probably started writing this work in 412 AD. The books appeared gradually. Book 10 was finished by 417 AD, and the whole work by 426/427.

The last book deals with the eternal happiness of the saints and explains the resurrection of the body, hence numerous miracle stories are contained here.

Edition:

B. Dombart, A. Kalb edd., Sancti Aurelii Augustini De Civitate Dei libri XI-XXII, Corpus Christianorum. Series Latina 48, Turnhout 1955.

Translation:

Saint Augustine, The City of God XI-XXII, trans. W. Babcock, New York 2013.

Categories:

Described by a title - Presbyter/πρεσβύτερος

Described by a title - Sacerdos/ἱερεύς

Theoretical considerations - On priesthood

Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL: S. Adamiak, Presbyters in the Late Antique West, ER885, http://www.presbytersproject.ihuw.pl/index.php?id=6&SourceID=885