oldest greek In the NT, responsible for the Christian community before the apostles. The work of Fr. it consisted in governing the community, 1 Pet 5, 2-4; proclaim the word of God, 1 Tm 5, 17; assist the sick and apply the holy oil to them, Jas 5, 14. Fr. he must meet certain requirements, among which were being married only once, being of irreproachable conduct and having a stable family whose members were also believers and of correct behavior; adhered to the word of the apostles so that he could fulfill his role of teaching, Tt 1, 5-9. The presbyters were established by the apostles, Acts 14, 23, or by their representatives, Tt 1, 5, through the imposition of hands, 1 Tm 5, 22. According to the ancient custom of Israel and Judaism, in the early Church the council of elders or presbyters, Greek prebytérion, was established. When the question of whether circumcision was necessary to be saved was discussed, this problem was consulted with the apostles and the council of presbyters, Acts 15, 2/4/6/22/23; 16, 4.
Digital Bible Dictionary, Grupo C Service & Design Ltda., Colombia, 2003
Source: Digital Bible Dictionary
(seniors).
In the OT they appear as an organized body of elders, elected by the people, with a political, social and religious function. His name appears in all the books of the Pentateuch and the historical books of the Bible, as well as in Is., Jer. Ez., Joel, Sal, Job and Prov. They are called “elders”: (presbyters, in Greek), they are also called “elders of the city”, or of the people, or of the tribe, or of the house of Israel , or the congregation.
Their function is to represent the people in political and religious activities: They appear in the Pentateuch speaking for the people: (Exo 17:5); they were the ones who asked Samuel to give them a King: (1 52Ch 8:4); they make an alliance with David in Hebron: (2 52Ch 3:17); they are members of the “royal council”: (252Chr 17:4) and have a vote as to peace or war: (1Ki 20:7).
In the NT they appear as the “council of elders”, forming the Presbytery, in Mat 15:2, Mar 7:3-5. In the Acts they appear sending Paul and Barnabas, in Acts 11:30, and throughout ch. 15, at the Council of Jerusalem; and Paul’s farewell greeting to Ephesus was addressed to the elders: (Acts 20:17), and in 21:8, James, with the elders, heard Paul’s report among the Gentiles.
In the letter to Timothy, he is consecrated by the imposition of the hands of the presbytery: (1Ti 4:14), and the presbyters work in teaching and preaching: (1 Tim.5.
17), so they should be kept: (1 Tim.5.
fifteen). Titus is commanded to appoint Priests in every city: (Tit 1:5).
In Santiago, the elders must pray for the sick, Jas 5:14-15. And St. Peter calls himself a priest, and exhorts his fellow elders to care for the sheep: (1 Pet. 5). See “Priests.”
Christian Bible Dictionary
Dr. J. Dominguez
http://bible.com/dictionary/
Source: Christian Bible Dictionary
The one who has received the sacrament of Holy Orders in this degree. The name of priest comes from the first Christian communities, where the older ones, the elders (presbyteros) carried out the ministry of animation and the sacramental service among the brothers.
Pedro Chico González, Dictionary of Catechesis and Religious Pedagogy, Editorial Bruño, Lima, Peru 2006
Source: Dictionary of Catechesis and Religious Pedagogy
From the Greek word presbyteros, which means “the oldest”, it serves to indicate in the New Testament the collaborators of the apostle in a particular service.
In the sources of the apostolic age it is not easy to distinguish the figure of the “priest” from that of the “bishop”), since both perform “special” functions, reserved for consecrated ministers (preaching, administering the sacraments, directing the community, watchfulness over right doctrine). But already in the 11th century, the bishop never appears without his presbytery, associated with him in each of the Eucharists and in the pastoral office. The presbyters are “(sacerdotes secundii ordinis”. With the organization of the parishes they later acquire greater importance and their figure in the Church is more clearly perceived.
The relationship between bishops and priests is outlined in LG 28: “The priests, although they have not reached the summit of the pontificate and depend on the bishops in the exercise of their power, yet they are united to them by the honor of the priesthood and, by virtue of the sacrament of orders, they are consecrated as true priests of the New Testament, in the image of Christ, high and eternal priest, to preach the gospel and shepherd the faithful and to celebrate divine worship. Here the starting point is the bishop, who is defined in turn from the figure of Christ and the apostle; the priest is seen and presented as the collaborator of the bishop and in a certain way as the sacramental and pastoral extension of his presence in the local Christian community. In the ordination prayer for priests, the bishop says that he needs their help, because of his own imitations, – in the exercise of his ministry, in the same way that the apostles received the help of the disciples in preaching the Gospel. Thus, the presbyter is defined from the bishop. The bishop, in turn, defines himself as continuing the work of the apostles. In this way, the very identity of the priest is defined as participation and extension in the community of the task and mission of the apostles of Christ.
The proper ministry of priests is to help the bishop in the direction of the local Church. The most common formula for this collaboration is pastoral service in a parish. In a particular way, the priest replaces and represents the bishop in the presidency of the Eucharist, in the sacramental reconciliation of penitents, in the preaching of the Word of God, in the direction and animation of the community entrusted to him, in the promotion of the charitable activity of testimony.
R. Gerardi
Bibl.: L. Coenen, Elder, in DTNT 1, 1 22129; J. Gewiess, Ministry, in MS. IV/l, 489ff; JM, Castillo, The ministries in the Church, Fundación Santa María, Madrid 1983; E. Schillebeeckx, The ecclesial ministry, Responsible in the Christian community, Christianity, Madrid 1983; J Equiza – G Puhl, To live the ministry, Verbo Divino, Estella 1988; R. Gerardi, The Pastoral Mystery of the Priest, Comercial. Valencia 1989
PACOMIO, Luciano, Encyclopedic Theological Dictionary, Divine Word, Navarra, 1995
Source: Encyclopedic Theological Dictionary