Tag: Presbyter

The Well-Ordered Church: Leadership (Thurs. Dec. 16)

· Fr. Basil
The word of the day is “rule.”  In our reading of 1 Timothy 3:1-13, St. Paul continues his directive for good order in the church.  His topics in today’s passage are the qualifications, duties. and conduct of the bishop (episcopos) (vs. 1-7),[1] the priest or elder (presbyter) (vs. 5:17), and  the deacon (diakonos) and his wife (vs. 8-13). When we review the qualifications for each of leaders,, we find that they have one thing in common.  Those who fill these essential roles in the church are to “rule” their households well (vs. 4, vs. 12, 4:17).  The Greek word has the basic sense of “standing before” (Strong’s #2476, 122).  We might say that the term refers to having a “good…

Putting the Church in Order: Leadership (Thurs. Dec. 3)

· Fr. Basil
The word of the day is “rule”  In our reading of 1 Timothy 3:1-13, St. Paul continues his directive for good order in the church.  His topic in today’s passage is the qualifications and conduct of bishops (vs. 1-7) as well as deacons (vs. 8-10) and their wives (vs. 11). In 1 Timothy, Paul speaks about three categories of church leaders.  He outlines the qualities and duties of the bishop[i] (epískopos.) (3:1-7, the priest or elder (presbyter) (1 Timothy 5:17), the deacon (diakonos) and his wife  (vs. 8-13). When we review the qualifications for each of these leadership roles, we find one thing in common. They are to “rule” their households well (vs. 4, vs. 12, 4:17).  The Greek word…