Christianity
The New Testament book of Hebrews uses the term "high priest" sixteen times; in ten of those instances Jesus Christ is explicitly or implicitly identified as the office holder (e.g. Hebrews 3:1; 4:14; and 9:11). Some Old Testament (OT) texts prophesy of a priest-king (in ancient Israel, priests and royalty were distinct, with priests from the tribe of Levi and kings from the tribes of Benjamin and Judah). Christianity views Jesus as fulfilling these OT prophecies, effectively replacing the former Jewish system of worship.
- Zechariah 6:13: "Even he shall build the temple of the LORD; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both."
- Psalm 110:2,4: "The LORD shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies. ...The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek."
A comparison of other religions with modern Christian denominations might compare a high priest with the Pope in the Roman Catholic Church, a Patriarch in an Eastern Orthodox Church, or a Primate in an Anglican or Episcopal church; but again it is traditional to refer only to Jesus as the one high priest of Christianity. Episcopal bodies, except in the Anglican Communion and the superintended Lutheran churches, may also referred to bishops as high priests, as they are believed to share in, that is: are considered earthly instruments of, the high priesthood of Jesus Christ. In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and other Latter Day Saint sects, High Priest is also among the priesthood offices in the Melchizedek priesthood.
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Famous quotes containing the word christianity:
“The real security of Christianity is to be found in its benevolent morality, in its exquisite adaptation to the human heart, in the facility with which its scheme accommodates itself to the capacity of every human intellect, in the consolation which it bears to the house of mourning, in the light with which it brightens the great mystery of the grave.”
—Thomas Babington Macaulay (1800–1859)
“To die proudly when it is no longer possible to live proudly. Death freely chosen, death at the right time, brightly and cheerfully accomplished amid children and witnesses: then a real farewell is still possible, as the one who is taking leave is still there; also a real estimate of what one has wished, drawing the sum of one’s life—all in opposition to the wretched and revolting comedy that Christianity has made of the hour of death.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)
“He who begins by loving Christianity better than truth, will proceed by loving his own sect or church better than Christianity, and end in loving himself better than all.”
—Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772–1834)