Taught - Spiritual Teacher

Spiritual Teacher

There are many forms of spiritual or religious teachers in Christianity, across all three major traditions - (Roman) Catholic, (Eastern) Orthodox Catholic, and Protestant/Non-Denominational, with a stronger tradition of spiritual formation in the more historic and authoritarian/hierarchical Christian traditions with a long tradition of "discernment of spirits", of vocations, and other aspects of spiritual life, especially the Roman and Orthodox Catholic Churches. These positions include: the honoured but informal position of starets or elder - a man (or, less often, woman), often a monastic, considered to be graced by God with certain gifts for the guidance of souls and the detection and correction of prelest (spiritual pride or deception) - who acts as a spiritual guide or father in the Orthodox Catholic tradition, especially Russian Orthodoxy (see Optina Monastery, which had a long line of said starets); the Priest or Confessor in Roman Catholicism, who is often a man in Holy Orders but may be a monastic or other person respected for his spiritual accomplishments or acumen (even the Pope of Rome has a Confessor, who is not always a bishop, and, due to the hierarchical structure of the Roman Church, can not be his equal in authority), which is often a semi-official to official position, as opposed to the unofficial positions of spiritual guides in the Orthodox Catholic and Protestant traditions; and the almost-exclusively informal arrangements (generally formal only in members who are under some form of church discipline) of mentorship (both of adults and children, in the latter case often a youth pastor) in the Protestant and Non-Denominational traditions, which boundaries can be blurred with the more typically Roman "confessor" position in some of the more historic and conservative Reformation Churches, such as some of the Lutheran and Anglican. In keeping with the individualistic nature of most Protestant denominations, the emphasis on being guided in spiritual development is small, with a heavy emphasis placed on heavy reading and personal, Spirit-enlightened interpretation of the Holy Bible.

In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (colloquially known as "Mormonism"), the teacher is an office in the Aaronic priesthood, generally conferred on young boys or recent converts, and has little in common with the "spiritual teacher" archetype. The role of "spiritual teacher" may be filled by many individuals in the Mormon Church, often a trusted friend, who may hold any office, from Elder to Bishop, or no office at all. The emphasis on spiritual mentorship in the Mormon Church is similar to that in the more "low-church" traditions of Protestantism, with a stronger emphasis placed on the husband and father of a family to provide spiritual guidance for all of his family, ideally in consultation with his wife, even if the husband is not a member of the LDS Church, based on interpretatios of certain Biblical texts which proclaim the spiritual authority of husbands in marriage. Even Priesthood representatives are expected to defer to the father of the house when in his home. Further, additional spiritual guidance is offered by those holding the office of Patriarch (LDS Church), which is supposed by Latter-day Saints to grant certain gifts of the Spirit, such as the ability to prophesy, to its holders. This guidance is generally offered during a ceremony called the patriarchal blessing.

In Hinduism the spiritual teacher is known as a guru, and, in many traditions of Hinduism - especially those common in the West - the emphasis on spiritual mentorship is extremely high, with gurus often exercising a great deal of control over the lives of their disciples.

In Tibetan Buddhism the teachers of Dharma in Tibet are most commonly called a Lama. A Lama who has through phowa and siddhi consciously determined to be reborn, often many times, in order to continue their Bodhisattva vow is called a Tulku.

There are many concepts of teachers in Islam, ranging from mullahs (the teachers at madrassas) to ulemas, who teach of the laws of Islam for the proper way of Islamic living according to the Sunnah and Ahadith, and can render legal verdicts upon matters of Islamic law in accordance with the teaching of one of the Four Schools of Jurisprudence. In the more spiritual or mystical Islamic tradition of Sufism, the position of spiritual teacher and an esoteric (as opposed to exoteric, or actions-oriented, e.g. the Five Pillars of Islam) spirituality and spiritual knowledge takes on a more important dimension, with emphasis on learning from living saints - the highest of which is a Qutb - and of traditions passed down from initiate to initiate, and traceable back to the founder of the order.

A Rabbi is generally regarded as the Jewish spiritual teacher, and has many other responsibilities.