Recently I happened to participate in an online discussion on the role of clergy in our churches. My initial attention of this issue was triggered by a long message from a prominent priest. I saw a picture of the present leadership crisis in that message. In this chapter I am summarizing the main points contained in that message. For the sake of convenience, I am presenting the points under the headings of problem, diagnosis, and solution.
A Summary of the Priest’s Message
Problem: Christianity in general and Orthodox Church in particular continue to disintegrate on a daily basis.
Diagnosis: The continued existence of the Holy Church depends upon the transmission of the undefiled doctrines handed down from generation to generation by the clergy. Bishops, priests and deacons are the ones authorized to keep the doctrines in safe custody and to transmit them from generation to generation. Today the churches are disintegrating because the doctrines have become corrupted and defiled, for the following two reasons:
1. The doctrines have been handled and transmitted by unauthorized people.
2. The doctrines have not been handled and transmitted appropriately by the authorized people.
There are several reasons for the authorized people (bishops, priests, deacons) for not performing their job satisfactorily.
1. Some of them are not well-equipped for their job. To quote the exact words in the message: "Many priests are not well-equipped. Reading is rare, I mean, very few priests are updating their knowledge. Most of them rely on the archaic notes they had scribbled when they were seminary students. It takes a lot of time and effort to read and prepare good teaching materials and sermons."
2. The priests, who are wise, remain silent when they see a lot of unauthorized people transmitting the doctrines in corrupt form. When unauthorized lay people explain or present their understanding of the doctrines, “keeping silence is the only desirable alternative, and that is what wise priests are doing."
3. The priests do not transmit the doctrines of the church because "they are over-pressurized by the sacramental duties."
4. "The priests hesitate to teach for fear of ridicule from the faithful at large"
5. The lay people are not fully receptive. If a priest honestly speaks the Word of God, it often will involve admonitions to the laity for changing their incorrect behaviors. The lay people are often unwilling to accept the admonition, and correct their behavior.
Solutions suggested by the priest:
The bishops, priests, and deacons:
Have to equip themselves by reading and learning. They need to make sure that they have in their custody the undefiled doctrines of the church.
The lay people:
1. Have to refrain from taking over the responsibilities of the bishops, priests and deacons.
2. Should not ridicule the bishops, priests and deacons
3. Should be willing to be corrected if the bishops, priests, and deacons honestly speak the word of God.
What is presented here is a picture of the leadership crisis as visible in the Indian Orthodox Church. A priest laments about the awful situation existing today, and he places most of the blame on the laity in general, and particularly on the lay people who venture to assume a leadership role.
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