A frequent question asked by many young people, and not only them, is: who are the bishop, priest, and deacon, and what do they do?
It might seem like a trivial question, but these three roles are often confused. To clarify, Don Philip Goyret, author of Volume 20 in the Jubilee Notebooks series, entitled The Pope, Bishops, Priests, and Deacons, can help us.
So, let us identify the tasks of the bishop, the priest, and the deacon, and what they have in common.
The bishop: the mouth and heart of Christ
The sacrament of Holy Orders comprises three degrees, which indicate a greater or lesser intensity of participation in the one priesthood of Christ. They are the episcopate, the presbyterate, and the diaconate.
Episcopal Ordination confers the fullness of the sacrament of Holy Orders, makes the bishop a successor of the Apostles, incorporates him into the college of bishops, sharing with the Pope and the other bishops concern for the people of God, and entrusts him with the essential offices of teaching, sanctifying, and governing.
The function of teaching is understood as the “preaching of the Gospel”: the bishop is called to make the light of the Word of God present. He does not spread his own ideas or whatever pleases him, but proclaims the God revealed in Christ; for this reason, he is the mouth and heart of Christ.
Another task of the bishop is to sanctify people, especially through the sacraments. At the heart of the task of sanctifying is the Eucharist, celebrated and lived with intensity.
The bishop’s mission of governing consists in guiding, with the authority of Christ, the people whom God has entrusted to him. It is important to bear in mind that Jesus’ way of governing is not one of domination, but the humble and loving service expressed through the washing of feet.
The priest: shepherding the faithful
The sacrament of Holy Orders, through the anointing of the Spirit, consecrates the priest with an indelible spiritual character that configures him to Christ the priest and enables him to act in his name.
The priest is consecrated to preach the Gospel, celebrate divine worship, especially the Eucharist, and be the shepherd of the faithful.
Priests exercise their ministry in dependence on and in communion with the bishop. Together with the bishop, they form a single presbyterate, although assigned different duties. In individual local communities, they make the bishop present, share some of his functions and pastoral concern, and exercise them daily with love.
The deacon: one who serves
The diaconate is the third degree of the priesthood and is intended to assist and serve the bishop and priests. “Deacon” means “one who serves.”
Not only aspiring priests but also laymen and married men can become deacons as part of the permanent diaconate, with the difference that an unmarried layman, once ordained, remains celibate.
And what does the deacon do? The deacon can administer Baptism, preserve and distribute the Eucharist, assist at and bless marriages, bring viaticum to the dying, read Sacred Scripture to the faithful, instruct and exhort the people, preside over worship and the prayer of the faithful, administer sacramentals, and preside over funeral rites and burials.
In the Church, the deacon is the living image of Christ who serves, who out of love bends down to wash the disciples’ feet, who takes on the suffering of the weakest, who proclaims the Word, who draws close to everyone, and who offers his own life in sacrifice.
What they have in common
These three figures are connected by having received, at different degrees, the sacrament of Holy Orders, through which the one priesthood of Christ is made present.
The being and actions of the bishop, priest, and deacon are aimed at the eternal salvation of all people.
