UNITED STATES
OMG!
by David Timbs
If clericalism looms large in today’s church, it has had centuries to grow strong. David Timbs traces the roots of clericalism back to the end of the Apostolic age, at the end of the first century C.E. “By the early second century, “overseers” were assuming the role of apostle and began to exert authority over who would preside…” Modern clericalism gained traction at the Council of Trent, but Timbs highlghts today’s excesses in the power and prestige of the priesthood. “The Sacrament of Orders has assumed a de facto importance in Christian existence superior to that of Baptism. The consequent damage done to the dignity of Baptism cannot be underestimated. The ministry of Sacrificial Ritualism has been elevated to a status superior to the wider and more fundamental calls to discipleship, service and proclamation entrusted to all the Baptised.”
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