The Priesthood Established by God in the Old Testament
The priests are only the descendants of Aaron:
“And you shall gird them with sashes, Aaron and his sons, and put the hats on them. The priesthood shall be theirs for a perpetual statute. So you shall consecrate Aaron and his sons” (Ex. 29:9)
The priesthood is handed down together with the holy garments, by anointing:
“And the holy garments of Aaron shall be his sons’ after him, to be anointed in them and to be consecrated in them” (Ex. 29:29)
An outsider who approached the sacred service had to die. The task of the priesthood was to watch over this:
“So you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall attend to their priesthood; but the outsider who comes near shall be put to death” (Num. 3:10)
In detail:
“Then the LORD said to Aaron: ‘You and your sons and your father’s house with you shall bear the iniquity related to the sanctuary, and you and your sons with you shall bear the iniquity associated with your priesthood. Also bring with you your brethren of the tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, that they may be joined with you and serve you while you and your sons are with you before the tabernacle of witness. They [the Levites] shall attend to your needs and all the needs of the tabernacle; but they shall not come near the articles of the sanctuary and the altar, lest they die — they [the Levites] and you [Aaron and his sons] also. <...> Therefore you and your sons with you shall attend to your priesthood for everything at the altar and behind the veil; and you shall serve. I give your priesthood to you as a gift for service, but the outsider who comes near shall be put to death’” (Num. 18:1-3,7)
The Change of the Priesthood in the New Testament
The Lord Jesus Christ makes the New Covenant (Luke. 22:20; Heb. 8:8), changes the law, changes the priesthood (changes, and does not abolish):
“For the priesthood (ἱερωσύνης) being changed, of necessity there is also a change of the law” (Heb. 7:12)
The Savior sends the Holy Spirit to the apostles, establishing the hierarchy of the priesthood according to the order of Melchizedek, and Himself becomes the High Priest:
“even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all, first being translated ‘king of righteousness,’ and then also king of Salem, meaning ‘king of peace,’ without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, remains a priest continually” (Heb. 6:20; 7:1-3)
“Now this is the main point of the things we are saying: We have such a High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens” (Heb. 8:1)
The Formation of the Church Hierarchy
On the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit is sent to the apostles and to the whole church assembly, to the whole Church. But even before this day the Savior appears to the apostles alone, and to them alone He sends the Holy Spirit, giving them, as priests, the authority to forgive sins, that is, establishing the hierarchy:
“So Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.’ And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained’” (John. 20:21-23)
Likewise, in the Old Testament church the work of cleansing from sin lay precisely with the priesthood:
“And it shall be, when he is guilty in any of these matters, that he shall confess that he has sinned in that thing; and he shall bring his trespass offering to the LORD for his sin which he has committed, a female from the flock, a lamb or a kid of the goats as a sin offering. So the priest shall make atonement for him concerning his sin” (Lev. 5:5-6)
The Authority of the New Hierarchy
The Lord gives the apostles the keys of the Heavenly Kingdom and the authority to forbid and permit (to bind and loose):
“And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Matt. 16:19)
“Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Matt. 18:18)
The apostles chose and ordained the priesthood, but Scripture says that it was the Holy Spirit who appointed the presbyters to oversee the Church:
“he sent to Ephesus and called for the elders of the church. And when they had come to him, he said to them: <...> ‘Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood’” (Act. 20:17-18,28)
All this is the fulfillment of an Old Testament prophecy, about which more follows.
The Prophecy of the New Testament Priesthood
In the Old Testament church priests were appointed only from the Jewish people, the tribe of Levi, the family of Aaron. But in the New Testament Church priests will be appointed from all nations, and not only from the Jewish people (the family of Aaron):
“It shall be that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come and see My glory. I will set a sign among them; and those among them who escape I will send to the nations: to Tarshish and Pul and Lud, who draw the bow, and Tubal and Javan, to the coastlands afar off who have not heard My fame nor seen My glory. And they shall declare My glory among the Gentiles. Then they shall bring all your brethren for an offering to the LORD out of all nations, on horses and in chariots and in litters, on mules and on camels, to My holy mountain Jerusalem,’ says the LORD, ‘as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the LORD. And I will also take some of them for priests and Levites,’ says the LORD” (Isa. 66:18-21)
The Teaching on Apostolic Succession and Ordination
The Ordination of Bishops
Bishop Timothy has a special gift through the laying on of the apostle’s hands, together with the laying on of the hands of other bishops already ordained before:
“Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands” (2 Tim. 1:6)
“Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership” (1 Tim. 4:14) (Greek: τοῦ πρεσβυτερίου — “of the presbytery”)
Simon the sorcerer saw that not every Christian is able to lay on hands for the giving of the Holy Spirit. Literally: not everyone has such authority. He brought a bribe to the apostles so that they would give him such authority too (the apostles cursed him):
“And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, saying, ‘Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit.’ But Peter said to him, ‘Your money perish with you, because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money!’” (Act. 8:18-20)
The Ordination of the Apostle Paul
“As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’ Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away” (Act. 13:2-3)
The Ordination of Deacons
“whom they set before the apostles; and when they had prayed, they laid hands on them” (Act. 6:6; 21:8)
The Teaching on Ordination
The apostolic teaching on the laying on of hands:
“of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment” (Heb. 6:2)
A warning not to hurry to ordain (to the priesthood):
“Do not lay hands on anyone hastily, nor share in other people’s sins; keep yourself pure” (1 Tim. 5:22)
Bishops and Presbyters — the Difference
The terms bishop (Greek ἐπίσκοπος — “overseer”, “supervisor”) and presbyter (Greek πρεσβύτερος — “elder, head of a community”) have a mixed usage and are as it were interchangeable terms. However, the functions and authority of particular people are clearly visible, whatever they are called. Titus was to complete the apostle’s work and appoint presbyters in Crete:
“For this reason I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking, and appoint elders in every city as I commanded you” (Titus. 1:5)
Timothy could judge his presbyters, rebuke and forbid believers:
“Do not receive an accusation against an elder except from two or three witnesses” (1 Tim. 5:19)
“Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching” (2 Tim. 4:2)
Thus Titus and Timothy were bishops in today’s understanding, even if they were called presbyters.
Are All Priests?
The Parallel with Old Testament Words
The Apostle Peter repeats Old Testament words, calling all Christians a royal priesthood and a holy nation:
“But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Pet. 2:9)
The same words in the Old Testament are addressed to all Israel:
“Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel” (Ex. 19:5-6)
Thus God already calls Old Testament Israel a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. However, in the liturgical sense not all Jews were priests. According to the Law, only the priesthood of Aaron could enter the Tabernacle, and the others would have had to pay with their own lives for entering the Tabernacle, that is, they would have had to die (Num. 3:10; 3:38; 18:7).
If in the Old Testament we separate the words “kingdom of priests” (not all) and “holy nation” (all), then the same separation will have to be admitted in the New Testament words of the apostle: royal priesthood (not all), holy nation (all) (1 Pet. 2:9). The statements can be understood either literally or allegorically, but in any case both phrases will have to be connected and understood accordingly, in one key.
An Attempt to Establish a Universal Priesthood in the Old Testament
In the Old Testament God established an order according to which only the descendants of Aaron could be priests:
“And the holy garments of Aaron shall be his sons’ after him, to be anointed in them and to be consecrated in them” (Ex. 29:29)
Even from the family of Aaron not all could become priests:
“No man of the descendants of Aaron the priest, who has a defect, shall come near to offer the offerings made by fire to the LORD. He has a defect; he shall not come near to offer the bread of his God. <...> only he shall not go near the veil or approach the altar, because he has a defect, lest he profane My sanctuaries; for I the LORD sanctify them” (Lev. 21:21,23)
Against this divine order rose up Korah, Dathan, Abiram and On, demanding of the prophet Moses that priests be appointed from the whole people, and not only from the family of Aaron. They referred to that very phrase (Ex. 19:5-6), saying that all are holy:
“They gathered together against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, ‘You take too much upon yourselves, for all the congregation is holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the LORD?’” (Num. 16:3)
“and that He has brought you near to Himself, you and all your brethren, the sons of Levi, with you? And are you seeking the priesthood also?” (Num. 16:10)
Later the glory of God appeared, and the earth swallowed the rebels:
“And Korah gathered all the congregation against them at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. Then the glory of the LORD appeared to all the congregation. And the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ‘Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment’” (Num. 16:19-21)
God said that the offerings of the rebels should be thrown out of the censers, and that from the censers themselves a covering for the altar should be made as a reminder to future generations:
“Tell Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, to pick up the censers out of the blaze, for they are holy, and scatter the fire some distance away. The censers of these men who sinned against their own souls, let them be made into hammered plates as a covering for the altar. Because they presented them before the LORD, therefore they are holy; and they shall be a sign to the children of Israel” (Num. 16:37-38)
“Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come” (1 Cor. 10:11)
The Apostle Jude also recalls the ruinous stubbornness of Korah:
“Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah” (Jude. 1:11)
A prophecy is also given that in the last times such people will rise up:
“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers” (2 Tim. 4:3)
The Prophecy of the Appointment of Priests in the New Testament
Already in the Old Testament there was a prophecy that in the New Testament priests and ministers would still be appointed, but from all nations, and not only from the family of Aaron:
“I will gather all nations and tongues <...> And I will also take some of them for priests and Levites,’ says the LORD” (Isa. 66:18-21)
The New Testament indicates that no one can take the priesthood to himself:
“For every high priest taken from among men is appointed for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins. He can have compassion on those who are ignorant and going astray, since he himself is also subject to weakness. Because of this he is required as for the people, so also for himself, to offer sacrifices for sins. And no man takes this honor to himself, but he who is called by God, just as Aaron was. So also Christ did not glorify Himself to become High Priest, but it was He who said to Him: ‘You are My Son, today I have begotten You’” (Heb. 5:1-5)
Simon the Sorcerer, Who Believed and Was Baptized, Does Not Have the Gift of Imparting the Gifts of the Holy Spirit
Simon the sorcerer, as it is written, believed and was baptized:
“Then Simon himself also believed; and when he was baptized he continued with Philip, and was amazed, seeing the miracles and signs which were done” (Act. 8:13)
But when he understood that not all Christians can impart the gifts of the Holy Spirit, he tried to buy this gift from the apostles. The apostles cursed him for this:
“And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, saying, ‘Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit.’ But Peter said to him, ‘Your money perish with you, because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money! You have neither part nor portion in this matter, for your heart is not right in the sight of God. Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity’” (Act. 8:18-23)
From this it is clear that not all Christians were priests possessing the authority and the gift of God to impart the Holy Spirit. Even the deacon Philip, who baptized the Samaritans, did not possess such a gift (Act. 21:8). And those who possess this gift received it through the laying on of the hands of the apostles (2 Tim. 1:6) and of the priesthood (1 Tim. 4:14).
So:
Not all received the commission to teach and baptize: “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matt. 28:19)
Not all received the command: “do this in remembrance of Me” (Luke. 22:19; 1 Cor. 11:24)
Not all were given the authority to bind and loose: “whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Matt. 18:18)
Not all were given the authority to forgive and retain sins: “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained” (John. 20:23)
Not all were given the authority to lay on hands to grant the Holy Spirit: “through the laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given” (Act. 8:18)
It is precisely the presbyters whom the apostle commands to be called, through whose prayer and sacred action (they anointed with oil) the sins of the sick person may be forgiven: “Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven” (James. 5:14-15)
The Royal Priesthood — How Should It Be Understood?
Both in the Old Testament and in the New, every believer is called to be a priest in his own temple — in his body. Man is the temple of God, and a priest is the one who offers sacrifice to God in this temple. It is precisely with this thought that the Apostle Peter begins before speaking of the royal priesthood:
“you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Pet. 2:5)
Speaking of the royal priesthood, the Apostle Peter in the same epistle speaks of the shepherds and the need to obey them:
“Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders (Greek: πρεσβυτέροις — “to the presbyters”). Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for ‘God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble’” (1 Pet. 5:5)
There is one more statement about Christians as priests:
“and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen” (Rev. 1:5-6; Rev. 5:9-10; Rev. 20:6)
In whatever sense a Christian is a king, in the same sense he is also a priest. If he does not now rule over outside people, then neither is he a priest for outside people. Such an explanation is honest toward the context and agrees with common sense.
A Christian is called to reign in his own body, enthroning his mind over the desires of his body, and having cleansed this temple of God (his body and heart), he must offer there sacrifices pleasing to God: pure thoughts, words, deeds, prayers and praises.
Respect for Priests
“Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine” (1 Tim. 5:17)
“With all your soul fear the Lord, and revere his priests” (Sir. 7:29)
“Fear the Lord and honor the priest, and give him his portion, as you have been commanded” (Sir. 7:31)
The Need to Obey the Priesthood
“Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you” (Heb. 13:17)
“Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for ‘God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble’” (1 Pet. 5:5)
In the Old Testament, disobedience to the priest-judge is a mortal sin:
“Now the man who acts presumptuously and will not heed the priest who stands to minister there before the LORD your God, or the judge, that man shall die. So you shall put away the evil from Israel” (Deut. 17:12)
Criticism
Is the Descent of the Holy Spirit Through the Laying On of Hands Only Simon’s Perception?
The Orthodox show quotes in Scripture about the special gift of imparting the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands. Among such quotes is the case of the sorcerer (magician) Simon.
Simon the sorcerer saw that not every Christian is able to lay on hands for the giving of the Holy Spirit. Literally: not everyone has such authority. He brought a bribe to the apostles so that they would give him such authority too (the apostles cursed him):
“And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, saying, ‘Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit.’ But Peter said to him, ‘Your money perish with you, because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money!’” (Act. 8:18-20)
Critics say that this is only the mistaken perception of Simon the sorcerer. He was a magician, they say, so he misunderstood everything.
Was the Apostle Paul also a magician?
“Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands” (2 Tim. 1:6)
“Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership” (1 Tim. 4:14)
The apostle says directly that the gift of God is through his laying on of hands.
But let us return to the case of Simon. This account from the Acts of the Apostles is written by the Evangelist Luke (Luke. 1:3; Act. 1:1). He writes not about some supposedly mistaken understanding of events by Simon the sorcerer, but that Simon only saw this. And what did he see? The Evangelist Luke writes what: “that through the laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given” — this is what he saw. It is not Simon who says this, but the Evangelist Luke. Further, from the words of the Apostle Peter it becomes clear that this is really so: the apostle can impart this gift of God, but he accuses Simon precisely of having wished to obtain the gift of God for money.
Was the Apostle Paul Ordained Not Through People?
The Orthodox show that the Apostle Paul was ordained to his ministry by the Church:
“As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’ Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away” (Act. 13:2-3)
Critics object that the Apostle Paul was not ordained by people, citing the verse:
“Paul, an apostle (not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised Him from the dead)” (Gal. 1:1)
But this claim is groundless, for here only the manner of election is spoken of, and not the imparting of the gift of God.
Before the laying on of hands on Saul, it is indeed the Holy Spirit Himself who chooses him and commands the Church to separate Saul for the ministry to which, as it is written, the Holy Spirit had called him. Why the critics cite this verse is unclear, since there is no contradiction. Saul was chosen not by people and not through people, but the Holy Spirit Himself chooses him, commanding the Church to separate him for the ministry, after which the Church ordains Saul:
“As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’ Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away” (Act. 13:2-3)
Thus the election is made by the Holy Spirit, and grace is sent not without the Church, but through her — through the laying on of the hands of her ministers.
The critics try to justify the absence in the communities they created of any direct connection with the first Christians, and the independent election of pastors and teachers among themselves. Obviously, people who themselves did not have authority from God to lead and teach the Church could give no one such authority. But it is important for them to show the probability that the Holy Spirit could have done so — could have appointed their pastors to the ministry without any connection with the Church that already existed before them.
However, although the Holy Spirit is free to do whatever He wishes, we do not see in Scripture a single case of God appointing people to ministry and saving them separately from the one and visible Church created by Christ.
God chose Saul, and although He undoubtedly could have appointed him to the ministry Himself, He did not do so without His Church. We see the same with the baptism of the first Gentiles — the Ethiopian eunuch (Act. 8:27) and the centurion Cornelius (Act. 10:1).
The Ethiopian eunuch read Scripture but did not understand it. God could Himself have instructed the eunuch and imparted to him the saving grace of Baptism, but He does not do this separately from the Church. God sends the Church to the eunuch, which teaches him to understand Scripture and imparts grace in Baptism.
The centurion Cornelius prayed to God and did good works. God could Himself have imparted saving grace to Cornelius, but He does not do this separately from the Church. Instead, He sends an angel to him and commands him to find the Church (in the person of the Apostle Peter). Only when the apostle comes does the Holy Spirit come upon Cornelius, although He could just as well have come earlier without the apostle, but He did not do so.
Saul (the future Apostle Paul), a persecutor of Christians, goes to Damascus to persecute Christians. Christ appears to him as a blinding light, and Saul asks Him what he should do. Christ God could Himself have given grace to Saul, but He does not do this separately from the Church, but commands him to find the Church in Damascus (in the person of the apostle Ananias), and only there, through the Church, does the apostle receive healing (Act. 9:17), the grace of the Holy Spirit (Act. 9:17) and the saving grace of Baptism, which washed away his sins (Act. 22:16).
It is the same in all cases, as also with the ordination of Saul to the special apostolic ministry: God Himself chooses Saul, and God could Himself have imparted His gift to him, but He does not do this separately from His Church. The Holy Spirit addresses the Church, and the Church ordains Saul (Act. 13:2-3).
So all the claims of societies separate from the Church to a special calling of their pastors separate from the Church have no basis in Scripture. There are simply no such cases in Scripture.
The Laying On of Hands Was Borrowed from Paganism
Those who created a church on their own must first of all prove the fall of the Church once created by Christ. For if the Church has not fallen, then their new community is not needed, and one should simply enter the Church of Christ. To prove the fall of the Church, the technique of “labeling”, with labels as frightening as possible, is often used. Thus the Church is often accused of falling away from God into paganism through borrowing pagan practices, among which are named:
the existence of holy temples,
holy places,
holy objects,
holy images,
special sacred people (priests),
holy rites and sacraments (supposedly recipes for influencing God), among which is the laying on of hands.
This is an extremely absurd accusation, for all this was established by God Himself, and all this is spoken of in Scripture in plain text. The pagans are dragged in here only in order to hang a label on the Church. All these sacred buildings, places, objects, actions and people are present in the Scripture of the Old and New Testaments, which one can learn about from a separate article:
The Laying On of Hands in the Old Testament
Jacob blessed his grandsons, laying his hands on them with prayer:
“Then Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on Ephraim’s head, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh’s head. <…> And he blessed Joseph, and said: ‘God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has fed me all my life long to this day, the Angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; let my name be named upon them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth’” (Gen. 48:14-16)
God commanded the prophet Moses to appoint Joshua the son of Nun to service through the laying on of hands:
“And the LORD said to Moses: ‘Take Joshua the son of Nun with you, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him’ <...> So Moses did as the LORD commanded him. He took Joshua and set him before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation. And he laid his hands on him and inaugurated him, just as the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses” (Num. 27:18,22-23)
“Now Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him; so the children of Israel heeded him, and did as the LORD had commanded Moses” (Deut. 34:9)
God commanded that the Levites be appointed to service at the temple through the laying on of hands:
“So you shall bring the Levites before the LORD, and the children of Israel shall lay their hands on the Levites” (Num. 8:10)
The Laying On of Hands in the New Testament
“Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands” (2 Tim. 1:6)
“Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership” (1 Tim. 4:14)
“of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment” (Heb. 6:2)
After studying Scripture, the accusations against the Church are surprising, that she supposedly after the apostles took these practices and the attitude to them from the pagans, when the apostles themselves write about the gift of God given by them through the laying on of their hands, speaking of it as part of the teaching. All this is not an innovation (the manner itself), but something that had already existed for centuries in this same milieu before the apostles, having been established not by pagans, but by God Himself.
Were They Not Called Priests in the New Testament?
The word “priesthood” occurs in a New Testament context. Christ brought about a change of the priesthood, and not its abolition:
“For the priesthood (ἱερωσύνης) being changed, of necessity there is also a change of the law” (Heb. 7:12)
Christ became the eternal High Priest, but priests were not abolished. Their choosing and appointment is spoken of in the prophecy:
“I will gather all nations and tongues <…> And I will also take some of them for priests (ἱερεῖς, כֹּהֲנִ֥ים) and Levites,’ says the LORD” (Isa. 66:18-21)
Moreover, not just anyone, but precisely the apostles were in fact priests. In the Old Testament the duty of cleansing a person from sin lay upon the priest (Lev. 5:5-6), and so in the New Testament, at the formation of the new church hierarchy, this authority is given to it — to forgive or retain sins:
“So Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.’ And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained’” (John. 20:21-23)
The most ancient Christians confirm that presbyters were also priests: quotes.