What is the role of the priest or bishop as an interpreter of scripture?

Origen links the priest’s role of offering the sacrifice for himself and the people with his primary role as a teacher.

Joseph W. Trigg clarifies how Origen believes that the main work of the priests of the Old Testament was ritual service, while that of the New Testament is education.

“The Old Testament priesthood was appealing to Origen, in the first place, because priests were a tribe apart, entirely consecrated to God’s service. On his return to Alexandria after his first sojourn in Caesarea, Origen wrote about this at the beginning of his Commentary on John . Priests, he explains, are persons consecrated to the study of the word of God, and high priests are those who excel at such study. There can be no question that these grades correspond to ecclesiastical offices. Priests, and the high priest in particular, also have privileged access to God. Thus, Origen follows Clement of Alexandria in interpreting the priest as a spiritual man but if the priest has a privileged access to divine secrets, this is only so that, as a teacher, he might mediate God’s word to others.

“Origen transforms the Jewish ritual legislation into an exposition of the priest’s vocation as a teacher. For example, removing the skin of the sacrificial victim symbolizes removing the veil of the letter from God’s word, and taking fine incense in the hand symbolizes making fine distinctions in the interpretation of difficult passages. He also interprets sacrifice as the progressive liberation of the soul from the body that makes possible the apprehension of higher truths. Thus, the Levitical priesthood comes to symbolize a moral and intellectual elite of inspired teachers of scripture. This transformation culminates in Origen’s interpretation of the high priest’s vestments, each item of which symbolizes a spiritual qualification.”¹⁶¹⁰

If the apostle is an inspired exegete, he is also, like the priest, a teacher by vocation, responsible for mediating God’s word to persons at all levels of spiritual progress. Jesus made this clear when he ordered the disciples to allow little children to come to him, thus signifying that more advanced Christians should condescend to the simple.[1611 ] The “works of an apostle” are, in fact, works of teaching. When Jesus commissioned his disciples and gave them power to give sight to the blind and to raise the dead, he had in mind restoring to sight

1610 Joseph W. Trigg, “The Charismatic Intellectual: Origen’s Understanding of Religious Leadership.” Church History 50, no. 1 (1981): 5–19: pp. 9–10.

1611 Origen, The Commentary of Origen on the Gospel of St. Matthew. Vol. 2 , trans., Ronald E. Heine (Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2018) 15.7: pp. 448–449.

persons “blinded” by false doctrines and raising to life persons “dead” in their sins.¹⁶¹² Being an apostle is not an official position but function verified in the doing. In arguing to this effect Origen cites 1 Corinthians 9:2: “If to others I am not an apostle, at least I am to you, for you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.”¹⁶¹³

Bishops have a special place in the divine economy, since they share responsibility for their congregations with angelic bishops, with whom they cooperate. As a result of these unique responsibilities, bishops have more powers granted to them than are granted to ordinary Christians; though, conversely, more is required of them.¹⁶¹⁴