What a Clergyman Should and Should Not Be

It is truly an exceptional honour but also a great responsibility for all of us that we have been chosen by God to be clergymen. The Lord Himself affirms: “You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you” (John 15:16). The Greek word for a clergyman is κληρικος, which means the person who was chosen by lot (κληρωθηκε) to serve God and men. In the early Church, “they chose Stephen, a man full of the Holy Spirit,” and then the Apostles ordained him a deacon. St. John Chrysostom says: “grace by itself is insufficient; an ordination is also required for an addition to the Holy Spirit.” This means that through ordination, those laymen who have a spiritual life receive a special priesthood. The question that ensues is: does every clergyman live in accordance with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, or is perhaps his entire lifestyle inappropriate for his sacred rank? So, ‘What should a clergyman be, and what should he not be?’ Allow me to begin with the latter.

What Should a Clergyman Not Be?

First of all, the Apostle Paul writes that a clergyman should “not be given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre ... not a brawler, not covetous” (1 Tim. 3:3). In other words, he should not be violent, should not seek profit through dishonourable means, should avoid arguments, and should not love money, “for the love of money is the root of all evil” (1 Tim. 6:10). He adds that a clergyman “must be blameless as the steward of God; not self-willed, not soon angry” (Tit. 1:7). In other words, a clergyman should be above reproach, not overbearing, and not hot-tempered. Such cases plus various other weaknesses of clergymen remind us of the saying of St. John Chrysostom that “God does not ordain all [clergymen], but He operates through all [clergymen].”

Venerable John the Long-Suffering of the Kiev Caves

Saint John the Much-Suffering pursued asceticism at the Kiev Caves Lavra, accepting many sorrows for the sake of virginity.

The ascetic recalled that from the time of his youth he had suffered much, tormented by fleshly lust, and nothing could deliver him from it, neither hunger nor thirst nor heavy chains. He then went into the cave where the relics of St Anthony rested, and he fervently prayed to the holy Abba. After a day and a night the much-suffering John heard a voice: “John! It is necessary for you to become a recluse, in order to weaken the vexation by silence and seclusion, and the Lord shall help you by the prayers of His monastic saints.” The saint settled into the cave from that time, and only after thirty years did he conquer the fleshly passions.



Tense and fierce was the struggle upon the thorny way on which the monk went to victory. Sometimes the desire took hold of him to forsake his seclusion, but then he resolved on still greater effort. The holy warrior of Christ dug out a pit and with the onset of Great Lent he climbed into it, and he covered himself up to the shoulders with ground. He spent the whole of Lent in such a position, but the burning of his former passions did not leave him. The enemy of salvation brought terror upon the ascetic, wishing to expel him from the cave: a fearsome serpent, breathing fire and sparks, tried to swallow the saint. For several days these evil doings continued.

The Life of St. Nektarios the Wonderworker

His Childhood Years

Anastasios Kephalas, son of Dimosthenis and Vassiliki, was born on October 1st, 1846, in Eastern Selyvria of Thrace (Now Turkey). He was one of six children. His parents were very poor but pious Christians who brought up their children according to the teachings of our Church. When his mother taught him Psalm 50, he liked to repeat the verse: I shall teach thy ways unto the wicked and sinners shall be converted unto thee. His early years were spent at the local elementary school in Silivria. Upon completion of his school curriculum there were no schools in the area for him to continue his academic studies and he was too poor to study abroad.  But he did have a thirst for knowledge and a love of God. This love urged him on for he wanted to become a theologian. He wanted to educate himself so that he could love the Lord even more, and as such, serve him better.

Sadened by the state of poverty that his parents were in and urged by his ever-growing love for our Lord Jesus Christ, at the age of fourteen and with his parents’ blessings, Anastasios went to Constantinople to find work for their financial assistance and in hope that he would be able to continue his studies and fullfill his dreams.

The young Anastasios set off then for the seaport where he would board a boat to Contsantinouple. He was faced with a problem, however. Anastasios did not have the money to pay the required fare for the boat. Nevertheless, as the boat for Constantinople was ready to sail Anastasios bravely walked up to the captain and asked to take him along. The captain, however, seeing him so young, said to him jokingly, "Take a walk, my little one, and when you come back I will take you." The boy understood what the captain was actually telling him, and began to walk away sadly. The captain turned on the engines in order to sail.