The Lord Jesus builds up the Church, which is His Body – the Body of Christ. In building up the Church, He uses truly converted Christians, not only priests or monks. Every baptized Christian, who has been converted and received the Spirit of Christ, should thirst after the salvation of souls, especially those living around him. It is a mistake to think that it is the task of priests or monks or special missionaries to convert people. A priest should be a shepherd, but sheep give birth to sheep, shepherds don’t. So every Christian has a duty of mission – he should be an evangelist to this effect. He is called to save the souls in personal contact, face to face, in the place where he is. Naturally, a Christian cannot be an evangelist if he is spiritually dead – i.e. if he is just baptized but does not have the Spirit of Christ and does not have at heart the salvation of his own soul and of the souls who follow the broad way to destruction. The truth is that such Christians, by their bad example, by their words or even by pressure, draw the souls onto the broad way that leads to destruction.

When someone has been converted, one needs a kind of spiritual care. At the time of the beginnings of Christianity, this service was performed by godparents. The convert was called a catechumen. He was under instruction for three years before receiving baptism and becoming a Christian. This preparation pertains to the ministry of the teacher who teaches the fundamental truths of Christianity contained in the Catechism. In addition, the teacher gives instruction in the Scriptures, explaining how to follow Christ, how to fight against sin, against evil and against those who try to drag a Christian back onto the broad way.

The ministry of the prophet – the prophet should be a man experienced in the spiritual life who knows the cunning of the human heart and can discern the Spirit of truth from the spirit of lies. Or, in other words, the Spirit of God from the purely human or even diabolic spirit. For example, when teachers gradually start to theorize, the prophet has to warn either them directly or the competent authority of this serious fault. This is what has happened in the Church of late years. So-called theologians have been inventing and improving different theories, conforming Christianity to the world, and consequently they have conformed themselves to the world so much that they have actually become one with the world and received the spirit of the world. The prophets did not exercise their ministry in the Church; as Jesus says, they killed the prophets, if not physically, then spiritually, because they exposed their false path and thus irritated them. Thus the prophets were killed by an abuse of the apostolic office, and the voice of truth which pointed to the sound teaching was stifled. The Church has found herself in a situation where the Holy Spirit has been cast away and what has remained is a mere structure which enforces strict obedience to those who are in power. They demand that people obey them more than God. And today we can see the fruits worldwide – gender ideology, homosexuality, drug addiction, euthanasia… and the apostles are silent. The prophets have been killed both in the Church and in Christian territories. There is no living Church without the prophets. The prophet not only warns of the danger of heresies or a different spirit, but also encourages the faithful on the right path. And when the teacher begins to lose the Spirit and becomes a mere eloquent preacher “pleasing the ear”, the task of the prophet is to say: Stop! We have become attuned to the ways of the world and betrayed the ways of God. Though Christian terms are used, they become mere phrases. The prophet calls for repentance. We have the example of the Old Testament prophets and John the Baptist. They warned the Church hierarchy as well as the secular government, and were persecuted and killed.

If someone prophesies through the Spirit – and this can be done by every Christian who has received the Spirit of God – it does not mean that he is a prophet. The prophet is the one who is persecuted for the sake of truth and God’s Word, and endures to the end.

The ministry of the pastor – it is the ministry of a priest, and especially of every orthodox bishop. When problems arise between priests and believers, he must be able to solve them wisely, to prevent quarrels, to point out the mistakes of both sides, and to lead them in love to unity with the teaching of Christ through true repentance – and he himself must set an example. The ministry of the pastor in small should be fulfilled by each leader of a living community. This is not about domination; this is service requiring extremely great patience and humility.

The apostle is the one who is responsible for the apostolic teaching. It is above all the bishop, whose duty is to protect the flock from heresies which have spread widely nowadays and destroy the whole Church at the root. Such an apostle is persecuted by false apostles who just abuse their office and are heretics themselves, have neither unity with Christ nor His Spirit.

If these ministries work properly, there is a living Church.

If an ordinary Christian carries out mission, he fulfils the ministry of both the teacher and the prophet to some extent.

Download: Reflection on Eph 4:11-12