Priest, presbyter, bishop, overseer, elder, deacon--what do these terms really mean? How did they evolve from the earliest days of Christianity to what we now know as bishops, priests, and deacons? How do they relate to the "priesthood of all the baptized"--and indeed, which is "higher," the latter or the ordained priesthood? Renowned Dominican theologian Jean-Pierre Torrell provides a thoughtful and thought-provoking discussion of these and other questions concerning the priesthood and the sacrament of Orders and the fact that all the baptized are "a chosen race, a royal priesthood," as 1 Peter expresses it. In his search for the truth Torrell, like his spiritual brother Aquinas, has no ideological ax to grind. He simply marshals his vast array of resources spanning from Scripture itself through the church fathers and medieval theologians right up to the Second Vatican Council, puts them into conversation, and lets them speak for themselves. A Priestly People should be required for all preparing for Orders as well as all students and teachers of dogmatic, sacramental, and liturgical theology and ecclesiology. +
