In our section The role of a Priest we address why we no longer need Priests to access God on our behalf. Since Jesus’ death and resurrection, we have been made righteous before God, so do not require a consecrated Priest to act as an intermediary between man and God.
However, since the apostles first gathered together believers of Christ, there have been appointed roles in these groups to help teach and guide believers in the ways of Christ.
Paul describes these roles in Ephesians 4 verse 11 – 12 when he says: “And he (Jesus) gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors, and teachers, to equip the saints (the believers) for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.”
The body of Christ is another term for the church. These roles that Paul describes, Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers all exist; “so that we (the church) may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine…” (Ephesians 4 verse 14).
In other words, these roles are assigned to guide the church and teach them God’s word, so they won’t be led astray by bad or false teaching. So, whilst ordination is not a biblical concept, the role of an apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher, are all encouraged within church communities.
In the 3rd Century a document was written called the ‘Apostolic Tradition of Hippolytus’ which describes the ordination and ministry of bishops and deacons. These man-made guidelines for holy orders, are the basis of what the Roman Catholic Church use today.
By the 16th Century many began to question the authority given to Bishops and Priests, rightly arguing that this role was not needed because of Christ’s death and resurrection. They said that whilst churches needed guidance and teaching, as Paul also said in Ephesians 4, these roles should be appointed by the communities themselves.
The Roman Catholic Church rejected this and reaffirmed the need for Bishops and Priests by insisting (in 1563 at the Council of Trent) on the practice of ordination to support their belief that only those who are ordained can administer the Eucharist.
To conclude; there absolutely is a role in the church for teachers and pastors, to guide and lead the church. However, the practices and privileges that the Roman Catholic Church have attached to ordination are unbiblical.
To understand why the Roman Catholic Church exists as a hierarchical structure of The Pope, the Bishops, the Priests etc. you can see the history of how the Roman Catholic Church grew out of the fall of the Roman Empire.