THE RITUAL OF CONSECRATION The rite of consecration is set upon an important principle; namely, “The sanctification by the blood of the Sacrifice”; together with the consecration for the divine work by the Holy Spirit. 1- The preparation for the ritual of consecration 1 -- 5 2- Washing with water 6 3- Putting on the tunic of priesthood 7 - 9 4- Anointment with the oil 10 - 13 5- The sanctification by the Sacrifice 14 - 32 6- The consecration 33 – 36 1- THE PREPARATION FOR THE RITE OF CONSECRATION: “And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ‘Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garment, the anointing oil, a bull as the sin offering, two rams, and a basket of unleavened bread; and gather all the congregation together at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. So Moses did as the Lord commanded him. And the assembly was gathered together at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. And Moses said to the congregation: ‘This is what the Lord commanded to be done” (1 – 5 With great elaboration, Moses set everything to consummate the rite of consecration, particularly confirming two very important things: (1) If he has set Aaron and his sons, brought them forth; has set the priestly tunics, the anointing oil, the animals to be slaughtered, the cakes for the grain offering; and has gathered together the whole congregation at the door of the tabernacle of meeting; All what he did was according to the commands of God; as the repeated praise of this chapter was: “That is what the Lord commanded to be done” (5); or: “As the Lord had commanded Moses” (4. 13, 17, 21, 29, 36, etc.). It was not the right of the prophet Moses, the first leader of the people, to choose the priests, nor to set the rite of consecrating them, except according to God’s plan and ordinance; to proclaim, that what was realized by the coming of the Lord Christ has been an eternal plan by the Father Himself; according to the words of the Lord: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3: 16); And, “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent; ….that I came forth from You, and they have believed that You sent Me” (John 17: 3, 8). This act of sending the Son does not lessen His own positive role; as according to the apostle: “As Christ also has loved us, and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God, for a sweet smelling aroma; … Just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for it” (Ephesians 5: 2, 25). The Father has ordained it; as a positive role; and not as claimed by some Gnostics, that the Lord Christ is the Lover of mankind, while the Father, God of the Old Testament was cruel and violent. Both the Father and the Son have done their positive roles for our salvation; and their wills utterly conformed, being One in Deity, essence, and will. If it was the Father who sent His Son, who bears the same will of the Father, without any contradiction; … As far as the ordination of the priests is concerned – whatever their rank is – we are committed to deliver the matter into the hands of God, to choose by Himself, and to call whomever He wishes, to work His good will in them. That is why the Lord Christ counsels us to “Pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest” (Matthew 9: 38). By this spirit, the church, in the holy Liturgy of the Eucharist, supplicates, saying: And those who define the word of truth, grant them to Your church to shepherd your herd in peace}. It is the duty of every member of the church – a priest or any member of the congregation – to pray and to supplicate, with fasts and metanoias, to God to choose shepherds according to His own heart. (2) If the priest is the choice of God, and the rite of his ordination is by such an elaborate divine ordinance; God, proclaiming that the priest is ordained for the sake of the congregation, commanded the prophet Moses to gather all the congregation together at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. In other words, the church is not just the priests, but is the congregation as a whole, including the priests as ministers to the people, working to the account of the kingdom of God; and to the account of the holy congregation, and not of their own account. That was what St. John Chrysostom proclaimed in many of his writings, confirming that the priest is a priest only for the sake of the people. By this spirit, the church laws and the writings of the fathers confirm the commitment of the people, not only to pray for the sake of the choice of the priest, but to have a positive role in this choice by the Spirit of God. That is why in the consecration of the father Patriarch: it is proclaimed: [By the work of the Holy Spirit, with a good heart, and the consent of all the congregation…]. And in the consecration of the bishop, the laws of the apostles insist on that {The whole people, together with the priests and the deacons should gather together}; And in the ‘Apolides laws’ it came: [The bishop is chosen from among the people; … And on the day of His consecration, all the priests and the people say: ‘We have chosen him]. According to some scholars, the word ‘assembly’ here, meaning ‘the church’ or ‘Ecclesia’, came for the first time in the Holy Book. As though the church meet for the first time at the anointment, to proclaim her presence through her Highest Priest, our Lord Jesus Christ, anointed as her Head; as the body will never exist except through its union with the Head. 2- WASHING WITH WATER: Before putting the tunics of priesthood on Aaron and his children, the prophet Moses washed them with water (6), to confirm to them two important issues in their priestly life: the first is that the Holy God works in His holy priests, washed of every weakness; and the second, is that the priest – whatever is his rank – is a man under weakness, who needs to be washed first to be able to wash the feet of the others. That is what St. John Chrysostom confirmed to himself and to his brethren the priests, proclaiming the commitment of the priest to care for his own salvation to be able to care for that of his spiritual children; saying: [My words are of more benefit for my life than they are for those who listen to me]. And according to the scholar Origen: [The washing of the priests before putting on their priesthood attires refers to the importance of an overall washing in the water of baptism to be clothed with the Lord Christ; then of the need for continuous washing from evil, through isolation from it, to be always worthy of being clothed with the Lord Jesus Christ]. Of his words: [In truth, we cannot be clothed unless we first wash “Wash yourselves, Make yourselves clean; Put away the evil of your doings” Isaiah 1: 16]. If we do not first wash ourselves, we cannot be clothed with the Lord Jesus Christ, according to the words of the apostle: “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh to fulfill its lusts” (Romans 13: 14). Let Moses wash you up, and let him clothe you by himself. How can Moses wash us up? … In the holy book, Moses represents the law; as is also said in the gospel: “They have Moses and the prophets, let them hear them” (Luke 16: 29). The law of the Lord, then, will wash you up, and will dissolve your defilement, if you listen to it. … You who intend to enjoy the holy baptism, and to gain the grace of the Spirit, you are committed to get purified by the law, namely, to hear the Word of the Lord, and to take away from yourselves your natural transgressions, and to appease your wild nature; so that, once you get humility and meekness, you would be worthy of enjoying the grace of the Holy Spirit… The Lord says through the prophets: “Where is the place of My rest?!’ (Isaiah 66: 1)… “On the one will I look; on him who is poor, and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word” (Isaiah 66: 2). Unless you are meek and humble, and receive the words of God with trembling, the grace of the Holy Spirit would not dwell in you; for the Holy Spirit goes away from the hypocrite and proud soul]. Commenting on the inner washing, St. John Chrysostom says: [Praying with unwashed hands is of no much importance, but to pray with unwashed mind is the most horrible evil. Listen to what the prophet Jeremiah said to the Jews who were too preoccupied with the outer defilement: “O Jerusalem, wash your heart of wickedness, that you may be saved; How long shall your evil thoughts lodge within you?”(Jeremiah 4: 14). I wish we also wash ourselves , not with mire, but with clean water; by giving alms, and not by greed. “Let us turn away from evil and do good” (1 Peter 3: 11).. 3- PUTTING ON THE TUNIC OF PIESTHOOD: Having washed Aaron and his sons, Moses put on them their tunic of priesthood, to let them appear before God, not clothed with fig leaves like the first Adam, nor with garments of skin taken from dead animals (Genesis 3), that proclaim their need to be covered; but they were clothed with the Lord Christ Himself, and hid in Him, being the Highest Priest who works in His priests. According to St. John Chrysostom: [The Lord Himself is the One who works, who proceeds all; We carry out the role of servants, but He Himself is the One who blesses and transform the offerings]. What we say about the priests being clothed with the Lord Christ, to practice their priesthood work, we also say concerning every believer practicing his daily life of worship; as without Him our worship is not received. According to the scholar Origen; [Comparing the tragedy in which the first man dwelt, through sinning, to that of holiness and faith. It is said that God made garments of skin taken from dead animals; which conform with the sinner; being a symbol of death caused by sin, and of his fall and of the perdition of his body. But, being washed and purified by the law, Moses will clothe you with another kinds of tunics, “that your nakedness may not be exposed” (Exodus 20: 26); so “that mortality may be swallowed up by life” (2 Corinthians 5: 4)]. “He put the tunic on him (on Aaron), girded him with the sash, clothed him with the robe, and put the ephod on him; and he girded him with the intricately woven band of the ephod, and with it tied the ephod on him. Then he put the breastplate on him, and he put the Urim and the Thummim in the breastplate. And he put the turban on his head. Also on the turban, on its front, he put the golden plate, the holy crown, as the Lord had commanded Moses” (7-9). Having already spoken about those clothes, and the symbols they carry, in our interpretation of the book of Exodus; I shall only quote here certain comments said by the scholar Origen in his sermons on the book of Leviticus. (1) The priest puts on two tunics – he probably means the tunic and the robe – as, in the old covenant, the law was to be practiced ‘literally’, together with ‘spiritual understanding’. Whereas, in the new covenant, the priests were forbidden by the Lord to put on two tunics (Luke 3: 11); on account of that it is not befitting of them to receive the letter, but to walk by the Spirit. Hence, when the apostles held the first council in Jerusalem, they decided not to burden the Gentiles who entered into faith, with the letter of the law; and provided them only with the tunic of Spirit (acts 15). (2) The priest then girds himself with the sash, and with the band of the ephod; a reference to his commitment to be conservative in talk, as well as in work; to preach by his mouth, as well as by his work, through a virtuous life and the purity of the body. (3) On his breastplate he puts the ‘Urim; and the ‘Thummim’, as a reference to his commitment to have ‘wisdom’, together with ‘understanding’; namely ‘truth’ and ‘knowledge’. [Beside having wisdom, the priest needs to have knowledge, in order to be able to answer anyone who asks him about the cause for faith and truth]. (4) The turban or the crown: “And he put the turban on his head. Also on the turban, on its front, he put the golden plate, the holy crown, as the Lord has commanded Moses” (9), on which the name of the Lord is engraved (Exodus 28: 36); for He is the Head, and the adornment of all the members. [The fullness of the knowledge of God is what adorns your head]. 4- ANOINTMENT WITH OIL: In the second chapter, speaking about the grain offering, we saw that the oil refers to the anointment; and that the anointment enjoyed by Aaron and his sons was a symbol of the Lord Christ, who was not anointed by oil, but by his Holy Spirit, being the Highest Priest, who presents His life a burnt offering of love for our sins. Aaron and his sons were anointed to have the right to offer sacrifices for their own sake, as well as for that of the people; and to raise prayers and supplications. The Word of God, on the other hand, incarnated for our sake, as our representative, and the highest Priest, who intercedes with His blood before the Father, praying for us; and dwelling in us; by Him we pray and worship; and He receives these prayers. .. According to St. Augustine: [He prayers for us, and in us, as we pray to Him; … He prays for our sake, being our Priest; … And prays in us, being our Head; … And we pray to Him, being our God]. 5- THE SANCTIFICATION BY THE SACRIFICE: The Lord Christ, the Priest according to the order of Melchizedek, offered His own life a sacrifice on the cross for the sake of mankind; without the need to offer a sacrifice on Himself, being the living Son of God without blame. … Aaron and his sons, on the other hand, could not practice the priesthood work, unless they become sanctified through the sacrifice; to have their life, senses, and talents sanctified to the account of the kingdom of God. That is why, on the day of their consecration, the following sacrifices were offered: The calf of sin, on which head Aaron and his sons put their hands, to make it carry their sins and weaknesses (14); the ram of the burnt offering (18); and the ram of consecration, some of its blood was put by Moses on the tip of Aaron’s right ear, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot; And did the same thing for Aaron’s sons… to consecrate their spiritual ears (the right), to hear the voice of the Lord with understanding and wisdom, according to the words of the Lord: “He who has an ear, let him hear”;… to consecrate their spiritual hands to work without slothfulness in the field of the Lord; … and to consecrate their spiritual feet to set forth with the people along the way of the Lord toward the heavenlies. “Then he took one an unleavened cake, a cake of bread anointed with oil, and one wafer, and put them on the fat, and on the right thigh; and put all of these in Aaron’s hands and in his son’s hands, and waved them as a wave offering before the Lord; Then Moses took them from their hands and burned them on the altar on the burnt offering. And Moses took the breast and waved it as a wave offering before the Lord” (26-29). We have already talked about those sacrifices and offerings, and the spiritual theological concepts, concerning waving them before the Lord. Some believe that the mentioned offering were put on Aaron’s and his sons’ hands, the Moses put his hands underneath their hands, and with his hands he waved their hands before the Lord, by lifting them up high, then moving them toward all the four directions, as a reference to the testimony to God, who is everywhere, as the Grantor and the Giver of gifts to man. 6- THE CONSECRATION: In essence, ordaining them as priests for the Lord means to consecrate their whole inner life and apparent behavior to the account of the Lord.. Hence Moses said to them: “Therefore, you shall abide at the door of the tabernacle of meeting day and night for seven days, and keep the charge of the Lord, so that you may not die, for so I have been commanded” (35). Meaning, to find no comfort nor place out of the temple of the Lord; to spend all the days of their life ministering to the Lord, and not to be preoccupied with any material needs for themselves nor for the ministry; on account of that the Lord, Himself, is their portion and their inheritance; and they are His portion, He rejoices in their dwelling in His house, and satisfies them with abundance.
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