The Desire for Domination
The Desire for Domination[1]
Many see the priesthood as a form of authority, and thus they love to dominate.
The desire for domination is a branch of self-centeredness. One sees that he has a position, authority, and rights, and he imposes this on the people, on the servants, or even on his fellow minister!
Through the use of authority, his commands and prohibitions increase, as do his decisions, punishments, excommunications, and threats. In all this, he loses the spirit of fatherhood and turns into a ruler and an administrator.
Through domination, the priest seeks control over all the activities of the church.
It is not merely supervision, but monopolizing authority, so that he alone manages everything. He paralyzes the movement of the workers, so that none of them does anything except by his order or permission. He clashes, for example, with the servants of church education or with the members of the church council. The clashes continue, and the result is:
- Either a state of division that extends to the people as well.
- Or he subjugates them to his opinion, whether they agree or not.
- Or some of them grow weary of this conflict and leave the service out of concern for the safety of their hearts, leaving the atmosphere empty for him to exercise his authority.
- Or he dismisses the servants (who do not submit to him) and keeps only the obedient ones, appointing other servants whom he controls by remote control…!
But if the result of authority is a clash with his fellow priesthood colleague,
then the matter turns into a serious stumbling block among the people. Some side with Paul and others with Apollos (1 Cor 3). This happens if one of them monopolizes authority and does whatever he wishes without consulting his colleague, having a group that supports him and carries out what he wants. The other complains to the people, the circle of division widens, and it turns into hostility…
And the hostility is transferred into homes through visitation and pastoral visits!
He claims that he wants to work, and his colleague is standing against him. The people become confused as to which of the two fathers is the wrongdoer and which is the wronged. Instead of the priests being the ones who solve the problems of the people, the people volunteer to solve the problems of the priests! Debate, noise, and partisanship increase.
As a result of domination, the priest may turn to stubbornness and rigidity of opinion.
Especially if he has a certain direction in service, and some do not agree with it and discuss it with him. He does not accept discussion and insists on his opinion, then begins to attack all those people: How do they oppose “Abouna”?! How do they stand against the priesthood?! How do they stand against the Church?! They did not stand against the priesthood nor against the Church, but they have their own thought which they present—and it may be the sounder thought! Yet the priest-father clings to his opinion and does not relinquish it nor any part of it, feeling that doing so is against his dignity!
The domineering priest does not respect the minds of others nor respect their wills.
Rather, he does not assume for them any existence except as executors of what he asks of them. How easy it is for him to use the phrase “Upon the sons of obedience the blessing rests,” while obedience in his understanding means that they neither think nor exchange opinions with him.
The priest has the right to guide, not to dominate.
In his guidance, he presents his counsel and works to convince others of it. In persuasion, he accepts the other opinion with an open heart; if it is sound, he accepts it. He does not force people to accept a matter of which they are not convinced…
Otherwise, he will force people to distance themselves from him.
They will turn away from the Church and take a negative stance, attending merely to participate in prayer only, without participation in any work in which they would lose their thought and will. Thus the priest loses enlightened minds and surrounds himself only with the obedient or the flattering…
Here the priest loses his position as a father and becomes merely a harsh leader.
He replaces fatherhood with authority. God did not prevent fathers from having authority, but alongside the phrase “Children, obey your parents in the Lord” (Eph 6:1), He also said: “Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged” (Col 3:21). And the phrase “obey in the Lord” means in what accords with the good will of God, not merely the will of the priest.
Sometimes, if the priest cannot reach persuasion, he reaches violence and agitation in order to enforce his authority.
Thus he adds to the fault of domination many other faults. Perhaps violence includes a group of shortcomings that do not agree with what people expect of an ideal befitting the priesthood…
God did not grant men of the priesthood an authority by which they exalt themselves above people. Authority is merely a tool for carrying out responsibility, used with spiritual regulations, so that it does not become a tool for dignity and exaltation.
Authority is pressure from without, whereas persuasion produces response from within; therefore it is more fitting than authority.
The priest who convinces you, so that you obey him with a comforted heart, leads you to respect him and respect his pastoral method. But the one who forces you—by authority—to obey him, you may obey while inwardly grumbling, feeling that you are overpowered…!
I recall that in the pledge we set for the bishop and the priest, we said: “And I will not command them beyond what they can bear.”
The domineering priest loves to be first in authority, and worse than that is one who sees himself as the only one.
[1] An article by His Holiness Pope Shenouda III: Pastoral Page – The Desire for Domination, Al-Keraza Magazine, 11/8/2000.For better translation support, please contact the center.
