The shepherd and his relatives
The shepherd and his relatives
Question:
Is it permissible for a bishop to ordain one of his relatives, or to appoint one of them to positions of service? Or is this considered favoritism toward his relatives and partiality toward them?
Answer:
The error is for the shepherd to depart from the truth and fall into injustice on the one hand, or into favoritism and flattery on the other. But if in the ordination or appointment he is far from injustice and favoritism, then he has not erred.
If his relatives do not deserve to be ordained to a rank of the ranks of the priesthood, it is not permissible for him to ordain them merely because they are his relatives. And if they do not deserve to be appointed to any service, it is not permissible to appoint them, because this is favoritism and flattery of kinship at the expense of the service.
And if they do deserve it, then it is wrong for him to wrong them and exclude them from the service because they are his relatives. For in this case he would be unjust to his relatives, biased toward himself and toward people’s opinion of him, more than toward the need of the service and the worthiness of those who are to be ordained.
The good bishop does not show favoritism to his relatives, nor does he wrong his relatives.
What fault is it of the worthy one, when he is wronged by his relative who is in a position of responsibility for no reason except that he is his relative, as though this kinship were a sin?! This matter resembles a Christian person in a position of authority who refuses to appoint and promote Christians, so that it may not be said that he is prejudiced and biased. Thus they are wronged because of him, and his self-concern becomes an obstacle before his justice…
Saint Basil the Great, Archbishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia, ordained his brother Saint Gregory as bishop over Nyssa, and his brother Saint Peter as bishop over Sebaste. He also appointed his sister Macrina as head over a convent for nuns. Was Saint Basil then biased and showing favoritism?!
Saint Basil did not look at kinship, but looked at worthiness, and he did not deprive the service of competent persons merely because they were his relatives… nor did he wrong them by depriving them.
The Lord Christ Himself appointed some of His relatives according to the flesh as apostles among the twelve. Far be it from us to describe the Lord with error!!
James the Apostle, the cousin of Christ, called “the brother of the Lord,” was one of the twelve apostles and was the first bishop of Jerusalem, and tradition says that he presided over the first council in Jerusalem. And his brother Jude was also one of the twelve… and both were relatives according to the flesh.
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