Is it wrong to use titles like Father, Priest, Vicar, Episcopa etc. who are leaders of the holy Church? Some people are vehemently against using titles for church leaders such as Father, Priest, Reverend, Clergy, Metropolitan, Catholicos, Pope, Holy Father, Vicar General, Archbishop and so on. They insist that using these terms to refer to people is the same as taking God’s name for them. They have an argument against each title. Even calling somebody a priest, they say, is to live under the Old Covenant.
But we read in St. Mathew 23:9 that Jesus said “Do not call any man your Father” (NIV). What does it mean? Is it wrong to call our biological parents ‘father’ or our instructors in school and college ‘teacher?’
In this booklet we discuss the background and the meaning of Christ’s statement.
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