How is a priest different from a priest?translated
Are the priest and the priest the same person?
In short, yes. Father is a common name for a priest. Officially, we address him as “father so-and-so,” and informally, affectionately and diminutively, “father.”
Why is it customary to call priests fathers/priests? As a tribute to their pastoral mission, because each priest is the head of the spiritual family in the parish, where he, like a caring father, cares for his parishioners. The very address “father” is rooted in the Christian tradition; it emphasizes not biological kinship, but the special role of the shepherd - the one who gives birth to people for a new life in Christ through the sacrament of Baptism, instructs, comforts, shares hardships and rejoices with the flock. Hence the warm, homely “father” - a word in which one can hear respect, trust, and almost family closeness.
Read also:
Father, Father, or Your Reverence: how to address priests correctly?
There is some contradiction in the Gospel regarding the address “father”. Jesus Christ said: and do not call anyone on earth your father, for you have one Father, who is in heaven (Matthew 23:9) - and this phrase raises questions among many, they say, what then to call priests?...
