The answer
St. Basil the Great demonstrates the biblical and ecclesial understanding of the ranks of the priesthood in that although he was the archbishop of a diocese, he considered himself equal to the rest of the servants of the Church, whether bishops, priests, or deacons. He viewed the deacon as his brother1575 and his beloved son,1576 and addressed the priests as “deserving of all reverence.”1577
Fr. Tadros Yacoub Malaty
Notes
1575 St. Basil of Caesarea, Letters 186–368 268 (FOTC 28:256).
1576 St. Basil of Caesarea, Letters 186–368 265 (FOTC 28:245).
1577 St. Basil of Caesarea, Letters 186–368 271 (FOTC 28:261).