Faith Q&A › Catechism › 21. The Sacrament of Priesthood

Why is the priest committed to a life of continual prayer?

The answer

Origen says, “Thus let the priest of the church also pray unceasingly that the people who are under him may defeat the invisible Amalachite hosts who are the demons that assail those who want to live piously in Christ (cf. 2 Tim. 3:12).”¹⁶⁵⁴

Fr. Tadros Yacoub Malaty

Notes

¹⁶⁵⁴ Origen, Homilies on Leviticus 1–16 6.6.5 (FOTC 83:128).

Fr. Tadros Yacoub Malaty, Catechism of the Coptic Orthodox Church, Volume 1, Books 1–3. First English Edition, 2023. Published by St. George Coptic Orthodox Church, Sporting, Alexandria, and Queen St. Mary & Prince Tadros Coptic Orthodox Church, South Brunswick, NJ. Copyright © 2023. Translation and Editing: Youth of the Coptic Orthodox Church in the USA, Canada, Europe, Australia, Arabian Gulf, and Egypt.