Priest Job Security

davidschanter

Anyone know if priests have job contracts with the church they serve?

Forgive me for raising this topic which may seem controversial, but is priest job security in the hands/mercy of higher church authorities? Is there due process if a priest is convicted of heresy/ false teaching/false advice? Who has higher authority, the church congregation or the church authorities (bishops, pope)?

I know there is separation of church and state, and the law of the church is the only one that should be applicable, so is it against the church for the priest to have a contract?

The only reason I decided to post this on a public coptic forum is because I can't find the answers in my immediate network, and I want to know because I am not certain that servants of God are protected from political powers stemming from higher religious authorities (the job of the priest seems like it isn't protected like any other profession who has a contract that protects them from wrongful termination).

Any insight from our coptic lawyers would be nice.

Thanks and forgive me.

servant33

I know how frustrating times like this can be. We need to remember, as the priest says in the Liturgy of St. Gregory
"We ... are called through Your grace into Your service; while being unworthy". And as Christ said when he was standing testimony before Pontius Pilate, how much more so should we say to the popes and bishops "You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above." (John 19:11). God bless you and your Church during this time and may God's Will shine through.

davidschanter

Amen.

I have way more respect for priests because of this realization that they put their lives and the lives of their families completely in God's hands. It's not a sacrifice that we find easy to take (we usually think of ourselves, how our lifestyle would be, how we can provide for our families securely). The normal person comes to a job and thinks of the pay, the job security, the terms, and so on. The priest completely gives that up.

Stavro

The normal person comes to a job and thinks of the pay, the job security, the terms, and so on. The priest completely gives that up.

No, priests do not give up the salary, terms, and so on, and they should not. The laborer is worthy of his wages. A priest should be compensated fairly in accordance with average income standards in their societies.

Now, in some places like in the rich churches of Canada, Richmond Hill for example,  the office of priest is the most coveted among hopeful "servants" because of the great salaries ( 200 K tax free + paid bills) in addition to continuous gifts, donations to the priests and free services from their congregations as well as political connections that makes their lives and the lives of their children easy. Nothing wrong with this by the way. It is a blessing from the Lord to his priest to make him ultra rich and enjoy the sweet luxurious life to the fullest.

In some other places, like in Kitchener, Ontario, the priest left a high paying job as a heart surgeon for service and it was a financial demotion for him.

So, it differs from a place to another, and from a church to another. Some are in for the service, and others are in for the service and extra things, according to God's will and the business acumen of the priests.

qawe

[quote author=Stavro link=topic=14417.msg164538#msg164538 date=1368318018]
political connections that makes their lives and the lives of their children easy


???

pharoh123

[quote author=Stavro link=topic=14417.msg164538#msg164538 date=1368318018]
Now, in some places like in the rich churches of Canada, Richmond Hill for example,  the office of priest is the most coveted among hopeful "servants" because of the great salaries ( 200 K tax free + paid bills) in addition to continuous gifts, donations to the priests and free services from their congregations as well as political connections that makes their lives and the lives of their children easy. Nothing wrong with this by the way. It is a blessing from the Lord to his priest to make him ultra rich and enjoy the sweet luxurious life to the fullest.


Are you being sarcastic?

Can someone explain to me why a priest needs to make 200K+all bills paid?!! Do some priests seriously make that much money? That's way too much honestly. I see priests in Upper Egypt or poor regions in Cairo with torn tonias and can't afford to buy a new one. Wouldn't that money be better spent on orphans/widows/poor families back in Egypt struggling to just feed themselves everyday (specially during these turbulent times)?

In honesty why does a priest need more money than having his bills paid and pocket change? He's a priest not a CEO (some CEOs don't even make 200K after taxes and bills paid!). By the way, I know not all priests are like this.

qawe

.

davidschanter

[quote author=Stavro link=topic=14417.msg164538#msg164538 date=1368318018]

The normal person comes to a job and thinks of the pay, the job security, the terms, and so on. The priest completely gives that up.

No, priests do not give up the salary, terms, and so on, and they should not. The laborer is worthy of his wages. A priest should be compensated fairly in accordance with average income standards in their societies.

Now, in some places like in the rich churches of Canada, Richmond Hill for example,  the office of priest is the most coveted among hopeful "servants" because of the great salaries ( 200 K tax free + paid bills) in addition to continuous gifts, donations to the priests and free services from their congregations as well as political connections that makes their lives and the lives of their children easy. Nothing wrong with this by the way. It is a blessing from the Lord to his priest to make him ultra rich and enjoy the sweet luxurious life to the fullest.

In some other places, like in Kitchener, Ontario, the priest left a high paying job as a heart surgeon for service and it was a financial demotion for him.

So, it differs from a place to another, and from a church to another. Some are in for the service, and others are in for the service and extra things, according to God's will and the business acumen of the priests.


ok this is definitely not the majority of priests you are speaking of. In general, you would be very hard pressed to find congregations who can afford this, let alone boards who approve of this. Usually when a congregation hits a certain amount of income, you find that another priest is added to help out rather than one priest getting a raise. Im not saying that it doesn't happen, but even 100k+ for a priest is hitting the 1% range of all coptic priests.

My question to you is since you believe they do not give up terms, are you saying that some priests actually have legal contracts?