A question came up elsewhere about Hellenic clergy and whether it would be beneficial to have a paid body. I said no for several reasons, one being that it becomes self serving rather than serving the gods, another being that we already have too many people wanting to be priest/ess x that making it a paid profession will not help things any. But what really got me thinking is that when you get into that area of having some kind of officially recognized body, that in itself brings up too many problems. First is: who gets to make the decision? The politics alone in there is just mind blowing. Second is what is required education-wise? Because I have yet to be happy with any suggested overall clergy program, not even the one Hellenion has. Because serving the gods is not cookie-cutter where one can say to be a priest/ess one should be able to perform services x, y and z....and then have these services have little to nothing to do with the god being served. The gods are not the same, so it would seem that the area of specialization would differ among servants of the gods from god to god. For instance I dont think I would make a good counselor. I can, however provide nifty information and do so regularly. I dont really have any calling to perform weddings, although if someone really wanted me to I suppose I could whatever certification was necessary. However, it may not be as romantic as your hoping for, although it may be poetic and aesthetically pleasing. Not even sure how I would do at offering funerary services, although that would technically, out of all three, be the closest related to the god I serve. However, if I were to put together a list of services and skills that I think should be necessary for me, as one who serves Apollon, I would say purification would be essential. I want to learn as many methods of purification from as many resources as possible. I think that purification is something that is overlooked a lot, but plays an essential part. we purify our homes, ourselves. It is a regular thing. Being skilled in forms of divination is another. I do not do public divination for folks (although I have done so when specifically asked) but am capable at it in a few different forms. I wouldnt argue that it could use a bit more work though. I *may* be offering occasional divinations in the future though. I am debating it. Among Roman Apollon was considered the god of the plastic arts in his relationship with the muses, so I would consider icon making, something I am already working on, to be right up there. As a god of protection, healing and so forth I would also consider amulets and talismans of the protective, healing etc nature to be appropriate. My point here is that no one is going to have the exact same services that they feel are important to every god. That why I am more interested in deity-specific clergy organizations like The Order of Apollon which is a useful tool for building services in his honor rather than a religious-wide service for all the gods. If the services need special certifications (such as performing weddings) then it should be the responsibility of said organization to provide the support and help for getting that certification but primarily the aspiring priest/ess should be responsible for acquiring it with the support of the organization.
Posted on: Tue, 27 Jan 2015 23:24:57 +0000
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