The flock is the sheepfold of God. The religious meaning of the terms "flock" and "shepherd"

Church life, like the life of almost any religious organization, is organized around the society of believers and their leaders - the bearers of the sacred function of the cult. The latter - priests, priests, etc. - are often called pastors. Accordingly, the congregation is the broad layers of the laity. This analogy is very ancient and by its obviousness is understandable to everyone.

Semantics of the allegory of the pastor and the flock

The shepherd shepherd shepherds, guards, leads them to watering and to meadows rich in food. Care of the shepherd is the well-being and safety of the entrusted herd. Also, the religious leader is called to guard his flock from schism, from embarrassment with dissent and heresy, in time to serve spiritual water and food and in general in every possible way take care of the welfare of the flock.

History of the image

The perspective of the relationship "shepherd and flock" in a religious context is rooted in gray antiquity. It is hardly possible today to establish where and when this metaphor was first used. It is important to note that the god himself was originally called the shepherd. So, for example, in the psalms attributed to David, Yahweh is called the shepherd who graces his worshiper on the green pastures (Psalm 22). At the same time, the cryophore, that is, the bearer of the ram, was called Hermes, the pagan messenger of the gods of the Greek pantheon. In this role, Hermes was portrayed as a young man carrying an armpit or on the shoulders of a small lamb. Perhaps, not without the influence of this religious-cultural type, the image of Jesus Christ appears as a good shepherd who believes himself to be a sheep with the beginning of a new era. The sacred texts of Christians put in the mouth of Jesus the words: "I am a good shepherd."

Probably, this image was so popular, because it was understandable to the broad strata of the peasant population, often illiterate. The matter is that in the East the shepherd goes ahead, and the herd follows, followed by his voice or melody. Also, the believing flock is a flock of obedient sheep, following the voice of their leader, the pastor-savior.

The Negative Side of Symbolism

Over time, the pastoral role passed from the hands of the deity to people. Community leaders turned from flocks to shepherds, which created a distance between people. Such a situation did not reflect sensibly on ethics and generally on the whole way of religious life. This can be shown on the eloquent example of Christianity.

Initially, all Christians were considered disciples of Christ and, accordingly, were part of his flock. However, rather quickly (already in the New Testament time) there is a split between leaders and communities. The former assign themselves a sovereign right to officiate and teach that the royal priesthood of the church community is leveled to a profane level. The parishioners of the church are no longer the people of the priests, but simply laymen are worldly, profane people. The increasing distance led to the doctrinal consolidation of the doctrine of the two churches - the teaching, consisting of uninitiated laymen, and the pupil, consisting of the bearers of the so-called apostolic succession. In one form or another, this division into the clergy and the world is present in almost all modern Christian denominations. Contrary to the preaching of Jesus himself and the norms of the early church, the congregation lost the opportunity to stand in the performance of the Eucharist, preach and perform other, strictly "priestly" duties. At present, priests and laymen even receive communion separately.

The development of ecclesiasticalism and clericalism has led to the fact that pastoralism has become a profession, and in some countries in some periods of history in general separate. The shepherd's allegory, transferred from God to man, promotes this understanding: psychologically, the shepherd rises above the flock, and therefore has the rights to judge, guide, rule, cut (!), Punish, etc. Therefore, often in the history of Christianity, the flock is not Holy people, but a silent herd, led by grief-shepherds to slaughter. This abuse was foreseen by Jesus himself, comparing himself as a true good pastor, with mercenaries who do not care about the herd and at first risk throw it, and with thieves who steal the herd, pretending to be shepherds.

Conclusion

Clericalism and spiritual despotism are an inevitable consequence of the division of people according to a hierarchical principle in a religious context, when some gain power over others by virtue of a simple consecration, not by virtue of personal merit. Considering that parallel to the process of the separation of the church people into the spiritual elite of the pastors and the faceless flock of the flock, the latter have lost even the right to choose the shepherds, one can speak of the negative influence of this image on the spiritual culture of Western civilization. The Christian congregation (this is especially characteristic of the realities of the modern Russian Orthodox Church) is a disenfranchised gathering of people for whom there is only one law - the so-called obedience (to a man in a cassock).

Unfortunately, the more time passes, the more the followers of Christ depart from the ideals proclaimed by their teacher.