Priesthood and laity in the Church

This article by Constantin Andronikof, presented at the Congress of Orthodox Youth of the Mediterranean (Pentecost 1972), constitutes a systematic theological study on the nature of the laity in the Orthodox Church. The author develops the notion of royal priesthood as the ontological foundation of every Christian, drawing on Scripture, the Church Fathers, and contemporary Orthodox theologians such as Afanassiev and Bulgakov. The central idea is that the clerical-lay distinction, as it has historically crystallized under the influence of post-Tridentine Western clericalism, constitutes an ecclesiological deviation. Every baptized person is a member of the *laos theou*, invested with the royal priesthood through baptismal anointing. The contribution of the article lies in the articulation between this universal priestly dignity and the ordained ministries, repositioned within a conciliar ecclesiology in which clergy and laity together form the Body of Christ.