Leadership in Shia Islam, Orthodox

Leadership in Shia Islam, Orthodox Judaism and Roman Catholicism

Orthodox Judaism, Roman Catholicism, and Shiite Islam

Some religions, such as certain sects of Protestantism, have a relatively unstructured leadership. However, three major religions, that of Orthodox Judaism, Roman Catholicism and Shiite Islam, have highly organized leadership bureaucracies. All of these forms of institutional authority demand complex initiation rituals for those who become members to the hierarchy. The religions are profoundly different, but share this common denominational tradition. Carrying on the legacy of the past is fundamental to the beliefs of all of these religions. In the case of Judaism, although some hereditary positions remain passed on, the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem brought about an emphasis on the role of great rabbis or teachers amongst the faithful. Through Apostolic succession, Roman Catholics venerate the Pope and his bishops as upholders of the legacy of St. Peter and his apostles. And Shiite Muslims believe in the power of imams, direct descendants of the family of the prophet Mohammed, although they venerate the advice of ayatollahs who offer them counsel as to how best to observe the law.

Orthodox Judaism

The figure most individuals are familiar with in Judaism it that of the rabbi. Unlike priests in the Christian tradition, a rabbi, "has no more authority to perform rituals than any other adult male member of the Jewish community....A rabbi is simply a teacher, a person sufficiently educated in halakhah (Jewish law) and tradition to instruct the community and to answer questions and resolve disputes regarding halakhah. When a person has completed the necessary course of study, he is given a written document known as a semikhah, which confirms his authority to make such decisions" (Rich 2008). When great rabbis are spoken of as "the sages," on matters of Jewish law, these are individuals who have won respect for their learning, not individuals with special qualifications. For specific congregations, "In this sense, the rabbi has much the same role as a Protestant minister, ministering to the community, leading community religious services and dealing with many of the administrative matters related to the synagogue" (Rich 2001). "It is important to note that the rabbi's status as rabbi does not give him any special authority to conduct religious services. Any Jew sufficiently educated to know what he is doing can lead a religious service, and a service led by such a Jew is every bit as valid as a service led by a rabbi. It is not unusual for a community to be without a rabbi, or for Jewish services to be conducted without a rabbi, or for members of the community to lead all or part of religious services even when a rabbi is available" (Rich 2001).

Originally, in Judaism there was a class of priestly individuals known as kohanim, although since the destruction of the Temple kohanim have become less important in the practice of the faith. The kohanim were identified as descendants of Aaron, chosen after the incident of the Golden Calf "to perform certain sacred work, particularly in connection with the animal sacrifices and the rituals related to the Temple" (Rich 2001). Despite the Temple's destruction and the ascent of the rabbinate, the lineage of the kohein is still recorded: "DNA research supports their claims: a study published in Nature in June 1997 shows that self-identified kohanim in three countries have common elements in the Y-chromosome, indicating that they all have a common male ancestor" (Rich 2001).

Thus in Orthodox Judaism, lineage still has a role, albeit a lesser one to play in the administration of official ceremonies. For example, members of the Kohanim are given the first opportunity to recite a blessing over the Torah reading on Shabbat and required to recite a blessing over the congregation at certain times of the year. "The term 'kohein' is the source of the common Jewish surname 'Cohen,' but not all Cohens are koheins and not all koheins are Cohens. 'Katz' is also a common surname for a kohein (it is an acronym of 'kohein tzaddik,' that is, 'righteous priest'), but not all Katzes are koheins" either (Rich 2001). Another common 'Jewish name' that may contain special hereditary significance pertaining to the hierarchy of the religion's leadership is that of Levine. The tribe of Levi was also given sacred duties pertaining to the temple, such as saying the second blessing over the Torah reading on Shabbat. As with Cohen, "not all Levins or Levines are Levites and not all Levites have surnames that suggest the tribal affiliation" (Rich 2001).

The destruction of the Temple brought forth other hereditary positions within the Orthodox community, within the specific subset known as the Chassidic Jews. While rabbis are not hereditary positions in Orthodoxy a rebbe or "Grand Rabbi," among the Hasidim is the term for the spiritual master and guide of a Hassidic community. As the term is sometimes translated as "my rabbi," outside of the Chasidic community, the term "rebbe" is sometimes used simply as a term of respect. But formally, a rebbe is a person also considered to be a tzaddik and to assume the role of rebbe is to follow in a hereditary tradition. The word tzaddik literally means a 'righteous one' so a tzaddik is supposed to be a righteous individual with special mystical insight into the teachings of the Torah, along with spiritual and mystical powers in addition to following a father who was also a rebbe. One can become a rebbe or tzaddik by demonstrating great knowledge and insight, as the "tzaddik is not necessarily a rebbe or a rabbi, but the rebbe of a Chasidic community is considered to be a tzaddik" (Rich 2001). Outside of Hassidim, great rabbinical scholars are given special veneration in the tradition of Judaism, and although Torah commentaries on the first five books of Moses (known as the Pentateuch) are not venerated as much as the Bible itself, great rabbis of old have a special place of respect in Judaism because of what they said and wrote, not because of an inherited position.

Roman Catholicism

Is the Pope Catholic?" While this expression has come to become a common colloquialism, and assumes that the institutional faith authority Catholicism and the Pope are 'one,' it is importance to remember that it took centuries for the bishop of Rome to become the preeminent authority over all of Western Christendom. In fact, during for "the first few hundred years of the church, the term "pope," which means "father," was used as a general for any important and respected bishop, and the bishop of Rome was one of several important bishops in the world ("History and Development of the Papacy," Religion Facts,2008). The reason that the Pope's 'seat' is in Rome today lies in the fact that Rome had always been honored for its association with Constantine and the 'Holy Roman Empire,' as the Empire became after the Emperor's conversion.

The doctrine of the supremacy of the pope finally reached its height in the late 13th century, when Pope Boniface VIII claimed full religious and secular authority over every human being" ("History and Development of the Papacy," Religion Facts, 2008).The claims for the supreme authority of Rome's pope rest on the idea that bishop of Rome is the successor of St. Peter; and Jesus gave St. Peter authority over the entire church. The word "Peter" means "rock" and when in Matthew 16 Jesus says to Peter: "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven," this is interpreted as laying the foundation of the modern church in the persona of the present-day Pope, who stands as a spiritual descendent of St. Peter (if not a literal genetic descendant) and is the Church's rock or foundational leader ("History and Development of the Papacy," Religion Facts, 2008).

In the Gospel of John, Jesus is also portrayed as telling Peter to 'feed his sheep,' and the idea of a congregation as a 'flock' is also manifest in Catholic conceptions of the relationship of the believer to the Pope. The Pope is thus one of the Apostles by extension: "when He established His Church, Jesus placed the Apostles in charge of caring for the faithful, of teaching them the faith and caring for their souls. And He placed Peter at the head of the Apostles. Through Apostolic Succession, that same hierarchy willed by Jesus, exists today in the Church with the Pope (the successor of St. Peter) at her head, leading the Bishops (the successors of the Apostles) who themselves lead the faithful in their local Churches" ("The Catholic Church Hierarchy," Catholic Pages, 2007)

The idea of Apostolic succession is why the Pope is called "the Vicar of Christ on Earth," standing in for "Christ's place, on Christ's behalf, to shepherd Christ's flock," like Peter did long ago. In the lines of the Apostles, Bishops of particular Churches throughout the world in charge of particular diocese are part of the Church and form the College of Bishops when the College is united as a decision-making body under the leadership of the Pope. The College may exercise power over the Universal Church by coming together in an ecumenical council when the council is recognized by the Pope, the successor of St. Peter. Additionally, "certain bishops are granted special status and position within the Church by being elevated to the College of Cardinals. The primary role of the College of Cardinals is to act as special advisors to the Pope and to come together on the death of a Pope to vote for his successor" ("The Catholic Church Hierarchy," Catholic Pages, 2007). Finally, there is also a counsel, created after Vatican II known as the Synod of Bishops. This formal body acts as advisors to the Pope on church teachings. It was intended as "a move towards the democratization of the Church and the decentralization and diminution of Papal power. It was considered that the Pope, although theoretically still in charge, would not act contrary to the Synod of Bishops" ("The Catholic Church Hierarchy," Catholic Pages, 2007).

It should also be noted that although they are not formally part of the hierarchy, there are Catholics like brothers, monks, nuns, hermits, and friars who have or continue to follow the rules of a specific order that follow a life consecrated to God.

Shiite Islam

To Western eyes, Islam often seems like a homogeneous 'block,' an idea encouraged by the reference to the 'Islamic world' in the popular press. However, this is a profound misunderstanding of the seismic divisions within the Islamic world, most notably that of Shiite and Sunni Islam. To understand the fractiousness that has characterized Middle Eastern politics, it is essential to understand the historic nature of the split between Sunni and Shiite Islam.

All Muslims obey the five pillars of Islam, which include praying facing Mecca five times daily, fasting from sunup to sundown during the entire holiday month of Ramadan; giving to the poor (much like the Christian or Jewish concept of 'tithing'); making at least one pilgrimage to Mecca during the month of the Hajj if the believer is physically and economically capable of doing so; and belief in the one, unitary God and Mohammed as his Prophet. The Koran is the sacred text for both Shiites and Sunni Muslims. However, over 1,400 years old after the death of the prophet Muhammad, the religion experienced a fundamental fissure in terms of the question of succession, and to how the religion should be structured in terms of its subsequent leadership (Murphy 2007). Some of Mohammed's followers believed that his descendants alone should become caliphs, the leaders of Islamic world. "They were known as the Shiat-Ali or 'partisans of Ali' after the prophet's cousin and son-in-law Ali, whom they favored (Murphy 2008). These adherents became the present-day Shiites. Sunnis, supported Abu Bakr, convert who had married into Muhammad's family, and said that a man's righteousness not his parentage should determine who became caliph. 'Sunni' is derived from the Arab word for 'followers' or 'followers of the prophet' (Murphy 2007).