As another consequence， the Protestant priest has ceased to be a delegate from on high， the indispensable mediator between man and God， alone qualified to give absolution and to administer the rites by which salvation is obtained； he is simply a man， graver， more learned， more pious and more exemplary than other men， but， like the others， married， father of a family and entering into civil life， in short a semi-layman. The laymen whom he leads owe him deference， not obedience； he issues no orders； he sentences nobody； speaking from the rostrum to a gathering is his principal， almost unique， office， and the sole purpose of this is instruction or an exhortation. - With the Greeks and Slaves， with whom the authority of the Church is merely of a preservative nature， all the observances of the twelfth century have subsisted， as rigorously in Russia as in Asia Minor or in Greece， although fasting and Lents， which Southern stomachs can put up with， are unhealthy for the temperaments of the North. Here， likewise， these observances have assumed capital importance. The active sap， withdrawn from theology and the clergy， flows nowhere else； these， in an almost paralyzed religion， constitute almost the sole vivifying organ， as vigorous and often more so， than ecclesiastical authority；in the seventeenth century， under the patriarch Nicon， thousands of "old believers，" on account of slight rectifications of the liturgy， the alteration of a letter in the Russian translation of the name of Jesus， and the sign of the cross made by three instead of two fingers， separated themselves and， to-day， these dissenters， multiplied by their sects， count by millions. Defined by custom， every rite is sacred， immutable， and， when exactly fulfilled， sufficient in itself and efficacious； the priest who utters the words and makes the motions is only one piece in the mechanism， one of the instruments requisite for a magic incantation； after his instrumentation， he falls back into his human negativity； he is nothing more than an employee paid for his ministration. And this ministration is not exalted in him by an extraordinary and visible renunciation， by perpetual celibacy， by continence promised and kept； he is married，[33] father of a family， needy， obliged to shear his flock to support himself and those belonging to him， and therefore is of little consideration； he is without moral ascendancy； he is not the pastor who is obeyed， but the official who is made use of.
The role of the priest in the Catholic Church is quite different.
Through her theory of rites she confers on him incomparable dignity and real personal power. - According to this theory， observances and ceremonies possess intrinsic and peculiar virtue； undoubtedly， these require some mental base， which is found in earnest piety； but earnest piety independent of these is not enough； it lacks its final consequence， its praiseworthy completion or "satisfaction，"[34] the positive act by which we atone for our sins to God and demonstrate our obedience to the Church.[35] It is the Church， the living interpreter of God's will， which prescribes these rites； she is then the mistress of these and not the servant； she is empowered to adapt their details and forms to necessities and circumstances， to lighten or simplify them according to time and place， to establish the communion in one shape， to substitute the Host in place of bread， to lessen the number and rigor of the ancient Lents， to determine the effects of diverse pious works， to apply， ascribe and transfer their salutary effects， to assign proper value and reward to each devotional act， to measure the merit derived from them， the sins they efface and the pardons these obtain not only in this world but in the next one. By virtue of her administrative habits， and with the precision of a bookkeeper， she casts up her accounts of indulgences and notes on the margin the conditions for obtaining them， - a certain prayer repeated so many times on certain days and what for， so many days less in the great penitentiary into which every Christian， however pious， is almost sure to get on dying， this or that diminution of the penalty incurred， and the faculty， if the penitent rejects this deduction for himself， of bestowing the benefit on another. By virtue of her authoritative habits and the better to affirm her sovereignty， she regards as capital sins the omission of the rites and ceremonies she commands， -"not going to mass on Sunday or on fête-days；[36] eating meat on Friday or Saturday unnecessarily；" not confessing and communing at Easter， a mortal sin which "deprives one of the grace of God and merits eternal punishment" as well as "to slay and to steal something of value." For all these crimes， unforgivable in themselves， there is but one pardon， the absolution given by the priest， that is to say， confession beforehand， itself being one of the observances to which we are bound by strict obligation and at the very least once a year.