JORAS - Nigerian Journal of Religion and Society

The life of the priest has always carried with it an aura of dignity, holiness and a sense of the sacred. Hence, it is not surprising that the office of the priest comes with a lot of expectations, especially from those who look up to the priest as a model since he acts in persona Christi. This expectation has gotten to the extent that the lay faithful at times link the life of the priest and the validity of the sacraments that he administers. It is against this backdrop that this article centres on the life of the priest as the minister of the sacraments in relation to the sacraments he administers. Specifically, focusing on the worthiness of the priests and the validity of the sacraments he administers. It is however very pertinent to state that this will be seen in the light of the Donatists' controversy that served as a springboard for the development of the Catholic Church's Sacramental Theology. This upheaval started as an accusation of Church leaders for handing over Sacred Books by some Church leaders during the persecution of Diocletian (303?305). The handing over of the Scripture and Liturgical books was seen by the Donatists as a denial or betrayal of the faith. This controversy later included the moral life of the priest in relation to the sacrament he administers. In defence of such heretical teaching, we shall see how Augustine debunked the erroneous teaching of the Donatist as regards sacramental validity concerning the “worthiness” or the “unworthiness” of the life of the priest who administers the sacraments of the Church. Lastly, employing the descriptive and analytical methods of research, this write?up exposes how the official teaching of the Church came about.

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