The priest is a minister of the mystery of man’s salvation. Through his ministry, man is separated from sin and brought to God, for the purpose of the priestly ministry is ‘to give the soul sings, to snatch it from the world and give it to God … to make Christ dwell in the hearts of the faithful through the grace of the Holy Spirit, and above all to deify man.’

“The Divine Liturgy – A Commentary in the Light of the Fathers” by Hieromonk Gregorios
Quotations from St. Gregory the Theologian