Question: Why is it that Protestant have such a problem with priests being called “Father”?
Response: It is often objected by certain Protestants that the words of Christ in Matthew 23:9 forbid the use of the title “Father” for clergy. “And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven”. Taken in isolation, this verse may appear to prohibit the use of such a title. Yet, when read in its proper context and compared with the rest of the Scriptures, it becomes evident that our Lord was condemning the spirit of pride, hypocrisy, and self-exaltation among the scribes and Pharisees, rather than the legitimate use of the word “father” in a spiritual sense.
In fact, the entire passage (Matthew 23:1–12) addresses the religious leaders of the time who loved titles of honour and positions of authority. When we examine the passage honestly, we can see that Christ’s warning is not against acknowledging real spiritual fatherhood, but against seeking vainglorious exaltation. It is a matter of humility and truth, not of linguistic prohibition.
A quick glance at the New Testament itself demonstrates that the early Church freely used the term “father” for spiritual leaders.
St Paul was a spiritual father to the Corinthian and Thessalonian Christians. “For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel.” (1 Corinthians 4:15).
“As a father doth his children, we entreat every one of you.” (1 Thessalonians 2:11). Here, St. Paul clearly identifies himself as a father to the faithful, not in competition with God’s Fatherhood, but as a sharer in it through the ministry entrusted to him.
Paul also says that we are to honour the elders as fathers. “Rebuke not an elder, but entreat him as a father.” (1 Timothy 5:1). St. Paul commands Timothy, a bishop, to regard older men in the Church as fathers, which directly contradicts the interpretation that no man at all may be called father. Does the New Testament contradict itself? Of course not.
“Abraham is the father of us all.” (Romans 4:16). The Bible honours Abraham as the father of all who believe, which would be impossible if Christ’s words in Matthew 23:9 were meant as an absolute prohibition.
To call a priest “Father” is entirely consistent with the witness of the Bible and the practice of the Apostolic Church. When Christ said, “Call no man father,” He was exposing false teachers who claimed spiritual authority while drawing attention to themselves rather than to God. To address a priest as “Father” is to acknowledge his God-given role as a spiritual guide, patterned after St. Paul and the Apostles, who exercised genuine fatherhood over their flocks.
The Protestant objection is based upon a misreading of a simple text, for Christ was condemning arrogance, not forbidding honourable titles rooted in service and humility.
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