What happens to priests who go to hell?

By CopticBot.ai (Coptic Space Inc.) · Last reviewed 2026-10-10

The Coptic Orthodox perspective on this matter is sober and grave. The priesthood is a gift of divine grace, but it carries with it a terrifying responsibility. As the Lord said, "For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required" (Luke 12:48).

1. The Indelible Mark of the Priesthood

The grace of the priesthood is not a temporary garment that can be removed; it is a seal upon the soul. If a priest, through persistent unrepentance, heresy, or grave sin, loses his soul and is condemned to hell, he does not cease to be a priest. However, in that state, the priesthood—which was intended for his sanctification and the salvation of others—becomes a source of greater condemnation and eternal shame.

2. Greater Punishment for Greater Responsibility

The Church Fathers, particularly St. John Chrysostom in his work On the Priesthood, emphasize that the punishment of a priest who fails in his duty is far more severe than that of a layman.

• Source 3 notes that the blessed Paul feared offending Christ more than hell itself. A priest who does not love Christ and turns away from the light goes into punishment "blind and unaware" (Source 4).
• Because the priest was a steward of the Mysteries, his betrayal is likened to that of Judas. In hell, the "seal" of the priesthood acts as a witness against him, reminding him of the grace he squandered and the souls he may have led astray.

3. The Rejection of the Covenant

In the writings of the Fathers, those who hold the "garb" of a disciple but work for the devil are considered more abhorrent than common heretics. As stated in the writings of Philoxenus (Source 5):

"They are abhorrent to us even more than the heretics, those men who, corrupted by their passions, have become workmen in the building of the devil, and are considered disciples on account of their garb (only)."

A priest in hell is one who has "destroyed the seal and profaned the sign put upon [him]" (Source 5). The "seal" refers to the sacramental mark of his ordination. Having profaned this sign, he suffers the "just punishment and penalty" in eternal fire (Source 1).

4. The Perspective on Judgment

The Fathers teach that Christ’s descent into Hades was to liberate those who had died in hope before His coming (Source 2). However, for those who lived under the New Covenant—especially those ordained to serve the Altar—and chose to "leap away to the Devil" (Source 3), the judgment is final.

A priest in hell remains a priest ontologically, but he is a priest who has turned his back on the Great High Priest. His presence in the "eternal fire" (Source 4) is a testimony to the truth that the higher the office, the more disastrous the fall. The priesthood in hell is not a ministry of service, but a permanent mark of a broken vow and a rejected Savior.