The Reformation and the restoration of the office of all believers
Kenneth Koole argues that the Protestant Reformation restored the priesthood of all believers, a doctrine Rome had confiscated by restricting spiritual authority and participatory worship to the ordained clergy. The article contrasts Rome's hierarchical system—where laity were passive observers excluded from governance, teaching, and direct prayer—with the Reformation's recovery of the common believer's direct access to God and active role in the church's spiritual life and government.
Our title could just as well have been "The Restoration of the Priesthood of All Believers." It was this gift that the church of Rome, the church as she went apostate, stole from her members and placed in the hands of a select few, namely, the church's clergy -- priests, bishops, cardinals, and popes. And it was this that God used the Reformation and the Reformers to restore to the common, unordained members of the church. The common, unordained members of Christ's church were, as labeled by...
Full article available on sb.rfpa.org