Priest

For other uses, see Priest (disambiguation).

Priestess of Isis: Roman statue, 2nd century AD Museo Archeologico Regionale, Palermo

A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities. Their office or position is the priesthood, a term which also may apply to such persons collectively.

Priests and priestesses have been known since the earliest of times and in the simplest societies. They exist in all or some branches of Judaism, Christianity, Shintoism, Hinduism and many other religions. They are generally regarded as having positive contact with the deity or deities of the religion to which they subscribe, often interpreting the meaning of events and performing the rituals of the religion. Priests are leaders to whom other believers will often turn for advice on spiritual matters.

In many religions, being a priest or priestess is a full-time position, ruling out any other career. In other cases it is a part-time role. For example in the early history of Iceland the chieftains were entitled goði, a word meaning "priest". As seen in the saga of Hrafnkell Freysgoði, however, being a priest consisted merely of offering periodic sacrifices to the Norse gods and goddesses; it was not a full-time role, nor did it involve ordination.

In some religions, being a priest or priestess is by human election or human choice. In others the priesthood is inherited in familial lines.

Terminology

The word "priest" is ultimately from Greek, via Latin, presbyter, the term for "elder", especially elders of Jewish or Christian communities in Late Antiquity. It is possible that the Latin word was loaned into Old English and only from Old English reached other Germanic languages, giving Old Icelandic prestr, Old Swedish präster, Old High German priast, via the Anglo-Saxon mission to the continent. Old High German also has the disyllabic priester, priestar, however, apparently derived from Latin independently, via Old French presbtre. The Latin word is ultimately from Greek presbyteros, the word for "priest" being Latin sacerdos, Greek hiereus.

That English should have only the single term priest for both presbyter and sacerdos came to be seen as a problem in English Bible translations. The presbyter is both the minister who presides and instructs a Christian congregation and the sacerdos or offerer of sacrifices, in a Christian context the eucharist, performing "mediatorial offices between God and man".

The feminine English noun, priestess, was coined in the 17th century, referring to female priests of the pre-Christian religions of classical antiquity. In the 20th century the word was used in controversies surrounding the ordination of women. In the case of the ordination of women in the Anglican communion, however, it is more common to speak of "priests" regardless of gender.

Vestal Virgin priestess of Ancient Rome

Historical religions

Further information: Vedic priesthood and Druid

In historical polytheism, a priest administers the sacrifice to a deity, often in highly elaborate ritual. In the Ancient Near East, the priesthood also acted on behalf of the deities in managing their property.

Priestesses in antiquity often performed sacred prostitution, and in Ancient Greece, some priestesses such as Pythia, priestess at Delphi, acted as oracles.

Ancient priestesses

• Sumerian and Akkadian Entu or EN were top-ranking priestesses who were distinguished with special ceremonial attire and held equal status to high priests. They owned property, transacted business, and initiated the hieros gamos ceremony with priests and kings.
• Nadītu served as priestesses in the temples of Inanna in the ancient city of Erech. They were recruited from the highest families in the land and were supposed to remain childless, owned property, and transacted business.
• The Sumerian word NIN, EREŠ in Akkadian, is the sign for "lady." NIN.DINGIR (Akkadian entu) "divine lady," a priestess.
• In Sumerian epic texts such as Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta, Nu-Gig were priestesses in temples dedicated to Inanna and may be a reference to the goddess herself.
• Puabi was a Semitic Akkadian queen or a priestess.
• In the Hebrew Bible, (קדשה) Qedesha or Kedeshah, derived from the root Q-D-Š were temple prostitutes usually associated with the goddess Asherah.
• Quadishtu served in the temples of the Sumerian goddess Qetesh.
• Ishtaritu specialized in the arts of dancing, music, and singing and they served in the temples of Ishtar.
• In the Epic of Gilgamesh, priestess Shamhat tamed wild Enkidu after "six days and seven nights."
• En-hedu-ana, Akkadian 2285 BC - 2250 BC was the first known holder of the title, "En Priestess."

Ancient Egypt

Generally, in Ancient Egyptian religion, the royal daughter presided as the high priestess in the temple, as the royal line was carried by the women in Ancient Egypt. She and the pharaoh fulfilled duties and rituals of the religiously-based government. During the first millennium BCE, when the holder of this office exercised her largest measure of influence, her position was an important appointment facilitating the transfer of power from one pharaoh to the next, when the daughter of the former was adopted to fill it by the incumbent office holder. During the eighteenth dynasty reign of Hatshepsut that occurred during the second millennium BCE (c. 2160 BC) while the capital of Ancient Egypt was in Thebes, God's Wife of Amun was the highest ranking priestess. This local priesthood had become most powerful during that period and sometimes this title was held by a daughter of the High Priest of Amun. Hatshepsut had held that same office during the reign of her father. Her daughter held the office during the early portion of her reign. Later, another pharaoh, Amenhotep IV, moved the capitol to break the influence of this priesthood. He later took the name Akhenaten in worship and recognition of Aten to create another temple, but those reforms failed to persist after his death when the capital reverted to Thebes and its priesthood regained the power they had lost. Later, the Divine Adoratrice of Amun was a title created for the chief priestess of Amun. The Divine Adoratrice ruled over the extensive temple duties and domains, controlling a significant part of the ancient Egyptian economy.

Each region or major city in Ancient Egypt had a local deity of special importance (among a large pantheon shared by many other cities and regions) and priesthoods for them were organized following local traditions.

The priestesses of the goddess Nekhbet were called muu (mothers) and wore robes of Egyptian vulture feathers.

Ancient Egyptian priestesses:

• Gautseshen
• Henutmehyt
• Henuttawy (priestess)
• Hui (priestess)
• Iset (priestess)
• Karomama Meritmut
• Maatkare Mutemhat
• Meritamen (daughter of Thutmose III)
• Neferhetepes was the earliest attested priestess of Hathor
• Neferure
• Tabekenamun a priestess of Hathor as well as a priestess of Neith

Antonia Minor as a priestess of Ceres (36 BCE–37 CE)

Ancient Rome

In Ancient Rome and throughout Italy, the ancient sanctuaries of Ceres and Proserpina were invariably led by female sacerdotes, drawn from women of local and Roman elites. It was the only public priesthood attainable by Roman matrons and was held in great honor.

Ancient Greece

• The Pythia was the title of a priestess at the very ancient temple of Delphi that was dedicated to the Earth Mother. She was widely credited for her prophecies. The priestess retained her role when the temple was rededicated to Apollo, giving her a prominence unusual for a woman in the male-dominated culture of classical Greece.
• Phrygian Sibyl was the priestess presiding over an Apollonian oracle at Phrygia, a historical kingdom in the Anatolian highlands.

Abrahamic religions

Judaism

Main article: Kohen

In Judaism, the Kohanim (singular כהן kohen, plural כּהנִים kohanim, are required by Torah Laws to be of direct paternal descendency from Ahron. These families are from the tribe of the Levi'im (Levites) and are sometimes called by scripture as such. In Exodus 30:22-25 God instructs Moses to make a Holy anointing oil to consecrate the kohanim for all generations to come. During the times of the two Jewish Temples in Jerusalem, they were responsible for daily and special Jewish holiday offerings and sacrifices within the temples known as the korbanot.

Since the demise of the Second Temple, and therefore the cessation of the daily and seasonal temple ceremonies and sacrifices, Kohanim in traditional Judaism (Orthodox Judaism and to some extent, Conservative Judaism) continue to perform a number of priestly ceremonies and roles such as the Pidyon HaBen (redemption of a first-born son) ceremony and the Priestly Blessing, and have remained subject, particularly in Orthodox Judaism, to a number of restrictions, such as restrictions on certain marriages and ritual purity (see Kohanic disqualifications).

Orthodox Judaism regards the Kohanim as being held in reserve for a future restored Temple. In all branches of Judaism, Kohanim do not perform roles of propitiation, sacrifice, or sacrament. Rather, a kohen's principal religious function is to perform the Priestly Blessing, and provided he is rabbinically qualified, to serve as an authoritative judge and expositor of Jewish law.

Christianity

File:Escriva at Mass.jpg

A Roman Catholic priest, Saint Josemaría Escrivá, celebrating the holy sacrifice of the Mass

Two different Greek words have traditionally been translated into English as priest (Greek was the language in which the New Testament was composed, hence its importance in understanding early Christian practice). Both words occur in the New Testament, which draws a distinction not always observed in English. The first, presbyteros (Ancient Greek: πρεσβύτερος), Latinized as presbyter, is traditionally translated priest and the English word priest is indeed etymologically derived from this word; literally, however, this word means elder, and is used in neutral and non-religious contexts in Greek to refer to seniority or relative age. It is the term used in Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Anglicanism, and some strains of Lutheranism to refer to one given the sacrament of Holy Orders in that degree.

The second word, hiereus (Ancient Greek: ἱερεύς), Latin sacerdos, refers to priests who offer sacrifice, such as the priesthood of the Jewish Temple, or the priests of pagan gods. The New Testament Epistle to the Hebrews draws a distinction between the Jewish priesthood and the High Priesthood of Christ; it teaches that the sacrificial atonement by Jesus Christ on Calvary has made the Jewish priesthood and its prescribed ritual sacrifices redundant. Thus, for Christians, Christ himself is the one hiereus, and Christian priests have no priesthood independent or distinct from that of Christ. As in the belief of most of Christianity (including the Anglican, Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox churches and Oriental Orthodoxy) the one sacrifice of Christ, which he offered "once for all" (Hebrews 10:10) on the Cross, is made present through the Eucharist, so the one priesthood of Christ is made present through the ministerial priesthood of bishops and presbyters, who are therefore by analogy called priests, without diminishing the uniqueness of Christ's priesthood.

Some clergy and religious, such as these, who are Canons Regular of the Order of the Holy Cross and live in the Netherlands, wear distinctive clothing which distinguishes them from other clergy, whether secular or religious

This analogous use of the word "priest" (ἱερεύς, sacerdos) for Christian ministers appears to have arisen only at the end of the 2nd century, at first for bishops only; but by the time of Saint Cyprian, in the mid-3rd century, it was applied to presbyters also.

The late 1st-century Epistle of Clement uses the terms ἐπίσκοπος (bishop) and πρεσβύτερος (presbyter) interchangeably for the clergy above the rank of deacon, but for Ignatius of Antioch, who died in the early years of the 2nd century, bishops and presbyters were already quite distinct. Elsewhere, particularly in Egypt, the distinction seems to have become established only later. By the middle of that century all the leading Christian centres had bishops distinct from the presbyters.

The word "bishop" is derived, through Latin episcopus, from the Greek word ἐπίσκοπος (episkopos), whose original meaning was "overseer" or "supervisor". Both English words "priest" and "presbyter" come from Greek πρεσβύτερος (presbyteros), originally meaning an elder, through Latin presbyter.

Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy

Main article: Priesthood (Catholic Church)

Eastern Orthodox priest wearing epitrachelion (stole) and epimanikia (cuffs), Mtskheta, Republic of Georgia

A Catholic priest from Belgian Congo

The most significant liturgical acts reserved to priests in these traditions are the administration of the Sacraments, including the celebration of the Mass or Divine Liturgy (the terms for the celebration of the Eucharist in the Western and Eastern traditions, respectively), and the Sacrament of Reconciliation, also called Confession. The sacraments of Anointing of the Sick (Extreme Unction) and Confirmation or Chrismation are also administered by priests, though in the Western tradition Confirmation is ordinarily celebrated by a bishop. In the East, Chrismation is performed by the priest (using oil specially consecrated by a bishop) immediately after Baptism, and Unction is normally performed by several priests (ideally seven), but may be performed by one if necessary. In the West, Holy Baptism may be celebrated by anyone and Matrimony may be witnessed by a deacon, but most often these normally are administered by a priest as well. In the East, Holy Baptism and Marriage (which is called "Crowning") may be performed only by a priest. If a person is baptized in extremis (i.e., when in fear of immediate death), only the actual threefold immersion together with the scriptural words (Matthew 28:19) may be performed by a layperson or deacon. The remainder of the rite, and Chrismation, must still be performed by a priest, if the person survives. The only sacrament which may be celebrated only by a bishop is that of Ordination (cheirotonia, "Laying-on of Hands"), or Holy Orders.

Catholic priests in Austria

In these traditions, only men who meet certain requirements may become priests. In Roman Catholicism the canonical minimum age is twenty-five. Bishops may dispense with this rule and ordain men up to one year younger. Dispensations of more than a year are reserved to the Holy See (Can. 1031 §§1, 4.) A Catholic priest must be incardinated by his bishop or his major religious superior in order to engage in public ministry. In Orthodoxy, the normal minimum age is thirty (Can. 9 of Neocaesarea) but a bishop may dispense with this if needed. In neither tradition may priests marry after ordination. In the Roman Catholic Church, priests in the Latin Rite, which covers the vast majority of Roman Catholicism, must be celibate except under special rules for married clergy converting from certain other Christian confessions. Married men may become priests in Eastern Orthodoxy and the Eastern Catholic Churches, but in neither case may they marry after ordination, even if they become widowed. It also is important to note that candidates for the episcopacy are only chosen from among the celibate.

Anglican or Episcopalian

The role of a priest in the Anglican Communion is largely the same as within the Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Christianity, except that canon law in almost every Anglican province restricts the administration of confirmation to the bishop, just as with ordination. Whilst Anglican priests who are members of religious orders must remain celibate, the secular clergy - (bishops, priests, and deacons who are not members of religious orders) - are permitted to marry before or after ordination. The Anglican churches, unlike the Roman Catholic or Eastern Christian traditions, have allowed the ordination of women as priests in some provinces since 1971. This practice remains controversial, however; a minority of provinces (ten out the thirty-eight worldwide) retain an all-male priesthood. Most Continuing Anglican churches do not ordain women to the priesthood.

As Anglicanism represents a broad range of theological opinion, its presbyterate includes priests who consider themselves no different in any respect from those of the Roman Catholic Church, and a minority who prefer to use the title presbyter in order to distance themselves from the more sacrificial theological implications which they associate with the word "priest". While priest is the official title of a member of the presbyterate in every Anglican province worldwide, the ordination rite of certain provinces (including the Church of England) recognizes the breadth of opinion by adopting the title The Ordination of Priests (also called Presbyters). Historically, the term "priest" has been more associated with the "High Church" or Anglo-Catholic wing, whereas the term "minister" has been more commonly used in "Low Church" or Evangelical circles.

Protestantism

The general priesthood or the priesthood of all believers, is a Christian doctrine derived from several passages of the New Testament. It is a foundational concept of Protestantism. It is this doctrine that Martin Luther adduces in his 1520 To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation in order to dismiss the medieval Christian belief that Christians were to be divided into two classes: "spiritual" and "temporal" or non-spiritual.

The conservative reforms of Lutherans are reflected in the theological and practical view of the ministry of the Church. Much of European Lutheranism follows the traditional catholic governance of deacon, priest and bishop. The Lutheran archbishops of Finland, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, etc. and Baltic countries are the historic national primates or See of the original Catholic Church and some ancient cathedrals and parishes in the Lutheran church were constructed many centuries before the Reformation. Indeed, ecumenical work within the Anglican communion and among Scandinavian Lutherans mutually recognize the historic apostolic legitimacy and full communion. Likewise in America, Lutherans have embraced the apostolic succession of bishops in the full communion with Episcopalians and most Lutheran ordinations are performed by a bishop. The Catholic Church, however, does not recognise Episcopalians or Lutherans as having legitimate apostolic succession.

Ordained Protestant clergy often have the title of pastor, minister, reverend, etc. In some Lutheran churches, ordained clergy are called priests, while in others the term pastor is preferred.

Islam

The term for "priest" in the sense of presbyter in Islam is imam An imam leads prayer and acts as spiritual advisor. Islam does not have an office of priest in the sense of sacerdos, as the religion has no sacrificial rite comparable to the Christian Eucharist or the Jewish Korban. Ritual slaughter (dhabihah) may be performed by any adult Muslim, that fulfill the requirement needed by Islam.

Eastern religions

Hinduism

A yagya being performed

Hindu priests are usually used to be members of the Brahmin caste, in kerala members from ezhava and nair castes also does the job in many temples . There are two types of Hindu priests. A pujari performs rituals in a temple. These rituals include bathing the Murtis (the statues of the Gods/Goddesses), performing puja, a ritualistic offering of various items to the Gods, or in the North of India, Arati, the waving of a ghee or oil lamp before the Murtis. Pujaris are usually married.

A purohit on the other hand performs rituals and samskaras (sacraments) outside of the temple. There are special purohits who perform only funeral rites.

In many cases, a purohit also functions as a pujari. Both women and men are ordained as purohits and pujaris.

Zoroastrianism

In Zoroastrianism, the priesthood is reserved for men and mostly hereditary. The priests prepare a drink from a sacred plant, the Haoma ritual. They officiate the Yasna, pouring libations into the sacred fire to the accompaniment of ritual chants.

Taoism

The priests act as interpreters of the principles of Yin-Yang 5 elements (fire, water, earth, wood, and metal) school of ancient Chinese philosophy, as they relate to marriage, death, festival cycles, and so on. The Taoist priest seeks to share the benefits of meditation to his or her [6] community through public ritual and liturgy.

Shinto priest and priestess

Shintoism

The shinto priest is called a kannushi (神主, lit. "Master of the kami"), originally pronounced kamunushi, sometimes referred to as a shinshoku (神職). A Kannushi is the person responsible for the maintenance of a Shinto shrine, or jinja, purificatory rites, and for leading worship and veneration of a certain kami. Additionally, priests are aided by miko (巫女, "shrine maidens") for many rites as a kind of shaman or medium. The maidens may either be family members in training, apprentices, or local volunteers.

Saiin were female relatives of the Japanese emperor (termed saiō) who served as High Priestesses in Kamo Shrine. Saiō also served at Ise Shrine. Saiin priestesses usually were elected from royalty. In principle, Saiin remained unmarried, but there were exceptions. Some Saiin became consorts of the emperor, called Nyōgo in Japanese. The Saiin order of priestesses existed throughout the Heian and Kamakura periods.

Indigenous and ethnic religions

Further information: shaman and medicine man

Africa

The Yoruba people of western Nigeria practice an indigenous religion with a religious hierarchy of priests and priestesses that dates to AD 800-1000. Ifá priests and priestesses bear the titles Babalowo for men and Iyanifa for females [7]. Priests and priestess of the varied Orisha are titled Babalorisa for men and Iyalorisa for women [8]. Initiates are also given an Orisa or Ifá name that signifies under which deity they are initiated. For example a Priestess of Oshun may be named Osunyemi and a Priest of Ifá may be named Ifáyemi. This ancient culture continues to this day as initiates from all around the world return to Nigeria for initiation into the traditional priesthood.

Wicca

There are many different Wiccan practices. Most ordain women as well as men as priests; some Dianic Wiccans do not ordain men.

Dress

The dress of religious workers in ancient times may be demonstrated in frescoes and artifacts from the cultures. The dress is presumed to be related to the customary clothing of the culture, with some symbol of the deity worn on the head or held by the person. Sometimes special colors, materials, or patterns distinguish celebrants, as the white wool veil draped on the head of the Vestal Virgins.

Priestess officiating before an altar while nude to demonstrate purity, Attic red-figure kylix by Chairias, c. 510-500 BC, Ancient Agora Museum in Athens

Occasionally the celebrants at religious ceremonies shed all clothes in a symbolic gesture of purity. This was often the case in ancient times. An example of this is shown to the left on a Kylix dating from c. 500 BC where a priestess is featured. Modern religious groups tend to avoid such symbolism and some may be quite uncomfortable with the concept.

The retention of long skirts and vestments among many ranks of contemporary priests when they officiate may be interpreted to express the ancient traditions of the cultures from which their religious practices arose.

An Anglican priest in choir dress

In most Christian traditions, priests wear clerical clothing, a distinctive form of street dress. Even within individual traditions it varies considerably in form, depending on the specific occasion. In Western Christianity, the stiff white clerical collar has become the nearly universal feature of priestly clerical clothing, worn either with a cassock or a clergy shirt. The collar may be either a full collar or a vestigial tab displayed through a square cutout in the shirt collar.

Eastern Christian priests mostly retain the traditional dress of two layers of differently cut cassock: the rasson (Greek) or podriasnik (Russian) beneath the outer exorasson (Greek) or riasa (Russian). If a pectoral cross has been awarded it is usually worn with street clothes in the Russian tradition, but not so often in the Greek tradition.

Distinctive clerical clothing is less often worn in modern times than formerly, and in many cases it is rare for a priest to wear it when not acting in a pastoral capacity, especially in countries that view themselves as largely secular in nature. There are frequent exceptions to this however, and many priests rarely if ever go out in public without it, especially in countries where their religion makes up a clear majority of the population. Pope John Paul II often instructed Catholic priests and religious to always wear their distinctive (clerical) clothing, unless wearing it would result in persecution or grave verbal attacks.

Christian traditions that retain the title of priest also retain the tradition of special liturgical vestments worn only during services. Vestments vary widely among the different Christian traditions.

Assistant priest

In many religions there are one or more layers of assistant priests.

In the Ancient Near East, hierodules served in temples as assistants to the priestess.

In ancient Judaism, the Priests (Kohanim) had a whole class of Levites as their assistants in making the sacrifices, in singing psalms and in maintaining the Temple. The Priests and the Levites were in turn served by servants called Nethinim. These lowest level of servants were not priests.

An assistant priest is a priest in the Anglican and Episcopal churches who is not the senior member of clergy of the parish to which they are appointed, but is nonetheless in priests' orders; there is no difference in function or theology, merely in 'grade' or 'rank'. Some assistant priests have a "sector ministry", that is to say that they specialize in a certain area of ministry within the local church, for example youth work, hospital work, or ministry to local light industry. They may also hold some diocesan appointment part-time. In most (though not all) cases an assistant priest has the legal status of assistant curate, although it should also be noted that not all assistant curates are priests, as this legal status also applies to many deacons working as assistants in a parochial setting.

The corresponding term in the Catholic Church is "parochial vicar" - an ordained priest assigned to assist the pastor (Latin: parochus) of a parish in the pastoral care of parishioners. Normally, all pastors are also ordained priests although occasionally an auxiliary bishop will be assigned that role.

See also

General

• Clergy
• Holy Orders
• Presbyter

Priestly offices of various religions and denominations

Extant

• Brahmin
• Vedic priesthood
• Archpriest
• Hieromonk
• Vicar
• Priesthood (Community of Christ)
• Priesthood (Latter Day Saints)
• Shaman
• Mobad

Historical

• Goði
• Druid
• Oracle
• Vestal Virgin
• Pontifex Maximus
• Flamen
• Hierodule

Issues

• Presbyterorum Ordinis, decree on the priesthood from the Second Vatican Council
• Ordination of women
• Priest shortage
• Ritualism
• Sacerdotalism

Related

• Priesthood of all believers
• Pastor
• List of fictional clergy and religious figures

External links

• Description of the problem of Roman Catholic and Old Catholic reunion with respect to the female priesthood
• Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Priest" . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
• Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Priest" . Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.