Priest
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- This article is about religious workers. For other uses of the word, see priest (disambiguation).
- For Canadian rock band Priestess, see Priestess (band).
Image:Escriva at Mass.jpg A priest or priestess is a person having the authority or power to perform and administer religious rites; and in particular, rites of sacrifice to the Deity or Deities. Their office or position is the priesthood, a term which may also apply to such persons collectively.
Priests have been known since the earliest of early times and in the simplest societies (see shaman and oracle). There are priests in some branches of Christianity, Shintoism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and many other religions, though each culture has a local denomination for the priestly office. Priests are generally regarded as having good contact with the deities of the religion to which he or she ascribes, and other believers will often turn to a priest for advice on spiritual matters. In many (but not all) religions, being a priest is a full-time assignment, ruling out any other career. In other cases it is an auxiliary role. For example in early Icelandic history the chieftains were entitled goði, a word which meant "priest", but as in the saga of Hrafenkel Freys Goði, this consisted merely of offering periodic sacrifices to the Norse gods and was not a full time occupation, nor did it involve any special training or ordination. In some religions, priesthood is a position inherited in familial line. The term "priestess" is often used for female priests in historical and modern paganism, neopagan religions such as Wicca and various reconstructionist faiths; however, in Christian churches such as those of the Anglican Communion, female priests are simply called priests without regard for gender.
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[edit] In Judaism
[edit] In Christianity
Two different Greek words have traditionally been translated into Latin and other languages 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 (πρεσβυτερος), Latin presbyterus, 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.
The second word, hieros ('ιερoς), 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 that of Christ; it teaches that the sacrificial atonement by Jesus Christ on Calvary has made the Jewish priesthood redundant. Thus, for Christians, Christ himself is uniquely hiereus. Catholic and Orthodox Christians, therefore, believe that priests and bishops share in the one priesthood of Christ through the sacrament of Holy Orders, and are empowered to offer the one sacrifice of Jesus in the Eucharist which, as Hebrews says, is offered "once for all," being identical with the very sacrifice of the Cross: Mass, or Divine Liturgy, as the eucharistic celebration is known, are therefore literally re-presentations (making present again) the single sacrifice, according to this theology.. Only in this sense the priest is also a sacerdos (sacrificer). These faiths teach that through the offering of the Eucharist, the priest who celebrates and the congregation which is present participate in Christ's redemptive work of the Cross, for themselves, for the good of the Church, and for the whole world. At some point Greek-speaking Christians began using hieros to refer, first, to bishops and then, by extension, to the priests under them, but still making a distinction between the Jewish priesthood, pagan priesthoods, and the priesthood of Christ. In Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, Catholicism and Anglicanism the terms "presbyter" and "priest" are thus virtually interchangeable. Priests, like deacons, are clergymembers and can only be ordained by a bishop.
[edit] Roman Catholic and Orthodox
The most significant liturgical acts reserved to Oriental Orthodox, Eastern Orthodox, and Roman Catholic priests are the administration of the Sacraments, including the celebration of the Mass or Divine Liturgy (the terms for the celebration of theEucharist in the Western and Eastern traditions, respectively), and the Sacrament of Penance, also called Confession. The sacraments of anointing of the sick and confirmation or chrismation are also administered by priests, though in the Western tradition confirmation is most often celebrated by a bishop. Holy Baptism may be celebrated by anyone and Matrimony may be witnessed by a deacon, but most often these are also normally administered by a priest. The only sacrament which is always reserved to a bishop is that of ordination, or Holy Orders.
In these traditions, only men who meet certain requirements may become priests. In 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 at need. In neither tradition may priests marry after ordination. In the Latin rite of the Roman church, they must be celibate and there are special rules for married clergy converting from certain other Christian confessions. Married men may become priests in Eastern Orthodoxy and the Eastern Rites of the Roman church but in neither case may they marry after ordination even if they become widowed. It is also important to note that candidates for the episcopacy are only chosen from among the celibate.
[edit] Dress
Image:Kruisheren 1964 Canons Regular of the Order Sanctae Crucis.jpg
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 vestigal 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 has 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.
[edit] Assistant Priest
A priest in the Anglican, Episcopal and Catholic churches that is not the head pastor, or senior pastor, but a pastor who was ordained, but is not the head of church. Some assistant priests specialize in a certain ministry or area of the church.
[edit] See also
- Clergy
- Brahmin, Vedic priesthood
- Goði
- Druid
- Hierodule
- Holy Orders
- Monk
- Nun
- Pundit (aka Pandit)
- Priesthood (Community of Christ)
- Priesthood (Mormonism)
- Priesthood of all believers
- Shaman
- Wicca
- List of fictional clergy and religious figures
- Presbyterorum Ordinis, decree on the priesthood from the Second Vatican Council
- Ordination of women
- Priest shortage
- Ritualism
[edit] External links
- Description of the problem of Roman Catholic and Old Catholic reunion with respect to the female priesthood.
- [1] 1911 Britannica article on the priesthood.ca:Prevere
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