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In Judaism
In Christianity In the Christian context, some confusion is caused for English speakers by two different Greek words traditionally translated as priest. Both occur in the New Testament, which draws a distinction not always observed in English. The first, presbyteros (πρεσβυτερος), Latin presbyter, is traditionally translated priest and the English word priest is indeed etymologically derived from this word; literally, it means elder, and is used in neutral and non-religious contexts in Greek to refer to seniority or relative age. The second, hiereus ('ιερευς), 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, however, believe that priests and bishops share in the one priesthood of Christ through 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. Through the offering of the Eucharist, the priest who presides 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 after the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem (A.D. 70), possibly as early as A.D. 90 (see The Didache), Greek-speaking Christians began using hiereus 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. Thus, in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, Catholicism and Anglicanism, the terms "presbyter" and "priest" are virtually interchangeable (although, technically, bishops are also priests in this sense, and are sometimes called "high priests"). Priests, like deacons, are clergymembers and can only be ordained by a bishop. In the case of the ordination of a bishop, three or more bishops are normally required to perform the consecration. Roman Catholic and Orthodox
Protestant Most Protestant denominations do not use the term "priest" to describe the individual who has an officiating role because of its association with the idea of the Eucharist as sacrifice. In these denominations leaders of congregations are instead typically called "ministers" or "pastors" and are not necessarily believed to possess any special sacramental charism by virtue of their office. Lutheranism uses "priest" in Scandinavia and the Baltics and in churches deriving from there, but not in Germany and churches deriving from there. Anglican Communion The churches of the Anglican Communion universally refer to three orders of ordained ministry: bishops, priests and deacons. Priestly celibacy was abolished during the Reformation, although Anglican priests in religious orders normally are celibate. In some provinces of the Communion both men and women can be ordained as priests. Anglican priests, whether serving as vicar, rector, curate or parson, in general function in ways which are similar to the priests of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches, and Anglican Priests offer the Sacraments, including the celebration of the Mass, the Sacrament of Reconciliation, also called Confession. Holy Baptism is also normally administered by a priest. Quaker Quakerism does not grant a special priestly role to any individual, partly because Quakers do not practice any special sacraments that require priestly mediation, and partly because they believe that the priesthood of all believers grants the potential of a spiritual and ministerial role to all individuals within the denomination, regardless of sex or status within the faith. 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 shirt may be worn with or without a jacket, and occasionally a pectoral cross is worn with either the cassock or the 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. Every Christian tradition that retains the title of priest also retains the tradition of special liturgical vestments worn only during services. Vestments vary so widely that there is little that can be said in general about them. Garments traceable in origin to the ancient Roman dalmatic, such as the alb, surplice or stikharion, are very common, as is the stole, but these are not worn universally. 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. See also | ||||||||||||||
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