Hērbad (also ''hīrbad'', ''hērbed'' or ''ērvad'') is a title given to
Zoroastrian
Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religion and one of the world's oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a dualistic cosmology of good and evil within the framework of a monotheisti ...
priests of minor orders.
In the present day, ''hērbad'' is the lowest rank in the Zoroastrian priesthood, and is granted following the basic ''navar'' ceremony that marks the beginning of theological training. Unlike a '' mobed'' or ''
dastūr
A dastūr, sometimes spelt dustoor, is a term for a Zoroastrian high priest who has authority in religious matters and ranks higher than a mobad or herbad. In this specific sense, the term is used mostly among the Parsis of India. The term has also ...
'', a ''hērbad'' may not celebrate the ''
yasna
Yasna (;"Yasna" '' Vendidad'', which is reserved for priests of higher grade.
Amongst lay Zoroastrians, the three terms are used interchangeably. Unlike ''mobed'' but like ''dastūr'', ''hērbad'' may be adopted as a professional title in a person's name.
History of term
Middle Persian 𐭧𐭩𐭫𐭯𐭲 ''harpat'' ( Pahlavi ''ʼyhlpt'') derives from Avestan 𐬀𐬈𐬚𐬭𐬀𐬞𐬀𐬌𐬙𐬌 ''aethrapaiti'', which the Avesta uses denote a priestly teacher whose students (''aethrii'') would be taught to recite the sacred texts. By the 2nd century CE, the term had come to refer to a clergyman who taught religious subjects, and the term appears to have commanded greater prestige than it does today. In the late 3rd century inscription at the Ka'ba-ye Zartosht, the high-priest Kartir refers to himself as ''hērbad''.
There is some evidence that suggest that already by the 6th century, ''hērbad''s performed advanced theological tasks, including translations and interpretation of Avestan texts. The 10th century '' Denkard'' refers to the high-priest Tansar, who, in legend, is attributed with the collation of the Avesta, as ''hērbad''.
Following the collapse of the Sassanid state in the 6th century, after which Zoroastrianism began to be supplanted by
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...
, the increasingly impoverished Zoroastrian communities found it difficult to support a priesthood known only for their scholarship. By the 9th century, there was an active rivalry between these scholar-priests and ritual priests, with each group underbidding the other in their attempts to secure an income. For Zoroastrian laypersons, the distinction between the two groups was at best theoretical and by the 10th century, the term ''hērbad'' had lost most associations of scholarship and eventually came to refer to priests that had no theological authority. Beyond that distinction, the terms ''hērbad'', ''mobad'' and ''dastūr'' were used interchangeably.
In the 16th century, the ''
Rivayat
The ''Revayats'' (also spelled as ''Rivayats'') are a series of exchanges between the Zoroastrian community in India and their co-religionists in early modern Iran. They have been ascribed the same importance of the Talmud to Judaism by Jivanji ...
'' epistles encouraged the Indian Zoroastrians to distinguish between priests capable of officiating at a '' Vendidad'' reading and the others. That led to the reinstatement of a hierarchy, with ''hērbad''s at the lowest rung on the ladder. Above them were the ''
mobad
A Mobed, Mowbed, or Mobad (Middle Persian: 𐭬𐭢𐭥𐭯𐭲) is a Zoroastrian cleric of a particular rank. Unlike an '' herbad'' (''ervad''), a ''mobed'' is qualified to serve as celebrant priest at the Yasna ceremony and other higher liturgic ...
''s, denoting priests who had completed their training. In India, the ''mobad''s have a ''dastur'' as their superior. This is effectively an administrative rank and denotes a director of a fire temple. A ''dastūr'' is also the highest religious instance for the community that worships at that temple.