Priests traveling across kealakekua bay for first contact rituals.jpg

A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more 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. A priest may have the duty to hear confessions periodically, give marriage counseling, provide prenuptial counseling, give spiritual direction, teach catechism, or visit those confined indoors, such as the sick in hospitals and nursing homes.

Description

According to the trifunctional hypothesis of prehistoric Proto-Indo-European society, priests have existed since the earliest of times and in the simplest societies, most likely as a result of agricultural surplus and consequent social stratification. The necessity to read sacred texts and keep temple or church records helped foster literacy in many early societies. Priests exist in many religions today, such as all or some branches of Judaism, Christianity, Buddhism, Shinto and Hinduism. They are generally regarded as having privileged 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. There is no common definition of the duties of priesthood between faiths; but generally it includes mediating the relationship between one's congregation, worshippers, and other members of the religious body, and its deity or deities, and administering religious rituals and rites. These often include blessing worshipers with prayers of joy at marriages, after a birth, and at consecrations, teaching the wisdom and dogma of the faith at any regular worship service, and mediating and easing the experience of grief and death at funerals – maintaining a spiritual connection to the afterlife in faiths where such a concept exists. Administering religious building grounds and office affairs and papers, including any religious library or collection of sacred texts, is also commonly a responsibility – for example, the modern term for clerical duties in a secular office refers originally to the duties of a cleric. The question of which religions have a "priest" depends on how the titles of leaders are used or translated into English. In some cases, leaders are more like those that other believers will often turn to for advice on spiritual matters, and less of a "person authorized to perform the sacred rituals." For example, clergy in Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy are ''priests'', as with certain synods of Lutheranism and Anglicanism, though other branches of Protestant Christianity, such as Methodists and Baptists, use '' minister'' and ''pastor.'' The terms ''priest'' and ''priestess'' are sufficiently generic that they may be used in an anthropological sense to describe the religious mediators of an unknown or otherwise unspecified religion.

In many religions, being a priest or priestess is a full-time position, ruling out any other career. Many Christian priests and pastors choose or are mandated to dedicate themselves to their churches and receive their living directly from their churches. In other cases, it is a part-time role. For example, in the early history of Iceland the chieftains were titled ''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 Judaism, the priesthood is inherited in familial lines. In a theocracy, a society is governed by its priesthood.

Etymology

The word "priest", is ultimately derived from Latin via Greek ''presbyter'', the term for "elder", especially elders of Jewish or Christian communities in late antiquity. The Latin ''presbyter'' ultimately represents Greek ''presbúteros'', the regular Latin word for "priest" being '' sacerdos'', corresponding to ''hiereús''.

It is possible that the Latin word was loaned into Old English, and only from Old English reached other Germanic languages via the Anglo-Saxon mission to the continent, giving Old Icelandic ''prestr'', Old Swedish ''präster'', Old High German ''priast''. Old High German also has the disyllabic ''priester, priestar'', apparently derived from Latin independently via Old French ''presbtre''.

Αn alternative theory makes ''priest'' cognate with Old High German ''priast'', ''prest'', from Vulgar Latin *''prevost'' "one put over others", from Latin ''praepositus'' "person placed in charge".

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

The feminine English noun, ''priestess'', was coined in the 17th century, to refer to female priests of the pre-Christian religions of classical antiquity. In the 20th century, the word was used in controversies surrounding the women ordained in the Anglican communion, who are referred to as "priests", irrespective of gender, and the term priestess is generally considered archaic in Christianity.

Webster's 1829 Dictionary stated "PRIEST, ''noun'' atin proestes, a chief, one that presides; proe, before, and sto, to stand, or sisto. https://webstersdictionary1828.com/Dictionary/priest

Historical religions

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 priests and priestesses

* Sumerian ( akk, entu), including Enheduanna (c. 23rd century BCE), 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 with priests and kings.
* Nadītu served as priestesses in the temples of Inanna in the city of Uruk. They were recruited from the highest families in the land and were supposed to remain childless, owned property, and transacted business.
* The Sumerian word , in Akkadian, is the sign for "lady." (Akkadian ''entu''), literally "divine lady", a priestess.
* In Sumerian epic texts such as "Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta", were priestesses in temples dedicated to Inanna and may be a reference to the goddess herself.
* Puabi of Ur was an Akkadian queen regnant or a priestess. In several other Sumerian city-states, the ruling governor or king was also a head priest with the rank of , such as at Lagash.
* Control of the holy city of Nippur and its temple priesthood generally meant hegemony over most of Sumer, as listed on the '' Sumerian King List''; at one point, the Nippur priesthood conferred the title of queen of Sumer on Kugbau, a popular taverness from nearby Kish (who was later deified as Kubaba).
* In the Hebrew Bible

HOME


Content is Copyleft
Website design, code, and AI is Copyrighted (c) 2014-2017 by Stephen Payne


Consider donating to Wikimedia



As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases