A priest or priestess (feminine) (from Greek πρεσβύτερος presbýteros through Latin presbyter, "elder", or from Old High German priast, prest, from Vulgar Latin "prevost" "one put over others", from Latin praepositus "person placed in charge"), is a person 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.
The ministerial orders of the Roman Catholic Church are those of bishop, presbyter (more commonly called priest in English), and deacon. The ordained priesthood and the common priesthood (or priesthood of all the baptized faithful) are different in function and essence. The Catholic Church teaches that when a man participates in priesthood, he participates in the priesthood of Christ Himself. All men who, through the Sacrament of Holy Orders, have become priests participate in Christ's priesthood; they act in persona Christi Capitis, in the person of Christ, the Head of His Body, the Church.
Unlike usage in English, "the Latin words sacerdos and sacerdotium are used to refer in general to the ministerial priesthood shared by bishops and presbyters. The words presbyter, presbyterium and presbyteratus refer to priests in the English use of the word or presbyters." In late 2008, there were 409,166 Catholic priests of the Latin Church and the Eastern Catholic Churches worldwide. A priest of the regular clergy is commonly addressed with the title "Father", abbreviated Fr., in the Roman Catholic and some other Christian churches.
A priest is a person who holds an office in a religion, for example an Orthodox Christian, Roman Catholic priest, Hindu priest, an Imam in Islam, or a Kohen in Judaism.
Priest may also refer to:
Priest (Hangul: 프리스트) is a manhwa (Korean comic) series created by Hyung Min-woo. It fuses the Western genre with supernatural horror and dark fantasy themes and is notable for its unusual, angular art style. An interview with Hyung in Priest: Volume 3 states that the comic was inspired by the computer game Blood, which featured a similar horror-Western aesthetic and undead protagonist.
Priest was published in English by Tokyopop. The manhwa was adapted into the 2011 American horror film of the same name.
Priest tells the story of humanity's battle against 12 fallen angels. The angels descended to Earth to 'play God' among humans, who build a temple and statues in their honor. For their rebellion against him, God destroyed their temple, imprisoned their souls in statues, and buried the statues underground.
Centuries later, a Holy Knight name Vascar De Gullion loses his family. He 'loses faith' and wanders the earth in a 'blood rage.' He discovers a cave containing the statues of the 12 fallen angels. Temozarela convinces Vascar De Gullion to give up his body to the angel to take revenge against God. Vascar De Gullion is discovered by a powerful priest, Betheal. He discovers that Vascar De Gullion is actually Temozarela. Betheal traps their souls within a powerful weapon called the Domas Porada, becoming the demon Belial in the process.
Priest, in comics, may refer to:
Kohen or cohen (or kohain; Hebrew: כֹּהֵן, "priest", pl. כֹּהֲנִים kohanim) is the Hebrew word for priest. Jewish kohanim are traditionally believed and halakhically required to be of direct patrilineal descent from the biblical Aaron.
During the existence of the Temple in Jerusalem, kohanim performed the daily and holiday (Yom Tov) duties of sacrificial offerings. Today, kohanim retain a lesser though distinct status within Rabbinic and Karaite Judaism, and are bound by additional restrictions according to Orthodox Judaism.
In the Samaritan community, the kohanim have remained the primary religious leaders. Ethiopian Jewish religious leaders are sometimes called kahen, a form of the same word, but the position is not hereditary and their duties are more like those of rabbis than kohanim in most Jewish communities.
The noun kohen is used in the Torah to refer to priests, both Jewish and non-Jewish, such as the Jewish nation as a whole, as well as the priests (Hebrew kohanim) of Baal (2 Kings 10:19).