Order

Other forms: Orders

Definitions of Order
  1. noun
    (usually plural) the status or rank or office of a Christian clergyman in an ecclesiastical hierarchy
    “theologians still disagree over whether `bishop' should or should not be a separate Order”
    synonyms: Holy Order
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    types:
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    acolyte
    someone who assists a priest or minister in a liturgical service; a cleric ordained in the highest of the minor orders in the Roman Catholic Church but not in the Anglican Church or the Eastern Orthodox Churches
    anagnost
    a cleric in the minor orders of the Eastern Orthodox Church who reads the lessons aloud in the liturgy (analogous to the lector in the Roman Catholic Church)
    deacon
    a cleric ranking just below a priest in Christian churches; one of the Holy Orders
    doorkeeper, ostiarius, ostiary
    the lowest of the minor Holy Orders in the unreformed Western Church but now suppressed by the Roman Catholic Church
    exorcist
    one of the minor orders in the unreformed Western Church but now suppressed in the Roman Catholic Church
    lector, reader
    someone who reads the lessons in a church service; someone ordained in a minor order of the Roman Catholic Church
    priest
    a clergyman in Christian churches who has the authority to perform or administer various religious rites; one of the Holy Orders
    subdeacon
    a clergyman an order below deacon; one of the Holy Orders in the unreformed western Christian church and the eastern Catholic Churches but now suppressed in the Roman Catholic Church
    altar boy
    a boy serving as an acolyte
    archpriest, hierarch, high priest, prelate, primate
    a senior clergyman and dignitary
    bishop
    a senior member of the Christian clergy having spiritual and administrative authority; appointed in Christian churches to oversee priests or ministers; considered in some churches to be successors of the twelve Apostles of Christ
    canon
    a priest who is a member of a cathedral chapter
    celebrant
    an officiating priest celebrating the Eucharist
    confessor
    a priest who hears confession and gives absolution
    domestic prelate
    (Roman Catholic Church) a priest who is an honorary member of the papal household
    Father, Padre
    `Father' is a term of address for priests in some churches (especially the Roman Catholic Church or the Orthodox Catholic Church); `Padre' is frequently used in the military
    Monsignor
    (Roman Catholic Church) an ecclesiastical title of honor bestowed on some priests
    pontifex
    a member of the highest council of priests in ancient Rome
    priestess
    a woman priest
    thurifer
    an acolyte who carries a thurible
    vicar
    a Roman Catholic priest who acts for another higher-ranking clergyman
    type of:
    position, status
    the relative position or standing of things or especially persons in a society
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