Holy Order

Other forms: Holy Orders

Definitions of Holy Order

1. noun

   (usually plural) the status or rank or office of a Christian clergyman in an ecclesiastical hierarchy
   synonyms: Order

   types:

   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