the.com/priest
a professional middleman between you and the infinite, working hours that include death.
means A person ordained to perform religious rites, lead worship, and mediate between people and the divine in many faiths.
from From Old English 'preost,' which came through Latin 'presbyter' from Greek 'presbyteros,' meaning literally 'an elder' — the older, presumably wiser member of the early Christian community. The word's whole pedigree is about seniority, not sanctity: a priest started as simply the senior person you'd defer to. The same Greek root 'presbys' (old man) gives us 'Presbyterian,' so the two share a grandfather.
- vow
- Catholic priests promise celibacy, poverty, and obedience to a bishop
- confession seal
- Cannot reveal sins even under court order
- ancient role
- Egyptian priests bathed twice daily and shaved all body hair
- exorcism
- The Vatican still trains official exorcists today
- word origin
- From Greek presbyteros, meaning elder
pope francis — leader of 1.3 billion catholics, elected 2013
john paul ii — pope who visited 129 countries, died 2005
cotton mather — colonial massachusetts minister during salem witch trials, 1692-93