PRIEST (Gr. presbyteros, Lat. presbyter, Fr. pretre), the title, in its most general sig nification, of a minister of public worship, but specially applied to the minister of sacri fice or other mediatorial offices. In the early history of mankind, the functions of the priest seem to have commonly been discharged by the head of each family; but on the expansion of the family into the state, the office of priest became a public one, which absorbed the duties as well as the privileges which before belonged to the heads of the separate families or communities. It thus came to pass that in many instances the priestly office was associated with that of the sovereign, whatever might be the particu lar form of sovereignty. 'But in many religious and political bodies, also, the orders were maintained in complete independence, and the priests formed a distinct and, gen erally speaking, a privileged class (see Eyyptian Priests, Indian Priests, below). The priestly order, in must of the ancient religions, ineladed a graduated hierarchy; and to the chief, whatever was his title, were assigned the most solemn of the religious offices intrusted to the body. In sacred history, the patriarchal period furnishes an example of the family priesthood; while in the instance of Melchizedec, king of Salem, we find the union of the royal with the priestly character. In the Mosaic law, the whole theory of the priesthood, as a sacrificial and mediatorial office, is fully developed. The priest of the Mosaic law stands iu the position of a mediator between God and the people; and even if the sacrifices which he offered tic regarded as but typical and prospective in their mond efficacy, the priest must be considered as administering them with full authority in all that regards their legal value. The Mosaic priesthood was the inheritance of the family of Aaron, of the tribe of Levi. It consisted of a high-priest(q.v.), and of inferior ministers, distributed into 24 classes. The age for admission to the priesthood is nowhere expressly fixed; but from 2d Chronicles xxxi. 17, it would seem that the mini mum age was 20. In the service of the temple; the priests were divided into 24 classes. each of which was subject to a chief priest, and served, each company for a week, fol lowing each other in rotation. Their duties in the temple consisted in preparing, slay ing, and offering victims; in preparing the show-bread, burning the incense, and tending the lights of the sanctuary. Outside, they were employed in instructing the people, attending to the daily offerings, enforcing the laws regarding legal uncleanness, etc. For their maintenance were set aside certain offerings (see FinsT-Fituers) and other gifts, They wore a distinguishing dress, the chief characteristics of which were a white tunic, an embroidered cincture, and a turban-shaped head-dress. The Jewish priesthood
may be said to have practically ceased with the destruction of the temple.
. In the Christian dispensation, the name primitively given to the public ministers of religion was presbyteros, of which the English name "priest " is but a form derived through the old French or Norman prestre. The name given in classical Greek to the sacrificing priests of the pagan religion, Gr. Itiereus, Lat. sacerdos, is not found in the New Testament explicitly applied to ministers of the Christian ministry; but very early in ecclesiastical use, it appears as an ordinary designation; and with all those bodies of Christians, Roman Catholics, Greeks, Syrians, and other orientals who regard the Eucharist as a sacrifice (see MAss), the two names were applied indiscriminately. The priesthood of the Christian church is one of the grades of the hierarchy (q.v.), second in order only to that of bishop, with which order the priesthood has many functions in common. The priest is regarded as the ordinary minister of the Eucharist, whether as a sacrament or as a sacrifice; of baptism, penance, and extreme unction; and although the contracting parties are held in the modern schools to be themselves the ministers of marriage, the priest is regarded by all schools of Roman divines as at least the normal and official witness of its celebration. The priest is also officially charged with the instruction of the people and the direction of their spiritual concerns, and by long-estab lished use, special districts, called parishes (q.v.), are assigned to priests,within which they are intrusted with the care and supervision of the spiritual wants of all the inhab itants: The holy order of priesthood can only be conferred by a bishop, and he is ordiL narily assisted by two or more priests, who, in common with the bishop, impose hands on the candidate. The rest of the ceremonial of ordination consists in investing the can didate wiih the sacred instruments and ornaments of his order, anointing his hands, and reciting certain prayers significative of the gifts and the duties of the office. The dis tinguishing vestment of the is the chasuble (Lat. planets). In Roman Catholic countries, priests wear even in public a distinctive dress, which, however, in most respects is common to them with the other orders of the clergy. In the Latin church, priests are bound to a life of celibacy. In the Greek and oriental churches, married men may be advanced to the priesthood; but no one is permitted to marry after ordina tion, nor is a mirried priest permitted to marry a second time, should his wife die.