In the church of England, and other Reformed Episcopal churches, the term priest is retained as the designation of the second order of clergy, whose special alike it is (I) to celebrate the sacrament of the Lord's-supper; (2) to pronounce the forms of absolution in Ow morning and evening prayer, in the communion service, and in the office for the visitation of the sick; and (3) to preach, though this last office is, by special license, sometimes extended to deacons.
Priests only can hold a benefice with cure of souls. The age for admission into the priesthood is 24 years. (For the manner and ceremonies of admission see ORDINATION.) Priests in the church of England are ordinarily distinguished during divine service by a black stole of silk worn upon the surplice over both shoulders; deacons, according to the ancient wearing it shoulder only. Marriage is permitted in the church of England to all orders of the clergy: E,qyptian Priests.—In the political division of Egypt the population is supposed to have been divided into three or four castes, at the head of which was the sacerdotal, or priests. This division, however, was not very strictly observed, as the son did not invariably follow the profession of the father. That of the priest appears most honora ble, and two principal classes of priests were in existence at the earliest periods—the hoot. or prophets, and the cat, or inferior priests. The first were attached to the worship of all the deities of Egypt ; and in the greater cities there was hont api, high prophet, or priest, who presided over the others; at Thebes there were as many as four prophets of Ammon. Their duties appear to have comprised the general coitus of the deity. They also interpreted the oracles of the temples. Besides the prophets of the gods, others were mulched to the worship of the king and to various offices connected with the administration of the temples. The class of priests called ab, or "pure," were inferior, and were also attached to the principal deities, and to the personal worship of the mon arch. They were presided over by a superintendent, but had no high-priest. A third class of priests, the karlieb, appear iu connection with funeral and other ceremonies, and sonic other inferior persons of the hierarchy. The scribes formed a caste apart, but those who were attached to the temple were of the priestly order. Besides these above men• tinned, the Greeks enumerate a variety of sacred officials. The administration of the temples by the hierarchy was as follows: The temple was governed by a superintendent, Dr epl:stet4s, called in Egyptian men, either the high-priest or a prophet. Under him was a. vicar, and a royal officer, called eprinIeletes, or overseer, by the Greeks. These attended to the receipts and expenses. Lay brethren, or kierodules, attended and assisted the priests in their functions; and in addition to these there were a kind of monks in the Serapeium, who lived within the precincts of the temple, which they were not allowed on lily account to quit. At Alexandria. under the Ptolemies, there was 'a priest of Alexander the great, and others attached to the worship of the deceased Ptolemies, and also one attached to the worship of the living monarch. This priest, it appears, was
nominated by the king himself, and drew a revenue from the different temples of Egypt. He was at this period the high-priest of the whole country, and had no doubt superseded the former high-priest of Ptah at Memphis, and of Amen-fiaat Thebes, who had formerly exercised a kind of pontificate. On solemn occasions a synod of the priests was held for purposes affecting the whole body. Some light has been thrown on the relative dignities of the hierarchy by the hieroglyphical inscription on a'statue of Bakenklionsou, it high priest of Amen-Ra, now at Munich. At the age of 16 he held a civil employment under Sethos I. ; he was then made priest ab of Amen-Ra, which office be exercised for four after this be rose to the rank of "divine father" of the god, which office he held for 12 years; after that, be became third prophet of the same deity for 15 years; then second prophet for 12 years; and finally, at the age of 59, chief prophet or high-priest of the god—held the post fur 27 years, and died at the age of 86. The youthful age at which offices IA ere held was probably owing to the careful education which the young priests had to undergo, and the habits required for the order. They were required to be scrupidously neat and clean, entirely shaven, clad in linen, and shod with papyrus sandals, and to main tain a rigid diet, in which was a careful abstaining from pork, mutton, beaus, and salt, to which was added a bath twice a day, and other ablutions. They also fasted, and one of their fasts lasted 42 days; others even longer; they then lived on vegetable food alone, and exercised a rigid continence. They were, however, not unmarried, but allowed one wife. Their support was derived from various sources—as from royal and other endow ments of the temples, from the gifts of votaries, and from charges on the produce of the country. On festivals not only were they-often clad in fine linen, but the addition of a panther-skin was often added to their attire; and they were anointed with perfumes and unguents. They offered water and burning incense. Although Herodotus has stated that no woman was a priestess in Ev pt, many functions connected with the temples were held by women. The most important ts as that of "divine wife of Amen-Ra," called by Diodorus the pallakis, or concubine, of Jupiter. which was conferred upon queens and princesses only. Another title was that of "divine hand," or adorer of the same god, a rank also held by royal personages. During the 4th dynasty, at the dine of Cheops and the pyramids, there were prophetesses; but the order does not appear to have been kept up, for at a later period there only appear the sua, or singing women of the gods, and the aba, or performers, of the principal deities,who attended with siatra at the festivals. Besides these, oilier women had charge of certain things connected with the temple, and canephoroi, or basket-bearers. They had no distinctive dress, and were often the wives of prophets or other priests.—Boeek, Corp. laser. Grae., p. xxix. p. 303; Schmidt, De' Sacerdot. yE'optior.; Wilkinson. Manners and Customs, vol. i. p. 237; Deveria, ifonument de Bakenkhonsou (Paris. 1862).