HIERARCHY, (from "AIL hirrar Chia, Gk. lepapxla, hierarchy, from Icpdpvis, rarcht's, hierarch, from lep6s, hieros, sacred + gpxot, archos, leader, from dpv(p, arehrin, to lead). The name used by theological writers to designate the whole governing and mittister• ing body in the Churell, distributed according Io its several gradations. The nerd, in it. strict acceptation is applicable only to the Roman Catholic ('hutch, and to those ( hristian com munities which retain the prelatical form of Church gmernment, or at least the distinctions Of ecclesiastical order and gradation. In consid ing the hierarchy it is necessary to hear in mind the well-known distinction of or& r and of juris diction. Considered under the head of or r, the hierarchy entltraees all the various orders or classes of ministers to whom has been assigned the duty of directing public worship, administer ing the sacraments. and discharging the 'various other offices connected with the 'treadling of the gospel; and these are of two kinds—the orders directly instituted by divine authority, and those established by ec•cicsiaslical ordinance. Theo logians commonly distinguish a hierarchy of di vine right, and a hierarchy of ercli siastical right, ( I ) The tirst includes the three ranks of bislams, priests, and deacons. The bishops are bylieved, a•-• successors of the .1postles, to have inherited the integrity of the Christian priesthood. The or der of episcopate, however, is not believed to be a distinct. order from that of priesthood. but only a fuller and entirely unrestricted form of that order. In all that regards what Roman Catholics
believe to be the Christian sacrifice of the encliarist, they hold that the priest 111).:S.311'A t he same powers of order with the bishop; but he eama)t confer the sacrament of orders, nor can he validly exer•ke the power of absolving in the sacrament of penance without the approbation of the bishop. (2) To the three ranks thus primi tively several others have been added by ecclesiastical ordinance. (See mamas, III.) The hierarchy of jurisdiction directly re gards the government of the Church. and com prises not only all the suecessive degrees of t•eele siastieal authority derived from the greater or less local extension of the several spheres within which such governing authority is limited—begin ning with the Pope as primate of the universal Church, and extending to the patriarchs as riding their several patriarchates, the primates in the kingdoms as national the metro politans or archbishops within their respective provinces, and the bishops in their dioceses.
In the Anglican Church, with the office of the episenpate. the theory of a hierarchical gradation of rank and of authority has been retained. The Anglican hierarchy comprises bishops, priests, and ((.:wens. In the other ref(Inned churches a bb.rareltical government is practically non-exist ent. theologieal writers, following Diony sius the .Areopagite. regard the angels as or ganized in the same hierarchical manner accord ing to their various orders.