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A '''priest''' or priestess is a [[person]] having the [[authority]] or [[power]] to [[administer]] religious [[rites]]; in particular, rites of [[sacrifice]] to, and propitiation of, a [[deity]] or deities. Their office or position is the priesthood, a term which may also apply to such persons [[collective]]ly.
Priests and priestesses have been known since the earliest of times and in the simplest societies. They exist in all or some branches of [[Judaism]], [[Christianity]], Shintoism, Hinduism, and many other religions, as well, and are generally regarded as having good contact with the deities of the religion to which they subscribe, often [[interpreting]] the [[meaning]] of [[events]], performing the [[rituals]] of the [[religion]], and to whom other believers often will turn for advice on [[spiritual]] [[things|matters]].
In many religions, being a priest or priestess is a full-time job, ruling out any other career. In other cases it is a part-time role. For example in the early [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Iceland history of Iceland] the chieftains were entitled goði, a [[word]] meaning "priest". But as seen in the saga of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hrafnkels_saga Hrafnkell Freysgoði], being a priest consisted merely of offering periodic [[sacrifices]] to the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norse_mythology Norse] gods and goddesses; it was not a full time job, nor did it involve ordination.
In some religions, being a priest is by human election or human choice. In others the priesthood is inherited in familial lines.
Women officiating in modern [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paganism Paganism], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neopagan Neopagan] religions such as [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wicca Wicca], and various [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polytheistic_Reconstructionism Polytheistic Reconstructionism] faiths are referred to as priestesses; however, in contemporary [[Christian]] churches that ordain women, such as those of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglican_Communion Anglican Communion] or the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Christian_Community Christian Community], ordained women are called priests.
==External Link==
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica_Eleventh_Edition Priest, Encyclopedia Brittanica 1911]
[[Category: Religion]]
[[Category: Anthropology]]
A '''priest''' or priestess is a [[person]] having the [[authority]] or [[power]] to [[administer]] religious [[rites]]; in particular, rites of [[sacrifice]] to, and propitiation of, a [[deity]] or deities. Their office or position is the priesthood, a term which may also apply to such persons [[collective]]ly.
Priests and priestesses have been known since the earliest of times and in the simplest societies. They exist in all or some branches of [[Judaism]], [[Christianity]], Shintoism, Hinduism, and many other religions, as well, and are generally regarded as having good contact with the deities of the religion to which they subscribe, often [[interpreting]] the [[meaning]] of [[events]], performing the [[rituals]] of the [[religion]], and to whom other believers often will turn for advice on [[spiritual]] [[things|matters]].
In many religions, being a priest or priestess is a full-time job, ruling out any other career. In other cases it is a part-time role. For example in the early [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Iceland history of Iceland] the chieftains were entitled goði, a [[word]] meaning "priest". But as seen in the saga of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hrafnkels_saga Hrafnkell Freysgoði], being a priest consisted merely of offering periodic [[sacrifices]] to the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norse_mythology Norse] gods and goddesses; it was not a full time job, nor did it involve ordination.
In some religions, being a priest is by human election or human choice. In others the priesthood is inherited in familial lines.
Women officiating in modern [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paganism Paganism], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neopagan Neopagan] religions such as [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wicca Wicca], and various [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polytheistic_Reconstructionism Polytheistic Reconstructionism] faiths are referred to as priestesses; however, in contemporary [[Christian]] churches that ordain women, such as those of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglican_Communion Anglican Communion] or the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Christian_Community Christian Community], ordained women are called priests.
==External Link==
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica_Eleventh_Edition Priest, Encyclopedia Brittanica 1911]
[[Category: Religion]]
[[Category: Anthropology]]
