priest /ˈprist/
 牧師,神父,僧侶


 Priest n.
 1. Christian Church A presbyter elder; a minister; specifically: (a) R. C. Ch. & Gr. Ch. One who is authorized to consecrate the host and to say Mass; but especially, one of the lowest order possessing this power. --Murdock. (b) Ch. of Eng. &  Prot. Epis. Ch. A presbyter; one who belongs to the intermediate order between bishop and deacon. He is authorized to perform all ministerial services except those of ordination and confirmation.
 2. One who officiates at the altar, or performs the rites of sacrifice; one who acts as a mediator between men and the divinity or the gods in any form of religion; as, Buddhist priests. “The priests of Dagon.”
    Then the priest of Jupiter . . . brought oxen and garlands . . . and would have done sacrifice with the people.
 --Acts xiv. 13.
    Every priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins.   --Heb. v. 1.
 Note: ☞ In the New Testament presbyters are not called priests; but Christ is designated as a priest, and as a high priest, and all Christians are designated priests.


 Priest v. t. To ordain as priest.

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 priest
      n 1: a clergyman in Christian churches who has the authority to
           perform or administer various religious rites; one of
           the Holy Orders
      2: a spiritual leader in a non-Christian religion [syn: {non-Christian
         priest]


 Priest
    The Heb. kohen, Gr. hierus, Lat. sacerdos, always denote one who
    offers sacrifices.

      At first every man was his own priest, and presented his own
    sacrifices before God. Afterwards that office devolved on the
    head of the family, as in the cases of Noah (Gen. 8:20), Abraham
    (12:7; 13:4), Isaac (26:25), Jacob (31:54), and Job (Job 1:5).

      The name first occurs as applied to Melchizedek (Gen. 14:18).
    Under the Levitical arrangements the office of the priesthood
    was limited to the tribe of Levi, and to only one family of that
    tribe, the family of Aaron. Certain laws respecting the
    qualifications of priests are given in Lev. 21:16-23. There are
    ordinances also regarding the priests' dress (Ex. 28:40-43) and
    the manner of their consecration to the office (29:1-37).

      Their duties were manifold (Ex. 27:20, 21; 29:38-44; Lev.
    6:12; 10:11; 24:8; Num. 10:1-10; Deut. 17:8-13; 33:10; Mal.
    2:7). They represented the people before God, and offered the
    various sacrifices prescribed in the law.

      In the time of David the priests were divided into twenty-four
    courses or classes (1 Chr. 24:7-18). This number was retained
    after the Captivity (Ezra 2:36-39; Neh. 7:39-42).

      "The priests were not distributed over the country, but lived
    together in certain cities [forty-eight in number, of which six
    were cities of refuge, q.v.], which had been assigned to their
    use. From thence they went up by turns to minister in the temple
    at Jerusalem. Thus the religious instruction of the people in
    the country generally was left to the heads of families, until
    the establishment of synagogues, an event which did not take
    place till the return from the Captivity, and which was the main
    source of the freedom from idolatry that became as marked a
    feature of the Jewish people thenceforward as its practice had
    been hitherto their great national sin."

      The whole priestly system of the Jews was typical. It was a
    shadow of which the body is Christ. The priests all prefigured
    the great Priest who offered "one sacrifice for sins" "once for
    all" (Heb. 10:10, 12). There is now no human priesthood. (See
    Epistle to the Hebrews throughout.) The term "priest" is indeed
    applied to believers (1 Pet. 2:9; Rev. 1:6), but in these cases
    it implies no sacerdotal functions. All true believers are now
    "kings and priests unto God." As priests they have free access
    into the holiest of all, and offer up the sacrifices of praise
    and thanksgiving, and the sacrifices of grateful service from
    day to day.