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Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices.
- Hierarchy of the Catholic Church
Religious—who can be either lay people or clergy—are members...
- Regular clergy
Regular clergy, or just regulars, are clerics in the...
- Hierarchy of the Catholic Church
clergy, a body of ordained ministers in a Christian church. In the Roman Catholic Church and in the Church of England, the term includes the orders of bishop, priest, and deacon. Until 1972, in the Roman Catholic Church, clergy also included several lower orders.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
There are three levels of clergy: the episcopate, composed of bishops who hold jurisdiction over a geographic area called a diocese or eparchy; the presbyterate, composed of priests ordained by bishops and who work in local dioceses or religious orders; and the diaconate, composed of deacons who assist bishops and priests in a variety of ...
- 1.378 billion (2021)
Catholics hold that Saint Peter was Rome's first bishop. He started the unbroken line which includes the current pontiff, Pope Francis. That is, the Catholic Church maintains the apostolic succession of the Bishop of Rome, the Pope, who is the successor to Saint Peter.
May 23, 2018 · *clergy* Collective organization of ordained or consecrated priests and ministers, especially of the Christian Church. In the Roman Catholic, Orthodox, and Anglican Churches, the clergy comprise the orders of bishop, priest and deacon, and may also include members of religious orders.
