Template:Short description {{#invoke:other uses|otheruses}} The term "high priest" usually refers either to an individual who holds the office of ruler-priest, or to one who is the head of a religious organisation.

Ancient EgyptEdit

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In ancient Egypt, a high priest was the chief priest of any of the many gods revered by the Egyptians.

Ancient IsraelEdit

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File:High Priest.jpg
Depiction of a high priest in biblical costume, end of the 17th century, orientalising representation with turban, in the collection of the Jewish Museum of Switzerland

The High Priest of Israel served in the Tabernacle, then in Solomon's Temple and the Second Temple in Jerusalem. The Samaritan High Priest is the high priest of the Samaritans.

Ancient worldEdit

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ChinaEdit

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IndiaEdit

ChristianityEdit

Template:Further The Epistle to the Hebrews refers to Jesus as high priest.<ref>see Template:Bibleverse, Template:Bibleverse, Template:Bibleverse, Template:Bibleverse; Template:Bibleverse, Template:Bibleverse</ref>

In Christianity, a high priest could sometimes be compared to the Pope in the Catholic Church, to a patriarch in the Oriental Orthodox Churches, the Church of the East and the Eastern Orthodox Churches (the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople is a primus inter pares) or to a primate in the Anglican Communion (the Archbishop of Canterbury is a primus inter pares), but it is traditional to refer to it only to Jesus Christ as the only high priest of Christianity. Throughout the episcopal body, except in the Anglican and Lutheran communions, bishops may also be referred to as high priests, since they share in or are considered earthly instruments of the high priesthood of Jesus Christ.

High priest is an office of the priesthood within the Melchizedek priesthood in most denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement.

MandaeismEdit

Template:Further A high priest in Mandaeism is known as a ganzibra.<ref name="Gelbert 2005">Template:Cite book</ref> The head of all of the high priests within a Mandaean community is known as a rishama.

Other religionsEdit

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  • In Shinto, a high priest, called a Guji, is usually the highest-ranking priest (Kannushi) in a shrine.
  • Grand Mufti is the title for the leading Islamic jurist of a country, typically Sunni, who may oversee other muftis.
  • The Grand Imam of al-Azhar is considered, by most Muslims, to be the highest authority in Sunni Islamic thought and Islamic jurisprudence<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> and holds great influence on followers of the theological Ash'ari and Maturidi traditions worldwide.
  • In Ásatrú, the high priest is called a goði (or gyða) and is the leader of a small group of practitioners collectively referred to as a Kindred. The goði are collectively known as the goðar. Some countries use the term Allsherjargoði for national multi-kindred organizations, most notably Iceland's.
  • In both the Yoruba religion and a number of its various New World sects, such as Santeria, a high priest is called a Babalawo. The term means wise man, and comes from the Yoruba language of West Africa. A female holder of the title is known as an Iyanifa.
  • In Wicca, High Priest and High Priestess are the roles of the man and woman who are leading a group ritual. High Priest and High Priestess are also titles sometimes conferred on the members of a Wiccan coven when they have completed their third, or fifth year of study and practice. Sometimes called Third degree, depending on path or tradition.
  • The High Priest and High Priestess are the two highest positions of leadership and administration within the Church of Satan.
  • In some Rodnover organisations in Russia, the volkhv is the title used for the high priest, or priests in higher ranks.

Non-religious usagesEdit

The phrase is also often used to describe someone who is deemed to be an innovator or leader in a field of achievement. For example, an 1893 publication describes ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes as having been "the high-priest of comedy".<ref>Maurice Maeterlinck, Charlotte Endymion Porter, Poet Lore: Volume 5 (1893), p. 246.</ref>

See alsoEdit

  • Neal Boortz often refers to himself on air as the "High Priest of the Church of the Painful Truth".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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ReferencesEdit

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