Priest

A religious minister authorized to perform sacred rites and mediate between a community and its deity or deities. The role and authority of priests vary across religious traditions.

Sacrifice: The ritual offering of an object, animal, or person to a deity or sacred power. Priests in many traditions conduct sacrifices as formal acts of worship or petition.
Clergy: The body of people formally authorized to lead religious worship and provide spiritual services. Priests are one kind of clergy, alongside offices such as ministers and deacons.
Catholic priest: An ordained minister in the Catholic Church authorized to celebrate the Eucharist and administer certain sacraments. Catholic priesthood is a prominent example of a sacramental and ordained ministry.
Prophet: A person believed to communicate messages from a deity or divine source. Prophets claim inspired communication, unlike priests whose authority commonly rests on office and ritual.
Theocracy: A system of government in which religious authority governs or strongly directs political rule. Priestly institutions can become governing powers when religious office and political rule converge.
Ritual: A prescribed sequence of actions performed according to cultural or religious conventions. Priestly duties often consist of leading rituals that order communal religious life.
Laity: Members of a religious community who are not part of its ordained or professional clergy. The distinction between priests and laity marks who holds formal ritual authority.
Rabbi: A Jewish religious teacher qualified to interpret Jewish law and lead or teach a community. Rabbis guide Jewish communities, but Judaism does not define their office as priesthood.
Shaman: A religious specialist believed to enter altered states to interact with spirits or other unseen forces. Shamanic authority often rests on personal spirit encounters rather than an established priestly office.
Temple: A building dedicated to worship and religious rites, especially in traditions with formal sanctuaries. Temples have housed priestly work and organized communities around recurring rites.

Linked from 7 pages