Bible Dictionaries
Hierarchy

1910 New Catholic Dictionary

Search for…

Enter query below:

or

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z

Prev Entry
Hidden Treasure, Parable of the

Next Entry
Hierarchy of Jurisdiction

Resource Toolbox

Print Article

Additional Links

Dictionaries
Charles Buck Dictionary
• Hierarchy
1910 New Catholic Dictionary
• Orders, Hierarchy of
• Jurisdiction, Hierarchy of
• Hierarchy, Celestial
•   (only first 3 shown)
Webster Dictionary
• Hierarchy
• Hierarchies
Encyclopedias
1911 Encyclopedia Britannica
• Hierarchy
McClintock and Strong's Bible Encyclopedia
• Hierarchy
The Catholic Encyclopedia
• Hierarchy
• Hierarchy of the Early Church
• Reorganization of the English Hierarchy

(Greek: hierarchia, sacred rule)

In general, sacred rule or government; hence the totality of sacred ministers in the Church, of distinct and various grades, in which the lower is subordinate to and yields obedience to the higher. Since one is constituted a member of the hierarchy by ordination, the sacred ministers of the ecclesiastical hierarchy are by Orders and office essentially distinct from the laity. In the Church we distinguish a twofold hierarchy, one of Orders, the other of jurisdiction.