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Clergy
These are individuals that have devoted themselves to the religious practice that has called them to service. This can range from the formally ordained to those that have received special training to serve the church in other ways on a part time basis.
341 Questions
What keeps the Cardinal's red hat from falling off?
The same thing that keeps any man's hat from falling off - the correct size.
What was life like for the Clergy?
Life for the clergy historically varied depending on their denomination and location, but it often involved a commitment to spiritual duties and community service. Clergy members typically lived a life of modesty, focusing on preaching, teaching, and providing pastoral care. They often faced challenges such as financial instability, especially in poorer parishes, but many found fulfillment in their roles as spiritual leaders and moral guides within their communities. In some cases, clergy enjoyed certain privileges and social status, particularly in more affluent or influential congregations.
Grey Friar is the name given by the laity to the Friars of the Franciscan order. The name derives from the original color of the habit and was used to distinguish the Grey Friars from the White Friars (Carmelites) and Black Friars (Dominicans aka Order of Preachers).
Do Jehovah's Witnesses have a clergy?
No, Jehovah's Witnesses do not have a clergy laity division. They consider all their members (Male and female) as "ministers" and all the members participate in their services (meetings). They have no paid clergy.
If 'clergy' is to mean 'formal religious leadership within a given religion' as per the Wikipedia entry under 'clergy' then it would seem that Jehovah's Witnesses come very close to having a 'clergy' class, although definitely unpaid.
Whilst all baptised members, whether male or female, are considered as 'ministers' there is a group of men only that comprise the 'elders' of each individual congregation.
This group take the primary responsibility for the running of each congregations' meetings and daily affairs. They are not paid. They are assisted by another group of men known as 'Ministerial Servants', also not paid.
All congregation discipline is carried out by the elders only and only the elders are allowed to view the Elders Handbook which gives details particularly with how to handle disfellowshipping proceedures.
Twice a year there is a visit by a man called a 'Circuit Overseer' who is responsible for several congregations in a geographic area. Several 'circuits' make up a 'district' under another man called a 'District Overseer'.
All elders and ministerial servants are unpaid volunteers and the circuit and district overseers are also unpaid volunteers but do receive some reimbursement for basic living costs. Most Circuit Overseers spend the week with a different congregation each week and normally are provided board and lodging by local Witnesses.
Answer2: Reverend, Right Reverend, Father, Most Holy Father, Rabbi, His Eminence, His Excellency, His Holiness, His All-Holiness-these are some of the titles that distinguish the clergy of various religions from the laity. The separation of the clergy from the laity is common to many religions, but is the arrangement from God, or is it a human tradition? More important, does it have God's approval? IN THE New Testament and during the early apostolic times there is no mention of clergy or laity," wrote professor of theology Cletus Wessels. The Encyclopedia of Christianity states: "There gradually arose a differentiation into clergy as the officeholders and the laity as the rest . . . 'Ordinary' church members now came to be seen as an unqualified mass." That differentiation became prominent during the third century C.E.-more than two hundred years after Jesus Christ!
God's Word tells us that all Christians serve as God's ministers and that none is above or beneath the other. (2 Corinthians 3:5, 6) "There was a very positive insistence on the absence of class" among early Christians, says religion writer Alexandre Faivre. That "absence of class" harmonizes with Jesus' words to his followers: "All you are brothers."-Matthew 23:8.The clergy-laity distinction exalts the clergy class, an evidence being adulatory religious titles. Yet, Jesus said: "He that conducts himself as a lesser one among all of you is the one that is great." (Luke 9:48) In harmony with that spirit of humility, he told his followers not to adopt religious titles.-Matthew 23:8-12.
Do not go beyond the things that are written," the Bible states. (1 Corinthians 4:6) Sadly, when people disregard that divinely inspired directive, spiritual harm usually results, and that is true of the clergy-laity arrangement. How so? Please consider the following six points.
1. The separation of a clergy class implies that one must have a special calling to be a minister of God. Yet, the Bible says that all true Christians should serve God and praise his name. (Romans 10:9, 10) As for ministering within the congregation, Christian men in general are encouraged to reach out for that privilege, which is the custom among Jehovah's Witnesses.-1 Timothy 3:1.
2. The clergy-laity distinction exalts the clergy class, an evidence being adulatory religious titles. Yet, Jesus said: "He that conducts himself as a lesser one among all of you is the one that is great." (Luke 9:48) In harmony with that spirit of humility, he told his followers not to adopt religious titles.-Matthew 23:8-12.
3. A paid clergy class can impose a heavy financial burden on the laity, especially when the former have lavish lifestyles. Christian overseers, on the other hand, care for their financial needs by doing normal secular work, thus setting a good example for others.*-Acts 18:1-3; 20:33, 34; 2 Thessalonians 3:7-10.
4. Because a clergyman may depend on others for financial support, he might be tempted to dilute the Bible's message in order to please parishioners. Indeed, the Scriptures foretold that this very thing would occur. "There will be a period of time when they will not put up with the healthful teaching, but, in accord with their own desires, they will accumulate teachers for themselves to have their ears tickled."-2 Timothy 4:3.
5. The clergy-laity distinction tends to cause lay people to relegate religion to the clergy, while the laity just turn up for weekly services. Yet, all Christians must be conscious of their spiritual need and be good students of the Bible.-Matthew 4:4; 5:3.
6. When the laity are Biblically uninformed, they can easily be misled by clerics, even exploited by them. Indeed, history contains many examples of such abuses.*-Acts 20:29, 30.
In order to adhere closely to the pattern set down in the Bible, Jehovah's Witnesses have, not a clergy class, but unpaid spiritual shepherds and teachers who willingly minister to God's flock. Why not see for yourself by visiting a Kingdom Hall in your locality?
Who was the most important leader of the Byzantine Clergy?
Slavs definitely.
Silly answer
The highest Church official was the Patriarch, who was considered superior to all the Archbishops and bishops. When the Byzantine empire still controlled all the areas of the Levant and North Africa there were other Patriarchs at Antioch, Jerusalem and Alexandria. As he was in the imperial capital at Constantipole he was considered the most important when they met in Council. After the Muslim invasions the other patriarchs have dwindled to unimportance. The current Patriarch has a very small congregation in Istanbul, after the Greeks were expelled at the end if the first world war. He is still considered the head of the Orthodox Church, though the patriarch in Moskva controls far more adherents.
How many people are in a clergy?
That would depend upon the denomination or sect within Christianity. Could be as few as 1 and as many as thousands.
Are clergy closer to god than lay people?
I'd say "yes" because I expect the average age of a clergyman to be greater than that of the average parishioner. If that hypothesis is valid then clergymen will meet God sooner. All bets are off if Judgement Day turns out to be a discrete day on which all of us meet our maker at once.
Now, for an answer with a different connotation of "Closer"...All men are born sinful and unclean. Nobody, by his own merit, deserves anything but Hell. Jesus Christ died as the Perfect Sacrifice to redeem sinful man. All who repent their sins and who are baptized in His name are promised salvation. If you believe this, then you have the same opportunity to enter into paradise as any clergyman.
Who carries the mitre and crown in church?
Altar boys or those in minor Orders usually hold the Bishop's mitre (or crown in the Eastern Rites) when it is not on his head.
What did the clergy do for society that mgiht justify their low tax rate?
There is a myth that clergy pay a lower tax rate, when in fact in total tax (SE tax + income tax) often they pay far higher taxes than the typical W2 wage earner. How is this so? Because they are considered "self-employed" by the IRS and thus pay a whopping 15.3% off their gross income (before adjustments and exemptions) AND regular income tax. Effectively this means they pay more in total tax.
The regular wage earner pays half (or in 2011 less than half) of Social Security (the equivalent of "self-employment tax") and the employer pays the rest.
Obviously this is a bad situation, so much so that Congress began to allow clergy to exclude the lower of fair market value of their home or actual expenses for housing from regular income tax (but not self-employment tax, that still comes off the top).
So a minister earning $50,000 pays $6141 in SE tax (13.3%, down from 15.3 last tax year) on that income PLUS any regular income tax. If a minister spent $15,000 total on housing, he would still pay regular income tax on $35,000 at the going rate. That would be about an additional $2871, for a total of $9012, or an effective total tax rate of 18% tax on just $50,000 income. That's a dead heat with a regular income earner ($9081).
How many non European cardinals vote for pope?
As the College of Cardinals is constantly changing, I am attached the link to the Wikipedia main page listing the Cardinals by nationality so that you may access when you would like to find out this information.
Who was the Holiest Man of the 20th Century?
Opinions vary. A good favourite would be Mahatma Gandhi. Other possibilities would be the Dalai Lama and Nelson Mandela.
What is the difference between a verger and sacristan?
Verger is an older English (as in British) term for a sacristan. I have an older dictionary from England which lists a verger as a beadle or one appointed to keep order in Church, or a sacristan. The terms beadle and verger are not in my modern American Catholic dictionary at all.
Why did politicians and clergy opposed the globe theatre?
The Globe, along with other theatres such as The Rose, The Swan, and The Hope, was located in Southwark, a borough south of the River Thames famous for brothels and general lawlessness. A theatre might bring 3000 people together--a ripe prospect for pickpockets and cutpurses. It was also a place where prostitutes could solicit for business. Clergymen opposed this on moral grounds (although some of them owned the brothels in Southwark) and politicians on the grounds that theatres increase crime and (it was thought) disease. The Puritan clergy opposed theatres on the general ground that enjoying oneself was contrary to God's law (a point of view still heard today), and when those clergymen got control of the government all of the theatres in the country including the Globe were closed. It was as a result of this that the Globe was torn down in 1642.
How did the clergy affect the native Americans?
it forced native Americans to adopt Spanish ways as well as beliefs the priests also made it possible for some blending of the native Americans and Spanish cultures.
