hierarch

American  

[hahy-uh-rahrk, hahy-rahrk] / ˈhaɪ əˌrɑrk, ˈhaɪ rɑrk /

noun

1. a person who rules or has authority in sacred matters; high priest.

2. a person having high position or considerable authority.

3. one of a body of officials or minor priests in certain ancient Greek temples.

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hierarch British  

/ ˈhaɪəˌrɑːk /

noun

1. 1. a person in a position of high priestly authority

   2. a person holding high rank in a religious hierarchy

2. a person at a high level in a hierarchy

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Other Word Forms

• antihierarchal
  adjective
• hierarchal
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of hierarch

1480–90; < Medieval Latin hierarcha < Greek hierárchēs steward of sacred rites, equivalent to hier- hier- + -archēs -arch

Example Sentences

Before leaving Calcutta our adventurer purchased from Phileas Walder, for the sum of two hundred francs, the serviceable dignity of a Palladian Hierarch, “fortified with which he would be enabled to penetrate everywhere.”

From Devil-Worship in France or The Question of Lucifer by Waite, Arthur Edward

Hierarch as he was, and orthodox Catholic, this most elegant of eloquent orators had a liberal strain in his blood which allied him politically with the “philosophers” of the time succeeding.

From French Classics by Wilkinson, William Cleaver

The Initiate is under a vow; the Hierarch is free.

From The Story of Anna Kingsford and Edward Maitland and of the new Gospel of Interpretation by Maitland, Edward

Kabalah minus the principle of the Hierarch forms Swedenborgianism,   823-m.

From Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry by Pike, Albert

With astonishment the world will recognise that the Tailor is its Hierophant and Hierarch, or even its God.

From Sartor Resartus, and On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and the Heroic in History by Carlyle, Thomas

Related Words

• bishop