# Catholic church terminology **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 24, 2009, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catholic-church-terminology/490633 "2009-03-24T19:51:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2009, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catholic-church-terminology/490633/1 "2009-03-24T19:51:40Z")
I just finished reading Walter Miller’s [Leibowitz](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Canticle_for_Leibowitz) [books](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Leibowitz_and_the_Wild_Horse_Woman). But I wasn’t raised Catholic, so many of the terms are fuzzy for me. Could someone lay out what all the following are: - Priest - Deacon - Abbot - Prior - Monk - Cardinal - Bishop - Vicar - Brother - Father - Abbey - Monastery - Cathedral I have my preconceptions about some of them, naturally, and have grasped the essence of most of them, but some are still hazy to me (vicar, deacon, prior) and I’d like to know how they all fit together and overlap. ---
**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2009, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catholic-church-terminology/490633/2 "2009-03-24T19:59:44Z")
ETA: Um, obviously, the last three are things, not people. Carry on. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2009, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catholic-church-terminology/490633/3 "2009-03-24T20:16:49Z")
> [@toadspittle](#): > > But I wasn’t raised Catholic, so many of the terms are fuzzy for me. Could someone lay out what all the following are: > > - Priest - run of the mill clergy, celebrate mass, transubstantiate, perform all sacraments. > > - Deacon - used to be “junior clergy”. Now a lay-vocation. Can be married if married before ordination as deacon. Can’t transubstantiate. Can perform most sacraments. > > - Abbot - Head of a monastery or order of monks. Equal in rank to a bishop. > > - Prior - Usually second-in-command at a monastery. > > - Monk - Male cloistered religious. The monastic orders are usually contemplative or teaching orders rather than celebrant priests. > > - Cardinal - Prince of the Church. Cardinals are functionally bishops who have been named to the College of Cardinals by the Pope. Major function outside their administrative sees is to elect a new Pope. > > - Bishop - Administrative position. A bishop administers a diocese, which can vary in size. An archbishop is functionally the same as a bishop but rules large or very populous dioceses. > > - Vicar - doesn’t exist in the Catholic Church, except in the Pope’s title as Vicar of Christ on Earth. In the Anglican church, a vicar seems to be a resident priest. > > - Brother - Title for a monk. > > - Father - Title for a priest. > > - Abbey > > - Monastery - Pretty much different names for identical things. > > - Cathedral - A diocesan church where the bishop’s seat is (cathedra means “chair”, as in _ex cathedra_ - “from the chair” - an infallible pronouncement on the faith by the pope from his seat as the Vicar of Christ on Earth) I think I’m right on at least most of those… Oh! And bishops (including archbishops and cardinals) can ordain new priests, as well. But only as long as they’re in good faith with Rome…that’s what got Archbishop Lefebvre in France in trouble. He was an old-liner who refused to recognize Vatican II, was suspended from ordaining priests in his splinter tradition, continued to do so, and was excommunicated, along with the priests he’d created. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2009, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catholic-church-terminology/490633/4 "2009-03-24T20:20:13Z")
There are three ordained ranks in the Church: Deacon, Priest, and Bishop. All three have gone through the Sacrament of Ordination, which is administered by a bishop. A priest is ordained first as a deacon, then as a priest (though sometimes in the course of the same ceremony), and a bishop is ordained as a deacon and priest first (usually spending many years as a priest before becoming bishop). A priest is generally in charge of a single parish, a deacon generally assists a priest, and a bishop is in charge of an entire diocese, a district approximately the size of a metropolitan area. Any priest may be addressed as “Father”, or “Father So-and-so”. A cathedral is the bishop’s church; there’s one cathedral per diocese. The name comes from the thronelike chair in which the bishop sits to issue official statements. An archbishop is a bishop who is considered very important, and has some degree of authority over other bishops. A cardinal is even more so. Cardinals are sometimes referred to as “Princes of the Church”, and are given the same precedence as princes or dukes in any context where people actually care about precedence of nobles. The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, and is selected by (and usually from among) the cardinals. Note that although the Pope is obviously very important in the Church, he does not have any greater level of ordination than any other bishop. A monk is a person (of either gender, though a female monk is usually referred to as a nun) who lives a monastic lifestyle (withdrawing from the world in at least some way, and devoting his or her life to worship). A monastery is a place where monks live. Monks of either gender often take up a new name on taking up the monastic lifestyle: This is why so many nuns are Sister Mary Something. Some but not all male monks are priests; a male monk who is not a priest is addressed as “Brother So-and-so”. Some monasteries are led by an abbot or abbess; these monasteries are called abbeys. If there is no abbot or abbess, then the monastery is led by a prior or prioress. An abbot is basically equivalent to a bishop, in terms of ordination and authority within the Church hierarchy, just in charge of a smaller jurisdiction. A prior is lower-ranking (and some abbeys have a prior who assists the abbot), and has no special significance outside of his monastery. I don’t know the precise distinction between a prioress and an abbess, though presumably the latter outranks the former. The term “vicar” isn’t much used by Catholics, except in specific constructions (saying that the Pope is the Vicar of Christ, for instance). I think that it’s used by Anglicans to refer to the priest in charge of a particular parish. ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2009, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catholic-church-terminology/490633/5 "2009-03-24T20:25:57Z")
Nitpick: JayJay’s explanation of the listed terms seems pretty much spot on, except that I’m not sure he or she is correct that a deacon “can perform most sacraments.” I believe a deacon may baptize, and may officiate at a wedding. But a layperson can baptize in cases of emergency, and Catholic teaching says that the sacrament of marriage is performed by the persons being married. The priest (or deacon) merely presides and blesses the union. A bishop may ordain priests, while a priest may not. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2009, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catholic-church-terminology/490633/6 "2009-03-24T20:29:23Z")
Expansion on a couple of **jayjay** ’s points: > [@](#): > > - Priest - run of the mill clergy, celebrate mass, transubstantiate, perform all sacraments. > > - Deacon - used to be “junior clergy”. Now a lay-vocation. Can be married if married before ordination as deacon. Can’t transubstantiate. Can perform most sacraments. Only a bishop can perform the sacrament of ordination, and confirmation is normally performed by a bishop as well (though a bishop can under certain circumstances authorize a priest to confirm). And strictly speaking, a priest doesn’t perform the sacrament of matrimony; he merely presides over it. The sacrament is actually performed by the couple being married. Meanwhile, not all sacraments require a priest or other church official at all: In extreme situations, even a non-Christian can perform the sacrament of baptism (though in non-extreme situations, it’s preferred for baptisms to be performed by a priest). ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2009, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catholic-church-terminology/490633/7 "2009-03-24T20:32:21Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Expansion on a couple of **jayjay** ’s points: > Only a bishop can perform the sacrament of ordination, and confirmation is normally performed by a bishop as well (though a bishop can under certain circumstances authorize a priest to confirm). And strictly speaking, a priest doesn’t perform the sacrament of matrimony; he merely presides over it. The sacrament is actually performed by the couple being married. Meanwhile, not all sacraments require a priest or other church official at all: In extreme situations, even a non-Christian can perform the sacrament of baptism (though in non-extreme situations, it’s preferred for baptisms to be performed by a priest). I forgot that Ordination was a sacrament itself. And you are right about Confirmation…it’s been a long time since I got the slap. ---
**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2009, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catholic-church-terminology/490633/8 "2009-03-24T20:55:18Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Some monasteries are led by an abbot or abbess; these monasteries are called abbeys. If there is no abbot or abbess, then the monastery is led by a prior or prioress. Ah! So is a monastery run by a prior a “Priory”? (Another term I forget to list.) Also–nuns and non-priest male monks merely take vows, right? There’s no new sacrament involved in their vocation? ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2009, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catholic-church-terminology/490633/9 "2009-03-24T21:06:56Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I don’t know the precise distinction between a prioress and an abbess, though presumably the latter outranks the former. It’s the same as the difference between an abbot and a prior. The Abbot or Abbess is in charge of the abbey, and the Prior or Prioress is second under the Abbot/Abbess. However, some abbeys have what are called “daughter priories”…seperate religious communities that are under the control of the abbey. These daughter priories are run day to day by a Prior or Prioress. These are called “Obedientary Priories” or “Simple Priories”. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2009, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catholic-church-terminology/490633/10 "2009-03-24T21:08:22Z")
> [@toadspittle](#): > > Ah! So is a monastery run by a prior a “Priory”? (Another term I forget to list.) Yes > [@](#): > > Also–nuns and non-priest male monks merely take vows, right? There’s no new sacrament involved in their vocation? That’s correct. They usually take three vows…a vow of poverty, a vow of chastity, and a vow of obedience. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2009, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catholic-church-terminology/490633/11 "2009-03-24T21:10:34Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > A bishop administers a diocese, which can vary in size. An archbishop is functionally the same as a bishop but rules large or very populous dioceses. Not exactly. An archbishop is the bishop of a metropolitan archdiocese, which has two or more “suffragan dioceses” under it in a group called an ecclesiastical province. The archbishop is bishop within his own diocese and has some (very limited) powers of governance in the suffragan dioceses. He may hear confessions and celebrate Mass anywhere within the ecclesiastical province, for example; normally, a bishop may not act within another bishop’s diocese without the consent of that second bishop. When a suffragan see is vacant, and the college of priests within that see has not acted to elect a diocesan administrator, the archbishop may appoint an administrator. And for bonus points: an _auxiliary bishop_ is an assistant bishop, typically assigned to a large or busy diocese where the duties requiring a bishop are so spread-out or time-consuming that one bishop cannot meet the needs of the faithful. An auxiliary bishop is a _titular bishop_ in some ancient, historical see that no longer exists other than in name, and is assigned to assist the actual bishop, the Ordinary, in his diocese. A _coadjutor_ bishop is like an auxiliary bishop, except that there is only one in any diocese, and he has the right of succession to the see if it becomes vacant. (A see becomes vacant upon the death of the bishop, or upon the bishop’s canonical acceptance of his appointment to another see). ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2009, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catholic-church-terminology/490633/12 "2009-03-24T21:21:58Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > (A see becomes vacant upon the death of the bishop, or upon the bishop’s canonical acceptance of his appointment to another see). Or upon mandatory retirement. The prior bishop of my home diocese “aged out” of his position. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2009, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catholic-church-terminology/490633/13 "2009-03-24T21:23:41Z")
Oh – vicar. Contrary to some of the posts above, the Catholic Church absolutely uses the term ‘vicar.’ The word refers to someone representing and acting with the authority of another, and that’s why we refer to the Pope as Christ’s Vicar on Earth. But the pastor of a parish may have one or more priests assisting him. While they may be known as “associate pastors,” they are technically _parochial vicars_, representatives of the pastor and acting with his authority. In the same way, a bishop usually appoints at least one priest to act as a _vicar general_ of his diocese; if he has a coadjutor bishop, he must appoint that coadjutor as vicar general. The bishop may also appoint one or more _episcopal vicars_, who exercise the same executive power as the vicar general does, on the bishop’s behalf, but over a particular area rather than the whole diocese. A _judicial vicar_, or more than one, can be appointed to exercise the bishop’s judicial authority as well. All diocesan vicarate appointments expire when the episcopal see becomes vacant. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2009, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catholic-church-terminology/490633/14 "2009-03-24T21:33:38Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Or upon mandatory retirement. The prior bishop of my home diocese “aged out” of his position. Right you are, although I should point out that he still has to resign or be removed; the “mandatory retirement age” doesn’t act to automatically remove a bishop. Thomas Gumbleton, auxiliary bishop of Detroit, initially refused to retire at age 75. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2009, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catholic-church-terminology/490633/15 "2009-03-24T21:50:14Z")
Ah, I guess then that the reason the term “vicar” is so unfamiliar to Catholics is just that it’s very rare nowadays for one parish to have multiple priests-- There’s something of a shortage of priests lately. And few are all that familiar with the diocesan bureaucracy, aside from the bishop and possibly auxiliary bishops. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2009, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catholic-church-terminology/490633/16 "2009-03-24T21:59:40Z")
[QUOTE=JayJay] - Bishop - Administrative position. [/QUOTE] I think this understates the position of the bishop - it’s not simply an administrative position, but an ordained position, the highest rank of the major ordained positions. For example, the bishop is the only one who can perform the sacrament of ordination, and is preferred to perform the sacrament of confirmation. By contrast, the cardinals, archbishops and the pope himself are administrative positions, but are not ordained as such - they will be installed in those offices, and the Pope is ordained as Bishop of Rome, but they don’t have any additional sacramental powers by virtue of their administrative positions. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2009, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catholic-church-terminology/490633/17 "2009-03-24T22:06:44Z")
From the Anglican perspective, the common use of the term “vicar” dates back to when a priest could hold multiple livings (parishes). That priest could appoint another priest to act for him in one of his additional parishes, usually on a semi-permanent basis. That second priest was the “vicar”. The term comes from the same Latin root as “vice”, in the sense of someone who acts for another - viceroy, vice-president, etc. Nowadays, priests don’t have more than one living, but the term “vicar” has entered into popular idiom as the incumbent of a parish. The priest who actually held the parish was termed the “rector”, because he had the right to the parish. That term is now preferred in the Anglican Church in Canada, rather than “vicar”, because it is more accurate. ---
**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2009, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catholic-church-terminology/490633/18 "2009-03-24T22:39:54Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > The priest who actually held the parish was termed the “rector”, because he had the right to the parish. That term is now preferred in the Anglican Church in Canada, rather than “vicar”, because it is more accurate. Ah! Another one: Rector and Rectory, please? ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2009, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catholic-church-terminology/490633/19 "2009-03-24T22:49:12Z")
> [@toadspittle](#): > > Ah! Another one: Rector and Rectory, please? A rector is someone who presides over an organization…a church, a mission, a university, a shirne, a hospital, a seminary, or whatever. A rectory is the place where the rector lives (and, in practice, all the priests of a particular parish, not just the rector, usually live in the rectory) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2009, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catholic-church-terminology/490633/20 "2009-03-24T22:50:57Z")
The rectory is just a house next to the church where the pastor lives, and may also contain administrative offices for the parish. And a pastor, in most Protestant denominations as well as Catholic, is the clergyman who’s in charge of a particular congregation (a priest in a Catholic church, but most Protestants don’t call their clergy “priests”). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catholic-church-terminology/490633.md?page=2)