Isn’t there a Catholic org chart or something? (I couldn’t find anything) That would sure make it easier to understand all of the titles.
Slight hijack: I’d also like to see a chart of the all the Biblical religions and where/when/why they branched off. (Again, I can’t find anything)
“Chief Rabbi” is an organisational, and very undefined, term. I lived in a city with one rabbi, and he called himself “Chief …”. Since there is no clear line of authority to any one head (as there is to the Pope), nobody appoints (or disappoints ;j ) a Chief Rabbi, and anyone can call himself that.
A “priest” is a completely different thing. There is a clear line of patriarchal descent from Aaron the Priest, brother of Moses, to people who today are called “kohanim”, or priests. They have certain ritual privileges, and restrictions, but are in no way to be confused with the rabbinate. IOW, a Kohen may be a Rabbi, but a Rabbi doesn’t have to be a Kohen.
The High Priest was a Kohen who in the times of the first and second Temples had the duty of performing certain specific ritual duties. He was not the titular head of the Jews in the sense that the Pope is of Catholics, but frequently the High Priest was also the most influential teacher and interpreter of his time. Aaron was the first High Priest.
A cantor is an employee of a synagogue, usually with a pleasant singing voice, who leads services, frequently also acting as a sort-of surrogate rabbi, but unless he has been “ordained” (called “smicha” in Hebrew) he is nor a rabbi, and he is purely a functionary of his local community.
An interesting sidelight is that a Rabbi is in every sense an employee of his synagogue, hired, paid and fired by the members.
zev, it’s awhile since I studied this, but I think you’re confusing two different concepts: the three orders of clergy, and the organizational structure of the church.
Ordination is one of the sacraments of the Catholic tradition. The three orders are bishops, priests and deacons, and are considered to have been established by the primitive Church. Each office has certain sacramental duties.
Anyone of the three orders can perform baptism, but only priests can perform the mass. (I think that only priests can give penance or perform a marriage.) A bishop has the powers of a priest, and also sole responsibility for confirmation and ordination. The traditional theological position is that ordination leaves a permanent mark on the soul, but in extremely rare cases it is possible to be stripped of one’s ordained status.
The offices of the church are not sacramental in nature. They are offices which have evolved for the administration of the church. The incumbent of a parish, primates, metropolitans, cardinals, and the office of pope are administrative offices. One must be a priest to be eligible for them, but one can be stripped of those offices.
As I said, it’s been awhile and I would welcome any corrections if I’ve mistated the position.
A Catholic will correct me if I’m wrong, but I think there are some areas that are outside the usual hierarchy. Saint-Pierre et Miquelon, for example, is a Vicariate Apostolic headed by a Vicar Apostolic who has most (but not all) of the powers of a bishop. There is also something called a Prefecture Apostolic that I think is similar, and SP&M used to be one.