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A cleric (Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek

Ancient Greek is the historical stage in the development of the Greek language spanning across the Archaic Greece , Classical Greece , and Hellenistic civilization periods of ancient Greece and the classical antiquity....
 ???????? - klerikos), clergyman (pl. clergymen), or churchman (pl. churchmen) is a member of the clergy
Clergy

Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. The term comes from the Greek language ?????? - kleros, "a lot", "that which is assigned by lot" or metaphorically, "heritage"....
 of a religion
Religion

A religion is an organized approach to human spirituality which usually encompasses a set of myth, symbols, beliefs and practices, often with a supernatural or transcendence quality, that give meaning to the practitioner's experiences of life through reference to a higher power or truth....
, especially one who is a priest
Priest

A priest or priestess is a person having the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities....
, preacher
Preacher

Preacher is a term the for someone who preaches sermons or gives homilies.Some believe a preacher is distinct from a theologian by focusing on the communication rather than the development of doctrine....
, or other religious professional. It is often used to refer to the religious leadership in Islam
Islam

Islam is a Monotheism, Abrahamic religion originating with the teachings of the Prophets of Islam Muhammad, a 7th century Arab religious and political figure....
, where the term "priest
Priest

A priest or priestess is a person having the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities....
" is not accurate and where terms such as "Alim" are not widely understood in the English-speaking world.

Within Christianity
Christianity

Christianity is a Monotheistic religion #Christian view religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus as New Testament view on Jesus' life....
, especially in Eastern Christianity
Eastern Christianity

Eastern Christianity refers collectively to the Christianity traditions and churches which developed in the Balkans, Eastern Europe, Asia Minor, the Middle East, Christianity in Africa and southern India over several centuries of religious antiquity....
 and Roman Catholicism, the term cleric refers to any individual who has received the clerical tonsure
Tonsure

Tonsure is the practice of some Christianity churches, mystics, Buddhist novices and Bhikkhus, and some Hindu temples of cutting the hair from the scalp of clerics, devotees or holy people as a symbol of their renunciation of worldly fashion and esteem....
, including deacon
Deacon

Deacon is a role in the Christianity that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions....
s, priest
Priest

A priest or priestess is a person having the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities....
s, and bishop
Bishop

A bishop is an ordination or consecration member of the Clergy#Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight....
s.






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A cleric (Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek

Ancient Greek is the historical stage in the development of the Greek language spanning across the Archaic Greece , Classical Greece , and Hellenistic civilization periods of ancient Greece and the classical antiquity....
 ???????? - klerikos), clergyman (pl. clergymen), or churchman (pl. churchmen) is a member of the clergy
Clergy

Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. The term comes from the Greek language ?????? - kleros, "a lot", "that which is assigned by lot" or metaphorically, "heritage"....
 of a religion
Religion

A religion is an organized approach to human spirituality which usually encompasses a set of myth, symbols, beliefs and practices, often with a supernatural or transcendence quality, that give meaning to the practitioner's experiences of life through reference to a higher power or truth....
, especially one who is a priest
Priest

A priest or priestess is a person having the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities....
, preacher
Preacher

Preacher is a term the for someone who preaches sermons or gives homilies.Some believe a preacher is distinct from a theologian by focusing on the communication rather than the development of doctrine....
, or other religious professional. It is often used to refer to the religious leadership in Islam
Islam

Islam is a Monotheism, Abrahamic religion originating with the teachings of the Prophets of Islam Muhammad, a 7th century Arab religious and political figure....
, where the term "priest
Priest

A priest or priestess is a person having the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities....
" is not accurate and where terms such as "Alim" are not widely understood in the English-speaking world.

Within Christianity
Christianity

Christianity is a Monotheistic religion #Christian view religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus as New Testament view on Jesus' life....
, especially in Eastern Christianity
Eastern Christianity

Eastern Christianity refers collectively to the Christianity traditions and churches which developed in the Balkans, Eastern Europe, Asia Minor, the Middle East, Christianity in Africa and southern India over several centuries of religious antiquity....
 and Roman Catholicism, the term cleric refers to any individual who has received the clerical tonsure
Tonsure

Tonsure is the practice of some Christianity churches, mystics, Buddhist novices and Bhikkhus, and some Hindu temples of cutting the hair from the scalp of clerics, devotees or holy people as a symbol of their renunciation of worldly fashion and esteem....
, including deacon
Deacon

Deacon is a role in the Christianity that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions....
s, priest
Priest

A priest or priestess is a person having the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities....
s, and bishop
Bishop

A bishop is an ordination or consecration member of the Clergy#Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight....
s. In Roman Catholicism, the tonsure
Tonsure

Tonsure is the practice of some Christianity churches, mystics, Buddhist novices and Bhikkhus, and some Hindu temples of cutting the hair from the scalp of clerics, devotees or holy people as a symbol of their renunciation of worldly fashion and esteem....
 was a prerequisite for receiving any of the minor orders
Minor orders

The minor orders are the lowest ranks in the Clergy#Christian clergy. The most recognized minor orders are porter , Reader , exorcist, Cantor and acolyte....
 or major orders
Major orders

The term major orders or sacred orders was a part of the clerical terminology of the Roman Catholic Church until shortly after the Second Vatican Council, when the use widely disappeared due to reform of the clerical structure....
 before the minor orders
Minor orders

The minor orders are the lowest ranks in the Clergy#Christian clergy. The most recognized minor orders are porter , Reader , exorcist, Cantor and acolyte....
 and the subdiaconate were abolished following the Second Vatican Council
Second Vatican Council

The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, or Vatican II, was the twenty-first Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church. It opened under Pope John XXIII in 1962 and closed under Pope Paul VI in 1965....
. Thus those individuals who have received the tonsure, but are not deacon
Deacon

Deacon is a role in the Christianity that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions....
s, priest
Priest

A priest or priestess is a person having the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities....
s, or bishop
Bishop

A bishop is an ordination or consecration member of the Clergy#Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight....
s, are properly referred to as clerics. Minor Orders
Minor orders

The minor orders are the lowest ranks in the Clergy#Christian clergy. The most recognized minor orders are porter , Reader , exorcist, Cantor and acolyte....
 are still given in the Eastern Catholic Churches, and 'cleric' is the normal title given to seminarians and those with minor orders.

The term "clerk
Clerk

Clerk, the vocational title, commonly refers to a white-collar worker who conducts general office or, in some instances, sales tasks. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keeping, filing, staffing service counters and other administrative tasks....
" derives from "cleric," since in medieval times the clergy were one of the few groups who could read, and therefore were often employed to do bookkeeping and similar work. The term "clerical work" continues to this day to refer to such functions.