List: Religious leadership roles

by likeorhate

•  Abbot

  The word abbot, meaning father, is a title given to the head of a monastery in various traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not actually the head of a monastery. The female equivalent is Abbess.

  

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•  Abbess

  An abbess is the female superior, or Mother Superior, of an abbey of nuns. In Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Coptic and Anglican abbeys, the mode of election, position, rights, and authority of an abbess correspond generally with those of an abbot. The office is elective, the choice being by the secret votes of the nuns belonging to the community.

  

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•  Bishop

  A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the Anglican churches, bishops claim Apostolic succession, a direct historical lineage dating back to the original Twelve Apostles.

  

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•  Caliph

  The Caliph is the head of state in a Caliphate, and the title for the leader of the Islamic Ummah, an Islamic community ruled by the Shari'ah. It is a transcribed version of the Arabic word خليفة Khalīfah which means "successor" or "representative". The early leaders of the Muslim nation following Muhammad's (570–632) death were called "Khalifat Rasul Allah", the political successors to the messenger of God (referring to Muhammad). Some academics prefer to transliterate the term as Khalīfah.

  

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•  Imam

  An imam is an Islamic leadership position, often the leader of a mosque and the community. Similar to spiritual leaders, the imam is the one who leads the prayer during Islamic gatherings. More often, the community turns to the mosque imam if they have an Islamic question. In smaller communities an imam could be the community leader based on the community setting. It is important to note that the position of the Imam is not clerical in Sunni-Islam

  

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•  Pope

  The pope is the Bishop of Rome and, as such, is leader of the worldwide Catholic Church. The current office-holder is Pope Benedict XVI, who was elected in papal conclave on 19 April 2005. The office of the pope is called the Papacy, and his ecclesiastical jurisdiction the "Holy See" (Sancta Sedes in Latin) or "Apostolic See". The pope is also head of state of Vatican City, a sovereign city-state entirely enclaved by the city of Rome.

  

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•  Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople

  The Ecumenical Patriarch is the Archbishop of Constantinople - New Rome - ranking as primus inter pares (first among equals) in the Eastern Orthodox communion, which is seen by followers as the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. The Ecumenical Patriarch has been historically known as the Greek Patriarch of Constantinople, as distinct from the Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople and the ancient Latin Patriarch of Constantinople. The current holder of the office is Bartholomew I.

  

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•  Ayatollah

  Ayatollah is a high ranking title given to Usuli Twelver Shī‘ah clerics. Those who carry the title are experts in Islamic studies such as jurisprudence, ethics, and philosophy and usually teach in Islamic seminaries. The next lower clerical rank is Hojatoleslam wal-muslemin. It is similar to the Christian Bishop.

  

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•  Pontifex Maximus

  The Pontifex Maximus (which literally means "Greatest Bridge-maker") was the high priest of the Ancient Roman College of Pontiffs (Collegium Pontificum). This was the most important position in the ancient Roman religion, open only to patricians until 254 BC, when a plebeian first occupied this post. A distinctly religious office under the early Roman Republic, it gradually became politicized until, beginning with Augustus, it was subsumed into the Imperial office.

  

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•  Marabout

  A marabout is an Islamic religious leader and teacher in West Africa, and (historically) in the Maghreb. The marabout is often a scholar of the Qur'an, or religious teacher. Others may be wandering holy men who survive on alms, Sufi Murshids ("Guides"), or leaders of religious communities. Still others keep alive syncretic pre-Islamic traditions, making amulets for good luck, presiding at various ceremonies, telling the future, and in some cases actively guiding the lives of followers.

  

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•  Ulema

  Ulema refers to the educated class of Muslim legal scholars engaged in the several fields of Islamic studies. They are best known as the arbiters of shari‘a law. While the ulema are well versed in legal jurisprudence being Islamic lawyers, some of them also go on to specialize in other fields, such as philosophy, dialectical theology or Quranic hermeneutics or explanation.

  

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•  Patriarch

  Originally a patriarch was a man who exercised autocratic authority as a pater familias over an extended family. The system of such rule of families by senior males is called patriarchy. This is a Greek word, a composition of πατήρ (pater) meaning "father" and ἄρχων meaning "leader", "chief", "ruler", "king", etc. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are referred to as the three patriarchs of the people of Israel, and the period in which they lived is called the Patriarchal Age.

  

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•  Emir

  Emir, ("commander" or "general", also "prince"; also transliterated as amir, aamir or ameer) is a high title of nobility or office, used throughout the Arab World, as well as historically in 19th-century Afghanistan and in the medieval Muslim world. Emirs are usually considered high-ranking sheikhs, but in monarchical states the term is also used for princes, with "Emirate" being analogous to principality in this sense.

  

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•  Sheikh

  Sheikh, also rendered as Sheik, Shaykh, Shaikh, Cheikh, Šeih, Šejh, Şeyh and other variants, is a word or honorific term in the Arabic language that literally means "elder. " It is commonly used to designate an elder of a tribe, a revered wise man, or an Islamic scholar. Although the title generally refers to a male, a very small number of female sheikhs have also existed in history. It also refers to a man over 40 or 50 years old generally.

  

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•  Pontiff

  A pontiff was, in Roman antiquity, a member of the principal college of priests. The term "pontiff" was later applied to any high or chief priest and, in ecclesiastical usage, to a bishop and more particularly to the Bishop of Rome, the Pope or "Roman Pontiff".

  

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•  Athleta Christi

  Once "Athleta Christi" characterized a class of Early Christian soldier martyrs, of whom the most familiar example is Saint Sebastian. See Military saints. In Early Modern times, since the 15th century, the title has been a political one, granted by popes to men who have led military campaigns to defend Christianity. The militant Catholic hymn Athleta Christi nobilis ("Noble Champion of the Lord"), a hymn for Matins on May 18, the feast of Saint Venantius was written in the 17th century.

  

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•  Mullah

  Mullah is generally used to refer to a Muslim man, educated in Islamic theology and sacred law. The title, given to some Islamic clergy, is derived from the Arabic word mawla, meaning "vicar", "master" and "guardian". In large parts of the Muslim world, particularly Iran, Bosnia, Afghanistan, Turkey, Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent, it is the name commonly given to local Islamic clerics or mosque leaders.

  

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•  Supreme Leader of Iran

  The Supreme Leader of Iran is the highest ranking political and religious authority in the Islamic Republic of Iran. The post was established by the constitution in accordance with the concept of Guardianship of the Islamic Jurists. The title "Supreme" Leader is often used as a sign of respect; however, this terminology is not found in the constitution of Iran, which simply referred to the "Leader" (rahbar).

  

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•  Mahasiddha

  Mahasiddha is a term for someone who embodies and cultivates siddhi of perfection. They are a type of eccentric yogi in both Hinduism and Vajrayana Buddhism. Sri Akshunnanath Mahaprabhu a master of siddha sampradaya says "But actually they were somebody who transcended religious designation of whether vajrayana buddhism or hinduism and transcending all religious notion they were simply called Nath(master).

  

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•  Ganden Tripa

  The Ganden Tripa or Gaden Tripa (tib. dGa’-ldan Khri-pa) ("Holder of the Ganden Throne") is the title of the spiritual leader of the Gelug (Dge-lugs) school of Tibetan Buddhism, the school which controlled central Tibet from the mid-1600s until 1950s. He is identical with the respective abbot of Ganden Monastery. The present head of the Gelugpa order is Khensur Lungri Namgyal, the 101st Ganden Tripa and not, as is often misunderstood, the Dalai Lama.

  

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•  Hojatoleslam

  

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•  Mufti

  This article is about an Islamic scholar. Mufti can also refer to civilian dress. A mufti is a Sunni Islamic scholar who is an interpreter or expounder of Islamic law. In religious administrative terms, a mufti is roughly equivalent to a deacon to a Sunni population. A muftiat or diyanet is a council of muftis.

  

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•  Marja

  

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•  High priest

  The term "high priest" may refer to an individual who holds the office of ruler-priest, or may refer to the head of a religious caste. In ancient Egypt, a high priest was the chief priest of any of the many gods revered by the Egyptians. In Ancient Greek, Archiereus is one of several titles for high priests, in Greek an/or rendered in Greek, which literally translates as 'Arch-hierarch', i.e. head of the (priestly) hierarchy.

  

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•  Caliphate

  The term caliphate (from the Arabic خلافة or khilāfa) refers to the first system of governance established in Islam, and represented the political authority and unity of the Muslim Ummah. It was initially led by Muhammad's disciples as a continuation of the political authority the prophet established, known as the 'Rashidun Caliphate'. It represented the political unity of the Muslim Ummah, not the theological unity as this was a personal matter, and was the world's first major welfare state.

  

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