clergy

[Cler·gy]

In the Christian church, the clergy is the entire class of religious officials, from priests to pastors to bishops and beyond. If you have a sense that your life path lies in helping others practice their faith, you should go into the clergy

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The body of men set apart, by due ordination, to the service of God, in the Christian church, in distinction from the laity; in England, usually restricted to the ministers of the Established Church.

Noun
clergymen collectively (as distinguished from the laity)

n.
The body of men set apart, by due ordination, to the service of God, in the Christian church, in distinction from the laity; in England, usually restricted to the ministers of the Established Church.

n.
Learning; also, a learned profession.

n.
The privilege or benefit of clergy.

Clergy

Cler"gy , n. [OE. clergie, clergi, clerge, OF. clergie, F. clergie (fr. clerc clerc, fr. L. clericus priest) confused with OF. clergi'82, F. clerg'82, fr. LL. clericatus office of priest, monastic life, fr. L. clericus priest, LL. scholar, clerc. Both the Old French words meant clergy, in sense 1, the former having also sense 2. See Clerk.] 1. The body of men set apart, by due ordination, to the service of God, in the Christian church, in distinction from the laity; in England, usually restricted to the ministers of the Established Church. Hooker. 2. Learning; also, a learned profession. [Obs.]

Sophictry . . . rhetoric, and other cleargy.

Put their second sons to learn some clergy.

3. The privilege or benefit of clergy.

If convicted of a clergyable felony, he is entitled equally to his clergy after as before conviction.

Benefit of clergy (Eng., Law), the exemption of the persons of clergymen from criminal process before a secular judge -- a privilege which was extended to all who could read, such persons being, in the eye of the law, clerici, or clerks. This privilege was abridged and modified by various statutes, and finally abolished in the reign of George IV. (1827). -- Regular clergy, Secular clergy See Regular, n., and Secular, a.

The body of men set apart, by due ordination, to the service of God, in the Christian church, in distinction from the laity; in England, usually restricted to the ministers of the Established Church.

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Usage Examples

I think the issue of clergy sexual abuse sparked people to look at their faith in a different way.

A celibate clergy is an especially good idea, because it tends to suppress any hereditary propensity toward fanaticism.

Misspelled Form

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Other Usage Examples

Nothing can be more contrary to religion and the clergy than reason and common sense.

I never saw, heard, nor read, that the clergy were beloved in any nation where Christianity was the religion of the country. Nothing can render them popular, but some degree of persecution.