Religion Past and Present

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Clergy
(5,886 words)

[German Version]

I. Concept – II. History – III. Theology – IV. Sociology – V. Law – VI. Statistics

I. Concept

The term “clergy” refers to persons who are ordained and who are ordinarily called to full-time (recently also part-time or non-stipendiary) service to carry out the preaching office. Etymologically, “clergy” is derived from the Gk kleros, meaning “lot” or “inheritance,” possibly a reference to the tribe of Levi having the Lord as their lot (Deut 18:2). The ety…

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Knuth, Hans Christian, Dahm, Karl-Wilhelm, Marhold, Wolfgang and Pirson, Dietrich, “Clergy”, in: Religion Past and Present. Consulted online on 28 March 2024 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1877-5888_rpp_COM_024354>
First published online: 2011
First print edition: ISBN: 9789004146662, 2006-2013



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