Hierarchy

A hierarchy (in Greek hieros, sacred, and arkho, rule) is a system of ranking and organizing things or people.

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The first usage in the Oxford English Dictionary for hierarchy is from 1380, where it was used in reference to the three orders of three angels as depicted by Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite. Areopagite used the word both in reference to the heavenly hierarchy and the ecclesiastical hierarchy http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07322c.htm. This was the origin of the common meaning of "rule by priests". Since hierarchical churches such as the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches had tables of organization that were "hierarchical" in the modern sense of the word, the term came to refer to similar organizational methods in more general settings.

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Greek: The noun Greek refers to:...

Rank: Generally, rank is a system of hierarchy used to classify like things. Top Ten lists are a common way to list prioritized ranks (usually as a subset of a larger pool of possibilities). Rank can refer to:...

Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite: Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, also known as pseudo-Denys, is the name scholars have given to an anonymous theologian and philosopher of the 5th century, who wrote a collection of books (Corpus Areopagiticum) falsely ascribed to the Dionysius mentioned in Acts 17:34. The author was historically be...