Prelate

A prelate is a member of the clergy who either has ordinary jurisdiction over a group of people or ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from Latin prælatus, the past participle of præferre, "to prefer," suggesting that the prelate is preferred over other clergy.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

An honorary prelate does not exercise prelatial authority, but possesses the dignity and privileges of a prelate, such as form of address, dress, and formerly the right to pontificate under certain circumstances. In the United States, honorary prelates of the Roman Catholic Church are addressed Monsignor.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A prelature is the office of a prelate or the entire juridical entity which the prelate governs. Prelacy is the body of prelates as a whole, or a system of government, administration, or ministry by prelates.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The archetypal prelate is a bishop, whose prelature is his particular church. All other prelates, including the regular prelates such as abbots and major superiors, are based upon this original model of prelacy.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Sometimes the clergy of a state church with a formal hierarchy are called prelates without having ordinary jurisdiction, which etymologically suggests that the prelate enjoys legal privileges and power as a result of clerical status.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Clergy: Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. The term comes from Greek κληρος (fortune, or metaphorically, heritage)....

Ordinary: :For the heraldry meaning see Ordinary....

Latin: Latin is an Indo-European language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. It gained great importance as the formal language of the Roman Empire. All Romance languages are descended from Latin, and many words based on Latin are found in other modern languages such as English. The ...

Prelate related Images and Photos (experimental)

Giacomo Antonelli Italian Prelate and Papal Administrator

Gil Alvarez Carillo De Albornoz (Known as Egidio) Spanish Soldier and Prelate