Home›Clergy Role›TraditionBrowse ByTraditionThis page groups religious offices by the tradition that defines each one. Wikipedia notes that "in Christianity, the specific names and roles of the clergy vary by denomination," with deacons, priests, bishops and the pope forming just one tradition's own ladder of offices. Browsing by tradition lets a visitor find every office defined within the same tradition.FactsTraditionSourcesComments (0)Reader Challenges (0)FactsDirectoryCategoryWell-attestedReligious Offices 1TraditionFilter Results70 entriesAdherents Today MaximumAll40,000 (1)57,264 (1)278,000 (1)887,000 (1)2,000,000 (1)2,130,000 (1)22,785,195 (1)95,000,000 (1)100,000,000 (1)110,000,000 (1)260,000,000 (1)1,406,000,000 (1)Adherents Today MinimumAll40,000 (1)57,264 (1)278,000 (1)887,000 (1)1,450,000 (1)1,700,000 (1)22,785,195 (1)53,871,526 (1)78,000,000 (1)80,000,000 (1)220,000,000 (1)1,406,000,000 (1)Bankruptcy FilingsAll1 (1)28 (1)Basis of the Education Facility CountAllThe Body's Own Published Statistics (1)Basis of the Health Facility CountAllThe Body's Own Published Statistics (1)Basis of the Membership FigureAllChurch-Reported Rolls (20)Independent Survey (15)National Census (9)Scholarly or Demographic Estimate (16)Basis of the Wealth FigureAllAudited Annual Report (5)Journalistic or Scholarly Estimate (5)Regulator Filing (2)The Body's Own Published Statistics (2)Calendar SystemAllJulian (Old Calendar) (2)Church FamilyAllAdventist (1)Anabaptist (2)Anglican (5)Baptist (1)Eastern Orthodox (9)Evangelical (2)Lutheran (1)Methodist (1)Pentecostal (1)Reformed (4)Restorationist (2)Roman Catholic (1)Date of Separation End YearAll1202 (1)1204 (2)1527 (1)1555 (2)1560 (1)1561 (1)1566 (1)1571 (1)1612 (1)1795 (1)1815 (1)1846 (1)1850 (1)1863 (1)1876 (1)1908 (1)1913 (1)1914 (1)1925 (1)1966 (1)1967 (1)1968 (1)1971 (1)Date of Separation Start YearAll1054 (3)1191 (1)1346 (1)1448 (1)1517 (1)1521 (1)1525 (1)1534 (2)1536 (2)1560 (1)1609 (1)1666 (1)1772 (1)1784 (1)1804 (1)1810 (2)1811 (1)1833 (1)1844 (1)1881 (1)1883 (1)1885 (1)1895 (1)1906 (2)1935 (1)1962 (1)1963 (1)1966 (1)1971 (1)Defining Doctrinal PositionAllA Goddess and a God as a divine pair (2)A perfected, deathless body attained through hatha yoga (1)Achintya bhedabheda: inconceivable oneness and difference (1)Achintya bhedabheda: inconceivable oneness and difference (1)Affirms the Filioque: the Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son (1)Ahura Mazda opposed by a destructive principle, made real through good thought, word and deed (2)Awakening as sudden and direct, outside the scriptures (1)Awakening by one's own effort (jiriki) (1)Awakening is the ground already present, not an outcome (1)Chalcedonian: two natures in the one person of Christ (Chalcedon, 451) (5)Chalcedonian: two natures in the one person of Christ (Chalcedon, 451) (15)Ethics grounded in reason and human experience, without the supernatural (1)Halakha binding and not subject to historical revision (2)Halakha binding, but developing through scholarship (1)Halakha binding, with secular education, work and civic participation affirmed rather than merely tolerated (1)Halakha informative rather than binding on the individual (2)Initiation into the Khalsa and its rahit as normative (1)Judaism as an evolving religious civilisation, God reconceived naturalistically (2)Neidan: the refinement of body and spirit as the path (1)Neidan: the refinement of body and spirit as the path (1)One vehicle: every teaching leads to a single buddhahood (1)Rejects the Filioque: the Spirit proceeds from the Father (1)Rejects the Filioque: the Spirit proceeds from the Father (8)Restorationist: holds the apostolic church to have been lost and restored (3)Shiva as the supreme reality (1)The Goddess alone (1)The tzaddik or rebbe as spiritual intermediary and head of the community (2)The tzaddik or rebbe as spiritual intermediary and head of the community (2)Trinitarian: one God in three persons (16)Trinitarian: one God in three persons (8)Universal liberation by the path of the bodhisattva (1)Vishnu as the supreme reality (1)Documented Accused CountAll1 (1)5 (1)6 (1)19 (1)21 (1)237 (1)390 (1)800 (1)1670 (1)1880 (1)2900 (1)4392 (1)Education Facility Count As OfAll2023-12-31 (1)GovernanceAllA federation of autonomous member organisations (5)A head temple over affiliated branch temples (1)A single central governing body over the whole movement (3)Authority in a living teacher and their succession (2)Authority in trained scholars, with no central office (2)Authority through monastic ordination lineage and its seats (3)Autonomous covens, authority conferred by initiation (3)Congregational: each congregation self-governing (8)Connexional: congregations bound in a conference with itinerant ministry (1)Delegated representation from congregations up to a general conference (6)Episcopal: governed by bishops (8)Lay boards or trusts govern, alongside the priesthood (2)No central authority (15)Presbyterian: governed by elders in graded courts (4)Priestly office passing by descent (2)Self-governing churches under patriarchs, deciding in synod (8)Synodal: governed by synods of clergy and lay delegates (2)Universal primacy of a single bishop (1)Health Facility Count As OfAll2023-12-31 (1)How the Expectation Is EnforcedAllCodified Obligation With Consequences (1)Codified Obligation, Ruled Unenforceable (1)Customary Norm (15)Obligation to Support, No Set Rate (5)Preached Expectation, Not Enforced (10)Liturgical LanguageAllAramaic (3)Avestan (2)Church Slavonic (4)Classical Chinese (read in Sino-Japanese where used in Japan) (4)Georgian (1)Greek (liturgical) (5)Hebrew (9)Latin (1)Punjabi in Gurmukhi script (1)Sanskrit (5)The vernacular (34)Membership Figure As OfAll1900-01-01 (1)1910-01-01 (1)1912-01-01 (2)1917-01-01 (1)1923-01-01 (1)1924-01-01 (1)1941-01-01 (1)1958-01-01 (1)1970-01-01 (2)1970-12-31 (1)1984-01-01 (1)1990-01-01 (1)1991-01-01 (1)1994-01-01 (1)2000-04-01 (1)2000-12-31 (1)2002-01-01 (1)2004-01-01 (1)2006-01-01 (2)2007-01-01 (2)2009-01-01 (1)2010-01-01 (5)2011-01-01 (5)2013-01-01 (6)2013-10-01 (1)2014-01-01 (5)2015-01-01 (4)2016-01-01 (2)2016-12-31 (2)2017-01-01 (1)2017-10-30 (1)2017-11-08 (1)2018-01-01 (3)2019-01-01 (3)2019-07-03 (1)2020-01-01 (8)2021-01-01 (3)2021-03-21 (1)2021-05-11 (1)2021-05-12 (1)2021-12-31 (1)2022-01-01 (8)2022-05-03 (1)2022-12-31 (1)2023-01-01 (3)2023-12-31 (1)2024-01-01 (4)2024-03-01 (1)2024-12-31 (1)2025-01-01 (3)2026-08-14 (1)OrdinationAllA full female ordination lineage continues (1)Authority conferred by initiation rather than by ordination (7)Celibacy required of the ordained (4)Married clergy permitted (12)No ordination; authority rests on learning or on the whole body (1)No successor by deliberate choice (1)Office passes by descent (4)Open to women and men (17)Ordination is into a monastic order, not to a congregation (4)Restricted to men (21)Restricted to women (1)Varies between provinces or member bodies (14)Origin Period End YearAll52 (1)100 (1)337 (1)431 (1)1000 (1)1100 (1)1170 (1)1200 (1)1202 (1)1204 (1)1219 (1)1300 (1)1448 (1)1527 (1)1530 (1)1534 (1)1555 (1)1559 (2)1560 (1)1561 (1)1571 (2)1592 (1)1612 (1)1667 (1)1699 (1)1745 (1)1772 (1)1784 (1)1789 (1)1797 (1)1800 (1)1810 (1)1832 (1)1846 (1)1850 (2)1863 (1)1867 (1)1881 (1)1906 (2)1908 (1)1913 (1)1954 (1)1963 (1)1966 (1)1967 (1)1968 (1)1971 (1)Origin Period Start YearAll100 BCE (1)30 (2)49 (1)326 (1)431 (1)651 (1)700 (1)800 (1)900 (1)988 (1)1167 (1)1191 (1)1200 (1)1219 (1)1486 (1)1517 (2)1525 (1)1534 (3)1536 (2)1560 (2)1571 (1)1609 (1)1652 (1)1699 (1)1734 (1)1738 (1)1740 (1)1775 (1)1789 (1)1800 (2)1801 (2)1802 (1)1810 (1)1844 (1)1845 (1)1850 (1)1881 (1)1895 (1)1901 (1)1922 (1)1946 (1)1962 (1)1963 (1)1965 (1)1971 (1)Position on JustificationAllFaith Alone (2)No Communion Wide Standard (1)Position on MarriageAllMarriage is held to be a lifelong, monogamous, indissoluble union; remarriage after divorce is not sanctioned while a spouse lives (1)Marriage is held to be monogamous, with remarriage after divorce sanctioned under specified conditions (6)No single uniform teaching on marriage's terms holds across the body (1)Position on PredestinationAllDouble Predestination (1)Election Affirmed Reprobation Unstated (1)Unsettled (1)Position on SexualityAllSame-sex marriage is performed and LGBT clergy are ordained on equal terms with heterosexual clergy (6)Same-sex orientation or practice is held to bar full membership or participation (5)Same-sex sexual relationships are held contrary to teaching; LGBT individuals are welcomed as members but not ordained, and same-sex unions are not blessed (10)Same-sex unions may be blessed, but ordination is not extended to partnered LGBT clergy (1)The body holds no single settled position; the question is actively and openly contested within it (6)Position on the EucharistAllNo Communion Wide Definition (1)Spiritual Reception by Faith (2)Position on UsuryAllInterest is permitted but bound by ethical constraints against exploiting the poor (1)Principle of WorshipAllNormative (2)Regulative (1)Relation to the StateAllDisestablished (3)Established (3)No Establishment (11)Privileged Never Established (8)Varies by Province (12)Rule Established or Last ChangedAll2007-11-28 (1)2010-10-24 (1)Sacraments RecognisedAllTwo (3)Settlement TotalAll500,000 (1)9,500,000 (1)137,300,000 (1)1,500,000,000 (1)5,590,000,000 (1)Standard Rate ExpectedAllFive percent. (1)Ten percent. (7)Standing of Holy OrdersAllHistoric Episcopate (1)Historic Episcopate Locally Adapted (1)Ministry by Lawful Call (1)Status TodayAllDissolved; the community wound itself up (1)Living tradition, practised today (56)Wealth Figure As Of YearAll2007 (1)2008 (1)2009 (1)2014 (1)2016 (1)2023 (2)2024 (5)2025 (3)Show ResultsBrowseCompareAlexandrian WiccaTradition2 entriesAnabaptismTradition1 entryAnglican CommunionTradition1 entryAnglicanismTradition9 entriesBaptistTradition2 entriesBreslov HasidismTradition7 entriesCalvinism (Reformed)Tradition2 entriesChabad-LubavitchTradition7 entriesChurch of CyprusTradition10 entriesChurch of EnglandTradition9 entriesChurch of God (Anderson, Indiana)Tradition1 entryChurch of GreeceTradition10 entriesChurch of IrelandTradition9 entriesChurch of ScotlandTradition2 entriesChurch of the NazareneTradition1 entryChurches of ChristTradition2 entriesConservative JudaismTradition7 entriesDianic WiccaTradition1 entryDisciples of ChristTradition2 entriesDragon GateTradition1 entryDutch Reformed ChurchTradition2 entriesEastern OrthodoxyTradition11 entriesEcumenical Patriarchate of ConstantinopleTradition11 entriesThe Episcopal ChurchTradition8 entriesEvangelicalismTradition2 entriesGardnerian WiccaTradition2 entriesGaudiya VaishnavismTradition2 entriesGeorgian Orthodox ChurchTradition11 entriesGreek Orthodox ChurchTradition11 entriesHaredi JudaismTradition7 entriesHasidic JudaismTradition7 entriesHumanistic JudaismTradition1 entryIrani ZoroastrianismTradition2 entriesISKCON (Hare Krishna)Tradition2 entriesKashmir ShaivismTradition1 entryKhalsaTradition4 entriesLutheranismTradition1 entryMahayanaTradition2 entriesMennonitesTradition1 entryMethodismTradition1 entryModern Orthodox JudaismTradition7 entriesNath SampradayaTradition1 entryOld BelieversTradition10 entriesOrthodox JudaismTradition7 entriesParsi ZoroastrianismTradition2 entriesPentecostalismTradition1 entryPresbyterianismTradition2 entriesProtestantismTradition2 entriesQuanzhen (Complete Reality)Tradition1 entryReconstructionist JudaismTradition3 entriesReform JudaismTradition3 entriesRinzaiTradition1 entryRoman CatholicismTradition13 entriesRomanian Orthodox ChurchTradition11 entriesRussian Orthodox ChurchTradition11 entriesSerbian Orthodox ChurchTradition11 entriesSeventh-day AdventismTradition1 entryShangqing (Highest Clarity)Tradition1 entryShia (Twelver)Tradition2 entriesShri VidyaTradition1 entryShrine ShintoTradition2 entriesSmartismTradition1 entrySotoTradition1 entrySri VaishnavismTradition1 entryTheravadaTradition4 entriesTibetan BuddhismTradition4 entriesUkrainian Orthodox ChurchTradition10 entriesVajrayanaTradition2 entriesZenTradition3 entriesZhengyi (Orthodox Unity)Tradition1 entrySources1. Divinity Atlas Directory Taxonomy, First Edition Category Treetier 1Divinity Atlas Directory Prose, First Edition Category Descriptionstier 1Comments (0)No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.Sign in to join the discussion.Reader Challenges (0)No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.