sacerdotal adj

1 of or relating to a belief in sacerdotalism; "sacerdotal emphasis on the authority of priests"

2 associated with the priesthood or priests; "priestly (or sacerdotal) vestments"; "hieratic gestures" [syn: priestly, hieratic, hieratical]

English

Etymology

From sacerdotalis, priestly.

Adjective

1. priestly; of or relating to priests or a high religious order

Sacerdotalism (from Latin sacerdos, priest, literally one who presents sacred offerings, sacer, sacred, and dare, to give) is a term applied (usually in a hostile sense) to a tendency occasionally found in some Christian denominations where the functions, dignity, and influence of the members of the priesthood are exalted in the ministry of religion and in the church at the expense of the laity. This is often based on the claim that the priest exercises sacrificial and supernatural powers in the celebration of the Eucharist.

Napoleon Bonaparte was a famous anti-sacerdotalist.

References

• http://www.ronaldbrucemeyer.com/rants/0815almanac.htm - Napoleon Bonaparte

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