Throughout the history of mankind, there has been the idea of something supernatural. It was gradually transformed and organized into a system that was later called religion. Already in ancient history, there were many different types of religious beliefs - from tribal worship of natural phenomena to huge, well-organized and ordered creeds with their own canons and dogmas, with whole pantheons of gods and other attributes. And, accordingly, there have always been those who ensured the work of this structure. In a tribe, this function could be performed by a tribal priest, and in world religions, these are entire castes with their own internal hierarchy. In different religions, the minister of a religious cult is called differently: priest, imam, priest, etc. In monotheistic beliefs, the clergy caste is called the clergy.
In different religions, the duties of employees also differ, but the function of mediation between some supernatural force and people remains common almost everywhere. For the rest, it is necessary to analyze and distinguish the work of ministers in each of the religious systems.
For example, according to the Bible, a priest is a servant of a religious cult who makes a sacrifice to the deities. Priests existed in almost all ancient religions. They performed various rituals and held services. So, the priestly caste was already in Ancient Egypt. In India, the priests were one of the four castes of Hinduism - the Brahmins. Among the tribes and peoples of Britain, Gaul and many other Western European regions, the clergy were called Druids. In Greece and Rome, during the period of democracy, the minister of a religious cult had the status of a state official. He, as a rule, was elected by citizens at public meetings.
In Christianity, a clergyman is a priest. In various theologies, views on the functions performed by this person diverge greatly.
In Protestantism, it is believed that a priest or pastor primarily performs administrative and pedagogical functions, mentoring, but cannot perform all those ministries that Catholic ministers of religious worship can perform. The answer lies in different interpretations of theology. Protestants believe that the death of Christ was the only sacrifice necessary for salvation, and any Christian is a priest.
In Catholicism, it is believed that Christ established a permanent sacrifice and the priesthood, and that is why the Catholic minister of a religious cult has the right to make sacrifices, bless people, forgive their sins, carry the word into the worldGod's. However, his work does not end there, she also has some other functions and responsibilities.
Officers of the Orthodox Church and earlier churches such as the Coptic and Armenian have functions similar to Catholic priests.
Islamic mullahs and Jewish rabbis are considered experts in the Law of religion. First of all, they are engaged in educational activities.
