PRIEST

(Gr. Tipca6vTtpos, elder.) Etymologically, the Christian priest is merely a minister who presides over the spiritual affairs of a congregation. The word, however, is commonly used also to represent the Greek Hpsvs, who, like the Jewish priest, had both a sacrificial and mediatorial character; and the Roman Catholic looks upon the Christian priest in the same light. PRIM^E VIjE. (Lnt. the first pa ages.) Medical men apply this term to the stomach and bowels. [s. 994]