Hierarchy

(hi'e-rark-e.) [Gr. hierarch i a, priestly rule.] (Theol.) A term which, according toDionysius the Areopagite, denotes the supposed polity or social constitution which exists among angels. Of the 3 cla es into which such polity has been said to be divided, the first consists of the cherubim, seraphim, thrones; the second of dominions, virtues, pon vers; and the third of principalities, angels, and archangels.(Eccl. Hist.) Ecclesiastical government; or the subordination of rank among the different orders of the clergy. [s. 454]