For practical purposes, however, he delegated his functions to the particular professional local priesthoods.
In Islam there is, technically, no priesthood, though there are local spiritual and community leaders, such as the imam, the mullah, the mufti, the qadi, and others.
As an openly gay, active Latter-day Saint who just completed my calling as a priesthood leader in my local congregation as my authentic self -- an openly gay man -- I'm keenly interested in the work taking place for LGBT inclusion and equality.
For the past 16 months, I've served in a priesthood leadership role in my local Mormon congregation as my authentic self -- an openly gay man.
The St. John Neumann College Seminary Residence in the Bronx, N.Y.--which arranges for men who are thinking about the priesthood to continue their studies at local universities or colleges while supplementing their training in seminary classes and in a religious environment--places ads in major publications like Reader's Digest, Newsweek and Sports Illustrated.
About five years later, he again thought strongly about joining the priesthood, holding "some serious discussion with the local bishop but it didn't go anywhere else".
In his parents' time, he recalls, a local farming family would be proud if a son joined the priesthood.
The son of a local mayor, Archbishop Christodoulos first trained as a lawyer but switched to the priesthood in 1961.
It produced powerful local newspapers, but it's hard to think of them as fitting the priesthood model.
In the imperial period the worship of the emperor was widespread, especially in the provincial capitals, where it provided a focus for expressions of loyalty to the emperor, and priesthoods in the imperial cult were an important part of the careers of local dignitaries.
