hierarch

Etymology

From Medieval Latin hierarcha, from Ancient Greek ἱεράρχης (hierárkhēs) Derived from ἱερός (hierós, “holy”) + -άρχης (-árkhēs, “ruler”, “leader”). ἱερός from Proto-Hellenic *iherós, from Proto-Indo-European *ish₁ros. There are a number of candidate cognates with this word. Compare Sanskrit इषिर (iṣira, “vigorous, fresh, blooming”) and Oscan 𐌀𐌉𐌔𐌖𐌔𐌉𐌔 (aisusis).

hierarch means one who has high and controlling authority in sacred things; the chief of a sacred order. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 81 out of 100.

Why this word is great

HIERARCH — [Noun] One who holds high and controlling authority in sacred matters, such as a chief priest or a bishop in their role as an ordinary. From Medieval Latin hierarcha, from Ancient Greek ἱεράρχης (hierárkhēs), from ἱερός (hierós, "holy") + -άρχης (-árkhēs, "ruler, leader"). Unlike a layperson, who experiences faith without its institutional architecture, or an administrator, who manages the secular machinery of order, a hierarch is the appointed channel where divine will crystallizes into earthly command. He is the scent of chrism and old stone in a cathedral sacristy, the cool weight of a pectoral cross against black wool, the echoing finality of a decree from a raised throne—a mortal who carries, and is eventually consumed by, the office they embody.

noun

One who has high and controlling authority in sacred things; the chief of a sacred order.
A title of bishops in their role as ordinaries (arbiters of canon law) over their respective dioceses.“The law states that the local ordinary can give to any Catholic priest the faculty to bless the marriages of non-Catholic Eastern Christians if the faithful voluntarily ask for it and the priest prudently informs the appropriate hierarch.”