Priest

====Anglican or Episcopalian====<!-- 'Anglican priest' and 'Episcopal priest' redirect here -->
[[File:Choirhabit.jpg|thumb|An [[Anglicanism|Anglican]] priest in choir dress]]
{{Main|Anglican ministry}}
The role of a priest in the [[Anglican Communion]] and the [[Free Church of England]] is largely the same as within the [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholic Church]] and [[Eastern Christianity]], except that [[canon law]] in almost every [[Anglicanism|Anglican]] province restricts the administration of [[confirmation]] to the [[bishop]], just as with [[ordination]]. Although Anglican priests who are members of [[Anglican religious order|religious orders]] must remain [[celibate]] (although there are exceptions, such as priests in the [[Anglican Cistercians|Anglican Order of Cistercians]]), the [[secular clergy]]&mdash;bishops, priests, and deacons who are not members of religious orders&mdash;are permitted to marry before or after ordination (although in most provinces they are not permitted to [[same-sex marriage|marry a person of the same sex]]). The Anglican churches, unlike the Roman Catholic or [[Eastern Christian]] traditions, have allowed the ordination of women as priests (referred to as "priests" not "priestesses") in some provinces since 1971.<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=The Observer |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/jul/04/should-women-ever-be-made-bishops |title=Should women ever be bishops?|author=Emma John |date=July 4, 2010 |location=London}}</ref> This practice remains controversial, however; a minority of provinces (10 out of the 38 worldwide) retain an all-male priesthood.<ref>{{cite web |title=Male bishops speak out on female priests |author=Sulaiman Kakaire |url=https://www.observer.ug/news-headlines/9899-male-bishops-speak-out-on-female-priests}}</ref> Most [[Continuing Anglican Movement|Continuing Anglican]] churches do not ordain women to the priesthood.

As Anglicanism represents a broad range of theological opinion, its [[presbyterate]] includes priests who consider themselves no different in any respect from those of the Roman Catholic Church, and a minority who prefer to use the title ''[[presbyter]]'' in order to distance themselves from the more sacrificial theological implications which they associate with the word ''priest''.

While ''priest'' is the official title of a member of the presbyterate in every Anglican province worldwide (retained by the Elizabethan Settlement), the ordination rite of certain provinces (including the [[Church of England]]) recognizes the breadth of opinion by adopting the title ''The Ordination of Priests (also called Presbyters).'' Even though both words mean 'elders' historically the term ''priest'' has been more associated with the "[[High Church]]" or [[Anglo-Catholic]] wing, whereas the term "[[minister (Christianity)|minister]]" has been more commonly used in "[[Low Church]]" or Evangelical circles.<ref>{{cite web |title=Minister or Priest?|author=Anglican Church of Canada |url=http://www.anglican.ca/help/faq/minister-or-priest/}}</ref>