Priest

===Mandaeism===
{{Main|Mandaean priest}}
A [[Mandaean priest]] refers to an ordained religious leader in [[Mandaeism]]. In [[Mandaean scriptures]], priests are referred to as ''Naṣuraiia'' ([[Nasoraean Mandaeans|Naṣoraeans]]).<ref name="Secret Adam">Drower, E. S. 1960. ''The Secret Adam: A Study of Nasoraean Gnosis''. Oxford: Clarendon Press.</ref> All priests must undergo lengthy ordination ceremonies, beginning with [[tarmida]] initiation.<ref name="Buckley 2002"/> Mandaean religious leaders and copyists of religious texts hold the title ''Rabbi'' or in Arabic '[[Sheikh]]'.<ref>{{cite web |last=McGrath |first=James F.|url=https://digitalcommons.butler.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=1194&context=facsch_papers |title=Reading the Story of Miriai on Two Levels: Evidence from Mandaean Anti-Jewish Polemic about the Origins and Setting of Early Mandaeism |year=2010 |access-date=10 December 2021 |pages=583–592 |website=ARAM Periodical}}</ref><ref>{{citation |title=Open discussion with the Sabaeans Mandaeans |website=YouTube |author=Holy Spirit University of Kaslik - USEK |date=27 November 2017 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdQq4GkT5Ao |access-date=10 December 2021}}</ref>

All Mandaean communities traditionally require the presence of a priest, since priests are required to officiate over all important religious rituals, including [[masbuta]], [[masiqta]], birth and wedding ceremonies. Priests also serve as teachers, scribes, and community leaders.<ref name="Buckley 2002"/>

There are three types of priests in [[Mandaeism]]:<ref name="Buckley 2002">{{cite book |last=Buckley |first=Jorunn Jacobsen |title=The Mandaeans: ancient texts and modern people |url=http://mandaeannetwork.com/Mandaean/books/english/2The_Mandaeans_Ancient_Texts_and_Modern_People_American_Academy_of_Religion_Books_Jorunn_Jacobsen_Buckley.pdf?bcsi_scan_955b0cd764557e80=0&bcsi_scan_filename=2The_Mandaeans_Ancient_Texts_and_Modern_People_American_Academy_of_Religion_Books_Jorunn_Jacobsen_Buckley.pdf |publisher=Oxford University Press |publication-place=New York |year=2002 |isbn=0-19-515385-5 |oclc=65198443}}</ref>

*''[[rishama|rišama]]'' "leader of the people"
*''[[ganzibra|ganzibria]]'' "treasurers" (from Old Persian ''ganza-bara'' "id.," Neo-Mandaic ''ganzeḇrānā'')
*''[[tarmida|tarmidia]]'' "disciples" (Neo-Mandaic ''tarmidānā'')

Priests have lineages based on the succession of ''ganzibria'' priests who had initiated them. Priestly lineages, which are distinct from birth lineages, are typically recorded in the [[colophon (publishing)|colophons]] of many [[Mandaean texts]]. The position is not hereditary, and any Mandaean male who is highly knowledgeable about religious matters is eligible to become a priest.<ref name="Buckley2010">{{cite book |last=Buckley |first=Jorunn Jacobsen |title=The great stem of souls: reconstructing Mandaean history |publisher=Gorgias Press |publication-place=Piscataway, NJ |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-59333-621-9}}</ref>