Priest

==Dress==
[[File:Kruisheren 1964 Canons Regular of the Order Sanctae Crucis.jpg|thumb|upright=0.7|Some clergy and religious, such as these, who are [[Canons Regular of the Order of the Holy Cross]] and live in the Netherlands, wear distinctive clothing which distinguishes them from other clergy, whether [[secular clergy|secular]] or [[regular clergy|religious]].]]
[[File:AGMA Kylix femme autel.jpg|thumb|upright=0.7|left|Priestess officiating before an altar while nude to demonstrate purity, Attic red-figure [[kylix (drinking cup)|kylix]] by Chairias, c. 510–500&nbsp;BC, Ancient Agora Museum in Athens]]
The dress of religious workers in ancient times may be demonstrated in frescoes and artifacts from the cultures. The dress is presumed to be related to the customary clothing of the culture, with some symbol of the deity worn on the head or held by the person. Sometimes special colors, materials, or patterns distinguish celebrants, as the white wool veil draped on the head of the [[Vestal Virgin]]s.

Occasionally, the celebrants at religious ceremonies shed all clothes in a symbolic gesture of purity. This was often the case in ancient times. An example of this is shown to the left on a Kylix dating from c. 500&nbsp;BC where a priestess is featured. Modern religious groups tend to avoid such symbolism and some may be quite uncomfortable with the concept.

The retention of long [[skirt]]s and [[vestment]]s among many ranks of contemporary priests when they officiate may be interpreted to express the ancient traditions of the cultures from which their religious practices arose.

In most Christian traditions, priests wear [[clerical clothing]], a distinctive form of street dress. Even within individual traditions it varies considerably in form, depending on the specific occasion. In [[Western Christianity]], the stiff white [[clerical collar]] has become the nearly universal feature of priestly clerical clothing, worn either with a [[cassock]] or a [[clergy shirt]]. The collar may be either a full collar or a vestigial tab displayed through a square cutout in the shirt collar.

[[Eastern Christianity|Eastern Christian]] priests mostly retain the traditional dress of two layers of differently cut cassock: the ''rasson'' (Greek) or ''podriasnik'' (Russian) beneath the outer ''exorasson'' (Greek) or ''riasa'' (Russian). If a pectoral cross has been awarded it is usually worn with street clothes in the Russian tradition, but not so often in the Greek tradition.

Distinctive clerical clothing is less often worn in modern times than formerly, and in many cases it is rare for a priest to wear it when not acting in a pastoral capacity, especially in countries that view themselves as largely secular in nature. There are frequent exceptions to this however, and many priests rarely if ever go out in public without it, especially in countries where their religion makes up a clear majority of the population. [[Pope John Paul II]] often instructed Catholic priests and religious to always wear their distinctive (clerical) clothing, unless wearing it would result in persecution or grave verbal attacks.

Christian traditions that retain the title of priest also retain the tradition of special liturgical [[vestment]]s worn only during services. Vestments vary widely among the different Christian traditions.

In modern [[Pagan]] religions, such as [[Wicca]], there is no one specific form of dress designated for the clergy. If there is, it is a particular of the denomination in question, and not a universal practice. However, there is a traditional form of dress, (usually a floor-length [[tunic]] and a knotted cord [[cincture]], known as the ''cingulum''), which is often worn by worshipers during religious rites. Among those traditions of Wicca that do dictate a specific form of dress for its clergy, they usually wear the traditional tunic in addition to other articles of clothing (such as an open-fronted [[robe]] or a [[cloak]]) as a distinctive form of religious dress, similar to a [[religious habit|habit]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Kennerson |first=Robert |title=The Garb Of The Clergy - Pagan Christianity |date=2022-12-17 |website=Wilmington For Christ |url=https://www.wilmingtonfavs.com/pagan-christianity/the-garb-of-the-clergy.html |access-date=2022-12-20}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Beckett |first=John |date=2017-02-12 |title=How Should Pagan Clergy Dress? |website=John Beckett |url=https://www.patheos.com/blogs/johnbeckett/2017/02/pagan-clergy-dress.html |access-date=2022-12-20}}</ref>