Prelate

"Prelacy" redirects here. For the Christian denomination sometimes referred to as "prelacy", see Anglicanism.
For the village in Canada, see Prelate, Saskatchewan.
Benedictine Archabbot Ildefons Schober in prelate dress and cappa magna
A cardinal, a nuncio and two bishops in Belgium.

A prelate (/ˈprɛlət/)[1] is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin praelatus, the past participle of praeferre, which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'prefer'; hence, a prelate is one set over others.

The archetypal prelate is a bishop, whose prelature is his particular church. All other prelates, including the regular prelates such as abbots and major superiors, are based upon this original model of prelacy.

  1. ^ American Heritage Dictionary entry "prelate"