Noun
The office or character of a priest; the priestly function.
Priests, taken collectively; the order of men set apart for sacred offices; the order of priests.
Source: Webster's dictionaryPsychiatrists - the dominant lay priesthood since the First World War... J. G. Ballard
We're not at a point in time to be taking chances with children and young people in the church. The Holy Father himself said... there is no room in the priesthood or religious life for someone who has abused a child. I think he's right. Roger Mahony
A candidate for the priesthood could only succeed to office by slaying the priest, and having slain him, he retained office till he was himself slain by a stronger or a craftier. James Frazer
The National Health Service is the closest thing the English have to a religion, with those who practice in it regarding themselves as a priesthood. Nigel Lawson
The priesthood is a marriage. People often start by falling in love, and they go on for years without realizing that love must change into some other love which is so unlike it that it can hardly be recognized as love at all. Iris Murdoch
Art is not a pastime but a priesthood. Jean Cocteau