He was never consecrated as a bishop, and died with the clerical rank of priest.

The next lower clerical rank is Hojatoleslam wal-muslemin.

(By today's standards, even St. Augustine would not be considered a safe bet for clerical ranks, he notes.)

However, as more capable men began to fill the clerical ranks, resentment of government control over the Church increased.

These clerical ranks are subdeacon, reader and altar server (also known as taper-bearer).

Both blue-collar and clerical ranks will be trimmed, Mr. Levy said.

Someone muttered something indistinct which Wylsynn felt quite cer-tain went poorly with the speaker's high clerical rank.

He holds a middling clerical rank, and it is improbable that he can fill the Ayatollah's shoes.

Returning to the bank in 1948, he rose through the clerical ranks and became secretary to the chief general manager in 1963.

Usage varies somewhat throughout the Orthodox communion, and not every church uses every clerical rank.