ecclesiastic
Ec*cle`si*as"tic, a. Etym: [L. ecclesiasticus, Gr. Ex-, and Hale, v. t., Haul.] Defn: Of or pertaining to the church. See Ecclesiastical. "Ecclesiastic government." Swift. Ec*cle`si*as"tic, n. Defn: A person in holy orders, or consecrated to the service of the church and the ministry of religion; a clergyman; a priest. From a humble ecclesiastic, he was subsequently preferred to the highest dignities of the church. Prescott.