clergyman

clergy, cleric, member of the clergy, spiritual leader. Or, be specific: pastor, rabbi, minister, priest, deacon, presbyter, elder, ecclesiastic, confessor, bishop, prelate, rector, parson, dean, imam, vicar, chaplain, preacher, missionary. Some 84 Christian denominations ordain women; at least 82 still do not. Among those with female clergy are American Baptist, Christian (Disciples), Episcopal, Evangelical Lutheran, Presbyterian, United Church of Christ, United Methodist, and the Conservative, Reform, and Reconstructionist branches of Judaism. See also bishop, churchman, imam, man of God/of the cloth, minister (clergy), priest, rabbi, stained glass ceiling.