Because the priest gains his special knowledge from a school for priests, he is differentiated from other religious and cultic leaders, such as the magician, shaman (healer and visionary), diviner, or prophet, who obtain their positions by means of individual efforts (e.g., learning from a master magician or diviner individual ecstatic experiences that are publicly recognized).

The priest gains such knowledge through the institution known as the priesthood, which may be composed of various groups or guilds devoted to all or only a few aspects of the priestly craft. The primary role of the priest is that of the ritual expert, the one who has a special and sometimes secret knowledge of the techniques of worship, including incantations, prayers, sacrificial acts, songs, and other acts that are believed to bridge the separation between the divine or sacred and the profane realms. The term priest is derived etymologically from the Greek word presbyteros (вЂњelderвЂќ), of which it is a contraction, and it is equated with the Latin word sacerdos (the Roman officiant at the sacrifices and sacred rites). Throughout the long and varied history of religion, the priesthood has been the official institution that has mediated and maintained a state of equilibrium between the sacred and the profane aspects of human society and that has exercised a stabilizing influence on social structures and on cultic organizations. Priesthood, the office of a priest, a ritual expert learned in a special knowledge of the technique of worship and accepted as a religious and spiritual leader.

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The priests