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Benedict XVI
[People]Benedict XVI (1927–2022), born Joseph Ratzinger, was a German-born prelate who served as the 265th pope of the Roman Catholic Church (2005–2013). Known as a conservative theologian, he was the first pope in nearly 600 years to step down from office during his lifetime.
Ananias the High Priest
[People]High priest in Jerusalem in the mid-first century. In Acts 23–24 he orders that Paul be struck on the mouth as Paul stands before the Sanhedrin, and he later brings charges against Paul before the governor at Caesarea.
High Priestly Prayer
[Bible]The High Priestly Prayer is the extended prayer of Jesus Christ recorded in John 17. Jesus offered it just before his Passion for himself, for his disciples, and for those who would later believe. It takes its name from the idea that he intercedes for his people as a high priest does.
Breastplate (High Priest)
[Bible]The breastplate was a square ornamental piece of fabric that the high priest of Old Testament Israel wore on his chest over the ephod. It held twelve gemstones engraved with the names of the twelve tribes and contained the Urim and Thummim.
Ananias (High Priest)
[People]Ananias was a Jewish high priest who appears in Acts 23–24. He ordered those standing by to strike Paul on the mouth as Paul made his defense before the council, and he later brought charges against Paul before the governor Felix.
Joshua (High Priest)
[People]Joshua was the high priest who led the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem after the return from the Babylonian exile. The son of Jehozadak, he appears as "Jeshua" in Ezra and Nehemiah.
Joiakim (High Priest)
[People]Joiakim succeeded to the office of high priest in Jerusalem after the return from the Babylonian exile. He was the son of the high priest Jeshua and the father of Eliashib, and he appears only in Nehemiah 12.
Aaron
[People]Aaron, a Levite who appears in the Old Testament books from Exodus through Deuteronomy, was the elder brother of Moses and the first high priest of Israel. His descendants inherited Israel's priesthood.
Seraiah
[People]Seraiah was a high priest in the final years of the Kingdom of Judah who was executed by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, after the fall of Jerusalem. He is recorded as the father of Jehozadak (Jozadak) and as an ancestor of Ezra.
Amariah
[People]Amariah was the chief priest during the reign of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah. When Jehoshaphat established a judicial system in Jerusalem, he placed Amariah over "all matters of the LORD" (2 Chronicles 19:11).
Caiaphas
[People]Caiaphas was the high priest in Jerusalem in the time of Jesus. He led the council that examined Jesus and handed him over to the Roman governor Pontius Pilate, and he is recorded as the son-in-law of Annas.
Ephod
[Bible]The ephod was a vest-like outer garment worn by the high priest in the Old Testament. Priests also wore a linen ephod, and the ephod served as a means of inquiring of God's will.
Urim and Thummim
[Bible]The Urim and Thummim were objects in the Old Testament that the high priest carried in the breastplate of judgment and used when seeking God's will. Scripture does not describe their appearance or explain how they were used.
Malchus
[People]Malchus was the servant of the high priest whose right ear Peter cut off with a sword when Jesus Christ was arrested in Gethsemane. His name appears only in the Gospel of John.
Joiada (Son of Eliashib)
[People]Joiada was a high priest in Jerusalem during the Persian period after the return from exile. He was the son and successor of the high priest Eliashib. One of his sons became the son-in-law of Sanballat the Horonite and was driven out by Nehemiah (Nehemiah 13:28).
Annas
[People]Annas was a former Jewish high priest in the time of Jesus and the father-in-law of Caiaphas. He was the first person before whom Jesus was brought after his arrest, and he also appears at the interrogation of the apostles.
Jozadak
[People]Jozadak was the son of Seraiah, the high priest in Jerusalem just before the Babylonian exile. He was carried into captivity when Judah fell, and Scripture records him as the father of Jeshua (Joshua), who became high priest after the return from exile.
Epistle to the Hebrews
[Bible]Hebrews is the nineteenth book of the New Testament. It presents Jesus Christ as the true High Priest who fulfilled the sacrifices and priesthood of the Old Testament, and it exhorts its readers to hold fast to the faith.
Sadducees
[Bible]The Sadducees were a Jewish sect of the New Testament era centered on the high-priestly families and the aristocracy of the Jerusalem temple. Because they rejected the resurrection, angels, and spirits, they came into conflict with Jesus and the apostles.
Sanhedrin
[Bible]The Sanhedrin was the supreme council in Jerusalem during the New Testament period. Presided over by the high priest, it dealt with the religious and judicial affairs of the Jewish people.