Holy orders Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun (usually plural) the status or rank or office of a Christian clergyman in an ecclesiastical hierarchy
    Holy Order; Order.
    • theologians still disagree over whether `bishop' should or should not be a separate Order
  2. noun the sacrament of ordination
    holy order.

WordNet

Definitions
  1. . See Order.
Definitions
  1. . (a) (Eccl.) The different grades of the Christian ministry; ordination to the ministry . See def. 10 above. (b) (R. C. Ch.) A sacrament for the purpose of conferring a special grace on those ordained.

Webster 1913