Crossword clues for officiant
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Officiant \Of*fi"ciant\, n. [L. officians, p. pr. See
Officiate.] (Eccl.)
The officer who officiates or performs an office, as the
burial office.
--Shipley.
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
1844, from noun use of Medieval Latin officiantem (nominative officians), present participle of officiare "perform religious services," from Latin officium (see office).
Wiktionary
n. 1 A person who officiates at a religious ceremony (other than the eucharist) 2 A person who officiates at a civil (non-religious) wedding ceremony.
WordNet
n. a clergyman who officiates at a religious ceremony or service
Wikipedia
An officiant is someone who officiates (i.e. leads) at a service or ceremony, such as marriage, burial, or namegiving/ baptism.
Religious Officiants are usually ordained by a religious denomination as members of the clergy. Some officiants work within congregations in some denominations and for specified ceremonies (e.g. funerals), as non-ordained members on the clergy team. Clergy / Officiants differ from Chaplains in that the clergy serve the members of their congregation, while Chaplains are usually employed by an institution such as the military, a hospital or other health care facility, etc.
Secular Officiants include Civil Celebrants, Humanist Society appointed officiants, Justices of the Peace, marriage commissioners, notaries, and other persons empowered by law to perform legal marriage ceremonies. Many secular celebrants / officiants conduct the whole range of ceremonies which mark the milestones of human life.
Usage examples of "officiant".
They turned to face the officiant, a tall, broad woman with dark eyes and a gentle smile.
The officiant paused, as though making sure he was all right before she continued, then nodded to herself and went on.
His bride, in an ivory gown that turned her complexion to silk and caught the radiance of her shining eyes, smiled up at him and rested her hand on his as the officiant began the hand-fasting.
Scammon, the officiant of the academy's nondenomina-tional faith and the lackluster teacher of our Religion and Scripture classes-cracked his head on the icy steps of Kurd's Church and failed to regain consciousness.
The officiant paused a moment, stooped, and gathered and threw reverently on the coffin a handful of rattling coral.
This labor accomplished, they stood uncertainly back: without an officiant to give the affair some decent ceremony, there was nothing to guide them.