| abstract | - In the Catholic Church, the term hierarchy has a variety of related usages. Literally, "holy government", the term is employed in different instances. There is a Hierarchy of Truths, which refers to the levels of solemnity of the official teaching of the faith. There is a hierarchical nature of the church, which is a structural feature considered to be of divine institution. In its earliest and most broad usage, this ecclesial hierarchy refers to the ordering of the entire People of God into three 'states': the laity, the religious, and the clergy. Most commonly, it refers to the ordering of ministry in the church into the threefold order of Episcopate, Presbyterate, and Diaconate, which is considered to be divinely instituted and therefore essential to the Church itself. In some cases, the term hierarchy is used to refer only to the Magisterium, the official teaching body of the church, the bishops, in which case deacons and presbyters (priests) are excluded. There is, in addition, an order of precedence of the various offices and ministries,which indicates the precedence or 'rank' of various ministers and offices in the Church for use during liturgies or other ceremonies where such protocol is helpful.
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