A person, typically a priest or minister, who performs a religious service or ceremony.
‘Among Muslims, burial must occur within twenty-four hours and be attended by Muslim officiants; Christian burial is also led by a local church leader.’
‘Death ceremonies are quite elaborate in Sri Lanka, usually conducted by the families of the deceased in conjunction with religious officiants.’
‘More than 100 guests attended the non-denominational ceremony, which was held on the beach during sunset and performed by a local officiant.’
‘All told, 21 worship services take place in the chapel every week, whether anyone but the officiant is there or not.’
‘Consequently they have lodged a petition with the parliament claiming its officiants are being discriminated against on religious grounds.’
‘Last year in Scotland, 27 weddings, three naming ceremonies and 233 funerals were conducted by humanist officiants.’
‘The venue is purpose built for rituals and ceremonies, with appropriately fabulous acoustics, lavish trimmings and colourfully costumed officiants.’
‘But some officiants I spoke to sternly discourage inclusion of anything which might smack of religion - even a fondly remembered hymn.’
‘She is one of only two officiants accredited by the British Humanist Association to conduct ceremonies.’
‘Dieste wrote of his desire to unite the congregants with the officiants in a single space, which the nave of this church provides.’
‘Some of the officiants wore judges' robes, some were in business suits, and some were dressed fairly casually.’
‘When holding it high above his head did not make the sacrament sufficiently visible to the congregation, the officiant could take other measures to ensure its visibility.’
‘What if someone asked you to be an officiant at a wedding?’
‘Among the Lao the officiant is usually an ex-monk who has attained considerable esoteric knowledge of the ritual language of the ceremony.’
‘The choice is yours, just remember to check with your officiant before totally committing to whatever vow you choose.’
‘The officiant should then appraise the boy and girl of the duties and obligations of conjugal life according to the Gurus tenets.’
‘As the officiant, I was worried that I would trip over the words, or begin hacking and coughing.’
‘Yesterday it was standing room only in the chapel during the short, humanist service conducted by the chapel officiant.’
‘Now brides often have their fathers or both parents accompany them, and have the officiant ask ‘Who supports this couple in marriage?’’
‘Born in a village of poor fisherfolk and growing up illiterate, Hung Tung worked as officiant in a Taoist temple while doing odd jobs to maintain his family.’
Origin
Mid 19th century from medieval Latin officiant- ‘performing divine service’, from the verb officiare.
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