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The act of ministering; ministration; service. "With tender ministry." Thomson.

The office of a minister. Swift.

A subordinate or inferior ministry. Jer. Taylor.

ce of public affairs; the chief magistrate and his cabinet or council; or the council, or ministry, alone, as in Great Britain. A mild and popular administration. Macaulay. The administration has been opposed in parliament. Johnson.

erring [of his execution] shall increase and ascertain the condemnation. Jer. Taylor. The ministry, in order to ascertain a majority . . . persuaded the queen to create twelve new peers. Smollett. The mildness and precision of their laws ascertained the rule and measure of taxation. Gibbon.

ends, for an offense or a crime. The murderer fell, and blood atoned for blood. Pope. The ministry not atoning for their former conduct by any wise or popular measure. Junius.

The act of attending; state of being in waiting; service; ministry; the fact of being present; presence. Constant attendance at church three times a day. Fielding.

, and Anglican or Protestant Episcopal churches, one ordained to the highest order of the ministry, superior to the priesthood, and generally claiming to be a successor of the Apostles. The bishop is usually the spiritual head or ruler of a diocese, bishopric, or see. Bishop in partibus [infidelium] (R. C. Ch.), a bish…

ally of a religious character; -- often used of a divine summons; as, to be called to the ministry; sometimes, to invite; as, to call a minister to be the pastor of a church. Paul . . . called to be an apostle Rom. i. 1. The Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. Acts…

n the Roman Catholic and Episcopal churches, a person admitted to the lowest order in the ministry, subordinate to the bishops and priests. In Presbyterian churches, he is subordinate to the minister and elders, and has charge of certain duties connected with the communion service and the care of the poor. In Congregat…

The office or ministry of a deacon or deaconess.

oetic] "The deftest way." Shak. "Deftest feats." Gay. The limping god, do deft at his new ministry. Dryden. Let me be deft and debonair. Byron.

A person in holy orders, or consecrated to the service of the church and the ministry of religion; a clergyman; a priest. From a humble ecclesiastic, he was subsequently preferred to the highest dignities of the church. Prescott.

tion; as, the examination of a student, or of a candidate for admission to the bar or the ministry. He neglected the studies, . . . stood low at the examinations. Macaulay. Examination in chief, or Direct examination (Law), that examination which is made of a witness by a party calling him. -- Cross-examination, that…

im; a life preserver. This reform bill . . . had been used as a float by the conservative ministry. J. P. Peters.

One of a religious sect characterized by disuse of outward rites and an ordained ministry, by simplicity of dress and speech, and esp. by opposition to war and a desire to live at peace with all men. They are popularly called Quakers. America was first visited by Friends in 1656. T. Chase.

m, tax, impost, or duty; an excise. Burrill. He enables St. Peter to pay his gabel by the ministry of a fish. Jer. Taylor.

gormandizing. "Glutton souls." Dryden. A glutton monastery in former ages makes a hungry ministry in our days. Fuller.

e first in his family; the first regiment in the army. Nine in ten of those who enter the ministry. Swift.

ther performs a similar duty for the navy. In England, the designation of a member of the ministry who is the legal adviser of the secretary of state for war, and supreme judge of the proceedings of courts-martial.