high priest

noun

1. a chief priest.
2. Judaism. (from Aaronic times to about the 1st century a.d.) the priest ranking above all other priests and the only one permitted to enter the holy of holies.
3. Informal. a person in a high position of power or influence, especially one who is revered as a preeminent authority or interpreter: the high priest of the young painters.

noun

1. Judaism the priest of highest rank who alone was permitted to enter the holy of holies of the tabernacle and Temple
2. Mormon Church a priest of the order of Melchizedek priesthood
3. the head of a group or cultAlso (feminine): high priestess