Etymologically, the English word "priest" (which, of course, originally described Catholic clergy) comes from "presbyter". "Bishop" comes from /episcopos/, "overseer". The overseers and elders described in the NT are bishops and priests, respectively.
Campion: *** Etymologically, the English word "priest" (which, of course, originally described Catholic clergy) comes from "presbyter".***
Interesting... Why wouldn't the early Church use the normal Greek word for priest? Why "elder" Presbuteros? Being that I am a protestant, you probably suspect what my opinion is regarding this, but I would really like to know the reasoning behind this from your side. Why not just call a priest a "priest"?
Pyro7480: ***Not necessarily. "Hiereus" is a generic word for "religious leader," coming from the root word "hier," meaning "holy."***
My resources show Hiereus being translated pretty specifically as "priest" (contextually it is used to describe a "priest" of the pagan god Zeus, [Acts 14:13] or of Jewish priests - or metaphorically of all believers Hierateuma - "priesthood" [1 Pet 2:5,9])
Perhaps Kolokotronis will shed some light on the Greek usage of Presbuteros and Hiereus...