Cheirotonia or Chirotonia ( gr, χειροτονία) etymologically means "hand-stretching." It acquired a few different meanings, which survive as technical terms:
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Christian laying on of hands
In Christianity, the laying on of hands (Greek: cheirotonia – χειροτονία, literally, "laying-on of hands") is both a symbolic and formal method of invoking the Holy Spirit primarily during baptisms and confirmations, healing services, ...
, by which the authority of the Holy Spirit is considered passed between individuals, sometimes used in a secular sense to mean hand-picked succession
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ordination
Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform v ...
, the official investment by a religious group with authority as a leader of some sort, whether sacerdotal, ministerial, or other
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suffrage in the general sense, from assenting by a theoretical raising the hand, which was in fact implemented by a number of methods not involving hand-raising
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Greek words and phrases
