In a hierarchy or tree structure of any kind, a superior is an individual or position at a higher level in the hierarchy than another (a "subordinate" or "inferior"), and thus closer to the apex. In business, superiors are people who are supervisors and in the

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distin ...

, superiors are people who are higher in the chain of command ( superior officer). Superiors are given sometimes supreme authority over others under their command. When an order is given, one must follow that order and obey it or punishment may be issued.

Catholic Church

A is the person to whom a

cleric Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the t ...

is immediately responsible under canon law. For monks, it would be the

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. Th ...

(or the abbess for nuns); for

friar A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders founded in the twelfth or thirteenth century; the term distinguishes the mendicants' itinerant apostolic character, exercised broadly under the jurisdiction of a superior general, from the o ...

s, it would be the prior, or, for Franciscans, the guardian ('' custos''), for Minims, the corrector; for diocesan priests, it would be the local

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

. In religious orders with a hierarchy above the local community, there will also be superiors general and possibly provincial superiors above the local abbot, prior, or mother superior. The priest in charge a mission ''sui iuris'' is called an ecclesiastical superior.

Catholic Church

See also