hierophant

UK: /ˈhaɪərəˌfænt/ US: (hī′ər ə fant′, hī′rə-, hī er′ə-)

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

hi•er•o•phant  (hī′ər ə fant′, hī′rə-, hī er′ə-), n. 

1. Antiquity (in ancient Greece) an official expounder of rites of worship and sacrifice.
2. any interpreter of sacred mysteries or esoteric principles;
   mystagogue.

• Greek hierophántēs, equivalent. to hiero- hiero- + -phántēs, derivative of phaínein to show, make known
• Late Latin hierophanta
• 1670–80

hi′er•o•phan′tic, adj. 
hi′er•o•phan′ti•cal•ly, adv. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

hierophant / ˈhaɪərəˌfænt/ noun

1. (in ancient Greece) an official high priest of religious mysteries, esp those of Eleusis
2. a person who interprets and explains esoteric mysteries

Etymology: 17th Century: from Late Latin hierophanta, from Greek hierophantēs, from hiero- + phainein to reveal

ˌhieroˈphantic adjective