superior of a monastic community; from Aramaic meaning “my father”; Greek abbas found in New Testament and in Greek translation of Hebrew Bible; in 6th c. St. Benedict instituted current meaning in his monastic order, allowing abbot both temporal and spiritual authority over the community; term abbess means superior of community of nuns following Benedictine rule as well as superiors of some other communities; some Eastern self-governing monasteries are led by elder monks, whose leader is called an abbot.