How to best use priests?

[Hatchet]

If you get the chance try to get a Theologians Guild, they help out with priests.Cathederal + Theologian HQ = Cardinal instantly(assuming there is an open position). Once I did that and the pope died the next turn, since I had majority of the college I voted him in.

A 28 year old pope, hah.

[Jimmytwohand]

I have found the best way to use them is to scatter a few around your home empire to combat religious unrest and then send groups of 3 or 4 out to the holy land. As someone has already said this converts a region very quickly and gives them nice bonuses. You also get some heretics springing up around 80% catholic conversion which gives another +1 piety boost to the lucky one holding the matches. I have also found that having a cathedral or huge cathedral to recruit from boosts your priests much more than a theologians guild. They start off as 4/5/6 piety instantly. A huge cathedral and a theologians guild in the same city is basically a pope factory.

I normally reserve heretics for my upper echelon cardinals to boost them into the preferati or give a high level priest a boost ready to become a cardinal. That instant plus one bonus really helps.

[chunkynut]

After I built a Cathedral and then recruited a priest, he was no longer a priest but a Bishop. It's also my the city with the Theologians Guild HQ so all priests get a nice bous there but this guy is a totally different agent, described as 'Bishop' and looks different ... but does the same thing as a priest.

Do they have the same trait as cardinals, where they can't lose a heresy trial and become and heretic?

[Finn]

Bishops are just priests with the "bishop" trait, they arent a completely different agent (although they get their own model).

just like cardinals are just priests with the cardinal trait.

I actually send my priests in before I take the provence, a few priests, spy and assassin.

Spy invades city, and the assassin hits the church first and then any +order buildings, priests move in and convert the populace to christendom.

That usually gets the city fairly "unrestful" and a fair few times has caused a full on riot kicking out the muslim owners, at that point I can move in and "save" the populace from their islamic tyrants. Leave a couple of priests to bring it up to the 90%+ christianity bracket while everyone else moves on.

Do it right and I dont even have to go to war with the faction i'm invading!

[geala]

I would be very careful to recommend my way as general advice.

My unintentional master plan to get cardinals went as follows:

1. I produced 5 priests because there were heretics nearby.

2. All priests failed to burn the heretics (which personally makes me glad). 3 of my priests became heretics themself.

3. My 2 remaining priests sat down doing nothing.

4. Later I was excommunicated because I had forgotten to obey a papal order for ceasefire (it was just a mistake but I did'nt want to reload because I had won some decisive battles in the meantime)

5. Some turns after excommunication one of my priests was made cardinal.

Working as intended.

[Basileus]

Best way is to send them where your religion is low and to execute heretics.