clerisy

noun2

1. •
   An elite group of intellectuals; learned people, the literati.

   • 2022: We invent ourselves as American writers—it's not a clerisy we’re born into... — Edward Hirsch, The Heart of American Poetry (Library of America, 2022) — 2022
2. •
   The clergy, or their opinions, as opposed to the laity.

   • Few men have ever had a stronger conviction of their clerisy, of their belonging to the clerkly caste of the responsibles. — 1986