Church governance is generally organised in one of three main types: •
Episcopal polity, in which churches are governed in a hierarchical fashion, with the role of elders being fulfilled by external bishops. It is common in
Anglican,
Orthodox,
Methodist, some
Lutheran, and
Catholic churches, and was prevalent up to and after the
Reformation. •
Presbyterian polity, in which churches are governed on a denominational, geographical basis by committees of elders. •
Congregational polity, in which each church is responsible for its own governance. Churches employing this method include
Baptist,
Congregational, some
Lutheran, and
Plymouth Brethren churches. Some churches are led by a
pastor; some maintain a
plurality of elders.
Anglicans An ordained
Anglican minister is usually called a priest, holding the prenominal of
Reverend if they are
Low church or Sister or Father if they are
High church. Lay preachers in the Anglican Communion are usually called
Pastors, especially Chaplains and other pastoral office holders, who are not ordained but engage with a congregation or workplace in an advisory capacity. The title "Elder" is usually given to those Anglicans ministers who are not vicars, but hold a learned role within or beyond a congregation, such as a Reader who assists a priest or a Pioneer Minister who seeks to engage with those who are outside the traditional
Anglican Communion structures.
Baptists Historically,
Baptist churches do not recognize elder as a separate office from those of pastor or deacon; it is commonly considered a synonym of deacon or pastor. This is not universal in Baptist circles, however, and there are many Baptist churches which are elder-led. Others have elder councils where pastoral functions are shared according to gifts, such as teaching, management and pastoral care.
Christadelphianism Christadelphians do not appoint any form of clergy. Organisation is based on ecclesially accountable committees for
evangelism, youth and
Sunday School work,
military service issues, care of the elderly and humanitarian work. These do not have any legislative authority and are wholly dependent upon support from within the church. Women are typically not eligible to teach in formal gatherings of the
ecclesia when male believers are present, and do not sit on the main committees, however they do participate in other ecclesial and inter-ecclesial committees.
Churches of Christ Congregations referring to themselves as
Churches of Christ believe that local congregations should be led by a plurality of biblically qualified elders. They base this on a conviction that congregations (and Christians in general) should attempt to follow the teachings of the
New Testament wherever humanly possible. In accordance with the teachings of the Bible the Churches of Christ teach and practice that only males may serve as elders (female elders are not recognized), and must meet Biblical qualifications (generally I Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9 are the Biblical texts used to determine if a male is qualified to serve as elder). In this regard, elders are accountable to each other and to God. The evangelist and the elders have the spiritual oversight of the congregation (e.g., withdrawing fellowship from a member who the elders consider to be wayward in doctrine or refuses to abide by the elders' counsel or decision in a matter) as well as administrative oversight (e.g., overseeing the congregation budget). The elders will be assisted by
deacons who, depending on the congregation, may have a specific area of non-spiritual service (e.g., finance, building and grounds, benevolence); the deacons are in all matters subservient to the elders. An elder may also be qualified to serve as a deacon (and, in some cases, may have previously served as a deacon before becoming an elder). Depending on the congregation, the elders may rotate main preaching and teaching duties or appoint one or more male persons (who may or may not be elders) to serve as the
ministers for that congregation. If one person is assigned main preaching duties, he is never referred to as "Father" (based on Matthew 23:9, which states that the only Father a Christian has is in Heaven), nor is the individual referred to as "pastor" (due to belief that the one reference to "pastor" in Ephesians 4:11 is translated "shepherd" in all other cases, and in context either refers to Jesus Christ or to an elder; as stated above the person with main preaching duties may or may not be an elder) or "reverend" (due to belief that the one reference to this term in Psalm 111:9 refers to the reverence of God's name). Instead, common terms used are "evangelist", "preacher", "minister" (or "pulpit minister"; the latter may be used if the congregation has assistant or associate ministers over certain programs or functions), or "preaching elder" (if the person is also an elder).
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Elders are male members of
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who have the
Melchizedek Priesthood and have been ordained to the office of elder, typically at the age of 18. Male
missionaries of the Church,
General Authorities and
Area Authority Seventies are honorarily titled "Elder" unless they have duties (such as those of a Branch President) entitling them to be called
President. The duties of the ordained elders in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are defined in the book of
Doctrine and Covenants. Elder is the proper title given to all holders of the Melchizedek Priesthood. Thus an apostle is an elder in this sense, and it is proper to speak of members of the Quorum of the Twelve or the First Quorum of the Seventy by this title.
Church of Scotland Governance in the
Church of Scotland is based on
presbyterian polity. There are several roles in the ministry including
ministers of Word and Sacrament,
chaplains,
deacons and readers. Elders are another role, which is voluntary and un-salaried elders. They are ordained for life by the minister and
Kirk Session of a
parish, and carry out
pastoral and local church government duties under the guidance of the
minister. All elders are members of the Kirk session, and may train to chair the session, conduct funerals, preach and lead worship.
Congregationalism Congregational churches observe the office of elder. Early congregationalist standards held a fourfold view of ecclesiastical offices: pastor, teacher, ruling elder, and deacon. In this view, pastor, teacher, and ruling elder are all types of elder. Later exponents like
Henry Martyn Dexter advocated a twofold view of only elder and deacon, the pastor/teacher, elder, and overseer being different terms for the same office. The primary officer is ordinarily called the "pastor" or "minister." Ordination and installation of officers is a local event, without the oversight of elders outside of the local church as in
presbyterianism. Congregational churches generally form
committees and
boards, either entirely composed of elders and deacons or with non-official members appointed by the congregation.
Jehovah's Witnesses Among
Jehovah's Witnesses, an
elder is a man appointed to teach the congregation. He is also called an "overseer" or "servant". Elders within each congregation work within a "body of elders", several of whom are assigned to oversee specific congregational tasks. Each body of elders has a coordinator (previously known as the presiding overseer), a secretary, and a service overseer. Witnesses consider the office of elder to be the same as that referred to in the Bible as "older man" ("
presbyter"), overseer ("
bishop"), and shepherd ("
pastor") but do not use any of the terms as
titles. Representatives of the
Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses select elders to be appointed as circuit overseers, (also referred to as traveling overseers). Each circuit overseer visits the
congregations in his jurisdiction twice each year. During his visit, local elders recommend members who may qualify for appointment as elders or
ministerial servants (equivalent to
deacons), and appointments are decided by the circuit overseer. Congregation elders do not receive monetary compensation; traveling overseers receive a modest stipend.
Lutheranism An Elder in the
Lutheran Church is a position of lay-service, concerned with the temporal and administrative affair of the congregation. In many congregations, elders are also charged with oversight of the pastor but exercising only that oversight given to every Christian in the congregation. They are also assigned to assist the pastor in the
sacraments (the
Eucharist and
Baptism). In the Eucharist, the Elder may assist in the distribution. In Baptism, the Elder may hold the
water or assist the pastor in other ways. Generally, an elder is not permitted to
consecrate the bread and wine in the Eucharist, or perform
Holy Absolution, as these acts are usually reserved for the pastor. An Elder helps brothers at each congregation. However, many within the confessional wing of Lutheranism, see the term "elder" being used in such a way an unfortunate effect of Reformed (and broader Protestant) influence on the Lutheran Church. Elder (or Presbyteros, in the Greek) serving as a synonym for "Pastor" or "Priest", not unlike how Lutheran teaching also recognizes "episkopos" (Greek, meaning overseer), or bishop to be yet another synonym. Historic Lutheranism recognized a single office of Word and Sacrament being established directly by Christ (technically two, counting the uniquely Lutheran vocation of laity); all distinctions within nomenclature and structural ranking were purely "jure humano" (of human make). Thus making a distinction between "pastor" and "elder" would seem pointless, and using the term "lay elder" would be oxymoronic.
Methodism An
Elder - sometimes called a "Presbyter" - is someone who has been
ordained by a
bishop to the ministry of Word,
Sacrament, Order, and Service. Their responsibilities are to preach and teach, preside at the celebration of the sacraments, administer the church through pastoral guidance, and lead the congregations under their care in service ministry to the world. The office of
Elder, then, is what most people tend to think of as the
pastoral,
priestly,
clergy office within the church. Indeed, even a Methodist
Bishop is still an Elder who has been elected and consecrated by the laying on of hands to the
office of Bishop (Bishop being understood as an
office within the Presbyterate,
not an
order or separate level of ordination). In some of the denominations within
Methodism,
ordination to the office of
Elder is open to both women and men, while in others, such as the
Primitive Methodist Church and
Evangelical Wesleyan Church, it is only opened to men.
Plymouth Brethren One of the key distinctions of
Plymouth Brethren churches is the total rejection of the concept of
clergy. In keeping with the doctrine of the
priesthood of all believers, they view all Christians as being ordained by God to serve and therefore ministers. Leaders are chosen according to the qualifications found in and , and appointed by the Holy Spirit. Most Exclusive Brethren groups believe the church to have been in ruins between the death of the apostles and their own time. Since no truly apostolic authority exists to appoint elders the church has none. Instead they recognize "leading brothers" who demonstrate maturity and leadership ability.
Presbyterianism Although practices in the
Presbyterian Church vary internationally, typically the church recognises three offices within church polity: the
minister (alternately "teaching elder" or "pastor"), a bench of ruling elders, and
deacons. The elders are "ordained lay" people and form the
session, which is a ruling council for their congregation.
Rastafari Members of the
Rastafari Movement often refer to their experienced members as elders, such as
Joseph Hibbert,
Vernon Carrington,
Leonard Howell, and
Mortimer Planno.
Radical Pietism The
Radical Pietistic communities, such as the
Schwarzenau Brethren, do not believe in the
swearing of oaths and also resolve problems at the congregational level under church councils presided by elders, rather than in civil courts.
Roman Catholic Church Members of the
Catholic Church still use the Greek word
Presbyter (πρεσβύτερος, presbuteros: "elder", or "priest" in Christian usage) to refer to priests (priest is etymologically derived from the Greek presbyteros via the Latin presbyter). Collectively, however, their "college" is referred to as the "presbyterium" (meaning "council of elders"), "presbytery", or "presbyterate." The
presbyterium is most visible during the
ordination of new priests and bishops and the
Mass of the Chrism (the Mass occurring on
Maundy Thursday) where the blessing of the oils used in the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, Anointing of the Sick, and Holy Orders takes place. They are also visible during other special liturgical functions such as the wake and burial of their bishop.
Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA) "Elder" was the only honorific title used to distinguish church leadership during the formative years of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Mrs. White, as in, Elder and Mrs. James White, is how the church's prophet, Ellen G. White, was universally referred to up until the late 20th century. The term "Elder" applies to both local church elders and to ordained ministers of the gospel. SDA nomenclature has never used the terms, priest, reverend or clergy as honorific titles or as work titles. For convenience "Pastor" is now regularly used to distinguish ordained ministers of the gospel from ordained local elders. SDA ordained Ministers of the Gospel are paid employees of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and they are required to also be Elders in the local church. Women can be ordained as local elders, but are not ordained as ministers of the Gospel. Women are commissioned as Pastors and are considered ministers of the Gospel. Men serving within the Adventist Church's organizational leadership, e.g. Local Conference/Union Conference/Division/General Conference offices are usually addressed as "Elder." But as an example; the current President of the General Conference, "Elder Ted Wilson" is sometimes addressed Pastor Ted Wilson.
Shakerism Among the
Shakers, noted for their acceptance of females in leading roles, Elders and Eldresses were leaders in specific areas. Two Elders and Eldresses headed the central Shaker ministry at the
Mount Lebanon Shaker Society and dealt with both spiritual and temporal matters. Other pairs of elders and eldresses headed groups of Shaker communities, while others were spiritual leaders of smaller groups within the communities. == See also ==