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In Christianity, an elder is a person who is valued for wisdom and holds a position of responsibility and authority in a Christian group. In some Christian traditions (e.g., Eastern Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism, Anglicanism, Methodism) an elder is an ordained person who serves a local church or churches and who has been ordained to a ministry of word, sacrament and order, filling the preaching ...
[1] [2] The word presbyter is used many times in the New Testament, referring both to the Jewish leadership and the "tradition of the elders", [3] and to the leaders of the early Christian community. [4] In modern Catholic, Orthodox and Anglican usage, presbyter is distinct from bishop, and in English it is synonymous with priest. [5]
Lutherans reject the Catholic understanding of holy orders because they do not think sacerdotalism is supported by the Bible. Martin Luther taught that each individual was expected to fulfill his God-appointed task in everyday life. The modern usage of the term vocation as a life-task was first employed by Martin Luther. [13]
Elder referred to the status or rank of the office, while bishop denoted the duty or responsibility of the office—"overseer". Since the apostles also called themselves elders (1 Peter 5:1; 2 John 1; 3 John 1), it is apparent that there were both local elders and itinerant elders, or elders at large.
A plurality of elders is considered desirable in some (esp. reformed) traditions, preferring two or more officers in the local church. The contrasts with singular models often found in Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Anglican churches, or the "pastor/president" system of some Protestant churches.
The Catholic Church has different rules for the priesthood in the 23 Eastern Catholic Churches than those in the Latin Church. The chief difference is that most of the Eastern Catholic Churches ordain married men, whereas the Latin Church, with very few exceptions, enforces mandatory clerical celibacy. This issue has caused tension among ...
Presbyterian (or presbyteral) polity is a method of church governance ("ecclesiastical polity") typified by the rule of assemblies of presbyters, or elders.Each local church is governed by a body of elected elders usually called the session (or consistory), though other terms, such as church board, may apply.
[22] In 2012, there were 5,133 Catholic bishops; [23] at the end of 2021, there were 5,340 Catholic bishops. The Pope himself is a bishop (the bishop of Rome) and traditionally uses the title "Venerable Brother" when writing formally to another bishop. The typical role of a bishop is to provide pastoral governance for a diocese. [20]