elders

elders
   The office of presbyter, commonly translated as elder, appears in the New Testament church. in Acts 15 the elders meet with the apostles to make decisions. In Acts 14:23, Paul and Barnabas designate elders to lead each of the churches they organize. The biblical elder evolved into the ordained minister/priest over the next centuries. In the Catholic Church, three orders of ministry developed - deacon, elder or priest (which also derives from presbyter), and bishop.
   The early Protestants went to the Bible to resolve questions over the nature and function of elders/ministers. They all agreed that the biblical elder and the common church minister were the same. In the Anglican Church, the elders/priests constituted the second order of ministry, below the bishops. American Methodists followed the Anglican structure by having a bishop, but for them a bishop was considered merely an elder with a different job assignment.
   John Calvin did away with the bishopric and proposed two orders of elders, the teaching elder (minister) and ruling elder (lay leader). Baptists also did away with bishops, but did not accept Calvin's distinction between elders. Ministers were the elders spoken of in the scriptures. In most Protestant churches, the biblical elders are equated with modern ordained ministers. The more radical of modern groups have done away with the idea of ordained and/or salaried ministers and operate with a lay leadership entirely.
   See also deacons.
   Further reading:
   ■ Eugene Carson Blake and Edward Burns shaw, Presbyterian Law for the Presbytery, a Manual for Ministers and Ruling Elders (Philadelphia: Office of the General Assembly, 1959)
   ■ Loren S. Bowman, Power and Polity among the Brethren: A Study of Church Governance (Elgin, Ill.: Brethren Press, 1987)
   ■ John E. Harnish, The Orders of Ministry in the United Methodist Church (Nashville, Tenn.: Abingdon Press, 2000)
   ■ Waymon D. Miller, The Role of Elders in the New Testament Church (Tulsa: oklahoma Plaza Press, 1980)
   ■ Alexander Strauch, Biblical Eldership: An Urgent Call to Restore Biblical Church Leadership (Littleton, Colo.: Lewis & Roth, 1995).

Encyclopedia of Protestantism. . 2005.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Elders — ist der Familienname folgender Personen: Leo Elders SVD (* 1926), niederländischer Theologe Tara Elders (* 1980), niederländische Schauspielerin Diese Seite ist eine Begriffsklärung zur Unterscheidung mehrerer mit demselben …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • elders — In Israelite society, heads of families; collectively they form the leadership of the tribe (Josh. 9:11), or, under the monarchy, of the ruling class (2 Sam. 3:17). Eldership was never the title of an office to which an individual might be… …   Dictionary of the Bible

  • Elders —    Shamans are rarely the only social and ritual leaders in their communities. Caroline Humphrey, Urgunge Onon, and Marjorie Balzer clarify the role of shamans by discussing the differences between them and elders. There are ceremonies that… …   Historical dictionary of shamanism

  • Elders — Recorded in the spellings of Elder and Elders, and sometimes, although incorrectly confused with Alder, this is a medieval English surname. It originally described an older person usually a father or brother, who had the same name as a later… …   Surnames reference

  • ELDERS OF ZION, PROTOCOLS OF THE LEARNED — ELDERS OF ZION, PROTOCOLS OF THE LEARNED, antisemitic forgery aimed at showing the existence of international Jewish aspirations bent on world power. The specter of a worldwide Jewish conspiracy aiming at reducing the gentiles to slavery or… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • elders' hours — plural noun Respectable hours, formerly understood to mean not after 10pm • • • Main Entry: ↑elder …   Useful english dictionary

  • Elders Limited — Infobox Company company name = Elders Limited company company type = genre = foundation = 1839 in South Australia, Australia founder = Alexander Lang Elder location city = Adelaide location country = Australia location = Adelaide origins = key… …   Wikipedia

  • Elders of the Universe — comicbookspecies imagesize= caption= The Elders of the Universe surround the Silver Surfer in Silver Surfer vol. 3, #4. Art by Marshall Rogers. species= Elders of the Universe publisher= Marvel Comics debut= homeworld= powers= notable members=… …   Wikipedia

  • Elders' Journal — The Elders Journal of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (usually shortened to Elders Journal ) was an early Latter Day Saint periodical edited by Don Carlos Smith. Two issues Vol. 1 No. 1 (October) and Vol. 1. No. 2 (November) were… …   Wikipedia

  • Elders, Joycelyn — ▪ American physician and government official née  Minnie Joycelyn Jones   born August 13, 1933, Schaal, Arkansas, U.S.    American physician and public health official who served (1993–94) as U.S. surgeon general, the first black and the second… …   Universalium

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”