An elder, in many

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

churches, is an

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform ...

minister that has the responsibilities 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

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

al,

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

ly,

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

office within the church. In some of the denominations within Methodism that use the title,

ordination Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform ...

to this office is open to both men and women, including the United Methodist Church, Free Methodist Church, Bible Methodist Connection of Churches, and Evangelical Methodist Church. In other denominations such as the

Primitive Methodist Church The Primitive Methodist Church is a Methodist Christian denomination with the holiness movement. It began in England in the early 19th century, with the influence of American evangelist Lorenzo Dow (1777–1834). In the United States, the Primit ...

Evangelical Methodist Church of America The Evangelical Methodist Church of America (or Evangelical Methodist Conference) Christian denomination based in the United States. Ardently Fundamental, the denomination has its roots in a movement of churches that broke away from Mainline M ...

, Fundamental Methodist Conference,

Evangelical Wesleyan Church The Evangelical Wesleyan Church, formerly known as the Evangelical Wesleyan Church of North America, is a Methodist denomination in the conservative holiness movement. The formation of the Evangelical Wesleyan Church is a part of the history of ...

, and

Southern Methodist Church The Southern Methodist Church is a conservative Protestant Christian denomination with churches located in the southern part of the United States. The church maintains headquarters in Orangeburg, South Carolina. The church was formed in 1940 by ...

, only men are ordained as elders. Methodist denominations that have "a threefold ministry of deacons, elders, and bishops" include the

African Methodist Episcopal Church The African Methodist Episcopal Church, usually called the AME Church or AME, is a predominantly African American Methodist denomination. It adheres to Wesleyan-Arminian theology and has a connexional polity. The African Methodist Episcopal ...

, Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, Free Methodist Church and the United Methodist Church, among other denominations represented in the World Methodist Council.

Etymology and origin

"Elder" is an English translation of the Greek word ''Presbuteros'' ( gr, πρεσβύτερος), found in the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chris ...

. The word is also commonly transliterated as " presbyter". The office or "order" of presbyter is one of three orders of the traditional Christian priesthood, along with

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...

and

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

. The founder of Methodism, John Wesley, in the

rite, supplanted the '' Book of Common Prayer's'' term "

" for "elder", although the rest of the liturgy remained the same.

Denominational statements

Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection

The ''Discipline'' of the Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection states that:

Free Methodist Church

The ''Book of Discipline'' of the Free Methodist Church states that:

Primitive Methodist Church

The ''Discipline'' of the

states that:

United Methodist Church

The '' Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church'' states that:

Vestments and clericals

While not presiding at a

service of worship A church service (or a service of worship) is a formalized period of Christian communal worship, often held in a church building. It often but not exclusively occurs on Sunday, or Saturday in the case of those churches practicing seventh-day ...

, Methodist elders are sometimes seen wearing the

clerical collar A clerical collar, clergy collar, or, informally, dog collar, is an item of Christian clerical clothing. The clerical collar is almost always white and was originally made of cotton or linen but is now frequently made of plastic. There are vario ...

and clergy shirt in public. Preaching tabs can also be worn around the neck in lieu of the clerical collar. Many Methodist elders choose not to wear

clerical clothing Clerical clothing is non- liturgical clothing worn exclusively by clergy. It is distinct from vestments in that it is not reserved specifically for use in the liturgy. Practices vary: clerical clothing is sometimes worn under vestments, and some ...

in their daily activities. When presiding at a service of worship, Methodist elders are often seen wearing church vestments, namely the

pulpit robe The Geneva Gown, also called a pulpit gown, pulpit robe, or preaching robe, is an ecclesiastical garment customarily worn by Ordained Ministers and Accredited Lay Preachers in the Christian Churches that arose out of the historic Protestant ...

alb The alb (from the Latin ''albus'', meaning ''white''), one of the liturgical vestments of the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian, Reformed and Congregational churches, is an ample white garment coming down to the an ...

, and to a lesser extent, the

chasuble The chasuble () is the outermost liturgical vestment worn by clergy for the celebration of the Eucharist in Western-tradition Christian churches that use full vestments, primarily in Roman Catholic, Anglican, and Lutheran churches. In the Eastern ...

. Stoles that reflect the season of the Christian year are worn over the vestment.Grace Incarnate: Vestments in the Methodist Tradition
/ref> Other elders choose not to wear vestments and are often seen in suits, dress clothes or casual clothing. However, stoles which represent the "yoke" of responsibility to the Church and to God are not to be worn unless the person has gone through the process of ordination which extends past education to a provisionary period culminating with a formal ordination service where the bishop presides.

Educational requirements

In most cases, United Methodist elders must have graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

in liberal education or equivalent degree in a college or university listed by the ''University Senate of the United Methodist Church'' and must have a

Master of Divinity For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and di ...

or equivalent degree in a school of theology (seminary).''The Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church: ¶ 415 - Educational Requirements'' (retrieved 22 May 2007). However, individual Annual Conferences may require that a

or equivalent first professional degree be the minimum standard for entrance into the Annual Conference's Order of Elders, or

presbyterate Presbyterium is a modern term used in the Catholic Church and Eastern Catholic Churches after the Second Vatican Council in reference to a college of priests, in active ministry, of an individual particular church such as a diocese or eparch ...

. Changes were made by the 1992 and 1996 General Conferences which revamped many aspects of the ordained offices in the United Methodist Church's polity and doctrine and made the Order of Deacon a permanent, rather than transitional, office. These reforms also elevated the previously ''un''ordained office of Diaconal Minister, who were lay persons performing specialized tasks within a congregational or ministry staff setting (such as music, education, youth ministry, etc.) to ordained status as permanent deacons as well.

References

{{reflist, 2

External links

The United Methodist Church: Pastoral Appointments - Overview
Methodism Methodist ecclesiastical offices Ecclesiastical titles