Session (Presbyterianism)
A session (from the Latin word ''sessio'', which means "to sit", as in sitting to deliberate or talk about something; sometimes called ''consistory'' or ''church board'') is a body of elected elders governing a particular church within presbyterian polity. Organization These groups of elders make decisions for the local parish through a ruling body called the '' Kirk session'' (Latin. ''sessio'' from ''sedere'' "to sit"), sometimes the ''Session'', ''church session,'' or (in Continental Reformed usage) '' consistory''. The members of the session are the pastor (Teaching Elder) of that congregation, and the other ruling elders (sometimes called " lay elders"). Elders are ordained for life, so if they are subsequently elected or appointed to Sessions at later points in their lives, they are inducted, there being no second ordination. In most denominations, the pastor serves as Moderator of the Session and thus convenes or presides over the session. All elders have an equal vote i ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Session House At Edisto Island Presbyterian Church
Session may refer to: Bureaucracy and law *Session (parliamentary procedure) * Session (Presbyterian), a governing body in Presbyterian polity *Court of Session, the supreme civil court of Scotland *Executive session, a portion of the United States Senate's daily session *Legislative session Computing *Session (computer science), a semi-permanent interactive information exchange between communicating devices *Session (web analytics), in web analytics, measuring a continuous period of browsing of a website by a particular user *Session, a group of process groups in POSIX-conformant operating systems *Login session *Session (software), a cross-platform end-to-end encrypted instant messaging application. Music Contexts *Jam session, where musicians gather and play *Pub session, playing music in a public house * Recording session, where musicians record music together Works * ''Session'' (Ned's Atomic Dustbin album), a 2004 album by Ned's Atomic Dustbin *"Session", an instrumental ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Christian Terminology
A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title (), a translation of the Biblical Hebrew term '' mashiach'' () (usually rendered as ''messiah'' in English). While there are diverse interpretations of Christianity which sometimes conflict, they are united in believing that Jesus has a unique significance. The term ''Christian'' used as an adjective is descriptive of anything associated with Christianity or Christian churches, or in a proverbial sense "all that is noble, and good, and Christ-like." According to a 2011 Pew Research Center survey, there were 2.3 billion Christians around the world, up from about 600 million in 1910. Today, about 37% of all Christians live in the Americas, about 26% live in Europe, 24% live in sub-Saharan Africa, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ecclesiology
In Christian theology, ecclesiology is the study of the Church, the origins of Christianity, its relationship to Jesus, its role in salvation, its polity, its discipline, its eschatology, and its leadership. In its early history, one of the Church's primary ecclesiological issues had to do with the status of Gentile members in what had become the New Testament fulfilment of the essentially Jewish Old Testament church. It later contended with such questions as whether it was to be governed by a council of presbyters or a single bishop, how much authority the bishop of Rome had over other major bishops, the role of the Church in the world, whether salvation was possible outside of the institution of the Church, the relationship between the Church and the State, and questions of theology and liturgy and other issues. Ecclesiology may be used in the specific sense of a particular church or denomination's character, self-described or otherwise. This is the sense of the word ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Presbyterian Church Organisation
Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Presbyterian'' is applied to churches that trace their roots to the Church of Scotland or to English Dissenter groups that were formed during the English Civil War, 1642 to 1651. Presbyterian theology typically emphasises the sovereignty of God, the authority of the Scriptures, and the necessity of grace through faith in Christ. Scotland ensured Presbyterian church government in the 1707 Acts of Union, which created the Kingdom of Great Britain. In fact, most Presbyterians in England have a Scottish connection. The Presbyterian denomination was also taken to North America, Australia, and New Zealand, mostly by Scots and Scots-Irish immigrants. Scotland's Presbyterian denominations hold to the Reformed theology of John Calvin and his im ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Genevan Consistory
The Genevan Consistory () is a council of the Protestant Church of Geneva similar to a synod in other Reformed churches. The Consistory was organized by John Calvin upon his return to Geneva in 1541 in order to integrate civic life and the church. History The Consistory was first organized in November 1541 as part of the implementation of John Calvin's Ecclesiastical Ordinances, after Calvin's return to Geneva from Strasbourg in 1541. It initially consisted of the city's pastors and twelve lay elders who were selected from among the city's councils. The Consistory was to meet every Thursday and exercise church discipline by summoning and formally rebuking Genevans who had refused to repent when confronted by elders and pastors in private with issues of sin. These sins included adultery, illicit marriages, cursing, unauthorized luxury, dis-respectfulness in church, bearing traces to Roman Catholicism, blasphemy, or gambling, among others. If they remained obstinate, they were su ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Primus Inter Pares
is a Latin phrase meaning first among equals. It is typically used as an honorary title for someone who is formally equal to other members of their group but is accorded unofficial respect, traditionally owing to their seniority in office. Historically, the '' princeps senatus'' of the Roman Senate was such a figure and initially bore only the distinction that he was allowed to speak first during debate. After the fall of the Republic, Roman emperors initially referred to themselves only as ''princeps'' despite having enormous power. Various modern figures such as the prime minister in parliamentary systems, the president of the Swiss Confederation, the chief justice of the United States, the chief justice of the Philippines, the archbishop of Canterbury of the Anglican Communion, the chair of the Federal Reserve in the United States and the ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople of the Eastern Orthodox Church fall under both senses: Bearing higher status and various addi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Presbyterian Polity
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.For example, the Church of the Nazarene, which subscribes to a body of religious doctrines that are quite distinct from those of most properly named Presbyterian denominations (and which instead descends historically from the Wesleyan Holiness Movement), employs a blend of congregationalist, episcopal, and presbyterian polities; its local churches are governed by an elected body known as the church board or simply "board members"; the term elder in the Nazarene Church has a different use entirely, referring to an ordained minister of that denomination. Groups of local churches are governed by a higher assembly of elders known as the presbytery or classis; presby ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Universal Priesthood (doctrine)
The priesthood of all believers is the common priesthood of all Christians (a concept broadly accepted by all churches), while the term can also refer to a specific Protestant understanding that this universal priesthood precludes the ''ministerial'' priesthood (i.e., holy orders) found in some other churches, including Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy. The inclusionary Catholic version proposes a common priesthood that is different from both holy orders and the priesthood of Christ. The exclusionary version, elaborated in the theology of Martin Luther, Ulrich Zwingli and John Calvin among other reformers, became prominent as a tenet of Protestant Christian doctrine, though the exact meaning of the belief and its implications vary widely among denominations. Antiquity Hebrew Old Testament texts speak of a national "kingdom of priests" (Exodus, 19:5–6), Levites (Exodus 40:15, Leviticus 21:10), and specific priests (e.g. Genesis 14:18–20.) Some issue of illegitimate prie ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Church Of Scotland
The Church of Scotland (CoS; ; ) is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 245,000 members in 2024 and 259,200 members in 2023. While membership in the church has declined significantly in recent decades (in 1982 it had nearly 920,000 members), the government Scottish Household Survey found that 20% of the Scottish population, or over one million people, identified the Church of Scotland as their religious identity in 2019. In the 2022 census, 20.4% of the Scottish population, or 1,108,796 adherents, identified the Church of Scotland as their religious identity. The Church of Scotland's governing system is Presbyterian polity, presbyterian in its approach, therefore, no one individual or group within the church has more or less influence over church matters. There is no one person who acts as the head of faith, as the church believes that role is the "Lord God's". As a pro ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Evangelical Presbyterian Church (United States)
The Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC) is an American church body holding to presbyterian governance and Reformed theology. It is a conservative Calvinist denomination. It is most distinctive for its approach to the way it balances certain liberties across congregations on "non-essential" doctrines, such as egalitarianism /complementarianism in marriage or the ordination of women, alongside an affirmation of core "essential" doctrinal standards. The motto of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church is " In Essentials, Unity. In Non-Essentials, Liberty. In All Things, Charity; Truth In Love." The Office of the General Assembly is in Orlando, Florida. History The EPC began as a result of prayer meetings in 1980 and 1981 by pastors and elders increasingly alienated by liberalism in the "northern" branch of Presbyterianism (the United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., a predecessor of the Presbyterian Church (USA)). Two cases served as important catalysts in their separation: the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Elder (Christianity)
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 and pastoral offices. In other Christian traditions (e.g., Presbyterianism, Churches of Christ, Plymouth Brethren), an elder may be a lay person serving as an administrator in a local congregation, or be ordained and serving in preaching (teaching during church gatherings) or pastoral roles. There is a distinction between ordained elders and lay elders. The two concepts may be conflated in everyday conversation (for example, a lay elder in the Baptist tradition may be referred to as "clergy", especially in America). In non-Christian world cultures the term elder refers to age and exper ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |