In Protestant usage, a consistory designates certain ruling bodies in various churches.
[''Encyclopedia of Protestantism'', J. Gordon Melton (ed.), New York: Facts On File, c2005, p. 162. ] The meaning and the scope of functions varies strongly, also along the separating lines of the Protestant denominations and church bodies.
History
Starting in 1539 the term was used for a body taking over the jurisdiction in marital matters, and later also
church discipline, so that Protestant
consistories can be regarded as successors not to the
papal consistory
In the Roman Catholic Church a consistory is a formal meeting of the College of Cardinals called by the pope. There are two kinds of consistories, extraordinary and ordinary. An "extraordinary" consistory is held to allow the pope to consult with ...
in Rome but rather to the courts of Roman Catholic bishops.
[''The encyclopedia of Protestantism'', Hans J. Hillerbrand (ed.), New York: Routledge, 2004, .] In the
Lutheran
Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...
or Reformed states of
imperial immediacy
Imperial immediacy (german: Reichsfreiheit or ') was a privileged constitutional and political status rooted in German feudal law under which the Imperial estates of the Holy Roman Empire such as Imperial cities, prince-bishoprics and secular pr ...
in the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars.
From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...
episcopal offices were not staffed any more and the secular government assumed the function of the bishop (summepiscopate, summus episcopus), looked after by the consistories.
Not all Protestant churches adopted consistories, especially not
collegially governed churches, often of
Reformed or
Presbyterian
Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their na ...
confession. Consistories were either bodies of local churches (mostly in the Reformed tradition), or parastatal entities, like in the French model, or they were governing bodies as part of the administration of Protestant
state church
A state religion (also called religious state or official religion) is a religion or creed officially endorsed by a sovereign state. A state with an official religion (also known as confessional state), while not secular, is not necessarily a ...
es (Lutheran, Reformed and United Protestant alike).
The rather governmental character of the consistory is the reason why the term was given up in many church bodies after the
separation of religion and state
The separation of church and state is a philosophical and jurisprudential concept for defining political distance in the relationship between religious organizations and the state. Conceptually, the term refers to the creation of a secular sta ...
and the concomitant abolition of the status as state church and the assumption of church independence.
In countries under French influence the Protestants, Calvinists and Lutherans alike (and the Jews as well, see
Israelite consistories), made use of the term in the beginning of the nineteenth century with the enactment of the
Organic Articles, when the movement for political emancipation demanded the creation of a representative body, whereas Napoleon's government simultaneously aimed at gaining influence onto the non-Catholic religious bodies. Roman Catholicism in Napoleon's realm was subject to the
Concordat of 1801. The consistories in the French Empire could transact official business with a government in the name of the Protestants and vice versa. Furthermore, the desire for reform among the educated classes demanded the creation of a body vested with authority to render religious decisions.
Anglican usage
"In Anglican churches the consistory is the diocesan court, usually presided over by the bishop's chancellor or commissary. It deals with a variety of issues at the diocesan level, and its decisions may be appealed to higher courts in the national church."
Usage in Lutheran and united churches
In the
Lutheran
Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...
tradition, and derived from that similarly in some
united and uniting Protestant churches, the consistory is a body governing the ecclesiastical affairs in a specific ambit, comprising either all congregations (aka parishes) within a Protestant church body (thus forming a leading body, with executive and /or spiritual competence for a church), or only those in a district organisation (consistorial district; german: link=no, Konsistorialbezirk) or in a regional organisation (such as an ecclesiastical province; german: link=no, Kirchenprovinz).
In the latter two cases, typical in churches with a
congregational polity, the term consistory is also used to designate the geographical area administered by the consistory.
In 1539
Martin Luther
Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation and the namesake of Luther ...
and his associates established the (1539–1816) in
Wittenberg upon Elbe competent for the Lutheran church in the
Saxon
The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic
*
*
*
*
peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country ( Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the No ...
within the then realm of the Ernestine line of the
House of Wettin
The House of Wettin () is a dynasty of Germany, German monarch, kings, Prince Elector, prince-electors, dukes, and counts that once ruled territories in the present-day German states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. The dynasty is one of ...
.
Although originally an ecclesiastical court of the Saxon Lutheran church, the consistory developed into an administrative body appointed by the sovereign to supervise the church within his state.
In other Lutheran states the consistories took similar developments.
Consistories, forming executive body of a state church, had often great powers through the authority of the secular government.
In history, before separating executive and juridical competences, consistories of Lutheran state churches with central executive powers, therefore usually consisting of jurisprudents and clergy, did also function as courts appointed to regulate ecclesiastical affairs. At times the consistories were parastatal offices in charge of all (Protestant) denominations (e.g. in
Bremen-Verden
), which is a public-law corporation established in 1865 succeeding the estates of the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen (established in 1397), now providing the local fire insurance in the shown area and supporting with its surplusses cultural effor ...
) or even all religions (e.g. in Prussia, see
Evangelical Church in Prussia from 1808 to 1816) in the respective territory. While Lutheran churches often still did not form legal entities distinct from the state, the consistories turned out to be the oldest body of many modern
regional Protestant church bodies, which developed into independent legal entities in the 18th and 19th centuries.
By the French Organic Articles each time several parishes (paroisses) of the
EPCAAL form a consistory (consistoire), terming the board and its district alike.
[Cf]
"Etudes: Cultes protestants"
, on
''Institut du Droit Local Alsacien-Mosellan'' (IDL)
retrieved on 17 December 2013. The consistories are of legal entity status.
Each consistory holds property of its own and receives contributions by the member parishes.
Each EPCAAL consistory comprises all the pastors active in its district and the double number of laypersons, elected in three year terms by the local church presbyteries, as well as some members coöpted by the church executive Directory (directoire).
The consistorial members elect from their midst their executive, the consistorial council (Conseil consistorial) of four members.
Consistorial decisions are presented to the
French minister of the Interior, who may oppose them within a two-months period, and reported to the superior EPCAAL Supreme consistory (Consistoire supérieur).
Reformed usage
In the
Reformed (Calvinist) tradition the consistory is the authority in the local church, generally made up of all the teaching Elders (ministers) and the ruling elders (lay leaders).
The consistory then forms the head of individual congregations (or parishes) also in charge of implementing the policies of the synod and/or assembly of which it is part, and providing for church discipline of the church members where necessary.
[Nicholas Weber]
"Reformed Churches"
in: ''The Catholic Encyclopedia'', vol. 12, New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911, retrieved on 2 November 2013. A panel sometimes called the Great Consistory, convoked if considered necessary for special consultations, would include the current consistory and former elders and deacons.
Congregations (kerkgemeenten) within the
Protestant Church in the Netherlands rooted in the 2004-merged
Dutch Reformed Church
The Dutch Reformed Church (, abbreviated NHK) was the largest Christian denomination in the Netherlands from the onset of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century until 1930. It was the original denomination of the Dutch Royal Family a ...
often call their local church councils or ''consistorie'' (consistory, else also called kerkenraad, i.e. church council).
When
John Calvin
John Calvin (; frm, Jehan Cauvin; french: link=no, Jean Calvin ; 10 July 150927 May 1564) was a French theologian, pastor and reformer in Geneva during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system ...
was invited to take over supervision of the
Reformed Church of Geneva (EPG), he insisted on the creation there of a new disciplinary institution called the Consistory, and drafted the ecclesiastical ordinances that created it himself in November 1541.
The
Genevan Consistory consisted of all 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 ...
s on the
Genevan republic's payroll plus a dozen lay commissioners or ''elders'' to whom were assigned the duty of visiting households and checking upon the conduct of the inhabitants.
The members of the consistory, technically a committee of the city government, were elected for one-year terms in the elections in which the city government was reconstituted every year.
In weekly meetings the consistory examined people accused of misbehaviour.
If the charges proved of substance, the consistory had a range of options including referring the person for counselling or, in more severe cases, to the civil courts.
"In 1555, excommunication was added to its powers."
About one-fifteenth of the entire adult population of the republic was annually summoned before the consistory.
As much as Calvin's theology with his emphasis on church discipline, the Genevan Consistory gave the city-state particular and the Reformed Church of Geneva its unique lifestyle.
Also in the
Protestant Reformed Church of Alsace and Lorraine (EPRAL) several parishes form a consistory (consistoire), with the term used for the board and its district alike.
As religious statutory law corporations the consistories have legal entity status, holding property of their own and receiving contributions from member parishes.
EPRAL consistories are made up and organised like their EPCAAL counterparts (see above). Unlike their EPCAAL counterparts the EPRAL consistories appoint the pastors after proposition by the
presbytery of the concerned parish.
Consistories today
The
Evangelical Church of Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian Upper Lusatia (EKBO, a church comprising Lutheran, Reformed and united congregations) uses the term consistory () for its administrative office. This consistory was founded in 1543 and underwent a number of alterations of its official naming and functions in compliance with the development of the constitution of the church. Also the
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia and the
Protestant Church of Luxembourg (Consistoire de l'Eglise Protestante du Luxembourg) use the term consistory for their central administrative offices.
The Lutheran
Protestant Church of Augsburg Confession of Alsace and Lorraine (EPCAAL) maintains its Supreme Consistory (Consistoire supérieur), functioning as the supreme spiritual body, and 40 regional consistories, established in 1802 but later partially reorganised and renamed.
In the Lutheran
Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Poland
The Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in the Republic of Poland ( pl, Kościół Ewangelicko-Augsburski w Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej) is a Lutheran denomination and the largest Protestant body in Poland with about 61,000 members and ...
the Consistory of the Church ( pl, link=no, Konsystorz Kościoła) serves as the chief administrative authority and the executive board of the synod.
[Cf]
"Konsystorz Kościoła"
on
retrieved on 2 December 2013
In the
Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church the consistory (konsistoorium) is the administrative board of the church. In 2006 the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in European Russia established a consistory (Консистория) as its central executive body. In the
Evangelical Reformed Church in the Republic of Poland the administrative body is termed as consistory (Konsystorz). In the
Protestant Reformed Church of Alsace and Lorraine four consistories form district organisations each comprising several parishes.
Consistories renamed
* The Supreme Consistory (''Oberkonsistorium'') of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria, founded in 1818 was replaced as a decision-taking body by the ''Landeskirchenrat'' (Regional Church Council) in 1920. Its administration division was renamed
Munich Church Office.
[Cf]
"Konsistorium (evangelisch) (19./20. Jahrhundert)"
on
''Historisches Lexikon Bayerns''
, retrieved on 2 December 2013.
* The regional consistory (''Landeskonsistorium'') of the
Evangelical Lutheran State Church of Hanover was renamed ''Landeskirchenamt'' (Regional Church Office) in 1924.
* The consistory (''Konsistorium'') of the was renamed ''Landeskirchenamt'' (Regional Church Office) in 1924.
* The consistory of the
Church of Lippe was renamed ''Landeskirchenamt'' in 1931.
* The Speyer Consistory (''Konsistorium Speyer''), founded in 1818, of the
Evangelical Church of the Palatinate was replaced by the ''Landeskirchenrat'' (regional church council) in 1921.
* The consistory of the
Pomeranian Evangelical Church (PEK), after having been established in 1653, then reorganised, moved and renamed several times, was converted into the ''Pommersche Kirchenkreisverwaltung'' (Pomeranian Deanery Administration) in 2012.
* The consistory (''Evangelisches Konsistorium'') of the
Evangelical Church in the Rhineland was renamed ''Landeskirchenamt'' in 1948.
* The consistory (''Evangelisches Konsistorium'') of the
Evangelical Church of the Church Province of Saxony was transformed into the ''Kirchenamt der Föderation Evangelischer Kirchen in Mitteldeutschland'' (church office of the Federation of Evangelical Churches in Middle Germany).
* The consistory of the
Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Saxony
The Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Saxony (''Evangelisch-Lutherische Landeskirche Sachsens'') is one of 20 member Churches of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), covering most of the state of Saxony. Its headquarters are in Dresden, and its b ...
was renamed the in 1933.
[The Meissen Consistory for the Meissen Margraviate was founded in 1545. It was relocated to Dresden and renamed the Supreme Consistory (''Oberkonsistorium'') for all the Electorate of Saxony in 1580, becoming superior to the Wittenberg and (the former dissolved after the Prussian annexation of its ambit in 1816). It returned to Meissen in 1588 without superiority, then was reranked as Supreme Consistory and relocated to Dresden in 1606. Both remaining consistories, the superior Dresden and the subordinate Leipzig consistories, were merged in the ''Landeskonsistorium'' (State Consistory) of Saxony in 1835. In 1933 the State Consistory was renamed ''Landeskirchenamt''. Cf]
"Oberkonsistorium"
, on
''Sachsen.de: Archivwesen''
retrieved on 2 December 2013.
* The consistory (''Evangelisches Konsistorium'') of the
Evangelical Church of Westphalia
The Protestant Church of Westphalia (german: Evangelische Kirche von Westfalen, EKvW) is a United Protestant church body in North Rhine-Westphalia.
The seat of the praeses (german: Präses, the head of the church) is Bielefeld. The EKvW emerged o ...
was renamed the Regional Church Office (''Landeskirchenamt'') in 1948.
Designations for members
The designations for the members of consistories alter as to their functions and status as clergy or laymen. In German Konsistorialrat (consistorial councillor) and Konsistorialassessor (consistorial assessor) are each used to term both. Consistories often had double leadership, one lay and one cleric. The lay leader is often called Konsistorialpräsident or Konsistorialdirektor (consistorial president or director), by vocation usually a jurisprudent, while the cleric leaders could be termed Generalsuperintendent or just Superintendent (general superintendent or
superintendent), or provost (Propst, as with EKBO).
Notes
External links
* {{Commons category-inline, Consistories
''Konsistorium'' web site of the consistory of the Evangelical Church of Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian Upper Lusatia
web site of the consistory of the Evangelical-Augsburg Church in Poland
Governing assemblies of religious organizations
Protestantism
Church organization
Ecclesiastical courts
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