In the

Latter Day Saint movement The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded by J ...

, the Presiding Patriarch (also called Presiding Evangelist, Patriarch over the Church, Patriarch of the Church, or Patriarch to the Church) is a church-wide leadership office within the priesthood. Among the duties of the Presiding Patriarch are to preside in council meetings, ordain other

patriarchs The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and in certa ...

, and administer

patriarchal blessing In the Latter Day Saint movement, a patriarchal blessing (also called an evangelist's blessing) is an ordinance administered by the laying on of hands, with accompanying words of promise, counsel, and lifelong guidance intended solely for the rec ...

s. Originally, the office of Presiding Patriarch was one of the highest and most important offices of the church's priesthood. The role was equated by

Joseph Smith Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. When he was 24, Smith published the Book of Mormon. By the time of his death, 14 years later, ...

with Biblical

patriarch The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and in certai ...

s from Adam to

Abraham Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Je ...

Isaac Isaac; grc, Ἰσαάκ, Isaák; ar, إسحٰق/إسحاق, Isḥāq; am, ይስሐቅ is one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He was th ...

, and

Jacob Jacob (; ; ar, يَعْقُوب, Yaʿqūb; gr, Ἰακώβ, Iakṓb), later given the name Israel, is regarded as a patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. J ...

, and it was expected that the office would descend through lineal succession from father to son. This precedent was set when

Hyrum Smith Hyrum Smith (February 9, 1800 – June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the original church of the Latter Day Saint movement. He was the older brother of the movement's founder, J ...

, Joseph's brother, became the second Presiding Patriarch because he was the eldest surviving son of the first Presiding Patriarch,

Joseph Smith Sr. Joseph Smith Sr. (July 12, 1771 – September 14, 1840) was the father of Joseph Smith Jr., the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement. Joseph Sr. was also one of the Eight Witnesses of the Book of Mormon, which Mormons believe was translate ...

When the office was given to Hyrum, he was given "keys of the patriarchal priesthood over the kingdom of God on earth, even the Church of the Latter Day Saints." Thus, some have argued that Presiding Patriarch is an office of the Patriarchal Priesthood. However, the existence and meaning of the Patriarchal Priesthood is controversial and uncertain.

Community of Christ

In the major denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement, the role of the Presiding Patriarch diminished substantially after the death of

. Today, Community of Christ, formerly the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS), ordains a Presiding Evangelist who plays an important role as a world church leader, but it is not required that the person be a descendant of Joseph Smith's family. That tradition was discontinued in 1958 when RLDS Prophet-Presidents W. Wallace Smith, a grandson of Joseph Smith, presented

Roy Cheville Roy A. Cheville (October 2, 1897–April 6, 1986) was a religious leader, theologian and educator in the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS Church), which became Community of Christ in 2001. Cheville graduated from ...

as a successor to

Elbert A. Smith Elbert Aoriul Smith (8 March 1871 – 15 May 1959) was an American leader in the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS Church). He was a member of the church's First Presidency from 1909 to 1938 and the Presiding Patriarch ...

. Unlike Elbert A. Smith, Cheville was not a descendant of Joseph Smith Sr. Prior to 1984, ''Presiding Patriarch'' and ''Presiding Evangelist'' were used interchangeably for the one presiding over the Order of Evangelists. In 1984, the Community of Christ dropped its use of the name ''Presiding Evangelist'' for this role, along with the change of name of the local office from ''Evangelist-Patriarch'' to simply ''

Evangelist Evangelist may refer to: Religion * Four Evangelists, the authors of the canonical Christian Gospels * Evangelism, publicly preaching the Gospel with the intention of spreading the teachings of Jesus Christ * Evangelist (Anglican Church), a c ...

''. The current Presiding Evangelist of Community of Christ is Jane M. Gardner.

Role within Community of Christ

Within the international leadership Councils, Quorums, and Orders of the Community of Christ, the Presiding Evangelist serves as a spiritual companion, counselor and guide to the church and its leaders, and to the Order of Evangelists in fulfilling the significant ministry they provide, especially what the church considers "a time of transformation and change.” According to the church, Evangelists are ordained to be ''ministers of blessing, witnessing of Jesus Christ and responsive to the reconciling and redeeming influence of the Holy Spirit in the lives of persons, serving in multiple ministries according to the unique gifts and callings of each evangelist''.

Chronology of the Presiding Patriarchs/Evangelist of Community of Christ

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

When a Presiding Patriarch has existed,

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...

(LDS Church) has sustained the person as a

prophet, seer, and revelator Prophet, seer, and revelator is an ecclesiastical title used in the Latter Day Saint movement. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) is the largest denomination of the movement, and it currently applies the terms to the membe ...

. In the church's history, there have been eight Presiding Patriarchs, three Acting Presiding Patriarchs, and one Patriarch Emeritus. The LDS Church effectively discontinued the office of Presiding Patriarch in 1979, indicating enough local patriarchs existed so that the church-wide position was no longer needed. However, E. Gary Smith, the eldest son of the final patriarch,

Eldred G. Smith Eldred Gee Smith (January 9, 1907 – April 4, 2013) was the patriarch to the church of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1947 to 1979. From 1979 to his death he was the patriarch emeritus of the church. He was th ...

, rejected this explanation, suggesting instead that the dissolution of the office was the inevitable result of longstanding tensions rising from the incompatibility of a hereditary position with the broader church hierarchy based in "office charisma," consistent with the Weberian model of bureaucracy. Until that time, the role and duties of the office had varied. The Presiding Patriarch sometimes appointed local

in the church's stakes and presided over them as a loose "Quorum of Patriarchs." Like the local patriarchs, the Presiding Patriarch was also empowered to give

Chronology of the Presiding Patriarchs of the LDS Church

Notes

References

*. *. *

Peggy Fletcher Stack Peggy Fletcher Stack is an American journalist, editor, and author. Stack has been the lead religion writer for '' The Salt Lake Tribune'' since 1991. She and five other journalists at the ''Salt Lake Tribune'' won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Loca ...

"Century Mark: Church leader with historic position nears 100th birthday"
''

Salt Lake Tribune ''The Salt Lake Tribune'' is a newspaper published in the city of Salt Lake City, Utah. The ''Tribune'' is owned by The Salt Lake Tribune, Inc., a non-profit corporation. The newspaper's motto is "Utah's Independent Voice Since 1871." History A ...

'', December 29, 2006. {{Community of Christ History of the Latter Day Saint movement Latter Day Saint hierarchy Leadership positions in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints * 1833 establishments in the United States 1833 in Christianity