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Presbyter () is an honorific title for Christian clergy. The word derives from the Greek ''presbyteros,'' which means elder or senior, although many in the Christian antiquity would understand ''presbyteros'' to refer to the bishop functioning as overseer. The word Presbyter is also mentioned in the New Testament. In modern Catholic and Orthodox usage, ''presbyter'' is distinct from '' bishop'' and synonymous with '' priest''. In predominant Protestant usage, ''presbyter'' does not refer to a member of a distinctive priesthood called ''priests,'' but rather to a
minister Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...
, pastor, or
elder An elder is someone with a degree of seniority or authority. Elder or elders may refer to: Positions Administrative * Elder (administrative title), a position of authority Cultural * North American Indigenous elder, a person who has and tr ...
.


Etymology

The word ''presbyter''
etymologically Etymology ()The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the form of words an ...
derives from Greek ''πρεσβύτερος'' (''presbyteros''), the comparative form of ''πρέσβυς'' (''presbys''), "old man". However, while the English word priest has presbyter as the etymological origin, the distinctive Greek word (Greek ἱερεύς ''hiereus'') for "priest" is never used for presbyteros/episkopos in the New Testament, except as being part of the general priesthood of all believers, with the first Christians making a distinction between sacerdotal Jewish and pagan priests and New Testament presbyters.


History

The earliest organization of the Church in Jerusalem was according to most scholars similar to that of Jewish
synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...
s, but it had a council or college of ordained presbyters ( el, πρεσβύτεροι ''elders''). In
Acts The Acts of the Apostles ( grc-koi, Πράξεις Ἀποστόλων, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; la, Actūs Apostolōrum) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of its message ...
11:30 and , we see a collegiate system of government in Jerusalem though headed by
James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...
, according to tradition the first bishop of the city. In , the
Apostle Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...
ordains presbyters in the churches he founded. The term presbyter was often not yet clearly distinguished from the term overseer (ἐπίσκοποι ''episkopoi'', later exclusively used as meaning bishop), as in , Titus 1:5–7 and
1 Peter The First Epistle of Peter is a book of the New Testament. The author presents himself as Peter the Apostle. The ending of the letter includes a statement that implies that it was written from " Babylon", which is possibly a reference to Rome. ...
5:1. The earliest writings of the Apostolic Fathers, the
Didache The ''Didache'' (; ), also known as The Lord's Teaching Through the Twelve Apostles to the Nations (Διδαχὴ Κυρίου διὰ τῶν δώδεκα ἀποστόλων τοῖς ἔθνεσιν), is a brief anonymous early Christian tr ...
and the First Epistle of Clement for example, show the church used two terms for local church offices—presbyters (seen by many as an interchangeable term with episcopos or overseer) and deacon. In Timothy and Titus in the New Testament a more clearly defined episcopate can be seen. We are told that Paul had left Timothy in
Ephesus Ephesus (; grc-gre, Ἔφεσος, Éphesos; tr, Efes; may ultimately derive from hit, 𒀀𒉺𒊭, Apaša) was a city in ancient Greece on the coast of Ionia, southwest of present-day Selçuk in İzmir Province, Turkey. It was built in t ...
and Titus in Crete to oversee the local church ( and ). Paul commands them to ordain presbyters/bishops and to exercise general oversight, telling Titus to "rebuke with all authority" (). Early sources are not clear, but various groups of Christian communities would have had a group or college of presbyter-overseers functioning as leaders of the local churches. Eventually, the head or "monarchic" bishop came to rule more clearly, and all local churches would eventually follow the example of the other churches and structure themselves after the model of the others with the one bishop in clearer charge, though the role of the body of priests remained important. From the
2nd century The 2nd century is the period from 101 ( CI) through 200 ( CC) in accordance with the Julian calendar. It is considered part of the Classical era, epoch, or historical period. Early in the century, the Roman Empire attained its greatest ex ...
, it is certain that the offices of bishop and presbyter were clearly distinguished, the bishop was understood as the president of the council of presbyters, and so the bishop was distinguished both in honor and in prerogative from the presbyters, who were seen as deriving their authority by means of delegation from the bishop. Each
Episcopal see An episcopal see is, in a practical use of the phrase, the area of a bishop's ecclesiastical jurisdiction. Phrases concerning actions occurring within or outside an episcopal see are indicative of the geographical significance of the term, mak ...
had its own bishop and his presence was necessary to consecrate any gathering of the church. Eventually, as Christendom grew, individual congregations were no longer directly served by a bishop. The bishop in a large city (the Metropolitan bishop) would appoint a priest to pastor the flock in each congregation, acting as his delegate. The fourth century scholar Jerome (347–420) stated:
Therefore a presbyter is the same as a bishop is, and before that by the instigation of the devil emulations in respect to religion arose, and people began to say: I am of Paul, and I of Apollos, and I of Cephas, the churches were governed by the common counsel of the presbyters. But, after that each one was accustomed to regard those whom he had baptized as his own disciples and not of Christ, it was decreed in the whole world that one chosen from among the presbyters should be placed over the others ... Therefore, as presbyters may know that by the custom of the church they are subject to the one who has been placed over them; so also bishops may understand that they are greater than presbyters more by custom than by the veritable ordinance of the Lord.
Slightly different other versions (quoting
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 ...
) express the same. A Catholic explanation suggests that the delegates were bishops in the actual sense of the term but that they neither possessed fixed sees nor had a special title. Since they were essentially itinerant, they confided the fixed necessary functions relating to the daily life of the community to the care of some of the better-educated and highly respected converts. Along with this was the title "priest" being distinctively ascribed to presbyters/bishops. Writer Greg Dues, author of ''Catholic Customs & Traditions'', claims that
Priesthood as we know it in the Catholic church was unheard of during the first generation of Christianity, because at that time priesthood was still associated with animal sacrifices in both the Jewish and pagan religions. ... When the Eucharist came to be regarded as a sacrifice fter Rome's theology the role of the bishop took on a priestly dimension. By the third century bishops were considered priests. Presbyters or elders sometimes substituted for the bishop at the Eucharist. By the end of the third century people all over were using the title 'priest' (hierus in Greek and sacerdos in Latin) for whoever presided at the Eucharist.
With the legalization of Christianity and the threat of paganism dwindling from the passage of time, the use of the word priest was adopted from presbyter; as they felt there was no longer a chance of their faith being confused with the ideas, philosophies and culture of the Roman religion.


Modern usage

The Roman Catholic Church, the
Orthodox Church Orthodox Church may refer to: * Eastern Orthodox Church * Oriental Orthodox Churches * Orthodox Presbyterian Church * Orthodox Presbyterian Church of New Zealand * State church of the Roman Empire * True Orthodox church See also * Orthodox (dis ...
, the non-Chalcedonian churches, and similar groups typically refer to presbyters in English as priests (''priest'' is etymologically derived from the Greek ''presbyteros'' via the Latin ''presbyter''). Collectively, however, their "college" is referred to as the " presbyterium", "presbytery", or "presbyterate". This usage is seen by most Protestant Christians as stripping the
laity In religious organizations, the laity () consists of all members who are not part of the clergy, usually including any non-ordained members of religious orders, e.g. a nun or a lay brother. In both religious and wider secular usage, a layperson ...
of its priestly status, while those who use the term defend its usage by saying that, while they do believe in the ''priesthood'' (Greek ἱερεύς ''hiereus'' – a different word altogether, used in Rev 1:6, 1 Pet 2:9) of all believers, they do not believe in the ''eldership'' of all believers. This is generally true of
United Methodists The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelicali ...
, who ordain elders as clergy ( pastors) while affirming the priesthood of all believers. The Methodist Church of Great Britain has formally referred to its presbyters as such (rather than the common title of 'minister') since 1990, from when it was possible to be ordained as a Methodist deacon, which is also an order of Methodist ministry. The evangelical (or ultra low-church) Anglican Diocese of Sydney has abolished the use of the word "priest" for those ordained as such. They are now referred to as "presbyters". Presbyterians sometimes refer to their ruling elders and teaching elders (ministers) as presbyters. The website of the
International Standard Version The ''International Standard Version'' or ISV is a new English translation of the Bible for which translation was complete and published electronically in 2011. The texts of the Dead Sea Scrolls have been used to provide a textual apparatus for ...
of the Bible, a Protestant translation, responds to a criticism of its use of "elder" over "priest " by stating the following:


See also

* John the Presbyter * Prester John * Presbyterium


Citations


General and cited sources

* Liddell & Scott, ''An Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon'', pp. 301, 668 * ''The Compact Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary'', p. 2297 * ''The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (3rd ed.)'', p. 1322


External links

* {{Cite EB1911, wstitle=Presbyter , last=Andrews , first=Herbert Tom, short=x
Presbyters in the Late Antique West database
Catholic priesthood Christian religious occupations Christian terminology Ecclesiastical titles Priests