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Form Of Presbyterial Church Government
''The Form of Presbyterial Church Government'' is a document drawn up by the Westminster Assembly dealing with Presbyterian polity. It forms part of the Westminster Standards, and was adopted by the Church of Scotland in 1645. Contents Church officers ''The Form of Presbyterial Church Government'' describes four church officers: pastors, teachers/doctors, elders, and deacons. The pastor is a " minister of the gospel", while the doctor is a minister who "doth more excel in exposition of scripture, in teaching sound doctrine and convincing gainsayers than he doth in application". The doctors are thus essentially theological professors, "of most excellent use in schools and universities". The elder is distinguished from the minister, and has the role of church governance, while the deacon is "to take special care in distributing to the necessities of the poor." Church structure ''The Form of Presbyterial Church Government'' describes how the Church should be divided up in congr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Form Of Presbyterial Church Government
''The Form of Presbyterial Church Government'' is a document drawn up by the Westminster Assembly dealing with Presbyterian polity. It forms part of the Westminster Standards, and was adopted by the Church of Scotland in 1645. Contents Church officers ''The Form of Presbyterial Church Government'' describes four church officers: pastors, teachers/doctors, elders, and deacons. The pastor is a " minister of the gospel", while the doctor is a minister who "doth more excel in exposition of scripture, in teaching sound doctrine and convincing gainsayers than he doth in application". The doctors are thus essentially theological professors, "of most excellent use in schools and universities". The elder is distinguished from the minister, and has the role of church governance, while the deacon is "to take special care in distributing to the necessities of the poor." Church structure ''The Form of Presbyterial Church Government'' describes how the Church should be divided up in congr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Westminster Assembly
The Westminster Assembly of Divines was a council of Divinity (academic discipline), divines (theologians) and members of the English Parliament appointed from 1643 to 1653 to restructure the Church of England. Several Scots also attended, and the Assembly's work was adopted by the Church of Scotland. As many as 121 ministers were called to the Assembly, with nineteen others added later to replace those who did not attend or could no longer attend. It produced a new Form of Presbyterial Church Government, Form of Church Government, a Westminster Confession of Faith, Confession of Faith or statement of belief, two catechisms or manuals for religious instruction (Westminster Shorter Catechism, Shorter and Westminster Larger Catechism, Larger), and a liturgical manual, the ''Directory for Public Worship'', for the Churches of England and Scotland. The Confession and catechisms were adopted as doctrinal standards in the Church of Scotland and other Presbyterian churches, where they ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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; presbyter ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Westminster Standards
The Westminster Standards is a collective name for the documents drawn up by the Westminster Assembly (1643–49). These include the Westminster Confession of Faith, the Westminster Shorter Catechism, the Westminster Larger Catechism, the Directory of Public Worship, and the Form of Church Government, and represent the doctrine and church polity of 17th-century English and Scottish Presbyterianism. The Westminster Confession of Faith and Larger and Shorter Catechism have been adopted as doctrinal standards by a number of Reformed and Presbyterian Christian denominations. Following the approval of the Confession and catechisms by the Church of Scotland in 1648, printers in England and Scotland began publishing them with other religious documents in collections referred to as the Westminster Standards. In 1658 printers began including the full Scripture passages which are cited in the confessional documents. These collections became standardized in a 1728 edition, which follows a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Church Of Scotland
The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from the Catholic Church and established itself as a church in the reformed tradition. The church is Calvinist Presbyterian, having no head of faith or leadership group and believing that God invited the church's adherents to worship Jesus. The annual meeting of its general assembly is chaired by the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. The Church of Scotland celebrates two sacraments, Baptism and the Lord's Supper in Reformed theology, Lord's Supper, as well as five other Rite (Christianity), rites, such as Confirmation and Christian views on marriage, Matrimony. The church adheres to the Bible and the Westminster Confession of Faith, and is a member of the World Communion of Reformed Churches. History Presbyterian tra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Minister (Christianity)
In Christianity, a minister is a person authorised by a church body, church or other religious organization to perform functions such as teaching of beliefs; leading services such as weddings, baptisms or funerals; or otherwise providing spiritual guidance to the community. The term is taken from Latin ''minister'' ("servant", "attendant"). In some church traditions the term is usually used for people who have ordained, but in other traditions it can also be used for non-ordained people who have a pastoral or liturgical ministry. In Catholic, Orthodox (Eastern Orthodox, Eastern and Oriental Orthodox, Oriental), Anglican and Lutheran churches, the concept of a priesthood is emphasized. In other denominations such as Baptist, Methodist and Calvinist churches (Congregationalist and Presbyterian), the term "minister" usually refers to a member of the ordination, ordained clergy who leads a congregation or participates in a role in a parachurch ministry; such a person may serve as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 expe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 Church, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Scandinavian Lutheran Churches, the Methodist Churches, the Anglican Communion, and the Free Church of England, view the diaconate as an order of ministry. Origin and development The word ''deacon'' is derived from the Greek word (), which is a standard ancient Greek word meaning "servant", "waiting-man", "minister", or "messenger". It is generally assumed that the office of deacon originated in the selection of seven men by the apostles, among them Stephen, to assist with the charitable work of the early church as recorded in Acts of the Apostles chapter 6. The title ''deaconess'' ( grc, διακόνισσα, diakónissa, label=none) is not found in the Bible. Ho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Church (congregation)
A church (or local church) is a religious organization or congregation that meets in a particular location. Many are formally organized, with constitutions and by-laws, maintain offices, are served by clergy or lay leaders, and, in nations where this is permissible, often seek non-profit corporate status. Local churches often relate with, affiliate with, or consider themselves to be constitutive parts of denominations, which are also called churches in many traditions. Depending on the tradition, these organizations may connect local churches to larger church traditions, ordain and defrock clergy, define terms of membership and exercise church discipline, and have organizations for cooperative ministry such as educational institutions and missionary societies. Non-denominational churches are not part of denominations, but may consider themselves part of larger church movements without institutional expression. The word ''church'' may also be used for other religious communit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Presbytery (church 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; presbyter ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ordination
Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorization, authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform various religious Ritual, rites and ceremonies. The process and ceremonies of ordination vary by religion and Religious denomination, denomination. One who is in preparation for, or who is undergoing the process of ordination is sometimes called an ordinand. The liturgy used at an ordination is sometimes referred to as an ordination. Christianity Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran and Anglican churches In Roman Catholicism and Orthodoxy, ordination is one of the seven sacraments, variously called holy orders or ''Christian laying on of hands, cheirotonia'' ("Laying on of Hands"). Apostolic succession is considered an essential and necessary concept for ordination in the Catholic, Orthodo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ministers And Elders Of The Church Of Scotland
A Church of Scotland congregation is led by its minister and elders. Both of these terms are also used in other Christian denominations: see Minister (Christianity) and Elder (Christianity). This article discusses the specific understanding of their roles and functions in the Scottish Church. Terminology The Greek term , used in the New Testament as a designation for the leaders of the Early Church (e.g. Acts 11.30), has three different equivalents in English: ''elder'', ''presbyter'' and ''priest''. ''Priest'' is the oldest, a borrowing into Old English via Latin, ''elder'' (first attested 1526) is a translation of the underlying meaning of the Greek word, and ''presbyter'' (1597) is learned correction of the loan-word. However, the semantics of ''priest'' are complicated by the fact that it is traditionally used also as the translation of a different New Testament Greek word, , which refers to those who perform sacrificial rites in the Jerusalem temple and in pagan t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
