An elder, in many Methodist churches, is an ordainedminister that has the responsibilities to preach and teach, preside at the celebration of the sacraments, administer the church through pastoral guidance, and lead the congregations under their care in service ministry to the world.
"Elder" is an English translation of the Greek word Presbuteros (Greek: πρεσβύτερος), found in the New Testament. The word is also commonly transliterated as "presbyter". The office or "order" of presbyter is one of three orders of the traditional Christian priesthood, along with deacon and bishop. The founder of Methodism, John Wesley, in the ordination rite, supplanted the Book of Common Prayer's term "priest" for "elder", although the rest of the liturgy remained the same.[4]
An elder is a preacher of the gospel, fully invested with all the functions of the Christian ministry. An elder is constituted such by election of the Connection, and by the laying on of the hands of some of the elders, and prayer. The president of the Connection shall lead the service unless the Connection orders otherwise and appoints some other person in his stead. ... It is the duty of an elder to preach the gospel, to administer baptism and the Lord’s Supper, to perform all parts of divine worship, and to solemnize the rite of matrimony.[5]
Election to elder’s orders constitutes the acknowledgement of the annual conference that the person so elected has met all the biblical (1 Timothy 3, Titus 1) and ecclesiastical requirements to serve as an overseer in the church. Only an ordained elder may serve as a ministerial delegate to General Conference, a conference superintendent or a bishop.[6]
An Elder shall have met all the requirements of the School of Theology and the Conference, and shall have received the rite of ordination. He shall have the full rights and privileges of the Conference and shall be entitled to participate in the system of itinerancy.[1]
Elders are ministers who have completed their formal preparation for the ministry of Word, Sacrament, and Order; have been elected itinerant members in full connection with an Annual Conference; and have been ordained elders in accordance with the Order and Discipline of The United Methodist Church.
Vestments and clericals
While not presiding at a service of worship, Methodist elders are sometimes seen wearing the clerical collar and clergy shirt in public. Preaching tabs can also be worn around the neck in lieu of the clerical collar. Many Methodist elders choose not to wear clerical clothing in their daily activities.
When presiding at a service of worship, Methodist elders are often seen wearing church vestments, namely the pulpit robe or alb, and to a lesser extent, the chasuble.[7]Stoles that reflect the season of the Christian year are worn over the vestment.[8] Other elders choose not to wear vestments and are often seen in suits, dress clothes or casual clothing. However, stoles which represent the "yoke" of responsibility to the Church and to God are not to be worn unless the person has gone through the process of ordination which extends past education to a provisionary period culminating with a formal ordination service where the bishop presides.
Educational requirements
In most cases, United Methodist elders must have graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in liberal education or equivalent degree in a college or university listed by the University Senate of the United Methodist Church and must have a Master of Divinity or equivalent degree in a school of theology (seminary).[9] However, individual Annual Conferences may require that a Master of Divinity or equivalent first professional degree be the minimum standard for entrance into the Annual Conference's Order of Elders, or presbyterate. Changes were made by the 1992 and 1996 General Conferences which revamped many aspects of the ordained offices in the United Methodist Church's polity and doctrine and made the Order of Deacon a permanent, rather than transitional, office. These reforms also elevated the previously unordained office of Diaconal Minister, who were lay persons performing specialized tasks within a congregational or ministry staff setting (such as music, education, youth ministry, etc.) to ordained status as permanent deacons as well.
See also
Presbyter and Minister – the office and title, respectively, used in British Methodism for its elders
Fahlbusch, Erwin (1999). The Encyclopedia of Christianity. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. p.111. ISBN9789004116955. Methodist Churches of the North American pattern that goes back to the Methodist Episcopal Church (founded in 1784) have historically maintained a threefold ministry of deacons, elders, and bishops, although such early American Methodist leaders as Francis Asbury maintained that the episcopacy was not a distinct order of ministry but a higher status of elders. The African Methodist Episcopal Church, the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, and the United Methodist Church all follow this pattern of episcopal leadership.