II.

Church Organization

The term Presbyterian is from the Greek presbyteros (“elder”), and church government by elders characterizes the organization of Presbyterian and Reformed churches. Both clergy and laity may be elders, and in most Presbyterian churches today, both men and women are elders.

Presbyterian church government is often called a “mixed” system of democratic and hierarchical elements, because the power is balanced between clergy and laity and between congregations and larger governing bodies of the church. Although the structure of Presbyterian church government varies, it usually consists of ascending church bodies, or courts. Each congregation is governed by a ruling body called a session, or consistory, composed of the pastor and the elders, who are elected representatives of the congregation. Congregations belong to a presbytery, or classis, which coordinates and governs the activities of congregations within a particular geographic area. The members of a presbytery include all the pastors and elected representative elders from each of the congregations.

The power to ordain ministers lies in the presbytery, in contrast to episcopal forms of church government, in which this is done by a bishop, and congregational church government, in which the congregation retains the power of ordination. In a larger sense, the presbytery serves as a communal bishop, exercising both pastoral and judicial responsibilities for its churches.

Presbyteries belong to synods, which are larger geographic units of the church, and a general assembly, or general synod, unites the entire church. At these levels as well, the church is governed by its elders—clergy and laity elected as representatives of the people.