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Ecclesiastical polity is the government of a church. There are local (congregational) forms of organization as well asdenominational. A church's polity may describe itsministerial offices or an authority structure between churches. Polity relates closely toecclesiology, thetheological study of the church.
Questions of church government were documented early on in the first chapters of theActs of the Apostles and "theological debate about the nature, location, and exercise of authority, in the church" has been ongoing ever since.[1] The first act recorded after theAscension of Jesus Christ was the election ofSaint Matthias as one of theTwelve Apostles, to replaceJudas Iscariot.
During theProtestant Reformation, reformers asserted that theNew Testament prescribed an ecclesiastical government different from the episcopal polity maintained by theCatholic Church, and consequently different Protestant bodies organized into different types of polities.[1] During this periodRichard Hooker wroteOf the Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity, the first volumes of which were published in 1594, to defend the polity of theChurch of England againstPuritan objections.[2] It is from the title of this work that the termecclesiastical polity may have originated.[citation needed] With respect toecclesiology, Hooker preferred the termpolity togovernment as the former term "containeth both [the] government and also whatsoever besides belongeth to the ordering of the Church in public."[3]
There are four general types of polity:episcopal,connexional,presbyterian, andcongregational.
Churches having episcopal polity are governed bybishops. The title bishop comes from the Greek wordepískopos, which translates asoverseer.[4] In the Catholic Church, bishops have authority over thediocese, which is both sacramental and political; as well as performingordinations,confirmations, andconsecrations, the bishop supervises theclergy of the diocese and represents the diocese both secularly and in the hierarchy of church governance.
Bishops may be subject to higher ranking bishops (variously calledarchbishops,metropolitans orpatriarchs, depending upon the tradition;see articleBishop) They also meet in councils orsynods. These synods, subject to precedency by higher ranking bishops, may govern the dioceses which are represented in the council, though thesynod may also be purely advisory. In episcopal polity,presbyter (elder) refers to apriest.
Churches governed by episcopacy do not simply adhere to achain of command. Instead, some authority may be held by synods and colleges of bishops, and other authority bylay andclerical councils. Patterns of authority are subject to a wide variety of historical rights and honours which may cut across simple lines of authority.
Episcopal polity is the predominant pattern inCatholic,Eastern Orthodox,Oriental Orthodox, andAnglican churches. It is common in someMethodist andLutheran churches, as well as amongst some of the African-AmericanPentecostal traditions such as theChurch of God in Christ and theFull Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship.[5]
ManyMethodist andWesleyan churches use a derivative of episcopalianism known as connexional polity.[6] It emphasizes essential interdependence through fellowship, consultation, government and oversight. Some Methodist churches havebishops, but those individuals are not nearly as powerful as in episcopal churches.[citation needed]
Connexionalism is sometimes identified as an organization, while other times as relationship or theological principle.[7] TheUnited Methodist Church definesconnection as the principle that "all leaders and congregations are connected in a network of loyalties and commitments that support, yet supersede, local concerns."[8]
A minority of Methodist denominations use another non-connexional form of government, such as theCongregational Methodist Church.
ManyReformed churches are governed by a hierarchy of councils (orcourts).[9] The lowest level council governs a single local church and is called thesession orconsistory;[10] its members are calledelders. Theminister of the church (sometimes referred to as ateaching elder) is a member of and presides over the session; lay representatives (ruling elders or, informally, just elders) are elected by the congregation. The session sends representatives[citation needed] to the next level higher council, called thepresbytery orclassis.[11] In some Presbyterian churches there are higher level councils (synods orgeneral assemblies). Each council has authority over its constituents, and the representatives at each level are expected to use their own judgment. For example, each session approves and installs its own elders, and each presbytery approves the ministers serving within its territory and the connections between those ministers and particular congregations. Hence higher level councils act as courts of appeal for church trials and disputes, and it is not uncommon to see rulings and decisions overturned.
Presbyterianpolity and the Presbyteriantradition are not identical. Continental reformed churches (e.g.Dutch) can also be described as presbyterian, with a few key differences. Continental churches that historically follow theChurch Order of Dordrecht (1618/1619) will, in general, consider their levels of government "broader" rather than "higher" courts.[12] Additionally, the reformed classis is a temporary, delegated body, so the minister is firstly a member of his congregation as opposed to the standing presbytery.
TheEpiscopal Church in the United States of America arguably contains a kind of lay presbyterian polity. Governance by bishops is paralleled by a system of deputies, who are lay and clerical representatives elected byparishes and, at the national level, by the dioceses. Legislation in thegeneral convention requires the separate consent of the bishops and of the deputies.
Congregational polity is historicallyreformed, like presbyterianism, but retains the autonomy (lit. self-rule) of the local church.Congregational churches dispense titles such as "Popes, Patriarchs, Cardinals, Arch-Bishops, Lord-Bishops, Arch-Deacons, Officials, Commissaries, and the like".[13] The congregation has its being without any ministers[14] and is enabled to elect and install its own officers.Ordination may involve officers of other churches, especially when the church participates in a localvicinage,association, or convention. Broader assemblies formed by delegates from congregationally governed churches (e.g. theSouthern Baptist Convention) do not have power to rule their constituents.
The number of offices in the church generally ranges from two (elder & deacon) to four (pastor, teacher, ruling elder & deacon) in congregational churches.[15]
Churches with congregational polity includeCongregationalists,Baptists,Quakers and much ofNon-denominational Christianity. Congregational polity is sometimes calledBaptist polity[citation needed] because of the relative prevalence of Baptists.
Historic statements of congregational polity include theCambridge Platform,Savoy Declaration,Saybrook Platform andSecond London Confession.
As a "self-governed voluntary institution",[citation needed] it could be considered a type of religiousanarchism.
Other religious organizations, for exampleSeventh-day Adventist,Jehovah's Witnesses,the Salvation Army, andthe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), are unique. Some have hierarchies similar to an episcopal polity, but may be more complex, with additional levels. Leaders are not always calledbishops, in some cases they have secular-like titles such aspresident oroverseer. The termbishop may be used to describe functionaries in minor leadership roles, such as a leader of an individual congregation; it may also be used as an honorific, particularly within theHoliness movement.
Although a church's polity determines its ministers and discipline, it need not affect relations with other Christian organizations. The unity of a church is an essentialdoctrine ofecclesiology, but because the divisions between churches presuppose the absence of mutual authority, internal polity does not directly answer how these divisions are treated.
For example, among churches of episcopal polity, different theories are expressed:
Aplurality of elders is considered desirable in some (esp. reformed) traditions, preferring two or more officers in the local church. This contrasts with singular models often found in Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Anglican churches, or the "pastor/president" system of someProtestant churches. This is commonly encouraged amongPresbyterians, somePentecostal churches,Churches of Christ, theDisciples of Christ,Baptists and thePlymouth Brethren. Advocates claim biblical precedent, citing thatNew Testament churches appear to all have had multiple elders.[16]
Conversely, one minister may serve in two roles. A pastor with two churches may be said to have a "dual charge". In the Church of England, two or more otherwise independentbenefices may be 'held inplurality' by a single priest.[17]
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