Superintendent is the title given to a person who is a leader of aChristian denomination at the regional or national level in some Protestant denominations.
This title has been used inLutheranism since 1527 for pastors leading a denomination at the regional level.[1] The office was similar to that of bishop, but instead of beingordained by thearchbishop, the superintendent was appointed by the Crown. This new model ofecclesiastical polity was partly political, as theRoman Catholic bishops before the Reformation held considerable political power and often used it against the king. Superintendents' loyalty was supposed to lie with the head of the church, the monarch. Before 1918, some churches used even the titleGeneralsuperintendent in favour of bishop. In modern times some German Lutheran churches dismissed the title and returned to more ecclesiastical titles like Dean orregional bishop.
ThePresbyterianChurch of Scotland'sFirst Book of Discipline of 1560 provided for Scotland to be divided into ten dioceses with superintendents.[2][3]
The term "Superintendent" is used for several varying positions inMethodism worldwide since 1784.[4] In the American sense, specifically within theUnited Methodist Church, the title is used not to refer to a minister who is equivalent to abishop but to the supervisor of a district, which is a regional subdivision below anepiscopal area (equivalent to adiocese). According to theBook of Discipline of the United Methodist Church,
The offices ofbishop anddistrict superintendent exist in The United Methodist Church as particular ministries. Bishops are elected and district superintendents are appointed from the group ofelders who are ordained to be ministers ofWord,Sacrament, andOrder and thereby participate in the ministry of Christ, in sharing a royal priesthood which has apostolic roots (I Peter 2:9;John 21:15-17;Acts 20:28;I Peter 5:2-3;I Timothy 3:1-7).[5]
In theBritish Methodist Church and its offshoots, a Superintendent is a minister who serves in a supervisory position over aMethodist Circuit (a grouping of local churches to which ministers are appointed).
The term Superintendent evolved in Britain before the death of Methodist founderJohn Wesley and was a description of the responsibilities of some of his Assistants (a role which later evolved into what is now known as ordainedpresbyteral ministry).[6]
In somePentecostal denominations, the title is used, such asAssemblies of God since 1914, regionally and nationally.[7]
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