Pastor

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A pastor (abbreviated to "Pr" or "Ptr" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a

Oriental Orthodoxy and Anglicanism, pastors are always ordained. In Methodism, pastors may be either licensed
or ordained.

The

Old Catholic traditions maintain the latter view and affirm the doctrine of apostolic succession.[2][3]

These terms describe a leader (e.g., bishop), one who maintains a careful watch for the spiritual needs of all the members of the flock (i.e., a pastor). The person must meet scriptural qualifications (1 Timothy 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-9). For some Protestants, whether called an elder, bishop, or pastor, these terms describe the same service in the church. In the early Church, only a man could be a presbyter [citation needed], but many Protestant denominations in the 19th and 20th century have changed to allow women to be pastors. Whether man or woman, this person is to be older and experienced in the faith (i.e., an elder), a person who is a decision-maker, and a manager of church affairs.

The actual word pastor is derived from a

Latin word meaning shepherd.[4]

History

The word "pastor" derives from the

Latin noun pastor which means "shepherd" and is derived from the verb pascere – "to lead to pasture, set to grazing, cause to eat".[5] The term "pastor" also relates to the role of elder within the New Testament, and is synonymous with the biblical understanding of minister
. The term Pastor, Shepherd, and Elder are all the same position. The term "Senior Pastor" does not exist in scripture, but - in multi-staffed churches - is commonly used to denote the pastor who does the preaching. Many Protestant churches call their ministers "pastors".

Present-day usage of the word is rooted in the Biblical metaphor of shepherding. The Hebrew Bible (or Old Testament) uses the Hebrew word רעה (roʿeh), which is used as a noun as in "shepherd", and as a verb as in "to tend a flock."[6] It occurs 173 times in 144 Old Testament verses and relates to the literal feeding of sheep, as in Genesis 29:7. In Jeremiah 23:4, both meanings are used (ro'im is used for "shepherds" and yir'um for "shall feed them"), "And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the LORD." (KJV).

Christ's Charge to Peter by Raphael, 1515. In telling Peter to feed his sheep, Christ appointed him as a pastor.

English-language translations of the New Testament usually render the Greek noun ποιμήν (poimēn) as "shepherd" and the Greek verb ποιμαίνω (poimainō) as "feed". The two words occur a total of 29 times in the New Testament, most frequently referring to Jesus. For example, Jesus called himself the "Good Shepherd" in John 10:11. The same words in the familiar Christmas story (Luke 2) refer to literal shepherds.

In five New Testament passages though, the words relate to members of the church:

  1. John 21:16 - Jesus told Peter: "Feed My sheep"
  2. Acts 20:28, he tells them that the Holy Spirit
    has made them overseers, and they are to feed the church of God.
  3. 1 Corinthians 9
    :7 - Paul says, of himself and the apostles: "who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock?"
  4. Ephesians 4:11
    - Paul wrote "And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;"
  5. 2
    - Peter tells the elders among his readers that they are to, "Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof"

crosier in the form of a stylised shepherd
's crook as a symbol of their pastoral/shepherding functions.

Historical usage

Around 400 AD, Saint

African Catholic bishop, described a pastor's job:

Disturbers are to be rebuked, the low-spirited to be encouraged, the infirm to be supported, objectors confuted, the treacherous guarded against, the unskilled taught, the lazy aroused, the contentious restrained, the haughty repressed, litigants pacified, the poor relieved, the oppressed liberated, the good approved, the evil borne with, and all are to be loved.[7]

Current usage

A Lutheran priest of the Church of Sweden prepares for the celebration of Mass in Strängnäs Cathedral.

Catholicism

See also: Hierarchy of the Catholic Church
Catholic priest
in Rome

In the United States, the term pastor is used by Catholics for what in other English-speaking countries is called a parish priest.[8] The Latin term used in the Code of Canon Law is parochus.

The parish priest is the proper clergyman in charge of the congregation of the parish entrusted to him. He exercises the pastoral care of the community entrusted to him under the authority of the diocesan bishop, whose ministry of Christ he is called to share, so that for this community he may carry out the offices of teaching, sanctifying and ruling with the cooperation of other priests or deacons and with the assistance of lay members of Christ's faithful, in accordance with the law.[9]

Lutheranism

The

Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod, use the terms reverend and pastor interchangeably for ordained members of the clergy, and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)
, usually just uses pastor.

Baptist

Baptist pastor Martin Luther King Jr.

The term "pastor", in the majority of

Reformed Baptist churches, elders are a separate office).[15][16]

In larger churches with many staff members, "Senior Pastor" commonly refers to the person who gives the sermons the majority of the time, with other persons having titles relating to their duties, for example "Worship Pastor" for the person leading singing.[17]

Anglicanism

Ordained presbyters are called priests in the Church of England, as in all other ecclesiastical provinces of the Anglican Communion, and use the title the Reverend if they are Low church and Father or Mother if they are High church.[18] Those leaders who are not ordained, but have a license from their Bishop, are increasingly using the title Pastor, as well as those office holders who are communicants within the Anglican Communion and participate in lay ministry where a license is not required.[citation needed]

Methodism

Main article: Elder (Methodist)
preaching bands attached to his clerical collar

charge where they are appointed.[19]

Reformed

The use of the term pastor to refer to the common

Reformers, seem to have revived the term to replace the Roman Catholic priest in the minds of their followers. The pastor was considered to have a role separate from the board of presbyters
. A "pastor" may be either ordained or commissioned, depending on the methods used to appoint a person into the role, with either way resulting in the same authority and responsibilities to provide shepherding and grace to a congregation.

Restorationist

Some groups today view the pastor, bishop, and elder as synonymous terms or offices; many who do are descended from the Restoration Movement in America during the 19th century, such as the Disciples of Christ and the Churches of Christ.

Other religions

Other religions have started to use the term pastor for their own ordained leader of a congregation such as "Buddhist pastor".[20][21]

Junior roles

An assistant or associate pastor is a person who assists the pastor in a Christian church. The qualifications, responsibilities and duties vary depending on church and denomination.

In many churches, an assistant pastor is a pastor-in-training, or are awaiting full

Roman Catholic
parishes, the duties of an assistant pastor can be broken up into duties performed by deacons and non-ordained lay people.

See also

Notes

  1. ISBN 978-0-8254-9332-4. Archived
    from the original on 2024-02-24. Retrieved 2024-02-24. The presbyterian model of church government formally acknowledges only two church offices--elder and deacon.
  2. ISBN 9780878086085. Archived
    from the original on 24 February 2024. Retrieved 24 February 2024. A number of large episcopal churches (e.g. United Methodist Church, USA) have maintained a succession over 200 years but are not concerned to claim that the succession goes back in unbroken line to the time of the first Apostles. Very many other major episcopal churches, however-Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Old Catholic, Anglican, Scandinavian Lutheran-do make this claim and contend that a bishop cannot have regular or valid orders unless he has been consecrated in this apostolic succession.
  3. ISBN 9780816069835. Archived
    from the original on 2024-02-24. Retrieved 2024-02-24. Among other Protestants that claim apostolic succession is the Moravian Church.
  4. ^ "pastor | Definition of pastor". Oxford Dictionary English. Archived from the original on September 26, 2016. Retrieved 2018-06-10.
  5. ^ "pastor". Online Etymology Dictionary. Archived from the original on 2017-03-16. Retrieved 2018-06-10.
  6. ^ "Genesis 1:1 (KJV)". Blue Letter Bible. Archived from the original on 2016-07-31. Retrieved 2018-06-10.
  7. ^ Sermon CCIX, cited in The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Practical Theology, Bonnie J. Miller-McLemore, John Wiley & Sons, Dec 27, 2011, p.271
  8. ^ "Why are some Catholic priests called "pastor"?". Aleteia. 25 April 2021. Archived from the original on 2023-04-17. Retrieved 2023-04-14.
  9. ^ "Code of Canon Law: text - IntraText CT". www.intratext.com. Archived from the original on 2021-01-31. Retrieved 2024-02-24.
  10. ^ "Ministry and Ministries". www.svenskakyrkan.se. 2023-02-02. Retrieved 2024-02-25.
  11. ^ "Parishes". Evl. Retrieved 2024-02-25.
  12. ^ "Women ordained for thirty years". Evl. Retrieved 2024-02-25.
  13. ^ Sequeira, Tahira (8 February 2021). "Gallery: Turku makes history with first female bishop". Helsinki Times. Archived from the original on 27 March 2023. Retrieved 13 May 2021. Leppänen also became the first woman from the Conservative Laestadian movement (a revival movement within the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland) to be ordained as a priest in 2012. The first female priests were ordained in Finland 32 years ago.
  14. ISBN 9780199604012
    . In Finland, a priest of the Lutheran church is forbidden to reveal a secret received in confession and in the course of pastoral counselling; a similar rule applies to Orthodox priests.
  15. ^ Pinson, Wm M. (2010). "Two Church Officers: Pastors and Deacons". Baptist Distinctives. Archived from the original on 28 October 2019. Retrieved 28 October 2019. Baptist polity through the years has affirmed two scriptural officers of a New Testament church, pastor and deacon.
  16. ^ Erwin Fahlbusch, Geoffrey William Bromiley, The Encyclopedia of Christianity, Volume 4, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, USA, 2005, p. 64
  17. ^ Steven D. Brooks, Worship Quest: An Exploration of Worship Leadership, Wipf and Stock Publishers, USA, 2015, p. 145
  18. ISBN 9781858522180
    . In the Church of England, the term priest is thought 1 D jL appropriate because those ordained to the presbyterate are related to the priesthood of Christ and to the priesthood of the whole Church in a particular way.
  19. ^ United Methodist Church, General Board of Higher Education and Ministry. "Ministry of Local Pastors" (PDF). Higher Education and Ministry. General Board of Higher Education and Ministry, the United Methodist Church. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 March 2017. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
  20. ^ "Buddhist Pastors Around The World". Tsem Rinpoche. 2017-02-08. Archived from the original on 2018-06-12. Retrieved 2018-06-10.
  21. ^ "I am a Pastor now… A Buddhist one | There's No Way But Up". www.davidlai.me. Archived from the original on 2018-06-12. Retrieved 2018-06-10.

References

External links

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