From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Superintendent
is the title given to a person who is a leader of a
Christian denomination
at the regional or national level in some
Protestant
denominations.
Lutheran usage
[
edit
]
This title has been used in
Lutheranism
since 1527 for pastors leading a denomination at the regional level.
[1]
The office was similar to that of bishop, but instead of being
ordained
by the
archbishop
, the superintendent was appointed by the Crown. This new model of
ecclesiastical polity
was partly political, as the
Roman 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. Some
Lutheran
theologians
also considered the term less
Catholic
and therefore preferable to 'bishop'.
Presbyterian usage
[
edit
]
The
Presbyterian
Church of Scotland
's
First Book of Discipline
of 1560 provided for Scotland to be divided into ten dioceses with superintendents.
[2]
[3]
Methodist usage
[
edit
]
The term "Superintendent" is used for several varying positions in
Methodism
worldwide since 1784.
[4]
In the American sense, specifically within the
United Methodist Church
, the title is used not to refer to a minister who is equivalent to a
bishop
but to the supervisor of a district, which is a regional subdivision below an
episcopal area
(equivalent to a
diocese
). According to the
Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church
,
The offices of
bishop
and
district superintendent
exist in The United Methodist Church as particular ministries. Bishops are elected and district superintendents are appointed from the group of
elders
who are ordained to be ministers of
Word
,
Sacrament
, and
Order
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 the
British Methodist Church
and its offshoots, a Superintendent is a minister who serves in a supervisory position over a
Methodist Circuit
(a small group of churches to which ministers are appointed).
The term Superintendent evolved in Britain before the death of Methodist founder
John Wesley
and was a description of the responsibilities of some of his Assistants (a role which later evolved into what is now known as ordained
presbyteral
ministry).
[6]
Pentecostal usage
[
edit
]
In some
Pentecostal
denominations, the title is used, such as
Assemblies of God
since 1914, regionally and nationally.
[7]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Gunther Gassmann, Mark W. Oldenburg,
Historical Dictionary of Lutheranism
, Scarecrow Press, USA, 2011, p. 396
- ^
The First Book Of Discipline (1560) - The Fifth Head Concerning the Provisions for the Ministers, and for the Distribution of the Rents and Possessions Justly Pertaining to the Kirk - The Names of the Places of Residence, and Several Dioceses of the Superintendents
- ^
Kirk, James (1980). "The Polities of the Best Reformed Kirks': Scottish Achievements and English Aspirations in Church Government after the Reformation".
The Scottish Historical Review
.
59
(167 part 1): 30.
JSTOR
25529356
.
- ^
Charles Yrigoyen, Jr., Susan E. Warrick,
Historical Dictionary of Methodism
, Scarecrow Press, USA, 2013, p. 348
- ^
The Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church 2008
: Chapter Three. The Superintendency. Section II. Offices of Bishop and District Superintendent - ¶ 402.
Special Ministry, Not Separate Order
(retrieved 10 October 2014).
- ^
What is a Circuit Superintendent?
. The Methodist Conference. 2005.
- ^
Drew Blankman, Todd Augustine,
Pocket Dictionary of North American Denominations
, InterVarsity Press, USA, 2010, p. 21