In modern times there are mainly three forms of
ecclesiastical government used by different Christian denominations around the
world.
CONGREGATIONAL
Most common in the new American Evangelical
Churches, Independent or Community Churches.
A single Pastor is in charge of a specific
congregation, who may be assisted by a local committee. They are elected by the
whole congregations and all major decisions must be presented and approved by
the whole Congregation in free elections.
The Biblical model is based on the example of Acts
6:2-3 when the Apostles asked the whole congregation to elect seven deacons to
help them in their catering duties.
PRESBYTERIAN
Use mainly by Reformed Churches were the government
is entrusted to a group of Elders of the local Church, either commissioned as
fultime ministers or not; and generally a delegation of them form a national
assembly that would manage the whole denomination on a national level.
The Biblical model is based on the accounts of Acts
14:23 and 15:4, 6 where a number of Elders were in charge of a congregation and
came together in council to solve problems and manage the whole church.
EPISCOPAL
The system used by all apostolic Churches, that is
Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Assyrians, Anglicans and
Episcopal Lutherans.
In this system, a whole geographical area is under
the management of a Bishop, who has under him a series of parishes or local
congregations under the control of one or two presbyters and Deacons.
Usually, a local number of dioceses under a Bishop
elect one of their own to represent the whole denomination on a larger scale,
and name him Archbishop or Metropolitan.
Roman Catholics and Orthodox have also variations
over this level not necessary to deal with at this moment.
The Biblical model is the accounts of Timothy and
Titus and 1 John 1:9, where a middle class of authority is found to be in
existence below the Apostles but above the Elders.
(Titus 1:5; 1Timothy 4:11)
WHICH
MODEL IS THE CORRECT MODEL
Since the Reformation, every Christian reformed
groups and their offshoots have claimed Biblical reason for their system of
government or have declared that the Scripture does not condone one in favour
of another, so that all models are correct and acceptable.
The Congregational and Presbyterian models shown in
the Scripture are only historical accounts of Christian communities’ government
during a period of evolution.
First only the Apostles managed the whole
congregation; then Deacons came into existence, and later groups of Elders who
stayed stationary in local communities to manage the day to day discipleship of
Christians while the Apostles moved from one country to another.
By the end of the First century, as the Apostles
slowly passed away, they took care to established persons in charge, with full
authority, to manage whole regions under the pastoral care of the Elders. This in time came to be known as Overseers or
Bishops, a name originally given to all Elders. Also, there were a few forms of
Presbyterian governments that slowly were taken over by this newly born
Episcopal system.
However, it seems to be the Episcopal System, the
one the Christian Church has used uninterrupted for 2000 years to this day.
Omar Flores.
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