Leadership in the church takes many forms. Some are highly visible—like the rostered ministers—and some lead with very little public recognition. This series, which first appeared in Bethlehem Evangelical Lutheran Church’s weekly newsletter, gives an overview of many kinds of leaders in the church.
If you asked people to name a church leader, most would answer pastor. For many people, pastors are the most visible church leaders. In the churches that became the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, pastors were sometimes the only leaders people knew. Yet pastors were the last of the historic clergy (bishops, deacons, and pastors) to emerge.
Ministers of Word and Sacrament
Pastors are the presiding ministers of congregations. They are authorized by the church to preach the word of God and to administer the sacraments of Holy Baptism and Holy Communion. Because they are classified as clergy, they can also be authorized by the state to solemnize marriages. In our church, they also provide pastoral care to communities, are usually called on to preside at funerals, and, alongside deacons, are called to be advocates for those who are poor and oppressed.
Our church calls some pastors to exercise authority over a group of congregations and other pastors. We call these pastors bishops. Bishops are overseers and administrators of synods, geographical regions of many congregations. They are authorized by the church to do the same work as pastors and deacons, and are also authorized to ordain new deacons and pastors. They serve as both the chief pastor of all the congregations in their synod, and as administrators who tend to the day-to-day work of the ministries and programs in their territory.
In the early church, which spoke Greek, local leaders of churches were called presbyters, which means “elders” (presbyter is the source of the English word priest—some traditions, like ours, prefer the word pastor, from the Latin word for “shepherd”, instead), or bishops, which means “overseers/supervisors”. The origins of the offices of pastor and bishop are surprisingly murky; there doesn’t appear to be a distinction in the early church between “elders” and “overseers”, and different parts of the church organized themselves differently. The apostles (the primary twelve disciples of Jesus, and Paul) were the spiritual leaders of the nascent church, and in their missionary journeys they appointed new elders to stay and lead the new communities. Eventually, as the church grew, the distinction emerged between the elders who appointed others to represent them (bishops) and the elders who were appointed as representatives (presbyters), with the presbyters presiding over local communities and bishops presiding over a group of communities, “the church” of that area.
In the ELCA, pastors are usually called to preside over individual congregations or communities (though presiding over multiple congregations is becoming more common). Bishops are entrusted with the oversight of entire regions and the pastors, deacons, and congregations in their care.
Marks of Office
Ordained clergy have worn distinctive dress, both while serving in worship and while out serving their communities, for well over a thousand years.
Clerical Clothing
The clerical collar is the most common item of clergy clothing in our church. Sometimes a small white square tab, sometimes a full neckband, the combination is instantly recognizable in church and society. The shirt is usually black, but other colors are not unknown. Purple clergy shirts are traditionally reserved for bishops.
Less recognizable, especially in our church, is the cassock. This long black robe and sash originated in northern Europe and for centuries was the usual “street wear” for clergy. It’s not technically restricted to clergy; anyone can wear one, usually under a surplice when serving in worship. It too is not a sacred vestment.
Sacred Vestments
The basic sacred vestment for every baptized Christian is the alb, a white or neutral robe descended from the basic garment of the Roman Empire. Everyone serving in worship can wear this garment. It is often held in place with a cincture, a rope or sash belt the same color as the alb. In the early church, a newly baptized Christian was given a new, clean, white tunic to wear; for infants, the alb was tiny and embellished, becoming the modern “Christening gown”.
The surplice is a short version of the alb worn over a cassock. Everyone serving in worship can wear this garment. The cassock and surplice were traditionally worn for non-Holy Communion services, and the alb for services of Holy Communion.
Pastors and bishops add a stole, a long colored band of cloth worn around the neck and hanging down in front. The stole is the mark of ordination in the church, and worn this way indicates the clergy person is a minister of Word and Sacrament. An older tradition was for pastors (but not bishops) to cross their stoles over their chest when presiding over the Holy Communion. Today, almost all pastors join bishops in wearing the stole hanging straight down.
The last vestment worn by both pastors and bishops is the chasuble. This poncho-like garment is the sacred vestment appropriate to presiding at the Holy Communion, which is the only time it is used. It’s to a garment like this the writer of the second letter to Timothy probably refers when they ask for their “cloak” to be brought to them.
Two more symbols are specific to bishops. The first is the mitre, a pointed cap. It is descended from the caps and crowns worn by kings and emperors, and is a mark of the bishop’s authority. The second is the crozier, a staff shaped like a shepherd’s crook, which reminds the bishop that their primary call is to be a pastor, a shepherd, not a ruler.
Featured Image: A photo of pastors, bishops, and deacons at the installation of the Reverend Katherine Finegan (front row, fifth from right) as bishop of the Northern Great Lakes Synod in October 2014 at Saint Peter Cathedral in Marquette, MI.
Images of clerical clothing and vestments adapted from images created by Tom Lemmens, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
Living an Ecumenical Life 
One thought on “Leaders in the Church Part I: Pastors and Bishops”