Pastor

== Current usage ==
[[File:Strängnäs Cathedral interior.jpg|thumb|A Lutheran priest of the [[Church of Sweden]] prepares for the celebration of [[Mass (liturgy)|Mass]] in [[Strängnäs Cathedral]].]]

=== Catholicism ===
{{See also|Hierarchy of the Catholic Church}}
[[File:Priests rome.jpg|thumb| A [[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''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://aleteia.org/2021/04/25/why-are-some-catholic-priests-called-pastor/|title=Why are some Catholic priests called "pastor"?|website=Aleteia|date=25 April 2021 |accessdate=2023-04-14|archive-date=2023-04-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417205037/https://aleteia.org/2021/04/25/why-are-some-catholic-priests-called-pastor/|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Latin]] term used in the Code of Canon Law is ''parochus''.
{{blockquote|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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.intratext.com/IXT/ENG0017/_P1T.HTM|title=Code of Canon Law: text - IntraText CT|website=www.intratext.com|access-date=2024-02-24|archive-date=2021-01-31|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210131004630/http://www.intratext.com/IXT/ENG0017/_P1T.HTM|url-status=live}}</ref>}}

=== Lutheranism ===
The [[Church of Sweden]] has a threefold ministry of bishop, priest, and deacon and those ordained to the presbyterate are referred to as priests.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-02-02 |title=Ministry and Ministries |url=https://www.svenskakyrkan.se/ministry-and-ministries |access-date=2024-02-25 |website=www.svenskakyrkan.se |language=en}}</ref> In the [[Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland]], ordained presbyters are referred to by various publications, including Finnish ones, as pastors,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Parishes |url=https://evl.fi/en/the-church/organisation/parishes/ |access-date=2024-02-25 |website=Evl |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Women ordained for thirty years |url=https://evl.fi/en/current-issues/women-ordained-for-thirty-years/ |access-date=2024-02-25 |website=Evl |language=en-GB}}</ref> or priests.<ref name="Sequeira2021">{{cite web |last1=Sequeira |first1=Tahira |title=Gallery: Turku makes history with first female bishop |url=https://www.helsinkitimes.fi/finland/news-in-brief/18657-gallery-turku-makes-history-with-first-female-bishop.html |work=[[Helsinki Times]] |access-date=13 May 2021 |date=8 February 2021 |quote=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. |archive-date=27 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230327094618/https://www.helsinkitimes.fi/finland/news-in-brief/18657-gallery-turku-makes-history-with-first-female-bishop.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Doe2011">{{cite book|last=Doe|first=Norman|title=Law and Religion in Europe|date=4 August 2011|publisher=Oxford University Press|language=en|isbn=9780199604012|page=135|quote=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.}}</ref> In the United States, denominations like 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|Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)]], usually just uses pastor.

===Baptist===
[[File:Martin Luther King Jr NYWTS.jpg|thumb|Baptist pastor [[Martin Luther King Jr.]]]]
The term "pastor", in the majority of [[Baptist]] churches, is one of two offices within the church, [[deacon]] being the other, and is considered synonymous with "elder" or "bishop" (though in [[Reformed Baptist]] churches, elders are a separate office).<ref name="Pinson2010">{{cite web |last1=Pinson |first1=Wm M. |title=Two Church Officers: Pastors and Deacons |url=https://www.baptistdistinctives.org/resources/articles/two-church-officers-pastors-and-deacons/ |publisher=Baptist Distinctives |access-date=28 October 2019 |language=en |date=2010 |quote=Baptist polity through the years has affirmed two scriptural officers of a New Testament church, pastor and deacon. |archive-date=28 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191028125021/https://www.baptistdistinctives.org/resources/articles/two-church-officers-pastors-and-deacons/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>Erwin Fahlbusch, Geoffrey William Bromiley, ''The Encyclopedia of Christianity, Volume 4'', Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, USA, 2005, p. 64</ref>

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.<ref>Steven D. Brooks, ''Worship Quest: An Exploration of Worship Leadership'', Wipf and Stock Publishers, USA, 2015, p. 145</ref>

=== 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]].<ref name="StaffStaff2001">{{cite book|title=An Anglican-Methodist Covenant: Common Statement of the Formal Conversations Between the Methodist Church of Great Britain and the Church of England|year=2001|publisher=Church House Publishing|language=en |isbn=9781858522180|page=47|quote=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.}}</ref> 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|date=September 2020}}

=== Methodism ===
{{Main|Elder (Methodist)}}
[[File:MethodistPastorvestedwithpreachingbands.jpg|thumb|350px|A [[Methodism|Methodist]] pastor wearing a [[cassock]], vested with a [[surplice]] and [[stole (vestment)|stole]], with [[preaching bands]] attached to his [[clerical collar]]]]
[[United Methodist Church|United Methodists]] ordain to the office of deacon and elder, each of whom can use the title of pastor depending. United Methodists also use the title of pastor for non-ordained clergy who are licensed and appointed to serve a congregation as their pastor or associate pastor, often referred to as [[License to Preach (Methodist)|licensed local pastors]]. These pastors may be lay people, seminary students, or seminary graduates in the ordination process, and cannot exercise any functions of clergy outside the [[Charge (pastoral)|charge]] where they are appointed.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bomlibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Ministry-of-flyer_Local-Pastor_FNL.pdf|title=Ministry of Local Pastors|website=Higher Education and Ministry|publisher=General Board of Higher Education and Ministry, the United Methodist Church|last1=United Methodist Church|first1=General Board of Higher Education and Ministry|access-date=3 January 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170329060905/http://www.bomlibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Ministry-of-flyer_Local-Pastor_FNL.pdf|archive-date=29 March 2017}}</ref>

=== Reformed ===
The use of the term ''pastor'' to refer to the common [[Protestant]] title of modern times dates to the days of [[John Calvin]] and [[Huldrych Zwingli]]. Both men, and other [[Protestant Reformation|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 [[presbyter]]s. 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 [[Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)|Disciples of Christ]] and the [[Church of Christ|Churches of Christ]].