Pastor

{{short description|Ordained leader of a Christian congregation}}
{{other}}
{{Christianity|expanded=Related}}
A '''pastor''' (abbreviated to "'''Pr'''" or "'''Ptr'''" (both singular), or "'''Ps'''" (plural)) is the leader of a [[Christianity|Christian]] congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In [[Lutheranism]], [[Catholicism]], [[Eastern Orthodoxy]], [[Oriental Orthodoxy]] and [[Anglicanism]], pastors are always [[Ordination|ordained]]. In [[Methodism]], pastors may be either [[License to Preach (Methodist)|licensed]] or ordained.

The [[New Testament]] typically uses the words "[[bishops]]" ([[Acts 20:28]]) and "[[presbyter]]" ([[1 Peter 5:1]]) to indicate the ordained leadership in early Christianity. Likewise, Peter instructs these particular servants to "act like [[Shepherd|shepherds]]" as they "oversee" the flock of God ([[1 Peter 5:2]]). The words "bishop" and "[[presbyter]]" were sometimes used in an interchangeable way, such as in [[Titus 1]]:5-6. However, there is ongoing dispute between [[branches of Christianity]] over whether there are two [[Holy orders|ordained classes]] (presbyters and [[deacons]]) or three (bishops, priests, and deacons). The first view is affirmed by the [[Presbyterian Church]].<ref name="Merkle2008">{{cite book |last1=Merkle |first1=Benjamin L. |title=40 Questions about Elders and Deacons |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_gwhxUVH3OAC&pg=PA84 |date=2008 |publisher=Kregel Academic |isbn=978-0-8254-9332-4 |page=84 |language=English |quote=The presbyterian model of church government formally acknowledges only two church offices--elder and deacon. |access-date=2024-02-24 |archive-date=2024-02-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240224085300/https://www.google.com/books/edition/40_Questions_about_Elders_and_Deacons/_gwhxUVH3OAC?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA84 |url-status=live }}</ref> On the other hand, Christians of the Roman Catholic, [[Assyrian Church of the East|Persian]], Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, [[Moravian Church|Moravian]], Scandinavian Lutheran, Anglican, and [[Old Catholic]] traditions maintain the latter view and affirm the doctrine of [[apostolic succession]].<ref name="GuidryCrossing2001">{{cite book|last1=Guidry|first1=Christopher R.|last2=Crossing|first2=Peter F.|title=World Christian Trends, AD 30-AD 2200: Interpreting the Annual Christian Megacensus|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IMRsJ1gnIYkC&pg=PA307|date=1 January 2001|publisher=William Carey Library|isbn=9780878086085|page=307|quote=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.|access-date=24 February 2024|archive-date=24 February 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240224085120/https://www.google.com/books/edition/World_Christian_Trends_Ad30_ad2200_hb/IMRsJ1gnIYkC?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA307|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Melton">{{cite book|last=Melton|first=J. Gordon|title=Encyclopedia of Protestantism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bW3sXBjnokkC&pg=PA91|year=2005|publisher=Infobase Publishing|isbn=9780816069835|page=91|quote=Among other Protestants that claim apostolic succession is the Moravian Church.|access-date=2024-02-24|archive-date=2024-02-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240224085301/https://www.google.com/books/edition/Encyclopedia_of_Protestantism/bW3sXBjnokkC?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA91|url-status=live}}</ref>

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|date=September 2023}}, 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 language|Latin]] word meaning shepherd.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/pastor|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160926144229/https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/pastor|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 26, 2016|title=pastor {{!}} Definition of pastor |website=Oxford Dictionary English|access-date=2018-06-10}}</ref>

==History==
The word "pastor" derives from the [[Latin language|Latin]] noun {{lang|la|pastor}} which means "[[shepherd]]" and is derived from the verb {{lang|la|pascere}} – "to lead to pasture, set to grazing, cause to eat".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=pastor&searchmode=none|title=pastor|website=Online Etymology Dictionary|language=en|access-date=2018-06-10|archive-date=2017-03-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170316120206/http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=pastor&searchmode=none|url-status=live}}</ref> The term "pastor" also relates to the role of [[elder (Christianity)|elder]] within the [[New Testament]], and is synonymous with the biblical understanding of [[Minister (Christianity)|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 [[Bible|Biblical]] metaphor of shepherding. The [[Hebrew Bible]] (or Old Testament) uses the [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] word {{lang|he|רעה|rtl=yes}} (''roʿeh''), which is used as a noun as in "shepherd", and as a verb as in "to tend a flock."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=H7462&t=KJV|title=Genesis 1:1 (KJV)|work=Blue Letter Bible|access-date=2018-06-10|language=en|archive-date=2016-07-31|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160731191102/https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=H7462|url-status=live}}</ref> It occurs 173 times in 144 Old Testament verses and relates to the literal feeding of sheep, as in [[Book of Genesis|Genesis]] 29:7. In [[Book of Jeremiah|Jeremiah]] [[Jeremiah 23|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." ([[King James Version|KJV]]).

[[File:V&A - Raphael, Christ's Charge to Peter (1515).jpg|thumb|''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 language|Greek]] noun {{lang|grc|ποιμήν}} (''poimēn'') as "shepherd" and the Greek verb {{lang|grc|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 [[Gospel of John|John]] 10:11.  The same words in the familiar [[Nativity of Jesus|Christmas]] story ([[Gospel of Luke|Luke]] 2) refer to literal shepherds.

In five New Testament passages though, the words relate to members of the church:
# [[Gospel of John|John]] [[John 21|21]]:16 - [[Restoration of Peter|Jesus told Peter]]: "Feed My sheep"
# [[Acts of the Apostles|Acts]] [[Acts 20|20]]:17 - the [[Paul of Tarsus|Apostle Paul]] summons the ''[[elder (Christianity)|elders]]'' of the church in [[Ephesus]] to give a last discourse to them; in [[Acts 20:28]], he tells them that the [[Holy Spirit]] has made them ''overseers'', and they are to ''feed'' the church of God.
# [[1 Corinthians 9]]:7 - Paul says, of himself and the apostles: "who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock?"
# [[Ephesians 4:11]] - Paul wrote "And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, <u>pastors</u> and teachers;"
# [[First Epistle of Peter|1 Peter]] [[1 Peter 5:1|5:1]]-[[1 Peter 5:2|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"

[[Bishop]]s of various denominations often bear a formal [[crosier]] in the form of a stylised [[shepherd]]'s crook as a symbol of their pastoral/shepherding functions.

== Historical usage ==
Around 400 AD, Saint [[Augustine of Hippo|Augustine]], a prominent [[Early African Church|African]] [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] [[bishop]], described a pastor's job: <blockquote>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.<ref>Sermon CCIX, cited in The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Practical Theology, Bonnie J. Miller-McLemore, John Wiley & Sons, Dec 27, 2011, p.271</ref></blockquote>

== 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]].

==Other religions==
Other religions have started to use the term ''pastor'' for their own ordained leader of a congregation such as "Buddhist pastor".<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/inspiration-worthy-words/buddhist-pastors-around-the-world.html|title=Buddhist Pastors Around The World|date=2017-02-08|work=Tsem Rinpoche|access-date=2018-06-10|language=en-US|archive-date=2018-06-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612163721/http://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/inspiration-worthy-words/buddhist-pastors-around-the-world.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.davidlai.me/2014/04/27/i-am-a-pastor-now-a-buddhist-one/|title=I am a Pastor now… A Buddhist one {{!}} There's No Way But Up|website=www.davidlai.me|access-date=2018-06-10|archive-date=2018-06-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612143525/http://www.davidlai.me/2014/04/27/i-am-a-pastor-now-a-buddhist-one/|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Junior roles ==
{{Unreferenced section|date=September 2022}}
An '''assistant''' or '''associate pastor''' is a person who assists the pastor in a [[Christianity|Christian]] [[Church (building)|church]]. The qualifications, responsibilities and duties vary depending on church and [[Christian denomination|denomination]].

In many churches, an assistant pastor is a pastor-in-training, or are awaiting full [[ordination]]. In many instances, they are granted limited powers and authority to act with, or in the absence of, the [[wiktionary:congregation|congregation]]'s pastor. Some churches that have outreach programs, such as hospital visitations, in-home programs, prison ministries, or multiple [[Chapel|chapels]], will appoint assistant pastors to perform duties while the Pastor is busy elsewhere. Some churches use the title ''brother'' or ''ordained brother'' in place of assistant pastor.  In larger [[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 ==
{{Portal|Christianity}}
{{Div col begin}}
* [[Clergy]]
* [[Dominie]]
* [[Ecclesiastical titles and styles]]
* [[Elder (Christianity)|Elder]]
* [[Herr Pastor]]
* [[Imam]]
* [[Minister of religion]]
* [[Murshid]]
* [[Pastoral care]]
* [[Pastoral counseling]]
* [[Pounding]]
* [[Preacher]]
* [[Priest]]
* [[Rabbi]]
{{div col end}}

== Notes ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== References ==
* {{cite book
 |author=Bercot, David W.
 |title=Will The Real Heretics Please Stand Up
 |isbn=0-924722-00-2
 |publisher=Scroll Publishing
 |year=1999
}}
* {{cite book
 | editor=Dowly, Tim
 |title=The History of Christianity
 |isbn=0-7459-1625-2
 |publisher=Lion Publishing
 |year=1977
 }}

== External links ==
{{commons category|Pastors}}
{{wiktionary}}
* [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11537b.htm NewAdvent.org], The Catholic Encyclopedia's entry on the term ''pastor''.
* [http://www.lifeway.com/menu/?id=200734 LifeWay.com] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110614104610/http://www.lifeway.com/menu/?id=200734 |date=2011-06-14 }}, Articles to help the pastor in the roles of preacher, missionary, leader, shepherd, and person.

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Christian clergy by type]]
[[Category:Christian religious occupations]]
[[Category:Ecclesiastical titles]]
[[Category:Local Christian church officials]]