board of elders
Senior advisory group
A board of elders is a governing body in certain churches and religious organizations, composed of senior members who oversee spiritual matters, church discipline, and congregational affairs.
The structure appears in Presbyterian and many evangelical Protestant churches, where elders share authority rather than vesting it in a single leader: The board of elders voted to hire a new pastor.
- councilAdvisory deliberative group
- congregationAssembled group of worshippers
- presbyteryClergy dwelling or sanctuary
- deaconsOrdained ministerial assistants
- lay leadersNon-ordained religious organizers
clergy · vestry · parish · governance · wisdom · collective wisdom · wise counsel · authority · church · house of worship · synod · assembly · oversight · ministers · trustees · session · leadership · spiritual guidance
board of eldersautocrat
Sole wielder of power
dictator · monarch · tyrant · despot · absolute ruler
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