Presbytory

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The council of elders and ministers that oversees a regional Presbyterian church ; the official house where a Presbyterian minister lives
2. An assembly of clergy and elders managing church affairs in Presbyterianism ; a manse or dwelling provided for a Presbyterian pastor
3. The administrative body governing a district of the Presbyterian church ; the residence occupied by a Presbyterian clergyman

Etymology: In the New Testament, the Greek word "presbyterion" meant a council of elders, from "presbyteros," "elder," which is also the source of "priest" through a separate line. Early Christian writers then used the same word for the body of church elders, and later for the part of a church where those elders sat, nearest the altar. That is the sense the English word kept. "Presbytory" is a rare variant of "presbytery," probably formed on the pattern of words ending in "-ory," such as "dormitory" and "lavatory," which come from Latin "-orium," a place for doing something. The "-ery" form in "presbytery" likely reflects the older French and Latin ending "-erium," so the two spellings reflect different routes into English. In Presbyterian churches, a presbytery is a regional assembly of ministers and elders that governs local congregations. The name for the church's governing body thus came from the same Greek word for a council of elders, and it still carries that sense of collective leadership.

Synonyms: presbytery