# Titles & ranks for the clergy, laity, religious orders and third orders.



## Earl of Ormonde (Sep 5, 2008)

Please add any to the list that are missing, regardless of Christian denomination

NOW, one thing I would like to know especially from the English, Socttish and American Protestants is which titles are used in your specific church. Personally I have no idea of the difference between parson, reverend, and minister. Are some of the Protestant titles synonymous?

Abbot
Acolyte (RC laity - since Pope Paul VI's motu proprio of 1972 acolyte is the same as subdeacon)
Apostolic Nuncio (commonly known as Papal Nuncio)
Archdeacon
Archbishop
Bishop
Bishop-vicar
Brother (I include this because nowadays Francisan priests are addressed as Brother not Father) 
Cardinal
Catechist (RC laity)
Chaplain
Curate
Deacon
Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion (RC laity)
Father
Father-prior
Lector (RC laity)
Metropolitan
Military Ordinary
Minister
Ministrant (same as an acolyte/subdeacon)
Moderator
Monsignor (Honorary title most usually used for the three ranks of Prelate of the Papal Household - Protonotary Apostolic, Honorary Prelate, and Chaplain of His Holiness ) 
Padre
Parochial vicar
Parson
Pastor
Patriarch
Patriarchal vicar
Personal Prelate (i.e. Head of Opus Dei)
Pope
Prefect Apostolic
Prelate
Presbyter
Priest
Prior
Rector
Reverend
Sexton
Subdeacon (RC laity - I am a Subdeacon a.k.a Acolyte)
Verger
Vicar
Vicar Apostolic


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## Fiddlermatt (Jul 3, 2013)

Speaking from experience in the Baptist church, most preachers eschew titles. In most of the Baptist churches the pastor is referred to as "Brother so-and-so." In occasions where formality is required the head pastor is usually referred to as Pastor so-and-so. As far as "reverend" goes, I don't really know. Most funeral homes use the term "reverend" when writing obituaries. I have obituaries from funerals I have preacher that say:
The Reverend Matthew Luce officiating.


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## Hitch (Apr 25, 2012)

Personally I have no idea of the difference between parson, reverend, and minister. Are some of the Protestant titles synonymous?

These three are nearly interchangeable ,parson is probably the rarest, minister/pastor the more common. Its probably more common in the US for a given minister/pastor to be a stand alone, that is unaffiliated, to a governing body of any distinction, than the UK and I assume most of Europe as well. However I believe a substantial majority of those using these titles have some theological training. The term 'reverend' certainly infers and usually does indicate more formal education, even then quite often this might mean two years at a 'Bible School' rather than seminary training.


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## Earl of Ormonde (Sep 5, 2008)

Thank you both.


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## Pentheos (Jun 30, 2008)

Surely you could suss this out on the internet -- and not on a men's fashion forum.


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## Earl of Ormonde (Sep 5, 2008)

Pentheos said:


> Surely you could suss this out on the internet -- and not on a men's fashion forum.


Really? Are you going to respond like that for every single non-clothing thread on THE INTERCHANGE? Which is where this is.

This is NOT the Fashion Forum. Pay attention and read what The Interchange is for i.e _"not about clothes"._ As for your wording "on the interent" well this is the internet. AAAC does not stand alone apart from the internet.

As for sussing things out, it isn't a case of that, it is a case of sharing knowledge and for discussing subjects, which not surprisingly is what discussion forums on the internet are for.

If you don't want to discuss, fine, but spare us such pointless responses.


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## phyrpowr (Aug 30, 2009)

In some denominations, "Reverend", or "Rt. Rev." is a technical term, denoting rank or responsibility, but used generically in most Protestant ones. The preacher might be addressed as parson (sort of old fashioned), brother, pastor, or reverend, or just "Mister"; as the minister or the preacher when referred to. In the Methodist church, our "deacons" were called "stewards", and compose the board of the local church for admin purposes, no ecclesiastical rank.


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## Earl of Ormonde (Sep 5, 2008)

Thanks for that, very helpful.


Now, apart from the obvious (Anglican, Lutheran) which of the other Protestant churches in the USA, England and Scotland are episcopalian?
I mean, I really have no idea if the Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians have Bishops or not.
Is it quite simply that some churches just have individual local preachers and no greater hierarchy than that?


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## phyrpowr (Aug 30, 2009)

Long time since I was churchgoing, but Methodists have bishops, and a state general council with, I think, a presiding bishop. We have an interesting tradition, that pastors are reassigned every four years. This comes from the old "circuit riding" tradition, where the small, scattered churches were served by a preacher who "rode the circuit (on horseback)" to cover several. I went once to the state assembly to help lobby for our pastor to stay on an extra year. His three children were spaced four years apart, and if he'd been reassigned as scheduled, they would have each spent three years at one high school, with their senior years at a new one. It was a bit of a struggle, but we got his exemption.


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## Fiddlermatt (Jul 3, 2013)

It varies from denomination to denomination. The word "Protestant" is very broad. You have everything from groups with heavy hierarchial influences to groups like Independent Baptist, which don't even belong to any association.


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## Earl of Ormonde (Sep 5, 2008)

True, Protestantism covers the true Protestant Churches that broke away from Rome in the 1500s and after, and the Reformed churches that were established even earlier, then there are Ecumenical churches, then the dissenting protestant churches that broke away from established protestant churches e.g. Quakers. However, whether the Anglican Church is Protestant is still a matter of dispute because the separation from Rome had nothing to do with theology per se and nothing to do with Luther's theses. As well as many churches that have some Christian theology but of a very different type to e.g Anglicanism or Catholicism - i.e. Unitarianism, Mormonism, Christian Science.


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## Tilton (Nov 27, 2011)

Fiddlermatt said:


> Speaking from experience in the Baptist church, most preachers eschew titles. In most of the Baptist churches the pastor is referred to as "Brother so-and-so." In occasions where formality is required the head pastor is usually referred to as Pastor so-and-so. As far as "reverend" goes, I don't really know. Most funeral homes use the term "reverend" when writing obituaries. I have obituaries from funerals I have preacher that say:
> The Reverend Matthew Luce officiating.


I think this is probably pretty regional - most Baptist preachers I've met go for something like "Reverend Mark" or, slightly less often "Pastor Mark," with "Brother Mark" being much less-often heard. Of course, my experience is also in a pretty limited geographic area.


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## Earl of Ormonde (Sep 5, 2008)

Tilton said:


> most Baptist preachers I've met go for something like "Reverend Mark" or, slightly less often "Pastor Mark," with "Brother Mark" being much less-often heard.


Well that's just dandy Tilton, just throw a spanner in the works why don't you and confuse me even more


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## Tilton (Nov 27, 2011)

Earl of Ormonde said:


> Well that's just dandy Tilton, just throw a spanner in the works why don't you and confuse me even more


I could be totally wrong, but having regularly attended Lutheran, Methodist, and Baptist churches at various points in my life, I have found that Baptists (and especially pentacostal Baptists [Christian, Assemblies of God, etc]) are far less formal and rigid in many aspects compared to Lutheran, Episcopal, and, regionally, Methodist churches. By that I am referring to titles, education, pastoral dress, ceremony, etc. You go to a Lutheran/Episcopal/etc service, and you usually have a pretty good chance that the man at the pulpit went to seminary/divinity school. On the other hand, I distinctly recall going to a rural Christian church where the preacher was a certified John Deere mechanic.


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## phyrpowr (Aug 30, 2009)

Tilton said:


> I could be totally wrong, but having regularly attended Lutheran, Methodist, and Baptist churches at various points in my life, I have found that Baptists (and especially pentacostal Baptists [Christian, Assemblies of God, etc]) are far less formal and rigid in many aspects compared to Lutheran, Episcopal, and, regionally, Methodist churches. By that I am referring to titles, education, pastoral dress, ceremony, etc. You go to a Lutheran/Episcopal/etc service, and you usually have a pretty good chance that the man at the pulpit went to seminary/divinity school. On the other hand, I distinctly recall going to a rural Christian church where the preacher was a certified John Deere mechanic.


Oh, yes, lots of little churches where there's a good chance the minister has a full time lay job, and after the service it wouldn't be unusual to hear him addressed as Pastor, Preacher, Reverend, Mister, Brother,_ and_ his first name.


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## Earl of Ormonde (Sep 5, 2008)

Tilton said:


> I could be totally wrong, but having regularly attended Lutheran, Methodist, and Baptist churches at various points in my life, I have found that Baptists (and especially pentacostal Baptists [Christian, Assemblies of God, etc]) are far less formal and rigid in many aspects compared to Lutheran, Episcopal, and, regionally, Methodist churches. By that I am referring to titles, education, pastoral dress, ceremony, etc. You go to a Lutheran/Episcopal/etc service, and you usually have a pretty good chance that the man at the pulpit went to seminary/divinity school. On the other hand, I distinctly recall going to a rural Christian church where the preacher was a certified John Deere mechanic.


Fascinating insight, thank you. I have long been aware of the fact that almost anyone can become a preacher in the US via purchase of titles from various companies (e.g. the "Reverend" Ian Paisley), but (apart from the Quakers) I didn't realise that lots of preachers in Protestant churches are laymen as opposed to fully trained clergy. Fascinating.


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## Canadian (Jan 17, 2008)

I'm studying for a theology degree. There are two schools of thought concerning people with an MTS or an M.Div.

An M.Div means you're actively seeking the priesthood. In that case, the term, Father or Padre is preferable. My priest holds some rank in the Anglican Church, so he is offically, the "Canon Reverend James XYZ". Some of the people at our church, call him James (as if his profession is no different from say, somebody with a philosophy degree). I prefer to call him Padre. My dad dislikes that term because he was an army officer and he ties that title to the service, which I do not have a legitimate claim to anything but being a Cadet (think ROTC). He prefers to call our priest "the Reverend" and "Father" despite his full title. In our Church, Padre is more old fashioned and Father more cosmopolitan.

My MTS is more casual. I likely will be called "Pastor" if I go start a church abroad, but I probably won't wear the clerical collar and quite likely will not be adressed as "Father" or "Padre". Just semantics, but it's like the difference between a Bio-Chem degree and a MD.

I just got back from a camping trip with a buddy who I met in church years ago. He went to an Anglican Church near his house and they had a woman pastor which is something he really disliked. He also disagreed with some of their theology coming from a more traditional church. I don't know what you would call a woman priest, but AFAIK there is no consensus. 

As for laymen we have a Thursday service where a layman leads the service, but he does not preach. Can. Rv. James XYZ's daughter preaches occasionally when she's home from school. She is studying the Classics. Theoretically, I as a person studying for church related service could be asked to give a sermon but that honour generally rests with somebody with a better religious background than I. I suspect that when this young lady preaches, her sermon is reviewed by the Padre before she speaks.


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## wdrazek (May 29, 2013)

Associate Pastors are common in US Catholic churches, they are Priests who are not Pastors (the head of the parish). We also have Pastoral Associates here who can function in a wide range of roles but who are not AFAIK ordained. The ones I have known do have MDivinity degrees, although that may or may not be a requirement. 

The Laity over here also have a Pastoral Council, which is an advisory lay council to the Pastor. There are Presidents, Vice Presidents and Commissioners of the Council.


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## Tilton (Nov 27, 2011)

Canadian said:


> I'm studying for a theology degree. There are two schools of thought concerning people with an MTS or an M.Div.
> 
> An M.Div means you're actively seeking the priesthood. In that case, the term, Father or Padre is preferable. My priest holds some rank in the Anglican Church, so he is offically, the "Canon Reverend James XYZ". Some of the people at our church, call him James (as if his profession is no different from say, somebody with a philosophy degree). I prefer to call him Padre. My dad dislikes that term because he was an army officer and he ties that title to the service, which I do not have a legitimate claim to anything but being a Cadet (think ROTC). He prefers to call our priest "the Reverend" and "Father" despite his full title. In our Church, Padre is more old fashioned and Father more cosmopolitan.
> 
> ...


Not always so with the M.Div in the US. I know several HDS and YDS graduates who never had any intention of entering the priesthood.


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## phyrpowr (Aug 30, 2009)

Earl of Ormonde said:


> Fascinating insight, thank you. I have long been aware of the fact that almost anyone can become a preacher in the US via purchase of titles from various companies (e.g. the "Reverend" Ian Paisley), but (apart from the Quakers) I didn't realise that lots of preachers in Protestant churches are laymen as opposed to fully trained clergy. Fascinating.


In many of these denominations, the minister *is* ordained, but not necessarily via a system of formal education. More, perhaps, an apprenticeship leading to official acceptance. I do not include the "mail order" or "internet" ordinations, but serious people.


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## Canadian (Jan 17, 2008)

Tilton said:


> Not always so with the M.Div in the US. I know several HDS and YDS graduates who never had any intention of entering the priesthood.


Tilton, you are correct. Many M.Div graduates go on to teach or apply their education elsewhere. I was urged not to get an M.Div as the Padre (who I talked to before I made the decision to pursue an MTS and who I see regularly) as he felt that Church would cease to be something I'd enjoy and be more of a 24/7 job. He enjoys it, but he has some escapes such as a loving wife and an excellent support. I on the other hand am single and would likely be starting with a small church somewhere isolating.


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## Earl of Ormonde (Sep 5, 2008)

Wonderful stuff chaps. As for Canon, I'd completely forgotten about that when writing my list, probably becasue I've never met a Canon or heard anyone being called Canon.


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## Tilton (Nov 27, 2011)

The YDS graduate I know did an official joint program for his M.Div and a JD at YLS - he claims he couldn't have gotten into YLS without already being an M.Div student there, but who really know. The M.Div from HDS did a non-official MBA/M.Div dual program with HDS and HBS with the intention of working for some sort of synod. Conversely, an MBA is an excellent and often-overlooked degree to have in ministry.


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