View source for District superintendent (Methodism)

{{Use American English|date = February 2019}}
{{Short description|Religious title}}
{{Use mdy dates|date = February 2019}}
A '''district superintendent''' ('''DS'''), also known as a '''presiding elder''', in many [[Methodist]] denominations, is a [[clergy|minister]] (specifically an elder) who serves in a [[supervisor]]y position over a geographic "district" of churches (varying in size) providing spiritual and administrative [[leadership]] to those churches and their pastors.
District superintendents were once called ''presiding elders'' and this is the term still employed in some Methodist [[Christian denomination|denominations]] such as the [[African Methodist Episcopal Church]], the [[African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church]], and the [[Christian Methodist Episcopal Church]].<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.amec3000.org/ | title = Church Global Directory|publisher = The African Methodist Episcopal Church|access-date = 2007-05-23}}</ref> In the 20th century, in the [[Methodist Episcopal Church]] (the forerunner of the [[United Methodist Church]]) and the [[Free Methodist Church]], the term ''district superintendent'' supplanted the former term.<ref name="Jr.Warrick2005">{{cite book|last1=Yrigoyen|first1=Charles Jr.|last2=Warrick|first2=Susan E.|title=Historical Dictionary of Methodism|date=16 March 2005|publisher=Scarecrow Press|language=English |isbn=9780810865464|page=246|quote=The officice of presiding elder, now called district superintendent in the UMC, was developed in the MEC as an extension of the superintending function of bishops.}}<!--|accessdate=18 August 2015--></ref>
== Denominational statements ==
===African Methodist Episcopal Church===
In the [[African Methodist Episcopal Church]], "Presiding Elders are ministers who have been ordained elders, who are appointed by the bishop to supervise the work of a given number of churches and ministers within an annual conference."<ref name="WrightHawkins1916">{{cite book|last1=Wright|first1=Richard Robert|last2=Hawkins|first2=John Russell|title=Centennial Encyclopaedia of the African Methodist Episcopal Church|url=https://archive.org/details/centennialencycl00wrig|year=1916|language=English |page=[https://archive.org/details/centennialencycl00wrig/page/354 354]}}</ref>
===Free Methodist Church===
The ''Book of Discipline'' of the [[Free Methodist Church]] says that "Bishops, together with superintendents, give oversight to the ordained ministry through appointment, guidance and discipline."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://fmcsc.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/FMC_Book-of-Discipline1.pdf|title=The Book of Discipline of the Free Methodist Church|year=2007|publisher=Free Methodist Church|language=English|access-date=18 August 2015|page=86|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150405043301/http://fmcsc.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/FMC_Book-of-Discipline1.pdf|archive-date=April 5, 2015}}</ref>
===Primitive Methodist Church===
The ''Book of Discipline'' of the [[Primitive Methodist Church]] states that "The District Superintendent is the highest authority within the District and is responsible for the harmony and unity within the district. He shall provide leadership and direction for denominational activities and policies within his area."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.primitivemethodistchurch.org/appendix19.html|title=Appendix Nineteen to the Discipline of the Primitive Methodist Church|language=English|access-date=18 August 2015}}</ref>
===United Methodist Church===
According to the ''[[Book of Discipline (United Methodist)|Book of Discipline]]'' of the [[United Methodist Church]] "The offices of ''[[bishop]]'' and ''district superintendent'' exist in The United Methodist Church as particular ministries. Bishops are elected and district superintendents are appointed from the group of [[Elder (Methodism)|elders]] who are ordained to be ministers of [[Holy Bible|Word]], [[Sacrament]], and [[Holy Orders#Methodist churches|Order]] and thereby participate in the ministry of Christ, in sharing a royal priesthood which has apostolic roots ([[First Epistle of Peter|I Peter]] 2:9; [[Gospel of John|John]] 21:15-17; [[Acts 20:28]]; [[First Epistle of Peter|I Peter]] 5:2-3; [[First Epistle to Timothy|I Timothy]] 3:1-7)."<ref name="Discipline 1">''The Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church 2008'': Chapter Three. The Superintendency. Section II. Offices of Bishop and District Superintendent - ¶ 402. ''Special Ministry, Not Separate Order''(retrieved 2 October 2009).</ref>
The length of office for a district superintendent in the UMC is usually up to six years but he may serve eight consecutive years.   She or he may serve no more than eight years in any consecutive eleven years and no more than fourteen years in her or his lifetime.<ref>''The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church 2008'', ¶418</ref>
== References ==
{{reflist}}
{{United Methodist Church}}
[[Category:United Methodist Church]]
[[Category:Methodist ecclesiastical offices]]