Licentiate (Kangdosa)

Definition and Meaning

A kangdosa (講道師) is literally "one who expounds the Way," that is, one who explains and teaches the word of Scripture. In Presbyterian churches, a candidate for the ministry who has completed divinity school becomes a kangdosa, or licentiate, upon passing the licentiate examination and receiving licensure (認許, formal recognition and authorization) from the presbytery. A licentiate is officially qualified to preach but has not yet been ordained as a pastor. For this reason, a licentiate does not administer the sacraments, such as baptism and the Lord's Supper, or pronounce the benediction.

Biblical and Historical Background

Scripture does not mention a distinct office called "licentiate." Presbyterians, however, cite passages such as "Lay hands suddenly on no man" (1 Timothy 5:22) and "Not a novice" (1 Timothy 3:6) as grounds for holding that a sufficient period of examination is necessary before a pastor is ordained.

Historically, the practice is connected to a custom in the Scottish and other Reformed traditions in which the presbytery first granted a candidate permission to preach, observed his ministry for a period, and then ordained him as a minister. In English such a person is commonly called a "licentiate." Presbyterian missionaries are said to have brought this system to Korea, where it subsequently became established in the church constitutions of the various denominations.

Practice in the Korean Church

A number of Presbyterian denominations, including the Presbyterian Church in Korea (Hapdong) and the Presbyterian Church in Korea (Kosin), ordain pastors through the following sequence:

• Graduation from divinity school.
• Passing the licentiate examination administered by the General Assembly.
• Licensure as a licentiate by the candidate's presbytery.
• A period of ministry in a church. The length varies according to each denomination's constitution but is usually one year or more.
• Passing the ordination examination and receiving ordination.

Licentiates serve under the oversight of the presbytery and, in local congregations, often take on preaching, teaching, and pastoral visitation, much like an evangelist (jeondosa). Church members commonly address them by the title "Kangdosa-nim." At the close of a worship service, licentiates generally conclude with the Lord's Prayer rather than the benediction.

Not every denomination, however, includes a licentiate stage. Even among Presbyterians, some denominations ordain candidates after divinity school graduation and the ordination examination without this intermediate step, and both the title and the duration of the stage differ from one denomination to another. Methodist, Holiness, and other churches do not use the title "licentiate"; instead, they ordain pastors after separate training processes conducted at the level of the annual conference or district conference.