Session (Presbyterian)

Definition and Meaning

The session is the deliberative body that governs an individual congregation (local church) in Presbyterianism. Presbyterianism follows a system of church polity in which church affairs are decided by councils rather than by individuals. In this system, the councils that govern and adjudicate church matters are called church courts (governing bodies), which ascend from the session to the presbytery and then to the general assembly. The session is the lowest of these levels.

The session consists of the senior pastor and the active elders elected by the congregation. The senior pastor serves as moderator of the session and presides over its meetings. A church that has installed elders and thus constituted a session is commonly called an "organized church," while a church that does not yet have a session is called an "unorganized church."

Biblical and Historical Background

As the basis for the office of elder, Presbyterians cite the record of the apostles appointing elders in every church (Acts 14:23; Titus 1:5) and the reference to "the elders that rule" (1 Timothy 5:17). The Presbyterian tradition sometimes distinguishes between pastors as "teaching elders" and lay elders as "ruling elders."

Historically, the governing body of ministers and elders that John Calvin established in Geneva (the Consistory) is regarded as the prototype of the session. The institution was later carried on in the kirk sessions of Scottish Presbyterianism and was eventually brought to Korea by missionaries.

Practice in the Korean Church

The church constitutions of the various Presbyterian denominations generally define the principal powers of the session as follows:

• Examining candidates for admission as catechumens, for baptism, and for confirmation, and overseeing church membership
• Administering worship and the sacraments, including the Lord's Supper
• Exercising church discipline over members (imposing and lifting censures)
• Conducting elections of officers such as elders and deacons, and convening the congregational meeting and the board of officers

In a church without a session, the pastor exercises the powers of the moderator of the session. For a church without a senior pastor, the presbytery appoints an interim moderator. Detailed regulations, such as the number of baptized members required before elders may be installed, vary by denomination.

Besides Presbyterian churches, some other denominations, such as the Korea Evangelical Holiness Church, also have sessions. The Korean Methodist Church likewise has a meeting called a "dang-hoe," but it is understood to be a local church meeting in which confirmed members participate, and it differs in character from the Presbyterian session. Denominations that follow congregational polity, such as the Baptists, decide major matters in a meeting of the entire congregation rather than through a session.

Within the Korean church, some hold that session-centered governance ensures church stability and responsible decision-making. Others criticize it for concentrating decision-making in the hands of a few, and the role of the session is frequently discussed in connection with hereditary pastoral succession and conflicts over the calling of pastors.