Moderator of Presbytery

Definition and Meaning

The moderator of presbytery (Korean nohoejang) is the person who represents a Presbyterian presbytery and presides over its meetings. A presbytery is a body in which ministers and representative elders from the churches of a given region meet to oversee and govern the church. It stands between the session and the General Assembly. The moderator convenes and conducts meetings and represents the presbytery externally.

In Presbyterian church polity, the moderator does not hold an office higher than that of minister. The position is understood as a charge (an assigned responsibility): a member of the presbytery is chosen to lead its meetings for a fixed term. When the term ends, the moderator returns to being an ordinary member.

Biblical and Historical Background

Presbyterians cite the Jerusalem Council of Acts 15 as the basis for representatives of several churches meeting together to decide church matters, and they regard "the presbytery" of 1 Timothy 4:14 as the biblical foundation for the presbytery. The one who presided over such a meeting was considered one of the elders, serving the assembly as a peer. In this respect the moderatorship differs from the episcopal system, which entrusts one person with continuing oversight.

Presbyteries first appeared in Korea with the organization of the Independent Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church of Korea (Chosŏn) in 1907. Its first moderator is reported to have been the missionary Samuel A. Moffett. After the General Assembly was organized in 1912, a structure in which multiple presbyteries were placed under the General Assembly became established.

Practice in the Korean Church

• Election and term: The moderator is elected by vote of the members at a stated meeting of the presbytery. The term is generally one year. Many presbyteries follow the custom of having the vice moderator succeed as the next moderator. The moderator is commonly chosen from among the minister members, with a separate elder serving as vice moderator. Detailed rules vary according to each denomination's church constitution and the bylaws of each presbytery.
• Duties: The moderator presides over presbytery meetings and carries out the presbytery's resolutions. The moderator also conducts or oversees services held by the presbytery, such as the ordination and installation of ministers, and represents the presbytery at events and in external affairs. Matters such as appointing an interim moderator of session or approving a call are decided by resolution of the presbytery, not by the moderator alone.
• Comparison with other denominations: The presbytery is a body distinctive to Presbyterianism. In the Korean Methodist Church, the district superintendent, who leads the district conference, holds a comparable position, but within the episcopal system that role carries greater administrative responsibility. Holiness churches such as the Korea Evangelical Holiness Church, along with some other denominations, have district conferences led by a district conference president.