presbyterate

[prez-bit-er-it, -uh-reyt, pres-]

noun

1. the office of a presbyter or elder.

2. a body of presbyters or elders.

presbyterate

/ prɛzˈbɪtərɪt, -ˌreɪt /

noun

1. the status or office of a presbyter

2. a group of presbyters

Word History and Origins

Origin of presbyterate¹

From the Medieval Latin word presbyterātus, dating back to 1635–45. See presbyter, -ate ³

Example Sentences

“It seems to us that ours is a depressed presbyterate, and has been developing as such for 12 years, due to the leadership of Bishop Stika,” they wrote, saying that the consequences included their own mental health struggles.

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“I know that, as a presbyterate in the midst of God’s people, you suffered greatly in the not-distant past by having to bear the shame of some of your brothers who harmed and scandalized the Church in the most vulnerable of her members,” according to a translation of his prepared remarks.

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The bishop, with his presbyterate and diaconate, fitted to him as the strings to a harp, in the words of St. Ignatius, this was the instrument by which our Lord chose to take hold of the world.

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Either Egypt or Syria would satisfy this condition, and in favour of Syria is the fact that the presbyterate there was to a late date regarded as a rank rather than an office.

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To the years of his presbyterate and episcopate belong the great mass of homilies and commentaries, among which those On the Statues, and on Matthew, Romans and Corinthians, stand out pre-eminently.

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