ruling elder

American  

noun

1. an elder in a Presbyterian church.

---

Etymology

Origin of ruling elder

First recorded in 1585–95

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ruling elder

Claire Louise Schoppe, a ruling elder commissioner, was one of the few delegates to speak against the measure.

From Washington Times ● Jul. 8, 2022

In 1691, brother William Powers, from Welford, was chosen to be a ruling elder.

From Memorials of the Independent Churches in Northamptonshire with biographical notices of their pastors, and some account of the puritan ministers who laboured in the county. by Coleman, Thomas

In the course of a short time he is visited by the parson and his home becomes a house of worship, where a church is organized and Henry Crittenden is ordained as its ruling elder.

From The Choctaw Freedmen and The Story of Oak Hill Industrial Academy by Flickinger, Robert Elliott

Distinguished from him that labors in the word and doctrine; this is plainly the ruling elder, and here is evidently the divine right of his office.

From The Divine Right of Church Government by Sundry Ministers Of Christ Within The City Of London by

This state of affairs brought down many a wrathful condemnation from the ruling elder upon the heads of the young minister and all his generation.

From Duncan Polite The Watchman of Glenoro by MacGregor, Mary Esther Miller