presbytery

/prez"bi ter'ee, pres"-/, n., pl. presbyteries.

1. a body of presbyters or elders.

2. (in Presbyterian churches) an ecclesiastical court consisting of all the ministers and one or two presbyters from each congregation in a district.

3. the churches under the jurisdiction of a presbytery.

4. the part of a church appropriated to the clergy.

5. Rom. Cath. Ch. a rectory.

[1375-1425; late ME presbetory, presbitory priests' bench, for LL presbyterium group of elders < Gk presbytérion. See PRESBYTER, -Y³]

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▪ cathedral architecture

      in Western architecture, that part of a cathedral or other large cruciform church that lies between the chancel, or choir, and the high altar, or sanctuary. As an element of a cruciform church (i.e., one laid out in the shape of a cross), the presbytery may be located geographically west of the sanctuary and east of the choir. This area, which is sometimes also called the presbyterium, can be occupied only by members of the clergy, those priests who participate in services within the sanctuary. The presbytery is often raised a few steps above or otherwise separated from the chancel, as in Winchester and Salisbury cathedrals in England, but it may also be combined with the chancel, as in the English cathedrals of Lincoln and York. The term is also used to describe the house of a priest.

▪ church government

      in church government, ruling body in Presbyterian churches that consists of the ministers and representative elders from congregations within a given district (see presbyterian).

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