What is Ecclesiastical polity?
'''Ecclesiastical polity''' is the way a church runs. It says who the leaders are, like [[Pastor|pastors]] and [[Deacon|deacons]], and makes rules for them. There are some rules for the [[Congregation|local church]] and other rules for [[Christian denomination|groups of churches]]. [[Christian|Christians]] decide how the church should run based on what they think the church is ([[ecclesiology]]). There are three main ways: * [[Episcopalian|Episcopal]] - where [[Bishop|bishops]] are in charge pastors, and pastors are in charge of churches. * [[Presbyterianism|Presbyterian]] - where many pastors get together and make decisions for their churches. * [[Congregational church|Congregational]] - where local churches and their pastors make their own decisions. {{religion-stub}} [[Category:Christian theology]] [[Category:Church organization]]