A person who serves jointly as a presbyter (elder) with another person in a religious community.
From co- (together) + presbyter (from Greek presbyteros, elder), combining to mean joint elders. This ecclesiastical term developed in Christian churches with shared leadership structures.
Medieval and early Christian churches sometimes had two elders leading together for spiritual balance—kind of like having co-captains on a team, which explains why this word shows up in old church documents.
Church ordination historically restricted to men. 'Presbyter' derives from Greek presbuteros (elder), applied exclusively to male clergy in most traditions until recent decades.
Use 'co-ordained clergy member' or 'co-presbyter (any gender)' in modern contexts to reflect that ordained leadership now includes all genders.
["co-ordained minister","co-clergy member","co-pastoral leader"]
Women's ordination in many denominations (first legally in 1956 for some Protestant churches, 1994+ for Catholic discussion) represents reclamation of leadership roles historically denied.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.