<P> "Elder" is an English translation of the Greek word Presbuteros (Greek: πρεσβύτερος), found in the New Testament . The word is also commonly transliterated as "presbyter". The office or "order" of presbyter is one of three orders of the traditional Christian priesthood, along with deacon and bishop . The founder of Methodism, John Wesley, in the ordination rite, supplanted the Book of Common Prayer's term "priest" for "elder", although the rest of the liturgy remained the same . </P> <P> The Discipline of the Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection states that: </P> <P> An elder is a preacher of the gospel, fully invested with all the functions of the Christian ministry . An elder is constituted such by election of the Connection, and by the laying on of the hands of some of the elders, and prayer . The president of the Connection shall lead the service unless the Connection orders otherwise and appoints some other person in his stead...It is the duty of an elder to preach the gospel, to administer baptism and the Lord's Supper, to perform all parts of divine worship, and to solemnize the rite of matrimony . </P> <P> The Book of Discipline of the Free Methodist Church states that: </P>

Difference between deacon and elder in methodist church