CHRISTIAN DIFFERENCES
Church Government
Christians agree that churches need accountable leadership. They differ over bishops, elders, congregational authority, succession, and how local churches relate to one another.
Episcopal traditions organize through bishops; Presbyterian traditions govern through graded councils of elders; congregational traditions give substantial authority to the local congregation. Catholic and Orthodox structures add historic claims about bishops and apostolic succession. New Testament evidence includes apostles, elders/overseers, deacons and congregational participation, but traditions connect those pieces differently.