Presbyter (Greek πρεσβύτερος, : "elder" or "priest" in Christian usage) in the
New Testament refers to a leader in local Christian congregations, presbyter referring to ordinary elders and episkopos referring exclusively to the office of
bishop. In modern Catholic and Orthodox usage, it is thus distinct from
bishop and synonymous with
priest. In mainline
Protestant usage, the term is however not seen as referring to a member of the priesthood and terms such as
minister,
pastor and
elder are used.