Editing Holy orders (section)

=== Methodist churches ===
The American [[Methodist]] model is an episcopal system loosely based on the Anglican model, as the Methodist Church arose from the Anglican Church. It was first devised under the leadership of Bishops [[Thomas Coke (Methodist)|Thomas Coke]] and [[Francis Asbury]] of the [[Methodist Episcopal Church]] in the late 18th century. In this approach, an [[Elder (religious)|elder]] (or 'presbyter') is ordained to word (preaching and teaching), sacrament (administering Baptism and the Lord's Supper), order (administering the life of the church and, in the case of bishops, ordaining others for mission and ministry), and service. A [[deacon]] is a person ordained only to word and service.

In the [[United Methodist Church]], for instance, seminary graduates are examined and approved by the Conference Board of Ordained Ministry and then the Clergy Session. They are accepted as "probationary (provisional) members of the conference." The resident bishop may commission them to full-time ministry as "provisional" ministers. (Before 1996, the graduate was ordained as a transitional deacon at this point, a provisional role since eliminated. The order of deacon is now a separate and distinct clergy order in the United Methodist Church.) After serving the probationary period, of a minimum of two years, the probationer is then examined again and either continued on probation, discontinued altogether, or approved for ordination. Upon final approval by the Clergy Session of the Conference, the probationer becomes a full member of the Conference and is then ordained as an elder or deacon by the resident bishop. Those ordained as elders are members of the Order of Elders, and those ordained deacons are members of the Order of Deacons.

[[John Wesley]] appointed Thomas Coke (above mentioned as bishop) as 'Superintendent', his translation of the Greek ''episcopos'' ("overseer") – which is normally translated 'bishop' in English. The British Methodist Conference has two distinct orders of presbyter and deacon. It does not have bishops as a separate order of ministry. The [[British Methodist Church]] has more than 500 superintendents,{{citation needed|date=September 2019}} who are not a separate order of ministry but a role within the order of presbyters. The roles normally undertaken by bishops are expressed in ordaining presbyters and deacons by the annual Conference through its [[President of the Methodist Conference|president]] (or a past president); in confirmation by all presbyters; in local oversight by [[District Superintendent (Methodism)|superintendents]]; in regional oversight by chairs of Districts.