(Faculty of Theology, University of the Free State, 2013) Strauss, P. J.
This article concentrates on what the mandate or task of the church elder in the tradition of the church order of Dordt (DCO) is. It calls this tradition as being Calvinistic and Dordt orientated. It argues that the influence of John Calvin on the topic of the elder and it's mandate can be seen in the DCO and works through in the recent church orders of the Christian Reformed of North America and the Dutch Reformed Church. In essence the elder is seen as an office that governs the church through the Word of God. This is why the elder in the Calvinistic-Dordt tradition is a worthy and winning opponent of the Roman Catholic pope.