Clergy & Priesthood

Amish congregations are led by male bishops, ministers, and deacons, all selected by lot from baptized male members nominated by the congregation. This is understood as a form of divine election — God choosing through the lot — rather than as human appointment or self-promotion. No one is paid for ministry; all leaders are bivocational farmers or tradesmen who serve the church without salary.

Women do not hold leadership offices in Amish churches. This is consistent with the Amish reading of 1 Timothy 2 and with their inherited Anabaptist pattern, though it contrasts with the more progressive Mennonite bodies that ordain women. The Amish conception of headship and order is inseparable from their broader theology of Gelassenheit — every person yielding to their place in the divine order.