The Old Apostolic Church is a Christian Religious community which has its roots to the Catholic Apostolic Church and the New Apostolic Church. This practice of Christianity is called Irvingism and is different from Protestantism. Below given is the Hierarchy on which the Old Apostolic Church system functions.
- The Conference of Apostles: The leadership of the Old Apostolic Church is known as the Conference of Apostles. This is the body which takes care of all the temporal and spiritual matters related to the church. It consists of all the active as well as retired Apostles of the church. A chairman is elected for the conference for a period of two years by the other members of the conference.
- The Forum of Apostles: The Old Apostolic Church is divided into different districts in order to make the administration easy, and the Forum of Apostles appoint the Head of Administration for each state. He is not the regional leader and is only in-charge of taking care of district level matters and reports everything to the seniors. He is assisted by the District secretary, who are the Fourfold officers looking after the Christian religious welfare and social development of the allotted area.
- Apostle: The Apostle is responsible for taking care of a specific area known as the Apostleship. He has the authority to appoint Fourfold officer, Elders, Priests and under deacons in order to take care of the further work of the Church. He also has the right to remove his juniors from their position. He is the only authority who can conduct the sealing of the church.
- Fourfold Officers: The Fourfold Officers include the Overseer (Shepherd and Teacher), Evangelist and the Prophet. The overseers are further divided into several Elderships and all the Fourfold officers have an equal status and rank in the Church hierarchy.
- Elders: The Elder is one of the several congregations and consists of several priests and under deacons. The tasks of the Elder involve helping the sick with the oil and to pray for the quick recovery and good health of the sick. The elders serve as shepherds and teachers to the priests. Some Elders have responsibilities like Youth, Senior Citizens, Prophetic or Hospital Chaplaincy.
- Under Deacons: The Under Deacon sits with the priests during all the services and acts as a direct junior to the priest. He is responsible for organizing the weekly activities of the active Church members and takes care of the members who need assistance in the absence of the priest. He is also responsible for taking care of the new members of the church and providing them with required guidance.
- Other Offices: This is the lowest hierarchal position in the Old Apostolic Church. Brothers and Sisters are appointed in order to take care of special tasks. This is a procedure to prepare married couples to become officers of the church. Tasks under the other officers include being Sunday School Teachers, Doorkeepers, Choir Master, Treasurer or Auditor of the Church. This is the basic position to get while contributing to the Church.
This is the structure of Old Apostolic church Hierarchy. Also know about New Apostolic church Hierarchy.