Presiding Patriarch - The Community of Christ

The Community of Christ

In the major denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement, the role of the Presiding Patriarch diminished substantially after the death of Hyrum Smith. Today, the Community of Christ, formerly the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, ordains a Presiding Evangelist who plays an important role as a world church leader, but it is not required that the person be a descendant of Joseph Smith's family. That tradition was discontinued in 1958 when RLDS Church President W. Wallace Smith, a grandson of Joseph Smith, Jr., presented Roy Cheville as a successor to Elbert A. Smith. Unlike Elbert A. Smith, Cheville was not a descendant of Joseph Smith, Sr.. Prior to 1984 Presiding Patriarch and Presiding Evangelist were used interchangeably for the one presiding over the Order of Evangelists. In 1984, the Community of Christ dropped the use the name Presiding Evangelist for this role, along with the change of name of the local office of Evangelist-Patriarch to simply Evangelist. The current Presiding Evangelist of the Community of Christ is David R. Brock.