Antistes

Antistes (from Latin ante "before" and sto "stand") was from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century the title of the head of a church in the Reformed Churches in Switzerland.

The antistes was elected by the great council (the parliament) of the city and also held besides this office a pastorship of one of the main churches.

He presided over the synod, and over the theological examinations of candidates for the office of pastor.

His direct rights were very limited, but a man with high leadership capabilities like Zwingli or Bullinger could exert a great influence on the church in this office.

Antistites were an early form of bishops, and were also recorded in records about the Bona Dea Temple of the late Roman Republic and pre-Christian early Roman Empire.