Bishop

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A bishop is an

The English term bishop derives from the Greek word ἐπίσκοπος, epískopos, meaning "overseer"; Greek was the language of the early Christian church.^[1] However, the term epískopos did not originate in Christianity. In Greek literature, the term had been used for several centuries before the advent of Christianity. It later transformed into the Latin episcopus, Old English biscop, Middle English bisshop and lastly bishop.^[2]

In the early Christian era the term was not always clearly distinguished from presbýteros (literally: "elder" or "senior", origin of the modern English word priest), but is used in the sense of the order or office of bishop, distinct from that of presbyter, in the writings attributed to Ignatius of Antioch (died c. 110).^[1]

History in Christianity

The earliest organization of the

In the

Early sources are unclear but various groups of Christian communities may have had the bishop surrounded by a group or college functioning as leaders of the local churches.[15]^[16] Eventually the head or "monarchic" bishop came to rule more clearly,^[17] and all local churches would eventually follow the example of the other churches and structure themselves after the model of the others with the one bishop in clearer charge,^[15] though the role of the body of presbyters remained important.^[17]

Eventually, as Christendom grew, bishops no longer directly served individual congregations. Instead, the metropolitan bishop (the bishop in a large city) appointed priests to minister each congregation, acting as the bishop's delegate.

Apostolic Fathers

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Around the end of the 1st century, the church's organization became clearer in historical documents.^{[citation needed]} In the works of the Apostolic Fathers, and Ignatius of Antioch in particular, the role of the episkopos, or bishop, became more important or, rather, already was very important and being clearly defined. While Ignatius of Antioch offers the earliest clear description of monarchial bishops (a single bishop over all house churches in a city)^[c] he is an advocate of monepiscopal structure rather than describing an accepted reality. To the bishops and house churches to which he writes, he offers strategies on how to pressure house churches who do not recognize the bishop into compliance. Other contemporary Christian writers do not describe monarchial bishops, either continuing to equate them with the presbyters or speaking of episkopoi (bishops, plural) in a city.

As the Church continued to expand, new churches in important cities gained their own bishop. Churches in the regions outside an important city were served by Chorbishop, an official rank of bishops. However, soon, presbyters and deacons were sent from the bishop of a city church. Gradually, priests replaced the chorbishops. Thus, in time, the bishop changed from being the leader of a single church confined to an urban area to being the leader of the churches of a given geographical area.

At the beginning of the 3rd century, Hippolytus of Rome describes another feature of the ministry of a bishop, which is that of the "Spiritum primatus sacerdotii habere potestatem dimittere peccata": the primate of sacrificial priesthood and the power to forgive sins.^[21]

Christian bishops and civil government

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The efficient organization of the

The most usual term for the geographic area of a bishop's authority and ministry, the

As well as being Archchancellors of the

In modern times, the principality of Andorra is headed by Co-Princes of Andorra, one of whom is the Bishop of Urgell and the other, the sitting President of France, an arrangement that began with the Paréage of Andorra (1278), and was ratified in the 1993 constitution of Andorra.^[22]

The

During the period of the

Christian churches

Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Lutheran and Anglican churches

Bishops form the leadership in the

The traditional role of a bishop is as pastor of a diocese (also called a bishopric, synod, eparchy or see), and so to serve as a "diocesan bishop", or "eparch" as it is called in many Eastern Christian churches. Dioceses vary considerably in size, geographically and population-wise. Some dioceses around the Mediterranean Sea which were Christianised early are rather compact, whereas dioceses in areas of rapid modern growth in Christian commitment—as in some parts of Sub-Saharan Africa, South America and the Far East—are much larger and more populous.

As well as traditional diocesan bishops, many churches have a well-developed structure of church leadership that involves a number of layers of authority and responsibility.

Archbishop

An archbishop is the bishop of an

archdiocese. This is usually a prestigious diocese with an important place in local church history. In the Catholic Church, the title is purely honorific and carries no extra jurisdiction, though most archbishops are also metropolitan bishops, as above, and are always awarded a pallium

. In most provinces of the Anglican Communion, however, an archbishop has metropolitical and primatial power.

Area bishop

Some Anglican suffragans are given the responsibility for a geographical area within the diocese (for example, the Bishop of Stepney is an area bishop within the Diocese of London).

Assistant bishop

Honorary assistant bishop, assisting bishop, or bishop emeritus: these titles are usually applied to retired bishops who are given a general licence to minister as episcopal pastors under a diocesan's oversight. The titles, in this meaning, are not used by the Catholic Church.

Auxiliary bishop

An auxiliary bishop is a full-time assistant to a diocesan bishop (the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox equivalent of an Anglican suffragan bishop). An auxiliary bishop is a titular bishop, and he is to be appointed as a

episcopal vicar of the diocese in which he serves.^[37]

Catholicos

Catholicoi are the heads of some of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Rite Catholic sui iuris churches (notably the Armenian), roughly similar to a Patriarch.

Chorbishop

A chorbishop is an official of a diocese in some Eastern Christian churches. Chorbishops are not generally ordained bishops – they are not given the sacrament of Holy Orders in that degree – but function as assistants to the diocesan bishop with certain honorary privileges.

Coadjutor bishop

A coadjutor bishop is an auxiliary bishop who is given almost equal authority in a diocese with the diocesan bishop, and the automatic right to succeed the incumbent diocesan bishop. The appointment of coadjutors is often seen as a means of providing for continuity of church leadership.

General bishop

A title and role in some churches, not associated with a diocese. In the Coptic Orthodox Church the episcopal ranks from highest to lowest are metropolitan archbishops, metropolitan bishops, diocesan bishops, bishops exarchs of the throne, suffragan bishops, auxiliary bishops, general bishops, and finally chorbishops. Bishops of the same category rank according to date of consecration.

Major archbishop

Major archbishops are the heads of some of the Eastern Catholic Churches. Their authority within their sui juris church is equal to that of a patriarch, but they receive fewer ceremonial honors.

Metropolitan bishop

A metropolitan bishop is an archbishop in charge of an

autonomous church when the number of adherents of that tradition are small. In the Latin Church

, metropolitans are always archbishops; in many Eastern churches, the title is "metropolitan", with some of these churches using "archbishop" as a separate office.

Patriarch

Patriarchs are the bishops who head certain ancient

Ancient Patriarchs (first three, and later five: Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem

—collectively referred to as the Pentarchy). Later, the heads of various national churches became Patriarchs, but they are ranked below the Pentarchy.

Te Pīhopa

The Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia uses — even in English language usage — this Māori language term for its tikanga Māori bishops.

Primate

A primate is usually the bishop of the oldest church of a nation. Sometimes this carries jurisdiction over metropolitan bishops, but usually it is purely honorific. The primate of the Scottish Episcopal Church is chosen from among the diocesan bishops, and, while retaining diocesan responsibility, is called Primus.

Presiding bishop or president bishop

These titles are often used for the head of a national Anglican church, but the title is not usually associated with a particular episcopal see like the title of a primate.

Suffragan bishop

A suffragan bishop is a bishop subordinate to a metropolitan. In the Catholic Church this term is applied to all non-metropolitan bishops (that is, diocesan bishops of dioceses within a metropolitan's province, and auxiliary bishops). In the Anglican Communion, the term applies to a bishop who is a full-time assistant to a diocesan bishop: the Bishop of Warwick is suffragan to the Bishop of Coventry (the diocesan), though both live in Coventry.

Supreme bishop

The

obispo maximo, or supreme bishop, of the Philippine Independent Church

is elected by the General Assembly of the church. He is the chief executive officer of the church. He also holds an important pastoral role, being the spiritual head and chief pastor of the church. He has precedence of honor and prominence of position among, and recognized to have primacy, over other bishops.

Titular bishop

A titular bishop is a bishop without a diocese. Rather, the bishop is head of a

Thyateira and Great Britain

).

In the Eastern liturgical tradition, a priest can celebrate the Divine Liturgy only with the blessing of a bishop. In Byzantine usage, an antimension signed by the bishop is kept on the altar partly as a reminder of whose altar it is and under whose omophorion the priest at a local parish is serving. In Syriac Church usage, a consecrated wooden block called a thabilitho is kept for the same reasons.

The bishop is the ordinary minister of the

The position of the Catholic Church is slightly different. Whilst it does recognise the validity of the orders of certain groups which separated from communion with Holy See (for instance, the ordinations of the Old Catholics in communion with Utrecht, as well as the Polish National Catholic Church - which received its orders directly from Utrecht, and was until recently part of that communion), Catholicism does not recognise the orders of any group whose teaching is at variance with what they consider the core tenets of Christianity; this is the case even though the clergy of the Independent Catholic groups may use the proper ordination ritual. There are also other reasons why the Holy See does not recognise the validity of the orders of the Independent clergy:

• They hold that the continuing practice among many Independent clergy of one person receiving multiple ordinations in order to secure apostolic succession, betrays an incorrect and mechanistic theology of ordination.
• They hold that the practice within Independent groups of ordaining women (such as within certain member communities of the Anglican Communion) demonstrates an understanding of priesthood that they vindicate is totally unacceptable to the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches as they believe that the Universal Church does not possess such authority; thus, they uphold that any ceremonies performed by these women should be considered being sacramentally invalid.^[51][52]
• The theology of male clergy within the Independent movement is also suspect according to the Catholics, as they presumably approve of the ordination of females, and may have even undergone an (invalid) ordination ceremony conducted by a woman.

Whilst members of the

There is a mutual recognition of the validity of orders amongst Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Old Catholic, Oriental Orthodox and Assyrian Church of the East churches.^[55]

Some provinces of the Anglican Communion have begun ordaining women as bishops in recent decades – for example, England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Cuba. The first woman to be consecrated a bishop within Anglicanism was Barbara Harris, who was ordained in the United States in 1989. In 2006, Katharine Jefferts Schori, the Episcopal Bishop of Nevada, became the first woman to become the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church.

Since going into ecumenical communion with their respective Anglican body, bishops in the ELCA or the ELCIC not only approve the "rostering" of all ordained pastors, diaconal ministers, and associates in ministry, but they serve as the principal celebrant of all pastoral ordination and installation ceremonies, diaconal consecration ceremonies, as well as serving as the "chief pastor" of the local synod, upholding the teachings of Martin Luther as well as the documentations of the Ninety-Five Theses and the Augsburg Confession. Unlike their counterparts in the United Methodist Church, ELCA and ELCIC synod bishops do not appoint pastors to local congregations (pastors, like their counterparts in the Episcopal Church, are called by local congregations). The presiding bishop of the ELCA and the national bishop of the ELCIC, the national bishops of their respective bodies, are elected for a single 6-year term and may be elected to an additional term.

Although ELCA agreed with the Episcopal Church to limit ordination to the bishop "ordinarily", ELCA pastor-ordinators are given permission to perform the rites in "extraordinary" circumstance. In practice, "extraordinary" circumstance have included disagreeing with Episcopalian views of the episcopate, and as a result, ELCA pastors ordained by other pastors are not permitted to be deployed to Episcopal Churches (they can, however, serve in

In the African Methodist Episcopal Church, "Bishops are the Chief Officers of the Connectional Organization. They are elected for life by a majority vote of the General Conference which meets every four years."^[60]

Christian Methodist Episcopal Church

In the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States, bishops are administrative superintendents of the church; they are elected by "delegate" votes for as many years deemed until the age of 74, then the bishop must retire. Among their duties, are responsibility for appointing clergy to serve local churches as pastor, for performing ordinations, and for safeguarding the doctrine and discipline of the church. The General Conference, a meeting every four years, has an equal number of clergy and lay delegates. In each Annual Conference, CME bishops serve for four-year terms. CME Church bishops may be male or female.

United Methodist Church

In the United Methodist Church (the largest branch of Methodism in the world) bishops serve as administrative and pastoral superintendents of the church. They are elected for life from among the

Leadership.—Spiritual and Temporal—

1. To lead and oversee the spiritual and temporal affairs of The United Methodist Church, which confesses Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, and particularly to lead the Church in its mission of witness and service in the world.
2. To travel through the connection at large as the Council of Bishops (¶ 526) to implement strategy for the concern of the Church.
3. To provide liaison and leadership in the quest for Christian unity in ministry, mission, and structure and in the search for strengthened relationships with other living faith communities.
4. To organize such Missions as shall have been authorized by the
   General Conference
   .
5. To promote and support the evangelistic vision of the whole Church.
6. To discharge such other duties as the Discipline may direct.

Presidential Duties.—1. To preside in the General, Jurisdictional, Central, and Annual Conferences. 2. To form the districts after consultation with the district superintendents and after the number of the same has been determined by vote of the Annual Conference. 3. To appoint the

district superintendents annually (¶¶ 517–518). 4. To consecrate bishops, to ordain elders and deacons, to consecrate diaconal ministers, to commission deaconesses

and home missionaries, and to see that the names of the persons commissioned and consecrated are entered on the journals of the conference and that proper credentials are furnished to these persons.

Working with Ministers.—1. To make and fix the appointments in the Annual Conferences, Provisional Annual Conferences, and Missions as the Discipline may direct (¶¶ 529–533).

2. To divide or to unite a circuit(s), stations(s), or mission(s) as judged necessary for missionary strategy and then to make appropriate appointments. 3. To read the appointments of deaconesses, diaconal ministers, lay persons in service under the World Division of the General Board of Global Ministries, and home missionaries. 4. To fix the Charge Conference membership of all ordained ministers appointed to ministries other than the local church in keeping with ¶443.3. 5. To transfer, upon the request of the receiving bishop, ministerial member(s) of one Annual Conference to another, provided said member(s) agrees to transfer; and to send immediately to the secretaries of both conferences involved, to the conference Boards of Ordained Ministry, and to the clearing house of the General Board of Pensions written notices of the transfer of members and of their standing in the course of study if they are undergraduates.[61]

In each Annual Conference, United Methodist bishops serve for four-year terms, and may serve up to three terms before either retirement or appointment to a new Conference. United Methodist bishops may be male or female, with Marjorie Matthews being the first woman to be consecrated a bishop in 1980.

The collegial expression of episcopal leadership in the United Methodist Church is known as the Council of Bishops. The Council of Bishops speaks to the church and through the church into the world and gives leadership in the quest for Christian unity and interreligious relationships.^[61] The Conference of Methodist Bishops includes the United Methodist Council of Bishops plus bishops from affiliated autonomous Methodist or United Churches.

John Wesley consecrated Thomas Coke a "General Superintendent", and directed that Francis Asbury also be consecrated for the United States of America in 1784, where the Methodist Episcopal Church first became a separate denomination apart from the Church of England. Coke soon returned to England, but Asbury was the primary builder of the new church. At first he did not call himself bishop, but eventually submitted to the usage by the denomination.

Notable bishops in United Methodist history include Coke, Asbury, Richard Whatcoat, Philip William Otterbein, Martin Boehm, Jacob Albright, John Seybert, Matthew Simpson, John S. Stamm, William Ragsdale Cannon, Marjorie Matthews, Leontine T. Kelly, William B. Oden, Ntambo Nkulu Ntanda, Joseph Sprague, William Henry Willimon, and Thomas Bickerton.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

In

At the global level, the presiding bishop oversees the temporal affairs (buildings, properties, commercial corporations, and so on) of the worldwide church, including the church's massive global humanitarian aid and social welfare programs. The presiding bishop has two counselors; the three together form the presiding bishopric.^[68] As opposed to ward bishoprics, where the counselors do not hold the office of bishop, all three men in the presiding bishopric hold the office of bishop, and thus the counselors, as with the presiding bishop, are formally referred to as "Bishop".^[69]

Irvingism

New Apostolic Church

The New Apostolic Church (NAC) knows three classes of ministries: Deacons, Priests and Apostles. The Apostles, who are all included in the apostolate with the Chief Apostle as head, are the highest ministries.

Of the several kinds of priest....ministries, the bishop is the highest. Nearly all bishops are set in line directly from the chief apostle. They support and help their superior apostle.

Pentecostalism

Church of God in Christ

In the Church of God in Christ (COGIC), the ecclesiastical structure is composed of large dioceses that are called "jurisdictions" within COGIC, each under the authority of a bishop, sometimes called "state bishops". They can either be made up of large geographical regions of churches or churches that are grouped and organized together as their own separate jurisdictions because of similar affiliations, regardless of geographical location or dispersion. Each state in the U.S. has at least one jurisdiction while others may have several more, and each jurisdiction is usually composed of between 30 and 100 churches. Each jurisdiction is then broken down into several districts, which are smaller groups of churches (either grouped by geographical situation or by similar affiliations) which are each under the authority of District Superintendents who answer to the authority of their jurisdictional/state bishop. There are currently over 170 jurisdictions in the United States, and over 30 jurisdictions in other countries. The bishops of each jurisdiction, according to the COGIC Manual, are considered to be the modern day equivalent in the church of the early apostles and overseers of the New Testament church, and as the highest ranking clergymen in the COGIC, they are tasked with the responsibilities of being the head overseers of all religious, civil, and economic ministries and protocol for the church denomination.^[70] They also have the authority to appoint and ordain local pastors, elders, ministers, and reverends within the denomination. The bishops of the COGIC denomination are all collectively called "The Board of Bishops".^[71] From the Board of Bishops, and the General Assembly of the COGIC, the body of the church composed of clergy and lay delegates that are responsible for making and enforcing the bylaws of the denomination, every four years, twelve bishops from the COGIC are elected as "The General Board" of the church, who work alongside the delegates of the General Assembly and Board of Bishops to provide administration over the denomination as the church's head executive leaders.^[72] One of twelve bishops of the General Board is also elected the "presiding bishop" of the church, and two others are appointed by the presiding bishop himself, as his first and second assistant presiding bishops.

Bishops in the Church of God in Christ usually wear black clergy suits which consist of a black suit blazer, black pants, a purple or scarlet clergy shirt and a white clerical collar, which is usually referred to as "Class B Civic attire". Bishops in COGIC also typically wear the Anglican Choir Dress style vestments of a long purple or scarlet chimere, cuffs, and tippet worn over a long white rochet, and a gold pectoral cross worn around the neck with the tippet. This is usually referred to as "Class A Ceremonial attire". The bishops of COGIC alternate between Class A Ceremonial attire and Class B Civic attire depending on the protocol of the religious services and other events they have to attend.^[71][70]

Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee)

In the polity of the Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee), the international leader is the presiding bishop, and the members of the executive committee are executive bishops. Collectively, they supervise and appoint national and state leaders across the world. Leaders of individual states and regions are administrative bishops, who have jurisdiction over local churches in their respective states and are vested with appointment authority for local pastorates. All ministers are credentialed at one of three levels of licensure, the most senior of which is the rank of ordained bishop. To be eligible to serve in state, national, or international positions of authority, a minister must hold the rank of ordained bishop.

Pentecostal Church of God

In 2002, the general convention of the Pentecostal Church of God came to a consensus to change the title of their overseer from general superintendent to bishop. The change was brought on because internationally, the term bishop is more commonly related to religious leaders than the previous title.

The title bishop is used for both the general (international leader) and the district (state) leaders. The title is sometimes used in conjunction with the previous, thus becoming general (district) superintendent/bishop.

Seventh-day Adventists

According to the Seventh-day Adventist understanding of the doctrine of the church:

"The "elders" (Greek, presbuteros) or "bishops" (episkopos) were the most important officers of the church. The term elder means older one, implying dignity and respect. His position was similar to that of the one who had supervision of the synagogue. The term bishop means "overseer". Paul used these terms interchangeably, equating elders with overseers or bishops (Acts 20:17,

"Those who held this position supervised the newly formed churches. Elder referred to the status or rank of the office, while bishop denoted the duty or responsibility of the office—"overseer". Since the apostles also called themselves elders (1 Peter 5:1; 2 John 1; 3 John 1), it is apparent that there were both local elders and itinerant elders, or elders at large. But both kinds of elder functioned as shepherds of the congregations.^[73]"

The above understanding is part of the basis of Adventist organizational structure. The world wide Seventh-day Adventist church is organized into local districts, conferences or missions, union conferences or union missions, divisions, and finally at the top is the general conference. At each level (with exception to the local districts), there is an elder who is elected president and a group of elders who serve on the executive committee with the elected president. Those who have been elected president would in effect be the "bishop" while never actually carrying the title or ordained as such because the term is usually associated with the episcopal style of church governance most often found in Catholic, Anglican, Methodist and some Pentecostal/Charismatic circles.

Others

Some Baptists also have begun taking on the title of bishop.^[74] In some smaller Protestant denominations and independent churches, the term bishop is used in the same way as pastor, to refer to the leader of the local congregation, and may be male or female. This usage is especially common in African-American churches in the US.

In the Church of Scotland, which has a Presbyterian church structure, the word "bishop" refers to an ordained person, usually a normal parish minister, who has temporary oversight of a trainee minister. In the Presbyterian Church (USA), the term bishop is an expressive name for a Minister of Word and Sacrament who serves a congregation and exercises "the oversight of the flock of Christ."^[75] The term is traceable to the 1789 Form of Government of the PC (USA) and the Presbyterian understanding of the pastoral office.^[76]

While not considered orthodox Christian, the Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica uses roles and titles derived from Christianity for its clerical hierarchy, including bishops who have much the same authority and responsibilities as in Catholicism.

The

Jehovah's Witnesses do not use the title 'Bishop' within their organizational structure, but appoint elders to be overseers (to fulfill the role of oversight) within their congregations.^[77]

The Batak Christian Protestant Church of Indonesia, the most prominent Protestant denomination in Indonesia, uses the term Ephorus instead of bishop.^[78]

In the Vietnamese syncretist religion of Caodaism, bishops (giáo sư) comprise the fifth of nine hierarchical levels, and are responsible for spiritual and temporal education as well as record-keeping and ceremonies in their parishes. At any one time there are seventy-two bishops. Their authority is described in Section I of the text Tân Luật (revealed through seances in December 1926). Caodai bishops wear robes and headgear of embroidered silk depicting the Divine Eye and the Eight Trigrams. (The color varies according to branch.) This is the full ceremonial dress; the simple version consists of a seven-layered turban.

Dress and insignia in Christianity

Traditionally, a number of items are associated with the office of a bishop, most notably the mitre and the

In the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church, the

Anglican bishops generally make use of the mitre, crosier, ecclesiastical ring, purple cassock, purple zucchetto, and pectoral cross. However, the traditional choir dress of Anglican bishops retains its late mediaeval form, and looks quite different from that of their Catholic counterparts; it consists of a long rochet which is worn with a chimere.

In the

In Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Lutheran and Anglican cathedrals there is a special chair set aside for the exclusive use of the bishop. This is the bishop's cathedra and is often called the throne. In some Christian denominations, for example, the Anglican Communion, parish churches may maintain a chair for the use of the bishop when he visits; this is to signify the parish's union with the bishop.

• 
  Byzantine Rite Catholic bishops celebrating Divine Liturgy in their proper pontifical vestments
• 
  An Anglican bishop with a crosier, wearing a rochet under a red chimere and cuffs, a black tippet, and a pectoral cross
• 
  An Episcopal bishop immediately before presiding at the Great Vigil of Easter in the narthex of St. Michael's Episcopal Cathedral in Boise, Idaho.
• 
  An Ephorus of the

  Geneva gown

The term's use in non-Christian religions

Buddhism

The leader of the

Between 1899 and 1944, the BCA held the name Buddhist Mission of North America. The leader of the Buddhist Mission of North America was called kantoku (superintendent/director) between 1899 and 1918. In 1918 the kantoku was promoted to bishop (sochō).[88]^[89][90] However, according to George J. Tanabe, the title "bishop" was in practice already used by Hawaiian Shin Buddhists (in Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii) even when the official title was kantoku.^[91]

Bishops are also present in other Japanese Buddhist organizations.

Tenrikyo is a Japanese New Religion with influences from both Shinto and Buddhism.^[97] The leader of the Tenrikyo North American Mission has the title of bishop.^[97][98]

See also

Notes

References

Citations

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    . He continued as president and archbishop during the turbulent 1960s and 1970s, when Greek and Turkish Cypriots clashed over what Turks viewed as Greek efforts to disenfranchise them, and the governments of both Greece and Turkey intervened in Cypriot affairs.
35. ^ Crampton, Dave (30 April 2001). "Church Vs State Issues Raised In Oz GG Appointment". www.scoop.co.nz. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
36. ^ "A churchman cannot serve two masters". The Sydney Morning Herald. 4 June 2003. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
37. ^ "Canon 406". Code of Canon Law. The Holy See. 1983. Retrieved 15 June 2009.
38. Evangelical Lutheran Church of Sweden
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39. ISBN 978-0-8401-2821-8
    . This same archbishop compiled a code of the statues of his diocese, from which we may learn much as to the administration of the sacraments customary in Sweden. The three forms just named were to be taught to children by their parents and god-parents. Children of seven years old and upwards were to be confirmed by the bishop fasting—the implication that if they were confirmed at an earlier age they need not fast. No one was to be confirmed more than once, and parents were frequently to remind their children by whom and where they were confirmed. Bishops might change names in confirmation, and no one is to be admitted to minor orders without confirmation.
40. ^ Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1313 Archived 27 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine
41. ISBN 9783631609453
    . Having said that, Lutheran bishops in Sweden or Finland, which retained apostolic succession, or other parts of the world, such as Africa or Asia, which gained it from Scandinavia, could easily be engaged to do something similar in Australia, as has been done in the United States, without reliance on Anglicans.
42. ^ Walter Obare. "Choose Life!". Concordia Theological Seminary.
43. ISBN 978-1-4934-1023-1
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44. ISBN 978-0664224165
    . In Sweden the apostolic succession was preserved because the Catholic bishops were allowed to stay in office, but they had to approve changes in the ceremonies.
45. ^ "Catholic News Service". Archived from the original on 8 March 2006. Retrieved 19 October 2008.
46. ^ "Catholic News Service". Archived from the original on 13 June 2006. Retrieved 19 October 2008.
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48. ^ "Roman Catholic – Lutheran Dialogue Group for Sweden and Finland, Justification in the Life of the Church, section 297, page 101" (PDF).^{[permanent dead link]}
49. ^ Timothy Dufort, The Tablet, 29 May 1982, pp. 536–538.
50. ^ Dufort, Timothy (29 May 1982). The Tablet. pp. 536–538.
51. ^ ^{a b} Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Responsum ad Dubium Concerning the Teaching Contained in Ordinatio Sacerdotalis, 25 October 1995; Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Commentary, Concerning the Reply of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on the Teaching Contained in the Apostolic Letter "Ordinatio Sacerdotalis", 25 October 1995.
52. ^ ^{a b} Handley, Paul (27 May 2003). "Churches' Goal Is Unity, Not Uniformity Spokesman for Vatican Declares". Church Times. p. 2.
53. ^ "In Britain, pope will focus on common Christian mission, official says"^{[dead link]}, Catholic News Service, 9 September 2010.
54. ^ http://www.vaticannews.va, Sept 6, 2021. Archived 14 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine
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    . In order to receive the historic episcopate, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America pledges that, following the adoption of this Concordat and in keeping with the collegiality and continuity of ordained ministry attested as early as canon 4 of the First Ecumenical Council (Nicea I, AD 325), at least three bishops already sharing in the sign of episcopal succession will be invited to participate in the installation of its next Presiding Bishop through prayer for the gift of the Holy Spirit and with the laying-on of hands. These participating bishops will be invited from churches of the Lutheran communion which share in the historic episcopate.
57. ^ "A Lutheran Proposal for a Revision of the Concordat of Agreement". 19 August 1999. Archived from the original on 14 May 2011.
58. ^ Wright, J. Robert (Spring 1999). "The Historic Episcopate: An Episcopalian Viewpoint". Lutheran Partners. Archived from the original on 4 June 2011.
59. ^ "The Function of Bishops in the Ancient Church". kencollins.com.
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61. ^ ^{a b} Anon 1980.
62. ^ "General Handbook, 6.1.2".
63. ^ "Doctrine and Covenants 107:76".
64. ^ ^{a b} "Doctrine and Covenants 68:20".
65. ^ "General Handbook, 6.2".
66. ^ "Ensign, 1990 October, What callings are open to single members of the Church?".
67. ^ Smith, Joseph (2007). Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith. p. 101.
68. ^ McMullin, Keith B. "The Presiding Bishopric". Ensign. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
69. ^ "Learn More About the Church's Presiding Bishopric". www.mormonnewsroom.org. Retrieved 19 August 2018.
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71. ^ ^{a b} "Board of Bishops". Church Of God In Christ. Archived from the original on 3 January 2018. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
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74. ^ Lisa Wangsness (19 July 2010). "More Baptist pastors adopt bishop title". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 7 September 2014.
75. ^ Book of Order (2009–2011) (PDF). Louisville: Presbyterian Church (USA) Office of the General Assembly. p. G-6.0202. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 July 2014. Retrieved 7 September 2014.
76. ^ ""The Successor To Peter"" (PDF). Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). 2000. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 November 2023.
77. ^ "How Are Congregations of Jehovah's Witnesses Organised?". Jehovah’s Witnesses. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
78. ^ "Global Missions in the Indiana-Kentucky Synod: Indonesia: the Huria Kristen Batak Protestan Church on the island of Sumatra". Retrieved 18 August 2018.
79. ^ ^{a b c} Stehle 1914.
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81. ^ Murphy, T.F., United States Bureau of the Census (1941). Religious bodies, 1936. United States Government Printing Office, Washington, DC., p. 346 https://archive.org/details/religiousbodies10002unse
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External links

Look up bishop, episcopal, or episcopus in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bishops.

• Methodist/Anglican Thoughts On Apostolic Succession by Gregory Neal
• Methodist Episcopacy: In Search of Holy Orders by Gregory Neal
• Phillips, Walter Alison (1911). "Bishop" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 4 (11th ed.). pp. 1–4.
• The Old Catholic Church, Province of the United States
• The Ecumenical Catholic Communion* The United Methodist Church: Council of Bishops
• Vatican Website with Canon Law of Catholic Church
• Episcophobia: The Fear of bishops