Episcopacy

Abstract

Abstract The word episcopacy has its root in the Greek word episkopos (variously translated bishop, overseer, and superintendent). It refers to a system of church government by bishops, commonly believed to be the continuation of the institution of the Apostolate by Christ. The office of bishop is the highest of the “threefold order of ministry” (namely orders of deacon, priest, and bishop) in the Christian church. There was at first no clear difference between the office of elder and that of bishop. In the apostolic age, the term was used interchangeably with elder (Greek presbuteros ). While in the Jerusalem church the office of elder ranked highest after that of apostle, in Gentile Christian communities the word bishop was substituted for elder. The elders of Ephesus were equally referred to as bishops (Acts 20: 17–28). In later times, the term episkopos (bishop) was restricted to the presiding elder of a church and was considered to denote a separate order higher than that of elder. The office of bishop became restrictedly used of the overall administrative head or a presiding elder of a group of local churches in a particular geographical locality. The first indication of this administrative office as a distinct order of clergy was found in the Epistles of St. Ignatius, bishop of the church of Syrian Antioch, in about ad 115, on his way to martyrdom in Rome, through which he solicited for the obedience and loyalty of the churches of Magnesia, Tralles, Philadelphia, Smyrna, and so on, to their different bishops — who were known as monarchical bishops. This system of government (that is, ruling of the church by one bishop) is called “monarchical episcopacy.” The duties of monarchical bishops included exposition and protection of church beliefs against heresy, feeding of the flock with undiluted word, discipline of erring clergy and laity under his jurisdiction, protecting and counseling the church in times of persecution, promoting good relations among churches, overseeing the general welfare of the members, administration of sacraments, commissioning and ordination of church officers, and so on.