BISHOP

(a word derived from the Greek episcopo8f that is, overseer, through the Saxon bitcop), the early Christian church, was the name of every jierson to whom the care of a Christian congregation was intrusted. Every congregation even in country districts had at least one such overseer. The was accordingly used in the early history of church in exactly the same sense as presbyter elder. This is confirmed not only by the expre statements to that effect of the oldest ecclesiastical writers, but also by the New Testament itself. Acts XX. 17 the writer of the Acts of the Apostles says that Paul sent from Miletus to Ephesus for 'elders' of the church, and in the 28th verse he dre es these elders as 'overseers' or 'bishops;' the apostles, in addre ing the elders of the church, some instances speak, of themselves as presbyters fellow-presbyters (1 Pet. v. 1; 2 and 3 John 1). identity of the original signification of the words 'presbyter' and 'bishop' was acknowledged by Christian fathers St. Jerome and St. Augustine the fifth century, and even by Pope Urban II. at end of the eleventh century, and it is not denied many Episcopalians even at the present day. By Council of Trent, however, the doctrine which placed presbyters and bishops originally on a footing of fect equality in the early church was declared heresy, the object of which was to deny to the bishops of the church the priority of rank which they claimed. Those who adhere to the Episcopalian form of church government, and at the same time admit the original identity of presbyters and bishops, differ from Presbyterians in Uieir theory of the origin of the copal authority. The Episcopalians maint>ain even before the words had a separate meaning tached to them, the distinction between bishops subordinate pastors existed in fact, and was a regular ecclesiastical institution, those who held a peculiar authority over others being appointed originally the apostles. The Presbyterians, on the oUier hand, believe that the authority that was undoubtedly ceded to certain of the 'bishops' or 'presbyters' when they met to consider the affairs of the church, not due to any formal appointment, but merely to mutual agreement of the a embled presbyters, that this distinction was no more than a mark of spect paid to some member who was venerable by age or distinguished by his piety. But^ whichever these two theories may be correct, there is no doubt of the fact that at a comparatively early period in his to iT of the church a position of autiiority was quired by the pastors of the Christian communities belonging to certain places, and that these came distinguished from the others by the name of bishops. The growth of this authority was favoured by doctrine which was started about the beginning the second century with regard to the prieutly dignity being a peculiarly divine institution. The more doctrine was affirmed the higher grew the claims the bishops. Ignatius of Antioch, who died about 115, had already declared every bishop to be a representative of Christ, and 100 years later the doctrine oi the apostolical succe ion was developed, that Hay, the doctrine of the transmi ion of tne ministerial authority in uninterrupted succe ion from Christ the apostles, and through these from one bishop another. By the foundation of new churches in largc^r towns which were affiliated to the original churches, and by the dependence of the presbyters 7354; in the country districts upon those having urban charges, the authority of the bishops came to bo cwt. gradually extended over greater or le dioceses; and at the same time the bishops began to reserve to net themselves pectdiar privileges. While at first the bishops in all the more important matters were dependent on the approval of the presb^iierB and conin greg a tions, they appear at the Council of Nice in 325 as ue sole po e ors of the right of voting. While this then was the position of the bishops in relation to the presbyters, they at first considered word themselves as standing on a footing of equality in the relation to each other. But as certain of the presbyor ters in their a emblies had acqiured a priority of rank over the others, it gradually came about in the same way that the bishops of the chief cities (Jerusa- In lem, Antioch, Coiinth, Alexandria, Constantinople, Bome) obtained a similar precedence among the the bishops, and received the title of metropolitan adbishops; and so early as the beginning of the fourth century we find the Bishop of Home claiming to be and in the head of the church as the true succe or of Peter, or whom Christ himself had pronounced to be the rock The on which he would build his church. Home, however, was not allowed to a ume this rank unoontested. Several of the other metropolitan bishops the in claimed the rank for themselves, and the conflict went the on until Syria, Asia Minor, and Egypt were wrested by from Christen dom by the Mohammedans, when the the only two cities that were left to dispute Uie priority of rank in the church were Rome and Constantinople. per- Meantime the Bishop of Home had a umed the title as a Papa ('father,' *pope'), in order to avoid even the appearance of equality with the other bishops, and in course of time his claim was recognized throughout Christen dom, except in those parts which were under the more iipmediate supremacy of the Bishop of Con the stantinople; and the contest between these two great episcities of the West and the East was only ended by that the separation of the Greek and Boman Uhurchea in 1053. See Pope. at and The practice of solemnly investing bishops with their offices dates from the seventh century. Already in the fifth century the popes had begim to send to by the newly-elected metropolitan bishops (now called archbishops) the pallium, a kind of official mantle conworn by archbishops, as a token of their sanction of the choice. Two centuries later it became the cuswas tom to consecrate bishops by investing them with the the ring and crosier, the former as a token of maniage and with the church, the latter as a symbol of the pastoral reoffice. Since this investiture was what gave validity to his the election of the bishops, it became the source of long of continued contests between the popes and the tcmponl sovereigns in the middle ages. The influential position the which the bishops occupied in the state caused the actemporal rulers to be desirous of keeping the right c>f investiture in their own hands, while the nopes with to be equal determination claimed the right for themselves, l^e contest was most bitter between the popes and the the emperors of the Komans, as they were called. of It began in the eleventh century, but was not settled till 1122, when it was agreed in the Concordat <d this Worms between Pope CaUxtus II. and the Emperor of Henry V. that the election of bishops should take place according to the laws of the church, under the direction of the emperor, and that the spiritual investiture (with ring and crosier) should remain in the hands is to of the pope, while the bishops were to be invested with the temporal rights of their office by the emperor. to This is still the fimdamental law of the it^iman to Catholic Church with regard to investiture. iSce the Investiture and Cokcordate.) The election to a bishopric is for the most part in the hands of th« dean and chapter of the cathedral of the diocaie; but in some cases it is a right of the territorial Bovereign. In any case papal confirmation is requisite before the appointment is complete. When the system of ecdesiaBtical rule was matured, the almost absolute authority which they exercised over the clergy of their dioceses; tiieir inteif erence in the secular concerns of governments, to which they soon rendered themselves nece ary by their superior information and their elevated ranJc; the administration of the church revenues; the maintenance of their ecclesiastical prerogatives, and their extensive ecclesiastical as well as criminal jurisdiction, occupied them too much to leave them any time or inclination for the discharge of their duties as teachers and spiritual fathers. They therefore reserved to themselves only the most important functions of their spiritual office, as the ordination of the clergy, the confirmation of youth, and the preparation of the holy oil. In the middle ages they attached to themselves particular vicars called svffrcLganSf bishops in part i buSy or coadjutors, for the p^ormance even of these functions which they had reserved to themselves, and for the inspection of all that concerned the chuit^. Bishops who have preached themselves and attended to the spiritual welfare of their congregations, have been rare since the seventh century. The episcopal office being such as we have described it, the nobility, and even the sons of princes and kings, strove to obtain a dignity which was as honourable as it was profitable, and was not deemed incompatible with festivities and luxurious enjoyment. The splendid establishments which they were able to maintain from the large revenues derived chiefly from rich donations to their churches by pious devotees, gave, to the bishops of Germany particularly, a high degree of dignity. They became princes of the empire, and their influence on public affairs was important. In rank the bishop in Roman Catholic countries follows inunediately after the card in ids. Some bishops in the Boman Catiiolic Church are merely titular, their dioceses not being in countries which acknowledge the Christian faith. The dioceses of such bishops are said to lie in pariibus ir^fideHum, and they are chiefly those that were wrested from the Christian church by the Mohammedans. Such titular bishoprics are only oonf eired dh ecclesiastics of a high rank. The Reformation le ened the number of bishops, and although, in some of the Protestant countries of the K. of Europe, the higher clergy have retained the title of bishop^ yet they have lost the greater part of their former revenues and privileges, although in neither of these particulars have those of England any reason to complain. The English Church has left to its bishops more authority than the rest, and this is one reason why it bears the name of the episcopal (see Cleroy and Chubch of England). In Protestant Germany, bishoprics were abolished by the Reformation, but they have been restored in The bishops of the Greek Catholic Church have le authority than those of the Roman Catholic Church, on account of their dependence in the East on the sultan, and in Ru ia on the czar. They are usually taken from the monastic orders, and they ore appointed by the archbishops. 220