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103-556: While a catholicos is sometimes considered to correspond to a bishop in the Roman Catholic and Protestant traditions, a catholicate is typically a larger and more significant organizational division than a bishopric , archdiocese or episcopal see . Catholicates often have distinct cultural traditions established over many centuries. Within the Armenian Apostolic Church there are two catholicosates:

206-711: A deacon , priest (i.e. presbyter ), and then bishop is understood to hold the fullness of the ministerial priesthood, given responsibility by Christ to govern, teach and sanctify the Body of Christ (the Church). Priests, deacons and lay ministers co-operate and assist their bishops in pastoral ministry. Some Pentecostal and other Protestant denominations have bishops who oversee congregations, though they do not necessarily claim apostolic succession. The English word bishop derives, via Latin episcopus , Old English biscop , and Middle English bisshop , from

309-505: A bishop up until the dismissal of Cardinal Thomas Wolsey by Henry VIII . Similarly, the position of Kanclerz in the Polish kingdom was always held by a bishop until the 16th century . 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

412-541: A continuous succession between the original apostles of Jesus and the leaders of the church in his day. However, Jonathon Lookadoo argues that John Malalas and the Acts of Martyrdom's accounts of Ignatius are independent from Eusebius and they still place his death under Trajan. While many scholars accept this traditional dating, others have argued for a somewhat later date. Richard Pervo dated Ignatius' death to 135–140 AD. British classicist Timothy Barnes has argued for

515-766: A council or college of ordained presbyters ( πρεσβύτεροι , 'elders'). In Acts 11:30 and Acts 15:22, a collegiate system of government in Jerusalem is chaired by James the Just , according to tradition the first bishop of the city . In Acts 14:23, the Apostle Paul ordains presbyters in churches in Anatolia . The word presbyter was not yet distinguished from overseer ( ἐπίσκοπος , episkopos , later used exclusively to mean bishop ), as in Acts 20:17, Titus 1:5–7 and 1 Peter 5:1. The earliest writings of

618-596: A date in the 140s AD, on the grounds that Ignatius seems to have quoted a work of the Gnostic Ptolemy , who became active only in the 130s. Étienne Decrept has argued from the testimony of John Malalas and the Acts of Drosis that Ignatius was martyred under the reign of Trajan during Apollo's festival in July 116 AD, and in response to the earthquake at Antioch in late 115 AD. Ignatius wrote that he would be thrown to

721-500: A donation by the Imperial Governor of Syria to the games at Rome, a single prisoner seems a rather miserly gift." Instead, Davies proposes that Ignatius may have been indicted by a legate, or representative, of the governor of Syria while the governor was away temporarily, and sent to Rome for trial and execution. Under Roman law, only the governor of a province or the emperor himself could impose capital punishment , so

824-466: A laity, and then selects three to be forwarded to the Holy See . In Europe, some cathedral chapters have duties to elect bishops. The Eastern Catholic churches generally elect their own bishops. Most Eastern Orthodox churches allow varying amounts of formalised laity or lower clergy influence on the choice of bishops. This also applies in those Eastern churches which are in union with the pope, though it

927-431: A long essay attacking the authenticity of the epistles attributed to Ignatius. He argued that Callixtus , bishop of Rome, forged the letters around AD 220 to garner support for a monarchical episcopate , modeling the renowned Saint Ignatius after his own life to give precedent for his own authority. Killen contrasted this episcopal polity with the presbyterian polity in the writings of Polycarp. Some doubts about

1030-682: A majority vote of the General Conference which meets every four years." 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

1133-520: A scholarly consensus that the Middle Recension is the original version of the text. The Long Recension is the product of a fourth-century Arian Christian, who interpolated the Middle Recension epistles in order posthumously to enlist Ignatius as an unwitting witness in theological disputes of that age. This individual also forged the six spurious epistles attributed to Ignatius (see § Pseudo-Ignatius below). Manuscripts representing

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1236-428: A symbol of power. Bishops have also exercised political authority within their dioceses. Traditionally, bishops claim apostolic succession , a direct historical lineage dating back to the original Twelve Apostles or Saint Paul . The bishops are by doctrine understood as those who possess the full priesthood given by Jesus Christ , and therefore may ordain other clergy, including other bishops. A person ordained as

1339-662: A term of six years, which can be renewed, depending upon the local synod's "constitution" (which is mirrored on either the ELCA or ELCIC's national constitution). Since the implementation of concordats between the ELCA and the Episcopal Church of the United States and the ELCIC and the Anglican Church of Canada , all bishops, including the presiding bishop (ELCA) or the national bishop (ELCIC), have been consecrated using

1442-897: A vision for the denomination, though they have no legislative authority of their own. In all of these areas, bishops of the United Methodist Church function very much in the historic meaning of the term. According to the Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church , a bishop's responsibilities are: Leadership.—Spiritual and Temporal — Ignatius of Antioch Pervo : AD 135–140 Ignatius of Antioch ( / ɪ ɡ ˈ n eɪ ʃ ə s / ; ‹See Tfd› Greek : Ἰγνάτιος Ἀντιοχείας , translit.   Ignátios Antiokheías ; died c. 108/140 AD), also known as Ignatius Theophorus ( Ἰγνάτιος ὁ Θεοφόρος , Ignátios ho Theophóros , 'the God-bearing';),

1545-414: Is a degree of inconsistency in this regard. Others spellings, including "catholicossate", are seen as well. This Eastern Orthodox Christianity –related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This Oriental Orthodox Christianity –related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who

1648-518: Is at variance with Catholic understanding of Christian teaching, and have contributed to the reaffirmation of Catholic rejection of Anglican ordinations. The Eastern Orthodox Churches do not accept the validity of any ordinations performed by the Independent Catholic groups, as Eastern Orthodoxy considers to be spurious any consecration outside the church as a whole. Eastern Orthodoxy considers apostolic succession to exist only within

1751-487: Is done immediately after baptism , and thus the priest is the one who confirms, using chrism blessed by a bishop. Bishops in all of these communions are ordained by other bishops through the laying on of hands. Ordination of a bishop, and thus continuation of apostolic succession, takes place through a ritual centred on the imposition of hands and prayer . Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Anglican, Old Catholic and some Lutheran bishops claim to be part of

1854-444: Is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity , bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses . The role or office of the bishop is called episcopacy . Organizationally, several Christian denominations utilize ecclesiastical structures that call for the position of bishops, while other denominations have dispensed with this office, seeing it as

1957-639: Is known in three different recensions , or editions: the Short Recension, found in a Syriac manuscript ; the Middle Recension, found in Greek , Latin , Armenian , Slavonic , Coptic , Arabic , Ethiopic and Syriac manuscripts; and the Long Recension, found in Greek, Latin and Georgian manuscripts. For some time, it was believed that the Long Recension was the only extant version of

2060-564: Is merely a summary of the text of the Middle Recension, and was therefore composed later. Though the Catholic Church has always supported the authenticity of the letters, some Protestants have tended to deny the authenticity of all the epistles because they seem to attest to a monarchical episcopate in the second century. John Calvin called the epistles "rubbish published under Ignatius' name." In 1886, Presbyterian minister and church historian William Dool Killen published

2163-416: Is necessary. The practice of only one bishop ordaining was normal in countries where the church was persecuted under Communist rule. The title of archbishop or metropolitan may be granted to a senior bishop, usually one who is in charge of a large ecclesiastical jurisdiction. He may, or may not, have provincial oversight of suffragan bishops and may possibly have auxiliary bishops assisting him. Apart from

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2266-619: Is required that he give assent. The pope, in addition to being the Bishop of Rome and spiritual head of the Catholic Church, is also the Patriarch of the Latin Church. Each bishop within the Latin Church is answerable directly to the Pope and not any other bishop except to metropolitans in certain oversight instances. The pope previously used the title Patriarch of the West , but this title

2369-597: Is that of the "Spiritum primatus sacerdotii habere potestatem dimittere peccata" : the primate of sacrificial priesthood and the power to forgive sins. The efficient organization of the Roman Empire became the template for the organisation of the church in the 4th century , particularly after Constantine's Edict of Milan . As the church moved from the shadows of privacy into the public forum it acquired land for churches, burials and clergy . In 391, Theodosius I decreed that any land that had been confiscated from

2472-413: Is the earliest known Christian writer to emphasize loyalty to a single bishop in each city (or diocese ) who is assisted by both presbyters (elders) and deacons . Earlier writings only mention either bishops or presbyters. For instance, his writings on bishops, presbyters and deacons: Take care to do all things in harmony with God, with the bishop presiding in the place of God, and with

2575-677: Is the ordinary minister of the sacrament of confirmation in the Latin Church, and in the Old Catholic communion only a bishop may administer this sacrament. In the Lutheran and Anglican churches, the bishop normatively administers the rite of confirmation, although in those denominations that do not have an episcopal polity, confirmation is administered by the priest. However, in the Byzantine and other Eastern rites, whether Eastern or Oriental Orthodox or Eastern Catholic , chrismation

2678-551: Is the ordination and appointment of clergy to serve local churches as pastor, presiding at sessions of the Annual, Jurisdictional, and General Conferences, providing pastoral ministry for the clergy under their charge, and safeguarding the doctrine and discipline of the church. Furthermore, individual bishops, or the Council of Bishops as a whole, often serve a prophetic role, making statements on important social issues and setting forth

2781-476: The 5th century , and Pope Gregory I in the 6th century . Both of these men were statesmen and public administrators in addition to their role as Christian pastors, teachers and leaders. In the Eastern churches , latifundia entailed to a bishop's see were much less common, the state power did not collapse the way it did in the West, and thus the tendency of bishops acquiring civil power was much weaker than in

2884-859: The Apostolic Fathers , the Didache and the First Epistle of Clement , for example, show the church used two terms for local church offices—presbyters (seen by many as an interchangeable term with episkopos or overseer) and deacon. In the First epistle to Timothy and Epistle to Titus in the New Testament a more clearly defined episcopate can be seen. Both letters state that Paul had left Timothy in Ephesus and Titus in Crete to oversee

2987-457: 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. In Catholicism , Eastern Orthodoxy , Oriental Orthodoxy , High Church Lutheranism , and Anglicanism , only a bishop can ordain other bishops, priests, and deacons. In

3090-475: The Flavian age of any prisoners except citizens or prisoners of war being brought to Rome for execution." If Ignatius had been a Roman citizen, he could have appealed to the emperor, with the common result of execution by beheading rather than torture. However, Ignatius's letters state that he was put in chains during the journey, but it was against Roman law for a citizen to be put in bonds during an appeal to

3193-548: The Greek word ἐπίσκοπος , epískopos , meaning "overseer" or "supervisor". Greek was the language of the early Christian church, but the term epískopos did not originate in Christianity: it had been used in Greek for several centuries before the advent of Christianity. The English words priest and presbyter both derive, via Latin, from the Greek word πρεσβύτερος , presbýteros , meaning "elder" or "senior", and not originally referring to priesthood. In

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3296-798: The Independent Anglican churches , and certain other, smaller, denominations. 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

3399-973: The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin in Etchmiadzin , Armenia , and the Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia in Antelias , Lebanon . In the 10th century, when lands inhabited by Armenians were devastated by Seljuks , the Armenian church took refuge in Cilicia . In the 15th century, a new catholicos was elected in Etchmiadzin. While some traditions favor the English language spelling "catholicate", others favor "catholicosate." There

3502-688: The Paréage of Andorra (1278) , and was ratified in the 1993 constitution of Andorra. The office of the Papacy is inherently held by the sitting Roman Catholic Bishop of Rome. Though not originally intended to hold temporal authority, since the Middle Ages the power of the Papacy gradually expanded deep into the secular realm and for centuries the sitting Bishop of Rome was the most powerful governmental office in Central Italy. In modern times,

3605-662: The Prince-Bishopric of Montenegro from 1516 to 1852, assisted by a secular guvernadur . More recently, Archbishop Makarios III of Cyprus , served as President of the Cyprus from 1960 to 1977, an extremely turbulent time period on the island. In 2001, Peter Hollingworth , AC , OBE – then the Anglican Archbishop of Brisbane – was controversially appointed Governor-General of Australia . Although Hollingworth gave up his episcopal position to accept

3708-399: The local church . Paul commands Titus to ordain presbyters/bishops and to exercise general oversight. 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. Eventually the head or "monarchic" bishop came to rule more clearly, and all local churches would eventually follow

3811-542: The ordained elders (presbyters) by vote of the delegates in regional (called jurisdictional) conferences, and are consecrated by the other bishops present at the conference through the laying on of hands. In the United Methodist Church bishops remain members of the "Order of Elders" while being consecrated to the " Office of the Episcopacy ". Within the United Methodist Church only bishops are empowered to consecrate bishops and ordain clergy. Among their most critical duties

3914-870: The sacraments , and the role of bishops . Epistle to the Ephesians Epistle to the Magnesians Epistle to the Trallians Epistle to the Romans Epistle to the Philadelphians Epistle to the Smyrnaeans Nothing is known of Ignatius' life apart from the words of his letters and later traditions. It is said Ignatius converted to Christianity at a young age. Tradition identifies him and his friend Polycarp as disciples of John

4017-756: 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

4120-514: The Apostle . Later, Ignatius was chosen to serve as Bishop of Antioch ; the fourth-century Church historian Eusebius writes that Ignatius succeeded Evodius . Theodoret of Cyrrhus claimed that St. Peter himself left directions that Ignatius be appointed to this episcopal see . Ignatius was called Theophorus (God Bearer). A tradition exists that he was one of the children whom Jesus Christ took in his arms and blessed. Ignatius' feast day

4223-868: The Coptic Month of Koiak (which is also the 24th day of the fourth month of Tahisas in the Synaxarium of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church ), corresponding in three years out of every four to 20 December in the Julian Calendar , which currently falls on 2 January of the Gregorian Calendar . Ignatius is honored in the Church of England and in the Episcopal Church on 17 October . Likewise, Lutheran Churches honor Ignatius on 17 October. Ignatius

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4326-466: 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

4429-685: The East churches. 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

4532-538: 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

4635-583: The English Reformation. Since in the primitive church the offices of presbyter and episkopos were not clearly distinguished, many Puritans held that this was the only form of government the church should have. The Anglican divine, Richard Hooker , objected to this claim in his famous work Of the Laws of Ecclesiastic Polity while, at the same time, defending Presbyterian ordination as valid (in particular Calvin's ordination of Beza ). This

4738-400: The Ephesians 20:2). He regarded persecution and suffering as conferring grace, and earnestly longed for his own martyrdom. Ignatius is claimed to be the first known Christian writer to argue in favor of Christianity's replacement of the Sabbath with the Lord's Day : Be not seduced by strange doctrines nor by antiquated fables, which are profitless. For if even unto this day we live after

4841-515: The Ephesians he quoted 1 Corinthians 1:18: Let my spirit be counted as nothing for the sake of the cross, which is a stumbling-block to those that do not believe, but to us salvation and life eternal. Ignatius is known to have taught the deity of Christ: There is one Physician who is possessed both of flesh and spirit; both made and not made; God existing in flesh; true life in death; both of Mary and of God; first passible and then impassible, even Jesus Christ our Lord. The same section in text of

4944-401: The Holy See, hoping to continue in some sacramental role. In those instances where the pope does grant reconciliation, those deemed to be clerics within the Independent Old Catholic movement are invariably admitted as laity and not priests or bishops. There is a mutual recognition of the validity of orders amongst Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Old Catholic, Oriental Orthodox and Assyrian Church of

5047-411: The Ignatian epistles, but around 1628 a Latin translation of the Middle Recension was discovered by Archbishop James Ussher , who published it in 1646. For around a quarter of a century after this, it was debated which recension represented the original text of the epistles. But ever since John Pearson 's strong defense of the authenticity of the Middle Recension in the late 17th century, there has been

5150-460: The Isle of Man . In the past, the Bishop of Durham had extensive vice-regal powers within his northern diocese, which was a county palatine , the County Palatine of Durham , (previously, Liberty of Durham ) of which he was ex officio the earl . In the 19th century, a gradual process of reform was enacted, with the majority of the bishop's historic powers vested in The Crown by 1858. Eastern Orthodox bishops, along with all other members of

5253-406: The Long Recension says the following: But our Physician is the Only true God, the unbegotten and unapproachable, the Lord of all, the Father and Begetter of the only-begotten Son. We have also as a Physician the Lord our God, Jesus the Christ, the only-begotten Son and Word, before time began, but who afterwards became also man, of Mary the virgin. For "the Word was made flesh." Being incorporeal, He

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5356-418: The Long Recension, except that to the Philippians), while the letter to the Romans is found in the Codex Colbertinus . Ignatius's letters bear signs of being written in great haste, such as run-on sentences and an unsystematic succession of thought. Ignatius modelled them after the biblical epistles of Paul, Peter, and John, quoting or paraphrasing these apostles' works freely. For example, in his letter to

5459-413: The Pope is also the sovereign Prince of Vatican City , an internationally recognized micro-state located entirely within the city of Rome. In France , prior to the Revolution , representatives of the clergy — in practice, bishops and abbots of the largest monasteries — comprised the First Estate of the Estates-General . This role was abolished after separation of Church and State

5562-409: The Short Recension of the Ignatian epistles were discovered and published by William Cureton in the mid-19th century. For a brief period, there was a scholarly debate on the question of whether the Short Recension was earlier and more original than the Middle Recension. But by the end of the 19th century, Theodor Zahn and J. B. Lightfoot had established a scholarly consensus that the Short Recension

5665-458: The Spirit did wait for Him as their Teacher? And therefore He whom they rightly waited for, being come, raised them from the dead. This passage has provoked textual debate since the only Greek manuscript extant read Κατα κυριακήν ζωήν ζωντες which could be translated "living according to the Lord's life." Most scholars, however, have followed the Latin text (secundum dominicam) omitting ζωήν and translating "living according to Lord's Day". Ignatius

5768-414: The Universal Church, and not through any authority held by individual bishops; thus, if a bishop ordains someone to serve outside the (Eastern Orthodox) Church, the ceremony is ineffectual, and no ordination has taken place regardless of the ritual used or the ordaining prelate's position within the Eastern Orthodox Churches. The position of the Catholic Church is slightly different. Whilst it does recognise

5871-406: The West. However, the role of Western bishops as civil authorities, often called prince bishops , continued throughout much of the Middle Ages . As well as being Archchancellors of the Holy Roman Empire after the 9th century, bishops generally served as chancellors to medieval monarchs, acting as head of the justiciary and chief chaplain . The Lord Chancellor of England was almost always

5974-401: The apostolic succession in lines stemming from the original apostles. The New Westminster Dictionary of Church History states that "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." While traditional teaching maintains that any bishop with apostolic succession can validly perform

6077-451: The appointment, it still attracted considerable opposition in a country which maintains a formal separation between Church and State . During the period of the English Civil War , the role of bishops as wielders of political power and as upholders of the established church became a matter of heated political controversy. Presbyterianism was the polity of most Reformed Christianity in Europe, and had been favored by many in England since

6180-556: The beasts; in the fourth century Eusebius reports a tradition that this did happen, while Jerome is the first to explicitly mention lions. John Chrysostom is the first to place of Ignatius' martyrdom at the Colosseum . Modern scholars are uncertain whether any of these authors had sources other than Ignatius' own writings. According to a medieval Christian text titled Martyrium Ignatii , Ignatius' remains were carried back to Antioch by his companions after his martyrdom. The sixth-century writings of Evagrius Scholasticus state that

6283-447: 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. Clement of Alexandria (end of the 2nd century) writes about the ordination of a certain Zachæus as bishop by the imposition of Simon Peter Bar-Jonah's hands. The words bishop and ordination are used in their technical meaning by

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6386-415: The bull Apostolicae curae in 1896, the Catholic Church has insisted that Anglican orders are invalid because of the Reformed changes in the Anglican ordination rites of the 16th century and divergence in understanding of the theology of priesthood, episcopacy and Eucharist. However, since the 1930s, Utrecht Old Catholic bishops (recognised by the Holy See as validly ordained) have sometimes taken part in

6489-437: The chained Ignatius to meet with entire congregations of Christians, at least at Philadelphia (cf. Ign. Phil. 7), and numerous Christian visitors and messengers were allowed to meet with him individually. These messengers allowed Ignatius to send six letters to nearby churches, and one to Polycarp, the bishop of Smyrna. These aspects of Ignatius' martyrdom are also unusual, in that a prisoner would normally be transported on

6592-415: The church by Roman authorities be returned. The most usual term for the geographic area of a bishop's authority and ministry, the diocese , began as part of the structure of the Roman Empire under Diocletian . As Roman authority began to fail in the western portion of the empire , the church took over much of the civil administration. This can be clearly seen in the ministry of two popes : Pope Leo I in

6695-415: The church of Antioch, attributed to Ignatius' companions, Philō of Cilicia , deacon at Tarsus , and Rheus Agathopus , a Syrian. Its most reliable manuscript is the 10th-century collection Codex Colbertinus (Paris), in which it is the final item. The Martyrium presents the confrontation of Bishop Ignatius with Emperor Trajan at Antioch, a familiar trope of Acta of the martyrs, and many details of

6798-444: The clergy, are canonically forbidden to hold political office. Occasional exceptions to this rule are tolerated when the alternative is political chaos. In the Ottoman Empire , the Patriarch of Constantinople , for example, had de facto administrative, cultural and legal jurisdiction, as well as spiritual authority, over all Eastern Orthodox Christians of the empire, as part of the Ottoman millet system. An Orthodox bishop headed

6901-495: The continuous sequence of ordained bishops since the days of the apostles referred to as apostolic succession. In Scandinavia and the Baltic region, Lutheran churches participating in the Porvoo Communion (those of Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, and Lithuania), as well as many non-Porvoo membership Lutheran churches (including those of Kenya, Latvia, and Russia), as well as the confessional Communion of Nordic Lutheran Dioceses , believe that they ordain their bishops in

7004-549: 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: Whilst members of the Independent Catholic movement take seriously the issue of valid orders, it is highly significant that the relevant Vatican Congregations tend not to respond to petitions from Independent Catholic bishops and clergy who seek to be received into communion with

7107-444: 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. 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

7210-407: The early Christian era the two terms were not always clearly distinguished, but epískopos is used in the sense of the order or office of bishop, distinct from that of presbýteros , in the writings attributed to Ignatius of Antioch in the second century. The earliest organization of the Church in Jerusalem was, according to most scholars, similar to that of Jewish synagogues , but it had

7313-403: The emperor. Allen Brent argues that Ignatius was transferred to Rome for the emperor to provide a spectacle as a victim in the Colosseum . Brent insists, contrary to some, that "it was normal practice to transport condemned criminals from the provinces in order to offer spectator sport in the Colosseum at Rome." Stevan Davies rejects this idea, reasoning that: "if Ignatius was in some way

7416-655: 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 Presbyterian Church USA , United Methodist Church, Reformed Church in America , and Moravian Church congregations, as the ELCA is in full communion with these denominations). The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS) and the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS),

7519-523: The example of the other churches and structure themselves after the model of the others with the one bishop in clearer charge, though the role of the body of presbyters remained important. Around the end of the 1st century , the church's organization became clearer in historical documents. 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

7622-710: The first woman to become the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church. In the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC), the largest Lutheran Church bodies in the United States and Canada, respectively, and roughly based on the Nordic Lutheran national churches (similar to that of the Church of England), bishops are elected by Synod Assemblies, consisting of both lay members and clergy, for

7725-528: The historic succession in line with bishops from the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Sweden , with at least one Anglican bishop serving as co-consecrator. 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

7828-545: The legate would have faced the choice of imprisoning Ignatius in Antioch or sending him to Rome. Transporting the bishop might have avoided further agitation by the Antiochene Christians. Christine Trevett calls Davies' suggestion "entirely hypothetical" and concludes that no fully satisfactory solution to the problem can be found: "I tend to take the bishop at his word when he says he is a condemned man. But

7931-557: The letters' authenticity continued into the 20th century. In the 1970s and 1980s, the scholars Robert Joly , Reinhard Hübner, Markus Vinzent , and Thomas Lechner argued forcefully that the epistles of the Middle Recension were forgeries from the reign of Marcus Aurelius (161–180 AD). Joseph Ruis-Camps published a study arguing that the Middle Recension letters were pseudepigraphically composed based on an original, smaller, authentic corpus of four letters ( Romans , Magnesians , Trallians , and Ephesians ). In 2009, Otto Zwierlein support

8034-480: The long journey to Rome. The Synaxarium of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria says that he was thrown to the wild beasts that devoured him. The following seven epistles preserved under the name of Ignatius are generally considered authentic, since they were mentioned by the historian Eusebius in the first half of the fourth century. Seven original epistles: The text of these epistles

8137-452: The manner of Judaism, we avow that we have not received grace. ...If then those who had walked in ancient practices attained unto newness of hope, no longer observing Sabbaths but fashioning their lives after the Lord's day, on which our life also arose through Him ... how shall we be able to live apart from Him? If, therefore, those who were brought up in the ancient order of things have come to

8240-481: The most direct route to his destination. Travel by land in the Roman Empire was far more expensive than by sea, especially since Antioch was a major sea port. Davies argues that Ignatius' circuitous route can only be explained by positing that he was not the main purpose of the soldiers' trip, and that the various stops in Asia Minor were for other state business. He suggests that such a scenario would also explain

8343-545: The ordination conform to other canonical requirements (for example, is an adult male) and an eastern orthodox rite of episcopal ordination, expressing the proper functions and sacramental status of a bishop, is used; this has given rise to the phenomenon of episcopi vagantes (for example, clergy of the Independent Catholic groups which claim apostolic succession, though this claim is rejected by both Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy). With respect to Lutheranism, "the Catholic Church has never officially expressed its judgement on

8446-537: The ordination of Anglican bishops. According to the writer Timothy Dufort, by 1969, all Church of England bishops had acquired Old Catholic lines of apostolic succession recognised by the Holy See. This development has been used to argue that the strain of apostolic succession has been re-introduced into Anglicanism, at least within the Church of England. However, other issues, such as the Anglican ordination of women,

8549-409: The ordination of another bishop, some churches require two or three bishops participate, either to ensure sacramental validity or to conform with church law. Catholic doctrine holds that one bishop can validly ordain another (priest) as a bishop. Though a minimum of three bishops participating is desirable (there are usually several more) in order to demonstrate collegiality, canonically only one bishop

8652-459: The ordination, which is always done by other bishops, there are different methods as to the actual selection of a candidate for ordination as bishop. In the Catholic Church the Congregation for Bishops generally oversees the selection of new bishops with the approval of the pope. The papal nuncio usually solicits names from the bishops of a country, consults with priests and leading members of

8755-467: The possession of a new hope, no longer observing the Sabbath, but living in the observance of the Lord's day, on which also our life has sprung up again by Him and by His death—whom some deny, by which mystery we have obtained faith, and therefore endure, that we may be found the disciples of Jesus Christ, our only Master—how shall we be able to live apart from Him, whose disciples the prophets themselves in

8858-453: The presbyters in the place of the council of the apostles, and with the deacons, who are most dear to me, entrusted with the business of Jesus Christ, who was with the Father from the beginning and is at last made manifest. He is also responsible for the first known use of the Greek word katholikos (καθολικός), or catholic, meaning "universal", "complete", "general", and/or "whole" to describe

8961-466: The question remains, why is he going to Rome? The truth is that we do not know." During the journey to Rome, Ignatius and his entourage of soldiers made a number of lengthy stops in Asia Minor , deviating from the most direct land route from Antioch to Rome. Scholars generally agree on the following reconstruction of Ignatius' route of travel: During the journey, the soldiers seem to have allowed

9064-401: The relative freedom that Ignatius was given to meet with other Christians during the journey. Tradition places Ignatius's martyrdom in the reign of Trajan (c. 98-117 AD). The earliest source for this is the 4th century church historian Eusebius of Caesarea . Richard Pervo argues that Eusebius may have had an ideological interest in dating church leaders as early as possible, and asserting

9167-722: The reputed remains of Ignatius were moved by the Emperor Theodosius II to the Tychaeum, or Temple of Tyche , and converted it into a church dedicated to Ignatius. In 637, when Antioch was captured by the Rashidun Caliphate , the relics were transferred to the Basilica di San Clemente in Rome. The Martyrium Ignatii is an account of the saint's martyrdom. It is presented as an eye-witness account for

9270-402: The same Clement of Alexandria. The bishops in the 2nd century are defined also as the only clergy to whom the ordination to priesthood ( presbyterate ) and diaconate is entrusted: "a priest (presbyter) lays on hands , but does not ordain ." ( cheirothetei ou cheirotonei ). At the beginning of the 3rd century, Hippolytus of Rome describes another feature of the ministry of a bishop, which

9373-542: The second and third largest Lutheran bodies in the United States and the two largest Confessional Lutheran bodies in North America, do not follow an episcopal form of governance, settling instead on a form of quasi-congregationalism patterned off what they believe to be the practice of the early church. The second largest of the three predecessor bodies of the ELCA, the American Lutheran Church ,

9476-487: The thesis of a forgery written around 170 AD. These publications stirred up heated scholarly controversy, but by 2017, most patristic scholars accepted the authenticity of the seven original epistles. The original texts of six of the seven original letters are found in the Codex Mediceo Laurentianus , written in Greek in the 11th century (which also contains the pseudepigraphical letters of

9579-491: The validity of orders as they have been handed down by episcopal succession in these two national Lutheran churches" (the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Sweden and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland ) though it does "question how the ecclesiastical break in the 16th century has affected the apostolicity of the churches of the Reformation and thus the apostolicity of their ministry". Since Pope Leo XIII issued

9682-574: 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

9785-796: Was a congregationalist body, with national and synod presidents before they were re-titled as bishops (borrowing from the Lutheran churches in Germany ) in the 1980s. With regard to ecclesial discipline and oversight, national and synod presidents typically function similarly to bishops in episcopal bodies. In the African Methodist Episcopal Church , "Bishops are the Chief Officers of the Connectional Organization. They are elected for life by

9888-479: Was an early Christian writer and Patriarch of Antioch . While en route to Rome , where he met his martyrdom , Ignatius wrote a series of letters. This correspondence forms a central part of a later collection of works by the Apostolic Fathers . He is considered one of the three most important of these, together with Clement of Rome and Polycarp . His letters also serve as an example of early Christian theology , and address important topics including ecclesiology ,

9991-509: Was condemned to death for his faith, but instead of being executed in his home town of Antioch, the bishop was taken to Rome by a company of ten soldiers: From Syria even unto Rome I fight with beasts, both by land and sea, both by night and day, being bound to ten leopards, I mean a band of soldiers... Scholars consider Ignatius' transport to Rome unusual, since those persecuted as Christians would be expected to be punished locally. Stevan Davies has pointed out that "no other examples exist from

10094-528: Was dropped from use in 2006, a move which caused some concern within the Eastern Orthodox Communion as, to them, it implied wider papal jurisdiction. The Catholic Church does recognise as valid (though illicit) ordinations done by breakaway Catholic, Old Catholic or Oriental bishops, and groups descended from them; it also regards as both valid and licit those ordinations done by bishops of the Eastern churches, so long as those receiving

10197-799: Was implemented during the French Revolution. In the 21st century, the more senior bishops of the Church of England continue to sit in the House of Lords of the Parliament of the United Kingdom , as representatives of the established church , and are known as Lords Spiritual . The Bishop of Sodor and Man , whose diocese lies outside the United Kingdom , is an ex officio member of the Legislative Council of

10300-463: Was in the body, being impassible, He was in a passible body, being immortal, He was in a mortal body, being life, He became subject to corruption, that He might free our souls from death and corruption, and heal them, and might restore them to health, when they were diseased with ungodliness and wicked lusts. He stressed the value of the Eucharist , calling it a "medicine of immortality" ( Ignatius to

10403-550: Was kept in his own Antioch on 17 October, the day on which he is now celebrated in the Catholic Church and generally in western Christianity , although from the 12th century until 1969 it was put at 1 February in the General Roman Calendar . In the Eastern Orthodox Church it is observed on 20 December. The Synaxarium of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria places it on the 24th of

10506-815: Was the official stance of the English Church until the Commonwealth, during which time, the views of Presbyterians and Independents ( Congregationalists ) were more freely expressed and practiced. Bishops form the leadership in the Catholic Church , the Eastern Orthodox Church , the Oriental Orthodox Churches , certain Lutheran churches, the Anglican Communion , the Independent Catholic churches ,

10609-404: 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) 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

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