 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Episcopal polity" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(August 2015) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| Ecclesiastical polity |
|---|
Anepiscopal polity, also known asepiscopalianism, is ahierarchical form ofchurch governance in which the chief local authorities are calledbishops. The word "bishop" here is derived via theBritish Latin andVulgar Latin term*ebiscopus/*biscopus, from Ancient Greek ἐπίσκοπος (epískopos) 'overseer'.[1][2] It is the structure used by many of the majorChristian Churches anddenominations, such as theCatholic,Eastern Orthodox,Oriental Orthodox,Church of the East,Anabaptist,Lutheran, andAnglican churches or denominations, and other churches founded independently from these lineages.[citation needed] ManyMethodist denominations have a form of episcopal polity known asconnexionalism.
Churches with an episcopalpolity are governed by bishops, practising their authorities in thedioceses andconferences orsynods. Their leadership is bothsacramental and constitutional; as well as performingordinations,confirmations, andconsecrations, the bishop supervises theclergy within a local jurisdiction and is the representative both to secular structures and within the hierarchy of the church.
Bishops are considered to derive their authority from an unbroken, personalapostolic succession from theTwelve Apostles ofJesus. Bishops with such authority are said to represent thehistorical episcopate or historic episcopate. Churches with this type of government usually believe that the Church requires episcopal government as described in the New Testament (see1 Timothy 3 and2 Timothy 1). In some systems, bishops may be subject in limited ways to bishops holding a higher office (variously calledarchbishops,metropolitans, orpatriarchs, depending upon the tradition). They also meet in councils or synods. These gatherings, subject to presidency by higher ranking bishops, usually make important decisions, though the synod or council may also be purely advisory.
For much of thewritten history of institutional Christianity, episcopal government was the only known form of church organization. This changed at theReformation. ManyProtestant churches are now organized by eithercongregational orpresbyterian church polities, both descended from the writings ofJohn Calvin, a Protestant reformer working and writing independently following the break with theCatholic Church precipitated byThe Ninety-Five Theses ofMartin Luther. However, some people have disputed the episcopal polity before the reformation, such asAerius of Sebaste in the 4th century.[3]
The definition of the wordepiscopal has variation among Christian traditions. There are subtle differences in governmental principles among episcopal churches at the present time. To some extent the separation of episcopal churches can be traced to these differences inecclesiology, that is, their theological understanding of church and church governance. For some, "episcopal churches" are churches that use a hierarchy of bishops who identify as being in an unbroken, personalapostolic succession.
"Episcopal" is also commonly used to distinguish between the various organizational structures ofdenominations. For instance, "Presbyterian" (Greek:πρεσβύτερος, presbýteros)[4] is used to describe a church governed by a hierarchy of assemblies of electedelders, referred to aspresbyterian polity. Similarly, "episcopal" is used to describe a church governed by bishops. Self-governed local congregations, governed neither by elders nor bishops, are usually described as "congregational".
More specifically, the capitalized appellation "Episcopal" is applied to several churches historically based withinAnglicanism ("Episcopalianism"), including those still in communion with theChurch of England.
Using these definitions, examples of specific episcopal churches include:
SomeLutheran churches practice congregational polity or a form of presbyterian polity.[5] Others, including theChurch of Sweden, practice episcopal polity; the Church of Sweden also counts its bishops among thehistoric episcopate. This is also the case with some American Lutheran churches, such as theAnglo-Lutheran Catholic Church,Lutheran Orthodox Church,Lutheran Church - International, and theLutheran Episcopal Communion.
ManyMethodist churches (theUnited Methodist Church, among others) retain the form and function of episcopal polity, although in a modified form, calledconnexionalism. Since all trace their ordinations to an Anglican priest,John Wesley, it is generally considered that their bishops do not share in apostolic succession. However, United Methodists affirm that their bishops share in the historic episcopate.
TheApostle Paul in theEpistle to the Philippians,Clement of Rome and theDidache when talking about the ecclesial system of governance, mention “bishops and deacons”, without the word “presbyter”, which has been argued by some to show that there was no presbyter-bishop distinction yet in the first century.[6]
Ignatius of Antioch, writing in already the early second century, makes a clear distinction of bishops and presbyters, meaning that his letters show that an episcopal system was already in existence by his time.[7] However,Bart Erhman sees it as significant that Ignatius never mentioned a bishop in Rome.[8] Later,Tertullian also very clearly distinguishes the presbyters and bishops as a separate office,Irenaeus made lists of the succession of bishops, though such lists made by the earlyChurch Fathers are highly contradictory.[9] By the second century, it appears that the episcopal system had become the majority, universal view among Christians.[6]
Evenschismatic sects such as theNovatians andDonatists would also use the episcopal framework,[9] except forAerius of Sebaste, who contested the system and began his own sect.[3]
Jerome stated that churches were originally governed by a group of presbyters, only later electing bishops to suppress schisms.[6]
 |
| Part ofa series on the |
| Catholic Church |
|---|
 St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City |
| Overview |
Miscellaneous |
Links and resources |
 Catholic Church portal |
.jpg)
TheCatholic Church has an episcopate, with thePope, who is theBishop of Rome, at the top. The Catholic Church considers juridical oversight over the Church is not a power derived from human beings, but strictly from the authority of Christ, which was given to his twelveapostles. TheSee of Rome, as the unbroken line of apostolic authority descending from SaintPeter the Apostle (the “Prince and Head of the Apostles”), is a visible sign andlocus ofcommunion among theCollege of Bishops, and therefore also of local churches around the world. In communion with these churches and their bishops, the Pope has all legitimate juridical andinfallibleteaching authority over the whole Church. This authority given by Christ to Saint Peter and the apostles is transmitted from one generation to the next by the power of theHoly Spirit, through thelaying on of hands from the Apostles to the bishops, in unbroken succession.
The conciliar idea of episcopal government continues in theEastern Orthodox Church.[11] InEastern Orthodoxy, allautocephalousprimates are seen as collectively gathering around Christ, with other archbishops and bishops gathering around them, and so forth.[12] There is no single primate with exclusive authority comparable to the Pope in Rome.[13] However, thePatriarch of Constantinople (now Istanbul) is seen as theprimus inter pares, the "first among equals" of the autocephalous churches of Eastern Orthodoxy.[14]
TheOriental Orthodox Churches affirm the ideas of apostolic succession and episcopal government. Within each national Church, the bishops form a holysynod to which even the Patriarch is subject. TheSyriac Orthodox Church traces itsapostolic succession to St. Peter and recognises Antioch as the originalSee of St. Peter. TheArmenian Apostolic Church traces its lineage to the Apostle Bartholomew. TheIndian Orthodox Church traces its lineage to the Apostle Thomas. TheEthiopian Orthodox Church received its lines of succession (Frumentius) through theCoptic Orthodox Church in the fifth century.
Both theGreek and Coptic Orthodox Churches each recognise their own Pope of Alexandria (Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa, andPope of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria respectively), both of whom trace their apostolic succession back to the figureMark the Evangelist.[15] There are official, ongoing efforts in recent times to heal this ancient breach. Already, the two recognize each other'sbaptisms,chrismations, andmarriages, making intermarriage much easier.
| This sectiondoes notcite anysources. Please helpimprove this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged andremoved.(July 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
![[icon]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aWiki_letter_w_cropped.svg) | This sectionneeds expansion. You can help byadding to it.(July 2024) |
Historically, theChurch of the East has traced its episcopal succession to St. Thomas the Apostle. Currently the bishops of theAssyrian Church of the East continue to maintain its apostolic succession.
Lutheran Churches, such as theBatak Christian Protestant Church,Church of Sweden and theEvangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya, maintain apostolic succession.[16] In countries such as Sweden, Catholic bishops became Lutheran bishops during the Reformation, continuing the ancient lines of apostolic succession.[17]
Through Swedish missionary work and the establishment of Lutheran Churches in various countries, such as in Kenya, apostolic succession was continued in those denominations, such as in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya, theEvangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania, theEvangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa,Tamil Evangelical Lutheran Church,Evangelical Lutheran Church in Malaysia, andEvangelical Lutheran Church in Zimbabwe, among others.[16]
TheLutheran Church - International, a Confessional Lutheran denomination of Evangelical Catholic churchmanship has an episcopal polity, with its clergy being ordained in lines of apostolic succession.[18][19]
Anglicanism is aReformation tradition that lays claim to the historic episcopate throughapostolic succession in terms comparable to the various Roman Catholic, Orthodox, and certain Lutheran Communions. Anglicans assert unbroken episcopal succession in and through theChurch of England back toSt. Augustine of Canterbury and to the first centuryRoman province ofBritannia. While some Celtic Christian practices were changed at theSynod of Whitby, the church in the British Isles was under papal authority from earliest times.[20]
The legislation ofHenry VIII effectively establishing the independence of the Church of England from Rome did not alter its constitutional or pastoral structures.Royal supremacy was exercised through the extant legal structures of the church, whose leaders were bishops. Episcopacy was thus seen as a given of the ReformedEcclesia Anglicana, and a foundation in the institution's appeal to ancient and apostolic legitimacy. What did change was that bishops were now seen to be ministers of the Crown for the spiritual government of its subjects. The influence ofRichard Hooker was crucial to an evolution in this understanding in which bishops came to be seen in their more traditional role as ones who delegate to thepresbyterate inherited powers, act as pastors to presbyters, and holding a particular teaching office with respect to the wider church.
Anglican opinion has differed as to the way in which episcopal government isde jure divino (by theDivine Right of Kings). On the one hand, the seventeenth century divine,John Cosin, held that episcopal authority isjure divino, but that it stemmed from "apostolic practice and the customs of the Church ... [not] absolute precept that either Christ or His Apostles gave about it" (a view maintained also by Hooker).[21] In contrast,Lancelot Andrewes and others held that episcopal government is derived from Christ via the apostles. Regardless, both parties viewed the episcopacy as bearing the apostolic function of oversight which both includes, and derives from, the power of ordination, and is normative for the governance of the church. The practice of apostolic succession both ensures the legitimacy of the church's mission and establishes the unity, communion, and continuity of the local church with the universal church. This formulation, in turn, laid the groundwork for an independent view of the church as a "sacred society" distinct from civil society, which was so crucial for the development of local churches as non-established entities outside England, and gave direct rise to theCatholic Revival anddisestablishmentarianism within England.
Functionally, Anglican episcopal authority is expressedsynodically, although individual provinces may accord theirprimate with more or less authority to act independently. Called variously "synods", "councils", or "conventions", they meet under episcopal chairmanship. In many jurisdictions, conciliar resolutions that have been passed require episcopal assent or consent to take force. Seen in this way, Anglicans often speak of "the bishop-in-synod" as the force and authority of episcopal governance. Such conciliar authority extends to the standard areas of doctrine,discipline, and worship, but in these regards is limited by Anglicanism's tradition of the limits of authority. Those limits are expressed in Article XXI of theThirty-Nine Articles of Religion, ratified in 1571 (significantly, just as theCouncil of Trent was drawing to a close), which held that "General Councils ... may err, and sometimes have erred ... wherefore things ordained by them as necessary to salvation have neither strength nor authority, unless it may be declared that they be taken out of holy Scripture." Hence, Anglican jurisdictions have traditionally been conservative in their approach to either innovative doctrinal development or in encompassing actions of the church as doctrinal (seelex orandi, lex credendi).
Anglican synodical government, though varied in expression, is characteristically representative. Provinces of theAnglican Communion, theirecclesiastical provinces anddioceses are governed by councils consisting not only of bishops, but also representatives of thepresbyterate andlaity.
There is no international juridical authority in Anglicanism, although the tradition's common experience of episcopacy, symbolised by the historical link with theSee ofCanterbury, along with a common and complex liturgical tradition, has provided a measure of unity. This has been reinforced by theLambeth Conferences of Anglican Communion bishops, which first met in 1867. These conferences, though they propose and pass resolutions, are strictly consultative, and the intent of the resolutions is to provide guideposts for Anglican jurisdictions—not direction. The Conferences also express the function of the episcopate to demonstrate the ecumenical and catholic nature of the church.
TheScottish Episcopal Church tracesits history back to the origins of Christianity in Scotland. Following the 1560Scottish Reformation theChurch of Scotland was initially run by Superintendents, episcopal governance was restored in 1572, but episcopalianism alternated with periods when the Kirk was underpresbyterian control until the1711 Act allowed formation of the independent non-established Scottish Episcopal Church. TheNonjuring schism led to the British Government imposing penal laws against the church. In 1784 the Scottish church appointedSamuel Seabury as first bishop of theAmerican Episcopal Church, beginning the worldwide Anglican Communion of churches, and in 1792 the penal laws were abolished. The church accepted the articles of the Church of England in 1804.[22] The spread of increasinglydemocratic forms of representative governance has its origin in the formation of the first General Conventions of the American Episcopal Church in the 1780s, which established a "House of Bishops" and a "House of Deputies". In many jurisdictions, there is also a third, clerical House. Resolutions may be voted on jointly or by each House, in the latter case requiring passage in all Houses to be adopted by the particular council.
Churches that are members of the Anglican Communion are episcopal churches in polity, and some are named "Episcopal". However, some churches that self-identify as Anglican do not belong to the Anglican Communion, and not all episcopally-governed churches are Anglican. TheRoman Catholic Church, theOld Catholic Churches (in full communion with, but not members of, the Anglican Communion), and theEastern Orthodox churches are recognized, and also their bishops, byAnglicans.
A number ofMethodist churches often use episcopal polity for historical as well as practical reasons, albeit to limited use. Methodists often use the termconnexionalism orconnexional polity in addition to "episcopal". Nevertheless, the powers of the Methodist episcopacy can be relatively strong and wide-reaching compared to traditional conceptions of episcopal polity.
In theFree Methodist Church, bishops are elected.[23]
In theUnited Methodist Church, bishops are elected for life, can serve up to two terms in a specific conference (three if special permission is given), are responsible for ordaining and appointing clergy to pastor churches, perform many administrative duties, preside at the annual sessions of the regional Conferences and at the quadrennial meeting of the worldwide General Conference, have authority for teaching and leading the church on matters of social and doctrinal import, and serve to represent the denomination in ecumenical gatherings. United Methodist bishops in the United States serve in their appointed conferences, being moved to a new "Episcopal Area" after 8 (or 12) years, until their mandated retirement at the end of the quadrennium following their sixty-sixth birthday.[24]
TheMethodist Church in Great Britain holds that all ordained ministers are equal in terms of spirituality. However, for practical management lines are drawn into President of Conference, Chair of District, Superintendent Minister, Minister. However, all are ministers. TheFellowship of Independent Methodist Churches is non-episcopal. Similarly, theCongregational Methodist Church has acongregational polity.
MostAnabaptist churches of theplain dress tradition follow an episcopal system, at least in name. Congregational governance is strongly emphasized, and each congregation elects its pastor. Bishops enforce inter-congregational unity and may discipline pastors for breaking from traditional norms.
TheReformed Church of Hungary andLutheran churches incontinental Europe may sometimes be called “episcopal”. In these latter cases, the form of government is not radically different from thepresbyterian form, except that their councils of bishops have hierarchicaljurisdiction over the local ruling bodies to a greater extent than in mostPresbyterian and otherReformed churches. As mentioned, the Lutheran Church in Sweden and Finland (along with Lutheran Churches established in various parts of the world by missionaries from these denominations) are exceptions, claiming apostolic succession in a pattern somewhat like the Anglican churches. Otherwise, forms of polity are not mandated in the Lutheran churches, as it is not regarded as having doctrinal significance.[25]Old World Lutheranism, for historical reasons, has tended to adoptErastian theories of episcopal authority (by which church authority is to a limited extent sanctioned by secular government). In the United States, Lutheran churches tend to adopt a form of government that grants congregations more independence, but ultimately has an episcopal structure.[citation needed] A small minority ofEpiscopal Baptists exists.
Although it never uses the term,The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (informally known as the LDS Church) is episcopal, rather than presbyterian or congregational, in the sense that it has a strict hierarchy of leadership from the local bishop/branch president up to a single prophet/president, believed to be personally authorized and guided by Jesus Christ.[citation needed] Local congregations (branches, wards, and stakes) havede jure boundaries by which members are allocated, and membership records are centralized.[citation needed] This system developed gradually from a more presbyterian polity (Joseph Smith's original title in 1830 was "First Elder") for pragmatic and doctrinal reasons, reaching a full episcopacy during theNauvoo period (1839–1846).[citation needed]
Among Lutherans there are also different positions: Scandinavian Lutheran churches claim apostolic succession, but German Lutheran churches (many formed from Prussian-mandated unions with Reformed Churches which reject this belief) do not affirm this element of doctrine. The Latvian and Estonian Lutheran churches had exchanged mutual recognition of this succession with the Anglican Church before WWII. They should be considered among the Scandinavian group rather than the German group, explaining theological motivation for consecration by a sitting bishop (Melton,Encyclopedia, 91).
As with all gifts of Christ to His Church, the ability to trace links to the apostolic age and missions is a blessing that is useful in the work of the Christian Church Universal. As an Evangelical Catholic body confessing Holy Scripture and the guidance of the Lutheran Book of Concord, the Lutheran Church – International is grateful to God for the ability to participate in these lines of succession. They are for us in our ministries a sign of the unity and continuity of the Christian Church through the power of the Holy Spirit.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
