Bishop

At the first centuries

Before the Christianity, the term was used to indicate all kinds of administrators (this word is the best translation) in the fields civilian, financier, soldier, legal. In the Church Lutheran, one has the memory of this etymology by naming the bishops of the “ecclesiastical inspectors”. This term indicates, in the Christian religion, the successors of the twelve Apôtre S instituted (according to New Testament) by Jesus-Christ.

The first episkopoi were elected by the members of Eκκλησία/ ekklêsia , the assembly of faithful, with the way in which an association elects its leaders today. Sunday which followed, the new bishop was devoted as bishop by the whole of the bishops of the province, by means of the laying on of hands, with the center, of course, of the eucharistic synaxe.

What is called the apostolic Succession consists of the dedication of a new bishop by one, or several bishops, themselves validly devoted. The council of Nicée specified that one needed the presence of at least three bishops. But in the event of need, the presence of only one is enough. This rule is applied by the catholic , the orthodoxe and generally, by the Église Anglican though the Roman Catholic church denies with the latter the validity of the aforesaid the succession, just like with the nestoriens.

In the Roman Catholic church

In the Catholic church, the bishops are named by the pope, starting from lists transmitted to Rome by the Apostolic nuncio, established by the bishops of the same province or even ecclesiastical area. Each bishop has the right to make proposals.

The dedication is a Sacrement (episcopal Ordination) conferred by at least three bishops; it is even the higher degree of the sacrament of the order (one speaks about " plenitude of the sacerdoce"). It must be conferred in the communion with the bishop of Rome (the pope), i.e. with at least its approval. If it were not the case, devoting them as devoted would incur the Excommunication (see the business of the Fraternité Saint-Pie X).

The bishop is the successor of the apostles, and for this reason, he is Doctor of the faith , charged to teach it and transmit it with fidelity.

The bishop is minister of God , and vicar of Jesus-Christ. He exerts his spiritual functions within a district called Diocèse; in the Eastern Church one speaks about éparchie. He resides at it in the city where its Cathédrale is; this city and its episcopal residence are called évêché. The bishop is before all that which chairs the assembly of faithful and more precisely the eucharistie (but it can delegate for this purpose a simple priest). In its Church local (or patriarchal, or even universal) it is the principle of the visible unit of the faithful ones. It is charged to take care on its local Église, to ensure the liturgy, the teaching of the catholic faith and the service with most stripped. It is assisted in its task by Diacre S and priest S, or even of laic, duly elected. His/her closer collaborators were formerly the Archidiacre S; they are called today episcopal vicars and general vicars. The bishop is also assisted presbytéraux councils among which the chapter cathédral is.

The sacraments that only the bishops can practice are:

the confirmation (delegated to the priests diocesans, but oiling is carried out with the oil chrismale blessed by the bishop)
the sacrament of the order : ordination diaconale and presbytérale, episcopal dedication

In the theology of the episcopate one can distinguish three components, of divine right, episcopal function, and all the three also of apostolic origin:

the titulature allotted by the election, or the canonical designation, which invests right to the seat ;
capacity of order , conferred by the episcopal ordination or laying on of hands, which allocates the sacramental capacities ;
the jurisdiction , assumed at the time of the taking possession of the seat, or nomination, which confers the spiritual and administrative authority immediate on a given portion of God's people, the particular Church: diocese, or éparchie, or patriarchate, or even the whole of the universal Church (in the precise case of the Roman pontiff).

These three elements, normally linked and coordinated one with the other, can be accidentally disjoined. The titulature and the jurisdiction can vary, in the event of resignation, or of change of seat, for examples. The capacity of order is given for always: sacerdos in aeternum .

The titulature and the jurisdiction are distinct for each bishop; it is they which constitute the ecclesiastical hierarchy. The capacity of order, as for him, is single and identical for all the bishops. It founds the episcopal collegial structure what is called. All three, titulature, capacity of order and jurisdiction, are a participation in the priesthood of Christ, single true priest and Pasteur.

Certain bishops are created cardinals holy Église Roman, and become voters of the pope then in the case of a Conclave (if they have less than 80 years). The bishops carry the title of Archevêque when they are with the head of a Archidiocèse; they raise the Pallium then. They are called Archevêque S Métropolitain S if the seat is the chief town of an ecclesiastical province. Other bishops are patriarch S: the Pope, bishop of Rome , is patriarch of Occident (in March 2006, the pope Benoît XVI decided not to more make use of this title, but in titular residence). Certain catholic bishops had before the 19th century important temporal powers, the such Prince-Bishops in the Germanic countries, or the pope in the Papal States. Two only places where such a thing remains are State of City of the Vatican, whose pope is sovereign, and Principality of Andorra, which has two coprinces, of which one is a Spanish bishop, the bishop of Urgel.

In the past, the bishop nomination often gave place to fights between the political powers and the Roman Church, for example famous the Querelle of the Nominations, at the 11th century.

Auxiliary bishop coadjutor/

An auxiliary bishop is a bishop charged to help another bishop in an important diocese. He does not have direct jurisdiction on the diocese while being episcopal.

A coadjutor is an auxiliary bishop intended to succeed the bishop called to take his retirement soon.

A coadjutor or an auxiliary is bishop; he receives a title in partibus . The general vicar also assists the titular bishop, but was not not ordered bishop.

Bishop in partibus

It is a titular bishop of old évêché, from now on missing, who is now In partibus infidelium (“in the regions of the infidels”: such old évêché of North Africa du like Hippone, or of the Latin States of the East, like Édesse, Tripoli, Amorium, etc), i.e. formerly Christian. This bishop does not have in fact not a Diocèse suitable to control, but this title is given to him to justify its rise with the row in bishop. Thus, although without faithful, it can be ordered. It is then destined for administrative offices within the Roman Curie or of the Diplomatie vaticane. Such bishops can be also auxiliary bishops or coadjutors, but that became rarer. As for the withdrawn bishops, they carry from now on the highly skilled title of bishop of their old seat.

As for M {{gr.}} Gaillot, former bishop of Évreux, it was appointed bishop of Parténia, in Algérie because each bishop must be titular of a seat. The fact of being a bishop (theoretical) of an end of desert is regarded by certain as a sanction, more especially as it does not even have the right to reside at it. Mgr Gaillot was transferred to a fictitious seat, but not deposited, even less excommunicated. It is a sanction, but softened.

Highly skilled bishop

The bishops and Archbishop S catholics having exceeded the age limit 75 years forced by the canonical Right (Can. 401) to control to them Diocèse become highly skilled bishop or highly skilled archbishop of this diocese once their resignation officially accepted by the Pope.

As example, one can quote the cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger become at 78 years highly skilled archbishop of Paris as of the nomination of Mgr André Vingttrois like new archbishop of Paris.

In the orthodoxe Church

The bishop occupies the supreme degree of the ecclesiastical hierarchy. He is the successor of the apostles who governs the eucharistie. He is the icon of Christ and Pasteur of a particular church of which he bears the name in his titulature. He is the supervisor and the person in charge of the doctrines and the teaching of his flocks. He takes care of the communion inside his diocese and the communion of his church with the other orthodoxe churches. Only the hiéromoines (monks priests) reach the episcopate. It results from this that the orthodoxe bishops are compelled with the celibacy, contrary with the orthodoxe priests who can be married (but only before their ordination presbytérale).

A bishop can carry various titles:

primacy , if it chairs a church autocéphale or autonomous.
pope, patriarch, catholicos , highest honorary titles of primacy.
archbishop , if it is primacy, or if it chairs of a province.
métropolite , if it occupies a seat with the head of an important province (Russian use) or if it occupies any seat like holder (Greek use).
cathigoumene , if it is higher of a monastery.
auxiliary , if it assists a holder.
chorévèque , if it is auxiliary while carrying like titrates the name of a locality of the diocese (Cypriot use).

Clothing of the orthodoxe bishop

clothing of the bishop celebrating with the furnace bridge:

the sakkos, the full imperial tunic furnished with grelots.

On the icons however, the bishops do not carry the sakkos but the traditional chasuble. If this chasuble is trimmed crosses sunk on clear bottom, it is called the polystavrio.

the omophore, large scarf of wool which is folded around the head and falls down in front of and behind. It symbolizes the lost ewe that Christ relates to her shoulders. It is the symbol even of the episcopate.

Panaghia, a pectoral medallion representing the Mother of God, the Sign.

the bishops honoured with an honorary title carry in more one pectoral cross and a bicephalous eagle.

the episcopal Crosse is a surmounted stick of a small cross surrounded by two figures of faced snakes which symbolize prudence and wisdom.

the episcopal miter is a crown in dome.

It is accompanied by two sub-deacons carrying each one a candlestick, one with three branches, the other to two. They are the symbols of the orthodoxe faith, in the Trinity and in two natures of Christ.

solemn behavior of the bishop governing the chorus:

It is covered mandia, drag violet with red and white bands.

clothing of the bishop in town suit:

It is equipped as a monk with his kalimaphion surmounted with a veil.
It carries its pectoral medallion with possibly the cross and the eagle.
It has a pastoral stick.

In the Churches Anglicans

The Churches Anglicans (some are called " épiscopaliennes") preserved the episcopate, which belongs to their heritage of before the decision of Henri VIII. Sacramental ordination with life by three bishops, conservation of the apostolic succession (often known as " historique") and the duties and responsibilities for the bishop follow the broad outlines of the catholic and orthodoxe episcopate. The bishops, either are named, or elected, according to the custom and habits of each one of the thirty-eight " provinces" (national churches) of the Communion Anglican. The women are regarded as suitable with the episcopate in three provinces (New Zealand, Canada, the United States), but only 11 of some 850 bishops in the world are women. Besides this recent development, considered as a stone of obstacle, the Anglican-Novel Catholic International Consultation concluded that the theology and the practice of the episcopate of the two Churches are identical.

It should be noted that certain bishops Anglicans whose apostolic succession was doubtful were voluntarily reordered by bishops Old Catholics.

Clothing with the furnace bridge is similar to those of the catholic bishops. To the chorus, however, the bishops Anglicans wear very particular clothing:

behavior of the bishop Anglican to the chorus:

the cassock violet,
the " rochet" , like a paddle but with very broad handles tightened with the wrists,
the " chimère" , a species of light cover, black or red,
" The écharpe" or " tippet" , like a very long black stole,
pectoral Cross, ring, stick.

In the luthero-reformed Protestant Churches

In the Protestantism (in a strict sense, Irvingiens excluded), only the Luthéranisme (and some rare reformed Churches) knows a personal episcopal ministry, which is a function of the Church and not a sacramental order.

The Lutheranism knows a female episcopate, as he knows the female ministries. Contrary to the catholic episcopate which is indicated by the Pope or, in the certificated countries, jointly by the Pope and the State, these functions are elective, i.e. democratic; the vote of faithful is exerted either directly with the first degree, or with the second degree.

Even if the Scandinavian bishops and certain German bishops are in the apostolic Succession with the catholic direction, this expression is generally heard in Protestantism like meaning fidelity with apostolic teaching - a spiritual succession thus, and not history.

In the other Protestant Churches, on the level of the local Church, the episcopal ministry is that of the Pasteur S (traditionally elected), and collégialement of the old .

The consistory, or council presbytéral is elected by the general meeting which also elects, in the presbytéro-synodal system, a certain number of delegated to the synod. The level of a national union, the ministry of unit is ensured by the Synode S and councils elected by them, with sometimes a strong concentration on the person of their president. Failing this, it is it by the collegial structure of the pastors.

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