Bishops, Part 1

It doesn't require a whole lot of examination to discover that there are many profound differences between Orthodox Christianity and every other Christian tradition in the world today. Some of those differences are of course more obvious than others. Part of the purpose of this blog has been to address those differences and consider their consequences.

One of the more apparent differences between Orthodoxy and most Protestant and Evangelical bodies is in the matter of church government, which in the Orthodox Church includes a very clearly defined hierarchy composed of bishops, priests, deacons and laity. The hierarchical structure of the Catholic Church was something that annoyed me in my youth (when I didn't even know the Orthodox Church existed), particularly in light of St Peter's mention of the "royal priesthood," which I--like all good Baptists--took to mean that any hierarchy in the church was redundant and in violation of the belief that there is "one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." The use of bishops and priests looked to me like the "traditions of men" that St Paul warned us about.

I have since revised my opinion of the office of bishop.

So, with that in mind, I will begin a series of posts dealing with each of the levels of clergy in the Orthodox Church, beginning with that of bishop. Specifically I will be answering questions that I myself asked as I was investigating the Church:

What is a bishop anyway?
Why don't I see bishops in the Bible?
What is the purpose of a bishop?
Are they really necessary?
And what is the difference between an archbishop and a metropolitan?

The word "bishop" is derived from the Greek word episkopos (ἐπίσκοπος), which is a combination of the words epi (ἐπί), meaning "on" or "over" (as in "epiphyte"), and skopos (σκοπός), which means "seeing" or "looking" (as in "microscope"). The literal translation of ἐπίσκοπος would therefore be "overseer," which is how it is rendered in the NIV and ESV translations of the Bible. The KJV and RSV both translate it as "bishop." Either way is valid.

St Ignatius, who, as I have mentioned before, was a disciple of the Apostle John, wrote a letter to the church in Philadelphia (in Asia Minor, not Pennsylvania!) in which he told them that nothing in the church is to be done without the consent and guidance of the bishop ("Χωρις του επισκοπου μηδεν ποιειτε." Letter to the Philadelphians 7.1 [see here for the Greek version]). In the same letter, he wrote that "The Lord forgives all who repent—if, that is, their repentance brings them into God's unity and to the bishop's council" ("...του επισκοπου." ibid. 8.1).

To the Christians in Ephesus, St Ignatius wrote: "It is right, then, for you to render all glory to Jesus Christ, seeing he has glorified you. Thus, united in your submission, and subject to the bishop and the presbytery [i.e. priests], you will be real saints." ("...υποτασσομενοι τω επισκοπω...." Letter to the Ephesians 2.2 [Greek version])

St Ignatius in his epistles reminds the Christians of Asia Minor to

"act in accord with the bishop's [επισκοπου] mind" (ibid. 4.1),
"avoid resisting the bishop [επισκοπω]" (ibid. 5.3),
"regard the bishop [επισκοπον] as the Lord himself" (ibid. 6.1),
"heed the bishop [επισκοπω] and presbytery attentively" (ibid. 20.2),
"respect [the bishop, επισκοπου] as fully as you respect the authority of God the Father" (Letter to the Magnesians 3.1),
"let the bishop [επισκοπου] preside in God's place" (ibid. 6.1),
"not do anything without the bishop [επισκοπου] and presbyters" (ibid. 7.1),
"defer to the bishop [επισκοπου] and to one another as Jesus Christ did to the Father" (ibid. 13.2),
"obey the bishop [επισκοπω] as if he were Jesus Christ" (Letter to the Trallians 2.1),
"act in no way without the bishop [επισκοπου] " (ibid. 2.2),
"submit to the bishop [επισκοπω] as to [God's] law" (ibid. 13.2)
"follow the bishop [επισκοπω] as Jesus Christ did the Father" (Letter to the Smyrnaeans 8.1),
"[do not] do anything that has to do with the Church without the bishop's [επισκοπου] approval" (ibid. 8.1).

He further states that "where the bishop [επισκοπος] is present...there is the Catholic Church [καθολικη εκκλησια]." (ibid. 8.2); and that "he who pays the bishop [επισκοπον] honor has been honored by God. But he who acts without the bishop's [επισκοπου] knowledge is in the devil's service." (ibid. 9.1)

An article I once read used the epistles of St Ignatius (particularly ch. 8, v. 2 of his letter to the Smyrnaeans) to demonstrate how quickly the early Church fell into error. The writer of the article, apparently suffering from a bad case of Romaphobia, took the position that, because the modern churches that he felt had gone astray--specifically the Roman Catholic and Anglican/Episcopal--had bishops and his did not, then any mention of bishops by the Fathers of the early Church could only be evidence of error/apostasy/heresy. And besides that, he didn't see bishops mentioned in his Bible.

First of all, I find it difficult to believe that a pupil of the Apostle and Evangelist St John, would disregard or misunderstand or distort the teachings of his mentor so quickly and blantantly. Especially considering that Polycarp, another student of St John, and Clement, a student of St Peter, also both wrote letters encouraging Christians to follow the spiritual guidance of their bishops. Were the Apostles really such ineffective teachers?

Secondly, the word "bishop" (ἐπίσκοπος) does, in fact, appear several times in the Bible:

"Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers [ἐπισκόπους]" (Acts 20.28),
"To all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers [ἐπισκόποις] and deacons..." (Phil 1.1),
"Now the overseer [ἐπίσκοπον] must be above reproach..." (1Ti 3.2),
"Since an overseer [ἐπίσκοπον] is entrusted with God's work, he must be blameless... (Titus 1.7), "...you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer [ἐπίσκοπον] of your souls" (1Pt 2.25 ).

At least twice the word is used to refer to the office of bishop:
"'May another take his place of leadership [ἐπισκοπὴν]'" (Acts 1.20)*
If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer [ἐπισκοπῆς], he desires a noble task (1Ti 3.1) (KJV translates this as "...if a man desire the office of a bishop..."

*Here St Peter quotes Psalm 109:8, which in the Septuagint reads: "γενηθήτωσαν αἱ ἡμέραι αὐτοῦ ὀλίγαι καὶ τὴν ἐπισκοπὴν αὐτοῦ λάβοι ἕτερος." (note: the numbering of the Psalms is different in the LXX than in those copies of the OT deriving from the Masoretic manuscripts. Therefore, what is identified as Psalm 109 in the NIV, is Psalm 108 in the LXX)

So the bishop was clearly an important component of the Church from very early in its history, and existed even in the Church of the New Testament.

Next time I will take a look at the role of bishops in the Orthodox Chuch.

Q&A

Q: Why are Orthodox priests allowed to marry?

A: Technically speaking, we ordain married men — neither priests nor deacons may marry once they are ordained (in some traditions, this applies to ordination of SubDeacons as well). The decision to marry or not must be made prior to ordination, and in the event of the death of his wife, an ordained clergyman may not remarry.

Specifically, It was at the First Lateran Council in 1123 that celibacy became mandatory for Roman Catholic priests. A local council in the West in Elvira, Spain in 316 declared that celibacy was mandatory for clergy, and the practice began to spread in the West over the following centuries under the encouragement of various Popes.

Orthodox have always insisted that celibacy had traditionally been optional for clergy since the first century, citing scriptural and other evidence for married priests and bishops (see for example Mark 1:30, Timothy 3:1-5). And the decisions of local councils are not binding on the church as a whole; only the decisions of ecumenical councils, when accepted by the community as a whole, are binding. Note that as is the case in the West, bishops have been celibate in Orthodoxy since the fifth century, a canon law instituted to halt the loss of land holdings to the descendents of married bishops.

Note, too, that all monastics are celibate in the Orthodox Church. Also, celibacy has always been understood as a tradition rather than as unchangeable doctrine in the West, which is why there have been exceptions made to Roman Catholic priestly celibacy, especially in recent years. There are no doctrinal reasons why a married priesthood could not be restored in the West.

Courtesy of Holy Transfiguration Church

The Four "Orders" in Church Government

From the Orthodox Study Bible, pg. 1635 [Items in brackets are my addition. M.]

The New Testament teaches that all four "orders" which form the government of the Church -laity, deacons, presbyters, and bishops- are necessary to the proper functioning of the body of Christ. All four are clearly visible in Paul's first letter to Timothy.

1. The laity are also called "saints" [ἁγίοις/ἁγίων] (Rom 1.7; 2Co 1.1; 1Ti 5.10), the "faithful" [πιστοῖς] (Eph 1.1), and "brethren" [ἀδελφοῖς] (Col 1.2). The laity (Gr. laos) are all the people of God, the "priesthood" [ἱεράτευμα] (1Pet 2.4-10). Technically, the term "laity" includes clergy, though in our day the word usually refers to those in the Church who are not ordained. It is from among the laity that the other three orders emerge.

2. The deacons, [pictured] literally "servants," [διακόνους] are ordained to serve the Church and must meet high qualifications (1Ti 3.8-13). The apostles were the first to take on the service tasks of deacons, and when the workload became too great they called for "seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business" (Acts 6.3). Besides serving the material needs of the people, deacons occupy a crucial role in the liturgical life of the Church.

3. The presbyters, or elders, are visible throughout the New Testament. Their ministry from the start was to "rule," "labor in the word" and teach true "doctrine" (1Ti 5.17) in the local congregation. Paul "appointed elders [πρεσβυτέρους] in every church" (Acts 14.23) and later instructed his apostolic apprentice, Titus, to do the same in Crete (Titus 1:5). From the word "presbyter" came the shorter form "prest," which was used in the early Church and finally became “priest.” In no way is the ordained Christian priesthood seen as a throwback to or a reenacting of the Old Testament priesthood. Rather, joined to Christ who is our High Priest "according to the order of Melchizedek" (Heb. 5:6, 10), the Orthodox priest is likewise a minister of a New Covenant which supersedes the old.

3. The bishop is the "overseer" of the congregation and clergy in a given area. Often the terms "bishop" and "elder" [ἐπισκόπους] are interchangeable in the New Testament (Acts 20:17, 28), with the bishop being the leader of the elders. The qualifications for a bishop listed in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:7-9 underscore this role. Nonetheless, "bishop" is a specific office both in the New Testament and in the early Church. The Twelve [i.e. the twelve Apostles: Peter, James, John, Andrew, Philip, James, Matthew, Bartholomew, Thaddeus, Matthias, Thomas and Simon] were the first to hold this office (in Acts 1:20 "office" is literally translated "bishopric" [ἐπισκοπὴν]) and they in turn consecrated other bishops to follow them. For example, Timothy and Titus are clearly of a separate order from that of elder (see 1 Tim. 5:17-22; Titus 1:5). Early records show James was bishop of Jerusalem by A.D. 49 and functioned accordingly at the first council there (Acts 15:13-22). Peter is on record as the first bishop of Antioch prior to A.D. 53, and later first bishop of Rome, where he was martyred about A.D. 65.

Perhaps the strongest early reference outside the New Testament to the presence of the four orders in Church government occurs in the writings of Ignatius, bishop of Antioch from A.D. 67-107, the very heart of the New Testament era. To the church at Philadelphia (see Rev 3.7-13) he writes of "Christians [laity] at one with the bishop and the presbyters and the deacons..." (italics added).

In the Orthodox Church, authority is resident in all four orders, with the, bishop providing the center of unity. His authority is not over the Church but within the Church. He is an icon of Jesus Christ, "the Shepherd and Overseer [ἐπίσκοπον] of your souls" (1Pt 2.25). Church leadership does not consist of one or more of the orders functioning without the others. Rather the Church, with Christ as Head, is conducted like a symphony orchestra, a family, the body of Christ, where all the members in their given offices work together as the dwelling place of the Holy Trinity.