Episcopal polity
A view held among orthodox Christians
A form of church government in which bishops, set over many congregations and their clergy, hold the chief authority, usually with priests or presbyters and deacons beneath them.
Also called: episcopacy, Episcopal government, government by bishops, diocesan bishop
What it means
In episcopal government a bishop oversees a region (a diocese) and its congregations. He alone, or with other bishops, ordains clergy, and the local minister serves under his authority. Anglican, Methodist, Lutheran, Roman Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox churches are governed in forms of this pattern, though they differ greatly in what they believe about the office.
Supporters point to Timothy and Titus, who oversaw several churches and appointed elders, and to the early spread of single bishops over city churches in the second century. Many Protestant episcopalians hold the arrangement as wise and ancient rather than commanded.
Presbyterians and Baptists answer that in the New Testament "overseer" (bishop) and "elder" are one office, and that Timothy and Titus were apostolic helpers rather than permanent diocesan bishops. The site displays this as a form of government held by orthodox churches. It looks carefully at whether congregations still have plural, qualified elders and real accountability.
In Scripture
Titus was left in Crete to appoint elders in every town, which episcopalians see as oversight of many churches.
Timothy was left in Ephesus to charge certain men not to teach false doctrine.
Paul moves from 'elders' to 'overseer' while describing the same men, a key text for those who see one office.
The Ephesian elders are themselves the overseers of the flock.
Where it comes up
On this site: Church government
Related terms
PresbyterianismA view held among orthodox Christians
A form of church government in which each congregation is ruled by a session of elders, and congregations are joined under higher courts of elders (presbyteries and assemblies) for mutual accountability.
ElderHistoric orthodoxy
A qualified man called by the church to shepherd, teach, and govern a congregation; the New Testament also calls the office overseer, bishop, or pastor.