v. Elder, Deacon
Act 20:28 the Holy Spirit has appointed you by or
Phi 1:1 are in Philippi, with the o and deacons
Tit 1:7 he must be blameless
1Pe 2:25 returned to the Shepherd and O of your souls
Bishop (Gr. episkopos, “overseer”, “he who oversees”). As used in the NT, this term generally refers to the person who serves as the “overseer,” “superintendent,” or “guardian” of a church. Once (1Pe 2:25) it is used for Christ as guardian of souls. The “guardians” or “overseers” of Act 20:28 are called “elders” (Gk. presbuteros) in v 17. Such a possibility of interchanging the 2 terms is documented by Chrysostom (6 407 AD). He states that in ancient times the elders were called overseers (or bishops) of Christ. Clement of Rome, who lived in the 1st century AD, seems to confirm this. The character requirements and duties of bishops are clearly outlined in 1 Tit 3:2-7. An examination of their duties shows that they originally did not have the prerogatives later assumed by some who held those offices. See Elder. Bib.: Chrysostom, First Homily on the Epistle to the Philippians 1, in Migne, Greek Patrology, t. 62, Col_183; Clement of Rome, Clement’s first epistle to the Corinthians, cp 44. Oblation. See Sacrifices and Offerings.
Source: Evangelical Bible Dictionary
Greek episkopos, watchman, inspector or superintendent.
Man endowed by God to take care of the church Acts 20, 28. He had to have qualities of teacher, pastor and administrator, 1 Tm 3, 2-7; Tt 1, 5-9. to be or was considered a good deed, 1 Tm 3, 1. The o. had the responsibility of shepherding the church of the Lord, Acts 20, 28.
The title of or is derived from Christ who is shepherd and guardian, 1 Pet 2, 25.
Digital Bible Dictionary, Grupo C Service & Design Ltda., Colombia, 2003
Source: Digital Bible Dictionary
(gr., episkopos, overseer).
Originally, the term referred to the chief official of the local church, the other being the deacon or deacons (1Ti 3:1-7). The title elder or presbyter was generally applied to the same man; elder in reference to age and dignity, and bishop to his work of superintendence. As churches multiplied, the bishop of a larger church often received special honor, and so gradually a hierarchy grew, from presiding elders to bishops (over groups of churches) and then archbishops.
Source: Hispanic World Bible Dictionary
(In Greek “episcope”, “supervisor”).
– Christ himself is called “pastor and bishop”, in 1Pe 2:25.
– The “Bishops” are the successors of the Apostles: (Mat 10:2-4). The “bishopric” was instituted by Christ; Jesus himself chose the first bishops, in Mat 10: 2-4, and Jesus himself is the one who chooses each current Bishop, through his Church, by the work of the Holy Spirit, to the glory of the Father: (Ac 1:24-26).
– The terms “bishop, priest”, “episcope, presbyter, elder”, are used in the New Testament without very clear distinction, and, sometimes, it is difficult to distinguish which is which, but both ministries exist in the NT, and in the first century they are seen very clearly with Saint Ignatius of Antioch.
– In the “Pastoral Letters” of St. Paul: (1 Tim.3, Titus 1) the qualities and conditions of the “bishops” are pointed out: (“episcops” and “presbyters”, or “elders”), to govern and take care of the Church of God: (1Ti 3:5), and so that they can exhort with sound doctrine and argue the contradictors: (Tit 1:9).
Timothy and Titus are not exactly what we know today as “bishops”: (they would be more like today’s “papal delegates”), but they had the powers and duties of bishops.
– The Church advocates “celibacy” for “bishops”, with the powers of Mat 18:18, following the norms of St. Paul in 1Co 7:8, and those of Christ himself in Mat 19:10-12.
– In Acts 20:17, Acts 20:28, the outlines of the present “bishops” appear, and in 1Pe 5:2-3, the same outlines, with some very practical recommendations for them and for us.
Christian Bible Dictionary
Dr. J. Dominguez
http://bible.com/dictionary/
Source: Christian Bible Dictionary
type, LOAD
see, OLD MAN, í ANGEL, DIí CONES, CHURCH
vet, (gr. “episkopos”, “supervisor”). In the LXX this term designates an official, civil or religious supervisor, such as the priest Eleazar (Num. 4:16) and the army officers (Num. 31:14). In the NT, this term appears for the first time in Paul’s exhortation to the elders or presbyters of the church in Ephesus: “Take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers” (or overseers). ; Acts 20:17, 28). In this passage and in others, Paul uses these words “elder” and “overseer” to designate the same people (cf. Tit. 1:5-7). The first term designates the dignity of age, while the second denotes the dignity of the function performed. Instead, a clear distinction is made between the bishop and the deacon (Phil. 1:1; 1 Tim. 3:1-8). Using the term “episkopeõ”, Peter exhorts the elders as follows: “Shepherd the flock of God that is among you, taking care of it…” (1 Pet. 5:2). (See ELDER.) To Christ is applied the name bishop: “You have returned to the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls” (1 Pet. 2:25). Already in the life of the apostles there were numerous tendencies, within Christianity, that moved away from obedience to the instructions given by the Lord through them, both in doctrines and in practice (cf. Galatians, 1 Corinthians, Colossians , etc.). The same thing happened after the death of the apostles. Already soon a distinction, non-existent in the Scriptures, began to be made between the elders or presbyters and the bishops. In the second century this difference is mentioned in the epistles of Ignatius, who died in the year 107 (or 116). Jerome has left us an eloquent testimony of the state of affairs that led to the rise of the episcopal regime: “In the ancients, bishops and presbyters are the same, because the first is the name of dignity, and the last of age” ( Epistle to Oceano, Vall. 69, 416). And in his epistle to Evangelo he cites Phil. 1:1; Hch. twenty; Tit. 1:5, etc.; 1 Ti. 4:14; 1 P. 5; 2 John and 3 John, using a very strong language, and says verbatim: “that later one was chosen who was above (lat.: “praeponeretur”) of the others, it was done as a remedy for schisms, lest by each one going to draw to himself the church of Christ would divide it.” Jerome amplifies in this and other writings the testimony that the election of a presiding bishop from among the elders was a provision not taken from the Scriptures, but made for convenience, due to the clericalism into which he had already fallen at that time, and which would go growing in the later development of the history of the Church, culminating in the Catholic papacy. At the Council of Trent in the 16th century, the Roman church proclaimed that “bishops, successors of the apostles, are appointed by the Holy Spirit to govern the Church of God, and are superior to their presbyters or priests.” The position of the church of Rome is that the elders, who had been established in the ministry, directed the regional assemblies. The Church of Rome also assumes that, as the number of communities increased, the apostles, in need of helpers, appointed district supervisors, who were designated as their successors. This, according to Rome, would have been the case with the angels of the seven churches (Rev. 1:20; see í NGEL). According to the Anglican Church, James the brother of Jesus, in Jerusalem, the angels of the seven churches, Timothy and Titus, were the ones who exercised these functions. However, it must be noted that, true as it is that the apostles sent personal delegates with their authority, there is no indication in the Scriptures that this authority could be given to successors. The alleged motive of the episcopal office is to maintain the care of the church. However, the following observations have to be made: (a) The apostles appointed elders and deacons with their own authority, either directly exercised or delegated to persons who formally held this charge (see ELDERS, DEACONS). It is evident that the churches had no power to make such appointments, from the very fact that Timothy and Titus were entrusted with such a mission in the churches to which they were sent (1 Tim. 1:2; 3:1-15; Tit. 1:5ff.). It is evident that the disappearance of the apostles in their singular character also gave rise to the disappearance of the elders and deacons as positions that had been established in the nascent church by the irreplaceable apostolic authority. (b) The disposition of the episcopal regime did not originate in obedience to the Scriptures, but in a human attempt to head off schismatic tendencies; it arose, therefore, as a consequence of the strong tendencies towards clericalism. Ultimately, and seen from a historical perspective, the cure was worse than the disease. (c) The Scriptures do not commend the church to the bishops or elders as a remedy for evils to come, but point to them as future causes of those evils. Indeed, Paul, in his moving farewell to the elders of Ephesus, tells them: “For I know that after my departure ravenous wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. And from your own selves men will arise who speak perverse things to draw away the disciples after them… And now, brothers, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which has power to build you up and give you an inheritance with all those who are sanctified” ( Acts 20:29-30, 32, etc.). This is the resource that God has given to his own, a full and effective resource. Himself, and the Word of grace from him. The apostles, and all that they entailed, fulfilled their historical mission, establishing the foundations of the Church, and giving believers the Word of God and the living hope of the return of Jesus Christ. Bibliography: Darby, JN: “Remarks on The Church and the World”, in The Collected Writings of JN Darby, vol. 15, pp. 298-379 (Stow-Hill Bible and Tract Depot, Kingston-on-Thames, reprint 1964); Darby, JN: “Episcopacy,” in Collected Writings, pp. 307-317; Darby, JN: “Apostolicity and Succession,” in Collected Writings, vol. 22, pp. 219-334; Kelly, W.: “Bearing of the failure of the Church on the institution of Elders,” in Bible Treasury, Oct. 1871, pp. 111-346; Gonzaga, J.: “Councils” (International Publications, Grand Rapids, 1966); Grau, J.: “The apostolic foundation” (European Evangelical Editions, Barcelona, 1973); Lacueva, F.: “The Church, body of Christ” (Clie, Terrassa, 1973). (See also bibliography at the end of the CHURCH article.)
Source: New Illustrated Bible Dictionary
Etymologically the word means inspector, watchman (“episkopos”). Whoever receives the sacrament of the episcopate enters…