The Wanganui Chronicle SATURDAY, NOVEMEBR 7, 1936. BISHOPS

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 79, Issue 264, 7 November 1936, Page 8

The Wanganui Chronicle SATURDAY, NOVEMEBR 7, 1936. BISHOPS

| Ills visit to \\ iiiigtiiiut of His Lordship I lit- Ji ighi Reverend 11. S. Bttt'be Holland, .11. A. Bishop of Wt'lliiigloii. raises the in-I'-Tcsting question as to w hat is a Phshop. lhe word comes from the old English. It tsc op, a n a bbre via t t'd lorm oi. the Greek episkopos. which means an overseer. In lite classical Greek writers, from Homer down, the term is used for any sort 01. overseer, and it lias been apjtlied to Got erp,nieut ollicers very i roqnetd ly. Tiiere is every prospect of the officers ot th<’ (■overnment increasing in number in tile near future, but ■I" 1 ' >'l' (l! th<‘ ancient usage, m' lite word there is no immediate ]>rospect, at .least, of Bishop Barbe Holland being faketi into the (I'overniiieiif, fold. The term has also been applied to the magistrates who sii|>ervised lite sale of provisions in Athens, but again there is no prospect to-day of a htsitop and an inspector of weights and measures being identified for Hie other. I he term is used in the Old Testament; for instance, in the Boid; oi -Jolt, Chapter 211, verse 29, it occurs as a name lor God who watches over lhe conduct of men. Throughout the .New iestament episcopus is interchangeable with presbyter, belli terms being the title given to ollicers oi’ a single eoltgrega I io.n. h rom I 'lie hitter jiata of the second i-enl tiry onward, however, tlie term bishop assumed lhe meaning which it. still retains. It implies tlie superiority over a body of presbyters; instead of sujtcrintendcnee in a particular congregation, it. suggests rule over a ninitljer of congregations united tn a diocese. lhe Roman Catholic position in regard to bishops appears In bo that they are superior to presbyters by divine right and tina 11 era Itle insi it utiim. It is by Unit, divine right thtii Hie bishops ride over clergy and. laity. High Church Auglii.-ans hold very similar views, they consider the episcopacy as necessary, not only to the wellbeing but to the hiring of the Clrureh. To the great body of Anglicans, however, episcopacy is a venerable form of church government which descends from apostolic times: but. they do not count it. an essential matter, and tiiey have no mind to quarrel with communities which have been formed ott anot Iter model. There has been much controversy as to whether Hie apostolic office included the episcopal office. .Roiiiaii Catholics and many independent scholars assert that there is searcly any fealui'e 1-011111)011 Io Hu- two. The apostles, it is elaitned by the latter, had no universal jurisdiction, and their nearest eounferpart. though even that is wide of lite marl;, is to be found in the tiiodern missionary. Bishops were in the earliest ages eltoscn by llm people, subject to a veto by file bishops of the provini-e. In 32.1 A.I), the first .Xieene Council recommended appointment by provincial bishops, subject to confirmation of their choice by the nietropolitait. Greek' canonists niiderstood this cation as annulling the old form of popular election, and at present the Greek Orthodox bishops are nominated by the patriarch, tlioitel) in liussia the final nomination rested, with the Tsar. In the. AVest the canon was understood to leave the popular rights of election unimpaired, merely requiring the presence of the bishops ot the province, and confirmation by the metropolitan. In the eleventh ec-iitury the right of election passed to the Cathedral Cluipter, and the Pope gradually engrossed the solo right of confirmation, but since then the Pope has restored the right of election to the chapters in certain sees and countries, in others the head of the State nominates. In England the established Church of l-ing-bind replaced the ruling sovereign for the authority of the Pope. This step was. of course, taken in the interests of national unity. The Council of Trent permits a bishop to decide in cases of certain grave charges against clerks “without formal trial, having simply ascertained the truth of the fact.” but an Anglican bishop has no such power. The clergy have the right of appeal to the Archbishop of Canterbury or the Archbishop of 5 ork in Etigiand. and appeal therefrom will lie to the Privy Council. In some European countries the Eutheran Churches have retained the episcopacy, and the term bishop is used among the Wesleyans of the Lnited States of America.