Episcopal polity

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This article is about the form of church governance. For the churches characterized by this form of governance and therefore named Episcopalian, see Anglicanism.
Church authority is often represented by ceremonial headdress, such as a mitre.
The cathedra of bishops, such as the chair of the Pope in the Basilica of St. John Lateran, represent their magisterium (teaching authority).

An episcopal polity is a hierarchical form of church governance ("ecclesiastical polity") in which the chief local authorities are bishops. (The word "bishop" derives, via the Vulgar Latin ebiscopus, from the Ancient Greek επίσκοπος epískopos meaning "overseer".) It is the structure used by many of the major Christian churches and denominations, such as Catholic, Eastern, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican and Lutheran churches or denominations, as well as other churches founded independently from these lineages.

Churches with an episcopal polity are governed by bishops with authority over the judicatory (dioceses and conferences or synods). Their presidency is both sacramental and political; as well as performing ordinations, confirmations, and consecrations, the bishop supervises the clergy within the judicatory and is the representative to both secular structures and in the hierarchy of the church. It is usually considered that bishops derive their authority from an unbroken, personal Apostolic Succession from the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. Bishops with such authority are known as the historical episcopate. Churches with this type of government usually believe that the Church requires episcopal government as described in the New Testament.[1] In some systems, bishops may be subject to higher-ranking bishops (variously called archbishops, metropolitans, and/or patriarchs, depending upon the tradition). They also meet in councils or synods. These gatherings, subject to presidency by higher ranking bishops, may govern the judicatory which are represented in the council, though the synod or council may also be purely advisory.

For much of the written history of Christianity, episcopal government was the only known form of church organization. This changed at the Reformation. Many Protestant churches are now organized by either congregational or presbyterian church polities, both descended from the writings of John Calvin, a Protestant reformer working and writing independently following the break with the Roman Catholic Church precipitated by The Ninety-Five Theses of Martin Luther.

Overview of episcopal churches[edit]

The government of a bishop is typically symbolized by a cathedral church, such as the Catholic bishops's seat at Chartres.

The definition of the word episcopal has variation among Christian traditions. There are subtle differences in governmental principles among episcopal churches at the present time. To some extent the separation of episcopal churches can be traced to these differences in ecclesiology, that is, their theological understanding of church and church governance. For some, "episcopal churches" are churches that use a hierarchy of bishops that regard themselves as being in an unbroken, personal Apostolic succession.

Episcopal is also commonly used to distinguish between the various organizational structures of denominations. For instance, the word presbyterian (Greek: 'πρεσβύτης, presbítes) is used to describe a church governed by a hierarchy of assemblies of elected elders, referred to as Presbyterian. Similarly, episcopal is used to describe a church governed by bishops. Self-governed local congregations, governed neither by elders nor bishops, are usually referred to as Congregational.

More specifically, the title Episcopal (capitalized in this instance) is applied to several churches historically based within Anglicanism (Episcopalianism) including those still in communion with the Church of England.

Using these definitions, examples of specific episcopal churches include:

Some Lutheran churches practice congregational polity or a form of presbyterian polity.[2] Others, including the Church of Sweden, practice episcopal polity; the Church of Sweden also counts its bishops among the historic episcopate as do some American Lutheran churches like the Anglo-Lutheran Catholic Church, Lutheran Orthodox Church, Lutheran Church-International, and the Lutheran Episcopal Communion.

Many Methodist churches (see The United Methodist Church, among others) retain the form and function of episcopal polity, although in a modified form, called connexionalism. Since all trace their ordinations to an Anglican priest, John Wesley, it is generally considered that their bishops do not share in apostolic succession, though United Methodists still affirm that their bishops share in the historic episcopate.

Before the Great Schism[edit]

Main article: Bishop § History

All orthodox Christians were in churches with an episcopal government, that is, one Church under local bishops and regional Patriarchs. Writing between ca. 85 and 110, St. Ignatius of Antioch, Patriarch of Antioch, was the earliest of the Church fathers to define the importance of episcopal government. Assuming Ignatius' view was the Apostolic teaching and practice, the line of succession was unbroken and passed through the four ancient Patriarchal sees (those local churches known to be founded by apostles), Rome, Jerusalem, Antioch and Alexandria. Rome was the leading Patriarchate of the ancient four by virtue of its founding by Saints Peter and Paul and their martyrdom there, not to mention being the political center of the Roman empire at the time. Some organizations (e.g. the Assyrian Church of the East), though aloof from the political wranglings of imperial Christianity, nevertheless also practiced episcopal polity.


In the fifth century, Pope Dioscorus, the Patriarch of Alexandria, rejected certain Christological dogmas promulgated by the Council of Chalcedon, and as a result, the Oriental Orthodox churches split from the rest; however they continued the episcopal tradition, and today in fact there is dialog between the various orthodox churches over whether the schism was due to real differences or simply translation failures.

Also during the fifth century, the Western Roman Empire declined and was overrun by German and Frankish peoples. Although the city of Rome was in ruins, distant from the seat of secular power, and constantly harassed by invaders, the Roman Patriarchate remained the center of the Western or Latin Church. Claiming the ancient primacy of Peter and the title of "Apostolic See", it remained the last court of episcopal appeal in serious matters for the whole Church, East and West.



The sometimes subtle differences between Eastern and Western conceptions of authority and its exercise produced a gradually widening rift between the Churches which continued with some occasional relief throughout the following centuries until the final rupture of the Great Schism (marked by two dates: 16 July 1054, and the Council of Florence in 1439).

Pope Pius IX convened the First Vatican Council that approved the dogma of Pope as the visible head of the church, prime bishop over a hierarchy of clergy and believers[3]

Roman Catholic Church[edit]


Eastern Orthodox Church[edit]


Oriental Orthodox churches[edit]

The Oriental Orthodox Churches affirm the ideas of apostolic succession and episcopal government. Within each national Church, the bishops form a holy synod to which even the Patriarch is subject. The Syriac Orthodox Church traces its apostolic succession to St. Peter and recognises Antioch as the original See of St. Peter. The Armenian Apostolic Church traces its lineage to the Apostle Bartholomew. The Indian Orthodox Church traces its lineage to the Apostle Thomas. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church received its lines of succession through the Coptic Orthodox Church in the fifth century.

Both the Greek and Coptic Orthodox Churches each recognise their own Pope of Alexandria, both of whom trace their apostolic succession back to the Apostle Mark. There are official ongoing efforts in recent times to heal this ancient breach. Already, the two recognize each other's baptisms, chrismations, and marriages, making intermarriage much easier.

Church of the East[edit]

Historically, the Church of the East has traced its episcopal succession to St. Thomas the Apostle. The bishops of the Assyrian Church of the East continue to maintain the doctrine of apostolic succession.

Anglican Communion[edit]

Anglicanism is the most prominent of the Reformation traditions to lay claim to the historic episcopate through apostolic succession in terms comparable to the various Catholic and Orthodox Communions. Anglicans assert unbroken episcopal succession in and through the Church of England back to St. Augustine of Canterbury and to the first century Roman province of Britannia. While some Celtic Christian practices were changed at the Synod of Whitby, the church in the British Isles was under papal authority from earliest times.[4]


Paul Kwong, Anglican Archbishop and Primate of Hong Kong





The Scottish Episcopal Church traces its history back to the origins of Christianity in Scotland, and during the 16th century Scottish Reformation became a distinct church from the presbyterian Church of Scotland which rejected episcopal government. The Scottish Episcopal Church was formally incorporated in 1712, and it more recently became part of the Anglican Communion.


American Methodist churches[edit]

Further information: Connexionalism

As an offshoot of Anglicanism, Methodist churches often use episcopal polity for historical as well as practical reasons, albeit to limited use. Methodists often use the term connexionalism or connexional polity in addition to "episcopal". Nevertheless, the powers of the Methodist episcopacy can be relatively strong and wide-reaching compared to traditional conceptions of episcopal polity. For example, in the United Methodist Church, bishops are elected for life, can serve up to two terms in a specific conference (three if special permission is given), are responsible for ordaining and appointing clergy to pastor churches, perform many administrative duties, preside at the annual sessions of the regional Conferences and at the quadrennial meeting of the worldwide General Conference, have authority for teaching and leading the church on matters of social and doctrinal import, and serve to represent the denomination in ecumenical gatherings. United Methodist bishops in the United States serve in their appointed conferences, being moved to a new "Episcopal Area" after 8 (or 12) years, until their mandated retirement at the end of the quadrenium following their sixty-sixth birthday.[6] British Methodism holds that all ordained minsters are equal in terms of spirituality. However, for practical management lines are drawn into President of Conference, Chair of District, Superintendent Minister, Minister. However, all are ministers.

Episcopal government in other denominations[edit]


Although it never uses the term, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) is episcopal, rather than presbyterian or congregational, in the sense that it has a strict hierarchy of leadership from the local bishop up to a single prophet/president, believed to be personally authorized and guided by Jesus Christ. Local congregations (branches, wards, and stakes) have de jure boundaries by which members are allocated, and membership records are centralized. This system developed gradually from a more presbyterian polity (Joseph Smith's original title in 1830 was "First Elder") for pragmatic and doctrinal reasons, reaching a full episcopacy during the Nauvoo period (1839–1846).

See also[edit]


  1. ^ The first descriptions of the bishop (episcopus) [1] and of ordination by apostolic succession in the New Testament [2]
  2. ^ Encyclopedia of Religion and Society, William H. Swatos, Jr. Editor Lutheranism Hartford Institute for Religion Research, Hartford Seminary. Retrieved on September 4, 2006.
  3. ^ Vatican I, Session 4, 1870. Decrees of the First Vatican Council, SESSION 4 : 18 July 1870 - First Dogmatic Constitution on the Church of Christ. Daily Catholic Online edition retrieved on September 1, 2006.
  5. ^ Cosin, Works, Vol. IV (Oxford, 1855), p. 402
  6. ^ Still in Production. UMC.org. Retrieved on 2013-07-23.

Further reading[edit]

  • Fairweather, E. R., and R. F. Hettlinger. Episcopacy and Reunion. First English ed. London: A.R. Mowbray & Co., 1953, cop. 1952. ix, 118 p. N.B.: First published in 1952 by the General Board of Religious Education of the Church of England in Canada, Toronto, Ont.
  • Swete, H. B., ed. Essays on the Early History of the Church and the Ministry, by Various Authors. London: Macmillan and Co., 1918.

External links[edit]