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{{short description|Leadership position in religious institutions}}
{{About|the office in religious institutions|other uses|Bishop (disambiguation)}}
{{Christianity|expanded=Related}}
A '''bishop''' is an [[ordained]] member of the [[clergy]] who is entrusted with a position of [[Episcopal polity|authority and oversight]] in a religious institution. In [[Christianity]], bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of [[diocese]]s. The role or office of the bishop is called '''episcopacy''' or the '''episcopate'''. Organisationally, several [[Christian denomination]]s utilise ecclesiastical structures that call for the position of bishops, while other denominations have dispensed with this office, seeing it as a symbol of power. Bishops have also exercised political authority within their dioceses.

Traditionally, bishops claim [[apostolic succession]], a direct historical lineage dating back to the original [[Twelve Apostles]] or [[Saint Paul]]. The bishops are by doctrine understood as those who possess the full [[Priest#Christianity|priesthood]] given by [[Jesus in Christianity|Jesus Christ]], and therefore may ordain other clergy, including other bishops.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ten Frequently Asked Questions About the Reservation of Priestly Ordination to Men {{!}} USCCB |url=https://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/vocations/priesthood/ten-frequently-asked-questions-about-the-reservation-of-priestly-ordination-to-men |access-date=2025-01-16 |website=www.usccb.org |language=en}}</ref> A person ordained as a [[deacon]], priest (i.e. [[presbyter]]), and then bishop is understood to hold the fullness of the [[Minister (Christianity)|ministerial]] priesthood, given responsibility by Christ to govern, teach and [[sanctify]] the [[Body of Christ]] (the Church). Priests, deacons and [[Laity|lay ministers]] co-operate and assist their bishops in [[pastor]]al ministry. 

Some [[Pentecostal]] and other [[Protestant]] denominations have bishops who oversee congregations, though they do not necessarily claim apostolic succession.

== Etymology and terminology ==
The English word ''bishop'' derives, via [[Latin]] {{lang|la|episcopus}}, [[Old English]] {{lang|ang|biscop}}, and [[Middle English]] {{lang|enm|bisshop}},  from the [[Ancient Greek|Greek]] word {{langx|grc|ἐπίσκοπος|epískopos|label=none}}, meaning "overseer" or "supervisor".<ref name="BIA">{{Cite book|last=Kashima|first=Tetsuden|url=http://archive.org/details/buddhisminameric00tets|title=Buddhism in America: the social organization of an ethnic religious institution|date=1977|location=Connecticut |publisher=Greenwood Press|isbn=978-0-8371-9534-6|pages=71}}</ref> Greek was the language of the early Christian church,<ref name="ccel_Earl" /> but the term {{transliteration|grc|epískopos}} did not originate in Christianity: it had been used in Greek for several centuries before the advent of Christianity.<ref name="BIA"/>

The English words ''priest'' and ''presbyter'' both derive, via Latin, from the Greek word {{langx|grc|πρεσβύτερος|presbýteros|label=none}}, meaning "elder" or "senior", and not originally referring to priesthood.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://isvbible.com/catacombs/elders.htm|title=Elders|author=[[International Standard Version]]|access-date=January 6, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111105095216/http://isv.org/catacombs/elders.htm|archive-date=November 5, 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In the early Christian era the two terms were not always clearly distinguished, but {{transliteration|grc|epískopos}} is used in the sense of the order or office of bishop, distinct from that of {{transliteration|grc|presbýteros}}, in the writings attributed to [[Ignatius of Antioch]] in the second century.<ref name="ccel_Earl">{{Cite web | title = Early Christian Fathers | work = Christian Classics Ethereal Library | access-date = 2015-08-25 | url = http://www.ccel.org/ccel/richardson/fathers.vi.ii.iii.i.html }}</ref>

== History in Christianity ==
The earliest organization of the [[Early centers of Christianity#Jerusalem|Church in Jerusalem]] was, according to most scholars, similar to that of Jewish [[synagogue]]s, but it had a council or college of ordained [[presbyters]] ({{langx|grc|πρεσβύτεροι||elders|label=none}}). In Acts 11:30<ref>{{bibleverse|Acts|11:30}}</ref> and Acts 15:22,<ref>{{bibleverse|Acts|15:22}}</ref> a collegiate system of government in Jerusalem is chaired by [[James, brother of Jesus|James the Just]], according to tradition the [[Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem#Jewish Bishops of Jerusalem|first bishop of the city]]. In Acts 14:23,<ref>{{bibleverse|Acts|14:23}}</ref> the [[Paul of Tarsus|Apostle Paul]] ordains presbyters in [[Early centers of Christianity#Anatolia|churches in Anatolia]].{{sfn|Hill|2007|p=}} The word ''presbyter'' was not yet distinguished from ''overseer'' ({{langx|grc|ἐπίσκοπος|episkopos|label=none}}, later used exclusively to mean ''bishop''), as in Acts 20:17,<ref>{{bibleverse|Acts|20:17}}</ref> Titus 1:5–7<ref>{{bibleverse|Titus|1:5–7}}</ref> and 1 Peter 5:1.<ref>{{bibleverse|1 Peter|5:1}}</ref>{{efn|"It seems that at first the terms 'episcopos' and 'presbyter' were used interchangeably ..."{{sfn|Cross & Livingstone|2005|p=211}}}}{{efn|"The general consensus among scholars has been that, at the turn of the first and second centuries, local congregations were led by bishops and presbyters whose offices were overlapping or indistinguishable."{{sfn|Mitchell, Young & Scott Bowie|2006|p=417}} }} The earliest writings of the [[Apostolic Fathers]], the [[Didache]] and the [[First Epistle of Clement]], for example, show the church used two terms for local church offices—presbyters (seen by many as an interchangeable term with {{transliteration|grc|episkopos}} or overseer) and deacon.

[[File:Augustine Lateran.jpg|thumb|upright|A 6th-century image of [[Augustine of Hippo|Saint Augustine]], bishop of [[Hippo Regius]]<ref name="WDL">{{cite web |url = http://www.wdl.org/en/item/8787/ |title = Bona, Algeria |website = [[World Digital Library]] |year = 1899 |access-date = 2013-09-25 }}</ref>]]

In the [[First Epistle to Timothy]] and [[Epistle to Titus]] in the New Testament a more clearly defined episcopate can be seen. Both letters state that Paul had left Timothy in Ephesus and Titus in [[Early centers of Christianity#Greece|Crete]] to oversee the [[Church (congregation)|local church]].<ref>{{bibleverse|1 Timothy|1:3}}</ref><ref>{{bibleverse|Titus|1:5}}</ref> Paul commands Titus to ordain presbyters/bishops and to exercise general oversight. The [[authorship of the Pauline epistles|authorship]] of both those letters is questioned by many scholars in the field and the question whether they reflect a first or second century structure of church hierarchy is among the arguments used in the debate as to their authenticity.

Early sources are unclear but various groups of Christian communities may have had the bishop surrounded by a group or college functioning as leaders of the local churches.{{sfn|O'Grady|1997|p=140}}<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Handl|first=András|date=2016-01-01|title=Viktor I. (189 ?-199 ?) von Rom und die Entstehung des "monarchischen" Episkopats in Rom|journal=Sacris Erudiri|volume=55|pages=7–56|doi=10.1484/J.SE.5.112597|issn=0771-7776}}</ref> Eventually the head or "monarchic" bishop came to rule more clearly,{{sfn|Van Hove|1907}} and all local churches would eventually follow the example of the other churches and structure themselves after the model of the others with the one bishop in clearer charge,{{sfn|O'Grady|1997|p=140}} though the role of the body of presbyters remained important.{{sfn|Van Hove|1907}}

=== Apostolic Fathers ===
{{Original research|section|date=March 2013}}

Around the end of the [[Christianity in the 1st century|1st century]], the church's organization became clearer in historical documents.{{citation needed|date=November 2021}} In the works of the Apostolic Fathers, and Ignatius of Antioch in particular, the role of the episkopos, or bishop, became more important or, rather, already was very important and being clearly defined. While Ignatius of Antioch offers the earliest clear description of monarchial bishops (a single bishop over all [[house church]]es in a city){{efn|{{quote|Blessed be God, who has granted unto you, who are yourselves so excellent, to obtain such an excellent bishop.|Epistle of Ignatius to the Ephesians 1:1<ref name="ccel_NN">{{Cite web | title = Apostolic Fathers with Justin Martyr and Irenaeus| work = Christian Classics Ethereal Library | access-date = 2019-03-30 | url = https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf01.v.ii.i.html }}</ref>}}}} he is an advocate of monepiscopal structure rather than describing an accepted reality. To the bishops and house churches to which he writes, he offers strategies on how to pressure house churches who do not recognize the bishop into compliance. Other contemporary Christian writers do not describe monarchial bishops, either continuing to equate them with the presbyters or speaking of {{transliteration|grc|episkopoi}} (bishops, plural) in a city.

[[File:Byzantine - Saint Ignatius of Antioch - Walters 4820867.jpg|thumb|Ignatius, bishop of Antioch, student of [[John the Apostle]]]]

[[Clement of Alexandria]] (end of the 2nd century) writes about the ordination of a certain Zachæus as bishop by the imposition of [[Saint Peter|Simon Peter Bar-Jonah's]] hands. The words bishop and ordination are used in their technical meaning by the same Clement of Alexandria.<ref>Clement, "Hom.", III, lxxii; cfr. ''[[Stromata]]'', VI, xiii, cvi; cf. "Const. Apost.", II, viii, 36</ref> The bishops in the 2nd century are defined also as the only clergy to whom the ordination to priesthood ([[presbyterate]]) and diaconate is entrusted: "a priest (presbyter) [[Laying on of hands|lays on hands]], but does not [[ordain]]." ({{transliteration|grc|cheirothetei ou cheirotonei}}).<ref>"Didascalia Syr.", IV; III, 10, 11, 20; Cornelius, "Ad Fabianum" in Eusebius, ''[[Church History (Eusebius)|Historia Ecclesiastica]]'', VI, xliii.</ref>

At the beginning of the 3rd century, [[Hippolytus of Rome]] describes another feature of the ministry of a bishop, which is that of the {{lang|la|"Spiritum primatus sacerdotii habere potestatem dimittere peccata"}}: the primate of sacrificial priesthood and the power to forgive sins.<ref name="web._Whyt">{{Cite web
| title = Why the New Rite of Episcopal Consecration is Valid
| author = Fr. Pierre-Marie, O.P.
| work = The Angelus
| date = January 2006
| access-date = 2014-09-07
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20061115005951/http://www.sspx.ca/Angelus/2006_January/New_Rite_Episcopal_Consecration_Pt2.htm
|url=http://www.sspx.ca/Angelus/2006_January/New_Rite_Episcopal_Consecration_Pt2.htm
|archive-date=2006-11-15
|volume=XXVIX
|issue=1
}}</ref>

== Christian bishops and civil government ==
{{see also|State church of the Roman Empire}}
{{More citations needed section
| date = May 2019}}
The efficient organization of the [[Roman Empire]] became the template for the organisation of the church in the [[Christianity in the 4th century|4th century]], particularly after [[Constantine I and Christianity|Constantine's]] [[Edict of Milan]]. As the church moved from the shadows of privacy into the public forum it acquired land for churches, burials and [[clergy]]. In 391, [[Theodosius I]] decreed that any land that had been confiscated from the church by Roman authorities be returned.

[[File:Husaby Church 2013 people on 11th Century gravestone.jpg|thumb|A bishop with other officials on an 11th-century grave in [[Sweden]]]]

The most usual term for the geographic area of a bishop's authority and ministry, the [[diocese]], began as part of the structure of the Roman Empire under [[Diocletian]]. As [[Fall of the Western Roman Empire|Roman authority began to fail in the western portion of the empire]], the church took over much of the civil administration. This can be clearly seen in the ministry of two [[pope]]s: [[Pope Leo I]] in the [[Christianity in the 5th century|5th century]], and [[Pope Gregory I]] in the [[Christianity in the 6th century|6th century]]. Both of these men were statesmen and public administrators in addition to their role as Christian pastors, teachers and leaders. In the [[Eastern Roman Empire|Eastern churches]], [[latifundia]] entailed to a bishop's [[Episcopal see|see]] were much less common, the state power did not collapse the way it did in the West, and thus the tendency of bishops acquiring civil power was much weaker than in the West. However, the role of Western bishops as civil authorities, often called [[Prince-Bishop|prince bishops]], continued throughout much of the [[Middle Ages]].

=== Bishops holding political office ===

[[File:Johann Otto von Gemmingen.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Johann Otto von Gemmingen]], [[Prince-Bishopric of Augsburg|Prince-Bishop of Augsburg]]]]

As well as being Archchancellors of the [[Holy Roman Empire]] after the 9th century, bishops generally served as [[chancellor]]s to medieval monarchs, acting as head of the ''justiciary'' and chief [[chaplain]]. The [[Lord Chancellor]] of [[England]] was almost always a bishop up until the dismissal of [[Cardinal (Catholic Church)|Cardinal]] [[Thomas Wolsey]] by [[Henry VIII of England|Henry VIII]]. Similarly, the position of [[Kanclerz]] in the [[Kingdom of Poland (1385–1569)|Polish kingdom]] was always held by a bishop until the [[Christianity in the 16th century|16th century]].{{citation needed|date=September 2021}}

In modern times, the principality of [[Andorra]] is headed by [[Co-Princes of Andorra]], one of whom is the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Urgell|Bishop of Urgell]] and the other, the sitting [[President of France]], an arrangement that began with the [[Paréage of Andorra (1278)]], and was ratified in the 1993 constitution of Andorra.<ref name="unesco">{{Cite web|author=Vela Palomares, Susanna|author2=Govern d'Andorra|author3=Ministry of Social Affairs and Culture|title=Andorra – First and second Paréages (feudal charters)|url=http://www.unesco.org/webworld/nominations/en/andorra/andorra.htm|publisher=United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization|year=1997|access-date=14 December 2010}}</ref>

The [[Pope|office of the Papacy]] is inherently held by the sitting Roman Catholic Bishop of Rome.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/apostolic-see|title=Apostolic See definition and meaning &#124; Collins English Dictionary}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Collins |first=Roger |title=Keepers of the keys of heaven: a history of the papacy |chapter=Introduction |quote=One of the most enduring and influential of all human institutions,{{nbsp}}[...] No one who seeks to make sense of modern issues within Christendom – or, indeed, world history – can neglect the vital shaping role of the popes. |publisher=Basic Books |date=2009 |isbn=978-0-465-01195-7}}</ref> Though not originally intended to hold temporal authority, since the Middle Ages the power of the Papacy gradually expanded deep into the secular realm and for centuries the sitting Bishop of Rome was the most powerful governmental office in Central Italy.<ref name="Faus">{{cite book |last=Faus |first=José Ignacio Gonzáles |title=Autoridade da Verdade – Momentos Obscuros do Magistério Eclesiástico |language=es |chapter=VIII: Os papas repartem terras |pages=64–65 |isbn=85-15-01750-4 |publisher=Edições Loyola}}. See also chapter VI, O papa tem poder temporal absoluto (pages 49–55).</ref> In modern times, the Pope is also the sovereign Prince of [[Vatican City]], an internationally recognized [[micro-state]] located entirely within the city of Rome.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ewtn.com/library/HUMANITY/VATMOD.HTM |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050504134930/https://www.ewtn.com/library/HUMANITY/VATMOD.HTM |url-status=dead |archive-date=2005-05-04 |title=The Role of the Vatican in the Modern World }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title= The World's Most Powerful People|url= https://www.forbes.com/powerful-people/#tab:overall/|newspaper= Forbes|date= November 2014|access-date=6 November 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title= The World's Most Powerful People|url= https://www.forbes.com/powerful-people/|newspaper= Forbes|date= January 2013|access-date=27 September 2021}}</ref><ref name=Geopolitics>{{cite journal|last=Agnew|first=John|title=Deus Vult: The Geopolitics of Catholic Church|journal=Geopolitics|date=12 February 2010|volume=15|issue=1|pages=39–61|doi=10.1080/14650040903420388|s2cid=144793259}}</ref>

In [[France]], prior to [[French Revolution|the Revolution]], representatives of the clergy—in practice, bishops and [[abbot]]s of the largest [[monastery|monasteries]]—comprised the [[Estates of the realm#First Estate|First Estate]] of the [[French States-General|Estates-General]]. This role was abolished after separation of Church and State was implemented during the French Revolution.

In the 21st century, the more senior bishops of the [[Church of England]] continue to sit in the [[House of Lords]] of the [[Parliament of the United Kingdom]], as representatives of the [[established church]], and are known as [[Lords Spiritual]]. The [[Bishop of Sodor and Man]], whose diocese lies outside the [[United Kingdom]], is an [[ex officio member|''ex officio'' member]] of the [[Legislative Council of the Isle of Man]].<ref>{{cite web|title=The Lord Bishop|url=http://www.tynwald.org.im/about/tynday/TD2017/Documents/TD2017%20Prog.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171002071524/http://www.tynwald.org.im/about/tynday/TD2017/Documents/TD2017%20Prog.pdf |archive-date=2017-10-02 |url-status=live|work=Tynwald Day 2017|publisher=Tynwald|accessdate=29 November 2019|page=10|date=5 July 2017}}</ref> In the past, the [[Bishop of Durham]] had extensive vice-regal powers within his northern diocese, which was a [[county palatine]], the [[County Palatine of Durham]], (previously, [[Liberty of Durham]]) of which he was ''ex officio'' the [[earl]]. In the 19th century, a gradual process of reform was enacted, with the majority of the bishop's historic powers vested in [[The Crown]] by 1858.<ref name="durham1858">{{Cite legislation UK |type=act |year=1858 |chapter=45 |act=Durham County Palatine Act 1858 |section= |date=1858-07-23|accessdate= 2021-11-29}}</ref>

[[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox]] bishops, along with all other members of the clergy, are [[canon law|canonically]] forbidden to hold political office.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ukrainian schismatic synod allows "clergy" to run for political office, against Church canons |url=https://orthochristian.com/121464.html |access-date=2022-04-18 |website=OrthoChristian.Com}}</ref> Occasional exceptions to this rule are tolerated when the alternative is political chaos. In the [[Ottoman Empire]], the [[Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople|Patriarch of Constantinople]], for example, had de facto administrative, cultural and legal jurisdiction,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Eastern Orthodoxy - The church of Russia (1448–1800) {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Eastern-Orthodoxy/The-church-of-Russia-1448-1800 |access-date=2022-04-18 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> as well as spiritual authority, over all [[Eastern Orthodox Christianity|Eastern Orthodox Christians]] of the empire, as part of the Ottoman [[Millet (Ottoman Empire)|millet]] system. An Orthodox bishop headed the [[Prince-Bishopric of Montenegro]] from 1516 to 1852, assisted by a secular ''[[guvernadur]]''. More recently, Archbishop [[Makarios III]] of [[Cyprus]], served as [[President of Cyprus|President]] of the [[Cyprus]] from 1960 to 1977, an extremely turbulent time period on the island.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wuthnow|first=Robert |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/1307463108 |title=The Encyclopedia of Politics and Religion: 2-volume Set |isbn=978-1-136-28493-9 |chapter=Orthodoxy, Greek |date=4 December 2013 |publisher=Routledge |oclc=1307463108 |quote=He continued as president and archbishop during the turbulent 1960s and 1970s, when Greek and Turkish Cypriots clashed over what Turks viewed as Greek efforts to disenfranchise them, and the governments of both Greece and Turkey intervened in Cypriot affairs.}}</ref>

In 2001, [[Peter Hollingworth]], [[List of Companions of the Order of Australia|AC]], [[Order of the British Empire|OBE]] – then the Anglican Archbishop of [[Anglican Diocese of Brisbane|Brisbane]] – was controversially appointed [[Governor-General of Australia]]. Although Hollingworth gave up his episcopal position to accept the appointment, it still attracted considerable opposition in a country which maintains a formal [[Separation of church and state|separation between Church and State]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=April 30, 2001 |last=Crampton |first=Dave |title=Church Vs State Issues Raised In Oz GG Appointment |url=https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0104/S00150/church-vs-state-issues-raised-in-oz-gg-appointment.htm?from-mobile=bottom-link-01 |access-date=2022-04-18 |website=www.scoop.co.nz}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2003-06-04 |title=A churchman cannot serve two masters |url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/a-churchman-cannot-serve-two-masters-20030604-gdgvfc.html |access-date=2022-04-18 |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |language=en}}</ref>

=== Episcopacy during the English Civil War ===
{{main|English Civil War#Episcopacy during the English Civil War}}

During the period of the [[English Civil War]], the role of bishops as wielders of political power and as upholders of the established church became a matter of heated political controversy. [[Presbyterianism]] was the polity of most [[Reformed Christianity]] in Europe, and had been favored by many in England since the English Reformation. Since in the [[Apostolic Age|primitive church]] the offices of ''presbyter'' and {{transliteration|grc|episkopos}} were not clearly distinguished, many [[Puritans]] held that this was the only form of government the church should have. The Anglican divine, [[Richard Hooker]], objected to this claim in his famous work ''Of the Laws of Ecclesiastic Polity'' while, at the same time, defending Presbyterian ordination as valid (in particular [[John Calvin|Calvin's]] ordination of [[Theodore Beza|Beza]]). This was the official stance of the English Church until the Commonwealth, during which time, the views of Presbyterians and Independents ([[Congregationalists]]) were more freely expressed and practiced.

== Christian churches ==

=== Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Lutheran and Anglican churches ===
{{further|Bishops in the Catholic Church}}
[[File:Mitre (plain).svg|thumb|right|upright=0.45|A [[mitre]] is used as a symbol of the bishop's ministry in Western Christianity.]]
[[File:Template-Bishop.svg|thumb|right|upright=0.45|One form for the [[coat of arms]] of a Catholic bishop]]

Bishops exercise leadership roles in the [[Catholic Church]], the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]], the [[Oriental Orthodox Churches]], certain Lutheran churches, the [[Anglican Communion]], the [[Independent Catholic Churches|Independent Catholic churches]], the [[Continuing Anglican movement|Independent Anglican churches]], and certain other, smaller, denominations.{{citation needed|date=December 2024}}

The traditional role of a bishop is as pastor of a [[diocese]] (also called a bishopric, [[synod]], [[eparchy]] or see), and so to serve as a "diocesan bishop", or "eparch" as it is called in many Eastern Christian churches. Dioceses vary considerably in size, geographically and population-wise. Some dioceses around the [[Mediterranean Sea]] which were Christianised early are rather compact, whereas dioceses in areas of rapid modern growth in Christian commitment, as in some parts of [[Sub-Saharan Africa]], [[South America]] and the [[Far East]], are much larger and more populous.
[[File:Mitra5.jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|Mitre worn by an Eastern bishop with [[icon]]s of Christ, the [[Theotokos]] (Mary, Mother of God) and [[John the Baptist|Forerunner]] (John the Baptist).{{citation needed|date=December 2024}}]]

As well as traditional diocesan bishops, many churches have a well-developed structure of church leadership that involves a number of layers of authority and responsibility.{{citation needed|date=December 2024}}

{{glossary}}
{{term|[[Archbishop]]}}
{{defn|An archbishop is the bishop of an [[archdiocese]]. This is usually a prestigious diocese with an important place in local church history. In the Catholic Church, the title is purely honorific and carries no extra jurisdiction, though most archbishops are also metropolitan bishops, as above, and are always awarded a [[pallium]]. In most provinces of the Anglican Communion, however, an archbishop has metropolitical and primatial power.}}

{{term|Area bishop}}
{{defn|Some Anglican suffragans are given the responsibility for a geographical area within the diocese (for example, the [[Bishop of Stepney]] is an ''area bishop'' within the [[Diocese of London]]).}}

{{term|[[Assistant bishop]]}}
{{defn|Honorary assistant bishop, assisting bishop, or bishop emeritus: these titles are usually applied to retired bishops who are given a general licence to minister as episcopal pastors under a diocesan's oversight. The titles, in this meaning, are not used by the Catholic Church.}}

{{term|Auxiliary bishop}}
{{defn|An auxiliary bishop is a full-time assistant to a diocesan bishop (the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox equivalent of an Anglican suffragan bishop). An auxiliary bishop is a titular bishop, and he is to be appointed as a [[vicar general]] or at least as an [[episcopal vicar]] of the diocese in which he serves.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/__P1F.HTM | title=Canon 406 | work=Code of Canon Law | year=1983 | access-date=2009-06-15 | publisher=The [[Holy See]] }}</ref>}}

{{term|[[Catholicos]]}}
{{defn|Catholicoi are the heads of some of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Rite Catholic sui iuris churches (notably the Armenian), roughly similar to a Patriarch.}}

{{term|Chorbishop}}
{{defn|A chorbishop is an official of a diocese in some Eastern Christian churches. Chorbishops are not generally ordained bishops – they are not given the sacrament of Holy Orders in that degree – but function as assistants to the diocesan bishop with certain honorary privileges.}}

{{term|[[Coadjutor bishop]]}}
{{defn|A coadjutor bishop is an auxiliary bishop who is given almost equal authority in a diocese with the diocesan bishop, and the automatic right to succeed the incumbent diocesan bishop. The appointment of coadjutors is often seen as a means of providing for continuity of church leadership.}}

{{term|General bishop}}
{{defn|A title and role in some churches, not associated with a diocese. In the Coptic Orthodox Church the episcopal ranks from highest to lowest are metropolitan archbishops, metropolitan bishops, diocesan bishops, bishops exarchs of the throne, suffragan bishops, auxiliary bishops, general bishops, and finally chorbishops. Bishops of the same category rank according to date of consecration.}}

{{term|[[Major archbishop]]}}
{{defn|Major archbishops are the heads of some of the Eastern Catholic Churches. Their authority within their ''sui juris'' church is equal to that of a patriarch, but they receive fewer ceremonial honors.}}

{{term|[[Metropolitan bishop]]}}
{{defn|A metropolitan bishop is an archbishop in charge of an [[ecclesiastical province]], or group of dioceses, and in addition to having immediate jurisdiction over his own archdiocese, also exercises some oversight over the other dioceses within that province. Sometimes a metropolitan may also be the head of an autocephalous, ''sui iuris'', or [[autonomous area|autonomous]] church when the number of adherents of that tradition are small. In the [[Latin Church]], metropolitans are always archbishops; in many Eastern churches, the title is "metropolitan", with some of these churches using "archbishop" as a separate office.}}

{{term|[[Patriarch]]}}
{{defn|Patriarchs are the bishops who head certain ancient [[autocephalous]] or [[sui iuris]] churches, which are a collection of metropolitan sees or [[province]]s. After the First Ecumenical Council at Nicea, the church structure was patterned after the administrative divisions of the Roman Empire wherein a metropolitan or bishop of a metropolis came to be the ecclesiastical head of a civil capital of a province or a metropolis. Whereas, the bishop of the larger administrative district, diocese, came to be called an exarch. In a few cases, a bishop came to preside over a number of dioceses, i.e., Rome, Antioch, and Alexandria. At the Fourth Ecumenical Council at Chalcedon in 451, Constantinople was given jurisdiction over three dioceses for the reason that the city was "the residence of the emperor and senate". Additionally, Jerusalem was recognized at the Council of Chalcedon as one of the major sees. In 692, the Quinisext Council formally recognized and ranked the sees of the Pentarchy in order of preeminence, at that time Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem. In the Catholic Church, Patriarchs sometimes call their leaders ''Catholicos''; the Patriarch of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, Egypt, is called ''Pope'', meaning 'Father'. While most patriarchs in the [[Eastern Catholic Churches]] have jurisdiction over a [[particular church]] ''[[sui iuris]]'', all Latin Church patriarchs, except for the Pope, have only honorary titles. In 2006, [[Pope Benedict XVI]] gave up the title of [[Patriarch of the West]]. The first recorded use of the title by a Roman Pope was by [[Pope Theodore I|Theodore I]] in 620. However, early church documents, such as those of the [[First Council of Nicaea]] (325) had always listed the Pope of Rome first among the [[Pentarchy (Christianity)|Ancient Patriarchs]] (first three, and later five: Rome, Constantinople, [[Patriarch of Alexandria|Alexandria]], [[Patriarch of Antioch|Antioch]] and [[Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem|Jerusalem]]—collectively referred to as the ''Pentarchy''). Later, the heads of various national churches became Patriarchs, but they are ranked below the Pentarchy.}}

{{term|Pīhopa|Te Pīhopa}}
{{defn|The [[Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia]] uses — even in English language usage — this [[Māori language]] term for its tikanga Māori bishops.}}

{{term|[[Primate (bishop)|Primate]]}}
{{defn|A primate is usually the bishop of the oldest church of a [[nation]]. Sometimes this carries jurisdiction over metropolitan bishops, but usually it is purely honorific. The primate of the [[Scottish Episcopal Church]] is chosen from among the diocesan bishops, and, while retaining diocesan responsibility, is called ''Primus''.}}

{{term|[[Presiding bishop]] or president bishop}}
{{defn|These titles are often used for the head of a national Anglican church, but the title is not usually associated with a particular episcopal see like the title of a primate.}}

{{term|[[Suffragan bishop]]}}
{{defn|A suffragan bishop is a bishop subordinate to a metropolitan. In the Catholic Church this term is applied to all non-metropolitan bishops (that is, diocesan bishops of dioceses within a metropolitan's province, and [[auxiliary bishop]]s). In the Anglican Communion, the term applies to a bishop who is a full-time assistant to a diocesan bishop: the [[Bishop of Warwick]] is suffragan to the [[Bishop of Coventry]] (the diocesan), though both live in [[Coventry]].}}

{{term|[[Supreme bishop]]}}
{{defn|The [[obispo maximo]], or supreme bishop, of the [[Philippine Independent Church]] is elected by the General Assembly of the church. He is the chief executive officer of the church. He also holds an important pastoral role, being the spiritual head and chief pastor of the church. He has precedence of honor and prominence of position among, and recognized to have primacy, over other bishops.}}

{{term|[[Titular bishop]]}}
{{defn|A titular bishop is a bishop without a diocese. Rather, the bishop is head of a [[titular see]], which is usually an ancient city that used to have a bishop, but, for some reason or other, does not have one now. Titular bishops often serve as auxiliary bishops. In the [[Ecumenical Patriarchate]], bishops of modern dioceses are often given a titular see alongside their modern one (for example, the archbishop of [[Thyateira]] {{em|and}} [[Great Britain]]).}}
{{glossary end}}

==== Duties ====
[[File:Confirmation VanderWeyden.png|thumb|upright|A bishop administering Confirmation. [[Rogier van der Weyden]], ''[[Seven Sacraments Altarpiece|The Seven Sacraments]]'', 15th century. In the Latin Church of the Catholic Church the administration of [[Confirmation]] is normally reserved to the local bishop.]]
[[File:Henning Toft Bro1 (bispevielse).jpg|thumb|upright|[[Church of Denmark|Danish Lutheran]] bishops wearing a [[cope]] over [[cassock]], [[surplice]], [[ruff (clothing)|ruff]] and [[pectoral cross]]]]
In [[Catholicism]], [[Eastern Orthodoxy]], [[Oriental Orthodoxy]], [[High Church Lutheranism]], and [[Anglicanism]], only a bishop can ordain other bishops, priests, and deacons.<ref name="COS2022">{{cite web |title=Ministry and Ministries |url=https://www.svenskakyrkan.se/ministry-and-ministries |publisher=[[Evangelical Lutheran Church of Sweden]] |access-date=4 February 2022 |language=English}}</ref>

In the Eastern liturgical tradition, a priest can celebrate the [[Divine Liturgy]] only with the blessing of a bishop. In Byzantine usage, an [[antimins|antimension]] signed by the bishop is kept on the altar partly as a reminder of whose altar it is and under whose [[omophorion]] the priest at a local parish is serving. In Syriac Church usage, a consecrated wooden block called a [[thabilitho]] is kept for the same reasons.{{citation needed|date=December 2024}}

The bishop is the ordinary minister of the [[Sacraments of the Catholic Church|sacrament]] of confirmation in the Latin Church, and in the [[Old Catholic]] communion only a bishop may administer this sacrament. In the [[Lutheran]] and [[Anglican]] churches, the bishop normatively administers the rite of confirmation, although in those denominations that do not have an episcopal polity, confirmation is administered by the priest.<ref name="Wordsworth1911">{{cite book |last1=Wordsworth |first1=John |title=The National Church of Sweden |date=1911 |publisher=A. R. Mowbray & Company Limited |isbn=978-0-8401-2821-8 |page=168 |language=English |quote=This same archbishop compiled a code of the statues of his diocese, from which we may learn much as to the administration of the sacraments customary in Sweden. The three forms just named were to be taught to children by their parents and god-parents. Children of seven years old and upwards were to be confirmed by the bishop fasting—the implication that if they were confirmed at an earlier age they need not fast. No one was to be confirmed more than once, and parents were frequently to remind their children by whom and where they were confirmed. Bishops might change names in confirmation, and no one is to be admitted to minor orders without confirmation.}}</ref> However, in the [[Byzantine Rite|Byzantine]] and other Eastern rites, whether Eastern or Oriental Orthodox or [[Eastern Catholic]], [[chrismation]] is done immediately after [[baptism]], and thus the priest is the one who confirms, using chrism blessed by a bishop.<ref>[https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P3U.HTM Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1313] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927014929/https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P3U.HTM |date=27 September 2011 }}</ref>

==== Ordination of Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Lutheran and Anglican bishops ====
Bishops in all of these communions are [[Holy Orders|ordained]] or consecrated by other bishops through the laying on of hands. Ordination of a bishop, and thus continuation of apostolic succession, takes place through a ritual centred on the [[imposition of hands]] and [[prayer]].

Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Anglican, Old Catholic and some Lutheran bishops claim to be part of the continuous sequence of ordained bishops since the days of the apostles referred to as apostolic succession.

In Scandinavia and the Baltic region, Lutheran churches participating in the [[Porvoo Communion]] (those of Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, and Lithuania), as well as many non-Porvoo membership Lutheran churches (including those of Kenya, Latvia, and Russia), as well as the confessional [[Communion of Nordic Lutheran Dioceses]], believe that they ordain their bishops in the apostolic succession in lines stemming from the original apostles.<ref name="König2010">{{cite book|last=König|first=Andrea|title=Mission, Dialog und friedliche Koexistenz: Zusammenleben in einer multireligiösen und säkularen Gesellschaft : Situation, Initiativen und Perspektiven für die Zukunft|year=2010|publisher=Peter Lang|isbn=9783631609453|page=205|quote=Having said that, Lutheran bishops in Sweden or Finland, which retained apostolic succession, or other parts of the world, such as Africa or Asia, which gained it from Scandinavia, could easily be engaged to do something similar in Australia, as has been done in the United States, without reliance on Anglicans.}}</ref><ref name="Obare">{{cite web |author1=[[Walter Obare]] |title=Choose Life! |url=https://media.ctsfw.edu/Item/GetFullText/498 |publisher=[[Concordia Theological Seminary]] |language=English}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author1=Mark A. Granquist |author2=Jonathan Strom |author3=Mary Jane Haemig |author4=Robert Kolb |author5=Mark C. Mattes |title=Dictionary of Luther and the Lutheran Traditions |date=2017 |publisher=Baker Academic |isbn=978-1-4934-1023-1 |language=English}}</ref> ''The New Westminster Dictionary of Church History'' states that "In Sweden the apostolic succession was preserved because the Catholic bishops were allowed to stay in office, but they had to approve changes in the ceremonies."<ref>{{cite book|last1=Benedetto|first1=Robert |last2=Duke|first2=James O. |title=The New Westminster Dictionary of Church History: The Early, Medieval, and Reformation Eras |date=13 August 2008 |publisher=Westminster John Knox Press |isbn=978-0664224165 |page=594 |url=http://www.abebooks.com/book-search/isbn/0664224164/page-1/ |quote=In Sweden the apostolic succession was preserved because the Catholic bishops were allowed to stay in office, but they had to approve changes in the ceremonies.}}</ref>

While traditional teaching maintains that any bishop with apostolic succession can validly perform the ordination of another bishop, some churches require two or three bishops participate, either to ensure sacramental validity or to conform with church law. 

===== Peculiar to the Catholic Church =====
[[Catholic]] doctrine holds that one bishop can validly ordain another (priest) as a bishop. Although a minimum of three bishops participating is desirable (there are usually several more) in order to demonstrate collegiality, canonically only one bishop is necessary. The practice of only one bishop ordaining was normal in countries where the church was persecuted under [[Communist]] rule.{{citation needed|date=December 2024}} The [[Second Vatican Council]]'s ''[[Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy]]'' stated that "when a bishop is consecrated, the laying of hands may be done by all the bishops present".<ref>Second Vatican Council, [https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19631204_sacrosanctum-concilium_en.html ''Sacrosanctum Concilium''], paragraph 76, published on 4 December 1963, accessed on 15 July 2025</ref>

The title of archbishop or metropolitan may be granted to a senior bishop, usually one who is in charge of a large ecclesiastical jurisdiction. He may, or may not, have provincial oversight of suffragan bishops and may possibly have auxiliary bishops assisting him.{{citation needed|date=December 2024}}

Apart from the ordination, which is always done by other bishops, there are different methods as to the actual selection of a candidate for ordination as bishop. The [[Dicastery for Bishops]] generally oversees the selection of new bishops, with recommendations sent for the approval of the pope.<ref>{{cite web|title=How Bishops Are Appointed|url=http://www.usccb.org/about/leadership/appointing-bishops.cfm|publisher=United States Conference of Catholic Bishops|access-date=January 7, 2014}}</ref> The papal nuncio usually solicits names from the bishops of a country, consults with priests and leading members of a laity, and then selects three to be forwarded to the [[Holy See]]. In Europe, some cathedral chapters have duties to elect bishops. The Eastern Catholic churches generally elect their own bishops. Most Eastern Orthodox churches allow varying amounts of formalised laity or [[lower clergy]] influence on the choice of bishops. This also applies in those Eastern churches which are in union with the pope, though it is required that he give assent.

The pope, in addition to being the [[Bishop of Rome]] and spiritual head of the Catholic Church, is also the Patriarch of the Latin Church. Each bishop within the Latin Church is answerable directly to the Pope and not any other bishop except to metropolitans in certain oversight instances. The pope previously used the title ''Patriarch of the West'', but this title was dropped from use in 2006,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0601225.htm |title=Catholic News Service |access-date=19 October 2008 |archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20060308013147/http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0601225.htm |archive-date=8 March 2006 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}</ref> a move which caused some concern within the Eastern Orthodox Communion as, to them, it implied wider papal jurisdiction.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0603382.htm |title=Catholic News Service |access-date=19 October 2008 |archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20060613190031/http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0603382.htm |archive-date=13 June 2006 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

===== Recognition of other churches' ordinations =====
The Catholic Church does recognise as valid (though illicit) ordinations done by breakaway Catholic, Old Catholic or Oriental bishops, and groups descended from them; it also regards as both valid and licit those ordinations done by bishops of the Eastern churches,{{efn|Section 16 of the Second Vatican Council's Decree on Ecumenism, [[Unitatis Redintegratio]] states: "To remove, then, all shadow of doubt, this holy Council solemnly declares that the Churches of the East, while remembering the necessary unity of the whole Church, have the power to govern themselves according to the disciplines proper to them, since these are better suited to the character of their faithful, and more for the good of their souls."}} so long as those receiving the ordination conform to other canonical requirements (for example, is an adult male) and an eastern orthodox rite of episcopal ordination, expressing the proper functions and sacramental status of a bishop, is used; this has given rise to the phenomenon of {{lang|la|[[episcopi vagantes]]}} (for example, clergy of the Independent Catholic groups which claim apostolic succession, though this claim is rejected by both Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy). With respect to Lutheranism, "the Catholic Church has never officially expressed its judgement on the validity of orders as they have been handed down by episcopal succession in these two national Lutheran churches" (the [[Evangelical Lutheran Church of Sweden]] and the [[Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland]]) though it does "question how the ecclesiastical break in the 16th century has affected the apostolicity of the churches of the Reformation and thus the apostolicity of their ministry".<ref>{{cite book|last=Sullivan|first=Francis Aloysius|title=From Apostles to Bishops: The Development of the Episcopacy in the Early Church |year=2001|publisher=Paulist Press|isbn=0809105349|page=4|quote=To my knowledge, the Catholic Church has never officially expressed its judgement on the validity of orders as they have been handed down by episcopal succession in these two national Lutheran churches.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://sakasti.evl.fi/sakasti.nsf/0/DA1B501CC09E109FC22577AE002A3DD8/$FILE/Report%20Justification%20in%20the%20Life%20of%20the%20Church.pdf|title=Roman Catholic – Lutheran Dialogue Group for Sweden and Finland, ''Justification in the Life of the Church'', section 297, page 101}}{{Dead link|date=June 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> 

Since [[Pope Leo XIII]] issued the bull {{lang|la|[[Apostolicae curae]]}} in 1896, the Catholic Church has insisted that Anglican orders are invalid because of the Reformed changes in the Anglican ordination rites of the 16th century and divergence in understanding of the theology of priesthood, episcopacy and Eucharist. However, since the 1930s, Utrecht Old Catholic bishops (recognised by the Holy See as validly ordained) have sometimes taken part in the ordination of Anglican bishops. According to the writer Timothy Dufort, by 1969, all Church of England bishops had acquired Old Catholic lines of apostolic succession recognised by the Holy See.<ref>Timothy Dufort, ''The Tablet'', 29 May 1982, pp. 536–538.</ref> This development has been used to argue that the strain of apostolic succession has been re-introduced into Anglicanism, at least within the Church of England.<ref>Dufort, Timothy (29 May 1982). ''The Tablet''. pp.&nbsp;536–538.</ref> However, other issues, such as the Anglican ordination of women, is at variance with Catholic understanding of Christian teaching, and have contributed to the reaffirmation of Catholic rejection of Anglican ordinations.<ref name="auto">Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, [http://www.ourladyswarriors.org/teach/ordisace2.htm ''Responsum ad Dubium Concerning the Teaching Contained in Ordinatio Sacerdotalis''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221204162124/https://www.ourladyswarriors.org/teach/ordisace2.htm |date=4 December 2022 }}, 25 October 1995; Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, [http://www.catholicculture.org/library/view.cfm?id=5189&repos=1&subrepos=&searchid=87187 Commentary, ''Concerning the Reply of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on the Teaching Contained in the Apostolic Letter "Ordinatio Sacerdotalis"''], 25 October 1995.</ref><ref name="auto1">{{cite news |last=Handley |first=Paul |date=27 May 2003 |title=Churches' Goal Is Unity, Not Uniformity Spokesman for Vatican Declares |work=Church Times| page=2}}</ref>

The Eastern Orthodox Churches do not accept the validity of any ordinations performed by the Independent Catholic groups, as Eastern Orthodoxy considers to be spurious any consecration outside the church as a whole. Eastern Orthodoxy considers apostolic succession to exist only within the Universal Church, and not through any authority held by individual bishops; thus, if a bishop ordains someone to serve outside the (Eastern Orthodox) Church, the ceremony is ineffectual, and no ordination has taken place regardless of the ritual used or the ordaining prelate's position within the Eastern Orthodox Churches.

[[File:Priestly ordination.jpg|thumb|left|The consecrated bishop is the only minister of Holy Orders. Photo of pre-Vatican II ceremony.]]

The position of the Catholic Church is slightly different. Whilst it does recognise the validity of the orders of certain groups which separated from communion with Holy See (for instance, the ordinations of the Old Catholics in communion with Utrecht, as well as the [[Polish National Catholic Church]] - which received its orders directly from Utrecht, and was until recently part of that communion), Catholicism does not recognise the orders of any group whose teaching is at variance with what they consider the core tenets of Christianity; this is the case even though the clergy of the Independent Catholic groups may use the proper ordination ritual. There are also other reasons why the Holy See does not recognise the validity of the orders of the Independent clergy:

* They hold that the continuing practice among many Independent clergy of one person receiving multiple ordinations in order to secure apostolic succession, betrays an incorrect and mechanistic theology of ordination.
* They hold that the practice within Independent groups of ordaining women (such as within certain member communities of the [[Anglican Communion]]) demonstrates an understanding of priesthood that they vindicate is totally unacceptable to the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches as they believe that the Universal Church does not possess such authority; thus, they uphold that any ceremonies performed by these women should be considered being sacramentally invalid.<ref name="auto"/><ref name="auto1"/>
* The theology of male clergy within the Independent movement is also suspect according to the Catholics, as they presumably approve of the ordination of females, and may have even undergone an (invalid) ordination ceremony conducted by a woman.

[[File:JeffertsSchori.JPG|thumb|upright|[[Katharine Jefferts Schori]], The 26th presiding bishop of the [[Episcopal Church (United States)]]]]

Whilst members of the [[Independent Catholic]] movement take seriously the issue of valid orders, it is highly significant that the relevant Vatican Congregations tend not to respond to petitions from Independent Catholic bishops and clergy who seek to be received into communion with the Holy See, hoping to continue in some sacramental role. In those instances where the pope does grant reconciliation, those deemed to be clerics within the Independent Old Catholic movement are invariably admitted as laity and not priests or bishops.

There is a mutual recognition of the validity of orders amongst Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Old Catholic, Oriental Orthodox and Assyrian Church of the East churches.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Roberson|first=Ronald|date=Spring 2010|title=The Dialogues of the Catholic Church with the Separated Eastern Churches|journal=U.S. Catholic Historian|volume=28|issue=2|pages=135–152|jstor=40731267|doi=10.1353/cht.0.0041|s2cid=161330476}}</ref>

Some provinces of the Anglican Communion have begun [[ordination of women|ordaining women]] as bishops in recent decades – for example, England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Cuba. The first woman to be consecrated a bishop within Anglicanism was [[Barbara Harris (bishop)|Barbara Harris]], who was ordained in the United States in 1989. In 2006, Katharine Jefferts Schori, the Episcopal [[Episcopal Diocese of Nevada|Bishop of Nevada]], became the first woman to become the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church.
[[File:Mikael Agricola by Albert Edelfelt.jpg|thumb|[[Mikael Agricola]] (1510–1557), a Finnish [[Lutheran]] clergyman and the [[List of bishops of Turku|Bishop of Turku]]]]

In the [[Evangelical Lutheran Church in America]] (ELCA) and the [[Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada]] (ELCIC), the largest Lutheran Church bodies in the United States and Canada, respectively, and roughly based on the [[Nordic countries|Nordic]] Lutheran national churches (similar to that of the Church of England), bishops are elected by Synod Assemblies, consisting of both lay members and clergy, for a term of six years, which can be renewed, depending upon the local synod's "constitution" (which is mirrored on either the ELCA or ELCIC's national constitution). Since the implementation of concordats between the ELCA and the [[Episcopal Church of the United States]] and the ELCIC and the [[Anglican Church of Canada]], all bishops, including the presiding bishop (ELCA) or the national bishop (ELCIC), have been consecrated using the historic succession in line with bishops from the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Sweden,<ref name="VelikoGros2005">{{cite book |last1=Veliko |first1=Lydia |last2=Gros |first2=Jeffrey |title=Growing Consensus II: Church Dialogues in the United States, 1992-2004 |date=2005 |publisher=USCCB Publishing |isbn=978-1-57455-557-8 |language=English |quote=In order to receive the historic episcopate, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America pledges that, following the adoption of this Concordat and in keeping with the collegiality and continuity of ordained ministry attested as early as canon 4 of the First Ecumenical Council (Nicea I, AD 325), at least three bishops already sharing in the sign of episcopal succession will be invited to participate in the installation of its next Presiding Bishop through prayer for the gift of the Holy Spirit and with the laying-on of hands. These participating bishops will be invited from churches of the Lutheran communion which share in the historic episcopate.}}</ref> with at least one Anglican bishop serving as co-consecrator.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.elca.org/ecumenical/fullcommunion/episcopal/ccmresources/text.html|title=A Lutheran Proposal for a Revision of the Concordat of Agreement |archive-date=2011-05-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514195302/http://www2.elca.org/ecumenical/fullcommunion/Episcopal/CCMresources/text.html|date=19 August 1999 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.elca.org/lutheranpartners/archives/histepi.html|last= Wright |first=J. Robert|title=The Historic Episcopate: An Episcopalian Viewpoint|work=Lutheran Partners|date=Spring 1999|volume= 15|issue=2|archive-date=2011-06-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604070238/http://www2.elca.org/lutheranpartners/archives/histepi.html }}</ref>

Since going into ecumenical communion with their respective Anglican body, bishops in the ELCA or the ELCIC not only approve the "rostering" of all ordained pastors, diaconal ministers, and associates in ministry, but they serve as the principal celebrant of all pastoral ordination and installation ceremonies, diaconal consecration ceremonies, as well as serving as the "chief pastor" of the local synod, upholding the teachings of [[Martin Luther]] as well as the documentations of the Ninety-Five Theses and the [[Augsburg Confession]]. Unlike their counterparts in the [[United Methodist Church]], ELCA and ELCIC synod bishops do not appoint pastors to local congregations (pastors, like their counterparts in the Episcopal Church, are called by local congregations). The presiding bishop of the ELCA and the national bishop of the ELCIC, the national bishops of their respective bodies, are elected for a single 6-year term and may be elected to an additional term.

Although ELCA agreed with the Episcopal Church to limit ordination to the bishop "ordinarily", ELCA pastor-''ordinators'' are given permission to perform the rites in "extraordinary" circumstance. In practice, "extraordinary" circumstance have included disagreeing with Episcopalian views of the episcopate, and as a result, ELCA pastors ordained by other pastors are not permitted to be deployed to Episcopal Churches (they can, however, serve in [[Presbyterian Church (USA)|Presbyterian Church USA]], United Methodist Church, [[Reformed Church in America]], and [[Moravian Church]] congregations, as the ELCA is in full communion with these denominations). The [[Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod]] (LCMS) and the [[Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod]] (WELS), the second and third largest Lutheran bodies in the United States and the two largest [[Confessional Lutheran]] bodies in North America, do not follow an episcopal form of governance, settling instead on a form of quasi-congregationalism patterned off what they believe to be the practice of the early church. The second largest of the three predecessor bodies of the ELCA, the [[American Lutheran Church]], was a congregationalist body, with national and synod presidents before they were re-titled as bishops (borrowing from the Lutheran churches in [[Germany]]) in the 1980s. With regard to ecclesial discipline and oversight, national and synod presidents typically function similarly to bishops in episcopal bodies.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kencollins.com/explanations/why-12.htm|title=The Function of Bishops in the Ancient Church|work=kencollins.com}}</ref>

=== Methodism ===
{{main|Bishop (Methodism)}}

====African Methodist Episcopal Church====
In the [[African Methodist Episcopal Church]], "Bishops are the Chief Officers of the Connectional Organization. They are elected for life by a majority vote of the General Conference which meets every four years."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ame-church.com/leadership/bishops-of-the-church/|title=Bishops of the Church|year=2014|publisher=African Methodist Episcopal Church|language=en|access-date=19 August 2015}}</ref>

==== Christian Methodist Episcopal Church ====

In the [[Christian Methodist Episcopal Church]] in the United States, bishops are administrative superintendents of the church; they are elected by "delegate" votes for as many years deemed until the age of 74, then the bishop must retire. Among their duties, are responsibility for appointing clergy to serve local churches as pastor, for performing ordinations, and for safeguarding the doctrine and discipline of the church. The General Conference, a meeting every four years, has an equal number of clergy and lay delegates. In each Annual Conference, CME bishops serve for four-year terms. In 2010, [[Teresa E. Jefferson-Snorton]] was elected as a bishop, becoming the first woman to hold that position.<ref>{{Cite web |last=McGuffie |first=Felicia |date=2010-07-18 |title=The Rev. Dr. Teresa Snorton is elected first female bishop of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church (C.M.E.) |url=https://www.philasun.com/oasis/the-rev-dr-teresa-snorton-is-elected-first-female-bishop-of-the-christian-methodist-episcopal-church-cme/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910031101/https://www.philasun.com/oasis/the-rev-dr-teresa-snorton-is-elected-first-female-bishop-of-the-christian-methodist-episcopal-church-cme/ |archive-date=2015-09-10 |access-date= |website=The Philadelphia Sunday Sun |language=en-US}}</ref> As of 2024, she remains the only female bishop in CME.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Blake |first=John |date=2024-07-15 |title=Many women stay in religious groups that don't let them become leaders. Here are three reasons why |url=https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/15/us/religious-groups-women-leaders-blake-cec/index.html |access-date=2025-02-15 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref>

==== United Methodist Church ====
[[File:UMEpiscopalShield.jpg|thumb|right|United Methodist Episcopal Shield]]

In the United Methodist Church (the largest branch of Methodism in the world) bishops serve as administrative and pastoral superintendents of the church. They are elected for life from among the [[Elder (Methodism)|ordained elders]] (presbyters) by vote of the delegates in regional (called jurisdictional) conferences, and are consecrated by the other bishops present at the conference through the laying on of hands. In the United Methodist Church bishops remain members of the "Order of Elders" while being consecrated to the "[[Episcopal polity|Office of the Episcopacy]]". Within the United Methodist Church only bishops are empowered to consecrate bishops and ordain clergy. Among their most critical duties is the ordination and appointment of clergy to serve local churches as pastor, presiding at sessions of the Annual, Jurisdictional, and General Conferences, providing pastoral ministry for the clergy under their charge, and safeguarding the doctrine and discipline of the church. Furthermore, individual bishops, or the Council of Bishops as a whole, often serve a prophetic role, making statements on important social issues and setting forth a vision for the denomination, though they have no legislative authority of their own. In all of these areas, bishops of the United Methodist Church function very much in the historic meaning of the term. According to the ''[[Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church]]'', a bishop's responsibilities are:

{{Blockquote|
''Leadership.—Spiritual and Temporal''—

# To lead and oversee the spiritual and temporal affairs of The United Methodist Church, which confesses Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, and particularly to lead the Church in its mission of witness and service in the world.
# To travel through the connection at large as the Council of Bishops (¶ 526) to implement strategy for the concern of the Church.
# To provide liaison and leadership in the quest for Christian unity in ministry, mission, and structure and in the search for strengthened relationships with other living faith communities.
# To organize such Missions as shall have been authorized by the [[General conference (United Methodist Church)|General Conference]].
# To promote and support the evangelistic vision of the whole Church.
# To discharge such other duties as the Discipline may direct.

''Presidential Duties.''—1. To preside in the General, Jurisdictional, Central, and Annual Conferences. 2. To form the districts after consultation with the district superintendents and after the number of the same has been determined by vote of the Annual Conference. 3. To appoint the [[District Superintendent (United Methodist Church)|district superintendents]] annually (¶¶ 517–518). 4. To consecrate bishops, to ordain elders and deacons, to consecrate diaconal ministers, to commission [[deaconess]]es and home missionaries, and to see that the names of the persons commissioned and consecrated are entered on the journals of the conference and that proper credentials are furnished to these persons.

''Working with Ministers.''—1. To make and fix the appointments in the Annual Conferences, Provisional Annual Conferences, and Missions as the Discipline may direct (¶¶ 529–533).
2. To divide or to unite a circuit(s), stations(s), or mission(s) as judged necessary for missionary strategy and then to make appropriate appointments. 3. To read the appointments of deaconesses, diaconal ministers, lay persons in service under the World Division of the General Board of Global Ministries, and home missionaries. 4. To fix the Charge Conference membership of all ordained ministers appointed to ministries other than the local church in keeping with ¶443.3. 5. To transfer, upon the request of the receiving bishop, ministerial member(s) of one Annual Conference to another, ''provided'' said member(s) agrees to transfer; and to send immediately to the secretaries of both conferences involved, to the conference Boards of Ordained Ministry, and to the clearing house of the General Board of Pensions written notices of the transfer of members and of their standing in the course of study if they are undergraduates.{{sfn|Anon|1980|p=}} }}

In each Annual Conference, United Methodist bishops serve for four-year terms, and may serve up to three terms before either retirement or appointment to a new Conference. United Methodist bishops may be male or female, with [[Marjorie Matthews]] being the first woman to be consecrated a bishop in 1980.

[[File:The Ordination of Bishop Asbury.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|[[Francis Asbury]]'s ordination as bishop by [[Thomas Coke (bishop)|Thomas Coke]] at the 1784 [[Christmas Conference]]]]

The collegial expression of episcopal leadership in the United Methodist Church is known as the [[United Methodist Council of Bishops|Council of Bishops]]. The Council of Bishops speaks to the church and through the church into the world and gives leadership in the quest for Christian unity and interreligious relationships.{{sfn|Anon|1980|p=}} The Conference of Methodist Bishops includes the United Methodist ''Council of Bishops'' plus bishops from affiliated autonomous Methodist or [[United and uniting churches|United]] Churches.

[[John Wesley]] consecrated Thomas Coke a "General Superintendent", and directed that Francis Asbury also be consecrated for the United States of America in 1784, where the [[Methodist Episcopal Church]] first became a separate [[religious denomination|denomination]] apart from the Church of England. Coke soon returned to England, but Asbury was the primary builder of the new church. At first he did not call himself bishop, but eventually submitted to the usage by the denomination.

Notable bishops in United Methodist history include Coke, Asbury, [[Richard Whatcoat]], [[Philip William Otterbein]], [[Martin Boehm]], [[Jacob Albright]], [[John Seybert]], [[Matthew Simpson]], [[John S. Stamm]], [[William Ragsdale Cannon]], Marjorie Matthews, [[Leontine T. Kelly]], [[William B. Oden]], [[Ntambo Nkulu Ntanda]], [[Joseph Sprague]], [[William Henry Willimon]], and [[Thomas Bickerton]].
{{clear}}
=== The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ===
{{Main|Bishop (Latter Day Saints)}}

In [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]], the [[Bishop (Latter Day Saints)|Bishop]] is the leader of a local congregation, called a [[ward (LDS Church)|ward]]. As with most LDS priesthood holders, the bishop is a part-time lay minister and earns a living through other employment. As such, it is his duty to preside, call local leaders, and judge the worthiness of members for certain activities. The bishop does not deliver sermons at every service (generally asking members to do so), but is expected to be a spiritual guide for his congregation. It is therefore believed that he has both the right and ability to receive divine inspiration (through the [[Holy Spirit in Christianity|Holy Spirit]]) for the ward under his direction. Because it is a part-time position, all able members are expected to assist in the management of the ward by holding delegated lay positions (for example, women's and youth leaders, teachers) referred to as callings. The bishop is especially responsible for leading the youth,<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/general-handbook/6?lang=eng#title_number8| title = General Handbook, 6.1.2}}</ref> in connection with the fact that a bishop is the president of the [[Aaronic priesthood (LDS Church)|Aaronic priesthood]] in his ward (and is thus a form of Mormon [[Kohen]]). Although members are asked to confess serious sins to him, unlike the Catholic Church, he is not the instrument of divine forgiveness, but merely a guide through the repentance process (and a judge in case transgressions warrant excommunication or other official discipline). The bishop is also responsible for the physical welfare of the ward, and thus collects [[Tithe|tithing]] and [[fast offering]]s and distributes financial assistance where needed.

A literal descendant of Aaron has "legal right" to act as a bishop<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/107.76?lang=eng| title = Doctrine and Covenants 107:76}}</ref> after being found worthy and ordained by the [[First Presidency (LDS Church)|First Presidency]].<ref name="Doctrine and Covenants 68:20">{{cite web| url = https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/68.20?lang=eng| title = Doctrine and Covenants 68:20}}</ref> In the absence of a literal descendant of Aaron, a [[high priest (Latter Day Saints)|high priest]] in the [[Melchizedek priesthood]] is called to be a bishop.<ref name="Doctrine and Covenants 68:20"/> Each bishop is selected from resident members of the ward by the [[stake (Latter Day Saints)|stake presidency]] with approval of the First Presidency, and chooses two ''counselors'' to form a ''bishopric''. An priesthood holder called as bishop must be ordained a high priest if he is not already one, unlike the similar function of branch president.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/general-handbook/6?lang=eng#title_number13| title = General Handbook, 6.2}}</ref> In special circumstances (such as a ward consisting entirely of young university students), a bishop may be chosen from outside the ward. Traditionally, bishops are married, though this is not always the case.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/1990/10/i-have-a-question/what-callings-are-open-to-single-members-of-the-church?lang=eng| title = Ensign, 1990 October, What callings are open to single members of the Church?}}</ref> A bishop is typically released after about five years and a new bishop is called to the position. Although the former bishop is released from his duties, he continues to hold the Aaronic priesthood office of bishop. Church members frequently refer to a former bishop as "Bishop" as a sign of respect and affection.

Latter-day Saint bishops do not wear any special clothing or insignia the way clergy in many other churches do, but are expected to dress and groom themselves neatly and conservatively per their local culture, especially when performing official duties. Bishops (as well as other members of the priesthood) can trace their line of authority back to [[Joseph Smith]], who, according to church doctrine, was ordained to lead the church in modern times by the ancient apostles Peter, [[James, son of Zebedee|James]], and John, who were ordained to lead the Church by Jesus Christ.<ref>{{cite book|last=Smith|first=Joseph|title=Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith|year=2007|page=101|url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/content/manual/teachings-joseph-smith/chapter-8?lang=eng}}</ref>

At the global level, the [[Presiding Bishop (LDS Church)|presiding bishop]] oversees the temporal affairs (buildings, properties, commercial corporations, and so on) of the worldwide church, including the church's massive global humanitarian aid and social welfare programs. The presiding bishop has two counselors; the three together form the presiding bishopric.<ref>{{cite web|last=McMullin|first=Keith B.|title=The Presiding Bishopric|url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/2005/07/the-presiding-bishopric?lang=eng|work=Ensign|access-date=27 July 2012}}</ref> As opposed to ward bishoprics, where the counselors do not hold the office of bishop, all three men in the presiding bishopric hold the office of bishop, and thus the counselors, as with the presiding bishop, are formally referred to as "Bishop".<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/topic/presiding-bishopric|title=Learn More About the Church's Presiding Bishopric|work=www.mormonnewsroom.org|access-date=2018-08-19|language=en}}</ref>

=== Irvingism ===
==== New Apostolic Church ====
The [[New Apostolic Church]] (NAC) knows three classes of ministries: Deacons, Priests and Apostles. The [[New Apostolic Church#Apostle ministry and exclusivism|Apostles]], who are all included in the apostolate with the [[Chief Apostle]] as head, are the highest ministries. Of the several kinds of priestly ministries, the bishop is the highest. Nearly all bishops are set in line directly from the chief apostle. They support and help their superior apostle.{{cn|date=July 2025}}

=== Pentecostalism ===
==== Church of God in Christ ====
In the [[Church of God in Christ|Church of God in Christ (COGIC)]], the ecclesiastical structure is composed of large dioceses that are called "jurisdictions" within COGIC, each under the authority of a bishop, sometimes called "state bishops". They can either be made up of large geographical regions of churches or churches that are grouped and organized together as their own separate jurisdictions because of similar affiliations, regardless of geographical location or dispersion. Each state in the U.S. has at least one jurisdiction while others may have several more, and each jurisdiction is usually composed of between 30 and 100 churches. Each jurisdiction is then broken down into several districts, which are smaller groups of churches (either grouped by geographical situation or by similar affiliations) which are each under the authority of District Superintendents who answer to the authority of their jurisdictional/state bishop. There are currently over 170 jurisdictions in the United States, and over 30 jurisdictions in other countries. The bishops of each jurisdiction, according to the COGIC Manual, are considered to be the modern day equivalent in the church of the early apostles and overseers of the New Testament church, and as the highest ranking clergymen in the COGIC, they are tasked with the responsibilities of being the head overseers of all religious, civil, and economic ministries and protocol for the church denomination.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=COGIC Manual|publisher=Church of God in Christ Publishing House|year=1973|isbn=978-1940378428|location=Memphis, Tennessee|pages=133–141}}</ref> They also have the authority to appoint and ordain local [[pastor]]s, [[Elder (Christianity)|elders]], [[Minister (Christianity)|ministers]], and [[The Reverend|reverends]] within the denomination. The bishops of the COGIC denomination are all collectively called "The Board of Bishops".<ref name=":2">{{Cite news|url=http://www.cogic.org/about-company/the-judicial-branch/board-of-bishops/|title=Board of Bishops|work=Church Of God In Christ|access-date=2017-09-04|language=en-US|archive-date=3 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180103015210/http://www.cogic.org/about-company/the-judicial-branch/board-of-bishops/|url-status=dead}}</ref> From the Board of Bishops, and the General Assembly of the COGIC, the body of the church composed of clergy and lay delegates that are responsible for making and enforcing the bylaws of the denomination, every four years, twelve bishops from the COGIC are elected as "The General Board" of the church, who work alongside the delegates of the General Assembly and Board of Bishops to provide administration over the denomination as the church's head executive leaders.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|url=http://www.cogic.org/about-company/the-executive-branch/general-board/|title=The General Board|work=Church Of God In Christ|access-date=2017-09-04|language=en-US|archive-date=4 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170904113917/http://www.cogic.org/about-company/the-executive-branch/general-board/|url-status=dead}}</ref> One of twelve bishops of the General Board is also elected the "presiding bishop" of the church, and two others are appointed by the presiding bishop himself, as his first and second assistant presiding bishops.

Bishops in the Church of God in Christ usually wear black clergy suits which consist of a black suit blazer, black pants, a purple or scarlet clergy shirt and a white [[clerical collar]], which is usually referred to as "Class B Civic attire". Bishops in COGIC also typically wear the Anglican Choir Dress style vestments of a long purple or scarlet chimere, cuffs, and tippet worn over a long white rochet, and a gold pectoral cross worn around the neck with the tippet. This is usually referred to as "Class A Ceremonial attire". The bishops of COGIC alternate between Class A Ceremonial attire and Class B Civic attire depending on the protocol of the religious services and other events they have to attend.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":0" />

==== Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee) ====
In the polity of the [[Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee)]], the international leader is the presiding bishop, and the members of the executive committee are executive bishops. Collectively, they supervise and appoint national and state leaders across the world. Leaders of individual states and regions are administrative bishops, who have jurisdiction over local churches in their respective states and are vested with appointment authority for local pastorates. All ministers are credentialed at one of three levels of licensure, the most senior of which is the rank of ordained bishop. To be eligible to serve in state, national, or international positions of authority, a minister must hold the rank of ordained bishop.

==== Pentecostal Church of God ====
In 2002, the general convention of the [[Pentecostal Church of God]] came to a consensus to change the title of their overseer from general superintendent to bishop. The change was brought on because internationally, the term ''bishop'' is more commonly related to religious leaders than the previous title.

The title ''bishop'' is used for both the general (international leader) and the district (state) leaders. The title is sometimes used in conjunction with the previous, thus becoming general (district) superintendent/bishop.

=== Seventh-day Adventists ===

According to the Seventh-day Adventist understanding of the doctrine of the church:

"The "elders" (Greek, {{transliteration|grc|presbuteros}}) or "bishops" ({{transliteration|grc|episkopos}}) were the most important officers of the church. The term elder means older one, implying dignity and respect. His position was similar to that of the one who had supervision of the synagogue. The term bishop means "overseer". Paul used these terms interchangeably, equating elders with overseers or bishops (Acts 20:17,[[Acts 20:28|28]]; Titus 1:5, 7).

"Those who held this position supervised the newly formed churches. Elder referred to the status or rank of the office, while bishop denoted the duty or responsibility of the office—"overseer". Since the apostles also called themselves elders (1 Peter 5:1; 2 John 1; 3 John 1), it is apparent that there were both local elders and itinerant elders, or elders at large. But both kinds of elder functioned as shepherds of the congregations.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Ministerial Association, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists|title=Seventh-day Adventists Believe|date=1988|publisher=Review and Herald Publishing Association|location=Hagarstown, Maryland|pages=146, 147}}</ref>"

The above understanding is part of the basis of Adventist organizational structure. The world wide Seventh-day Adventist church is organized into local districts, conferences or missions, union conferences or union missions, divisions, and finally at the top is the general conference.  At each level (with exception to the local districts), there is an elder who is elected president and a group of elders who serve on the executive committee with the elected president.  Those who have been elected president would in effect be the "bishop" while never actually carrying the title or ordained as such because the term is usually associated with the episcopal style of church governance most often found in Catholic, Anglican, Methodist and some Pentecostal/Charismatic circles.

=== Others ===
Some Baptists also have begun taking on the title of ''bishop''.<ref name="bost_More">{{Cite news
| title = More Baptist pastors adopt bishop title
| author = Lisa Wangsness
| newspaper= The Boston Globe
| date = 19 July 2010
| access-date = 2014-09-07
| url = http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/07/19/more_baptist_pastors_adopt_bishop_title/?page=1
}}</ref>
In some smaller Protestant denominations and independent churches, the term ''bishop'' is used in the same way as ''pastor'', to refer to the leader of the local congregation, and may be male or female. This usage is especially common in African-American churches in the US.

In the [[Church of Scotland]], which has a Presbyterian church structure, the word "bishop" refers to an ordained person, usually a normal parish minister, who has temporary oversight of a trainee minister. In the [[Presbyterian Church (USA)]], the term bishop is an expressive name for a Minister of Word and Sacrament who serves a congregation and exercises "the oversight of the flock of Christ."<ref name="presby">{{cite book|publisher= Presbyterian Church (USA) Office of the General Assembly|title= Book of Order (2009–2011)|location= Louisville|page= G-6.0202|url= http://www.presbycoalition.org/2009-11%20Book%20of%20Order.pdf|access-date= 7 September 2014|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140729184807/http://www.presbycoalition.org/2009-11%20Book%20of%20Order.pdf|archive-date= 29 July 2014|url-status= dead}}</ref> The term is traceable to the 1789 Form of Government of the PC (USA) and the Presbyterian understanding of the pastoral office.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.pcusa.org/site_media/media/uploads/oga/pdf/peter.pdf| title = "The Successor To Peter" |date=2000 |website=Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231118220748/https://www.pcusa.org/site_media/media/uploads/oga/pdf/peter.pdf |archive-date= Nov 18, 2023 }}</ref>

While not considered orthodox Christian, the [[Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica]] uses roles and titles derived from Christianity for its clerical hierarchy, including bishops who have much the same authority and responsibilities as in Catholicism.

The [[Salvation Army]] does not have bishops but has appointed leaders of geographical areas, known as Divisional Commanders. Larger geographical areas, called Territories, are led by a Territorial Commander, who is the highest-ranking officer in that Territory.

Jehovah's Witnesses do not use the title 'Bishop' within their organizational structure, but appoint elders to be overseers (to fulfill the role of oversight) within their congregations.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jw.org/en/jehovahs-witnesses/faq/congregations-organized/ |title=  How Are Congregations of Jehovah's Witnesses Organised? |website=Jehovah’s Witnesses |access-date=4 August 2015}}</ref>

[[File:Ingwer Ludwig Nommensen (1834–1918).png|thumb|upright=1.2|right|[[Ludwig Ingwer Nommensen]], the [[Germans|German]] Lutheran missionary from [[Rhenish Missionary Society]], also first Ephorus of the Batak Christian Protestant Church]]

The [[Batak Christian Protestant Church]] of [[Indonesia]], the most prominent [[Protestantism in Indonesia|Protestant denomination in Indonesia]], uses the term ''Ephorus'' instead of ''bishop''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://iksynod.org/hkbp/ |website=Indiana-Kentucky Synod, ELCA |title=Global Missions in the Indiana-Kentucky Synod: Indonesia: the Huria Kristen Batak Protestan Church on the island of Sumatra |access-date=18 August 2018 |archive-date=19 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181119155734/https://iksynod.org/hkbp/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In the Vietnamese syncretist religion of [[Caodaism]], bishops ({{lang|vi|giáo sư}}) comprise the fifth of nine hierarchical levels, and are responsible for spiritual and temporal education as well as record-keeping and ceremonies in their parishes. At any one time there are seventy-two bishops. Their authority is described in Section I of the text {{lang|vi|Tân Luật}} (revealed through seances in December 1926). Caodai bishops wear robes and headgear of embroidered silk depicting the Divine Eye and the Eight Trigrams. (The color varies according to branch.) This is the full ceremonial dress; the simple version consists of a seven-layered turban.

== Dress and insignia in Christianity ==
{{Main|Pontifical vestments}}

Traditionally, a number of items are associated with the office of a bishop, most notably the mitre and the [[crosier]]. Other vestments and insignia vary between Eastern and Western Christianity.

In the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church, the [[choir dress]] of a bishop includes the purple cassock with amaranth trim, [[rochet]], purple [[zucchetto]] (skull cap), purple [[biretta]], and pectoral cross. The [[cappa magna]] may be worn, but only within the bishop's own diocese and on especially solemn occasions.{{sfn|Stehle|1914|p=}} The mitre, zucchetto, and [[Stole (vestment)|stole]] are generally worn by bishops when presiding over liturgical functions. For liturgical functions other than the [[Mass in the Catholic Church|Mass]] the bishop typically wears the cope. Within his own diocese and when celebrating solemnly elsewhere with the consent of the local [[Ordinary (officer)|ordinary]], he also uses the crosier.{{sfn|Stehle|1914|p=}} When celebrating Mass, a bishop, like a [[Priest (Catholic Church)|priest]], wears the [[chasuble]]. The [[Caeremoniale Episcoporum]] recommends, but does not impose, that in solemn celebrations a bishop should also wear a [[dalmatic]], which can always be white, beneath the chasuble, especially when administering the sacrament of [[holy orders]], blessing an abbot or abbess, and dedicating a church or an altar.{{sfn|Stehle|1914|p=}} The Caeremoniale Episcoporum no longer makes mention of [[episcopal gloves]], [[episcopal sandals]], [[liturgical stockings]] (also known as [[buskins]]), or the accoutrements that it once prescribed for the bishop's horse. The coat of arms of a Latin Church Catholic bishop usually displays a [[galero]] with a cross and crosier behind the [[Escutcheon (heraldry)|escutcheon]]; the specifics differ by location and ecclesiastical rank (see [[Ecclesiastical heraldry]]).

Anglican bishops generally make use of the mitre, crosier, ecclesiastical ring, purple cassock, purple zucchetto, and pectoral cross. However, the traditional choir dress of Anglican bishops retains its late mediaeval form, and looks quite different from that of their Catholic counterparts; it consists of a long rochet which is worn with a [[chimere]].

In the [[Eastern Churches]] (Eastern Orthodox, [[Eastern Rite Catholic]]) a bishop will wear the [[mandyas]], [[panagia]] (and perhaps an [[enkolpion]]), [[sakkos]], omophorion and an Eastern-style mitre. Eastern bishops do not normally wear an episcopal ring; the faithful kiss (or, alternatively, touch their forehead to) the bishop's hand. To seal official documents, he will usually use an inked stamp. An Eastern bishop's coat of arms will normally display an Eastern-style mitre, cross, eastern style crosier and a red and white (or red and gold) [[Ecclesiastical heraldry#Mantle|mantle]]. The arms of Oriental Orthodox bishops will display the episcopal insignia (mitre or turban) specific to their own liturgical traditions. Variations occur based upon jurisdiction and national customs.

=== Cathedra ===
In Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Lutheran and Anglican [[cathedral]]s there is a special chair set aside for the exclusive use of the bishop. This is the bishop's ''[[cathedra]]'' and is often called the [[throne]]. In some Christian denominations, for example, the Anglican Communion, parish churches may maintain a chair for the use of the bishop when he visits; this is to signify the parish's union with the bishop.

<gallery widths="160" heights="200">
File:Kyr-Jonas presovsky-arcibiskup-a-metropolita-1.jpg|Byzantine Rite Catholic bishop in non-liturgical clothing
File:Bishop Trevor Williams.jpg|An Anglican bishop with a crosier, wearing a rochet under a red chimere and cuffs, a black tippet, and a pectoral cross
File:BishopThom.jpg|An Episcopal bishop immediately before presiding at the Great Vigil of Easter in the [[narthex]] of St. Michael's Episcopal Cathedral in [[Boise, Idaho]].
File:Ephorus HKBP (cropped).jpg|An Ephorus of the [[Batak Christian Protestant Church]] in [[Indonesia]], one of the largest [[Lutheran]] churches in [[Southeast Asia]], wearing uses white [[bands (neckwear)|bands]] and [[Geneva gown]]
</gallery>

==The term's use in non-Christian religions==
=== Buddhism ===
The leader of the [[Buddhist Churches of America]] (BCA) is their [[Bishop of the Buddhist Churches of America|bishop]],<ref>Numrich, P.D., 2013. Local Inter-Buddhist Associations in North America. In: Queen, C., Williams, D.R. (Eds.), ''American Buddhism: Methods and Findings in Recent Scholarship''. Routledge. p. 128</ref><ref>Murphy, T.F., United States Bureau of the Census (1941). ''Religious bodies, 1936''. United States Government Printing Office, Washington, DC., p. 346 https://archive.org/details/religiousbodies10002unse</ref><ref name=":12">Ama, M. (2010) The Legal Dimensions of the Formation of Shin Buddhist Temples in Los Angeles. In: Williams, D.R., Moriya, T. (Eds.), ''Issei Buddhism in the Americas''. University of Illinois Press., p. 66-68</ref> The Japanese title for the bishop of the BCA is {{transliteration|ja|sochō}},<ref name=":12" /><ref>Willard, R. H., Wilson, C. G. & Baird, J. A. (1985). ''Sacred Places of San Francisco''. Presidio Press., p. 164</ref><ref>Quli, N. E. F. & Mitchell, S. A. (2015). Buddhist Modernism As Narrative: A Comparative Study of Jodo Shinshu and Zen. In: Mitchell, S. A. & Quli, N. E. F. (eds.) ''Buddhism beyond Borders: New Perspectives on Buddhism in the United States''. SUNY Press., p. 206</ref> although the English title is favored over the Japanese. When it comes to many other [[Buddhist Terms and Concepts|Buddhist terms]], the BCA chose to keep them in their original language (terms such as {{transliteration|sa|[[sangha]]}} and {{transliteration|sa|[[Dāna|dana]]}}), but with some words (including {{transliteration|ja|sochō}}), they changed/translated these terms into English words.<ref>Kashima, T. (1977). ''Buddhism in America : the social organization of an ethnic religious institution''. Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press., p. 41</ref><ref>Seager, R. H. (2012). ''Buddhism in America''. revised and expanded edition. New York: Columbia University Press, p. 56</ref><ref>Fronsdal, G. (1998). Insight Meditation in the United States: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. In: Prebish, C. S., Tanaka, K. K., & Tanaka, K. K. (eds.) ''The Faces of Buddhism in America''. University of California Press., p. 169</ref>

Between 1899 and 1944, the BCA held the name Buddhist Mission of North America. The leader of the Buddhist Mission of North America was called {{transliteration|ja|kantoku}} (superintendent/director) between 1899 and 1918. In 1918 the {{transliteration|ja|kantoku}} was promoted to bishop ({{transliteration|ja|sochō}}).<ref>{{Cite book|last=Ama|first=Michihiro|title=Immigrants to the Pure Land: The Modernization, Acculturation, and Globalization of Shin Buddhism, 1898-1941|date=2011|publisher=University of Hawaii Press|isbn=978-0824834388|pages=32, 37}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Seager|first=Richard Hughes|title=Buddhism in America|date=2012|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=978-0231159739|pages=54}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Kashima|first=Tetsuden|url=http://archive.org/details/buddhisminameric00tets|title=Buddhism in America : the social organization of an ethnic religious institution|date=1977|publisher=Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press|others=Internet Archive|isbn=978-0-8371-9534-6}}</ref> However, according to George J. Tanabe, the title "bishop" was in practice already used by Hawaiian Shin Buddhists (in [[Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii]]) even when the official title was ''kantoku''.<ref>Tanabe, G. J. Jr. (2004). Grafting Identity: The Hawaiian Branches of the Bodhi Tree. In: Learman, L. (ed.) ''Buddhist Missionaries in the Era of Globalization''. University of Hawaii Press., p. 84</ref>

Bishops are also present in other Japanese Buddhist organizations. [[Higashi Hongan-ji]]'s North American District, Honpa Honganji Mission of Hawaii, [[Jodo Shinshu Buddhist Temples of Canada]],<ref>Ama, M. (2011). ''Immigrants to the Pure Land: The Modernization, Acculturation, and Globalization of Shin Buddhism, 1898-1941''. University of Hawaii Press., pp. ix–x</ref> a [[Jōdo-shū|Jodo Shu]] temple in Los Angeles, the [[Shingon Buddhism|Shingon]] temple [[Koyasan Buddhist Temple]],<ref>Prebish, C. S. (2010). ''Buddhism: A Modern Perspective''. Penn State Press., p. 256</ref> Sōtō Mission in Hawai‘i (a [[Soto Zen]] Buddhist institution),<ref>Tanabe,  G. J. Jr. (2004). Grafting Identity: The Hawaiian Branches of the Bodhi Tree. In: Learman, L. (ed.) ''Buddhist Missionaries in the Era of Globalization''. University of Hawaii Press., p. 97</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=About Us|url=https://www.sotomission.org/about-us|work=Soto Mission of Hawaii|access-date=2021-07-12|language=en-US}}</ref> and the Sōtō Zen Buddhist Community of South America ({{lang|pt|Comunidade Budista Sōtō Zenshū da América do Sul}}) all have or have had leaders with the title bishop. As for the Sōtō Zen Buddhist Community of South America, the Japanese title is {{transliteration|ja|sōkan}}, but the leader is in practice referred to as "bishop".<ref>Rocha, C. (2004). Being a Zen Buddhist Brazilian: Juggling Multiple Religious Identities in the Land of Catholicism. In: Learman, L. (ed.) ''Buddhist Missionaries in the Era of Globalization''. University of Hawaii Press. pp. 140, 158</ref>

=== Tenrikyo ===
[[Tenrikyo]] is a Japanese New Religion with influences from both Shinto and Buddhism.<ref name=":02">Williams, D. R. & Moriya, T. (2010). ''Issei Buddhism in the Americas''. University of Illinois Press., p. 135-137</ref> The leader of the Tenrikyo North American Mission has the title of bishop.<ref name=":02" /><ref>Yamakura, A. (2010). The United States–Japanese War and Tenrikyo Ministers in America. In: Williams, D. R. & Moriya, T. (eds.) ''Issei Buddhism in the Americas''. University of Illinois Press., p. 142</ref>

== See also ==
<!-- please keep entries in alphabetical order -->
{{Portal|Christianity}}
{{Div col}}
* [[Anglican ministry#Bishops]]
* [[Appointment of Catholic bishops]]
* [[Appointment of Church of England bishops]]
* [[Bishop in Europe]]
* [[Bishops in the Catholic Church]]
* [[Bishop of Alexandria]], or Pope
* [[Bishops in the Church of Scotland]]
* [[Diocesan bishop]]
* [[Ecclesiastical polity]] (church governance)
** [[Congregationalist polity]]
** [[Presbyterian polity]]
* [[Ganzibra]]
* [[Gay bishops]]
* [[Hierarchy of the Catholic Church]]
* [[List of Catholic bishops of the United States]]
* [[List of metropolitans and patriarchs of Moscow]]
* [[List of types of spiritual teachers]]
* [[List of Lutheran clergy#Lists of Lutheran bishops and archbishops|List of Lutheran bishops and archbishops]]
* [[Lists of patriarchs, archbishops, and bishops]]
* [[Lord Bishop]]
* [[Order of precedence in the Catholic Church]]
* [[Shepherd#Religion|Shepherd in religion]]
* [[Spokesperson bishops in the Church of England]]
* [[Suffragan Bishop in Europe]]
{{div col end}}

== Notes ==
{{Notelist}}

== References ==
=== Citations ===
{{Reflist}}

=== Sources ===
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SPx4AAAACAAJ|title=The History of Christianity|last=Hill|first=Jonathan|publisher=Lion|year=2007|isbn=978-0-7459-5156-0}}
* {{cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mUXJoNg6PYwC|title=The Apostolic Fathers|publisher=Macmillan|year=1899|isbn=978-1-4209-2948-5|chapter=Epistles of to the Ephesians, Magnesians, Trallesians, and Smyrnans|author=Ignatius of Antioch|author-link=Ignatius of Antioch|editor=J. B. Lightfoot}}{{Dead link|date=April 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
* {{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ibocAAAAMAAJ|title=Set Apart to Serve: The Meaning and Role of Episcopacy in the Wesleyan Tradition|last=Mathews|first=James Kenneth|publisher=Abingdon Press|year=1985|isbn=978-0-687-38100-5}}
* {{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=74RyNwAACAAJ|title=The Office of Bishop in Methodism: Its History and Development|last=Moede|first=Gerald F.|publisher=Gotthelf-Verlag|year=1964}}
* {{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fUqcAQAAQBAJ&pg=PR211|title=The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church|last2=Livingstone|first2=Elizabeth A.|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2005|isbn=978-0-19-280290-3|ref={{sfnref|Cross & Livingstone|2005|p=211}}|last1=Cross|first1=Frank Leslie}}
* {{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6UTfmw_zStsC|title=Cambridge History of Christianity: Volume 1, Origins to Constantine|last2=Young|first2=Frances M.|last3=Scott Bowie|first3=K.|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2006|isbn=978-0-521-81239-9|ref={{sfnref|Mitchell, Young & Scott Bowie|2006|p=417}}|last1=Mitchell|first1=Margaret M.}}
* {{cite book|chapter-url= http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02581b.htm|title= The Catholic Encyclopedia|last= Van Hove|first= A.|date= 1907|publisher= Robert Appleton Company|location= New York|chapter= Bishop|access-date= 13 April 2012}}
* {{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/romancatholicchu0000ogra|url-access=registration|title=The Roman Catholic Church: Its Origins and Nature|last=O'Grady|first=John F.|publisher=Paulist Press|year=1997|isbn=978-0-8091-3740-4}}
* {{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j79AAAAAYAAJ|title=Manual of Episcopal Ceremonies: Based on the Caeremoniale Episcoporum, Decrees of the Sacred Congregation of Rites, Etc., and Approved Authors|last=Stehle|first=Aurelius|publisher=St. Vincent Seminary|year=1914}}
* {{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NJ6pXuv0-cwC|title=The book of discipline of the United Methodist Church, 1980|publisher=United Methodist Pub. House|year=1980|isbn=978-0-687-03705-6|author=Anon}}
* {{cite journal |last=Handl|first=András|year=2016|title=Viktor I. (189?-199?) von Rom und die Entstehung des "monarchischen" Episkopats in Rom |journal=Sacris Erudiri |volume=55 |pages=7–56 |doi=10.1484/J.SE.5.112597 }}
{{refend}}

== External links ==
{{Wiktionary|bishop|episcopal|episcopus}}
{{Commons category|Bishops}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080504105638/http://www.revneal.org/Writings/apostoli.htm Methodist/Anglican Thoughts On Apostolic Succession] by Gregory Neal
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080515120521/http://www.revneal.org/Writings/methepisc.htm Methodist Episcopacy: In Search of Holy Orders] by Gregory Neal
* {{Cite EB1911|wstitle= Bishop | volume= 4 |last=Phillips|first=Walter Alison |author-link=Walter Alison Phillips| pages = 1&ndash;4 |short= 1}}
* [http://www.toccusa.org The Old Catholic Church, Province of the United States] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220126164739/https://toccusa.org/ |date=26 January 2022 }}
* [http://ecumenical-catholic-communion.org/ The Ecumenical Catholic Communion]* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080220092324/http://bishops.umc.org/interior.asp?ptid=21&mid=5855 The United Methodist Church: Council of Bishops]
* [https://www.vatican.va/archive/cdc/index.htm Vatican Website with Canon Law of Catholic Church]

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