41
edits
Changes
Bishop
,→Ruling bishop: grammar
{{incomplete}}
{{Template:Clergy}}
The '''bishop''' is the first and highest degree of the [[clergy]] in the [[Orthodox Church]] (Επίσκοπος επίσκοπος or ''episkopos'' in Greek, which means overseer). He is the successor to the Apostles in the service and government of the Church. The bishop thus serves εις τόπον και τύπον Χριστού (in place and as a type of Christ) in the Church. A '''ruling bishop''', is responsible for and the head of all the [[parish]]es located in his [[diocese]]. All authority of the lower orders of clergy is derived from the bishop. No divine services may be served in any Orthodox temple without the authorization of a bishop. Saint Ignatius the God-bearer of Antioch went so far as to state that "he who acts without the bishop's knowledge is in the devil's service".
==Ruling bishop= =A '''ruling bishop''' or '''diocesan bishop''Diocesan Bishops'is responsible for and the head of all the [[parish]]es located in his a particular geographical territory, called a [[diocese]] or [[archdiocese]]. All authority of the lower orders of clergy is derived from the bishop. No divine services may be served in any Orthodox temple without the authorization of a bishop. Saint [[Ignatius of Antioch|Ignatius the God-bearer of Antioch]] went so far as to state that "he who acts without the bishop' ===s knowledge is in the devil's service."
=== Patriarchs =Rankings of bishops==Sacramentally, all bishops are equal. Nevertheless, there are distinctions of administrative rank among bishops.
The title patriarch was is reserved for the [[primate]] of certain of the [[autocephalous]] Orthodox churches. The first applied to the original three major [[seehierarch]]s of Rome, Alexandria, and Antioch, and shortly after extended to include Constantinople and Jerusalemthe other autocephalous churches are styled metropolitan or archbishop.
===Archbishops and Metropolitans===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. He may or may not have [[auxiliary bishop]]s assisting him.
In the Slavonic and Antiochian traditions, a [[metropolitan]] outranks an archbishop. The reverse is the situation in the Greek tradition. The Antiochian tradition also uses the style metropolitan archbishop to differentiate from metropolitan bishops in the Greek tradition.
The change in the Greek tradition came about in later Greek history, because the diocesan bishops of ancient sees (which in the Greek [[diaspora are pretty much all of them]] include most) came to be styled metropolitans. The Slavonic and Antiochian Churches continue to follow the older tradition, where an archbishop is a senior bishop in charge of a major see, and a short for "metropolitan is a bishop in charge of a province which may include a number of minor and/or major seesbishops."
===Non-ruling bishops===
A bishop who does not rule his own diocese is either a Patriarchal Vicar or an Auxiliary Bishop.
=== Patriarchal Vicars vicars===''Main Article: [[Vicar]]''
In the [[Church of Antioch]], a bishop who is in charge of a newly-created diocese on behalf of, and under the supervision of, the Patriarch of Antioch is called a Patriarchal Vicar. The diocese is usually kept under the direct control of the patriarch until it becomes self-supporting. Patriarchal Vicars are not members of the [[Holy Synod]], and do not answer to the Holy Synod.
The equivalent title in some Orthodox jurisdictions is [[Exarch]].
The equivalent title in the Roman Catholic Church is "Vicar Apostolic."
=== Auxiliary Bishops bishops===''Main Article: [[Auxiliary bishop]]''
Most Orthodox Churches allow themselves the capacity to appoint Auxiliary Bishops auxiliary bishops to assist ruling bishops within their own dioceses or archdioceses.
Auxiliary Bishops bishops do not govern in their own right but only act as directed by their diocesan bishop.
===Titular Bishopsbishops===Bishops who are assigned a title of ancient dioceses that no longer function are called ''Main Article: [[Titular Bishops. The Diocese of Sourozh, the diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church, Moscow Patriarchate, in Great Britain and Ireland, is an example. However, generally, titular bishops are auxiliary bishops. bishop]]''
===Special forms===
The primate of the [[Church of Constantinople]] assumed the title Ecumenical Patriarch. The [[primate]] of the [[Church of Alexandria]] was granted the title Pope and Patriarch. The primate of the [[Church of Georgia]] recently amended his title from [[Catholicos]] to Catholicos-Patriarch.
==Hierarchical vestments==
''Main Article: [[Vestments]]''
The bishop wears a monastic garment called a [[mantiya]] when he arrives at a divine service. Unlike the typical monastic mantiya, which is black, that of the bishop is some other color, purple for bishops and Greek metropolitans, blue for archbishops and non-Greek metropolitans, and green for a patriarch, and upon it are sewn the Tables of the Law, square patches at the neck and feet, characterizing the Old and New Covenants. In addition, strips of cloth, called fountains, are sewn horizontally around the mantiya, representing the streams of teachings which flow from the bishop's mouth.
In the slavonic traditions, a ruling bishop is usually liturgically vested in the center of his church. In the Greek traditions, bishops are often vested at the altar. In the Antiochian tradition, the bishop usually vests in the sanctuary.
Liturgically, except for the [[phelonion]] and the [[nabedrennik]], a bishop wears all the vestments of a priest. The phelonion was at first part of the bishop's vestments but was replaced by a garment, similar to the deacon's [[sticharion]], called a [[sakkos]] (also ''saccos''), a garment of humility. As Christ's robe was without seam, the bishop, as an icon of Christ, wears the saccos either sewn or buttoned at the sides.
==See also==
*[[:Category:Images of Hierarchs]]
[[Category:Clergy]]
[[el:Επίσκοπος]]
[[fr:Évêque]]
[[mk:Епископ]]
[[ro:Episcop]]