Since its earliest days, the Church has been led by bishops who have been understood to be the successors of the apostles.   Although there is scholarly debate as to whether the apostles actually appointed and consecrated the leaders of the earliest churches, there is no debate that these leaders succeeded to the authority and the responsibilities of the apostles.  In some of the early churches, the leadership lay in a group of ministers, in Greek “episcopoi”; however, it soon developed that each city would have a single person, an “episcopos,” who would oversee the Christians in that community.  This episcopos, or bishop to use the English, would be assisted in his ministry by priests and deacons.

From the middle ages through the reformation, the governance of the Church, both East and West, resided in the bishops.  In the Western Church, that power came to reside in the Bishop of Rome, i.e. the Pope, whereas in the Eastern Church, the governance of the greater church remained with councils of bishops while governance of the diocese resided with its bishop.

The Reformation raised many questions about the role of the bishop.  In the English Reformation in particular, those of Puritan and Presbyterian persuasions sought to abolish the office of bishop and to vest authority in local congregations or in councils of elders.  Those of a more catholic persuasion sought to retain bishops as the authority in the church.  The English Civil War settled the question in favor of bishops, and the Church of England has since maintained the traditional threefold orders of bishop, priest, and deacon.  The governance of the Church of England, however, did undergo a change in the English Reformation in that the King (or Queen) and Parliament assumed a substantial role.  The bishops were no longer in total control of the church although, in most day to day affairs of the church, the civil authorities deferred to the bishops.

The Episcopal Church, our branch of the Anglican Communion, retains the threefold ministry of bishops, priests, and deacons, but, from its inception, the role of bishops in the Episcopal Church has differed from the role that they had in the Church of England.  In particular, legislative authority in the Episcopal Church as to doctrine, discipline and worship resides in the General Convention, which in turn is composed of two houses, the House of Deputies (laity, priests, and deacons) and the House of Bishops. Both houses must approve any legislative action of the convention, thus the power of the bishops is significantly less in the Episcopal Church than in the Church of England. The bishops, as a group, can take no action without approval of the House of Deputies except to the extent that the General Convention has previously delegated authority and responsibility to the bishops.  Those delegations of authority and responsibility are found in the Book of Common Prayer, the Constitution, and the Canons.

With regard to the Book of Common Prayer, the Preface to the Ordination Rites states that bishops are those “who carry on the apostolic work of leading, supervising, and uniting the Church.”  (BCP 510)  The Ordinal, in “The Examination” goes on to state that a bishop is “called to guard the faith, unity, and discipline of the Church; to celebrate and to provide for the administration of the sacraments of the New Covenant; to ordain priests and deacons and to join in ordaining bishops; and to be in all things a faithful pastor and wholesome example for the entire flock of Christ.”  (BCP 517)  Furthermore, bishops, according to the Ordinal, are to share with their fellow bishops in the leadership of the Church throughout the world.  (Id.)  The Catechism in the Book of Common Prayer goes on to state that “[t]he ministry of a bishop is to represent Christ and his Church, particularly as apostle, chief priest, and pastor of a diocese; to guard the faith, unity, and discipline of the whole Church; to proclaim the Word of God; to act in Christ’s name for the reconciliation of the world and the building up of the Church; and to ordain others to continue Christ’s ministry.” (BCP 855)  The Book of Common Prayer restricts the administration of the rites of confirmation and ordination to bishops and also gives bishops great authority over any variations in the liturgy to be permitted within the bishop’s diocese.

While the Book of Common Prayer gives the broad outlines of a bishop’s powers and responsibilities, the Constitution and Canons of the Episcopal Church fill in some of the details:

• The bishop shall not exercise authority outside of his or her diocese without specific authorization to do so. (Art. II.3)
• The bishop is required to examine any candidate for ordination and to make sure that certain requirements are met before ordination  (Art. VIII)
• The bishop has to report information about the clergy and parishes in the diocese to the national church  (Canon I.1.6)
• The bishop, along with the Standing Committee, must approve the sale or encumbrance of any real property of a parish (Canon I.7.3; II.6.2)
• The bishop shall have a seat in the House of Bishops of the province (Canon I.9.5)
• The bishop may call special meetings of the Standing Committee of the Diocese to seek its advice (Canon I.12.1)
• The bishop must consent to any request of a non-Episcopal congregation to join the church while retaining the use of its own rites, which request must be sent to the Presiding Bishop (Canon I.16.1)
• The bishop is charged with conferring the rite of confirmation and with the reception of those previously confirmed in another tradition (Canon I.17.1)
• The bishop hears the appeal of any parishioner who has been denied any of the sacraments by a priest (Canon I.17.6)
• The bishop is to receive notice of any marriage to be conducted within 30 days of the signing by the bride and groom of the Declaration of Intent  (Canon I.18.3)
• The bishop must consent to the marriage if either of the parties has previously been married and the former spouse is still alive (Canon I.19.2,3)
• The bishop must authorize the use of translations of the Bible other than the ones specified in the Canons (Canon II.2)
• The bishop must authorize the use of language other than English in worship unless there exists an authorized edition of the Book of Common Prayer in such language (Canon II.4)
• The bishop shall not consecrate a church until satisfied that land is owned by the church and subject to the canons (Canon II.6.1)
• The bishop shall encourage the discernment of vocations and assist those in the discernment process (Canon III.3)
• The bishop licenses lay ministers (Canon III.4.1)
• Deacons serve directly under the authority of and are accountable to the bishop  (Canon III.7.1)
• The bishop establishes procedures to identify and select persons for ordination to the priesthood (Canon III.8.1)
• The bishop, in consultation with the Standing Committee, acts on requests by clergy to renounce their orders (Canon III.9.8)
• The bishop has responsibility to mediate differences between a rector and the vestry when they are in dispute, and if necessary to render a judgment on the dispute (Canon III.9.15,16)
• The bishop is required to pursue continuing education (Canon III.12.2)
• The bishop is required to visit each congregation at least once every three years (Canon III.12.3.a)
• The bishop may prepare pastoral letters that are required to be read to the congregations on matters of doctrine, discipline, or worship (Canon III.12.3.b)
• The bishop must give an annual state of the diocese report covering various topics (Canon III.12.3.d)
• The bishop must not perform Episcopal acts or officiate by preaching, ministering the Sacraments, or holding any public service outside his or her diocese without the permission of the bishop of the diocese in which the action is to take place (Canon III.12.3.e)
• The bishop must reside in the diocese (Canon III.12.4)
• The bishop has extensive responsibilities in matters of ecclesiastical discipline (Canon IV)

In addition to the national Constitution and Canons, the Constitution and Canons of the Diocese of Georgia grant the bishop numerous powers and responsibilities:

• The power to move the dates of Diocesan Convention (Art. II.1)
• The power to call a special session of the Convention (Art. II.)
• The bishop is to preside at Convention and appoint the officers of Convention (Art. IV)
• This bishop can, under specified circumstances, change a congregation’s status from parish to mission (Art. XI)
• The bishop presides at Convention (Canon I.1)
• The bishop organizes the Convention (Canon I.4)
• The bishop appoints the Diocesan Chancellor, subject to approval of Convention (Canon I.5)
• The bishop appoints the Diocesan Treasurer, subject to approval of Convention (Canon I.6)
• The bishop appoints the Diocesan Historiographer, subject to approval of Convention (Canon I.7.1)
• The bishop appoints replacement deputies to General Convention if sufficient numbers of the elected deputies and alternates are unable to attend. (Canon I.8.2)
• The bishop, along with clerical and lay deputies appointed by the bishop, shall represent the Diocese at the Provincial Synod (Canon I.11.2)
• The bishop shall nominate the members of the Department of Finance, to be elected by Convention (Canon I.13.1)
• The bishop shall appoint the members of the Commission on Ministry, subject to approval by Diocesan Council (Canon I.13.2)
• The bishop shall appoint the members of the Conference Center Commission, subject to approval of Convention (Canon I.13.3)
• The bishop shall appoint the members of the Commission on Worship, subject to approval of Diocesan Council (Canon I.13.4)
• The bishop shall appoint the members of the Committee on Constitution and Canons, subject to approval of Convention (Canon I.13.6)
• The bishop, along with Diocesan Council, administers the affairs of the Church Pension Fund in the Diocese. (Canon I.14.2)
• The bishop, along with the other members of Diocesan Council, carries out the duties of Convention between its meetings (Canon I.15.5)
• The bishop fills any vacancies in any committee unless other provision is made in the Canons (Canon I.17)
• A parish may not call a rector without consultation with the bishop (Canon II.3.1)
• The bishop must approve the entry of any priest into an ecclesiastical position within the Diocese (Canon II.3.2)
• The bishop decides whether to grant a parish’s petition to move to mission status (Canon II.5.1)
• The bishop, with the approval of the Standing Committee, may declare a mission extinct (Canon II.5.4)
• The bishop may organize a mission (Canon II.6.1)
• The bishop supervises the missions of the Diocese (Canon II.6.2)
• The bishop, along with the Standing Committee, must approve any indebtedness to be incurred by a parish (Canon II.7.1)

It is apparent from the summary of constitutions and canons above that the national and diocesan constitutions and canons grant specific powers and impose specific responsibilities on the bishop, but the gist of the role of the bishop is, as set forth in the Catechism in the Book of Common Prayer, “to represent Christ and his Church, particularly as apostle, chief priest, and pastor” of the diocese.  The bishop accomplishes this task, not so much with de jure authority granted by the constitutions and canons, but more by the bishop’s personal power of persuasion arising from the clergy’s and laity’s belief that the bishop has been called by God to shepherd them.

It should be noted that the bishops gathered at the 2008 Lambeth Conference undertook a study of what it means to be a bishop in the Anglican Communion, including the Episcopal Church.  In the reflection document published at the conclusion of the conference, the participants defined the role of a bishop at follows:

The characteristics of the bishop’s ministry include:

• To gather the whole community in celebration, presiding over the sacraments and ordaining new priests and deacons
• To proclaim the Word of God as an apostolic witness to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ
• To be a teacher, guardian and interpreter of the faith and the apostolic tradition
• To be active in making and nurturing disciples
• To be a shepherd (pastor) of the whole people of God, with a special concern for the clergy of the diocese
• To be a prophetic voice for the voiceless.

As bishops, we are committed to the life of the Church, to the wider communities in which we minister and to civil society. We recognize that it is in our calling to be bridge-builders, reconcilers and symbols of unity, representing the local to the universal and the universal to the local, taking our place within a world-wide college of bishops across the Communion and within the one Church of Christ.

While this understanding of the role of the bishop is not directed to the Episcopal Church in particular and does not purport to take into account our constitutions and canons, it is an appropriate summary of what a bishop is called to do.

To be a bishop in the Episcopal Church is to accept a demanding assignment.  It is a whale of a job.