Bishops come in a variety of shapes, sizes, colors, cultures and personalities. I am especially aware of the wonderful diversity among bishops in writing this article at the end of the Lambeth Conference in Canterbury, England.
For the past three weeks, over five hundred bishops representing more than seventy million Anglicans from every corner of the earth have been about the business of prayer, worship, conversations, debate, drafting resolutions and pastoral letters and enjoying fellowship.
It seems timely to pen these thoughts about the “historic episcopate” as Lambeth 1988 comes to a conclusion.
What is “The Historic Episcopate,” locally adapted in the methods of its administration to the varying needs of the nations and peoples called of God into the unity of His Church (BCP, p. 877)?
Is this fourth article on the Lambeth Quadrilateral as important as the first three; Scripture, Creeds and Sacraments?
We might begin by remembering that the “Historic Episcopate” and the other orders of ministry refer to special servants of the Church to the Church. (Ordination intensifies personal special service in Christ’s name. Such service is the vocation of the whole body of Christ.)
The “historic episcopate” is the focus of unity of the community; a focus of service, not lordship. We see this clearly in the first twelve apostles.
Anglican theologies of the “historic episcopate” deal with the episcopate as a fact rather than a doctrine; a fact deeply rooted in the history of the Church (“from the apostles’ time there have been these orders of ministers in Christ’s Church: bishops, priests and deacons” B.C.P.). It is universally agreed that by the end of the second century, the episcopate was firmly in place within the Church.
In addition to understanding the “historic episcopate” as an historic fact, it also can be clarified from a description of its functions.
The most obvious unique function of the episcopate is that of transmitting ministerial succession. The bishop is thus the organ of ministerial continuity. Priesthood and the ministry of a deacon make no theological sense without this functional understanding of what a bishop confers in ordination. The priest’s and deacon’s ministry are extensions of the bishop’s ministry, as the one ministry of the Church of Jesus Christ.
Such “oneness” brings to light a second unique function of the bishop: to be the incarnate symbol of the Church’s unity. The very name bishop (episcopos) points to the function of pastoral care, of oversight. This is why in the Church’s liturgies, the bishop is addressed as “father in God” and “shepherd”. The bishop represents the Church catholic to his flock, as the localized minister cannot do.
It is for this reason that the bishop confirms. The bishop symbolizes membership in the larger Church as one, holy, catholic and apostolic; and membership in the Episcopal Church, which is primarily diocesan, not congregational.
Each parish and mission church in a diocese is the local manifestation of the diocese and larger Anglican Communion. The bishop, priest and deacon, by ordination, are the outward signs of the church as a diocesan family
In addition to the symbolic function of revealing unity, and the ministerial functions of oversight, administration and pastoral care, the bishop is called its the chief theologian of the diocese to function as a teacher of the faith.
This teaching function is directly related to the bishop’s charge to “guard and protect the faith.” The best way to guard against heresy is to teach truth. Perhaps this is a primary role of the bishop. In emulating Jesus and the apostles, the bishop is called to be a rabbi among his people. This role and function is shared with priests by virtue of their training and ordination vows.
Finally, the bishop is called to he a prophet. This may well be the most important task of bishops. By prophet is meant the difficult task of preaching a gospel of justice, truth and love within a particular culture at a particular point in history. Such proclamation serves to call God’s people to a vision, God’s vision of the promised kingdom.
Are bishops essential to the Church? Cyprian, a second century African bishop once said, “No bishop, no Church!” While this statement is not to be taken literally or to be misinterpreted, it does provide us with a valuable insight in recalling the prophetic role of the bishop “Without a vision, the people will perish.”
Jesus knew this in gathering the twelve before He began His earthly ministry. He taught those who were to become the teachers. He shared a vision of the kingdom with those who would announce it prophetically after His ascension.
On a more practical level, the Church needs leadership. To carry out the mandates of the Gospel, certain “ordered persons” are charged with equipping and enabling the ministry of all Christian persons. That person is the bishop who speaks, equips, teaches and prophesies, not as an individual, but as God’s chosen prophet to embody God’s true and lively word.