Bishops

The two top Bishops in the Church of England are the Archbishops of Canterbury and York. The word ‘bishop’ comes from the Greek ‘episkopi’ and the first Bishops appeared very early on in Christianity, being seen as the main preachers and organisers of worship.

For a long time they  were believed to hold their spiritual authority in a direct line from the twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ, since Bishops consecrate up-and-coming Bishops and the first Bishops were consecrates by the Apostles. This is called Apostolic Succession. In more superstitious times they were even thought to transfer special mystical powers to the next generation.

As the number of Christians grew, Bishops needed assistance in holding all the services and ceremonies that were needed, so more clergy were appointed under them and the status of Bishops became more lofty and their role evolved into more of an administrator and ambassador.

Today they oversee all the vicars/priests and chaplains in their diocese (assigned area) including those at church schools and public services such as prisons. The UK has around 140 Bishops, although since 1690 there have been none in Scotland, where church leadership is shared in a group structure instead of being placed with individuals.

(Image of the consecration (entry into the sacred) of the Bishop of Oswestry: KHardie1906 at Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0)