Bishop
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A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governanc
A 6th-century image of Saint Augustine, bishop of Hippo Regius
Ignatius, bishop of Antioch, student of John the Apostle
Patriarch Stephen I of Constantinople was ordained as bishop at the age of 19
A bishop with other officials on an 11th-century grave in Sweden
Ecclesiastical polity
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Ecclesiastical polity is the government of a church. There are local forms of organization as well as denominational. A church's polity may describe its ministerial offices or an authority structure b
The apostles Peter and John laying hands in ordination. Illustration, 1873.
An Anglican deacon, bishop and priest. Priests are usually former deacons in episcopal polity.
The ordination of Methodist Bishop Francis Asbury, 1784.
Cathedral churches like St. Andrews were incompatible with the presbyterian polity taught by John Knox. This statue stands in St. Giles, still called a cathedral despite no longer serving as an episcopal seat.