From: Jonathan Robie (jonathan@texcel.no)
Date: Thu Jan 01 1998 - 10:55:57 EST
At 10:10 AM 1/1/98 -0500, Michael S. Olszta wrote:
>Thank you Jonathan. So in essence what we are dealing with here is "a
>position" and/or "office" which has been interpreted/misinterpreted as
>to its authoritativeness among various denominations. Would I then be
>correct in declaring that the phrase "office of bishop" used to
>translate the word "episkope" is indeed a satisfactory translation, of
>course requiring more study in other parts of scripture where the word
>is used in both its substantive and predicate/verbal forms, to determine
>the overall responsibilities and requirements for such a position/office
>and whether or not such a position in the Christian church is to be
>volunteer and/or payed?
I'm slightly allergic to the translation "office of bishop", since it is
not clear to me whether this term is completely synonymous with the modern
office of bishop in any particular denominational tradition. For instance,
I do not believe that Acts 1:20 is using the term in a way that implies
overseeing the leadership of a group of churches. Let me be clear: I have
not studied this term, I have only looked up a few passages, and I do not
claim to have authoritative knowledge here. However, I would not translate
using the term "bishop" unless it were clear to me that the office entails
what we commonly associate with that office today.
I like Jim's suggestion: "episcopal office".
Positions in the church are not necessarily paid; Paul was an Apostle, but
he still had to make tents during much of his ministry.
Jonathan
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Jonathan Robie jwrobie@mindspring.com
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