ARTICLE - Bishops and Archbishops

Line 1. Duties of Bishops and Archbishops are to serve their constituents in the mission and purpose of the Church for the good of the congregation, leading all men to freedom under God, the Father:

The use of words like bishop and archbishop can both be controversial and misunderstood. Let us examine these words in their original context and divine their true meaning in relationship to the Church and the Kingdom.

Bishop and Archbishops are titular titles of service. They are merely ministers of ministers. Their purpose is to maintain the body of the Church, united under one form of government by the profession of one faith, and the service to all under the authority of the Father and the Son through revelation and communion of His Holy Spirit.

They are the practical administrators in the Kingdom in a network of ministries that bring the people together as one body, one Nation under the true God of Faith, Hope, Charity and Love.

Exodus 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

Leviticus 25:10 And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout [all] the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubile unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family.

This is the will of God, the purpose of the Kingdom and the mission of the Church who are the servants of those seeking the kingdom of God on earth.

Psalms 119:45 And I will walk at liberty: for I seek thy precepts.

Freedom can only be found in the precepts and principles of God, in His Character and in His Name.

Matthew 6:9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

Those who seek the Kingdom of Heaven on earth both seek to do the will of the Father and also make the application for their needs to the Father in Heaven rather than applying to men on earth as if they were their Father.

Matthew 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

Many people claim to be living and acting in the name of the Lord but it is only those who do his will that are truly in His Kingdom. There is no man made membership that guarantees a place in the kingdom. There are also no man made rules that can bar you from the kingdom except those you make yourself by word and deed.

Matthew 23:9 And call no [man] your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.

Again we reference the Father, for it is the law of the Father, Perens Patria, The Patronus that Jesus warned us against.

Luke 4:18 The Spirit of the Lord [is] upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,

Knowledge is the fertile ground in which to place the revelation of God's Faith. Opening ones eyes and mind in humility brings in the light of God's wisdom and opens the door and lights the path of freedom.

The Rule of Law

Phil. 3:16. Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same things.

Jesus and the Apostles were constantly using political terms, King, dominion, liberty... Jesus was a king and high priest. He was the highest son of David and his Apostles and the 120 whom they first served in the upper room operated according to the original rules and path set down by God the Father.

Occasionally Jesus used words that were not common among other kingdoms. The word rule in Philippians 3:16 above is not proistemi meaning to set over, poimaino meaning to feed, to tend a flock, hegeomai meaning to lead or go before, brabeuo meaning to umpire or decide, nor is it archo meaning to be chief. All those words a translated some times into the word rule in the New Testament.

The word rule used in Philippians 3:16 is kanon. Some Churches have a Canon which they define as a coded law which has been enforced at times in history by extreme methods of force and violence. This was done by men who could not resist the temptation of exercising authority over others. These men were not the Church despite their prevaricating proclamations.

Most Canon Law is a breach of the directives of Christ. For a thousand years after Christ there was not a set or codified Kanon for the Church. There were many groups that were later referred to as Rites. Some of these Rites enforced a strict Canon that came down to the people from a hierarchy. Other Rites had such a variety of practices they differed from one Church to the next like the faces of mankind, no two alike.

Even though men differ in appearance in essentials they are all very much the same. Many Canons emphasized appearance rather than the essentials. This is no different than what Jesus found with the Pharisees and Sadducees where the outward ritual and the letter of the law was the god of their belief and the essential precepts of the God were ignored or discarded.

The word kanon is from the word kane which means a straight reed or rod. A Kanon was a rod or straight piece of rounded wood to which any thing is fastened to keep it straight it was used for various purposes such as a measuring rod, rule or a carpenter's line or measuring tape. It is also defined as a definitely bounded or fixed space within the limits of which one's power of influence is confined.

There is no greater Canon of the Church than not to be like the princes and rulers of the Gentiles who exercise authority one over the other. This would also include a baring of the power to crown men to exercise authority on behalf of the Church. Those who become part of the Church are servants to the Kingdom of Heaven on earth as trustees in a mission to secure liberty. They rely on the Holy Spirit as the chief executive officer.

James 1:25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth [therein], he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

The Ministers, Bishops and Archbishops are titular and may not exercise authority nor may they appoint such authority to other men to exercise. The nature of their appointment is much different.

Other writings

Didache

The Didache¹ (some times called The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles) is a church manual for the early Christian Church. Written around 145 AD this church manual spoke of only two church offices, the episcopate, an overseer, and the diaconate, a minister or servant. The unknown author instructs, 'Elect² for yourselves therefore bishops and deacons worthy of the Lord . . . for unto you they also perform service of the prophets and teachers'.

By this one idea most church polities of modern Christendom are brought into question. Ministers and Bishops are generally appointed from the top down. There is also clear evidence in this statement that they were to perform services to the people in a very practical way. Were these services religious services? Did Jesus start a religion? Did he tell those who were his disciples and eventually his apostles to go and preach the religion of heaven on earth?

Luke 9:2 And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick.

Was this kingdom to come in some far off distant time?

Matthew 10:7 And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.

These elected Overseers and Ministers where to perform the service of the prophets and teachers remaining titular in their office.

A prophet was a aybn nabiy' which simply meant a speaker or spokesman or titular leader. A teacher was a rabbi, a role filled usually by the Levites in the Kingdom of Israel. The early Church was merely taking over the role of these offices with the added and reforming direction and rule of Jesus the King of Judea and the Kingdom of Heaven on earth.

Who did Jesus send to preach the kingdom? He sent the Apostles which is from the word Apostolos. The word means a delegate, messenger or ambassador. It was again a political term of government as was basileia which means a royal power, kingship, dominion, rule. These words are clearly political terms. Basileia is from the word basileus meaning leader of the people, prince, commander, lord of the land, king. Why do people insist upon turning Jesus' words into religious rhetoric?.

Shepherd of Hermas

Another document of those first centuries references the government of the Church. The Shepherd of Hermas was considered inspired by Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, Origen, and Tertullian. It was left out of the Biblical text by those who answered the call of Constantine.Hermas mentions at least four offices and talks about the Church members as white stones.

The Shepherd of Hermas 17:1-7 `Hear now concerning the stones that go to the building. The stones that are squared and white, and that fit together in their joints, these are the apostles and bishops and teachers and deacons, who walked after the holiness of God, and exercised their office of bishop and teacher and deacon in purity and sanctity for the elect of God, some of them already fallen on sleep, and others still living. And because they always agreed with one another, they both had peace among themselves and listened one to another. Therefore their joinings fit together in the building of the tower'.

Hermas does not refer of elders as an office. Elders orpresbuteros is not an office of appointment but a condition or status in reference of being the elder of two or more people. The elder was usually the senior or oldest member of a family or group and was often a position of respect and leadership within the family.

Titus 1:5 For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee:

Elders were chosen to be appointed but were not appointed to the office of an elder. Those in offices such as Deacon (minister) and Bishops (an overseer of ministers) might often refer to those amongst them as elders but again this is a title of respect do to age rather than appointment

Clement of Alexandria

Clement of Alexandria speaks of a bishop being appointed but uses the term presbyter or elder in the comparison of the bishop's age to his youthful student as seen in the statement:

When he [apostle John] ... at last turned towards the bishop ordained [appointed], ... The presbyter [elder] taking the youth home that was committed to him, educated, restrained, and cherished him, and at length baptized him.³

The Bishop was both bishop and elder because he was older than the youth.

People who were elder by status were the group from which appointment were made. It was the locals who elected those who they were to chose as ministers and those who were members of the body of the Church who appointed them.

Titus 1:5 For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee:

These elders were usually elders and most often the heads of families or appointed as spokesmen of families by the Family and its head. This is part of the description given.

Titus 1:6 If any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly.For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre; But a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate; Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers.

Note the use of the word Steward which is from the word oikonomos [oikonomov] which is composed of two words meaning established house. It means the manager of household or of household affairs, esp. a steward, manager, superintendent (whether free-born or as was usually the case, a freed-man or a slave) to whom the head of the house or proprietor has intrusted the management of his affairs, the care of receipts and expenditures, and the duty of dealing out the proper portion to every servant and even to the children not yet of age.

A minister and minister of ministers of the Church are servants to the people who are in and seeking to be in the Kingdom of Heaven of earth. They are servants because that was the nature of the King who came to serve. They do all things in His name according to His Character.

Those servants belong to God and are in His Service by appointment of Jesus Christ who established the house of the Lord by word and deed and obtained the recognition of the Roman Empire and its successors by their proclamation and His blood on the Cross.

They are the Trustees of His Kingdom and Stewards of His Holy House in order to maintain an entrance to the Kingdom of Heaven on earth for all those who wish the Father in Heaven to be their Father.

Matthew 23:9 And call no [man] your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.

Line by Line
ARTICLE I - Congregations
ARTICLE II - Seat of Authority
ARTICLE III - Conscience of the Church
ARTICLE IV - The Church is the possession of God
ARTICLE V - Servants of the Kingdom and Mankind
ARTICLE VI - Bishops and Archbishops
ARTICLE VII - Church RITUALS AND CEREMONIES
ARTICLE VIII - The objective of the Church
ARTICLE IX - Preaching the good news of the Kingdom.
ARTICLE X - The prime directive of the Church.

¹ Was written in Egypt or Syria containing regulations and procedures for church practice.

² The Faith of the Early Fathers, Volume I Copyright 1970 (Greek text)

³ Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History, p. 105