B I S 



454 



B I S 



one pulor would U luflicient to discharjre every pastoral 

 duty among them ; but when the number increased, or 

 when tlie pastor became enfeebled, assistance would bo 

 required by him, and thu other presbyter* would be intro- 

 duced into the city and church of the pastor, forming a kind 

 of council around linn. Again, to account for the origin of 

 diocese* or rural district* which were under the sui>eiin- 

 icndcncy of the pators. it was argued that it was tin 

 w Inch first received Christianity, and that the people in the 

 country place* remained for the most part heathen* or pagans 

 i from pagui. a country village) after th< 



Christianised; but that nevertheless efforts were con- 

 Lly being made to introduce Christian truth into the 

 Ullages around the cluuf eities, and that whenever favour- 

 able opportunities were presented, the- chief piutor of the 

 iiiy encouraged the erection of a church, and appointed 

 some presbyter either to reside constantly in or near to it, 



visit it when his services were required, though still 

 residing in the city, and then- assisting the chief pastor in 

 ,.mistratioii3. 'The extent of country which thus formed 

 a diocese of the chief pastor would depend, it is sup, 

 mi the civil distributions of the period ; that is, the d 

 ui' the bUhops of Snisniu, or any other autient city, would 

 be the country of which the inhabitants were accustomed 

 t.i look to the city for the administration of justice, or in 

 general to regard it as the seat of that temporal authority 

 to which they were immediately subject. 



All this is represented as having gone on without any 

 infringement on the rights of the chief pastor, of whom 

 there was a regular series. Lists of them are preserved in 

 many of the more antient churches, ascending, on what may 

 he regarded sufficient historical testimony, and with few 

 breaks in the continuity, even into the second and first cen- 

 turies. Bishops are however found in churches for which 

 this high antiquity cannot be claimed. In these cases they 

 ore supposed to he either in countries which did not fully 

 receive Christianity in the very earliest times, or that the 

 bishops or chief pastors delegated a portion of that superior 

 authority which they possessed over the other presbyters to 

 the presbyter settled in one of the churches which was 

 originally subordinate. This is supposed to have been the 

 origin of the distinction among the chief pastors of bishops 

 and archbishops, there being still a slight reservation of 

 superintendency and authority in the original orer the newly 

 created chief pastors. 



If this view of the origin of the episcopal character and 



be correct, it will follow that originally there was no 



essential difference between the bishop and the presbyter, 



and also that the duties which belong to the pastor of a 



Christian congregation were performed by the bishop. But 



i the increase of the number of Christians rendered 



;ints necessary, and this became a permanent institu- 

 tion, then the chief pastor would divest himself of those 

 simpler and easier duties, which occasioned nevertheless a 

 great consumption of time, as a matter at once of choice 

 nnd of necessity. Having to think and to consult for other 

 that which was peculiarly ins own, and 

 to an - .,ly to schemes for the protection or exten- 



sion ho would have little time remaining fur 



nixing, preaching, baptizing, or other ordinary duties : 

 : nd especially when it was added that he had to attend coun- 

 riu, nnd even was called to assist and advise the temporal 

 in the civil and ordinary affairs of state. Whan 

 Christianity, instead of being persecuted, was countenanced 

 mid encouraged by the temporal authorities, it was soon 

 perceived that the bishop would be a very important auxi- 

 liary to the temporal authorities; while in ages when few 



i ecclesiastical persons had any share of learning, or 



what we call mental cultivation, it is manifest that the high 



talc, for the performance of the duties of which 



much di-ri'rimient and much information were required, 



1 necessarily be filled by ecclesiastics, who might be 



;td, as we know to hare been the case, to unite spi- 

 ritual pro-eminence with their high political offices. The 

 Lord High Chancellor of Kngland was always an eccle- 



, and generally a bishop, to the time of Sir Thomas 

 Mojje. in the reign oi Henry VIII. 



'1 lie functions which belong to the bishop are in all coun- 

 <rie same. We shall speak of them as they 



Hi in the Knulish Church. 1. Confirmation, when children 

 on the threshold of maturity ratify or confirm the engage- 

 ment entered into by their sponsors at baptism, which is 

 done in the presence of a bishop, who may be understood 



in this ceremony to recognise or receive into the Christian 

 church the persons born within his diorete. 2. Ordination, 

 or the appointment of | aied by him properly quali- 



fied, to tin- ollico of dcanm in tin- ehu- rw'anls of 



ter-or priest. 3. Cons. lim lluy 



nru appointed to ih<> oilier of bishop. :. u, or con- 



secration of cdifn Kir the per! -tia 



services or of ground set apart for religious p\. 

 especially for the burial of the dead. :>. Admin:-' 

 the effects of persons deceased, of which th , ib,. 



proper guardian, until some person 1: bim 



a right to the distribution of those effects either ;; 



nf the will of the deceased. 6. Adju 



lion in questions respecting matrimony and divorce. 7. In- 

 stitution or r.illati'in to vacant churches in b. 

 H. Superintendence nf tin- conduct of the several ] .'.si, , r , in 

 bis diocese, in respect of morals, of residence, and of the 



\:cy and proper performance of the public i 

 the ihurcli. And, !), Excommunication; and, in the case 

 of ministers, deprivation and degradation. 



These arc the most material of the functions which have 

 been retained by the Christian bishops, or, if we adopt 

 the theory of apostolic succession, which hare from the 

 beginning been exorcised by them. To these it remains to 

 he added, that in England they are the medium of com- 

 munication between the king and the people in rctpect 

 of all affairs connected with religion ; and that they are an 

 important constituent part of that great council of the realm 

 which is called parliament. 



Whatever kind of moot, assembly, or council for the advice 

 of thu king there was in the earliest times of the Knglish 

 monarchy, the bishops were chief persons in it. The ch 

 of the early Norman kings usually run in the form that 

 they are granted by the assent and advice of the bislx 

 well as others ; and when the antient great council became 

 moulded into the form of the modern parliament, the hi- 

 wcre seated, as we now see them, in the Upper House. It 

 is argued that they bit as barons [see BARON], but the 

 writ of summons runs to them as bishops of such a ; 

 without any reference to the temporal baronies held by them. 

 Down to the period of the Reformation they were far from 

 being the onh ecclesiastical persons who had seats among 

 the hereditary nobility of the land, many abbots and priors 

 having been summoned also, till the houses over which they 

 presided were dissolved, and their ollice thus extinguished. 

 Henry VIII. created at that time six new bishoprics, and 

 gave the bishops placed in them seats in the same assembly. 

 But before the nation had adjusted itself in its new position, 

 there was a powerful party raised in the country, who main- 

 tained that a government of the church by bishops was not 

 accordant to tlie primitive practice, and who tougOl to bring 

 back the administration of ecclesiastical affairs io the 

 in which there was an equality among all ministers, nnd 

 where the authority was vested in synods and a 

 Churches upon this model had been formed ai (i; nova and 

 in Scotland; and when this party became predominant in 

 iriiament of 1642, a bill w: ! removing the 



bishops from their scats, to which the king gave a reluctant 

 and f. reed assent. It was soon followed b\ an entire dis- 

 solution of the Episcopal Church. At the Restoration thin 

 act was repealed, or declared in valid, and theBnglilh bi 



-nee had seats in the House of Lords. Tlu y form 

 the Lords Spiritual, and constitute one of the three . 

 of the realm, the Lords Temporal and the Commons (the 

 '.(0 being the other two. Out of tin u the 



question, now laid at rest, whether a bill has passed the 

 HoiiM' in a constitutional manner, if it has happened that 

 no Lord Spiritual was present at any of its stages. When 

 the House becomes u court for the trial ui irgrd 



with a capital offence, the bishops withdraw, it being held 

 unsuitable to the character of ministers of mercy and peace 

 to intermeddle in affairs of blood. 



For the execution of many of the duties, belonging to their 

 high function they have ollicers, as cb iudges, and 



ollieials, who hold courts in the bishop's name. 



The election of bishops is supposed by those who regard 

 the order as not distinguished originally from the common 

 prcsl.ytor, to have been in the people who constituted the 

 Christian church in the city to winch they were called; 

 afterwards, when the number of Christians was greatly in- 

 d, and there were numerous assistant presbyters, in 

 the presbyters and some of the laity conjointly. But after 

 a time the presbyters only seem to have possessed the right, 



