Episcopal polity

This article is about the form of church governance. For the churches characterized by this form of governance and naming themselves Episcopalian, see Anglicanism.
Ecclesiastical polity
The chair (cathedra) of the Bishop of Rome (Pope) of the Catholic Church in the Archbasilica of St. John in Lateran in Rome, Italy, represents his episcopal authority.

An episcopal polity is a hierarchical form of church governance in which the chief local authorities are called bishops. The word "bishop" here is derived via the British Latin and Vulgar Latin term *ebiscopus/*biscopus, from the Ancient Greek ἐπίσκοπος epískopos meaning "overseer".[1][2] It is the structure used by many of the major Christian Churches and denominations, such as the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Church of the East, Anabaptist, Lutheran, and Anglican churches or denominations, and other churches founded independently from these lineages.[citation needed] Many Methodist denominations have a form of episcopal polity known as connexionalism.

  1. ^ Harper, Douglas. "bishop". Online Etymology Dictionary.
  2. ^ ἐπίσκοπος. Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; A Greek–English Lexicon at the Perseus Project.