Gareth Bezett

This point was raised in a recent email conversation about churchy things. My correspondent wasn't asking about the history of the office, but more why they come to her church with their funny hats being all intimidating. I don't know the answer to that one, but I can give my public a quick run down on the history (because, having passed my first year early church history paper, I'm now an expert).

The early Christian communities around the Mediterranean had different models of leadership and organisation. Some had a collegial style of leadership by elders and/or priests (presbyters) and some had an overseer (bishop). So when some people say that the early church had bishops, they are correct and when others say that the early church didn't have bishops, they are correct too. However, during the 2nd Century the episcopal (bishopy) model became more prominent.

The result was that bishops were in charge of most sizable Christian communities and often of smaller or rural communities nearby. In addition, the bishops of important cities such as Rome and Alexandria began to have an important role in leading their regions. This is where the Pope and the Patriarchs come from.

Some denominations have seen bishops as a late Catholic addition to the Church. This is sort of true depending on your definition of late and if you concede that everyone was catholic to a greater or lesser extent in the beginning. This would also be true of church buildings, but not many Christians are prepared to give up their churches. Other denominations and independent churches reject any clerical leadership, but if you can tell the difference between their pastors and priests, you're doing better than I am.