Bishop

Definition and Meaning

A bishop (Korean jugyo, 主敎) is a senior member of the clergy who oversees the churches of a particular region, that is, a diocese, and who performs the ordination by which clergy are set apart. The word derives from the New Testament Greek episkopos, meaning "one who watches over" or "one who cares for." In Korean, the Catholic Church and the Anglican Church rendered this term as jugyo, while Protestant Bibles and the Methodist Church rendered it as gamdok ("overseer"). As a result, an office with a common origin is known by different names depending on the denomination.

Biblical and Historical Background

The Revised Korean Version (New Edition) translates episkopos as gamdok (Acts 20:28; Philippians 1:1; 1 Timothy 3:1–7). In Titus 1:5–9, the person first referred to as an "elder" is then called a "bishop," and 1 Peter 2:25 calls Christ "the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls." On the basis of such passages, it is widely held that in the New Testament period the terms "bishop" and "elder" referred to the same office.

The letters of Ignatius of Antioch, written in the early second century, depict a church led by a single bishop, assisted by elders (presbyters) and deacons. A threefold ministry of bishop, priest, and deacon later became established. The Catholic Church, the Orthodox Church, and the Anglican Communion ground the episcopate in "apostolic succession," the belief that bishops have inherited the ministry of the apostles.

During the Reformation, the Reformed churches abandoned the episcopal system and adopted a form of government in which the church is ruled by councils of elders. The Church of England and the Lutheran churches of Northern Europe, by contrast, retained the episcopate. In Methodism, the leaders whom John Wesley appointed for American Methodism later came to be called bishops.

Practice in the Korean Church

• Anglican: The Anglican Church of Korea officially uses the title jugyo (bishop). It has diocesan bishops for the dioceses of Seoul, Daejeon, and Busan, and these bishops ordain priests and administer confirmation. Anglicans regard the episcopate as an order of ministry within apostolic succession.
• Methodist: The Korean Methodist Church calls the same office gamdok. The bishop of each annual conference and the presiding bishop, who represents the entire denomination, are elected from among the pastors for fixed terms. Bishops ordain pastors and are responsible for appointing pastors to their charges. Methodists understand the office of bishop not as a distinct order of clergy separate from pastors but as a ministry entrusted to them.
• Presbyterian: Presbyterians regard the New Testament bishop and elder as the same office. Accordingly, they have no episcopate in which one person governs multiple churches; instead, the presbytery and the general assembly, composed of pastors and elders, share that role.
• Baptist and congregational denominations: Baptists and similar denominations understand the pastor of the local church to be the bishop of the New Testament. They therefore do not establish a separate office of bishop above the local pastor.

Within Korean Protestantism, the term jugyo refers mainly to the title used by the Catholic and Anglican churches.