Bishop

Bishop is a type of clergy in some Christian churches. The bishop is the leader of the Christians and the Christian priests in each diocese. The diocese which a bishop governs is called a bishopric. Episcopal is the adjective for bishops. A cathedral is the church building where the bishop has an episcopal throne. The cathedral is the main church of the diocese and the bishop's see. A bishop may be given the rank of archbishop in an archdiocese. 

Christian priests in some denominations must be made priests by bishops. In these denominations, bishops are above parish priests in the hierarchy of the church's organization. However, some Protestant denominations have no bishops or archbishops. The Presbyterianism is an example. The leader of the Church of Scotland is the Moderator. The General Assembly elects the Moderator of the Church of Scotland each year. Other Christian movements have neither bishops nor priests: Quakers are one example.

In the Catholic church, the Pope is chosen by all the cardinals from amongst the bishops or archbishops. According to church law, this does not have to be the case: any male, unmarried, baptized Christian who is judged fit for the office can become pope. However, the last pope who was not a bishop or archbishop before becoming pope was Urban VI (elected in 1378).

The pope is also 'the Bishop of Rome' which is in religious contexts, the head of the Roman Catholic Church. In political aspects, the pope governs an independent state within Rome in Italy, called the Vatican.  All Roman Catholic bishops and archbishops answer to the pope (or to patriarchs in some orthodox churches).  In the Anglican church, bishops are governed by Archbishops.

Usually a bishop, along with an archbishop and the pope, can be identified by a special hat, called a mitre.

 Related pages 
 Auxiliary bishop
 Titular bishop
 Archbishop
 Archbishop ad personam
 Nuncio

 References 

 Other websites 
 Bishop Citizendium

Category:Bishops by type
Category:Christian religious occupations