Claudia Rapp
How to Be a Good Bishop? Answers and Examples from the Patristic Age
Eastern Theological Journal 11 (2025) 2, 247-269
Content
1. The historical development of the role of the episkopos; 2. Work vs. honor: the early Church Fathers on the episcopate; 3. Ordination as affirmation of spiritual status; 4. Ordination as affirmation of social status; 5. Being a good bishop; 6. The role of asceticism; 7. Three kinds of authority: spiritual, ascetic, pragmatic
ABSTRACT
Is high clerical office incompatible with personal holiness? Does the episcopate constitute ‘work’ or ‘honor’? This article examines patristic authors and contextualizes the issue in late antique society. It suggests that the ultimate source for ecclesiastical authority is asceticism.