bishop & deacon

In the First Letter to Timothy 3:1–13 (NABRE), Paul describes the roles of bishop and deacon in the early Christian community. These roles have carried over from that time into our Church today, and so it is instructive to look at how they originally were viewed.

The Greek word ἐπίσκοπος (episkopos) literally means “one who watches over” or “one who guards.” This Greek word comes into English as the root of the word “episcopal,” so these episkopoi were the bishops of the early Church. A διάκονος (diakonos) is a servant or attendant. Modern-day deacons are servants or attendants.

These Greek words highlight the roles of bishop and deacon that were viewed as important by the early Church.  Watching over the newly formed and developing community and being of service to all were essential to the Church’s survival. Perhaps even more interesting is the word and concept that’s missing. As the early Church distinguished itself from Judaism, priests were conspicuously absent. They didn’t come into play in the Christian clergy until somewhat later.

Why do you think it was that the early Christians would have focused on forming new concepts of leadership? Why do you suppose the priesthood eventually re-emerged in Christianity?

related topic: presbyters

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