Diocese of Newark
The Search/Nominating Committee
for the 10th Bishop of Newark
Learning Topic Two
From the Nominating Committee for the 10th Bishop of Newark
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The Role of the Bishop
in the Episcopal Church USA
Pastor
"The bishop is the pastor of the diocese. The Church is the "Body of Christ" -- a community of faith. The bishop is an apostolic link between the tradition and the contemporary community of learners. The bishop's role as a pastor is to encourage, nourish, strengthen and challenge the ministry of all the baptized."To have the mind of Christ to be able to see and understand from the perspective of Christ or, to put it more simply, to be possessed of a merciful heart" - Bishop Frank T. Griswold, III
Teacher
"The words of the liturgy of ordination state that, 'A bishop in God's holy Church is called to be one with the apostles in proclaiming Christ's resurrection and interpreting the GospelÉ' To be one with the apostles in the proclaiming Christ's resurrection, the bishop is obliged to do more than recount apostolic experience as set forth in Holy Scripture; the bishop must enter into the experience itself. The words of St. Paul must become the bishop's own: 'I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead' (Philippians 2: 10-11). The ministry of the bishop as teacher of prayers is grounded in the desire and willingness to be conformed to the pattern of Christ by sharing the reality of the paschal mystery." - Bishop Frank T. Griswold, III
Topic Summary Statement
and Themes for Reflection
ÉThe roles of Pastor and Teacher are essential parts of the office of the bishop. The early church emphasized these qualities in choosing successors to the early leaders. How do we look at these qualities in this day and age? What are other terms for these concepts? Does modern society hold its leaders to this calling?
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This page was prepared by the Nominating Committee for the 10th Bishop of Newark and will be available as a learning leaflet to be reproduced as an insert in parish bulletins of September 18, 2005, the 18th Sunday after Pentecost.
The quotes from Bishop Frank T. Griswold, III, are from "The Bishop as Presider, Teacher and Person of Prayer" -- Anglican Theological Review - Volume LXXVII - Number 1 - Winter 1995.
The purpose of this series of learning topics is to provide information and to stimulate discussion about the search for a new bishop in this diocese.
Our thanks to the Diocese of Southwest Florida for partial or complete reprint of their educational material.
Revised December 8, 2005
© 2005 Episcopal Diocese of Newark.