Bishop - English spelling: episkopos; bishop

Japanese: 司教 - しきょう（英語表記）episkopos; bishop

In Christian churches that have traditional clerical systems, such as the Roman Catholic Church, a bishop is an official who supervises and guides the faithful and has the authority to ordain priests or clergymen of the rank of elder. Generally, he has the highest teaching authority in a certain area (diocese), and historically has been the backbone of the Christian church organization. In the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Anglican Church, he is called a bishop, and in other Protestant churches (such as the Lutheran Church in Scandinavia and Germany, the Methodist Church in America, and the Presbyterian Church), he is called a bishop. It is believed that he inherited the authority of the apostles as a successor to the apostles, but there is disagreement as to whether this succession (→ apostolic tradition) is a historical succession of bishoprics, or whether it is through sacraments. The Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and others claim the latter. Although the existence of bishops is mentioned in the New Testament (Acts 20:28, Philippians 1:1, 1 Timothy 3:2, Titus 1:7, 1 Peter 2:25), the details of their origin and nature are unclear. In any case, the episcopate was established in the major cities where Christianity had spread from the beginning of the 2nd century, and its basic characteristics were inherited without change until the Reformation in the 16th century, when many Protestant churches abandoned this system.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia About Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Information

Japanese:

ローマ・カトリック教会をはじめ伝統的な職制を保有するキリスト教会で，信徒を監督，指導し，司祭ないし長老以下の聖職者を叙階する権能を有する役務者。一般に一定地域 (司教区) における最高教導権を有し，歴史的にキリスト教会組織の根幹をなしていた。東方正教会，聖公会では主教，その他のプロテスタント教会 (北欧およびドイツのルター派教会，アメリカのメソジスト教会，プレスビテリアン教会など) では監督と呼ばれる。使徒の後継者として使徒の権能を受継いだものと信じられているが，その継承 (→使徒承伝 ) がある司教座を歴史的に継いできたものか，あるいはサクラメントによるものか異論がある。ローマ・カトリック，東方正教会などは後者を主張している。司教の存在はすでに新約聖書に言及があるが (使徒行伝 20・28，ピリピ書1・1，テモテ1書3・2，テトス書1・7，ペテロ1書2・25) ，その起源と性格の詳細は明らかでない。いずれにしても2世紀の初め以後キリスト教の伝播した主要都市を中心に司教制度の確立がみられ，その基本的特徴は 16世紀の宗教改革によってプロテスタント系教会の多くがこの制度から離脱するまで変ることなく受継がれた。

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