Are non-Catholic Bishops like Little Popes?

[kalt]

I don’t know a lot about the Protestant Church heirarchy, except that the highest office is bishop. (Correct me if I’m wrong on that.) And I believe that it is the bishop of in the area, with others, who has the final say on beliefs, practices, etc, with the bishop making the final call.

I’ve noticed that some bishops of a denomination will approve certain things, and others (in other areas) won’t approve the same thing. So you end up with congregations of the same denomination believing and practicing differently.

Are these bishops really like little Popes (popes of small groups), in that they, for their area, have the responsibility for defining and clarifying questions of faith and morals, and having the final say? Can a congregation refuse to accept a bishop’s teaching on certain things?

A few denominations here have recently accepted openly gay clergy. Can the congregations of particular churches (parishes, for lack of a more Protestant term that I can’t come up with right now) refuse to accept that?

But maybe I’m wrong. Maybe it’s not the bishop who decides. If it’s not, what is the bishop’s role? Who does decide?

Please unmuddy these waters.

 

[Harpazo]

I don’t know a lot about the Protestant Church heirarchy, except that the highest office is bishop. (Correct me if I’m wrong on that.) And I believe that it is the bishop of in the area, with others, who has the final say on beliefs, practices, etc, with the bishop making the final call.

I’ve noticed that some bishops of a denomination will approve certain things, and others (in other areas) won’t approve the same thing. So you end up with congregations of the same denomination believing and practicing differently.

Are these bishops really like little Popes (popes of small groups), in that they, for their area, have the responsibility for defining and clarifying questions of faith and morals, and having the final say? Can a congregation refuse to accept a bishop’s teaching on certain things?

A few denominations here have recently accepted openly gay clergy. Can the congregations of particular churches (parishes, for lack of a more Protestant term that I can’t come up with right now) refuse to accept that?

But maybe I’m wrong. Maybe it’s not the bishop who decides. If it’s not, what is the bishop’s role? Who does decide?

Please unmuddy these waters.

There’s actually no such thing as the “Protestant Church” because there is so much division and dissension among them. Each believes something different. The only things I think most of them agree on is that:

1. 
   *]Jesus is God
   *]The Bible is God’s word
   
   Other than that, it’s complete anarchy, sadly. Catholics don’t accept their bishops as being true bishops at all. It might seem harsh, but we seem them as laymen with fancy clothes.
   
   The closest Protestants to us, and the ones I believe that will probably re-enter communion with us first would be any of the TAC (Traditional Anglican Communion). They have preserved the faith almost exactly, except for being outside of the Catholic Church.
   
   In many cases, except individual Protestant believer is their own “Pope” or “Magisterium.” However, in many cases they look to biblical commentaries, or their Pastor. Some have “Confessions” or a written law of some semblance stating what they believe, etc. But most Protestant “bishops” generally have little say over what goes on. They’re usually just a figurehead, but do much like Catholic Bishops do in ordaining clergy.
   
   Al-Masih Qam
   
   Andrew

 

[Swan]

No, because there is no claim or belief in “infallibility”.

 

[vocatio]

The churches of Christ interpret that an elder is the same as a bishop. The converse is true, but the way I stated it is sometimes true. They believe that the bible is the infalable word of God and that all we have is in there…gets complex, but very simple. So typically you will find several elders in one congregation. All are independent, but somehow they all follow the same belief. Now there are liberal, mainstream and conservative and all inbetween. My father-in-law was a bishop. He’s diseased now. Now 2 of my brother-in-laws are preachers. A preacher may or may not be an elder depending on his qulification set out in scripture. Married, with believing children. They do discuss, pray, meet etc.together. I know many stories that were quite interesting and would make for interesting discussion, but too much information. I’d tell them we’re Catholic if they didn’t think we weren’t saved. Not very peaceful.

 

[kalt]

No, because there is no claim or belief in “infallibility”.

No, I didn’t think that they claim infallibility, but someone must make decisions (preserved from error or not) on the faith. I’m assuming that is the bishop, the person w/ the highest title. But I’m not sure about that.

Does anyone know who does make decisions in the Protestant churches?

 

[lampstand]

I would think it can differ from church to church. Some, like the Lutherans and Episcopalians, have a fairly hierarchal structure. In their cases, yes, I think the higher archbishops and the leaders of the Synods can be like Popes. With the smaller churches, it gets a little fuzzy. Come to think of it, some of them are so strident about how their view is The Truth, they strike me as even more authoritarian than they say we are! If they disagree, they just break off from one another. It seems to be more common in the individual fundamentalist groups. For us, it could be said that having one central figure like the Pope actually helps curb the divisiveness that would otherwise be there. Something to think about.

 

[reteeks21]

There’s actually no such thing as the “Protestant Church” because there is so much division and dissension among them. Each believes something different. The only things I think most of them agree on is that:

1. 
   *]Jesus is God
   *]The Bible is God’s word
   
   Other than that, it’s complete anarchy, sadly.
   
   Andrew

1. 
   That’s right: we all run around trying to overthrow the powers that be, and we cause tons of strife and we seek a major revolution. Thanks for putting us in the category with the French Revolution and the continued civil war in Somolia. We appreciate that. Do you not even care how you refer to people? General, sweeping assertions only prove that people, of all denominations and faiths, tend to be narrow-minded and arrogant in their approach to people that they deem to be “lower” than them.

 

[Harpazo]

That’s right: we all run around trying to overthrow the powers that be, and we cause tons of strife and we seek a major revolution. Thanks for putting us in the category with the French Revolution and the continued civil war in Somolia. We appreciate that. Do you not even care how you refer to people? General, sweeping assertions only prove that people, of all denominations and faiths, tend to be narrow-minded and arrogant in their approach to people that they deem to be “lower” than them.

This is what I’ve seen from Protestantism. There’s really no disputing it b/c Protestantism is anarchy in a sense. Those two things I pointed out were the only things I could think of that all protestants have in common.

Now you proved my point. A generalization can’t be made b/c Protestants are NOT unified

Al-masih qam
Andrew

 

[thirdn6]

No. Although, I guess, they all like the “feeling”.

---

Be angry, and sin not… Give not place to the devil.
Ephesians 4:26-27 +

 

[Rightlydivide]

The reason you dont know much about it is because it does not exist. There is not a Protestant Church.

 

[Rightlydivide]

This is what I’ve seen from Protestantism. There’s really no disputing it b/c Protestantism is anarchy in a sense. Those two things I pointed out were the only things I could think of that all protestants have in common.

Now you proved my point. A generalization can’t be made b/c Protestants are NOT unified

Al-masih qam
Andrew

Talk about a remarkable grasp of the obvious, they are not the same group, thats like complaining about the lack of unity between Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians etc

 

[ChristIsTheWay]

I don’t know a lot about the Protestant Church heirarchy, except that the highest office is bishop. (Correct me if I’m wrong on that.) And I believe that it is the bishop of in the area, with others, who has the final say on beliefs, practices, etc, with the bishop making the final call.

It might be more accurate to think of Protestantism as a grouping or family of denominations that share a common origin, in this case, the Protestant Reformation.

That said I also know very little about Protestantism. I converted at a young age to Catholicism from a very nominal Protestant background. I think some Protestant churches have bishops and others use different titles but I think it mostly a sort of administrator. I think many of these Protestant churches have regular conventions of bishops and laypersons that get together and decide the particular church’s position and doctrine.

I’ve noticed that some bishops of a denomination will approve certain things, and others (in other areas) won’t approve the same thing. So you end up with congregations of the same denomination believing and practicing differently.

I’ve heard of some denominations where bishops are allowed some discretion in regards to adopting the official positions of their denomination. For example, I think the ECUSA allows its bishops to decide whether or not to ordain women to the priesthood or at the very least tolerates non-complaint bishops. There were several such dioceses but I think one of those dioceses has since seceded from the ECUSA.

Are these bishops really like little Popes (popes of small groups), in that they, for their area, have the responsibility for defining and clarifying questions of faith and morals, and having the final say? Can a congregation refuse to accept a bishop’s teaching on certain things?

I don’t think Protestant bishops are little popes. That sounds like too much power vested in one person and I don’t think Protestants, at least American ones, like to let individual church leaders take on that kind of role. As for congregations refusing to accept their bishop’s teaching, well, I guess that will depend on the particular Protestant church in question. I imagine it varies from church to church. I think the Southern Baptist Convention, for example, allows each congregation to determine a great deal of their own beliefs and teachings and the SBC is a loose affiliation of similar-minded congregations but I could be wrong.

A few denominations here have recently accepted openly gay clergy. Can the congregations of particular churches (parishes, for lack of a more Protestant term that I can’t come up with right now) refuse to accept that?

I think some Protestant churches allow individual congregations to select their pastor much like a board of directors for a business might search out and hire a CEO, while I’m sure other Protestant churches are assigned a pastor by the local bishop/administrator. I don’t know if they can refuse the bishop’s choice or not. I guess that will also vary with each individual Protestant church.

 

[kalt]

The reason you dont know much about it is because it does not exist. There is not a Protestant Church.

I guess no one knows the answer.

 

[kalt]

It might be more accurate to think of Protestantism as a grouping or family of denominations that share a common origin, in this case, the Protestant Reformation.

That said I also know very little about Protestantism. I converted at a young age to Catholicism from a very nominal Protestant background. I think some Protestant churches have bishops and others use different titles but I think it mostly a sort of administrator. I think many of these Protestant churches have regular conventions of bishops and laypersons that get together and decide the particular church’s position and doctrine.

I’ve heard of some denominations where bishops are allowed some discretion in regards to adopting the official positions of their denomination. For example, I think the ECUSA allows its bishops to decide whether or not to ordain women to the priesthood or at the very least tolerates non-complaint bishops. There were several such dioceses but I think one of those dioceses has since seceded from the ECUSA.

I don’t think Protestant bishops are little popes. That sounds like too much power vested in one person and I don’t think Protestants, at least American ones, like to let individual church leaders take on that kind of role. As for congregations refusing to accept their bishop’s teaching, well, I guess that will depend on the particular Protestant church in question. I imagine it varies from church to church. I think the Southern Baptist Convention, for example, allows each congregation to determine a great deal of their own beliefs and teachings and the SBC is a loose affiliation of similar-minded congregations but I could be wrong.

I think some Protestant churches allow individual congregations to select their pastor much like a board of directors for a business might search out and hire a CEO, while I’m sure other Protestant churches are assigned a pastor by the local bishop/administrator. I don’t know if they can refuse the bishop’s choice or not. I guess that will also vary with each individual Protestant church.

Thank-you for answering.

I’ll have to ask this question again, and limit it to one denomination.