The Bishop’s Office: Part 3The Offices of the Apostolic Bishop: Teaching,

Sanctification, and Pastoral Rule

Part 1 had to do with . . .

The Bishop’s Office: Part 1The Servant Go Between: His Character

and His Rule of Life (Habit)

Part 2 had to do with . . .

The Bishop’s Office: Part 2The Bishop as the Servant of the Servants of God: A

Servant Hierarchy

Thus the Work of the Servant Bishop Consists in Three Offices

of Ministry According to Scripture and the Ordinal

The Offices of Teaching, Sanctification, and Pastoral Rule

The Work of All Three Offices Carried Out Under the Authority of Jesus Christ

According to His Word in Collegiality with the Bishops of the Church of God Starting

with Anglican College

“And the Apostles and the Elders came together to look into this matter” (Acts 15:6)

“Receive the Holy Spirit for the Office and Work of a Bishop in the Church of God” (Anglican

Ordinal for the Consecration of a Bishop)

Submission to Christ according to the Scriptures in Council with the Whole,

Catholic, Church (i.e. Nicaea)

The Office of the Bishop

The Bishop’s Office of Teacher of Scripture and the Faith Once Delivered: Not Private

or Local Option

• St. Isadore, Bishop of Seville, “We are not permitted to believe whatever we choose, or to choose whatever someone else has believed. We have the Apostles of God as authorities, who did not . . . Choose what they would believe but faithfully transmitted the teachings of Christ.”

Bishop as Teacher Established in the Scriptures to Teach the Word of God Written and the Faith for the

Spreading of the Gospel

• “Go make disciples . . . Baptizing them . . . Teaching them to observe all that I commanded you” (Matt. 28:20)

• Example of the Apostles (i.e. Peter at Pentecost, Paul on Mars Hill)

• “And now I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified” (Acts 20:32)

• “Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction” (2 Timothy 4:2). Go to Scriptures to seek answers for the issues we face and apply the Word of God written to the problems

Foremost Preaching the Scriptures is about the Spread of the Gospel: Bishop as Head

Missioner, Point Man for the Gospel

Liturgical Traditions at Consecration Emerged Early on Emphasizing the Bishop is to Be Under and Proclaim the Word of

God Written

The two tails in the mitre symbolizingThe two ribbons of the two testamentsOf Holy Scripture

The Bible held over the Newly consecrated Bishop

Bishop as Teacher Practiced in the Ancient Church

• From the earliest of days bishops were the teachers and considered to be the “Doctors of the Faith.” They were the theologians in the final analysis

• Provided Commentaries, Books but mainly letters or encyclicals. We must restore the ancient use of letters to teach!

“Golden Throat”

Bishop as Teacher Lost in the Late Medieval Church

• Great tradition of Celtic and Medieval English Bishops teaching the Faith (i.e. Anselm etc.)

• Over time the Bishop became an ornament at the court of the monarchs, bureaucrat, and virtually never the teacher of the faith. Others took over the teaching ministry of the Bishop . . . Sound familiar?

The Bishop as Teacher of the Faith Restored by the English Reformation

• The Anglican Ordinal Collect: “Almighty God who by thy Son Jesus Christ didst give to thy holy Apostles many excellent gifts, and didst charge them to feed thy flock; Give grace, we beseech thee, to all Bishops, the Pastors of the Church, that they may diligently preach thy Word, and duly administer the godly Discipline thereof . . .”

• The Interrogative of the Ordinal: “Are you persuaded that the Holy Scriptures contain all Doctrine required as necessary for salvation through faith in Jesus Christ? And are you determined out of the same Holy Scriptures to instruct the people committed to your charge; . . . .” Thomas Cranmer: ABC 1533-155: Famous

Portrait by Gerlach Flicke (N.B. the Book)

The Vision of the English Reformation Was the Restoration of the Bishop as

Teacher

Bishop NicholasRidley: N.B. the Book ,The Bible in Hand

N.B. The VestmentsOf the teacher(i.e. Academic gownWith sleeves re-Moved) Leading to the tradition of bishops being given the D.D. Note theDifference betweenBlack and redChimere in history

Collect Prayed Over the Bishop Elect Just Prior to the Laying on Hands: “Almighty God, and most merciful Father, who, of

thine infinite goodness, hast given thy only and dearly beloved Son Jesus Christ, to be our Redeemer, and the Author

of everlasting life; who, after that he had made perfect our redemption by his death, and was ascended into heaven,

poured down his gifts abundantly upon men, making some Apostles, some Prophets, some Evangelists, some Pastors and Doctors, to the edifying and making perfect his church; Grant,

we beseech, to this thy servant, such grace, that he may evermore be ready to spread abroad thy Gospel, the glad tidings of reconciliation with thee; and use authority given him, not to destruction, but salvation; not to hurt, but to help: so that, as a wise and faithful servant, giving to they

family their portion in due season, he may at last be received into everlasting joy . . . Amen.

Then After the Laying on of Hands and Consecration, a Bible is Given to the new Bishop with the following words being said,

“Give heed unto reading, exhortation, and doctrine. Think upon the things contained in this Book. Be diligent in them, that the increase coming thereby may be manifest unto all men; for by so doing thou shalt both save thyself and them that hear thee. Be to the flock of Christ a shepherd, not a

wolf; feed them, devour them not. Hold up the weak, heal the sick, bind up the broken, bring again the outcasts, seed the lost. Be so merciful that you be not too remiss; so minister discipline that you forget not mercy; that when the Chief Shepherd shall appear, you may receive the never-fading

crown of glory, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.” (Book of Common Prayer)

The Bishop Should Have a Regular Venue for Teaching

Similarity of the Vatican and the Anglican Province of Kenya Teaching Ministry

The Bishop Should Provide Teaching on Scripture and the Faith Once Delivered• Commentaries• Teachings on the Catholic

Creeds, the Prayer Book and the Articles of Religion

• Teachings of Biblical Wisdom that speak the spirituality and morality of the ancient faith into today’s world. Learn to use and teach in a wisdom style called aphorisms.

St. Nicholas of Myra

Second: The Bishop’s Office of Sanctification and the Anointing/Healing

Ministry of the Laying on Hands

The Office of Sanctification is the Sacramental Work of Setting Apart by the Power of the Holy Spirit Through Prayer

and the Apostolic Laying on of Hands

The Apostolic Office of Sanctification Begins When Jesus Sets the Apostles

Apart with the Laying on Hands, Impartation of the Holy Spirit, and

Apostolic Declaration/Consecration

“Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’ And . . . He showed them His hands

and His side . . . And when He had said this . . . . He breathed on them, and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been

forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained’” (John 20:19-23)

“And when the day of Pentecost had come . . . There appeared to them

tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. And they were all filled

with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was

giving utterance” (Acts 2:1-4)

Jesus’ Apostolic Work of Sanctifying Continues with the Apostles in the Laying on of Hands with Prayer in Conveying the Sacramental Life of Christ to the Church

“And these [diaconal candidates] they brought before the apostles; and after praying, they laid their hands on them” (Acts 6:6)

“And at the hands of the Apostles many signs and wonders were taking place among the people” (Acts 5:12)

“Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they . . . Came down and prayed for them,

that they might receive the Holy Spirit . . . Then they began laying their hands on them, and they were receiving the Holy Spirit” (Acts

8:14-17)Paul tells Timothy not “to lay hands on suddenly” (1 Timothy 5)

The Biblical Model of the Apostolic Office of Sanctification

• The application of Jesus redemption to the world begins with the re-consecration/sanctification of the world to the Father by means of the Holy Spirit in the laying on of hands and with prayer

• The Holy Spirit never works apart from the physical, that is, He uses the creation to be a means of conveying the reality of God’s Presence in the Creation of the World, in the Incarnation, and through the Church

• Jesus begins the work of consecration with the Apostles, which extends to those whom they baptize, commune, confirm, forgive, marry, ordain and heal.

• This sacramental work is to be understood as the ministry of sanctification of the People of God and accompanied by the manifestation of the Holy Spirit in healing as the extension of making whole and in the unity of the people of God (i.e. “And they were all with one accord in Solomon’s portico” Acts 5:12).

The Veni in the Ancient Church

Theology of the Veni Creator Spiritus (BCP at Ordinations/Consecrations)

Come Holy Ghost, our souls inspire/And lighten with celestial fire/Thou the anointing Spirit art/Who dost

thy sevenfold gifts impart:Thy blessed unction from above/Is comfort, life, and fire of love/Enable with perpetual light/The Dulness

of our blinded light:Anoint and cheer our soiled face/With the

abundance of thy grace/Keep far our foes, give peace at home/Where thou art guide, no ill can come:

Teach us to know the Father, Son/And thee, of both, to be but One/That, through the ages all along/This

may be our endless song/Praise to they eternal merit/Father, Son and Holy Spirit

Summary of the Sanctifying, Sacramental Office of the Bishop

• Episcopal Consecration is the anointing of the Holy Spirit reproducing Christ in the Bishop that He might spread the Living Christ through the ministry of prayer, laying on of hands, and healing.

• Bishop is the Chief Liturgist responsible for teaching, upholding and protecting the Great Tradition entrusted to him. He should regularly provide instruction in the liturgy (BCP). Beware of ways the Great Tradition is eroded to the point of loss of identity

• As Chief liturgist the Bishop licenses all who serve at the altar in his diocese, including lay and clergy

• Bishop is the President of the Eucharist presiding normally when he is present in his churches. If not, the tradition is to ask him to give the absolution and final blessing

• Bishop should meet annually with his clergy, usually on Maundy Thursday, to hear confessions, commune them, and provide holy oils for the healing and sanctifying ministries of the Church

• Prayer is a vital part of the sanctifying office of the Bishop. The Bishop should pray, provide for prayer vigils and lead as a godly Bishop in prayer (i.e. James known as “camel knees”)

• Healing should be a vital part of the sanctifying office of the Bishop. The Bishop should make himself available for unction, the visitation of the sick, and healing ministry in his diocese (i.e. Don’t stop going to the hospitals and the sick . . . Go with your clergy!)

The Mitre: Symbolic Vestment Reminding of Bishop’s Office as a Continuation of the Coming of the Holy Spirit on Him and the

People of God through His Office Incarnating Christ In Their Midst

Third: The Office of Pastoral Rule

Pastoral Rule is the Work of a Shepherd Manifesting Christ the Good Shepherd

This work is more than administration and bureaucracy although organization

involves all of the above;Nor is pastoral rule to be about distancing

the Bishop from the people of God; this is a time above all times when the Bishop must

be in the midst of the people

So I exhort elders among you, as a fellow elder and witness of the sufferings in Christ,

as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God

that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion but willingly, as God would have you, not for shameful gain, but eagerly, not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock (1 Peter 5:1-

5)

The Bishop’s Office of Pastoral Rule is to Unify as the Bishop is Chiefly the Symbol of

Unity:

He Consecrated According to the Anglican Ordinal a Bishop in the Church of God:

Thus He Represents and Embodies the Whole (Catholic Church) Not Simply One

Local Part or Period in History

Symbols of Pastoral Rule of Unity

St. Augustine’s Chair

Pastoral StaffCrozier

Concentric Circle Principle of Unity at a Practical Level:

Unity Starts from the Center:Bishops and Bishops of the Whole

ClergyLaity

Words of Pastoral Rule Said as the Bible is Given to the New Bishop

• “Be to the flock of Christ a shepherd, not a wolf; feed them, devour them not. Hold up the weak, heal the sick, bind up the broken, bring again the outcasts, seed the lost. Be so merciful that you be not too remiss; so minister discipline that you forget not mercy; that when the Chief Shepherd shall appear, you may receive the never-fading crown of glory, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.” (Book of Common Prayer)

The Bishop in His Pastoral Rule is to

Cast a Vision for the Kingdom of God . . .

He Must Constantly Uphold What the Church Can as We as Should Be

In the Midst of the World

Biblical Leaders, Especially Bishops, Are the Eyes of and for the People of

God . . . Seeing What God Wants and the Way to Go. . .

Pastoral Rule Means Also Maintaining the Discipline of the Lord Amidst the People of God

Involving Instruction and Correction!This Means in the Words of the Ordinal Collect . . .

Staff Used to Pull SheepOur of Trouble

As the Collect States, Be a Shepherd not a Wolf, devour them not, which is

also expressed in the words, “Be so merciful that you be not too remiss; so minister discipline that you forget not

mercy”

The Concept of “Clean Assertion” (Les Carter, People Pleasers: Helping Others

without Hurting Yourself)

As the Collect states next, “Hold up the weak, heal the sick, bind up the broken, bring again

the outcasts, seed the lost” (BCP Ordinal) Pastoral Rule is First and Foremost Should be about the Care of the People of God, which

Keeps them from Going Out the Back Door after the Office of Teaching has Brought Them in the

Front Door

ORGANIZATION SHOULD BE ABOUT MISSION AND MINISTRY NOT BUREAUCRACY

Jesus’ Model of Pastoral Rule Was the Use of the Question:

Why: The Question Helps the Person Come to the Response the Shepherd

Wants without Giving a Directive. The Question facilitates personal

ownership which makes for better response

Learn to Lead By Use of the Question:

For Our Final Discussion We Want to Focus on the Episcopal Visit:

What Do We Want/Need To Accomplish on Our Episcopal Visits?

To Facilitate Discussion, See the REC Questionnaire Used By Some of Our Bishops Sent to Vestry and Rector

Before the Visit