Holy Bishops in Late Antiquity. Claudia Rapp

Timothy, and special emphasis is placed on his ability to maintain his own household in order. Even if he is illiterate, he ought to be able to give religious instruction to his flock. The constitutive act that turns the candidate who has the support and consensus of all into a bishop is the imposition of hands, presumably in a manner comparable to that described in the Apostolic Tradition of Hippolytus.²⁹

      The desirable traits of character of a bishop are set out in the Didascalia in conjunction with his tasks and duties. The bishop should prepare for his task as interpreter of scripture through constant reading.³⁰ As the administrator of ecclesiastical charity to widows and orphans, to the poor and to strangers, the bishop should be charitable and generous. He should also be able to use his own good judgment in determining each individual’s needs, so as to avoid favoritism and jealousy.³¹

      The most prominent role ascribed to the bishop in the Didascalia, next to the administration of charity, is his authority to impose penance by excluding unworthy members from the community until their sincere repentance has made them worthy of readmission. The act of readmission consists in the imposition of hands by the bishop while the whole congregation prays over the penitent.³² In order to fulfill this responsibility of administering the different degrees of penance, the bishop must be immune to bribery, impartial in his judgment even of rich or influential people,³³ and merciful and compassionate toward the sincerely penitent.³⁴ Ideally, though, the bishop should exercise constant admonition and care for his flock so that they will abstain from sin and he will have to exercise his penitential authority only in exceptional circumstances.³⁵ He can be effective in his admonition only if he himself leads an impeccable life. He should be restrained in his diet and shun all other luxuries as well.³⁶ He should, in sum, be the embodiment of all virtues: “And whatever of good there be that is found in men, let the same be in the bishop.”³⁷ He should model himself after Christ and through his own example invite his congregation to imitate him.³⁸ Such impeccable conduct of the bishop brings many benefits: his admonition will be convincing, and his judgment will be accepted by all; moreover, the congregation will have no excuse for slackening in their own lives.³⁹ In short, the Didascalia regards the exemplary conduct of the bishop as indispensable for all the duties with which his office is charged: the distribution of charity, the admonition of sinners, and preaching.

      The Didascalia sees the relation between the bishop and his congregation as reciprocal. The bishop’s paternal love is like that of a bird who “keeps them warm with loving care, as eggs from which young birds are to come; or broods over them and cherishes them as young birds, for the rearing up of winged fowl.”⁴⁰ In turn, it is the duty of the congregation to honor the bishop with the same respect that is due to a father.⁴¹ The congregation is explicitly instructed about the role of their bishop:

      He is minister of the word and mediator; but to you a teacher, and your father after God, who begot you through the water [of baptism]. This is your chief and your leader, and he is your mighty king. He rules in the place of the Almighty: but let him be honoured by you as God, for the bishop sits for you in the place of God Almighty.⁴²

      

      The Didascalia is the earliest church order to address the penitential authority of the bishop. The bishop not only represents Christ to his community; he also personally represents his community, including their sins, before God. Since he received his office from God, he is also personally accountable to God for their moral and spiritual welfare:⁴³ “For a layman has the care of himself alone, but thou carriest the burden of all.”⁴⁴ In this regard too the bishop should imitate Christ and bear the sins of the people entrusted to him.⁴⁵ The Didascalia is insistent on the nexus between the bishop’s personal conduct and his authority to bind and loose: “As therefore thou hast authority to loose, know thyself and thy manners and thy conversation in this life, that they be worthy of thy place.”⁴⁶ With its inclusion of the power to bind and loose and of the ability to bear the burdens of others among the bishop’s prerogatives, the Didascalia points to a connection between penitential authority and personal holiness that will concern us again later.

      The last and most comprehensive church order is the Apostolic Constitutions. By the time this work was composed in the region of Antioch, around the year 380, the Christian church had enjoyed almost seven decades of peace and prosperity since the reign of Constantine. Within a few years, its triumph would be complete through the anti-pagan legislation of the emperor Theodosius. The Apostolic Constitutions is a compilation that draws heavily on earlier church orders. It may therefore be considered a repository of information that was considered of value at the time, rather than an accurate reflection of the internal conditions in late fourth-century communities in Syria. The passages in book 2 on the character and duties of a bishop derive from the Didascalia, and those on the election and appointment of bishops in book 8, chapters 4–5, are adapted from the Apostolic Tradition of Hippolytus; therefore neither need concern us any further.

      1 TIMOTHY 3 AND ITS INTERPRETATIONS

      The only passage in the New Testament that treats the episcopal ministry in any detail is found in Paul’s First Letter to Timothy (1 Tim. 3:1–7). Although modern scholars have called Paul’s authorship of this epistle into question, it is generally agreed to be a work of the first century or of the first decade of the second century. The patristic authors who later referred to it certainly took for granted that it was genuine. The passage follows:

      

      The saying is sure: whoever aspires to the office of bishop (episkopen) desires a noble task. Now a bishop must be above reproach, married only once, temperate, sensible, respectable, hospitable, an apt teacher, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, and not a lover of money. He must manage his own household well, keeping his children submissive and respectful in every way—for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how can he take care of God’s church? He must not be a recent convert, or he may be puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace and the snare of the devil.

      This passage provides the baseline for all later reflection on the nature and character of the ideal bishop. In order to gain a closer understanding of the interpretation of these sentences in the patristic literature, I have traced the quotations of these verses by later authors.⁴⁷ After an overview of the use of citations from 1 Timothy 3:1–7 among the church fathers, I turn to the exegetical homilies that make this epistle their subject.

      Late antique reflection on the ideal bishop developed in step with the historical development of the episcopate. In the first centuries, while there were several episkopoi whose duties were largely administrative, all that was expected of them was that they be respected and upright members of the community. Beginning in the fourth century, the enhanced visibility of the representatives of the church and the increased array of their responsibilities in a largely pagan world were not without consequence: on the one hand, they triggered new reflections on the relative worth of the public activities of the bishop versus the private pursuit of asceticism, and on the other, they made it more imperative than ever that the bishop lead an exemplary life. If that was the case, it was anticipated that his congregation would readily accept his teaching, while the pagans would recognize in him a worthy paragon of the new religion.

      Quotations from 1 Timothy 3 in the Church Orders and in Patristic Works

      The pattern of citations from 1 Timothy 3:1–7 is surprisingly uneven. Paul’s advice is reiterated in the early church orders in the context of the identification of a suitable candidate for the episcopal ministry, his election, and his ordination. The Apostolic Tradition of Hippolytus contains only the briefest allusion to 1 Timothy 3, when it demands that the bishop be “without reproach.”⁴⁸ The most extensive treatment of the selection of a bishop, his qualities, and his duties is found at various points in the Didascalia, which makes ample use of 1 Timothy 3, augmented by other quotations from scripture. Beyond the usual advice to adhere to a virtuous lifestyle that holds up to all scrutiny, this work is particularly concerned with the financial and judicial aspects of the episcopal