In James, the brother of the Lord, we seem to have the first instance of a monarchical ruler in a Christian community. But it is improbable that in connexion with him the idea of one ruler for the wiiole Cliurch arose, and still more improbable that Mt 16'* was written as a protest against any such claim being made for one who was not one of the Twelve. It was not in Jerusalem, but in .\sia Minor, that the monarchical episcopate as a
permanent Christian institution had its rise, owing to causes which are unknown to us.
There are three possibilities with regard to the origin of both bishops and eklers, and what is true of one need not be true of the other. Each may be (1) copied from Jewish synagogue officials, or (2) copied from Gentile municipal officials, or (8) due to spontaneous production. On the whole, it is probable that elders or presbyters were adopted from the synagogue, and that bishops arose spon- taneously. But here we must carefully distinguish between origin and subsequent development. It is possible in both cases, and probable in the case of bishops, that the development of the office was influenced by secular municipal institutions.
In neither case does the word give us any deHnite information. By 'elders' [irpea'^vTepoi) maj' lie meant either (1) seniors in age, or (2) people to be honoured for personal excellence, or (3) members of a council. The term * bishop ' [eiriaKOTros) denotes a supervisor or inspector, but tells us nothing of what he supervises or inspects. It may be build- ings, or business, or men. In the NT it means an o\ erseer of men in reference to their spiritual life, and is closely connected with the idea of shep- herding ; ' the shepherd {TroLp.r)v) and overseer (eTTto-zcoTTos) of your souls' (1 P 2-^); 'the flock (TroliJ.vi.ov) in the which the Holy Ghost had made you overseers {eiriaKoiroi) to tend {TroLjj.aivetv) the Church (€KK\y)(jia) of God' (Ac 20'-^). Only once in the NT is ' shepherd ' or ' pastor ' used of Christian ministers (Eph 4") ; but it is used of Christ in He 13-0, 1 P225 5-*; cf. Jn 10"-".
The term 'overseer' or 'bishop' (eirlffKowos) having been used of Christ as ' the Overseer of souls,' it would be natural to use it of those of His ministers who in a special way continued this work; and it is more probable that the Christian tise of the title arose in this way than that it was adopted in imitation of the secular ^iriaKowos in a city. As the specially gifted persons known as ' apostles, prophets, and teachers ' became less common, their functions would be transferred to the permanent local officials, especially to the highest of them, viz. the bishops (Didache, 15^- '^). Neitiier bishops, elders, nor deacons appear in the lists of ministers and ministerial gifts in 1 Co 12 's*', Ro 12^-*, Eph 4^^. But this does not prove that St. Paul did not know or care about such officials. Where these officials existed, they were as yet only local ministers, and there was no need to mention them in speaking of gifts to the Church as a whole.
Timothy and Titus were not monarchical bishops. They Mere temporary delegates or representatives of St. Paul at Ephesus or in Crete ; they Avere forerunners of the monarchical bishops, not the first examples of them. Nor can the 'angels' of the Seven Churches (Rev 1-3) be regarded as the bishops of those Churches. ' The invariable prac- tice ' of the writer of that book ' forbids such an interpretation' (Swete on Rev l-"). Excepting James, and perhaps 'the Elder' in 3 Jn., there is no instance of the monarchical episcopate in the NT ; but it was established in Asia Minor before A.D. 100, and had become wide-spread in Christen- dom by 150.
LiTERATtiRB— J. B. Lightfoot, PhUipptans, London, 1801 ed., pp. 95-99, 181-'i6!), Dissertations, do. 18w2, pp. 137-24G (which contains additional notes to the essay in Philippiann) ; M. R. Vincent, Philippians, Edinburgrh, 1897, pp. 36-51 ; J. H. Bernard, Pastoral Epintles, Ca.mbndge, 1S99, pp. Ivi-lxxv ; Priesthood and Sacrifice, a conference ed. by VV. Sanday, Oxford, 1900 ; A. Deissmann, Bible Sttcdies, tr. Grieve, Edin- biirg-h, 1901, pp. 154-157, 230; A. Harnack, Mission and Exjianmon of Christianity, Eng. tr.2, London, 1908, i. 445-482 ; P. Batiffol, L'^r/Ute naissante^, Paris, 1909, pp. 115-152 (Eng. tr., Primitive Catholicism, London, 1911, pp. 97-163). See also wor'cs mentioned under Church Government.
Alfred Plummer.
BITHYXIA
elasphe:\iy
151
BITHYNIA.— Bithj-nia (Bidvi^ia) was a fertile and highly civilized country in the N. W. of Asia Minor, bounded on tlie W. by the Propontis and the Bosporus, on the N. by the Euxine, on the S. by the range of Mysian Olympus, and on the E. by a doubtful line, some distance to the riglit of the river Sangarios (Strabo, xil. iv. 1 ; Pliny, v, 43). One of the kings of Bithynia changed the history of Asia Minor by inviting the marauding Galatians to cross the Bosporus (278 B.C.). Nicomedes III., the last king, made the Romans his heirs (73 B.C.), and after the expulsion of ^Nlithridates of Pontus (64 B.C.), Pompey formed the dual province of Bithynia et Pontus, which was governed by a pro- consul, residing at Nicomedeia. On the division of the provinces by Augustus in 27 B.C. it remained senatorial.