BISHARIN BLENDE
BISHOP, SIR HENRY ROWLEY BLENHEIM
BISHOP, ISABELLA BLENNERHASSETT, HARMAN
BISHOP BLERA
BISHOP AUCKLAND BLESSINGTON, MARGUERITE
BISHOP'S CASTLE BLIDA
BISHOP STORTFORD BLIGH, WILLIAM
BISKRA BLIND, MATHILDE
BISLEY BLIND HOOKEY
BISMARCK, OTTO LEOPOLD VON BLINDING
BISMARCK (North Dakota, U.S.A.) BLINDMAN'S-BUFF
BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO BLINDNESS
BISMILLAH BLISS, CORNELIUS NEWTON
BISMUTH BLISTER
BISMUTHITE BLIZZARD
BISMYA BLOCK, MARK ELIEZER
BISON BLOCK, MAURICE
BISQUE BLOCK
BISSELL, GEORGE EDWIN BLOCKADE
BISSEXT BLOCKHOUSE
BISTRE BLOEMAERT, ABRAHAM
BIT BLOEMEN, JAN FRANS VAN
BITHUR BLOEMFONTEIN
BITHYNIA BLOET, ROBERT
BITLIS BLOIS, LOUIS DE
BITONTO BLOIS
BITSCH BLOIS (Countship of)
BITTER, KARL THEODORE FRANCIS BLOMEFIELD, FRANCIS
BITTERFELD BLOMFIELD, SIR ARTHUR WILLIAM
BITTERLING BLOMFIELD, CHARLES JAMES
BITTERN (bird) BLOMFIELD, EDWARD VALENTINE
BITTERN (liquor) BLONDEL, DAVID
BITTERS BLONDEL, JACQUES FRANCOIS
BITUMEN BLONDIN
BITURIGES BLOOD
BITZIUS, ALBRECHT BLOOD-LETTING
BIVOUAC BLOOD-MONEY
BIWA BLOODSTONE
BIXIO, NINO BLOOM
BIZERTA BLOOMER, AMELIA JENKS
BIZET GEORGES BLOOMFIELD, MAURICE
BJORNEBORG BLOOMFIELD, ROBERT
BJORNSON, BJORNSTJERNE BLOOMFIELD
BLACHFORD, FREDERIC ROGERS BLOOMINGTON (Illinois, U.S.A.)
BLACK, ADAM BLOOMINGTON (Indiana, U.S.A.)
BLACK, JEREMIAH SULLIVAN BLOOMSBURG
BLACK, JOSEPH BLOUNT, CHARLES
BLACK, WILLIAM BLOUNT, EDWARD
BLACK APE BLOUNT, THOMAS
BLACKBALL BLOUNT, SIR THOMAS POPE
BLACKBERRY BLOUNT, WILLIAM
BLACKBIRD BLOUSE
BLACK BUCK BLOW, JOHN
BLACKBURN, COLIN BLACKBURN BLOW-GUN
BLACKBURN, JONATHAN BLOWITZ, HENRI GEORGES ADOLPHE DE
BLACKBURN BLOWPIPE
BLACKBURNE, FRANCIS BLUCHER, GEBHARD LEBERECHT VON
BLACKCOCK BLUE
BLACK COUNTRY, THE BLUEBEARD
BLACK DROP BLUE-BOOK
BLACKFOOT BLUESTOCKING
BLACK FOREST BLUFF
BLACK HAWK BLUM, ROBERT FREDERICK
BLACKHEATH BLUMENBACH, JOHANN FRIEDRICH
BLACK HILLS BLUMENTHAL, LEONHARD
BLACKIE, JOHN STUART BLUNDERBUSS
BLACK ISLE BLUNT, JOHN HENRY
BLACKLOCK, THOMAS BLUNT, JOHN JAMES
BLACKMAIL BLUNT, WILFRID SCAWEN
BLACKMORE, SIR RICHARD BLUNTSCHLI, JOHANN KASPAR
BLACKMORE, RICHARD DODDRIDGE BLYTH
BLACK MOUNTAIN B'NAI B'RITH, INDEPENDENT ORDER OF
BLACKPOOL BOA
BLACK ROD BOABDIL
BLACK SEA (body of water) BOADICEA
BLACK SEA (district of Russia) BOAR
BLACKSTONE, SIR WILLIAM BOARD
BLACK VEIL BOARDING-HOUSE
BLACKWATER BOARDING-OUT SYSTEM
BLACKWATER FEVER BOARDMAN, GEORGE DANA
BLACKWELL, THOMAS BOASE, HENRY SAMUEL
BLACKWOOD, WILLIAM BOAT
BLADDER BOATSWAIN
BLADDER AND PROSTATE DISEASES BOBBILI
BLADDER-WORT BOBBIO
BLADES, WILLIAM BOBER
BLAENAVON BOBRUISK
BLAGOVYESHCHENSK BOCAGE, MANUEL MARIA BARBOSA DE
BLAIKIE, WILLIAM GARDEN BOCAGE
BLAINE, JAMES GILLESPIE BOCCACCIO, GIOVANNI
BLAINVILLE, HENRI DUCROTAY DE BOCCALINI, TRAJANO
BLAIR, FRANCIS PRESTON BOCCHERINI, LUIGI
BLAIR, HUGH BOCCHUS
BLAIR, JAMES BOCHART, SAMUEL
BLAIR, ROBERT BOCHOLT
BLAIR ATHOLL BOCHUM
BLAIRGOWRIE BOCKH, PHILIPP AUGUST
BLAKE, EDWARD BOCKLIN, ARNOLD
BLAKE, ROBERT BOCLAND
BLAKE, WILLIAM BOCSKAY, STEPHEN
BLAKELOCK, RALPH ALBERT BODE, JOHANN ELERT
BLAKENEY, WILLIAM BLAKENEY BODEL, JEHAN
BLAKESLEY, JOSEPH WILLIAMS BODENBACH
BLAMIRE, SUSANNA BODENSTEDT, FRIEDRICH MARTIN VON
BLANC, LOUIS BODHI VAMSA
BLANC, MONT BODICHON, BARBARA LEIGH SMITH
BLANCHARD, SAMUEL LAMAN BODIN, JEAN
BLANCHE, JACQUES EMILE BODKIN
BLANCHE OF CASTILE BODLE
BLANCH FEE BODLEY, GEORGE FREDERICK
BLANDFORD BODLEY, SIR THOMAS
BLANDRATA, GIORGIO BODMER, JOHANN JAKOB
BLANE, SIR GILBERT BODMIN
BLANFORD, WILLIAM THOMAS BODO
BLANK BODONI, GIAMBATTISTA
BLANKENBERGHE BODY-SNATCHING
BLANKENBURG BOECE, HECTOR
BLANKETEERS BOEHM, SIR JOSEPH EDGAR
BLANK VERSE BOEHM VON BAWERK, EUGEN
BLANQUI, JEROME ADOLPHE BOEHME, JAKOB
BLANQUI, LOUIS AUGUSTE BOEOTIA
BLANTYRE (town of Central Africa) BOER
BLANTYRE (parish of Scotland) BOERHAAVE, HERMANN
BLARNEY BOETHUS
BLASHFIELD, EDWIN HOWLAND BOETIUS, ANICIUS MANLIUS SEVERINUS
BLASIUS, SAINT BOG
BLASPHEMY BOGATZKY, KARL HEINRICH VON
BLASS, FRIEDRICH BOGHAZ KEUI
BLASTING BOGIE
BLAUBEUREN BOGNOR
BLAVATSKY, HELENA PETROVNA BOGO
BLAYDES, FREDERICK HENRY MARVELL BOGODUKHOV
BLAYDON BOGOMILS
BLAYE-ET-STE LUCE BOGORODSK
BLAZE BOGOS
BLAZON BOGOTA
BLEACHING BOGRA
BLEAK BOGUE, DAVID
BLEEK, FRIEDRICH BOGUS
BLEEK, WILHELM HEINRICH IMMANUEL BOHEA
BISHARIN (the anc. _Ichthyophagi_), a nomad tribe of African "Arabs," of
Hamitic origin, dwelling in the eastern part of the Nubian desert. In
the middle ages they were known as Beja (q.v.), and they are the most
characteristic of the Nubian "Arabs." With the Ababda and Hadendoa they
represent the Blemmyes of classical writers. Linguistically and
geographically the Bisharin form a connecting link between the Hamitic
populations and the Egyptians. Nominally they are Mahommedans. They,
however, preserve some non-Islamic religious practices, and exhibit
traces of animal-worship in their rule of never killing the serpent or
the partridge, which are regarded as sacred.
BISHOP, SIR HENRY ROWLEY (1786-1855), English musical composer, was born
in London on the 18th of November 1786. He received his artistic
training from Francisco Bianchi, and in 1804 wrote the music to a piece
called _Angelina_, which was performed at Margate. His next composition
was the music to the ballet of _Tamerlan et Bajazet_, produced in 1806
at the King's theatre. This proved successful, and was followed within
two years by several others, of which _Caractacus_, a pantomimic ballet,
written for Drury Lane, may be named. In 1809 his first opera, _The
Circassian's Bride_, was produced at Drury Lane; but unfortunately the
theatre was burned down after one performance, and the score of the work
perished in the flames. His next work of importance, the opera of _The
Maniac_, written for the Lyceum in 1810, established his reputation, and
probably secured for him an appointment for three years as composer for
Covent Garden theatre. The numerous works--operas, burlettas, cantatas,
incidental music to Shakespeare's plays, &c.--which he composed while in
this position, are in great part forgotten. The most successful
were--_The Virgin of the Sun_ (1812), _The Miller and his Men_ (1813),
_Guy Mannering_ and _The Slave_ (1816), _Maid Marian_ and _Clari_,
introducing the well-known air of "Home, Sweet Home" (1822). In 1825
Bishop was induced by Elliston to transfer his services from Covent
Garden to the rival house in Drury Lane, for which he wrote with unusual
care the opera of _Aladdin_, intended to compete with Weber's _Oberon_,
commissioned by the other house. The result was a failure, and with
_Aladdin_ Bishop's career as an operatic composer may be said to close.
On the formation of the Philharmonic Society (1813) Bishop was appointed
one of the directors, and he took his turn as conductor of its concerts
during the period when that office was held by different musicians in
rotation. In 1830 he was appointed musical director at Vauxhall; and it
was in the course of this engagement that he wrote the popular song "My
Pretty Jane." His sacred cantata, _The Seventh Day_, was written for the
Philharmonic Society and performed in 1833. In 1839 he was made bachelor
in music at Oxford. In 1841 he was appointed to the Reid chair of music
in the university of Edinburgh, but he resigned the office in 1843. He
was knighted in 1842, being the first musician who ever received that
honour. In 1848 he succeeded Dr Crotch in the chair of music at Oxford.
The music for the ode on the occasion of the installation of Lord Derby
as chancellor of the university (1853) proved to be his last work. He
died on the 30th of April 1855 in impoverished circumstances, though few
composers ever made more by their labours. Bishop was twice married: to
Miss Lyon and Miss Anne Riviere. Both he and his wives were singers. His
name lives in connexion with his numerous glees, songs and smaller
compositions. His melodies are clear, flowing, appropriate and often
charming; and his harmony is always pure, simple and sweet.
BISHOP, ISABELLA (1832-1904), English traveller and author, daughter of
the Rev. Edward Bird, rector of Tattenhall, Cheshire, was born in
Yorkshire on the 15th of October 1832. Isabella Bird began to travel
when she was twenty-two. Her first book, _The Englishwoman in America_
(1856), consisted of her correspondence during a visit to Canada
undertaken for her health. She visited the Rocky Mountains, the South
Pacific, Australia and New Zealand, producing some brightly written
books of travel. But her reputation was made by the records of her
extensive travels in Asia: _Unbeaten Tracks in Japan_ (2 vols., 1880),
_Journeys in Persia and Kurdistan_ (2 vols., 1891), _Among the Tibetans_
(1894), _Korea and her Neighbours_ (2 vols., 1898), _The Yangtze Valley
and Beyond_ (1899), _Chinese Pictures_ (1900). She married in 1881 Dr
John Bishop, an Edinburgh physician, and was left a widow in 1886. In
1892 she became the first lady fellow of the Royal Geographical Society,
and in 1901 she rode a thousand miles in Morocco and the Atlas
Mountains. She died in Edinburgh on the 7th of October 1904.
See Anna M. Stoddart, _The Life of Isabella Bird_ (1906).
BISHOP (A.S. _bisceop_, from Lat. _episcopus_, Gr. [Greek: episkopos],
"overlooker" or "overseer"), in certain branches of the Christian
Church, an ecclesiastic consecrated or set apart to perform certain
spiritual functions, and to exercise oversight over the lower clergy
(priests or presbyters, deacons, &c.). In the Catholic Church bishops
take rank at the head of the sacerdotal hierarchy, and have certain
spiritual powers peculiar to their office, but opinion has long been
divided as to whether they constitute a separate order or form merely a
higher degree of the order of priests (_ordo sacerdotium_).
Roman Catholic.
In the Roman Catholic Church the bishop belongs to the highest order of
the hierarchy, and in this respect is the peer even of the pope, who
addresses him as "venerable brother." By the decree of the council of
Trent he must be thirty years of age, of legitimate birth, and of
approved learning and virtue. The method of his selection varies in
different countries. In France, under the Concordat, the sovereign--and
under the republic the president--had the right of nomination. The same
is true of Austria (except four sees), Bavaria, Spain and Portugal. In
some countries the bishop is elected by the cathedral chapter (as in
Wurttemberg), or by the bishops of the provinces (as in Ireland). In
others, as in Great Britain, the United States of America and Belgium,
the pope selects one out of a list submitted by the chapter. In all
cases the nomination or election is subject to confirmation by the Holy
See. Before this is granted the candidate is submitted to a double
examination as to his fitness, first by a papal delegate at his place of
residence (_processus informativus in partibus electi_), and afterwards
by the Roman Congregation of Cardinals assigned for this purpose
(_processus electionis definitivus in curia_). In the event of both
processes proving satisfactory, the bishop-elect is confirmed,
preconized, and so far promoted that he is allowed to exercise the
rights of jurisdiction in his see. He cannot, however, exercise the
functions proper to the episcopal _order_ (_potestas ordinis_) until his
consecration, which ordinarily takes place within three months of his
confirmation. The bishop is consecrated, after taking the oath of
fidelity to the Holy See, and subscribing the profession of faith, by a
bishop appointed by the pope for the purpose, assisted by at least two
other bishops or prelates, the main features of the act being the laying
on of hands, the anointing with oil, and the delivery of the pastoral
staff and other symbols of the office. After consecration the new bishop
is solemnly enthroned and blesses the assembled congregation.
The _potestas ordinis_ of the bishop is not peculiar to the Roman
Church, and, in general, is claimed by all bishops, whether Oriental or
Anglican, belonging to churches which have retained the Catholic
tradition in this respect. Besides the full functions of the
presbyterate, or priesthood, bishops have the sole right (1) to confer
holy orders, (2) to administer confirmation, (3) to prepare the holy
oil, or chrism, (4) to consecrate sacred places or utensils (churches,
churchyards, altars, &c.), (5) to give the benediction to abbots and
abbesses, (6) to anoint kings. In the matter of their rights of
jurisdiction, however, Roman Catholic bishops differ from others in
their peculiar responsibility to the Holy See. Some of their powers of
legislation and administration they possess _motu proprio_ in virtue of
their position as diocesan bishops, others they enjoy under special
faculties granted by the Holy See; but all bishops are bound, by an oath
taken at the time of their consecration, to go to Rome at fixed
intervals (_visitare sacra limina apostolorum_) to report in person, and
in writing, on the state of their dioceses.
The Roman bishop ranks immediately after the cardinals; he is styled
_reverendissimus_, _sanctissimus_ or _beatissimus_. In English the style
is "Right Reverend"; the bishop being addressed as "my lord bishop."
The insignia (_pontificalia_ or pontificals) of the Roman Catholic
bishop are (1) a ring with a jewel, symbolizing fidelity to the church,
(2) the pastoral staff, (3) the pectoral cross, (4) the vestments,
consisting of the caligae, stockings and sandals, the tunicle, and
purple gloves, (5) the mitre, symbol of the royal priesthood, (6) the
throne (cathedra), surmounted by a baldachin or canopy, on the gospel
side of the choir in the cathedral church.
Anglican.
The spiritual function and character of the Anglican bishops, allowing
for the doctrinal changes effected at the Reformation, are similar to
those of the Roman. They alone can administer the rite of confirmation,
ordain priests and deacons, and exercise a certain dispensing power. In
the established Church of England the appointment of bishops is vested
effectively in the crown, though the old form of election by the
cathedral chapter is retained. They must be learned presbyters at least
thirty years of age, born in lawful wedlock, and of good life and
behaviour. The mode of appointment is regulated by 25 Henry VIII. c. 20,
re-enacted in 1 Elizabeth c. 1 (Act of Supremacy 1558). On a vacancy
occurring, the dean and chapter notify the king thereof in chancery, and
pray leave to make election. A licence under the Great Seal to proceed
to the election of a bishop, known as the _conge d'eslire_, together
with a letter missive containing the name of the king's nominee, is
thereupon sent to the dean and chapter, who are bound under the
penalties of _Praemunire_ to proceed within twelve days to the election
of the person named in it. In the event of their refusing obedience or
neglecting to elect, the bishop may be appointed by letters patent under
the Great Seal without the form of election. Upon the election being
reported to the crown, a mandate issues from the crown to the archbishop
and metropolitan, requesting him and commanding him to confirm the
election, and to invest and consecrate the bishop-elect. Thereupon the
archbishop issues a commission to his vicar-general to examine formally
the process of the election of the bishop, and to supply by his
authority all defects in matters of form, and to administer to the
bishop-elect the oaths of allegiance, of supremacy and of canonical
obedience (see CONFIRMATION OF BISHOPS). In the disestablished and
daughter Churches the election is by the synod of the Church, as in
Ireland, or by a diocesan convention, as in the United States of
America.
In the Church of England the _potestas ordinis_ is conferred by
consecration. This is usually carried out by an archbishop, who is
assisted by two or more bishops. The essential "form" of the
consecration is in the simultaneous "laying on of hands" by the
consecrating prelates. After this the new bishop, who has so far been
vested only in a rochet, retires and puts on the rest of the episcopal
habit, viz. the chimere. After consecration the bishop is competent to
exercise all the spiritual functions of his office; but a bishopric in
the Established Church, being a barony, is under the guardianship of the
crown during a vacancy, and has to be conferred afresh on each new
holder. A bishop, then, cannot enter into the enjoyment of the
temporalities of his see, including his rights of presentation to
benefices, before doing homage to the king. This is done in the ancient
feudal form, surviving elsewhere only in the conferring of the M.A.
degree at Cambridge. The bishop kneels before the king, places his hands
between his, and recites an oath of temporal allegiance; he then kisses
hands.
Besides the functions exercised in virtue of their order, bishops are
also empowered by law to exercise a certain jurisdiction over all
consecrated places and over all ordained persons. This jurisdiction they
exercise for the most part through their consistorial courts, or through
commissioners appointed under the Church Discipline Act of 1840. By the
Clergy Discipline Act of 1892 it was decreed that the trial of clerks
accused of unfitness to exercise the cure of souls should be before the
consistory court with five assessors. Under the Public Worship
Regulation Act of 1874, which gave to churchwardens and aggrieved
parishioners the right to institute proceedings against the clergy for
breaches of the law in the conduct of divine service, a discretionary
right was reserved to the bishop to stay proceedings.
The bishops also exercise a certain jurisdiction over marriages,
inasmuch as they have by the canons of the Church of England a power of
dispensing with the proclamation of banns before marriage. These
dispensations are termed marriage licences, and their legal validity is
recognised by the Marriage Act of 1823. The bishops had formerly
jurisdiction over all questions touching the validity of marriages and
the status of married persons, but this jurisdiction has been
transferred from the consistorial courts of the bishops to a court of
the crown by the Matrimonial Causes Act of 1857. They have in a similar
manner been relieved of their jurisdiction in testamentary matters, and
in matters of defamation and of brawling in churches; and the only
jurisdiction which they continue to exercise over the general laity is
with regard to their use of the churches and churchyards. The
churchwardens, who are representative officers of the parishes, are also
executive officers of the bishops in all matters touching the decency
and order of the churches and of the churchyards, and they are
responsible to the bishops for the due discharge of their duties; but
the abolition of church rates has relieved the churchwardens of the most
onerous part of their duties, which was connected with the stewardship
of the church funds of their parishes.
The bishops are still authorized by law to dedicate and set apart
buildings for the solemnization of divine service, and grounds for the
performance of burials, according to the rites and ceremonies of the
Church of England; and such buildings and grounds, after they have been
duly consecrated according to law, cannot be diverted to any secular
purpose except under the authority of an act of parliament.
The bishops of England have also jurisdiction to examine clerks who may
be presented to benefices within their respective dioceses, and they are
bound in each case by the 95th canon of 1604 to inquire and inform
themselves of the sufficiency of each clerk within twenty-eight days,
after which time, if they have not rejected him as insufficiently
qualified, they are bound to institute him, or to license him, as the
case may be, to the benefice, and thereupon to send their mandate to the
archdeacon to induct him into the temporalities of the benefice. Where
the bishop himself is patron of a benefice within his own diocese he is
empowered to collate a clerk to it,--in other words, to confer it on the
clerk without the latter being presented to him. Where the clerk himself
is patron of the living, the bishop may institute him on his own
petition. (See BENEFICE.)
As spiritual peers, bishops of the Church of England have (subject to
the limitations stated below) seats in the House of Lords, though
whether as barons or in their spiritual character has been a matter of
dispute. The latter, however, would seem to be the case, since a bishop
was entitled to his writ of summons after confirmation and before doing
homage for his barony. Doubts having been raised whether a bishop of the
Church of England, being a lord of parliament, could resign his seat in
the Upper House, although several precedents to that effect are on
record, a statute of the realm, which was confined to the case of the
bishops of London and Durham, was passed in 1856, declaring that on the
resignation of their sees being accepted by their respective
metropolitans, those bishops should cease to sit as lords of parliament,
and their sees should be filled up in the manner provided by law in the
case of the avoidance of a bishopric. In 1869 the Bishops' Resignation
Act was passed. It provided that, on any bishop desiring to retire on
account of age or incapacity, the sovereign should be empowered to
declare the see void by an order in council, the retiring bishop of
archbishop to be secured the use of the episcopal residence for life and
a pension of one-third of the revenues of the see, or L2000, whichever
sum should prove the larger. Other sections defined the proceedings for
proving, in case of need, the incapacity of a bishop, provided for the
appointment of coadjutors and defined their status (Phillimore i. 82).
In view of the necessity for increasing the episcopate in the 19th
century and the objection to the consequent increase of the spiritual
peers in the Upper House, it was finally enacted by the Bishoprics Act
of 1878 that only the archbishops and the bishops of London, Winchester
and Durham should be always entitled to writs summoning them to the
House of Lords. The rest of the twenty-five seats are filled up, as a
vacancy occurs, according to seniority of consecration.
Bishops of the Church of England rank in order of precedency immediately
above barons. They may marry, but their wives as such enjoy no title or
precedence. Bishops are addressed as "Right Reverend" and have legally
the style of "Lord," which, as in the case of Roman Catholic bishops in
England, is extended to all, whether suffragans or holders of colonial
bishoprics, by courtesy.
The insignia of the Anglican bishop are the rochet and the chimere, and
the episcopal throne on the gospel side of the chancel of the cathedral
church. The use of the mitre, pastoral staff and pectoral cross, which
had fallen into complete disuse by the end of the 18th century, has been
now very commonly, though not universally, revived; and, in some cases,
the interpretation put upon the "Ornaments rubric" by the modern High
Church school has led to a more complete revival of the pre-Reformation
vestments.
Orthodox Eastern.
In the Orthodox Church of the East and the various communions springing
from it, the _potestas ordinis_ of the bishop is the same as in the
Western Church. Among his qualifications the most peculiar is that he
must be unmarried, which, since the secular priests are compelled to
marry, entails his belonging to the "black clergy" or monks. The
insignia of an oriental bishop, with considerable variation in form, are
essentially the same as those of the Catholic West.
Subordinate bishops.
Besides bishops presiding over definite sees, there have been from time
immemorial in the Christian Church bishops holding their jurisdiction in
subordination to the bishop of the diocese. (1) The oldest of these were
the _chorepiscopi_ ([Greek: taes choras episkopoi]), i.e. country
bishops, who were delegated by the bishops of the cities in the early
church to exercise jurisdiction in the remote towns and villages as
these were converted from paganism. Their functions varied in different
times and places, and by some it has been held that they were originally
only presbyters. In any case, this class of bishops, which had been
greatly curtailed in the East in A.D. 343 by the council of Laodicea,
was practically extinct everywhere by the 10th century. It survived
longest in Ireland, where in 1152 a synod, presided over by the papal
legate, decreed that, after the death of the existing holders of the
office, no more should be consecrated. Their place was taken by
arch-presbyters and rural deans. (2) The _Episcopi regionarii_, or
_gentium_, were simply missionary bishops without definite sees. Such
were, at the outset, Boniface, the apostle of Germany, and Willibrord,
the apostle of the Frisians. (3) Bishops _in partibus infidelium_ were
originally those who had been expelled from their sees by the pagans,
and, while retaining their titles, were appointed to assist diocesan
bishops in their work. In later times the custom arose of consecrating
bishops for this purpose, or merely as an honorary distinction, with a
title derived from some place once included within, but now beyond the
bounds of Christendom. (4) _Coadjutor bishops_ are such as are appointed
to assist the bishop of the diocese when incapacitated by infirmity or
by other causes from fulfilling his functions alone. Coadjutors in the
early church were appointed with a view to their succeeding to the see;
but this, though common in practice, is no longer the rule. In the
Church of England the appointment and rights of coadjutor bishops were
regulated by the Bishops' Resignation Act of 1869. Under this act the
coadjutor bishop has the right of succession to the see, or in the case
of the archiepiscopal sees and those of London, Winchester and Durham,
to the see vacated by the bishop, translated from another diocese to
fill the vacancy. (5) _Suffragan bishops_ (_episcopi sufraganei_ or
_auxiliares_) are those appointed to assist diocesan bishops in their
pontifical functions when hindered by infirmity, public affairs or other
causes. In the Roman Church the appointment of the suffragan rests with
the pope, on the petition of the bishop, who must prove that such is the
custom of the see, name a suitable priest and guarantee his maintenance.
The suffragan is given a title _in partibus_, but never that of
archbishop, and the same title is never given to two suffragans in
succession. In the Church of England the status of suffragan bishops was
regulated by the Act 26 Henry VIII. c. 14. Under this statute, which,
after long remaining inoperative, was amended and again put into force
by the Suffragans' Nomination Act of 1888, every archbishop and bishop,
being disposed to have a suffragan to assist him, may name two honest
and discreet spiritual persons for the crown to give to one of them the
title, name, style and dignity of a bishop of any one of twenty-six sees
enumerated in the statute, as the crown may think convenient. The crown,
having made choice of one of such persons, is empowered to present him
by letters patent under the great seal to the metropolitan, requiring
him to consecrate him to the same name, title, style and dignity of a
bishop; and the person so consecrated is thereupon entitled to exercise,
under a commission from the bishop who has nominated him, such authority
and jurisdiction, within the diocese of such bishop, as shall be given
to him by the commission, and no other.
Lutheran churches.
The title of bishop survived the Reformation in certain of the Lutheran
churches of the continent, in Denmark, Norway, Finland, Sweden and
Transylvania; it was temporarily restored in Prussia in 1701, for the
coronation of King Frederick I., again between 1816 and 1840 by
Frederick William III., and in Nassau in 1818. In these latter cases,
however, the title bishop is equivalent to that of "superintendent," the
form most generally employed. The Lutheran bishops, as a rule, do not
possess or claim unbroken "apostolic succession"; those of Finland and
Sweden are, however, an exception. The Lutheran bishops of Transylvania
sit, with the Roman and Orthodox bishops, in the Hungarian Upper House.
In some cases the secularization of episcopal principalities at the
Reformation led to the survival of the title of bishop as a purely
secular distinction. Thus the see of Osnabruck (Osnaburgh) was occupied,
from the peace of Westphalia to 1802, alternately by a Catholic and a
Protestant prince. From 1762 to 1802 it was held by Frederick, duke of
York, the last prince-bishop. Similarly, the bishopric of Schwerin
survived as a Protestant prince-bishopric until 1648, when it was
finally secularized and annexed to Mecklenburg, and the see of Lubeck
was held by Protestant "bishops" from 1530 till its annexation to
Oldenburg in 1803.[1]
In other Protestant communities, e.g. the Moravians, the Methodist
Episcopal Church and the Mormons, the office and title of bishop have
survived, or been created. Their functions and status will be found
described in the accounts of the several churches.
See Wetzer and Welte, _Kirchenlexikon_, s. "Bischof" and "Weihen";
Hinschius, _Kirchenrecht_, vol. ii.; Herzog-Hauck, _Realencyklopadie_,
s. "Bischof" (the author rather arbitrarily classes Anglican with
Lutheran bishops as not bishops in any proper sense at all);
Phillimore's _Ecclesiastical Law_; the articles ORDER, HOLY;
VESTMENTS; ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION; EPISCOPACY. (W. A. P.)