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Show BISHOPS. The word bishop is derived from the Greek word Episcopos, which beans an overseer. His office is to oversee that portion of the flock of Christ as- j signed to his jurisdiction, and for which purpose he receives the plenti-tude plenti-tude of the priesthood as instituted by Christ for the government of the church. His power is two-fold, viz., the power of order and that of jurisdiction. jurisdic-tion. The former coming directly from God, through his consecration, consists chiefly in the power of administering the sacraments of confirmation and holy orders, and of performing pontifical ponti-fical consecrations and blessings. The power of jurisdiction makes bishop both pastor and judge of the diocese which he governs. Over the clergy, laity and religious communities each bishop in his own diocese has legislative, judicial and executive authority, which gives him the right to erect and confer parishes, par-ishes, to receive the customary revenues, rev-enues, to' correct abuses and decide causes. Christ willed that bishops should rule dioceses, therefore all the faithful, priests and ecclesiastics in general gen-eral included, should be governed by their bishop. St. Paul, instructing the clergy of Ephesus, said: "Take heed to yourselves and to the whole flock, wherein the Holy Ghost hath placed you bishops to rule the church of God." Acts xx, 28. Being the divinely appointed ap-pointed overseer, teacher and ruler, the same respect, humble submission and filial love are due a bishop as was rendered ren-dered by the early Christians to the Apostles whose successors they are. As the father of his flock from him em-inates em-inates the balm that heals wounded and afflicted souls, and to live apart and independent of his divine authority author-ity is to sever the vine from the branch. He is the only representative of the Holy Father, who in his official documents docu-ments styles him "a new center of authority." au-thority." Fidelity to Catholic principles, princi-ples, love of Catholic truth, and zeal for the salvation of souls require that these should come from the spiritual fountain of the "new center of authority," author-ity," being, as it is, the only divinely appointed source from which the faithful faith-ful can receive the truth. Bishops were sometimes called An-tistes, An-tistes, because they had the place of honor, or stood before the priests and inferior clergy. The Greek fathers designate bishops as princes of the priests, sometimes as presidents, inspectors in-spectors and leaders of the church. Among the Greek, bishops were known as popes, which means father, a title i now bestowed only on the Bishop of Rome. Every bishop is bound by ecclesiastical ec-clesiastical law to reside in his diocese, and discharge his duties therein. ' This obligation is fulfilled by residing in any part of the diocese. The obligation of residing in his diocese carries with it a corelative right, viz., that of ruling and governing not as vicars, but in their own name as pastors of the entire flock committed to their charge. A bishop takes part in his care of souls, and each diocese has, in matters of discipline, dis-cipline, its own regulations, whilst her doctrines, sacraments, her services and jurisdiction come from the universal church. A bishop's jurisdiction does not exclude the ordinary and direct jurisdiction of the Holy Father, bearing bear-ing the same relation to it as that which a single state bears to the United States, whose jurisdiction extends over any state in the Union. A bishop, for the insignia of his high office, wears a ring and a golden cross, and officiating at any public service he wears the mitre and carries his crosier, The cross worn on the breast is emblematic of the golden plate which Aaron wore over his forehead and on which were inscribed "Holy to the Lord." Being the overseer of the house of the Lord, he, like Joseph, wears a golden chain to which the cross is suspended. The cross resting on the breast is to recall the mystery of Christ dead on the cross, for St. Paul said: "Glorify and bear God on your body." Cor. vi, 20. The ring is a mark of the union of the bishop to the church. It is a pledge of his faith, that he is wedded to the church and his diocese. dio-cese. Wrhen putting it on, he says: "Beautify the fingers of my body and soul, O Lord, and surround me with seven-fold holiness of the Spirit." The mitre, with its two horns and two tassels, tas-sels, when worn by the bishop in his throne, marks him as the successor of the Apostles. The two horns pointing heavenward denote a knowledge of God as revealed in the Old and New Testaments. Testa-ments. They recall the crowning of Moses with horns after returning from the mountain where God had spoken to him. The two tassels tipify the plate of gold which hung from Aaron's mitre. The crosier is the distinctive mark of a bishop's authority. When presented to him at his consecration, the conse-crator conse-crator says: "Take the rod of the pastoral office, that thou may be severe se-vere in correcting vice." Moses, when sent into Egypt, by God's command 'carried a rod with which he did wonders won-ders both on the sea and land. Pharav, with his army, was engulfed in the sea after Moses stretched forth his rod; with a stroke of his rod water gushed from the barren rock. When Christ sent his disciples to preach they carried car-ried a staff in their hands, so have bishops their crosiers which denote their Apostolic authority and the power pow-er they possess, and which should be exercised in correcting abuses. To this St. Paul refers when writing to the Corinthians: "Shall I come to you with a rod?" 1 Cor. iv., 21. The crosier cro-sier is curved at the top to signify that Episcopal authority is limited by the power of the Supreme Pontiff. The Holy Father, as Bisop of Rome, has no crosier, because tradition says St. Peter, the first Bishop of Rome, gave his crosier to another to raise the dead, also because the Holy Father's authority author-ity is not limited by any power on earth. |