Let the Bishop Care for Everyone to Save Him
Let the Bishop Care for Everyone to Save Him
What is the work of the bishop? And what is his chief concern?
The work of the bishop is not an administrative work, but a spiritual work in its very essence, whose goal is the salvation of every soul in his diocese.
Just as the Lord Christ used to go about from one city to another, “teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom” (Matt. 4:23), and clarifying His mission, saying: “Let us go into the neighboring towns, that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth” (Mark 1:38)… so also were His disciples and apostles.
When He called them, He called them for this purpose: “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men” (Mark 1:17). And thus their work was “the ministry of the word” (Acts 6:4).
This is the work of the successors of the apostles: to go about from city to city and from village to village, striving for the salvation of souls (1 Pet. 1:9), “in journeys often… in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often” (2 Cor. 11:26–27), as the Apostle Paul said: “Besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble, and I do not burn with indignation?” (2 Cor. 11:28–29).
Everyone:
“Let the bishop care for everyone,” so commanded the Didascalia, summarizing the bishop’s work. But what does the phrase “everyone” mean?
It does not mean only the Coptic Orthodox in the region, but also all Christian denominations. And not only this, but also the non-believers, for the bishop has an evangelistic work that he must carry out.
But does the bishop truly care for everyone, since he will give an account for everyone? Or at least, does he care for the Coptic Orthodox in his diocese?
Does he care for each one of them: the young and the old, the ignorant and the educated, the woman and the man… everyone?
Before we say, “Let the bishop care for everyone to save him,” we must first ask: Does the bishop know everyone in his diocese? For how can he care for people whom he does not know?
The Lord Christ said in His glory: “I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own… and I lay down My life for the sheep” (John 10:14–15). And He did not say only that He knows His sheep, but He said more than that: “He calls His own sheep by name and leads them out” (John 10:3).
Does the bishop know his flock by name? Does he have official records of all his children: every family, every young man, every child? And are these records a basis for his service? When does the bishop begin to know his own? When does each individual feel that his name is preserved in the bishop’s memory? When?
Moreover, this knowledge has in the pastoral dictionary a deeper meaning. The bishop is supposed to know everyone—not only his name, but also his condition—so that he may be assured of his spiritual state.
If this is an overwhelming task that the bishop cannot accomplish personally, then at least he should know everyone through his priests and deacons, who must be chosen from among those who love service and are devoted to spreading the Kingdom. He can also know through visitation.
Visitation and Home Visits:
Visitation is not merely a visit from the bishop, whatever its purpose may be. There are visits with formal objectives, or financial purposes, or merely social participation.
Rather, by visitation we mean the “spiritual visit”—the visit of the Holy Spirit to the home through the bishop, a visit in which the bishop assures himself of his children’s relationship with God, exerting every effort to establish this relationship or to strengthen and develop it.
What we say about the bishop’s spiritual visit also applies to the priest.
In this visit, the shepherd ensures that there is a Holy Bible in the home, that each person reads it, and that the members of the family memorize verses from it. He also ensures their prayers and fasts, their regular attendance at church, and their confession and partaking of the Holy Mysteries.
In this visit, he also ensures the goodness of their relationships with one another and with others, and he observes their dispositions and habits. He exhorts them with the spiritual guidance they need.
In this visit, the shepherd gives as a father to his children. He gives one a Holy Bible, another an icon, another a cross, or a written verse to hang on the wall. He also gives a word of encouragement, a phrase of consolation, or simply a cheerful countenance.
He makes everyone feel that his visit was a blessing and a joy.
Let Him Care for Everyone to Save Him:
The members of the congregation need someone to show care for them and concern over them. Therefore, the Didascalia said, “Let the bishop care.”
The phrase “let him care” does not mean mere formalities, but the feeling of the heart, the work of determination and will, and actual movement toward implementation.
The goal of this care is the salvation of the soul and bringing it to Christ.
The shepherd must care for spiritual meetings, nurture and strengthen them, and make them a cause of salvation for many. He establishes general meetings, meetings for young men, for young women, for workers, for villagers, and he also cares for Sunday School, because if the child is upright, the whole society becomes upright.
It is absolutely improper for the shepherd to take for himself enemies or rivals, for all are his children whom he must care for and strive for their salvation—not oppose them and be opposed by them, fight them and be fought by them. They are part of him, part of the Church, and part of the Body of Christ. He must care for them to save them, just as he does for his loved ones, supporters, and helpers.
Here the capacity of these pages ends. Until we meet again in a coming issue.
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