Episkopos

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A title traditionally used to denote a bishop or overseer in Christian ecclesiastical contexts, overseeing church governance and spiritual matters
2. An ecclesiastical term representing a church leader or bishop responsible for guiding and supervising congregations within a particular area
3. Referring to a role within religious hierarchies where an individual possesses authority to administer and oversee the spiritual well-being of church communities

Etymology: Before it named a bishop, "episkopos" was an ordinary Greek word for an overseer or inspector, and it was used for officials who checked on things and people. Its parts are simple: "epi" meaning "over" or "upon," and "skopos," from "skopein," "to look" or "to watch," the same root that gives English "scope," "microscope," and "telescope." The literal sense is "one who looks over." In the Greek of the New Testament, the word appears in Philippians 1:1 and in the pastoral letters, where it refers to church leaders alongside "presbyteros" (elder). Early Christian writing treated the two terms as close to interchangeable for a time, and the sense of a single supervising leader only became fixed over the following centuries. Through Latin "episcopus," the word gave Old English "biscop," which is why English has "bishop" rather than a word derived directly from the Greek.

Synonyms: bishop, overseer, church leader