In Denmark, the Catholic bishops opposed the reformation, and were (1536) deposed by Christian III., and their extensive po.:essi ms confiscated. The king appointed m their stead a general superintendent and J Protestant bishops. With a fixed stipend. They are under the secular government, and have very limited authority over the clergy under their charge. The first in rank is the B. of Seeland.
In Protestant Germany. the episcopal dignity and rights passed into the hands of the secular sovereigns, who. down to quite recent Bows, assumed the title of supreme bishops, and exercised the prerogatives of such. Where the sovereign, its in Saxony, was of a different confession from the majority of his subjects, the episcopal authority was delegated to a minister. The bishoprics, however, were gradually secularized, and with the nominal or titular bishops of Osnabrikk and Lubeck (1803) the old episcopal dignities became almost extinct on the Protestant soil of Germany. The lanhendi church, however, never formally abolished the office of B., and Melanehthou endeavored to get it expressly recognized. In Prussia, accordingly, the title of B. has had a fluc tuating fate. The bishops in otlice at the time having acceded to the reformation in 1525, were continued; but in 1554 the revenues were confiscated, and the duties assigned to superintendents. In 1587, this last remnant of the episcopal office also disappeared; till Frederick I. conferred the title of B. on two of his cdurt-preachers on occasion of his coronation. At their death it again ceased, and was not revived until at the peace festival in 1816 Frederick William III. raised two clergymen to the dignity of bishops. One of them, the B. of K6uig,sherg, received in 1829 the title of evangelical rtrehbishop. Several have since received the title of B , along with that ef superintendent-general, entitling them to the first place iu the consistones, a certain civil rank, insignia, and salary. Of the other German states, only Nassau followed the example of Prussia, by naming in 1818 a B. for the united evangelical churches of the duchy. Elsewhere, the episcopal authority, mostly in very limited form, is exercised by oansistories, ministries of worship, superinteudents-general, inspectors, etc.
In the church of Scotland. and other Presbyterian churches on the Geneva model, the episcopal office is not recognized. Roman Catholic Scotland was divided into eleven dioceses or bishoprics.
In none of the Protestant countries have the prerogatives and revenues of bishops remained so little impaired as in England, where the reformation was taken into his own hands by the king, and being propagated from above downwards, was effected iu a very conservative spirit. Episcopacy was abolished about the time of the commonwaalth, but at the restoration the bishops were restored, and have since retained their position in church and state.
The practice and history of the church of England in the matter of bishops may be given somewhat more in detail. The B. is the head of the clergy in his diocese; he ordains them, whereby he calls them into existence as ecclesiastical persons; he institutes them to benefices, trial licenses them to cures, and to preach; visits them, and super intends their morals; and enforces discipline, for which purpose he has several courts under him, and can suspend or deprive them for due cause.
Over the laity he exercises a general pastoral authority, but they are more particu larly brought under his notice at the time of their confirmation. The style, title, and privileges of the B. are inferior to those of the archbishop (q.v.). He is said to be installed in his bishopric; he writes himself, !' by divine permission;" and has the title of lord, and right rev, father in God; and he may retain six chaplains. A. bishop must be at least 30 years of age; the reason for which is, that Christ begin his ministry at. that ago. For many centuries after the Christian era, the B. received all the profits of his diocese, and paid salaries to such as officiated under him. The mode of election, confirmation, and consecration is the same in the case of bishops and archbishops, for each archbishop is also B. and has his own diocese. The 11. is elected by the chapter of his cathedral church by virtue of license from the crow r. The laity used to take part in the election, bid from the tumults that arose, the different sov ereigns of Europe took the appointment, in some degree, into their own hands by reserv ing to themselves the right of confirming these elections, and of granting investiture to the temporalities which now began to be annexed to these difmities. This right was
acknowledged in the emperor Charlemagne by pope Hadrian I.. 773 A.D., and the council of Lateran. The right of appointing to bisaoprics is said to have been in the crown of England even in Saxon times. But when, by length of time, time custom of electing by the clergy only was fully established, the popes began to object to the usual method of granting these investitures, which was per annnines et by the prince delivering to the prelate a ring and pastoral staff or crosier. In the 11th c., pope Gregory VII. published a bull of excommunication against all princes who should dare to confer investitures. There were long and eager contests occasioned by this papal claim, hut at length the matter was compromised, the emperor Henry V. agreeing. to confer investiture for the future per seeptrum; mid the kings of France and England consented to receive only the homwre for the temporalities, instead of investing them by the ring and crosier, the pope keeping in his hands the power of confirmation arid consecration. This concession was obtained from henry 1.; but king John, in order to obtain the pope's protection against his barons, gave up, by a charter to all monas teries and cathedrals. the free right of electing their prelates. This grant was confirmed in Magna Charts, and was again confirmed by statute 25 Edwanl III. But by statute 25 Henry VIII., the ancient right of nomination was in effect restored to the crown. The sovereign, on the vacancy being notified, sends to the dean and chapter a letter missive, or come (Mire, containing the name of the person to be elected; and if they do not elect in the milliner appointed by the act, or if the archbishop or B. appointed for the purpose refuse to confirm, invest, and consecrate the 13. elect, the recusants incur the penalty of a prirlaunire (q.v.). A bishop is not consecrated more than ouce, and he cannot be deposal, as it is supposed. that the order itself cannot absolutely be taken from him;- he may, however, be deprived, as was done to the 13. of Clobber in 1822; he may also resign his see; and he may be removed from one see to another, which is called translation; but this practice is now less frequent than it used to be. The dean and chapter of Canterbury claim it as an ancient right of that church, that every B. of the province is to he consecrated in it, or the archbishop to receive from them a license to consecrate elsewhere; and it is said that a long succes sion of licenses to that purpose are regularly entered in the registry of that church. When elected and confirmed, a B. may exercise all spiritual jurisdiction, but he is not completely B. until consecration. Bishops, upon their election, become peers of the realm, and are summoned to the parliament as well us the other nobles; but the right under which they sit there, whether in respect of their baronies, or by usage and custom, is a matter of uncertainty. It appears, however, that the bishops sat in the Wittenagemote, under the Saxon monarehs, as spiritual persons; for they were not barons until William the conqueror turned their possessions Into baronies, and sub jected them to the tenure of knights' service. The bishops created by henry VIII.—Viii.— viz , Bristol, Gloucester, Chester, Oxford, and Peterborough, as also the lately created bishops of Ripon and Manchester—sit in parliament, though they do not hold their hinds by baronial tenure. The bishops withdraw from the house (under protest, however) when any capital charge is to be decided. The bishops sit in parliament next to the archbishop of York; first, London; second, Dui ham; third, Winchester: and then tile rest according to their ancienties. In respect of their persons, bishops are not peers with the nobility; and in cases of alleged crimes, they are tried by a jury in the same manner as commoners, as was the case with Cranmer and Fisher. When a see is vacant, the archoishop of the province is guardian of the spiritualities; but he cannot as such consecrate or ordain or present to vacant benefices. The sovereign has custody of the lay-revenues during a vacancy. Queen Elizabeth kept the see of Ely vacant 19 years.