Religious Roles & Titles
Manichaean Bishop
Manichaeism Roles
Citation Formats
General Reference
APA Style
BibTeX
The Manichaean church maintained a formal ecclesiastical hierarchy within the Elect, traditionally reckoned as the Teacher at its head, beneath him twelve Apostles, then seventy two Bishops and three hundred and sixty Presbyters (Elders), each rank drawn from the ascetic Elect rather than the lay Hearers and responsible for the pastoral and administrative governance of Manichaean communities across a vast geographic range from North Africa to Central Asia and China.
Facts
Status
Status TodayHistorical; not practised continuously 1 Current StatusExtinct; organized Manichaeism survived longest in southeastern China, where its last traces in the Fujian region survived into the sixteenth or seventeenth century. 1 Significance
Sacred RoleOne of five ranks in the Manichaean hierarchy below the Teacher and the twelve Apostles; a bishop administered Manichaean communities within a region and, according to Manichaean tradition, numbered seventy two across the whole church at any time. 1 Origins
Origin of the NameThe title borrows the Greek episkopos, bishop, the same ecclesiastical term used by Christian churches, reflecting Manichaeism's extensive borrowing of Christian and Gnostic vocabulary. 1 Cross-Tradition Connections
Associated With
This source names Africa directly: "a vast geographic range from North Africa to Central Asia and China."
This source names Asia directly: "range from North Africa to Central Asia and China."
This source names China directly: "from North Africa to Central Asia and China."
Belongs to Tradition
Related To
Sources
Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.
View At A Past Year
The atlas records no dated fact of its own for this entry, so there is no other year to choose.