Wizerunek biskupa w świetle "Kanonów Atanazego"

Abstract

The article "The image of a bishop in light of "The Canons of Athanasius" is an attempt to present the role of a bishop in the fourth-century Church. The original Greek text of the Canons surely comes from the fourth or the beginning of the fifth century and belongs to the farnily of pseudoepigraphic sources. The text deals with the requirements for the office of bishop ; from moral issues to his responsibilities toward the congregation and the clergy. The office of bishop became so prestigious and desired by others because it was connected with a certain social prestige. The fight for the office of bishop was not only connected with "meritorical" aspects but often symony, which the author of the Canons atternpts to criticize. In the Canons it is possible to notice the pressure put on the bishop In respect to his responsibilities toward the lowest social class: widows, prisoners and the poorest. The bishop became the symbol of a coordinator of activities in nouvelle cite partly thanks to the funds at his disposal: offerings made by the faithful were distributed by the bishop among the clergy subject to him and the poorest social classes. These material resources and the prestige enjoyed by the bishop in his district led to a situation in which he became "the axis of all church activity".