The Rise of Bishops

The Rise of Bishops reveals how Christian congregations, which were self-governing in the second and third centuries, became subject to the general supervision and direction of diocesan bishops and higher officeholders, thus ending their independence from outside the local parish. The New Testament says nothing about church government after the apostles. Thus, the question becomes "who replaced the apostles?" Local church congregations in the period between AD 100 to 300 appear to have been admi