The Ring | The Miter | The Crosier | Pectoral Cross | Bishop's Chair | Role of the Bishop

The Bishops wear distinctive symbols or insignias, also called regalia, which communicate to us their special place within the Church. The Order of the Bishop, which grants to those ordained to this rank the fullness of the Sacrament of Holy Orders, is symbolized primarily by three items. These are the ring, miter, and the crosier (or pastoral staff).

The Ring

The first insignia to be received by the Bishop during the Rites of Ordination is the ring. Upon handing over to the newly ordained Bishop the ring the principal ordaining Bishop says “Receive this ring, the seal of fidelity; adorned with undefiled faith, preserve unblemished the bride of God, the Church.”

The ring symbolizes, primarily, two things. First, it is a sign of discretion since rings were used to seal private documents. Second, the ring is a sign of the conjugal nature of the relationship between the Bishop and the Church. Yes, the ring represents the symbolic marriage between the Bishop and the Church.

The Miter

The next insignia which is given to the newly ordained Bishop during the Rites of Ordination is the miter. The principal ordaining Bishop places a miter on the head of the new Bishop while saying: “Receive the miter, and may the splendor of holiness shine forth in you, so that when the chief shepherd appears, you may deserve to receive from him an unfading crown of glory.”

The miter is a headdress which points upward toward heaven and can be compared to the laurel wreathes given to victorious athletes. It has become a symbol of how the Bishop will be received in heaven with his whole flock and rewarded for his fidelity. 2 Timothy 4: 7-8 says, “I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith. From now on the crown of righteousness awaits me, which the Lord, the just judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me, but to all who have longed for his appearance.”

The Crosier (also called the pastoral staff)

The last symbol received by the newly ordained Bishop is the crosier. The principal ordaining Bishop says: “Receive the crosier, the sign of your pastoral office: and keep watch over the whole flock in which the Holy Spirit has placed you as Bishop to govern the Church of God.”

Each Bishop is a symbol of Christ the Good Shepherd. It is Christ is who the Bishop is trying to model himself after and it is Christ who each Bishop strives to imitate and model for the flock. The crosier also symbolizes the responsibility that the Bishop has in leading all to Christ. Sometimes the crosier will be used to scare off the wolves that want to hurt the flock and other times it can be used to pull the sheep back if they begin to wander off. The crosier tells us that the Bishop is a leader after Christ’s own heart.

The Pectoral Cross

While not part of the Rites of Ordination another symbol of the Bishop, and a relatively new addition to the symbols of the bishop, is the pectoral cross. It is called pectoral because it is worn over the pectus or breast of the bishop, close to his heart, and its use began between the 17th and 18th century.

Traditionally, the bishop will take the cross, kiss the cross and while placing it over his neck say the following short prayer, “Munire me digneris.” This is a prayer which is asking the Lord for three things,

• For protection against all who wish him harm
• To be able to always remember the Passion of Christ
• Keep in mind the success of those who have professed their faith in Christ

The Bishop’s Chair

The bishop’s chair or throne in his primary church is called a cathedra and this is why this primary church is called a cathedral. From this chair the bishop presides at Mass and other solemn celebrations. The bishop is always the leader of prayer in his dioceses. Because of this, when the Rites of Ordination of a Bishop take place in the bishop’s cathedral church, and he is to become the Ordinary Bishop of that Dioceses, he is led to this chair after having received the symbols of his office as bishop. This symbolizes that the bishop has taken his place as the ordinary of the diocese.

Originally, this chair was the place from which the bishop would authoritatively preach and teach to those present in the church. Because of this the bishop’s chair, or cathedra, is a sign of his authority to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ and to teach the great truths of our faith to the body of Christ, the church. The bishop is the primary preacher, teacher and catechist of the diocese. Finally, the bishop’s chair also represents the unity of faithful around that which is taught by the community’s good shepherd, the bishop.

What is the Origin of the Role of Bishop?

Below is a brief, three part, response to this great question.

Part I: New Testament Seeds
Early on, Christ preached to multitudes of people whom he called to follow him. From this larger group of chosen followers, known as the disciples, the Lord selected a special group of twelve that he named Apostles. (See Luke 6:13).

Later on from the twelve he chose one, Peter. (See Matthew 16:18-19) It is obvious from scripture that Peter was seen as the first among equals. Every time the New Testament gives us a list of the Apostles, Peter’s name comes first.

Even after having failed to give witness to others regarding Christ, the Lord still comes to Peter, and after having him reaffirm his love, Jesus still gives him a special authority. (See John 21:15-17)

After Easter the Apostles waste no time in filling in the empty slot left by Judas. They had a clear understanding that the role of Apostle, a foundational role in the Church instituted by Christ, would not be limited to those chosen by Jesus during his public ministry. Even Paul was chosen to be an Apostle under unique circumstances.

New Testament terms for those chosen for this special responsibility vary, at times even interchanged with titles from other ministries. Mostly we will find the terms, “overseer,” “elder,” or “bishop” to refer to those following the role of the Apostles. (See Acts 1:20; 20:28; Rom 1:1; 2 Tim 4:1-2; Eph 2:20; and Philippians 1:1)

Part II: The Church Fathers on Apostolic Succession
The early years of the Church gave us many witnesses to the Spirit guided custom of naming successors to the Apostles and not limiting the number to twelve. Successors were named as needed. Around the year 80 A.D., Clement of Rome stated that the Apostles “appointed their earliest converts, testing them by the Spirit, to be bishops and deacons of future believers.” About a hundred years later Irenaeus said “…we are in a position to enumerate those who were instituted bishops by the apostles and their successors down to our own times.” Three quarters of a century after that, Firmilian, in his Epistle to Cyprian, stated that “The power of forgiving sins was given to the apostles and the churches which these men, sent by Christ, established and to the bishops who succeeded them by being ordained in their place”.

In the fourth century St. Jerome stated “Far be it from me to speak adversely of any of these clergy who, in succession from the apostles, confect by their sacred word the Body of Christ … ” At the end of the sixth century Pope Gregory I, when speaking of the Apostles, said that “… in God's stead, they retain sins for some and for some they forgive them… Certainly it is now the bishops who hold their place in the Church. They receive the authority of binding and loosing, who have as their lot a degree of governing.”

The continued need of Bishops is clearly seen and manifested then throughout the life of the Church. This is truly the will of God for the community of faith, the Church.

Part III: Contemporary Expressions of the Office of Bishop
The Second Vatican Council, in paragraph #20 of the Constitution on the Church, has given us a summary of what we understand the office of bishop to be:

“That divine mission, entrusted by Christ to the apostles, will last until the end of the world, since the Gospel they are to teach is for all time the source of all life for the Church. And for this reason the apostles, appointed as rulers in this society, took care to appoint successors.”

“For they not only had helpers in their ministry but also, in order that the mission assigned to them might continue after their death, they passed on to their immediate cooperators, as it were, in the form of a testament, the duty of confirming and finishing the work begun by themselves, recommending to them that they attend to the whole flock in which the Holy Spirit placed them to shepherd the Church of God. They therefore appointed such men, and gave them the order that, when they should have died, other approved men would take up their ministry…”

The Catechism of the Catholic Church gives us many paragraphs on the role of Bishops in the Church. Here are portions of just 2 of them.

880 "St. Peter and the rest of the apostles constitute a single apostolic college, so in like fashion the Roman Pontiff, Peter's successor, and the bishops, the successors of the apostles, are related with and united to one another."

886 "The individual bishops are the visible source and foundation of unity in their own particular Churches." As such, they "exercise their pastoral office over the portion of the People of God assigned to them," assisted by priests and deacons… Scripture, the Fathers of the Church and contemporary Church teaching make clear that every bishop is ultimately a man chosen by Christ through his body, the Church, to be an Apostle for us today. Every bishop is in his own unique way a man after Christ’s own heart.