The Office of the Bishopric

The office of the bishopric first appears on the historical record in the pages of Ignatius of Antioch. The New Testament then and early texts like the Didache and Shepherd of Hermas do not describe a hierarchical clergy operating with different echelons of power and authority. What's envisioned there is no gothic structure with bishops or cardinals gazing down from the parapets, but instead snugly packed stones in which each building block is nothing more or less than a Christian person.