Episcopalism
Episcopalism (derived from the Greek episkopos , “head”, “bishop”) describes a fundamental position in the dispute over the constitution of the churches .
Catholic Church
The episcopalism represented in the Roman Catholic Church sees the highest ecclesiastical authority in the bishops and recognizes no authority over them. Since the councils are usually bishops' assemblies, they are very close to conciliarism .
Historically, episcopalism was in constant conflict with the rights of the patriarchs , in particular with the Latin patriarch, the Pope , in the West . Roman and German emperors as well as totalitarian rulers of the 20th century promoted it because it favored state and national church tendencies. With the dogmatization of the papal teaching and jurisdiction primacy at the First Vatican Council (1870), episcopalism lost its importance within the Roman Catholic Church.
Protestant church
In the Protestant area, episcopalism describes a legal theory of state church law, according to which episcopal church sovereignty has been transferred to the respective sovereign (episcopal system). The approach, originally only intended as a transitional solution, that the sovereigns should exercise their powers in the absence of Protestant bishops, was substantiated in detail in this theory, especially widespread by Joachim Stephani and Matthias Stephani . The sovereigns became legal successors of the bishops.