Bishop (Latter Day Saints) - Bishops in Community of Christ

Bishops in Community of Christ

In many ways bishops of Community of Christ continue to resemble those found in the church prior to the death of Joseph Smith, Jr. They are not pastors or branch presidents, but financial officers and ministers of stewardship. While in theory a literal descendant of Aaron could hold this office, no such claim has ever been made, and therefore all bishops are members of the high priesthood, as a high priest can serve in any "lesser office". All bishops are members of the Order of Bishops, with presidency vested in the Presiding Bishopric (consisting of the Presiding Bishop and two counsellors).

While all bishops are attached to a congregation (in the sense that every member of the church has a home congregation), bishops are not congregational officers, but preside as financial officers over larger jurisdictions, or support those who do. For example, each mission center will have a bishop in charge of all the finances of that area, who may or may not be assisted by other bishops. Likewise, some nations have a national bishop, and, historically, stakes also had bishops. Consequently, this makes the office of bishop somewhat uncommon. In recent years, some mission centers have been fortunate to have multiple bishops, in order to help promote the various ministries associated with good stewardship.

Other bishops have been appointed as "field bishops" who are assigned to assist one of the twelve apostles. The Presiding Bishopric is also regarded as the presidency of the entire Aaronic priesthood. Bishops in general are therefore sometimes seen as ideal resources to provide support and mentoring to local members of the Aaronic priesthood.