A Bishop

Nicholas Miller
HIST-134 Ancient World History
3/29/2015

I think that most people might prefer to be a bishop. In this document, I will explain the
reasons why one might want to be a bishop.
To begin, I would argue that being a bishop is the best decision because it yields the most
preferable life (according to the most common perspective). In my opinion, I would define the
most common perspective of a preferable life to have the following qualities: having power
and/or superiority, being prosperous (on Earth and in the afterlife), and being well respected. In
my opinion, the bishop life grants all of those qualities.
First, the bishops were very powerful according to Gregory of Tours. Bishops were the
Church leaders, so they already had spiritual authority. However, their authority was not limited
only to the spiritual realm. Bishops also had political authority, perhaps even more so than the
king. According to Gregory, the kings role is almost a necessary evil. The king exists so that
judgement can be executed in a much more immediate fashion to those who deserved it. While
those who did wrong would already be punished by God, the king existed solely to drive fear
into people to prevent wrong from happening in the first place. In a way, the kings existence
helps give authority to the bishops. The bishops, having spiritual authority, probably acted as a
mediator being God and the people. So, the leadership of the bishops would have been divinely
given. The bishops would then delegate this task of immediate punishment to the king. So,
looking at the hierarchy shows God at the top, bishops below God, the king below the bishops,
and the people at the bottom.
Though the king probably has the most Earthly prosperity, being able to tax people and
having power to attain wealth through other ways. The bishops probably had the most overall
prosperity. The bishops were often members of prominent Roman families, and thus were well

established. Thus, we know the bishops had decent Earthly prosperity. However, as spiritual
leaders, they would be rewarded in the afterlife for their devotion to God.
Lastly, the bishops were well respected in society. This is most prominently seen by the
fact that Christianity played a significant role in holding the society together. The people were
held together through Christianity and the Church. The bishops, being the leaders of the Church,
must have been well-thought-of by the common people as they would have been seen as
blameless in the eyes of God. Also, we already know that the bishops were often members of
families of high social status. For that reason we can infer that they were respected as well.
So in all, it seems as if bishops have it the best. Like I said earlier, I might prefer to be a
monk because I dont care too much for social status and power; however, I believe that the
qualities of the life of a bishop are probably preferable by most people.