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71. The term ‘episkopé’ has become important in ecumenical discussions during the last three decades. It refers to the practice of pastoral oversight, with the purpose of ensuring both the “being” (esse) of the church and its “well being” (bene esse). The tasks of episkopé are “to hold the local congregations in communion, to safeguard and hand on apostolic truth, to give mutual support and to lead in witnessing to the Gospel”.⁶⁰ Thus it is a service both to the unity and the apostolicity of the church.⁶¹ Episkopé has been exercised in this sense from the earliest times of the church. Historically, episkopé and church leadership belong together and include oversight in doctrine and worship as well as pastoral practices and management of institutions, finances and personnel regulations. Its institutional and ministerial forms evolved gradually in the early church, as congregations grew and became more numerous.

72. Episkopé is a service in and for the church, not an exercise of domination over it.⁶² For the Reformation it was important to limit the power of the bishops, separating their spiritual task, understood essentially as a regional ministry of word and sacraments, from the exercise of worldly power (CA XXVIII).

73. In Protestant settings episkopé is shaped and exercised for each particular church. At the same time, each church belongs to the one church of Jesus Christ. By examining the preaching and the spiritual life of the congregation the exercise of episkopé carries out responsibility for the gospel as core to the apostolicity and the unity of the church. Episkopé is therefore a service also for the unity of the church universal and cannot be considered properly without this ecumenical perspective.

74. Traditionally and still today, an important task of episkopé is to conduct visitations, which have both spiritual and legal connotations. The focus is here on the congregations within a particular church. Visitations are carried out by the church, and for the church. They are generally exercised by ministers of episkopé in cooperation with representatives of the church’s synodical structures locally and regionally.