The Emergence of the Bishop

In class today, we wrapped up our section on the church before Constantine. What struck me about this period of the church was the powerful emergence of the bishop--a distinctive task for a particular person, discernible from the laity--who shaped theology and practice in light of emerging conflicts (schism, heresy, persecution, etc.). An interesting study would be one that compares the bishop of the pre-Constantine church of the bishop of the early 21st century--would there be discernible differences? Would there be discernible commonalities? This is just something to think about.