Question

What role did priests and bishops play in the early Christian church

Answer 1

Answer:

The role bishops played in the early Christian Church was to manage churches and take care of several congregations.

The role priests played in the early Christian church was to officiate the Eucharist as delegates.

Explanation:

In the early Christian Church, a bishop was the main minister and manager of churches of the area in which they were assigned to. All this, because the bishops were successors of the apostles.

The priests' duties were mainly connected to the celebration of the Eucharist even though priesthood was a job done by bishops and the elders. The fact that the first bishops outsource the realization of the eucharist to some other presbyter ended up creating the notion of the priest as such.

Answer 2

The sacrament of holy orders is conferred in three ranks of clergy: bishops, priests, and deacons.

Bishops (episcopoi) have the care of multiple congregations and appoint, ordain, and discipline priests and deacons. They sometimes appear to be called "evangelists" in the New Testament. Examples of first-century bishops include Timothy and Titus (1 Tim. 5:19–22; 2 Tim. 4:5; Titus 1:5).

Priests (presbuteroi) are also known as "presbyters" or "elders." In fact, the English term "priest" is simply a contraction of the Greek word presbuteros. They have the responsibility of teaching, governing, and providing the sacraments in a given congregation (1 Tim. 5:17; Jas. 5:14–15).

It's quite long, but hope it helps :)