Episkopoi

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Episkopoi (Greek ἐπίσκοποι, “overseers”) were inspectors sent by Athens to subject other states. Harpocration compared them to Spartan harmosts, and they were sometimes called phylakes, or “guardians.” They were paid by the cities they oversaw. In early Christianity, the term came to refer to leaders of local churches, often translated as overseers, pastors, shepherds, or bishops.