Bishop of the Buddhist Churches of America
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| Bishop of the Buddhist Churches of America | |
|---|---|
| Sochō | |
| Style | Reverend |
| Member of | Buddhist Churches of America |
| Seat | San Francisco |
| Formation | 1918 |
| First holder | Kōyū Uchida |
| Website | https://www.buddhistchurchesofamerica.org/ |
The bishop of the Buddhist Churches of America is the highest spiritual leader in the Buddhist Churches of America (BCA). Since BCA is part of Honganji-ha, the bishop is subordinate to the Monshu of Honganji-ha.
Between 1899 and 1918 the leader of Buddhist Mission of North America (BMNA) had the title kantoku (superintendent). 1918 the title was changed to sochō (bishop). BMNA changed its name to Buddhist Churches of America in 1944.
The leader of Buddhist Mission of North America, later Buddhist Churches of America, held the title kantoku between 1899 and 1918.[1][2] Kantoku has been translated to "superintendent"[3] and "director".[1][4] In 1918, the title was changed to sochō, which has been translated as "chancellor"[5][6] and "president".[7] The official and most common translation, however, is "bishop".[3][5][8] The translation of sochō to "bishop" is not literal, but rather an approximate equivalent, much like many other Buddhist terms that are "translated" into English.[9] The title "bishop" is also used as the title for the leaders of Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii and Jodo Shinshu Buddhist Temples of Canada.[10]
Controversy regarding the usage of the term "bishop" was raised in a conference in 1933, when several members in BMNA argued that it was unsuitable to use English terms that could be associated to Christianity. Although no change was made as a result of this, a discussion regarding "proper" English Buddhist nomenclature has continued to be present within the BCA.[11] Later, BCA came to conduct an inquiry and analysis of the usage of the term "bishop" as an equivalent to the Japanese sochō. The inquiry was conducted through the BCA Ministerial Research Committee. February 24, 1971, the minister Masami Fujitani wrote about the results of the inquiry. Fujitani wrote that the term "bishop" is a neutral English term for spiritual leaders. The reason for deeming it "neutral" was that the original Greek word, "episcopus" (literally "overseer") was used in Greek literature several centuries before the advent of Christianity. The committee had also considered using the term sangharaja, adopted from Theravada Buddhism, but this idea was abandoned because the term was deemed too alien to the BCAs members.[12] Arthur J. Nishimura, doctor in religious studies, has argued that the term "bishop" was chosen to reflect the hierarchical position of the bishop in the BCA. According to Numrich, the bishop of the BCA does not have the same religious role as bishops in Christianity, but his position in the organizational hierarchy is comparable.[13]
