Chapter 20

1After the house has been built fittingly and properly, let the bishop be appointed. He shall be chosen by all the people according to the will of the Holy Spirit. He shall be without fault, chaste, quiet, mild, free from anxiety, watchful, not a lover of money, blameless, not quarrelsome, ready to forgive, a teacher, not given to excessive speech, a lover of good things, a lover of labor, a lover of widows, a lover of orphans, a lover of the poor, experienced in the mysteries, not lax or distracted by this world, peaceful, and perfect in every good thing, as one entrusted with the order and place of God.

2It is good for him to be without a wife, but at any rate he must have been the husband of only one wife, so that he may sympathize with the weakness of widows. Let him be appointed when he is of middle age, not while he is young.