Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / The developing roles of the Methodist general superintendent (bishop) are studied from the year 1784 to the present. Major attention is given to the twentieth century. Contemporary role theory, leadership theory, and theories of authority and bureaucracy are used in the interpretation of historical data. The scope of the study includes the Methodist Episcopal Church; the Methodist Episcopal Church, South; relevant developments in the Methodist Protestant Church; and The Methodist Church (formed in 1939 with the union of the three Methodist groups). Attention is given to the bishops in the Washington, D. C., area in the twentieth century as a case study. Primary sources include General Conference minutes for the denominations mentioned and minutes of many Jurisdictional Conferences; fifty- two Episcopal Addresses delivered since 1840; the complete minutes of the Council of Bishops of The Methodist Church for the period 1940 to 1960; biographies, eulogies, letters, and the like, of selected bishops; Methodist apologetic literature and magazines; and Methodist Protestant polemical works. Secondary sources include the popular press and various historical and theological works [TRUNCATED] / 2031-01-01