Whether John was unmarried, the Bible does not say. Bishops in the Bible oversee a congregation. But Paul traveled too much for that. He was a traveling evangelist. If he had a wife and children, it would have been hard for him to travel so much, so he chose not to marry.
And you are right, apostles are above bishops. So when Linus became bishop of the church of Rome, he was still below surviving apostles. Not a pope.
|