In a letter addressed to bodies from all sides of the Southern Rail dispute, the bishops' letter said those involved had a "moral obligation" to provide public transport and that the ongoing row was causing damage to the communities reliant on the service.
Rail, Maritime and Transport Union members plan to strike in December and January in a long-running dispute over changes to the role of the conductors.
The letter was addressed to Govia, the parent company of Southern Trains, as well as union leaders and the Department of Transport.
The bishops say that, as Christian leaders, their task is "to promote those processes which lead to human flourishing in a just and free society."
The Letter reads:
"Dear Sirs,
Disruption for Southern Rail passengers in the lead-up to Christmas and New Year deepens the misery of people across the whole of Sussex who are dependent upon this public transport service.
We understand the complexity of the issues for those jointly responsible for this dispute. But we believe they have a pressing moral duty to alleviate the damage that the disruption is causing to our communities.
"The weight of responsibility in this dispute was summed up by someone who wrote to us, as bishops in Sussex, and put this simple question: 'Who will break the circle of blame?'
"Someone has to lead the way."
RMT union leader Mick Cash said: "RMT accepted the offer from Brighton and Hove Albion FC to broker talks and we are making the same positive response to the bishops.
"It is disgraceful that both the Government and GTR continue to throw back every offer to bring all the parties together to resolve this dispute."
A Southern spokesman said: "No-one wants an end to this more than us.
"We have led the way in trying to resolve this dispute by talking to the unions for the best part of a year but they won't move on the fundamental issue of helping us modernise our train service by letting a driver close the doors."