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THE CHEISTIAN MINISTRY
THE CHKISTIAN MINISTKY
BY THE LATE
J. B. LIGHTFOOT, D.D., D.C.L., LL.D..
LORD BISHOP OF DURHAM.
PUBLISHED BY THE TRUSTEES OF THE LIGHTFOOT FUND
Slontion
MACMILLAN AND CO., Limited
NEW YORK: THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
1901
[All Rights reserved.]
L53
C c o.' c
Cambritjge :
PBINTED BY J. AND C. F. CLAY,
AT THR UNIVERSITY PRESS.
PREFACE.
~rN response to frequent applications from many
quarters the Trustees of the Lightfoot Fund
have decided to issue in a separate form the
Essay on the Christian Ministry as it was left
by Bishop Lightfoot.
The Essay originally appeared in the Com-
mentary on the Epistle to the Philippians and
afterwards in the volume of Dissertations on the
Apostolic Age.
The Trustees have appended to it (A) extracts
explanatory of the Essay selected for this purpose
by the Bishop himself, (B) an extract bearing on
the subject from his Preface to the Didache,
(C) a passage also by the Bishop explaining his
change of opinion respecting the Ignatian question.
VI PKEFACE.
The readers of the foregoing lines will have a
chastened interest in learning that they are among
the last which passed under Bishop Westcott's eye ;
and that among his latest judgments was one of
entire approval of the appearance of this Essay in
its present form.
H. W. W.
Durham,
July 29, 1901.
CONTENTS.
PAGES
The Christian Ministry 1 — 135
Explanatory Extracts 136 — 143
Extract from Preface to the Didache . . 144
The Ignatian question . . . .. . 145 — 148
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY.
THE kingdom of Christ, not being a kingdom of Ideal
this world, is not limited by the restrictions christian
which fetter other societies, political or religious, ^'^^i'*'^-
It is in the fullest sense free, comprehensive, uni-
versal. It displays this character, not only in the
acceptance of all comers who seek admission, irre-
spective of race or caste or sex, but also in the
instruction and treatment of those who are already
its members. It has no sacred days or seasons, no
special sanctuaries, because every time and every
place alike are holy. Above all it has no sacerdotal
system. It interposes no sacrificial tribe or class
between God and man, by whose intervention alone
God is reconciled and man forgiven. Each indi-
vidual member holds personal communion with the
Divine Head. To Him immediately he is responsible,
and from Him directly he obtains pardon and draws
strength.
It is most important that we should keep this Necessaiy
ideal definitely in view, and I have therefore stated ^"* ^^ ^*'
it as broadly as possible. Yet the broad statement,
if allowed to stand alone, would suggest a false
impression, or at least would convey only a half truth.
L. 1
"5 '^' * * '
3c/;t r/ V.^Z ♦ '• THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
? r* :X? -,« ':.,:;•■'
It must be evident that no society of men could hold
together without officers, without rules, without
institutions of any kind; and the Church of Christ
is not exempt from this universal law. The con-
ception in short is strictly an ideal, which we must
The idea ever hold before our eyes, which should inspire and
r^aliza^ interpret ecclesiastical polity, but which neverthe-
tion. less cannot supersede the necessary wants of human
society, and, if crudely and hastily applied, will lead
only to signal failure. As appointed days and set
places are indispensable to her efficiency, so also the
Church could not fulfil the purposes for which she
exists, without rulers and teachers, without a ministry
of reconciliation, in short, without an order of men
who may in some sense be designated a priesthood.
In this respect the ethics of Christianity present an
analogy to the politics. Here also the ideal con-
ception and the actual realization are incommensurate
and in a manner contradictory. The Gospel is con-
trasted with the Law, as the spirit with the letter.
Its ethical principle is not a code of positive ordi-
nances, but conformity to a perfect exemplar, in-
corporation into a divine life. The distinction is
most important and eminently fertile in practical
results. Yet no man would dare to live without
laying down more or less definite rules for his own
guidance, without yielding obedience to law in som-e
sense ; and those who discard or attempt to discard
all such aids are often farthest from the attainment
of Christian perfection.
This qualification is introduced here to deprecate
any misunderstanding to which the opening state-
ment, if left without compensation, would fairly be
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY 3
exposed. It will be time to enquire hereafter in
what sense the Christian ministry may or may not
be called a priesthood. But in attempting to in- Special
vestigate the historical development of this divine ^g^^^^^ ^^'
institution, no better starting-point suggested itself Christian-
than the characteristic distinction of Christianity, as
declared occasionally by the direct language but
more frequently by the eloquent silence of the
apostolic writings.
For in this respect Christianity stands apart from
all the older religions of the world. So far at least,
the Mosaic dispensation did not differ from the
religions of Egypt or Asia or Greece. Yet the sacer- The Jew-
dotal system of the Old Testament possessed one hooJ'^^^^*"
important characteristic, which separated it from
heathen priesthoods and which deserves especial
notice. The priestly tribe held this peculiar relation
to God only as the representatives of the whole nation.
As delegates of the people, they offered sacrifice and
made atonement. The whole community is regarded
as ' a kingdom of priests,' 'a holy nation.' When the
sons of Levi are set apart, their consecration is
distinctly stated to be due under the divine guidance
not to any inherent sanctity or to any caste privilege,
but to an act of delegation on the part of the entire
people. The Levites are, so to speak, ordained by
the whole congregation. 'The children of Israel,' it
is said, 'shall put their hands upon the Levites \'
The nation thus deputes to a single tribe the priestly
functions which belong properly to itself as a whole. J.*^^^^^-,
mi /^i • • ' 1 1 n 1 . . tiontothe
I he Christian idea therefore was the restitution Christian
of this immediate and direct relation with God, which ^^^f'
^ Num. viii. 10.
1—2
4 THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
was partly suspended but not abolished by the
appointment of a sacerdotal tribe. The Levitical
priesthood, like the Mosaic law, had served its
temporary purpose. The period of childhood had
passed, and the Church of God was now arrived at
mature age. The covenant people resumed their
sacerdotal functions. But the privileges of the cove-
nant were no longer confined to the limits of a single
nation. Every member of the human family was
potentially a member of the Church, and, as such,
a priest of God.
Influence The influence of this idea on the moral and
Ch*^^f spiritual growth of the individual believer is too
ideal. plain to require any comment ; but its social effects
may call for a passing remark. It will hardly be
denied, I think, by those who have studied the
history of modern civilization with attention, that
this conception of the Christian Church has been
mainly instrumental in the emancipation of the
degraded and oppressed, in the removal of artificial
barriers between class and class, and in the diffusion
of a general philanthropy untrammelled by the fetters
of party or race ; in short, that to it mainly must be
attributed the most important advantages which
constitute the superiority of modern societies over
ancient. Consciously or unconsciously, the idea of
an universal priesthood, of the religious equality of
all men, which, though not untaught before, was
first embodied in the Church of Christ, has worked
and is working untold blessings in political institu-
tions and in social life. But the careful student will
also observe that this idea has hitherto been very
imperfectly apprehended ; that throughout the his-
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY 5
tory of the Church it has been struggling for re-
cognition, at most times discerned in some of its
aspects but at all times wholly ignored in others ;
and that therefore the actual results are a very
inadequate measure of its efficacy, if only it could
assume due prominence and were allowed free scope
in action.
This then is the Christian ideal; a holy season
extending the whole year round — a temple confined
only by the limits of the habitable world — a priest-
hood coextensive with the human race.
Strict loyalty to this conception was not held Practical
incompatible with practical measures of organization, ti^n "^^*
As the Church grew in numbers, as new and hetero-
geneous elements were added, as the early fervour of
devotion cooled and strange forms of disorder sprang
up, it became necessary to provide for the emergency
by fixed rules and definite officers. The community
of goods, by which the infant Church had attempted
to give effect to the idea of an universal brotherhood,
must very soon have been abandoned under the
pressure of circumstances. The celebration of the Fixed days
first day in the week at once, the institution of *"^^Pg^^jp!
annual festivals afterwards, were seen to be necessary
to stimulate and direct the devotion of the believers.
The appointment of definite places of meeting in the
earliest days, the erection of special buildings for
worship at a later date, were found indispensable
to the working of the Church. But the Apostles
never lost sight of the idea in their teaching, but the
They proclaimed loudly that * God dwelleth not in '^^^-^^^^
temples made by hands.' They indignantly de-
nounced those who ' observed days and months and
b THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
seasons and years.' This language is not satisfied by
supposing that they condemned only the temple-
worship in the one case, that they reprobated only
Jewish sabbaths and new moons in the other. It
was against the false principle that they waged war ;
the principle which exalted the means into an end,
and gave an absolute intrinsic value to subordinate
aids and expedients. These aids and expedients,
. for his own sake and for the good of the society
to which he belonged, a Christian could not afford
to hold lightly or neglect. But they were no part
of the essence of God's message to man in the
Gospel : they must not be allowed to obscure the
idea of Christian worship.
Appoint- So it was also with the Christian priesthood.
mh^stiT^ For communicating instruction and for preserving
public order, for conducting religious worship and
for dispensing social charities, it became necessary
to appoint special officers. But the priestly
functions and privileges of the Christian people
are never regarded as transferred or even delegated
to these officers. They are called stewards or
messengers of God, servants or ministers of the
Church, and the like: but the sacerdotal title is
never once conferred upon them. The only priests
under the Gospel, designated as such in the New
Testament, are the saints, the members of the
Christian brotherhood \
1 1 Pet. ii. 5, 9, Apoc. i. 6, genere Aaron Levitae : nunc
V. 10, XX. 6. The commentator aiitem omnes ex genere sunt
Hilary has expressed this truth sacerdotali, dicente Petro Apo-
with much distinctness : ' In stolo, Quia estis genus regale et
lege nascebantur sacerdotes ex sacerdotale etc' (Ambrosiast.
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY 7
As individuals, all Christians are priests alike. Two pas-
As members of a corporation, they have their pauTr " ^*
several and distinct offices. The similitude of the lating
human body, where each limb or organ performs
its own functions, and the health and growth of the
whole frame are promoted by the harmonious but
separate working of every part, was chosen by
St Paul to represent the progress and operation
of the Church. In two passages, written at two ,
different stages in his apostolic career, he briefly
sums up the offices in the Church with reference
to this image. In the earlier^ he enumerates ' first
apostles, secondly prophets, thirdly teachers, then
powers, then gifts of healing, helps, governments,
kinds of tongues.' In the second passage''' the list
is briefer ; ' some apostles, and some prophets, and
some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers.'
The earlier enumeration differs chiefly from the
later in specifying distinctly certain miraculous
powers, this being required by the Apostle's argu-
ment which is directed against an exaggerated
estimate and abuse of such gifts. Neither list can
have been intended to be exhaustive. In both They refer
alike the work of converting unbelievers and found- thrtemDo-
ing congregations holds the foremost place, while rary min-
the permanent government and instruction of the ^^ ^^'
several Churches is kept in the background. This
prominence was necessary in the earliest age of the
Gospel. The apostles, prophets, evangelists, all
on Ephes. iv. 12). The whole count of the relation of the
passage, to which I shall have ministry to the congregation,
occasion to refer again, contains ^ 1 Cor. xii. 28.
a singularly appreciative ac- ^ Ephes. iv. 11.
8 THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
range under the former head. But the permanent
ministry, though lightly touched upon, is not for-
gotten ; for under the designation of ' teachers,
helps, governments' in the one passage, of ^pastors
and teachers' in the other, these officers must be
intended. Again in both passages alike it will be
seen that great stress is laid on the work of the
Spirit. The faculty of governing not less than the
utterance of prophecy, the gift of healing not less
than the gift of tongues, is an inspiration of the
Holy Ghost. But on the other hand in both alike
there is an entire silence about priestly functions :
for the most exalted office in the Church, the highest
gift of the Spirit, conveyed no sacerdotal right which
was not enjoyed by the humblest member of the
Christian community.
Growing From the subordinate place, which it thus
import- occupies in the notices of St Paul, the permanent
permanent ministry gradually emerged, as the Church assumed
mmis ry. ^ jjiore settled form, and the higher but temporary
offices, such as the apostolate, fell away. This pro-
gressive growth and development of the ministry,
until it arrived at its mature and normal state, it
will be the object of the following pages to trace.
Definition But before proceeding further, some definition of
of terms iq^^^q is necessary. On no subject has more serious
necessary. ^ •' •'
error arisen from the confusion of language. The
word ' priest ' has two different senses. In the one
it is a synonyme for presbyter or elder, and desig-
nates the minister who piesides over and instructs
a Christian congregation : in the other it is equiva-
lent to the Latin sacerdos, the Greek i€p€v<;, or the
Hebrew JHD, the offerer of sacrifices, who also
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY 9
performs other mediatorial offices between God and
man. How the confusion between these two
meanings has affected the history and theology of
the Church, it will be instructive to consider in
the sequel. At present it is sufficient to say that 'Priest'
the word will be used throughout this essay, as it byter.^^^^
has been used hitherto, in the latter sense only, so
that priestly will be equivalent to ' sacerdotal ' or
' hieratic' Etymologically indeed the other mean-
ing is alone correct (for the words priest and
pi-esbyter are the same); but convenience will
justify its restriction to this secondary and imported
sense, since the English language supplies no other
rendering of sacerdos or i€p€v<;. On the other hand,
when the Christian elder is meant, the longer form
* presbyter ' will be employed throughout.
History seems to show decisively that before the Different
middle of the second century each church or organ- ^^^ origin
ized Christian community had its three orders of «/ 1^®
. , . , . "^ , 1-1 threefold
ministers, its bishop, its presbyters, and its deacons, ministry.
On this point there cannot reasonably be two
opinions. But at what time and under what cir-
cumstances this organization was matured, and to
what extent our allegiance is due to it as an
authoritative ordinance, are more difficult questions.
Some have recognized in episcopacy an institution
of divine origin, absolute and indispensable ; others
have represented it as destitute of all apostolic
sanction and authority. Some again have sought
for the archetype of the threefold ministry in the
Aaronic priesthood ; others in the arrangements of
synagogue worship. In this clamour of antagonistic
10 THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
opinions history is obviously the sole upright, im-
partial referee ; and the historical mode of treatment
will therefore be strictly adhered to in the following
investigation. The doctrine in this instance at all
events is involved in the history \
Ministry St Luke's narrative represents the Twelve
to relieve Apostles in the earliest days as the sole directors
the Apo- and administrators of the Church. For the financial
business of the infant community, not less than for
its spiritual guidance, they alone are responsible.
This state of things could not last long. By the
rapid accession of numbers, and still more by the
admission of heterogeneous classes into the Church,
the work became too vast and too various for them
to discharge unaided. To relieve them from the
increasing pressure, the inferior and less important
functions passed successively into other hands : and
thus each grade of the ministry, beginning from the
lowest, was created in order.
1. Dea- 1. The establishment of the diaconate came
Appoint- ^^^^- Complaints had reached the ears of the Apo-
mentof gtles from an outlying portion of the community.
' The Hellenist widows had been overlooked in the
daily distribution of food and alms. To remedy this
neglect a new office was created. Seven men were
appointed whose duty it was to superintend the
1 The origin of the Christian important of the more recent
ministry is ably investigated in works on the subject with which
Rothe's Avfange der Christ- I am acquainted, and to both
lichen Kirche etc. (1837), and of them I wish to acknowledge
Ritschl's Entstehung der Alt- my obligations, though in many
katholischen Kirche (2nd ed. respects I have arrived at re-
1857). These are the most suits different from either.
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY 11
public messes^ and, as we may suppose, to provide
in other ways for the bodily wants of the helpless
poor. Thus relieved, the Twelve were enabled to
devote themselves without interruption * to prayer
and to the ministry of the word.' The Apostles
suggested the creation of this new office, but the
persons were chosen by popular election and after-
wards ordained by the Twelve with imposition of
hands. Though the complaint came from the
Hellenists, it must not be supposed that the minis-
trations of the Seven were confined to this class ^.
The object in creating this new office is stated to be
not the partial but the entire relief of the Apostles
from the serving of tables. This being the case, the
appointment of Hellenists (for such they would
appear to have been from their names ^) is a token
of the liberal and loving spirit which prompted the
Hebrew members of the Church in the selection of
persons to fill the office.
I have assumed that the office thus established The Seven
represents the later diaconate ; for though this point ^^^g ^*'
has been much disputed, I do not see how the
identity of the two can reasonably be called in
question'*. If the word 'deacon' does not occur
1 Acts vi. 2 diuKoueiv Tpairi-' ^ It is maintained by Vi-
fais. tringa iii. 2. 5, p. 920 sq. , that
2 So for instance Vitringa de the office of the Seven was
Synag. iii. 2. 5, p. 928 sq., and different from the later diaco-
Mosheim de lieh. Christ, p. 119, nate. He quotes Chrysost.
followed by many later writers. Horn. 14 in Act. (ix. p. 115, ed.
3 This inference however is Montf.) and Can. 10 of the
far from certain, since many Quinisextine Council (comp. p.
Hebrews bore Greek names, e.g. 13, note 1) as favouring his
the Apostles Andrew and Philip. view. With strange perversity
12 THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
in the passage, yet the corresponding verb and
substantive, StaKovelv and BiaKovla, are repeated
more than once. The functions moreover are
substantially those which devolved on the deacons
of the earliest ages, and which still in theory,
though not altogether in practice, form the primary
duties of the office. Again, it seems clear from
the emphasis with which St Luke dwells on the
new institution, that he looks on the establishment
of this office, not as an isolated incident, but as the
initiation of a new order of things in the Church.
It is in short one of those representative facts, of
which the earlier part of his narrative is almost
wholly made up. Lastly, the tradition of the
identity of the two offices has been unanimous
from the earliest times. Irenseus, the first writer
who alludes to the appointment of the Seven,
distinctly holds them to have been deacons^ The
Roman Church some centuries later, though the
presbytery had largely increased meanwhile, still
restricted the number of deacons to seven, thus
preserving the memory of the first institution of
this office^. And in like manner a canon of the
Bohmer {Diss. Jur. Eccl. p. ^ i^ the middle of the third
349 sq.) supposes them to be century, when Cornelius writes
presbyters, and this account has to Fabius, Rome has 46 presby-
been adopted even by Ritschl, tars but only 7 deacons, Euseb.
p. 355 sq. According to another H. E. vi. 43 ; see Routh's Ilel.
view the office of the Seven Sacr. iii. p. 23, with his note
branched out into the two later p. 61. Even in the fourth and
orders of the diaconate and the fifth centuries the number of
presbyterate, Lange Apost. Zeit. Roman deacons still remained
n. i. p. 75. constant : see Ambrosiast. on.
1 Iran. i. 26. 3, iii. 12. 10, iv. 1 Tim. iii. 13, Sozom. vii. 19
15. 1. dioLKOvoL 8e Trapa 'Fufxalois eicriri
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY 13
Council of Neocaesarea (a.d. 315) enacted that there
should be no more than seven deacons in any city
however greats alleging the apostolic model. This
rule, it is true, was only partially observed ; but the
tradition was at all events so far respected, that the
creation of an order of subdeacons was found neces-
sary in order to remedy the inconvenience arising
from the limitation ^
The narrative in the Acts, if I mistake not, The office
implies that the office thus created was entirely iJistitutkm
new. Some writers however have explained the
incident as an extension to the Hellenists of an
institution which already existed among the Hebrew
Christians and is implied in the * younger men '
mentioned in an earlier part of St Luke's history ^
This view seems not only to be groundless in itself,
but also to contradict the general tenour of the
narrative. It would appear moreover, that the
institution was not merely new within the Chris-
tian Church, but novel absolutely. There is no
reason for connecting it with any prototype existing
in the Jewish community. The narrative offers no
hint that it was either a continuation of the order of
Levites or an adaptation of an office in the syna-
gogue. The philanthropic purpose for which it was
established presents no direct point of contact with
vvv cialv €irTa...'irapa de to?s a\- rejected: see Hefele Consilien-
Xois d5ta0opo5 0 tovtuv dptdfMs. gesch. iii. p. 304, and Vitringa
1 Concil. Neocaes. c. 14 (Routh p. 922.
Rel. Sacr. iv. p. 185) : see Bing- ^ See Bingham iii. 1. 3.
ham's Antiq. ii. 20. 19. At the ^ ^cts v. 6, 10. This is the
Quinisextine or 2nd Trullan view of Mosheim de Reb. Christ.
council (a.d. 692) this Neocae- p. 114.
sarean canon was refuted and
14
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
not
borrowed
from the
Levitical
order.
nor from
the syna-
gogue.
Teaching
only inci-
dental to
the office.
the known duties of either. The Levite, whose
function it was to keep the beasts for slaughter,
to cleanse away the blood and offal of the sacrifices,
to serve as porter at the temple gates, and to swell
the chorus of sacred psalmody, bears no strong
resemblance to the Christian deacon, whose minis-
trations lay among the widows and orphans, and
whose time was almost wholly spent in works of
charity. And again, the Chazan or attendant in
the synagogue, whose duties were confined to the
care of the building and the preparation for service,
has more in common with the modern parish clerk
than with the deacon in the infant Church of
Christ^ It is therefore a baseless, though a very
common, assumption that the Cliristian diaconate
was copied from the arrangements of the synagogue.
The Hebrew Chazan is not rendered by * deacon ' in
the Greek Testament ; but a different word is used
instead^ We may fairly presume that St Luke
dwells at such length on the establishment of
the diaconate, because he regards it as a novel
creation.
Thus the work primarily assigned to the deacons
was the relief of the poor. Their office was essen-
tially a * serving of tables,' as distinguished from the
higher function of preaching and instruction. But
partly from the circumstances of their position,
partly from the personal character of those first
1 Vitringa (in. 2. 4, p. 914
sq., III. 2. 22, p. 1130 sq.) de-
rives the Christian deacon from
the Chazan of the synagogue.
Among other objections to this
view, the fact that as a rule
there was only one Chazan to
each synagogue must not be
overlooked.
2 vir7)p^T7}i, Luke iv. 20.
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY 15
appointed, the deacons at once assumed a promi-
nence which is not indicated in the original creation
of the office. Moving about freely among the poorer
brethren and charged with the relief of their material
wants, they would find opportunities of influence which
were denied to the higher officers of the Church whd
necessarily kept themselves more aloof. The devout
zeal of a Stephen or a Philip would turn these
opportunities to the best account ; and thus, without
ceasing to be dispensers of alms, they became also
ministers of the Word. The Apostles themselves
had directed that the persons chosen should be not
only 'men of honest report,' but also 'full of the
Holy Ghost and wisdom ' : and this careful fore-
sight, to which the extended influence of the
diaconate may be ascribed, proved also the security
against its abuse. But still the work of teaching
nmst be traced rather to the capacity of the
individual officer than to the direct functions of
the office. St Paul, writing thirty years later, and
stating the requirements of the diaconate, lays the
stress mainly on those qualifications which would be
most important in persons moving about from house
to house and entrusted with the distribution of alms.
While he requires that they shall ' hold the mystery
of the faith in a pure conscience,' in other words,
that they shall be sincere believers, he is not
anxious, as in the case of the presbyters, to secure
' aptness to teach,' but demands especially that they
shall be free from certain vicious habits, such as a love
of gossiping, and a greed of paltry gain, into which
they might easily fall from the nature of their duties^
1 1 Tim. iii. 8 sq.
16 THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
Spread of From the mother Church of Jerusalem the in-
nate to^° stitution spread to Gentile Christian brotherhoods.
Gentile By the ' helps i' in the First Epistle to the Corinthians
cliiircliGs
(a.d. 57), and by the ' ministration^ ' in the Epistle to
the Romans (a.d. 58), the diaconate solely or chiefly
seems to be intended ; but besides these incidental
allusions, the latter epistle bears more significant
testimony to the general extension of the office.
The strict seclusion of the female sex in Greece and
in some Oriental countries necessarily debarred them
from the ministrations of men : and to meet the want
thus felt, it was found necessary at an early date to
admit women to the diaconate. A woman-deacon
belonging to the Church of Cenchrese is mentioned
in the Epistle to the Romans^ As time advances,
the diaconate becomes still more prominent. In the
Philippian Church a few years later (about A.D. 62)
the deacons take their rank after the presbyters,
the two orders together constituting the recognised
ministry of the Christian society there ^ Again,
passing over another interval of some years, we
find St Paul in the First Epistle to Timothy
(about A.D. 66) giving express directions as to the
qualifications of men-deacons and women-deacons
alike ^ From the tenour of his language it seems
clear that in the Christian communities of procon-
sular Asia at all events the institution was so
common that ministerial organization would be
considered incomplete without it. On the other
hand we may perhaps infer from the instructions
1 1 Cor. xii. 28. ^ pi^ii, ii^
2 Rom. xii. 7. ^ 1 Tim. iii. 8 sq.
' Bom. xvi. 1.
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY 17
which he sends about the same time to Titus in
Crete, that he did not consider it indispensable ;
for while he mentions having given direct orders
to his delegate to appoint presbyters in every city,
he is silent about a diaconate^
2. While the diaconate was thus an entirely 2. Pres-
new creation, called forth by a special emergency '
and developed by the progress of events, the early
history of the presbyterate was different. If the
sacred historian dwells at length on the institution
of the lower office but is silent about the first
beginnings of the higher, the explanation seems to
be, that the latter had not the claim of novelty like
the former. The Christian Church in its earliest not a new
stage was regarded by the body of the Jewish *^ '
people as nothing more than a new sect springing
up by the side of the old. This was not unnatural :
for the first disciples conformed to the religion of
their fathers in all essential points, practising cir-
cumcision, observing the sabbaths, and attending
the temple-worship. The sects in the Jewish
commonwealth were not, properly speaking, non-
conformists. They only superadded their own
special organization to the established religion of
their country, which for the most part they were
careful to observe. The institution of synagogues but adopt-
was flexible enough to allow free scope for wide ^jjg gy^g^,
divergencies of creed and practice. Different races gogue.
as the Cyrenians and Alexandrians, different classes
of society as the freedmen^, perhaps also different
sects as the Sadducees or the Essenes, each had or
1 Tit. i. 5 sq. 2 Acts vi. 9.
L. 2
18 THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
could have their own special synagogue \ where they
might indulge their peculiarities without hindrance.
As soon as the expansion of the Church rendered
some organization necessary, it would form a ' sj^na-
gogue ' of its own. The Christian congregations in
Palestine long continued to be designated by this
name^ though the term 'ecclesia' took its place
from the very first in heathen countries. With
the synagogue itself they would naturally, if not
necessarily, adopt the normal government of a
synagogue, and a body of elders or presbyters
would be chosen to direct the religious worship
and partly also to watch over the temporal well-
being of the society.
Hence the silence of St Luke. When he first
mentions the presbyters, he introduces them without
preface, as though the institution were a matter of
Occasion course. But the moment of their introduction is
adopUon. significant. I have pointed out elsewhere^ that the
two persecutions, of which St Stephen and St James
were respectively the chief victims, mark two im-
portant stages in the diffusion of the Gospel. Their
connexion with the internal organization of the
Church is not less remarkable. The first results
1 It is stated, that there were \oO(ti rrjv iavroiu iKKXrjalav, Kai
no less than 480 synagogues in ovxl UKXriaiav. See also Hieron.
Jerusalem. The number is Epist. cxii. 13 (i. p. 746, ed.
doubtless greatly exaggerated, Vail.) ' per totas orientis syna-
but must have been very con- gogas,' speaking of the Naza-
siderable : see Vitriuga prol. 4, raeaus ; though his meaning is
p. 28, and i. 1. 14, p. 253. not altogether clear. Comp.
2 James ii. 2. Epiphanius Test. xii. Patr. Benj. 11.
(xxx. 18, p. 142) says of the ^ See Dissertations on the
Ebionites a-vvayioyijv oh-oi Ka- AjyostoUc Age, pp. 53, 58.
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY 19
directly from the establishment of the lowest order
in the ministry, the diaconate. To the second may
probably be ascribed the adoption of the next
higher grade, the presbytery. This later perse-
cution was the signal for ^ the dispersion of the
Twelve on a wider mission. Since Jerusalem
would no longer be their home as hitherto, it
became necessary to provide for the permanent
direction of the Church there ; and for this purpose
the usual government of the synagogue would be
adopted. Now at all events for the first time we
read of ' presbyters ' in connexion with the Christian
brotherhood at Jerusalem ^
From this time forward all official communications Presbytery
with the mother Church are carried on through their J^em""^*
intervention. To the presbyters Barnabas and Saul
bear the alms contributed by the Gentile Churches ^
The presbyters are persistently associated with the
Apostles, in convening the congress, in the super-
scription of the decree, and in the general settlement
of the dispute between the Jewish and Gentile
Christians^ By the presbyters St Paul is received
many years later on his last visit to Jerusalem, and
to them he gives an account of his missionary labours
and triumphs 1
But the office was not confined to the mother Extension
Church alone. Jewish presbyteries existed already '^^1^^^^^
in all the principal cities of the dispersion, and Cxentile
Christian presbyteries would early occupy a not less
1 Acts xi. 30. On the se- » Acts xv. 2, 4, 6, 22, 23,
quence of events at this time xvi. 4.
see Galatiam p. 124. •* Acts xxi. 18.
2 Acts xi. 30.
2—2
20
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
Presbyters
called also
bishops,
but only in
Gentile
Churches.
Possible
origin of
the term.
wide area. On their very first missionary journey
the Apostles Paul and Barnabas are described as
appointing presbyters in every church \ The same
rule was doubtless carried out in all the brother-
hoods founded later; but it is mentioned here and
here only, because the mode of procedure on this
occasion would suffice as a type of the Apostles'
dealings elsewhere under similar circumstances.
The name of the presbyter then presents no
difficulty. But what must be said of the term
* bishop ' ? It has been shown that in the apostolic
writings the two are only different designations of
one and the same office'^. How and where was this
second name originated ?
To the officers of Gentile Churches alone is the
term applied, as a synonyme for presbyter. At
Philippic, in Asia Minor'', in Crete ■^, the presbyter
is so called. In the next generation the title is
employed in a letter written by the Greek Churcb
of Rome to the Greek Church of Corinth ''. Thus
the word would seem to be especially Hellenic.
Beyond this we are left to conjecture. But if we
may assume that the directors of religious and
social clubs among the heathen were commonly so
called'', it would naturally occur, if not to the Gentile
1 Acts xiv. 23.
- See Philippians p. 96 sq.
a Phil. i. 1.
4 Acts XX. 28, 1 Tim. iii. 1,2;
comp. 1 Pet. ii. 25, v. 2.
5 Tit. i. 7.
« Clem. Eom. 42, 44.
7 The evidence however is
slight : see Philippians p. 95,
note 2. Some light is thrown
on this subject by the fact that
the Roman government seems
first to have recognised the
Christian brotherhoods in their
corporate capacity, as burial
clubs : see de Rossi Rom. Sotterr.
I. p. 371.
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY 21
Christians themselves, at all events to their heathen
associates, as a fit designation for the presiding
members of the new society. The infant Church of
Christ, which appeared to the Jew as a synagogue,
would be regarded by the heathen as a confraternity^
But whatever may have been the origin of the term,
it did not altogether dispossess the earlier name
' presbyter,' which still held its place as a synonyme,
even in Gentile congregations ^ And, when at length
the term bishop was appropriated to a higher office
in the Church, the latter became again, as it had
been at first, the sole designation of the Christian
elder^.
The duties of the presbyters were twofold. They Twofold
were both rulers and instructors of the congregation, q^^-^1
This double function appears in St Paul's expression presbyter,
'pastors and teachers^,' where, as the form of the
original seems to show, the two words describe the
same office under different aspects. Though govern-
ment was probably the first conception of the office,
yet the work of teaching must have fallen to the
presbyters from the very first and have assumed
1 On these clubs or confra- 7, 17, 24). For the former
ternities see Eenan Les Apotres comp. Hermas Vis. ii. 4, Justin
p. 351 sq. ; comp. Saint Paul p. Apol. i. 67 (6 irpoeaTws) ; for the
239. latter, Clem. Rom. 1, 21, Her-
2 Acts XX. 17, 1 Tim. v. 17, mas Vis. ii. 2, iii. 9 {oi irporjyov-
Tit. i. 5, 1 Pet. v. 1, Clem. fxevoi).
Rom. 21, 44. 4 Ephes. iv. 11 rods de iroifxi-
3 Other more general designa- vas /cat SiSaaKoXov^. For ttol-
tions in the New Testament are fialvetv applied to the eiriaKoiro^
oi TrpoLa-TafxepoL (1 Thess. v. 12, or irpea^vrepoi see Acts xx. 28,
Rom. xii. 8 : comp. 1 Tim. v. 1 Pet. v. 2 ; comp. 1 Pet. ii. 25.
17), or ol ijyovfievoi (Hebr. xiii.
22 THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
greater prominence as time went on. With the
growth of the Church, the visits of the apostles
and evangelists to any individual community must
The func- have become less and less frequent, so that the
tesLchinc. burden of instruction would be gradually transferred
from these missionary preachers to the local officers
of the congregation. Hence St Paul in two passages,
where he gives directions relating to bishops or
presbyters, insists specially on the faculty of teaching
as a qualification for the position \ Yet even here
this work seems to be regarded rather as incidental
to than as inherent in the office. In the one epistle
he directs that double honour shall be paid to those
presbyters who have ruled well, but especially to
such as 'labour in word and doctrine',' as though
one holding this office might decline the work of
instruction. In the other, he closes the list of
qualifications with the requirement that the bishop
(or presbyter) hold fast the faithful word in accord-
ance with the apostolic teaching, 'that he may be
able both to exhort in the healthy doctrine and to
confute gainsayers,' alleging as a reason the pernicious
activity and growing numbers of the false teachers.
Nevertheless there is no ground for supposing that
the work of teaching and the work of governing
pertained to separate members of the presbyteral
college ^ As each had his special gift, so would he
1 1 Tim. iii. 2, Tit. i. 9. even then the work of teaching
2 1 Tim. V. 17 fidXiara oi was not absolutely indispens-
KOTTiiovTes €v Xoyif) Kal 8i5aaKa\la. able to the presbyteral office ;
At a much later date we read Act. Perp. et Fel. 13, Cyprian
of ' presbyteri doctores,' whence Epist. 29 : see Ritschl p. 352.
it may perhaps be inferred that ^ The distinction of lay or
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
23
devote himself more or less exclusively to the one
or the other of these sacred functions.
3. It is clear then that at the close of the 3. Bishop?.
apostolic age, the two lower orders of the threefold
ministry were firmly and widely established; but
traces of the third and highest order, the episcopate
properly so called, are few and indistinct.
For the opinion hazarded by Theodoret and The office
adopted by many later writers ^ that the same JJ^^aUon
officers in the Church who were first called apostles oftheapo-
came afterwards to be designated bishops, is baseless.
If the two offices had been identical, the substitution
of the one name for the other would have required
some explanation. But in fact the functions of the
Apostle and the bishop differed widely. The Apostle,
like the prophet or the evangelist, held no local
stolate.
ruling elders, and ministers
proper or teaching elders, was
laid down by Calvin and has
been adopted as the constitu-
tion of several presbyterian
Churches. This interpretation
of St Paul's language is refuted
by Rothe p. 224, Ritschl p. 352
sq., and Schaff Hist, of Apost.
Ch. II. p. 312, besides older
writers such as Vitringa and
Mosheim.
^ On 1 Tim. iii. 1, roi>s 5^ vvu
KoKoVfX^POVS iiriffKOTTOVS aTTOffrd-
\ovs (liuofia^ov Tov 8^ xpofov
irpolovTOS rb fxev r^s diroffroX^s
dvofia Tois &\rjdu)S airoaToKoit
KaT^Xiirov, TO d^ rijs eiricrKOTrijs
TotJ iraXai KaXovfx^vois dvocTToXois
iir^deffav. See also his note on
Phil. i. 1. Comp. Wordsworth
Theoph. Angl. c. x., Blunt First
Three Centuries p. 81. Theo-
doret, as usual, has borrowed
from Theodore of Mopsuestia on
1 Tim. iii. 1, ' Qui vero nunc
episcopi norninantur, illi tunc
apostoli dicebantur. . .Beatis vero
apostolis decedentibus, illi qui
post illos ordinati sunt... grave
existimaverunt apostolorum sibi
vindicare nuncupationem ; di-
viserunt ergo ipsa nomina etc'
(Raban. Maur. vi. p. 604 n, ed.
Migne). Theodore however
makes a distinction between the
two offices : nor does he, hke
Theodoret, misinterpret Phil. ii.
25. The commentator Hilary
also, on Ephes. iv. 11, says
' apostoli episcopi sunt. '
24 THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
office. He was essentially, as his name denotes, a
missionary, moving about from place to place, found-
ing and confirming new brotherhoods. The only
ground on which Theodoret builds his theory is a
false interpretation of a passage in St Paul. At
the opening of the Epistle to Philippi the presbyters
(here called bishops) and deacons are saluted, while
in the body of the letter one Epaphroditus is men-
Phil, ii. 25 tioned as an * apostle ' of the Philippians. If ' apostle '
explained ^^^^ ^^^ *^^ meaning which is thus assigned to it,
all the three orders of the ministry would be found
at Philippi. But this interpretation will not stand.
The true Apostle, like St Peter or St John, bears
;this title as the messenger, the delegate, of Christ
Himself: while Epaphroditus is only so styled as
the messenger of the Philippian brotherhood ; and
in the very next clause the expression is explained
by the statement that he carried their alms to
St PauP. The use of the word here has a parallel
in another passage ^ where messengers (or apostles)
of the churches are mentioned. It is not therefore
to the apostle that we must look for the prototype of
the bishop. How far indeed and in what sense the
bishop may be called a successor of the Apostles, will
be a proper subject for consideration : but the suc-
cession at least does not consist in an identity of office.
The epi- The history of the name itself suggests a different
devefoped ^ccount of the origin of the episcopate. If bishop
out of the was at first used as a synonyme for presbyter and
tery. afterwards came to designate the higher officer under
whom the presbyters served, the episcopate properly
' Phil. ii. 25, see Philippians ^ 2 Cor. viii. 23, see Galatians
p. 123. p. 95, note 3.
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY 25
SO called would seem to have been developed from
the subordinate office. In other words, the episco-
pate was formed not out of the apostolic order by
localisation but out of the presbyteral by elevation :
and the title, which originally was common to all,
came at length to be appropriated to the chief among
them^
If this account be true, we might expect to find st James
in the mother Church of Jerusalem, which as the gadiest^
earliest founded would soonest ripen into maturity, bishop,
the first traces of this developed form of the
ministry. Nor is this expectation disappointed.
James the Lord's brother alone, within the period
compassed by the apostolic writings, can claim to be
regarded as a bishop in the later and more special
sense of the term. In the language of St Paul he
takes precedence even of the earliest and greatest
preachers of the Gospel, St Peter and St John^,
where the affairs of the Jewish Church specially are
concerned. In St Luke's narrative he appears as
the local representative of the brotherhood in Jeru-
salem, presiding at the congress, whose decision he
suggests and whose decree he appears to have
framed^, receiving the missionary preachers as they
* A parallel instance from Timocr. § 157), but even ad-
Athenian institutions will illus- dressed by this name in the
trate this usage. The iinaTdTr}s presence of the other wpoeSpoL
was chairman of a body of ten (Thuc. vi. 14).
irpdedpoi, who themselves were ^ Gal. ii. 9 ; see the note,
appointed in turn by lot to ^ Acts xv. 13 sq. St James
serve from a larger body of fifty speaks last and apparently with
irpvTdveis. Yet we find the im- some degree of authority {iyio
(TTOLT-ns not only designated irpv- Kpivw ver. 19). The decree is
TOivis par excellence (Demosth. clearly framed on his recom-
26 THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
revisit the mother Church^, acting generally as the
referee in communications with foreign brotherhoods.
The place assigned to him in the spurious Clemen-
tines, where he is represented as supreme arbiter
over the Church universal in matters of doctrine,
must be treated as a gross exaggeration. This kind
of authority is nowhere conferred upon him in the
apostolic writings : but his social and ecclesiastical
position, as it appears in St Luke and St Paul, ex-
plains how the exaggeration was possible. And this
position is the more remarkable if, as seems to have'
been the case, he was not one of the Twelve^
but yet On the other hand, though especially prominent,
lated'^from ^^ appears in the Acts as a member of a body.
Ilia pres- When St Peter, after his escape from prison, is about
^ ^^^' to leave Jerusalem, he desires that his deliverance
shall be reported to 'James and the brethren'.'
When again St Paul on his last visit to the Holy
City goes to see James, we are told that all the
presbyters were present*. If in some passages St
James is named by himself, in others he is omitted
and the presbyters alone are mentioned^ From this
it may be inferred that though holding a position
superior to the rest, he was still considered as a
member of the presbytery ; that he was in fact the
head or president of the college. What power this
- presidency conferred, how far it was recognised as an
mendations, and some inde- ^ See Dissertations on the
cisive coincidences of style with Apostolic Age, p. 1 sq.
his epistle have been pointed ^ Acts xii. 17.
out. ■* Acts xxi. 18.
1 Acts xxi. 18; comp. xii. 17. ** Acts xi. 30; comp. xv. 4,
See also Gal. i. 19, ii. 12. 23, xvi. 4.
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY 27
independent official position, and to what degree it
was due to the ascendancy of his personal gifts, are
questions, which in the absence of direct information
can only be answered by conjecture. But his close
relationship with the Lord, his rare energy of
character, and his rigid sanctity of life which won
the respect even of the unconverted Jews\ would
react upon his office, and may perhaps have elevated
it to a level which was not definitely contemplated
in its origin.
But while the episcopal office thus existed in the Nobishops
mother Church of Jerusalem from very early days, JheGentile
at least in a rudimentary form, the New Testament Churches,
presents no distinct traces of such organization in
the Gentile congregations. The government of the
Gentile churches, as there represented, exhibits two Twostages
successive stages of development tending in this ^entT ^^
direction ; but the third stage, in which episcopacy
definitel}'^ appears, still lies beyond the horizon.
(1) We have first of all the Apostles themselves (1) Occa-
exercising the superintendence of the churches pe^xTision
under their care, sometimes in person and on the by the
,. , , , Apostles
spot, sometimes at a distance by letter or by message, them-
The imaginary picture drawn by St Paul, when he s^^^^^-
directs the punishment of the Corinthian offender,
vividly represents his position in this respect. The
members of the church are gathered together, the
elders, we may suppose, being seated apart on a dais
or tribune ; he himself, as president, directs their
deliberations, collects their votes, pronounces sen-
tence on the guilty man 2. How the absence of the
apostolic president was actually supplied in this
1 See Dissertations on the Apostolic Age, p. 12 sq. - 1 Cor. v. 3 sq.
28 THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
instance, we do not know. But a council was held ;
he did direct their verdict * in spirit though not in
person'; and 'the majority 'condemned the offender^
In the same way St Peter, giving directions to
the elders, claims a place among them. The title
'fellow-presbyter,' which he applies to himself-,
would doubtless recal to the memory of his readers
the occasions when he himself had presided with the
elders and guided their deliberations.
(2) Resi- (2) As the first stage then, the Apostles them-
apostoHc s^^ves were the superintendents of each individual
delegates, church. But the wider spread of the Gospel would
diminish the frequency of their visits and impair
the efficiency of such supervision. In the second
stage therefore we find them, at critical seasons and
in important congregations, delegating some trust-
worthy disciple who should fix his abode in a given
place for a time and direct the affairs of the church
there. The Pastoral Epistles present this second
stage to our view. It is the conception of a later
age which represents Timothy as bishop of Ephesus
and Titus as bishop of Crete^ St Paul's own
language implies that the position which they held
was temporary. In both cases their term of office is
drawing to a close, when the Apostle writes'*. But
the conception is not altogether without foundation.
With less permanence but perhaps greater authority,
the position occupied by these apostolic delegates
nevertheless fairly represents the functions of the
^ 2 Cor. ii. 6 ij iiriTifxia avrrj i] H. E. iii. 4, and later writers.
vvh Twv irXeiovoiv. * See 1 Tim. i. 3, iii. 14,
2 1 Pet. V. 1. 2 Tim. iv. 9, 21, Tit. i. 5, iii.
Const. Apost. vii. 46, Euseb. 12.
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
29
bishop early in the second century. They were in
fact the link between the Apostle whose superinten-
dence was occasional and general and the bishop who
exercised a permanent supervision over an individual
congregation.
Beyond this second stage the notices in the The angels
1 • • • 1 i rni 1 o ill t^^
apostolic writings do not carry us. ine angels oi Apoca-
the seven churches indeed are frequently alleged |3[P^e not
as an exception^ But neither does the name 'angel'
itself suggest such an explanation^ nor is this view
in keeping with the highly figurative style of this
wonderful book. Its sublime imagery seems to be
seriously impaired by this interpretation. On the
other hand St John's own language gives the true
key to the symbolism. 'The seven stars,' so it is
1 See for instance among re-
cent writers Thiersch Gesch. der
Apost. Kirche p. 278, Trench
Epistles to the Seven Churches
p. 47 sq. with others.. This
explanation is as old as the
earliest commentators. Eothe
supposes that the word anti-
cipates the establishment of
episcopacy, being a kind of pro-
phetic symbol, p. 423 sq. Others
again take the angel to designate
the collective ministry, i.e. the
whole body of priests and dea-
cons. For various explanations
see Schaff Hist, of Apost. Ch.
II. p. 223.
Eothe (p. 426) supposes that
Diotrephes 6 (piXoxpuTeixou av-
Tu>v (3 Joh. 9) was a bishop.
This cannot be pronounced im-
possible, but the language is far
too indefinite to encourage such
an inference.
- It is conceivable indeed that
a bishop or chief pastor should
be called an angel or messenger
of God or of Christ (comp. Hag.
i. 13, Mai. ii. 7), but he would
hardly be styled an angel of the
church over which he presides.
See the parallel case of dwo-
aroXos above, p. 24. Vitringa
(ii. 9, p. 550), and others after
him, explain dyyeXos in the
Apocalypse by the Hw^, the
messenger or deputy of the
synagogue. These however were
only inferior officers, and could
not be compared to stars or
made responsible for the well-
being of the churches ; see
Eothe p. 504.
30 THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
explained, ' are the seven angels of the seven
churches, and the seven candlesticks are the seven
churches \* This contrast between the heavenly and
the earthly fires — the star shining steadily by its
own inherent eternal light, and the lamp flickering
and uncertain, requiring to be fed with fuel and
tended with care — cannot be devoid of meaning.
True ex- The Star is the suprasensual counterpart, the heaven-
p ana ion. ^^ representative ; the lamp, the earthly realization,
the outward embodiment. Whether the angel is
here conceived as an actual person, the celestial
guardian, or only as a personification, the idea or
spirit of the church, it is unnecessary for my present
purpose to consider. But whatever may be the
exact conception, he is identified with and made
responsible for it to a degree wholly unsuited to any
human officer. Nothing is predicated of him, which
may not be predicated of it. To him are imputed
all its hopes, its fears, its graces, its shortcomings.
He is punished with it, and he is rewarded with it.
In one passage especially the language applied to
the angel seems to exclude the common interpreta-
tion. In the message to Thyatira the angel is
blamed, because he suffers himself to be led astray
by 'his wife Jezebel-^.' In this image of AhaVs
idolatrous queen some dangerous and immoral teach-
ing must be personified ; for it does violence alike to
the general tenour and to the individual expressions
in the passage to suppose that an actual woman is
* Kev. i. 20. text : or at least, if not a cor-
2 Rev. ii. 20 tt]v yvvaiKa <tov rect reading, it seems to be a
'Iefa/3e\. The word <tov should correct gloss.
probably be retained in the
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY 31
meant. Thus the symbolism of the passage is
entirely in keeping. Nor again is this mode of
representation new. The 'princes' in the prophecy
of Daniel^ present a very near if not an exact parallel
to the angels of the Revelation. Here, as elsewhere,
St John seems to adapt the imagery of this earliest
apocalyptic book.
Indeed, if with most r-ecent writers we adopt the
early date of the Apocalypse of St John, it is scarcely
possible that the episcopal oi-ganization should have
been so mature when it was written. In this case
probably not more than two or three years have
elapsed from the date of the Pastoral Epistles^ and
this interval seems quite insufficient to account for
so great a change in the administration of the Asiatic
churches.
As late therefore as the year 70 no distinct signs Episco-
of episcopal government have hitherto appeared in unshed 'rri
Gentile Christendom. Yet unless we have recourse Gentile
to a sweeping condemnation of received documents, before t?e
it seems vain to deny that early in the second close of the
century the episcopal office was firmly and widely
established. Thus during the last three decades of
the first century, and consequently during the life-
time of the latest surviving Apostle, this change
must have been brought about. But the circum-
stances under which it was effected are shrouded in
darkness ; and various attempts have been made to
read the obscure enigma. Of several solutions
1 Dan. X. 13, 20, 21. while the Apocalypse on this
2 The date of the Pastoral hypothesis was written not later
Epistles may be and probably than a.d. 70.
is as late as a.d. 66 or 67 ;
32 THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
offered one at least deserves special notice. If
Rothe's Rothe's view cannot be accepted as final, its examina-
tion will at least serve to bring out the conditions of
the problem : and for this reason I shall state and
discuss it as briefly as possible \ For the words in
which the theory is stated I am myself responsible.
Import- ' The epoch to which we last adverted marks an
criSs?^'^^ important crisis in the history of Christianity. The
Church was distracted and dismayed by the growing
dissensions between the Jewish and Gentile brethren
and by the menacing apparition of Gnostic heresy.
So long as its three most prominent leaders were
living, there had been some security against the ex-
travagance of parties, some guarantee of harmonious
combination among diverse churches. But St Peter,
St Paul, and St James, were carried away by death
ahnost at the same time and in the face of this great
emergency. Another blow too had fallen : the long-
delayed judgment of God on the once Holy City
was delayed no more. With the overthrow of Jeru-
salem the visible centre of the Church was removed.
The keystone of the fabric was withdrawn, and the
whole edifice threatened with ruin. There was a
crying need for some organization which should
cement together the diverse elements of Christian
society and preserve it from disintegration.'
Origin 'Out of this need the Catholic Church arose.
Catholic Christendom had hitherto existed as a number of
Church, distinct isolated congregations, drawn in the same
1 See Rothe's ^7i/«7?r/e etc. pp. respects differing from those
854 — 392. Rothe's account of which I have urged) by Baur
the origin of episcopacy is as- Ursprung des Episcopats p. 39
sailed (on grounds in many sq., and Ritschl p. 410 sq.
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY 33
direction by a common faith and common sympathies,
accidentally linked one with another by the personal
influence and apostolic authority of their common
teachers, but not bound together in a harmonious
whole by any permanent external organization. Now ^
at length this great result was brought about. The
magnitude of the change effected during this period
may be measured by the difference in the consti-
tution and conception of the Christian Church as
presented in the Pastoral Epistles of St Paul and
the letters of St Ignatius respectively.'
'By whom then was the new constitution organ- Agency of
ized ? To this question only one answer can be i„„ j^p^.
given. This great work must be ascribed to the ^tles.
surviving Apostles. St John especially, who built
up the speculative theology of the Church, was
mainly instrumental in completing its external con-
stitution also ; for Asia Minor was the centre from
which the new movement spread. St John however
was not the only Apostle or early disciple who lived
in this province. St Philip is known to have settled
in Hierapolis^ St Andrew also seems to have dwelt
in these parts ^. The silence of history clearly pro-
claims the fact which the voice of history but faintly
suggests. If we hear nothing more of the Apostles'
missionary labours, it is because they had organized
an united Church, to which they had transferred the
work of evangelization.'
' Of such a combined effort on the part of the Evidence
Apostles, resulting in a definite ecclesiastical polity, in Apostolic
Council.
^ Papias in Euseb. H. E. iii. ^ Muratorian Canon (circ.
39; Polycrates and Cains in 170 a.d.), Routh Rel. Sacr. i.
Euseb. H. E. iii. 31. p. 394.
L. 3
34 THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
an united Catholic Church, no direct account is pre-
served : but incidental notices are not wanting ; and
in the general paucity of information respecting the
whole period more than this was not to be expected ^'
Hegesip- '(1) Eusebius relates that after the martyr-
P"^' dom of St James and the fall of Jerusalem, the
remaining Apostles and personal disciples of the
Lord, with His surviving relations, met together and
after consultation unanimously appointed Symeon
the son of Clopas to the vacant see '^. It can hardly
be doubted that Eusebius in this passage quotes
from the earlier historian Hegesippus, from whom
he has derived the other incidents in the lives of
James and Symeon : and we may well believe that
this council discussed larger questions than the
appointment of a single bishop, and that the con-
stitution and prospects of the Church generally came
under deliberation. It may have been on this
occasion that the surviving Apostles partitioned out
the world among them, and 'Asia was assigned to
John^'
IrensBUB. ' (2) A fragment of Irenaeus points in the same
direction. Writing of the holy eucharist he says,
* They who have paid attention to the second ordi-
* Besides the evidence which a meeting of St Peter and
I have stated and discussed in St Paul in Rome. The main
the text, Rothe also brings for- question however is so slightly
ward a fragment of the Praedi- affected thereby, that I have
catio Pauli (preserved in the not thought it necessary to in-
tract de Baptismo Haereti- vestigate the value and bearing
corww, which is included among of this fragment.
Cyprian's works, app. p. 30, ^ Euseb. H. E. iii. 11.
ed. Fell ; see Dissertations on ^ According to the tradition
the Apostolic Age, p. Ill, note reported by Origen as quoted in
2), where the writer mentions Euseb. H. E. iii. 1.
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY 35
nances of the Apostles know that the Lord ap-
pointed a new offering in the new covenant \' By
these ' second ordinances ' must be understood some
later decrees or injunctions than those contained in
the apostolic epistles : and these would naturally be
framed and promulgated by such a council as the
notice of Eusebius suggests.'
' (3) To the same effect St Clement of Rome Clement
writes, that the Apostles, having appointed elders
in every church and foreseeing the disputes which
would arise, * afterwards added a codicil (supple-
mentary direction) that if they should fall asleep,
other approved men should succeed to their office*.'
Here the pronouns ' they,' ' their,' must refer, not to
the first appointed presbyters, but to the Apostles
themselves. Thus interpreted, the passage contains
a distinct notice of the institution of bishops as
successors of the Apostles ; while in the word * after-
wards ' is involved an allusion to the later council
to which the 'second ordinances' of Irenaeus also
refer^'
1 One of the Pfaffian frag- sage).
ments, no. xxxviii, p. 854 in 3 ^ much more explicit though
Stieren's edition of IrensBUs somewhat later authority may
(vol. I.). be quoted in favour of his
2 Clem. Rom. § 44 KariaTrjaap view. The Ambrosian Hilary
Toi)$ irpoeLpijfjLiuovs (sc. wpea^vT^- on Ephes. iv. 12, speaking of
povs) Kal fX€Ta^i>-f iTivoiJ.7)vf5€5i!}- the change from the presby-
Kaaip, oTTws, iau Koi/xrjdQaiv, dia- teral to the episcopal form of
di^ovTui 'hepoi ZedoKiixaffixivoi government, says ' immutata
dudpei TTjv XeiTovpyiav avrdv. est ratio, prospiciente concilio^
The interpretation of the pas- ut non ordo etc. ' If the read-
sage depends on the persons ing be correct, I suppose he
intended in Koiix-qdCiaLv and av- was thinking of the Apostolic
Twv (see the notes on the pas- Constitutions. See also the ex-
3—2
36
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
Eesults of
the Coun-
cU.
Value of
Bothe's
theory.
The evi-
dence ex-
amined.
Hegesip-
pus.
'These notices seem to justify the conclusion that
immediately after the fall of Jerusalem a council of
the Apostles and first teachers of the Gospel was
held to deliberate on the crisis, and to frame measures
for the well-being of the Church. The centre of the
system then organized was episcopacy, which at once
secured the compact and harmonious working of each
individual congregation, and as the link of commu-
nication between separate brotherhoods formed the
whole into one undivided Catholic Church. Recom-
mended by this high authority, the new constitution
was immediately and generally adopted.'
This theory, which is maintained with much
ability and vigour, attracted considerable notice, as
being a new defence of episcopacy advanced by a
member of a presbyterian Church. On the other
hand, its intrinsic value seems to have been unduly
depreciated; for, if it fails to give a satisfactory
solution, it has at least the merit of stating the
conditions of the problem with great distinctness,
and of pointing out the direction to be followed.
On this account it seemed worthy of attention.
It must indeed be confessed that the historical
notices will not bear the weight of the inference
built upon them. (1) The account of Hegesippus
(for to Hegesippus the statement in Eusebius may
fairly be ascribed) confines the object of this gather-
ing to the appointment of a successor to St James.
If its deliberations had exerted that vast and per-
manent influence on the future of the Church which
Rothe's theory supposes, it is scarcely possible that
pression of St Jerome on Tit. i. toto orbe decretum est.'
5 (quoted below, p. 39) 'in
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY J^7
this early historian should have been ignorant of
the fact or knowing it should have passed it over in
silence. (2) The genuineness of the Pfaffian frag-
ments of Irena3us must always remain doubtful \ Irenaeus.
Independently of the mystery which hangs over
their publication, the very passage quoted throws
great suspicion . on their authorship ; for the ex-
pression in question'^ seems naturally to refer to the
so-called Apostolic Constitutions, which have been
swelled to their present size by the accretions of
successive generations, but can hardly have existed
even in a rudimentary form in the age of Irenaeus,
or if existing have been regarded by him as genuine.
If he had been acquainted with such later ordinances
issued by the authority of an apostolic council, is it
conceivable that in his great work on heresies he
should have omitted to quote a sanction so un-
questionable, where his main object is to show that
the doctrine of the Catholic Church in his day
represented the true teaching of the Apostles, and
his main argument the fact that the Catholic bishops
of his time derived their office by direct succession
from the Apostles ? (3) The passage in the epistle Clement,
of St Clement cannot be correctly interpreted by
Rothe: for his explanation, though elaborately de-
1 The controversial treatises accuracy of the transcriber or
on either side are printed in ascertaining the character of
Stieren's Irenseus ij. p. 381 sq. the ms.
It is sufficient here to state that '^ The expression at devrepat
shortly after the transcription tQu drroaToXwu diara^eis closely
of these fragments by Pfafif, the resembles the language of these
Turin ms from which they were Constitutions ; see Hippol. p.
taken disappeared ; so that there 74, 82 (Lagarde).
was no means of testing the
38 THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
fended, disregards the purpose of the letter. The
Corinthian Church is disturbed by a spirit of in-
subordination. Presbyters, who have faithfully
discharged their duties, have nevertheless been
ruthlessly expelled from office. St Clement writes
in the name of the Roman Church to correct these
irregularities. He reminds the Corinthians that the
presbyteral office was established by the Apostles,
who not only themselves appointed elders,' but also
gave directions that the vacancies caused from time
to time by death should be filled up by other men
of character, thus providing for a succession in the
ministry. Consequently in these unworthy feuds
they were setting themselves in opposition to officers
of repute either actually nominated by Apostles, or
appointed by those so nominated in accordance with
the apostolic injunctions. There is no mention of
episcopacy, properly so called, throughout the epistle;
for in the language of St Clement, 'bishop' and
' presbyter ' are still synonymous terms^ Thus the
pronouns * they,' ' their,' refer naturally to the pres-
byters first appointed by the Apostles themselves.
Whether (supposing the reading to be correct*)
Rothe has rightly translated iTripofxrjv ' a codicil,' it
is unnecessary to enquire, as the rendering does not
materially affect the question.
Episco- Nor again does it appear that the rise of episco-
a*uddeti P^^^ ^^^ ^^ sudden and so immediate, that an
creation, authoritative order issuing from an apostolic council
alone can explain the phenomenon. In the myste-
rious period which comprises the last thirty years
^ See Philippians pp. 97, 98. bably ^inixov-f]v ; see the notes
^ The right reading is pro- on the passage.
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY 39
of the first century, and on which history is almost
wholly silent, episcopacy must, it is true, have been
mainly developed. But before this period its begin-
nings may be traced, and after the close it is not yet
fully matured. It seems vain to deny with Rothe ^
that the position of St James in the mother Church
furnished the precedent and the pattern of the later
episcopate. It appears equally mistaken to main-
tain, as this theory requires, that at the close of the
first and the beginning of the second century the.
organization of all churches alike had arrived at the
same stage of development and exhibited the episco-
pate in an equally perfect form.
On the other hand, the emergency which con-^"*^?"*
solidated the episcopal form of government is cor- a critical
rectly and forcibly stated. It was remarked long ago ^^^^^^^^y
by Jerome, that 'before factions were introduced
into religion by the prompting of the devil,' the
churches were governed by a council of elders, * but
as soon as each man began to consider those whom
he had baptized to belong to himself and not to
Christ, it was decided throughout the world that
one elected from among the elders should be placed
over the rest, so that the care of the church should
devolve on him and the seeds of schism be removed ^'
And again in another passage he writes to the same
effect; 'When afterwards one presbyter was elected
that he might be placed over the rest, this was done
as a remedy against schism, that each man might
not drag to himself and thus break up the Church
2 On Tit. i. 5 (vii. p. 694, ed. Vail.).
40 THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
of Christ \' To the dissensions of Jew and Gentile
converts, and to the disputes of Gnostic false teachers,
the development of episcopacy may be mainly
ascribed,
and in Nor again is Rothe probably wrong as to the
undef th^ authority mainly instrumental in effecting the
influence change. Asia Minor was the adopted home of more
' than one Apostle after the fall of Jerusalem. Asia
Minor too was the nurse, if not the mother, of episco-
pacy in the Gentile Churches. So important an
institution, developed in a Christian community of
which St John was the living centre and guide,
could hardly have grown up without his sanction :
and, as will be seen presently, early tradition very
distinctly connects his name with the appointment
of bishops in these parts.
Manner of But to the question how this change was brought
lopmTnt. about, a somewhat different answer must be given.
We have seen that the needs of the Church and
the ascendancy of his personal character placed
St James at the head of the Christian brotherhood
in Jerusalem. Though remaining a member of the
presbyteral council he was singled out from the rest
and placed in a position of superior responsibility.
His exact power it would be impossible, and it is
unnecessary, to define. When therefore after the fall
of the city St John with other surviving Apostles
removed to Asia Minor and found there manifold
irregularities and threatening symptoms of disrup-
tion, he would not unnaturally encourage an ap-
proach in these Gentile Churches to the same
organization which had been signally blessed, and
1 Epist. cxlvi. ad Evang. (i. p. 1082).
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY 41
proved effectual in holding together the mother
Church amid dangers not less serious. The exist-
ence of a council or college necessarily supposes a
presidency of some kind, whether this presidency be
assumed by each member in turn, or lodged in the
hands of a single person \ It was only necessary
therefore for him to give permanence, definiteness,
stability, to an office which already existed in germ.
There is no reason however for supposing that any
direct ordinance was issued to the churches. The
evident utility and even pressing need of such an
office, sanctioned by the most venerated name in
Christendom, would be sufficient to secure its wide
though gradual reception. Such a reception, it is
true, supposes a substantial harmony and freedom of
intercourse among the churches, which remained un-
disturbed by the troubles of the times; but the
silence of history is not at all unfavourable to this
supposition. In this way, during the historical
1 The Ambrosian Hilary on 7W70S appears to denote the
Ephes. iv. 12 seems to say that president of the council of
the senior member was presi- elders : see Vitringa 11. 2, p.
dent ; but this may be mere 586 sq., iii. 1, p. 610 sq. The
conjecture. The constitution of opinions of Vitringa must be
the synagogue does not aid received with caution, as his
materially in settling this ques- tendency to press the resem-
tion. In the New Testament blance between the government
at all events apxiffvpayuyos is of the Jewish synagogue and
only another name for an elder the Christian Church is strong.
of the synagogue (Mark v. 22, The real likeness consists in the
Acts xiii. 15, xviii. 8, 17 ; comp. council of presbyters ; but the
Justin Dial. c. Tryph. § 137), threefold order of the Christian
and therefore corresponds not ministry as a whole seems to
to the bishop but to the pres- have no counterpart in the
byter of the Christian Church. synagogue.
Sometimes however dpxi<rvpd-
42 THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
blank which extends over half a century after the
fall of Jerusalem, episcopacy was matured and the
Catholic Church consolidated^
This view At all events, when we come to trace the early
by^Uie no- ^^^tory of the office in the principal churches of
tices of in- Christendom in succession, we shall find all the
churches. ^^^^^ consistent with the account adopted here,
while some of them are hardly reconcileable with
any other. In this review it will be convenient to
commence with the mother Church, and to take the
others in order, as they are connected either by
neighbourhood or by political or religious sympathy.
Jerusa- 1. The Church of Jerusalem, as I have already
pointed out, presents the earliest instance of a
bishop. A certain official prominence is assigned
St James, to James the Lord's brother, both in the Epistles of
St Paul and in the Acts of the Apostles. And the
inference drawn from the notices in the canonical
Scriptures is borne out by the tradition of the next
ages. As early as the middle of the second century
all parties concur in representing him as a bishop
in the strict sense of the term-^. In this respect
Catholic Christians and Ebionite Christians hold the
same language : the testimony of Hegesippus on
the one hand is matched by the testimony of the
Clementine writings on the other. On his death,
1 The expression ' Catholic 2 Hegesipp. in Euseb. H. E.
Church ' is found first in the ii. 23, iv. 22 ; Clem. Horn. xi.
Ignatian letter to the Smyr- 35, Ep. Petr. init., and Ep.
njeans § 8. In the Martyrdom Clem. init. ; Clem. Recogn. i. 43,
of Polycarp it occurs several 68, 73 ; Clem. Alex, in Euseb.
times, inscr. and §§ 8, 16, 19. ii. 1 ; Cojist. Apost. v. 8, vi. 14,
On its meaning see Westcott viii. 35, 46.
Canon p. 28, note (4th ed.).
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY 43
which is recorded as taking place immediately before
the war of Vespasian, Symeon was appointed in his Symeon.
placed Hegesippus, who is our authority for this
statement, distinctly regards Symeon as holding the
same office with James, and no less distinctly calls
him a bishop. The same historian also mentions
the circumstance that one Thebuthis (apparently on
this occasion), being disappointed of the bishopric,
raised a schism and attempted to corrupt the virgin
purity of the Church with false doctrine. As
Symeon died in the reign of Trajan at an advanced
age, it is not improbable that Hegesippus was born
during his lifetime. Of the successors of Symeon Later
a complete list is preserved by Eusebius^ The ^^ ^^^*
fact however that it comprises thirteen names
within a period of less than thirty years must throw
suspicion on its accuracy. A succession so rapid
is hardly consistent with the known tenure of life
offices in ordinary cases : and if the list be correct,
the frequent changes must be attributed to the
troubles and uncertainties of the times ^ If
Eusebius here also had derived his information from
1 Hegesipp. in Euseb. H. E. 190) we count fifteen bishops.
iv. 22. The repetition of the same
2 H. E. iv. 5. The episco- names however suggests that
pate of Justus the successor of some conflict was going on
Symeon commences about a.d. during this interval.
108 : that of Marcus the first ^ Parallels nevertheless may
Gentile bishop, a.d. 136. Thus be found in the annals of the
thirteen bishops occupy only papacy. Thus from a.d. 882 to
about twenty-eight years. Even a.d. 904 there were thirteen
after the foundation of Aelia popes : and in other times of
Capitolina the succession is very trouble the succession has been
rapid. In the period from Mar- almost as rapid,
cus (a.d. 136) to Narcissus (a.d.
44 THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
Hegesippus, it must at least have had some solid
foundation in fact ; but even then the alternation
between Jerusalem and Pella, and the possible
confusion of the bishops with other prominent
members of the presbytery, might introduce much
error. It appears however that in this instance he
was indebted to less trustworthy sources of informa-
tion'. The statement that after the foundation of
Aelia Capitolina (A.D. 136) Marcus presided over
the mother Church, as its first Gentile bishop, need
not be questioned ; and beyond this point it is
unnecessary to carry the investigation*.
Other sees Qf other bishops in Palestine and the neighbour-
tine and hood, before the latter half of the second century,
bounna ^^ trustworthy notice is preserved, so far as I know,
countries. During the Roman episcopate of Victor however
(about A.t). 190), we find three bishops, Theophilus
of Cagsarea, Cassius of Tyre, and Clarus of Ptolemais,
in conjunction with Narcissus of Jerusalem, writing
an encyclical letter in favour of the western view in
the Paschal controversy'. If indeed any reliance
could be placed on the Clementine writings, the
episcopate of Palestine was matured at a very early
^ This may be inferred from tion were,
a comparison of H. E. iv. 5 ^ Narcissus, who became
TWTovTov i^ iyypatpuv irapei\ri<pa bishop of Jerusalem in 190 a.d.,
with H. E. V. 12 al tQv aurodi might well have preserved the
diadoxal irepUxovat. His infor- memory of much earlier times,
mation was probably taken from His successor Alexander, in
a list kept at Jerusalem ; but whose favour he resigned a.d.
the case of the spurious corre- 214, speaks of him as still living
spondence with Abgarus pre- at the advanced age of 116
served in the archives of Edessa (Euseb. H. E. vi. 11).
{H. E. i. 13) shows how treach- » Euseb. H. E. v. 25.
erous such sources of informa-
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY 45
date : for St Peter is there represented as appoint-
ing bishops in every city which he visits, in Caesarea,
Tyre, Sidon, Berytus, Tripolis, and Laodicea^ And
though the fictions of this theological romance have
no direct historical value, it is hardly probable that
the writer would have indulged in such statements,
unless an early development of the episcopate in
these parts had invested his narrative with an air
of probability. The institution would naturally
spread from the Church of Jerusalem to the more
important communities in the neighbourhood, even
without the direct intervention of the Apostles.
2. From the mother Church of the Hebrews we Antioch.
pass naturally to the metropolis of Gentile Christen-
dom. Antioch is traditionally reported to have
received its first bishop Evodius from St Peter^. Evodius.
The story may perhaps rest on some basis of truth,
though no confidence can be placed in this class
of statements, unless they are known to have been
derived from some early authority. But of Ignatius, Ignatius.
who stands second in the traditional catalogue of
Antiochene bishops, we can speak with more confi-
dence. He is designated a bishop by very early
authors, and he himself speaks as such. He writes
to one bishop, Polycarp ; and he mentions several
others. Again and again he urges the duty of
obedience to their bishops on his correspondents.
And, lest it should be supposed that he uses the
term in its earlier sense as a synonyme for presbyter,
1 Clem. Hovi. iii. 68 sq. comp. Clem. Recogn. iii. 65, 66,
(Caesarea), vii. 5 (Tyre), vii. 8 74, vi. 15, x. 68.
(Sidon), vii. 12 (Berytus), xi. 36 ^ Const. Apost. vii. 46, Euseb.
(Tripolis), xx. 23 (Laodicea) : H. E. iii. 22.
46 THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
he names in conjunction the three orders of the
ministry, the bishop, the presbyter, and the deacons \
Altogether it is plain that he looks upon the
episcopal system as the one recognised and autho-
ritative form of government in all those churches
with which he is most directly concerned. It may
be suggested indeed that he would hardly have
enforced the claims of episcopacy, unless it were an
object of attack, and its comparatively recent origin
might therefore be inferred : but still some years
would be required before it could have assumed that
mature and definite form which it has in his letters.
It seems impossible to decide, and it is needless to
investigate, the exact date of the epistles of St
Ignatius : but we cannot do wrong in placing them
during the earliest years of the second century.
Later The immediate successor of Ignatius is reported to
IS ops. \^g^yQ been Hero^: and from his time onward the
list of Antiochene bishops is completed If the
authenticity of the list, as a whole, is questionable,
two bishops of Antioch at least during the second
century, Theophilus and Serapion, are known as
historical persons.
Cie- If the Clementine writings emanated, as seems
men tine probable, from Syria or Palestine*, this will be the
writings. ^ ' *' ...
proper place to state their attitude with regard to
episcopacy. Whether the opinions there advanced
exhibit the recognised tenets of a sect or congrega-
tion, or the private views of the individual writer
1 e.g. Polyc. 6. I single out 2 Euseb. H. E. iii. 36.
this passage from several which ^ Euseb. H. E. iv. 20.
might be alleged, because it is ^ See Dissertations on the
found in the Syriac. See below, Apostolic Age, pp. 98 sq.
p. 83.
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY 47
or writers, will probably never be ascertained ; but,
whatever may be said on this point, these heretical
books outstrip the most rigid orthodoxy in their
reverence for the episcopal office. Monarchy is
represented as necessary to the peace of the Churchy
The bishop occupies the seat of Christ and must
be honoured as the image of God I And hence
St Peter, as he moves from place to place, ordains
bishops everywhere, as though this were the crown-
ing act of his missionary labours ^ The divergence
of the Clementine doctrine from the tenets of
Catholic Christianity only renders this phenomenon
more remarkable, when we remember the very early
date of these writings ; for the Homilies cannot well
be placed later than the end, and should perhaps be
placed before the middle of the second century.
3. We have hitherto been concerned only with Syrian
the Greek Church of Syria. Of the early history ^'''^^''^^
of the Syrian Church, strictly so called, no trust-
worthy account is preserved. The documents which
profess to give information respecting it are com-
paratively late : and while their violent anachron-
isms discredit them as a whole, it is impossible to
separate the fabulous from the historic''. It should
be remarked however, that they exhibit a high
1 Glevi. Horn. iii. 62. London 1876. This work at all
2 Clem. Horn. iii. 62, 66, 70. events must be old, for it was
See below, p. 89. found by Eusebius in the
3 See the references given archives of Edessa {H. E. i.
above, p. 45, note 1. 13) ; but it abounds in gross
4 Ancient Syriac Documents anachronisms and probably is
(ed. Cureton), The Doctrine of not earlier than the middle of
Addai has recently been pub- the 3rd century : see Zahn Go«.
lished complete by Dr Phillips, Gel. Anz. 1877, p. 161 sq.
48 THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
sacerdotal view of the episcopate as prevailing in
these churches from the earliest times of which any
record is preserved \
Asia 4. AsiA Ml NOR follows next in order ; and here
Minor. ^^ ^^^^ ^j^^ widest and most unequivocal traces of
episcopacy at an early date. Clement of Alexandria
distinctly states that St John went about from city
to city, his purpose being ' in some places to esta-
Activity of blish bishops, in othei-s to consolidate whole churches,
proconsu-'^ in others again to appoint to the clerical office some
lar Asia, one of those who had been signified by the Spirit^*
The sequence of bishgps, writes Tertullian in like
manner of Asia Minor, ' traced back to its origin
will be found to rest on the authority of John'.'
And a writer earlier than either speaks of St John's
'fellow-disciples and bishops*' as gathered about
him. The conclusiveness even of such testimony
might perhaps be doubted, if it were not supported
by other more direct evidence. At the beginning
of the second century the letters of Ignatius, even
if we accept as genuine only the part contained
in the Syriac, mention by name two bishops in
Onesimus. these parts, Onesimus of Ephesus and Polycarp of
Polycarp. giY^y^.i^s q£ ^^^ former nothing more is known :
^ See for instance pp. 13, 16, * Adv. Marc. iv. 5.
18, 21, 23, 24, 26, 29, 30, 33, 4MuratorianFragment,Routh
34, 35, 42, 71 (Cureton). The Rel. Sacr. i. p. 394. Irenffius
succession to the episcopate is too, whose experience was drawn
conferred by the ' Hand of chiefly from Asia Minor, more
Priesthood ' through the Apo- than once speaks of bishops ap-
stles, who received it from our pointed by the Apostles, iii.3.1.
Lord, and is derived ultimately v. 20. 1.
from Moses and Aaron (p. 24). ^ Polyc. inscr., Ephes. 1.
2 Quis Div. Salv. 42 (p. 959).
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY 49
the latter evidently writes as a bishop, for he dis-
tinguishes himself from his presbyters^ and is
expressly so called by other writers besides Ignatius.
His pupil Irenseus says of him, that he had ' not
only been instructed by Apostles and conversed
with many who had seen Christ, but had also been
established by Apostles in Asia as bishop in the
Church at Smyrna-.' Polycrates also, a younger
contemporary of Polycarp and himself bishop of
Ephesus, designates him by this title •■^; and again
in the letter written by his own church and giving
an account of his martyrdom he is styled * bishop
of the Church in Smyrna"*.' As Polycarp survived
the middle of the second century, dying at a very
advanced age (a.d. 155 or 156), the possibility of
error on this point seems to be excluded : and
indeed all historical evidence must be thrown aside
as worthless, if testimony so strong can be dis-
regarded.
It is probable however, that we should receive Ignatian
as genuine not only those portions of the Ignatian ® ^^^'
letters which are represented in the Syriac, but also
the Greek text in its shorter form. Under any cir-
cumstances, this text can hardly have been made
later than the middle of the second century ^ and
its witness would still be highly valuable, even if
it were a forgery. The staunch advocacy of the
episcopate which distinguishes these writings is
well known and will be considered hereafter. At
1 Polyc. Phil. init. * Mart. Polyc. 16. Polycarp
2 Iren. iii. 3. 4. Comp. Ter- is called ' bishop of Smyrna '
tuU. de Praescr. 32. also in Mart. Ignat. Ant. 3.
3 In Euseb. v. 24. ^ See below, p. 83, note.
L. ' 4
50 THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
present we are only concerned with the historical
testimony which they bear to the wide extension
and authoritative claims of the episcopal office.
Besides Poly carp and . Onesimus, mentioned in the
Syriac, the writer names also Damas bishop of
Magnesia^ and Polybius bishop of Tralles-; and
he urges on the Philadelphians also the duty of
obedience to their bishop ^ though the name is
not given. Under any circumstances it seems
probable that these were not fictitious personages,
for, even if he were a forger, he would be anxious
to give an air of reality to his writings : but whether
or not we regard his testimony as indirectly affecting
the age of Ignatius, for his own time at least it must
be regarded as valid.
But the evidence is not confined to the persons
Bishops of and the churches already mentioned. Papias, who
lis?^*^° was a friend of Polycarp and had conversed with
personal disciples of the Lord, is commonly desig-
nated bishop of Hierapolis* ; and we learn from a
younger contemporary Serapion^, that Claudius
ApoJlinaris, known as a writer against the Monta-
nists, also held this see in the reign of M. Aurelius.
Sagaris. Again Sagaris the martyr, who seems to have
perished in the early years of M. Aurelius, about
A.D. 165^ is designated bishop of Laodicea by an
author writing towards the close of the same
Melito. century, who also alludes to Melito the contem-
* Magn. 2. ' <» On the authority of his
'■^ Trail. 1. contemporary Melito in Euseb.
2 Philad. 1. H. E. iv. 26 : see Colossians
4 Euseb. H. E. iii. 36. p. 63.
5 In Euseb. U. E. v. 19.
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY 51
porary of Sagaris as holding the see of Sardis\
The authority just quoted, Polycrates of Ephesus, Polycrates
who flourished in the last decade of the century, ^^^.-^j^^^'^^'
says moreover that he had had seven relations
bishops before him, himself being the eighth, and
that he followed their tradition^ When he wrote
he had been ' sixty-five years in the Lord ' ; so that
even if this period date from the time of his birth
and not of his conversion or baptism, he must have
been born scarcely a quarter of a century after the
death of the last surviving Apostle, whose latest
years were spent in the very Church over which
Polycrates himself presided. It appears moreover
from his language that none of these relations to
whom he refers were surviving when he wrote.
Thus the evidence for the early and wide ex-
tension of episcopacy throughout proconsular Asia,
the scene of St John's latest labours, may be
considered irrefragable. And when we pass to Bishops in
other districts of Asia Minor, examples are not ^^ ^sia^^ ^
wanting though these are neither so early nor so Minor,
frequent. Marcion a native of Sinope is related
to have been the son of a Christian bishop^: and
Marcion himself had elaborated his theological
system before the middle of the second century.
Again, a bishop of Eumenia, Thraseas by name,
is stated by Polycrates to have been martyred
and buried at Smyrna*; and, as he is mentioned
1 Polycrates in Euseb. H. E. ^ In Euseb. H. E. v. 24. See
V. 24. Melito's office may be Dissertations on the Apostolic
inferred from the contrast im- Age, p. 121, note,
plied in irepifiiucov t7]v dirb tuv '^ [Tertull.] adf. onm. /laeres. 6.
ovpavwu iTri<TKoirr]v. "^ In Euseb. H. E. v. 24.
4—2
52 THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
in connexion with Polycarp, it may fairly be sup-
posed that the two suffered in the same persecution.
Dionysius of Corinth moreover, writing to Amastris
and the other churches of Pontus (about A.D. 170),
mentions Palmas the bishop of this city^ : and when
the Paschal controversy breaks out afresh under
Victor of Rome, we find this same Pahnas putting
his signature first to a circular letter, as the senior
of the bishops of Pontus'''. An anonymous writer
also, who took part in the Montanist controversy,
speaks of two bishops of repute, Zoticus of Comana
and Julianus of Apamea, as having resisted the
Episcopal impostures of the false prophetesses^. But indeed
syno 8. ^j^^ frequent notices of encyclical letters written
and synods held towards the close of the second
century are a much more powerful testimony to
the wide extension of episcopacy throughout the
provinces of Asia Minor than the incidental mention
of individual names. On one such occasion Poly-
crates speaks of the ' crowds ' of bishops whom he
had summoned to confer with him on the Paschal
question*.
Macedo- 5. As we turn from Asia Minor to Macedonia
Greece. ^^^ GREECE, the evidence becomes fainter and
scantier. This circumstance is no doubt due partly
to the fact that these churches were much less
active and important during the second century
than the Christian communities of Asia Minor,
1 In Euseb. H. E. iv. 23. chapter, probably this is the
'^ Euseb. H. £. v. 23. place meant.
3 In Euseb. H. E. v. 16. As ■* In Euseb. if. E. v. 24 TroXXd
Apamea on the Maeander is ttX^^t;.
mentioned at the end of the
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY 53
but the phenomena cannot perhaps be wholly
explained by this consideration. When Tertullian Later de-
in one of his rhetorical flights challenges the ^^ gp^co^-
heretical teachers to consult the apostolic churches, pacy.
where 'the very sees of the Apostles still preside/
adding, ' If Achaia is nearest to you, then you have
Corinth ; if you are not far from Macedonia, you
have Philippi, you have the Thessalonians ; if you
can reach Asia, you have Ephesus^'; his main argu-
ment was doubtless just, and even the language
would commend itself to its own age, for episcopacy
was the only form of government known or remem-
bered in the church when he wrote : but a careful
investigation scarcely allows, and certainly does not
encourage us, to place Corinth and Philippi and
Thessalonica in the same category with Ephesus
as regards episcopacy. The term 'apostolic see'
was appropriate to the latter; but so far as we
know, it cannot be strictly applied to the former.
During the early years of the second century, when
episcopacy was firmly established in the principal
churches of Asia Minor, Polycarp sends a letter to
the Philippians. He writes in the name of himself Philippi.
and his presbyters ; he gives advice to the Philip-
pians respecting the obligations and the authority
of presbyters and deacons; he is minute in his
instructions respecting one individual presbyter,
Valens by name, who had been guilty of some
crime; but throughout the letter he never once
refers to their bishop; and indeed its whole tone
is hardly consistent with the supposition that they
had any chief officer holding the same prominent
I TertuU. de Praescr. 37.
54 THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
position at Philippi which he himself held at
Smyrna. We are thus led to the inference that
episcopacy did not exist at all among the Philip-
pians at this time, or existed only in an elementary
form, so that the bishop was a mere president of
Thessalo- the presbyteral council. At Thessalonica indeed,
"*^^* according to a tradition mentioned by Origen^ the
same Caius whom St Paul describes as his host at
Corinth was afterwards appointed bishop ; but with
so common a name the possibilities of error are
great, even if the testimony were earlier in date
and expressed in more distinct terms. When from
Macedonia we pass to Achaia, the same phenomena
present themselves. At the close of the first century
Corinth. Clement writes to Corinth, as at the beginning of
the second century Polycarp writes to Philippi. As
in the latter epistle, so in the former, there is no
allusion to the episcopal office : yet the main subject
of Clement's letter is the expulsion and ill-treatment
of certain presbyters, whose authority he maintains
as holding an office instituted by and handed down
from the Apostles themselves. If Corinth however
was without a bishop in the strict sense at the close
of the first century, she cannot long have remained
so. When some fifty years later Hegesippus stayed
here on his way to Rome, Primus was bishop of this
Church ; and it is clear moreover from this writer's
language that Primus had been preceded by several
occupants of the seel Indeed the order of his
1 On Bom. xvi. 23 ; ' Fertur irrinevev i] eKKK-qaia 17 Kopivdiiav
sane traditione majorum ' (iv. h t^ 6pd^ Xoyip fiixP'- iipl-M-ov
p. 86, ed. Delarue). iiria-KOTrevovTOi ip Kopivdi^ k.t.X.
2 In Enseb. H, E. iv. 22, kuI A little later he speaks of efcacrr?;
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY 55
narrative, so far as we can piece it together from
the broken fragments preserved in Eusebiiis, might
suggest the inference, not at all improbable in itself,
that episcopacy had been established at Corinth as
a corrective of the dissensions and feuds which had
called forth Clement's letter*. Again Dionysius,
one of the immediate successors of Primus, was
the writer of several letters of which fragments
are extant^; and at the close of the century we
meet with a later bishop of Corinth, Bacchyllus,
who takes an active part in the Paschal controversy ^
When from Corinth we pass on to Athens, a very Athens,
early instance of a bishop confronts us, on authority
which seems at first sight good. Eusebius represents
Dionysius of Corinth, who wrote apparently about
the year 170, as stating that his namesake the
Areopagite, 'having been brought to the faith by
the Apostle Paul according to the account in the
Acts, was the first to be entrusted with the bishopric
(or supervision) of the diocese (in the language of
those times, the parish) of the Athenians".' Now, if
we could be sure that Eus6bius was here reporting
the exact words of Dionysius, the testimony though
8t.aSox^, referring apparently to words which are quoted in the
Corinth among other churches. last note [iirCKiyovros ravra, Kal
1 Hegesippus mentioned the iw^fievev i] eKK\T](Tia k.t.X.). On
feuds in the Church of Corinth the probable tenour of Hegesip-
during the reign of Domitian, pus' work see below, p. 61.
whichhad occasioned the writing ^ The fragments of Dionysius
of this letter {H. E. iii. 16) ; are found in Euseb. H. E. iv.
and then after some account of 23. See also Routh Rel. Sacr.
Clement's epistle (/xerd riva irepl i. p. 177 sq.
T^s K\T)p.€VTo% irpbs Kopipdiovs ^ Euseb. H. E. v. 22, 23.
eTTtoToX^ ai)r<p elprjfx^a, H. E. '* In Euseb, H. E. iv. 23.
iv. 22) he continued in the
56 THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
not conclusive would be entitled to great deference.
In this case the easiest solution would be, that this
ancient writer had not unnaturally confounded the
earlier and later usage of the word bishop. But it
seems not improbable that Eusebius (for he does not
profess to be giving a direct quotation) has uninten-
tionally paraphrased and interpreted the statement of
Dionysius by the light of later ecclesiastical usages.
However Athens, like Corinth, did not long remain
without a bishop. The same Dionysius, writing to
the Athenians, reminds them how, after the mar-
tyrdom of Publius their ruler (rov TrpoeaTcora),
Quadratus becoming bishop sustained the courage
and stimulated the faith of the Athenian brother-
hoods If, as seems more probable than not, this
was the famous Quadratus who presented his
apology to Hadrian during that emperor's visit to
Athens, the existence of episcopacy in this city is
thrown back early in the century; even though
Quadratus were not already bishop when Hadrian
paid his visit.
Ckete. 6. The same writerj from whom we learn these
particulars about episcopacy at Athens, also furnishes
information on the Church in Crete. He writes
letters to two different communities in this island,
the one to Gortyna commending Philip who held
this see, the other to the Cnossians offering words
of advice to their bishop Pinytus*. The first was
author of a treatise against Marcion"; the latter
wrote a reply to Dionysius, of which Eusebius has
preserved a brief notice'.
1 Euseb. H. E. iv. 23. 3 Euseb. H. E. v. 19. The
2 Euseb. H. E. iv. 25. combination of three gentile
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY 57
7. Of episcopacy in Thrace, and indeed of the Thrace.
Thracian Church generally, we read nothing till the
close of the second century, when one iElius Publius
Julius bishop of Debeltum, a colony in this province,
signs an encyclical letter^ The existence of a see
at a place so unimportant implies the wide spread of
episcopacy in these regions.
8. As we turn to Rome, we are confronted by a Rome.
far more perplexing problem than any encountered
hitherto. The attempt to decipher the early history
of episcopacy here seems almost hopeless, where the
evidence is at once scanty and conflicting. It has The pre-
been often assumed that in the metropolis of the IpiVit not
world, the seat of imperial rule, the spirit which monarchi-
dominated in the State must by natural predispo-
sition and sympathy have infused itself into the
Church also, so that a monarchical form of govern-
ment would be developed more rapidly here than in
other parts of Christendom. This supposition seems
to overlook the fact that the influences which pre-
vailed in the early church of the metropolis were
more Greek than Roman '^, and that therefore the
tendency would be rather towards individual liberty
than towards compact and rigorous government.
But indeed such presumptions, however attractive
and specious, are valueless against the slightest
evidence of facts. And the most trustworthy
sources of information which we possess do not
names in 'iElius Publius Julius' confused. The error however,
is possible at this late epoch ; if error it be, does not affect
but, being a gross violation of the inference in the text.
Roman usage, suggests the sus- ^ See preceding note,
picion that the signatures of ^ See Philippians, p. 20 sq.
three distinct persons have got
58 THE CHTIISTIAN MINISTRY
Bearing of countenance the idea. The earliest authentic docu-
Epistle. nient bearing on the subject is the Epistle from the
Romans to the Corinthians, probably written in the
last decade of the first century. I have already
considered the bearing of this letter on episcopacy
in the Church of Corinth, and it is now time to ask
what light it throws on the same institution at
Rome. Now we cannot hesitate to accept the
universal testimony of antiquity that it was written
by Clement, the reputed bishop of Rome : and it is
therefore the more surprising that, if he held this
high office, the writer should not only not distinguish
himself in any way from the rest of the church (as
Poly carp does for instance), but that even his name
should be suppressed ^ It is still more important to
observe that, though he has occasion to speak of the
ministry as an institution of the Apostles, he men-
tions only two orders and is silent about the episcopal
office. Moreover he still uses the word ' bishop ' in
the older sense in which it occurs in the apostolic
writings, as a synonyme for presbyter 2, and it may
be argued that the recognition of the episcopate as
a higher and distinct office would oblige the adoption
of a special name and therefore must have synchro-
nized roughly with the separation of meaning between
Testimony * bishop ' and * presbyter.' Again, not many years
of Ignatius ^^^^^ ^^^ j^^^ ^^ Clement's letter, St Ignatius on
his way to martyrdom writes to the Romans. Though
this saint is the recognised champion of episcopacy,
though the remaining six of the Ignatian letters all
1 See S. Clement of Rome, p. Rome, i. p. 69 sq,].
252 sq. Appendix [and Apostolic ^ See Philippians p. 96 sq.
Fathers, Part i. S. Clement of
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY 59
contain direct injunctions of obedience to bishops,
in this epistle alone there is no allusion to the epi-
scopal office as existing among his correspondents.
The lapse of a few years carries us from the letters
of Ignatius to the Shepherd of Hermas. And here and
the indications are equivocal. Hermas receives
directions in a vision to impart the revelation to
the presbyters and also to make two copies, the
one for Clement who shall communicate with the
foreign churches (such being his duty), the other
for Grapte who shall instruct the widows. Hermas
himself is charged to ' read it to this city with the
elders who preside over the church^' Elsewhere
mention is made of the 'rulers* of the church ^
And again, in an enumeration of the faithful officers
of the churches past and present, he speaks of the
'apostles and bishops and teachers and deacons^.'
Here most probably the word 'bishop' is used in
its later sense, and the presbyters are designated
by the term ' teachers.' Yet this interpretation
cannot be regarded as certain, for the 'bishops
and teachers' in Hermas, like the 'pastors and
teachers' in St Paul, might possibly refer to the
one presbyteral office in its twofold aspect. Other
passages in which Hermas uses the same terms are
indecisive. Thus he speaks of 'apostles and teachers
who preached to the whole world and taught with
^ Vis. ii. 4 ypd\l/€is oTiv 8vo 6p(f>avoi^' ad 5e dv ay vdcreti eh
/3tj3\i5apia Kal ir^/xypeis ^p KXt^- raiJTrjv t7)u irdXiv fxerd. tCov irpecr-
fievTi Kal ^v TpaiTTrj. irifixf/eL odv ^vripuiv tu>v irpo'CaTafi^vcav tt}s
KXtj/Lujs ets ras ^fw iroXeis ' eKeiv(p eKKKrja-ias.
yap ewiTeTpaTTTai ' TpairTij 8^ ^ Vis. ii. 2, iii. 9.
vovder-qaei ras XVP^^ '^"^ '''^^^ ^ Vis. iii. 5,
60 THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
reverence and purity the word of the Lord^'; of
'deacons who exercised their diaconate ill and
plundered the life (rrjv ^wrjv) of widows and
orphans 2 ' ; of ' hospitable bishops who at all times
received the servants of God into their homes
cheerfully and without hypocrisy/ 'who protected
the bereaved and the widows in their ministrations
without ceasing^' From these passages it seems
impossible to arrive at a safe conclusion respecting
the ministry at the time when Hermas wrote. In
other places he condemns the false prophet 'who,
seeming to have the Spirit, exalts himself and
would fain have the first seat* ' ; or he warns * those
who rule over the church and those who hold the
chief-seat,' bidding them give up their dissensions
and live at peace among themselves''; or he de-
nounces those who have * emulation one with
another for the first place or for some honour^'
Unwar- If we could accept the suggestion that in this
inference ^^^^ ^^^^^ ^^ passages the writer condemns the
ambition which aimed at transforming the presby-
terian into the episcopal form of government ^ we
should have arrived at a solution of the difficulty :
but the rebukes are couched in the most general
terms and apply at least as well to the ambitious
pursuit of existing offices as to the arrogant assertion
of a hitherto unrecognized powers This clue failing
1 Sim. ix. 25. the form TrpuTOKadeSpiTfis see the
^ Sim. ix. 26. note on (rvvSidaaKoKiTaiSj Ignat.
» Sim. ix. 27. Ephes. 3.
* Mand. xi. ^ Sim. viii. 7.
^ Vis. iii. 9 iffuu Xiyu rots ^ So Ritschl pp. 403, 535.
irporjyovfxivoi^ t^s eKKXrjaias /cat ^ Comp. Matt, xxiii. 6, etc.
To7s TTpojTOKadeSpiTais, k,t.\. For When Ireneeus wrote, episcopacy
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY 61
US, the notices in the Shepherd are in themselves too
vague to lead to any result. Were it not known
that the writer's own brother was bishop of Rome,
we should be at a loss what to say about the consti-
tution of the Roman Church in his day\
But while the testimony of these early writers
appears at first sight and on the whole unfavourable
to the existence of episcopacy in Rome when they
wrote, the impression needs to be corrected by im-
portant considerations on the other side. Hegesippus, Testimony
who visited Rome about the middle of the second gippus^
century during the papacy of Anicetus, has left it
on record that he drew up a list of the Roman
bishops to his own time'^. As the list is not pre-
served ^ we can only conjecture its contents ; but if
we may judge from the sentence immediately follow-
ing, in which he praises the orthodoxy of this and
other churches under each succession, his object
was probably to show that the teachings of the
Apostles had been carefully preserved and handed
down, and he would therefore trace the episcopal
succession back to apostolic times ^ Such at all
was certainly a venerable insti- ^ j^ Euseb. U. E. iv. 22.
tution : yet his language closely ^ [It is probably preserved in
resembles the reproachful ex- Epiphanius, see Apostolic Fa-
pressions of Hermas : ' Contu- tliers, Parti. S. Clement of Rome ,
meliis agunt reliquos et princi- i. p. 327 sq.]
palis consessionis (mss conces- ^ The words of Hegesippus
sionis) tumore elati sunt ' (iv. ev eKaarri diadoxv xal ev eKdarri
26. 3). 7r6\et /c.r.X. have a parallel in
1 See Philippians p. 168, note those of Irenasus (iii. 3. 3) rrj
9, and S. Clement of Rome p. avrrj rdfei Kal ry avrrj didaxv
316, Appendix [Apostolic Fa- (Lat. 'hac ordinatione et suc-
thers, Part i. S. Clement of Rome, cessione ') 17 re airh tQv diroa-Td-
I. p. 359 sq.]. Xup iv rrj iKKK-r}(Ti<f. TrapdSoiXis Kai
62
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
and of
Irenseus.
Lists of
Roman
bishops.
events is the aim and method of Irenseus, who,
writing somewhat later than Hegesippiis and com-
bating Gnostic heresies, appeals especially to the
bishops of Rome, as depositaries of the apostolic
tradition ^ The list of Irenseus commences with
Linus, whom he identifies with the person of this
name mentioned by St Paul, and whom he states
to have been ' entrusted with the office of the
bishopric' by the Apostles. The second in suc-
cession is Anencletus of whom he relates nothing,
the third Clemens whom he describes as a hearer
of the Apostles and as writer of the letter to the
Corinthians. The others in order are Evarestus,
Alexander, Xystus, Telesphorus, Hyginus, Pius,
Anicetus, Soter, and Eleutherus during whose epi-
scopacy Irenaeus writes. Eusebius in different works
gives two lists, both agreeing in the order with
Irenseus, though not according with each other in
the dates. Catalogues are also found in writers
later than Irenseus, transposing the sequence of the
earliest bishops, and adding the name Cletus or
substituting it for Anencletus'. These discrepancies
t6 TTJs dXrjdelas K-qpvyfia KaTrjvTrj-
K€v ds iifias. May not Irenseus
have derived his information
from the diadoxv of Roman
bishops which Hegesippus drew
up? See below, p. 91 [and
Apostolic Fathers', Part i. S. Cle-
ment of Rome, i. pp. 63 sq., 204
sq., 327 sq.].
1 Iren. iii. 33.
2 On this subject see Pear-
son's Dissertationes duae de serie
et successione primoriim Romae
episcoporum in his Minor Theo-
logical Works II. p. 296 sq. (ed.
Churton), and especially the re-
cent work of Lipsius, Chrono-
logic der romischen Bischofe,
Kiel 1869. The earliest list
which places Clement's name
first belongs to the age of Hip-
polytus. The omission of his
name in a recently discovered
Syriac list {Ancient Syriac Docu-
ments p. 71) is doubtless due to
the fact that the names Cletus,
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY 63
may be explained by assuming two distinct churches
in Rome — a Jewish and a Gentile community — in
the first age ; or they may have arisen from a con-
fusion of the earlier and later senses of iiriaKoiro^ ;
or the names may have been transposed in the later
lists owing to the influence of the Cleinentine
Homilies, in which romance Clement is represented
as the immediate disciple and successor of St Peter^
With the many possibilities of error, no more can Linus,
safely be assumed of LiNUS and Anencletus than A^y^pig,
that they held some prominent position in the tus,
Roman Church. But the reason for supposing ' ' '
Clement to have been a bishop is as strong as a.d. 92.
the universal tradition of the next ages can make
it. Yet, while calling him a bishop, we need not
suppose him to have attained the same distinct
isolated position of authority which was occupied
by his successors Eleutherus and Victor for instance
at the close of the second century, or even by his
contemporaries Ignatius of Antioch and Polycarp of
Smyrna. He was rather the chief of the presbyters
than the chief over the presbyters. Only when
thus limited, can the episcopacy of St Clement be
reconciled witli the language of his own epistle or
with the notice in his younger contemporary Hermas.
At the same time the allusion in the Shepherd,
though inconsistent with any exalted conception of
Clemens, begin with the same of the earlier names. See Phi-
letters. In the margin I have lippians p. 169 [and Apostolic
for convenience given the dates Fathers, Part i. S. Clement of
of the Eoman bishops from the Rome, i. p. 201 sq.].
Ecclesiastical History of Euse- i See Dissertations on the
bins, without however attaching Apostolic Age, p. 99.
any weight to them in the case
64 THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
his office, does assign to him as his special province
the duty of communicating with foreign churches \
which in the early ages was essentially the bishop's
function, as may be seen by the instances of Poly-
carp, of Dionysius, of Irenseus, and of Polycrates.
Evarestus, Of the two succeeding bishops, EvARESTUS and
Alexander ALEXANDER, no authentic notices are preserved.
A.D. 109. Xystus, who follows, is the reputed author of a
^y^*"^' collection of proverbs, which a recent distinguished
critic has not hesitated to accept as genuine^. He
is also the earliest of those Roman prelates whom
Irenseus, writing to Victor in the name of the Gal-
lican Churches, mentions as having observed Easter
after the western reckoning and yet maintained
peace with those who kept it otherwise^ The next
Telespho- two, Telesphorus and Hyginus, are described in
^Ti) 128 ^^^ same terms. The former is likewise distinguished
Hyginus, as the sole martyr among the early bishops of the
A.D. 13'). metropolis*; the latter is mentioned as being in
office when the peace of the Roman Church was
disturbed by the presence of the heretics Valentinus
Pius, and Cerdon^ With Pius, the next in order, the
A.D. 142. Qf^QQ^ [f jQQ^ ^]^Q man, emerges into daylight. An
anonymous writer, treating on the canon of Scrip-
ture, says that the Shepherd was written by Hennas
' quite lately while his brother Pius held the see of
1 See above, p. 59, note 1. Sexti Sententice, 1873.
2 Ewald, Gesch. des V. I. vii. ^ jren. in Euseb. H. E. v. 24.
p. 321 sq. On the other hand •* Iren. iii. 3. 3. At least
see Zeller Philos. der Griechen Irenaeus mentions him alone as
III. 1, p. 601 note, and Sanger a martyr. Later stories confer
in the Jiidische Zeitschrift the glory of martyrdom on
(1867) p. 29 sq. It has recently others also.
been edited by Gildemeister, ^ Iren. iii. 4. 3.
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY 65
the Church of Rome^' This passage, written by a
contemporary, besides the testimony which it bears
to the date and authorship of the Shepherd (with
which we are not here concerned), is valuable in its
bearing on this investigation ; for the use of the
' chair ' or ' see ' as a recognised phrase points to a
more or less prolonged existence of episcopacy in
Rome, when this writer lived. To Pius succeeds
Anicetus. And now Rome becomes for the moment Anicetus,
the centre of interest and activity in the Christian
world^. During this episcopate Hegesippus, visiting
the metropolis for the purpose of ascertaining and
recording the doctrines of the Roman Church, is
welcomed by the bishop-'. About the same time
also another more illustrious visitor, Polycarp the
venerable bishop of Smyrna, arrives in Rome to
confer with the head of the Roman Church on the
Paschal dispute'' and there falls in with and de-
nounces the heretic Marcionl These facts are stated
on contemporary authority. Of SoTER also, the Soter,
next in succession, a contemporary record is pre- ^'^'
served. Dionysius of Corinth, writing to the Romans,
praises the zeal of their bishop, who in his fatherly
care for the suffering poor and for the prisoners
working in the mines had maintained and extended
the hereditary fame of his church for zeal in all
charitable and good works*'. In Eleutherus, who Eleuthe-
succeeds Soter, we have the earliest recorded instance ^^^'^ yj^
^ See Philippians p. 168, note iv. 22.
9, where the passage is quoted. ^ Iren. in Euseb. H. E. v. 24.
^ See Westcott Canon p. 191, ^ Iren. ill. 3. 4 ; comp. iii.
ed. 4. 4. 4.
. 3 Hegesipp. in Euseb. H. E. ^ In Euseb. H. E. iv. 23.
L. 5
66
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
"Victor,
A.D. 189.
of an archdeacon. When Hegesippiis paid his visit
to the metropolis, he found Eleutherus standing in
this relation to the bishop Anicetus, and seems to
have made his acquaintance while acting in this
capacity \ Eleutherus however was a contemporary,
not only of Hegesippus, but also of the great writers
Irenseus and TertuUian^, who speak of the episcopal
succession in the churches generally, and in Rome
especially, as the best safeguard for the trans-
mission of the true faith from apostolic tiniest
With Victor, the successor of Eleutherus, a new
era begins. Apparently the first Latin prelate who
held the metropolitan see of Latin Christendom'*,
he was moreover the first Roman bishop who is
1 In Euseb. H. E. iv. 22 /x^-
XptS ^AviKTjTOV OV BlCiKOUOS TjV
2 He is mentioned by IreneBus
iii. 3. 3 vvv dudeKdrcf Tbiri^ rbv
T^s iirifTKOirris cItto tCjv dwoaTdXuu
/caWx^t li^yjpov 'EXeiJ^epos, and
by Tertullian, Praescr: 30 ' sub
episcopatu Eleutheri benedicti.'
3 Iren. iii. 3. 2, Tertull. de
Praescr. 32, 36, adv. Marc. iv. 5.
"* All the predecessors of Vic-
tor bear Greek names with two
exceptions, Clemens and Pius ;
and even these appear not to
have been Latin. Clement
writes in Greek, and his style
is wholly unlike what might be
expected from a Roman. Her-
mas, the brother of Pius, not
only employs the Greek lan-
guage in writing, but bears a
Greek name also. It is worth
observing also that Tertullian
{de Praescr. 30), speaking of the
episcopate of Eleutherus, desig-
nates the church of the metro-
polis not 'ecclesia Romana,'
but 'ecclesia Romanensis,' i.e.
not the Church of Rome, but
the Church in Rome. The
transition from a Greek to a
Latin Church was of course
gradual ; but, if a definite epoch
must be named, the episcopate
of Victor serves better than any
other. The two immediate suc-
cessors of Victor, Zephyrinus
(202—219) and Callistus (219—
223), bear Greek names, and it
may be inferred from the ac-
count in Hippolytus that they
were Greeks ; but from this time
forward the Roman bishops,
with scarcely an exception, seem
to have been Latins.
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY 67
known to have had intimate relations with the
imperial courts and the first also who advanced
those claims to universal dominion which his suc-
cessors in later ages have always consistently and
often successfully maintained 2. ' I hear,' writes Ter-
tullian scornfully, * that an edict has gone forth, aye
and that a peremptory edict ; the chief pontiff,
forsooth, I mean the bishop of bishops, has issued
his commands^' At the end of the first century
the Roman Church was swayed by the mild and
peaceful counsels of the presbyter-bishop Clement ;
the close of the second witnessed the autocratic pre-
tensions of tlie haughty pope Victor, the prototype
of a Hildebrand or an Innocent.
9. The Churches of Gaul were closely connected Gaul.
with and probably descended from the Churches of
Asia Minor. If so, the episcopal form of government
would probably be coeval with the foundation of
Christian brotherhoods in this country. It is true
we do not meet with any earlier bishop than the
immediate predecessor of Irenseus at Lyons, the
aged Pothinus, of whose martyrdom an account is
given in the letter of the Gallican Churches'*. But
1 Hippol. Haer. ix. 12, pp. this time. See also Cyprian in
287, 288. the opening of the Concil. Carth.
2 See the account of his atti- p. 158 (ed. Fell) ' neque enim
tude in the Paschal controversy, quisquam nostrum episcopum
Euseb. H. E. v. 24, se episcoporum constituit etc.,'
3 Tertull. de Pudic. i. The doubtless in allusion to the
bishop here mentioned will be arrogance of the Eoman pre-
either Victor or Zephyrinus ; and lates.
the passage points to the as- ^ The Epistle of the Gallican
sumption of extraordinary titles Churches in Euseb. U. E. v. 1.
by the Eoman bishops about
5—2
68 THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
this is also the first distinct historical notice of any
kind relating to Christianity in Gaul.
Africa. 10. AFRICA again was evangelized from Rome
at a comparatively late date. Of the African Church
before the close of the second century, when a flood
of light is suddenly thrown upon it by the writings
of Tertullian, we know absolutely nothing. But
we need not doubt that this father represents the
traditions and sentiments of his church, when he
lays stress on episcopacy as an apostolic institution
and on the episcopate as the depositary of pure
Christian doctrine. If we may judge by the large
number of prelates assembled in the African councils
of a later generation, it would appear that the ex-
tension of the episcopate was far more rapid here
than in most parts of Christendom \
Albxan- 11. The Church of Alexandria, on the other
hand, was probably founded in apostolic times^ Nor
1 At the African council con- Ruinart's Victor Vitensis p. 117
voked by Cyprian about 50 years sq., with the notes p. 215 sq.
later, the opinions of as many These last references I owe to
as 87 bishops are recorded ; and Gibbon, c. xxxvii. and c. xli.
allusion is made in one of his ^ Independently of the tradi-
letters (Epht. 59) to a council tion relating to St Mark, this
held before his time, when 90 may be inferred from extant
bishops assembled. For a list canonical and uncanonical
of the African bishoprics at this writings which appear to have
time see Miinter Primord. Eccl. emanated from Alexandria. The
Afric. p. 31 sq. The enormous Epistle to the Hebrews, even if
number of African bishops a we may not ascribe it to the
few centuries later would seem learned Alexandrian ApoUos
incredible, were it not reported (Acts xviii. 24), at least bears
on the best authority. Dupin obvious marks of Alexandrian
(Optat. Milev. p. lix) counts up culture. The so-called Epistle
as many as 690 African sees : of Barnabas again, which may
compare also the Notitia in have been written as early as
I)RIA
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY 69
is there any reason to doubt the tradition which con-
nects it with the name of St Mark, though the autho-
rities for the statement are comparatively recent.
Nevertheless of its early history we have no authen-
tic record. Eusebius indeed gives a list of bishops
beginning with St Mark, which here, as in the case
of the Roman see, is accompanied by dates^; but
from what source he derived his information is un-
known. The first contemporary notice of church
officers in Alexandria is found in a heathen writer.
The emperor Hadrian, writing to the consul Servia- Hadrian's
nus, thus describes the state of religion in this city : ^^"®^-
' I have become perfectly familiar with Egypt, which
you praised to me ; it is fickle, uncertain, blown
about by every gust of rumour. Those who worship
Serapis are Christians, and those are devoted to
Serapis who call themselves bishops of Christ. There
is no ruler of a synagogue there, no Samaritan, no
Christian presbyter, who is not an astrologer, a
soothsayer, a quack. The patriarch himself when-
ever he comes to Egypt is compelled by some to
worship Serapis, by others to w^orship Christ I' In
the reign of Vespasian and can to be 'compelled to worship
hardly date later than Nerva, Christ.' Otherwise the ana-
must be referred to the Alex- chronism involved in such a
andrian school of theology. title would alone have sufficed
1 Euseb. H. E. ii, 24, iii. 14, to condemn the letter as spuri-
etc. See Clinton's Fasti Ro- ous. Yet Salmasius, Casaubon,
mani ii. p. 544. and the older commentators
2 Preserved in Vopiscus Vit. generally, agree in the supposi-
Satum. 8. The Jewish patri- tion that the bishop of Alex-
arch (who resided at Tiberias) andria is styled patriarch here,
is doubtless intended ; for it The manner in which the docu-
would be no hardship to the ment is stated by Vopiscus to
Christian bishop of Alexandria have been preserved (' Hadriani
70
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
Clement
of Alexan-
dria.
this letter, which seems to have been written in the
year 134, Hadrian shows more knowledge of Jewish
ecclesiastical polity than of Christian : but, appa-
rently without knowing the exact value of terms, he
seems to distinguish the bishop and the presbyter
in the Christian community \ From the age of
Hadrian to the age of Clement no contemporary or
nearly contemporary notices are found, bearing on
the government of the Alexandrian Church. The
language of Clement is significant ; he speaks some-
times of two orders of the ministry, the presbyters
and deacons'^ ; sometimes of three, the bishops, pres-
epistolam ex libris Phlegontis
liberti ejus proditam') is favour-
able to its genuineness ; nor
does the mention of Verus as
the emperor's ' son ' in another
part of the letter present any
real chronological difficulty.
Hadrian paid his visit to Egypt
in the autumn of 130, but the
letter is not stated to have been
written there. The date of the
third consulship of Servianus
is A.D. 134, and the account of
Spartianus {Ver. 3) easily ad-
mits of the adoption of Verus
before or during this year,
though Clinton {Fast. Rom. i.
p. 124) places it as late as a.d.
135. Gregorovius {Kaiser Ha-
drian p. 71) suggests that ' filium
meum' may have been added
by Phlegou or by some one else.
The prominence of the Chris-
tians in this letter is not sur-
prising when we remember how
Hadrian interested himself in
their tenets on another occasion
(at Athens). This document is
considered genuine by such op-
posite authorities as Tillemont
{Hist, des Emp. ii. p. 265) and
Gregorovius (I.e. p. 41), and may
be accepted without hesitation.
^ At this time there appears
to have been only one bishop in
Egypt (see below, p. 80). But
Hadrian, who would have heard
of numerous bishops elsewhere,
and perhaps had no very pre-
cise knowledge of the Egyptian
Church, might well indulge in
this rhetorical flourish. At all
events he seems to mean differ-
ent offices when speaking of the
bishop and the presbyter.
2 Strom, vii. i (p. 830, Potter)
ofioiojs 8^ Kal Kara ttju eKKKrjcriav,
Tr]v jxkv j8eXTiwri/c7jj/ ol irpea^C-
Tcpoi ado^ovaiv eUdva, ttjp vwripe-
TLKTJV 5^ oi BldKOVOl.
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY 71
byters, and deacons \ Thus it would appear that
even as late as the close of the second century the
bishop of Alexandria was regarded as distinct and
yet not distinct from the presbytery ^ And the
language of Clement is further illustrated by the
fact, which will have to be considered at length
presently, that at Alexandria the bishop was nomi-
nated and apparently ordained by the twelve pres-
byters out of their own number'. The episcopal
office in this Church during the second century
gives no presage of the world-wide influence to
which under the prouder name of patriarchate it
was destined in later ages to attain. The Alexan-
drian succession, in which history is hitherto most
interested, is not the succession of the bishops but
of the heads of the catechetical school. The first
bishop of Alexandria, of whom any distinct incident
is recorded on trustworthy authority, was a contem-
porary of Origen.
The notices thus collected* present a large body Infer-
ences.
1 Strom, vi. 13 (p. 793) at iv- eyyeypd(l)aTat rais /Si^Xots rats
ravda Kard. ttjv iKKKiqaiav wpoKo- aylais, ai fih irpea^vTipois at
rral, iTri<TK6ir(*}v, irpea^vr^pfav^ 8k iiriaKdirois ai 5k SiaKdvon,
diaKdvuv, fiifXTj/xaTa ol/Mai dyye- &\\ai XVP^i-^ k.t.X.
XiKTis 56|77s, Strom, iii. 12 (p. ^ See below, p. 77.
552), Paed. iii. 12 (see the next ^ In this sketch of theepisco-
note) : see Kaye's Clement of pate in the different churches I
Alexandria p. 463 sq. have not thought it necessary
2 Yet in one passage he, like to carry the lists later than the
Irenseus (see Philippians p. 98), second century. Nor (except in
betrays his ignorance that in a very few cases) has any testi-
the language of the New Testa- mony been accepted, unless
ment bishop and presbyter are the writer himself flourished
synonymes ; see Faed. iii. 12 (p. before the close of this century.
309) fxvplai Se 6<TaL virodiJKai els The Apostohc Constitutions
irpdffuira iKXcKTCL Siareluovixai would add several names to the
72 THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
The gene- of evidence establishing the fact of the early and
[ence of^" extensive adoption of episcopacy in the Christian
episco- Church. The investigation however would not be
complete, unless attention were called to such in-
direct testimony as is furnished by the tacit assump-
tions of writers living towards and at the close of
the second century. Episcopacy is so inseparably
interwoven with all the traditions and beliefs of
men like Irenseus and Tertullian, that they betray
no knowledge of a time when it was not. Even
Irenaeus, the earlier of these, who was certainly born
and probably grown up before the middle of the
century, seems to be wholly ignorant that the woixl
bishop had passed from a lower to a higher value
since the apostolic times\ Nor is it important only
to observe the positive though indirect testimony
which they afford. '^ Their silence suggests a strong
negative presumption, that while every other point
of doctrine or practice was eagerly canvassed, the
form of Church government alone scarcely came
under discussion.
Gradual But these notices, besides establishing the general
even deve- pievalence of episcopacy, also throw considerable
lopmentof Horht on its orisfin. They indicate that the solution
the office. ^ ,, T,- ni . . ■ ^ , ^
suggested by the history of the word * bishop and
its transference from the lower to the higher office
is the true solution, and that the episcopate was
created out of the presbytery. They shew that this
creation was not so much an isolated act as a progres-
list ; but this evidence is not ^ See Philippions p. 98. The
trustworthy, though in many same is true of Clement of
cases the statements doubtless Alexandria : see above, p. 71,
rested on some traditional basis. note 2.
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY 73
sive development, not advancing everywhere at an
uniform rate but exhibiting at one and the same
time different stages of growth in different churches.
They seem to hint also that, so far as this develop-
ment was affected at all by national temper and
characteristics, it was slower where the prevailing
influences were more purely Greek, as at Corinth
and Philippi and Rome, and more rapid where an
oriental spirit predominated, as at Jerusalem and
Antioch and Ephesus. Above all, they establish this
result clearly, that its maturer forms are seen first
in those regions where the latest surviving Apostles
(more especially St John) fixed their abode, and at a
time when its prevalence cannot be dissociated from
their influence or their sanction.
The original relation of the bishop to the pres- Original
byter, which this investigation reveals, was not for- [^e^^wo °
gotten even after the lapse of centuries. Though offices not
set over the presbyters, he was still regarded as in
some sense one of them. Irenaeus indicates this
position of the episcopate very clearly. In his lan-
guage a presbyter is never designated a bishop,
while on the other hand he very frequently speaks
of a bishop as a presbyter. In other words, though A bishop
he views the episcopate as a distinct office from the ^ pj-esby^^
presbytery, he does not regard it as a distinct order ter by lie-
. . . nreus
in the same sense in which the diaconate is a distinct
order. Thus, arguing against the heretics he says,
' But when again we appeal against them to that
tradition which is derived from the Apostles, which
is preserved in the churches by successions of pres-
byters, they place themselves in opposition to it,
saying that they, being wiser not only than the
74 THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
presbyters but even than the Apostles, have dis-
covered the genuine truths' Yet just below, after
again mentioning the apostolic tradition, he adds,
' We are able to enumerate those who have been
appointed by the Apostles bishops in the churches
and their successors down to our own time^'; and
still further, after saying that it would take up too
much space if he were to trace the succession in all
the churches, he declares that he will confound his
opponents by singling out the ancient and renowned
Church of Rome founded by the Apostles Peter and
Paul and will point out the tradition handed down
to his own time * by the succession of bishops,' after
which he gives a list from Linus to Eleutherus^. So
again in another passage he writes, * Therefore obe-
dience ought to be rendered to the presbyters who
are in the churches, who have the succession from
the Apostles as we have shown, who with the suc-
cession of the episcopate have also received the
sure grace of truth according to the pleasure of the
Father' ; after which he mentions some * who are
believed by many to be presbyters, but serve their
own lusts and are elated with the pomp of the chief
seat' and bids his readers shun these and seek such
as ' together with the rank of the presbytery show
their speech sound and their conversation void of
offence,' adding of these latter, ' Such presbyters the
Church nurtures and rears, concerning whom also
the prophet saith, " I will give thy rulers in peace
and thy bishops in righteousness''".' Thus also
writing to Victor of Rome in the name of the Galli-
1 Iren. iii. 2. 2. » jren. iii. 3. 2, 3.
2 Iren. iii. 3. 1. " Iren. iv. 26. 2, 3, 4, 5.
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY 75
can churches, he says, ' It was not so observed by
the presbyters before Soter, who ruled the Church
which thou now guidest, we mean Anicetus and
Pius, Hyginus and Telesphorus and Xystus\' And
the same estimate of the office appears in Clement and Cle-
of Alexandria : for, while he speaks elsewhere of the Alexan-
three offices in the ministry, mentioning them by ^"^•
name, he in one passage puts forward a twofold
division, the presbyters whose duty it is to improve,
and the deacons whose duty it is to serve, the
Church I The functions of the bishop and presbyter
are thus regarded as substantially the same in kind,
though different in degree, while the functions of
the diaconate are separate from both. More than a Testimony
century and a half later, this view is put forward siaster,
with the greatest distinctness by the most learned
and most illustrious of the Latin fathers. * There is
one ordination,' writes the commentator Hilary, ' of
the bishop and the presbyter ; for either is a priest,
1 In Eus. H. E. V. 24. In why the usage of Irena3us should
other places Irenaeus apparently throughout be uniform in this
uses Trpea^Orepoi to denote an- matter.
tiquity and not office, as in the 2 ggg ^}je passage quoted
letter to Florinus, Euseb. H. above, p. 70, note 2. So also
E. V. 20 ol irpb tj/xuiu irpea^iTepot. in the anecdote of St John
oi Kul Tois dTTOffTdXois (Tv/j.ipoiT'^- {Quu div. salv. 42, p. 959) we
ffavres (comp. ii. 22. 5) ; in read t(^ KadearcLTi irpoaSXixpas
which sense the word occurs eTria-Koinp, but immediately
also in Papias (Euseb. //. E. afterwards 6 5^ ir pea^irepo^
iii. 39; see Contemporary Re- dmXajQwj' /c.r.X., and then again
view, Aug. 1875, p. 379 sq. aye b-q, ^(p-r), <Z iTri(TKOire, otiYie
[Essays on Supernatural Re- same person. Thus he too,
ligion p. 143 sq.]) ; but the like Irenseus, regards the bishop
passages quoted in the text are as a presbyter, though the con-
decisive, nor is there any reason verse would not be true,
(as Rothe assumes, p. 414 sq.)
76 THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
but the bishop is first. Every bishop is a presbyter,
but every presbyter is not a bishop : for he is bishop
who is first among the presbytei's\' The language
Jerome, of St Jerome to the same effect has been quoted
elsewhere I To the passages there given may be
added the following: 'This has been said to show
that with the ancients presbyters were the same as
bishops : but gradually all the responsibility was
deferred to a single person, that the thickets of
heresies might be rooted out. Therefore, as pres-
byters know that by the custom of the Church they
are subject to him who shall have been set over
them, so let bishops also be aware that they are
superior to presbyters more owing to custom than to
any actual ordinance of the Lord, etc. : Let us see
therefore what sort of person ought to be ordained
presbyter or bishop I' In the same spirit too the
and An- great Augustine writing to Jerome says, ' Although
gns ine. according to titles of honour which the practice of
the Church has now made valid, the episcopate is
greater than the presbytery, yet in many things
Augustine is less than Jerome"*.' To these fathers
this view seemed to be an obvious deduction from
the identity of the terms ' bishop ' and ' presbyter '
in the apostolic writings ; nor indeed, when they
wrote, had usage entirely effaced the original con-
Bishops nexion between the two offices. Even in the fourth
them- ^^^ ^^^^ centuries, when the independence and
selves fel- power of the episcopate had reached its maximum,
loW'DrGS-
byters. it was still customary for a bishop in writing to a
1 Ambrosiast. on 1 Tim. iii. 3 On Tit. i. 5 (vii. p. 696).
10. 4 Epist. Ixxxii. 33 (ii. p. 202,
^ See Philippians p. 98. ed. Ben.).
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY 77
presbyter to address him as * fellow-presbyter \' thus
bearing testimony to a substantial identity of order.
Nor does it appear that this view was ever questioned
until the era of the Reformation. In the western
Church at all events it carried the sanction of the
highest ecclesiastical authorities and was maintained
even by popes and councils'-.
Nor was it only in the language of the later The
Church that the memory of this fact was preserved. A\exan-^
Even in her practice indications might here and dria cho-
there be traced, which pointed to a time when the created by
bishop was still only the chief member of the pres- {J^^ P^®^"
bytery. The case of the Alexandrian Church, which
has already been mentioned casually, deserves special
notice. St Jerome, after denouncing the audacity
of certain persons who 'would give to deacons the
precedence over presbyters, that is over bishops,'
and alleging scriptural proofs of the identity of the
two, gives the following fact in illustration: 'At
Alexandria, from Mark the Evangelist down to the
times of the bishops Heraclas (a.d. 233 — 249) and
1 So for instance Cyprian, Test. ci. (in Augustin. Op. iii.
£2>isf. 14, writes ' compresbyteri P. 2, p. 93) 'Quid est enim
nostri Donatus et Fortunatus ' ; episcopus nisi primus presbyter,
and addressing Cornelius bishop hoc est summus sacerdos?
of Rome {Epist. 45) he says Denique non aliter quam com-
' cum ad me talia de te et com- presbyteros hie vocat et con-
presbyteris tecum considentibus sacerdotes suos. Numquid et
scripta venissent.' Compare ministros condiaconos suos dicit
also Epist. 44, 45, 71, 76. episcopus?', where the writer is
Augustine writes to Jerome in arguing against the arrogance
the same terms, and in fact of the Roman deacons. See
this seems to have been the Philippians p. 96.
recognised form of address. ^ ggg ^^le references collected
See the Qiiaest. Vet. et Nov. by Gieseler, i. p. 105 sq.
78 THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
Dionysius (a.d. 249 — 265), the presbyters always
nominated as bishop one chosen out of their own
body and placed in a higher grade : just as if an
army were to appoint a general, or deacons were to
choose from their own body one whom they knew to
be diligent and call him archdeacon \ Though the
direct statement of this father refers only to the ap-
2)0i?itment of the bishop, still it may be inferred that
the function of the presbyters extended also to the
consecration. And this inference is borne out by other
evidence. ' In Egypt,' writes an older contemporary
of St Jerome, the commentator Hilary, 'the pres-
byters seal (i.e. ordain or consecrate), if the bishop
be not present*.' This however might refer only
to the ordination of presbyters, and not to the
consecration of a bishop. But even the latter is
supported by direct evidence, which though com-
paratively late deserves consideration, inasmuch as
it comes from one who was himself a patriarch of
Testimony Alexandria. Eutychius, who held the patriarchal
chius. ^^^ from A.D. 933 to A.D. 940, writes as follows :
'The Evangelist Mark appointed along with the
patriarch Hananias twelve presbyters who should
remain with the patriarch, to the end that, when
the patriarchate was vacant, they might choose one
of the twelve presbyters, on whose head the remain-
ing eleven laying their hands should bless him and
create him patriarch.' The vacant place in the
1 Epist. cxlvi. ad Evaiuj. (i. to St Augustine), August. Op.
p. 1082). III. P. 2, p. 93, 'Nam in Alex-
2 Ambrosiast. on Ephes. iv. andria et per totam iEgyptum,
12. So too in the Quaest. Vet. si desit episcopus, consecrat (v.
et Nov. Test. ci. (falsely ascribed 1. consignat) presbyter.'
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
79
presbytery was then to be filled up, that the number
twelve might be constant \ ' This custom/ adds this
writer, 'did not cease till the time of Alexander
(a.d. 313 — 326), patriarch of Alexandria. He how-
ever forbad that henceforth the presbyters should
create the patriarch, and decreed that on the death
of the patriarch the bishops should meet to ordain
the (new) patriarch, etc.^' It is clear from this
passage that Eutychius considered the functions of
nomination and ordination to rest with the same
persons.
If this view however be correct, the practice of
the Alexandrian Church was exceptional ; for at this
1 Eutychii Patr. Alexandr.
Annales i. p. 331 (Pococke,
Oxon. 1656). The inferences
in the text are resisted by .
Abraham Ecchellensis Euty-
chius vindicatus p. 22 sq. (in
answer to Selden the translator
of Eutychius), and by Le Quien
Oriens Ghristianus ii. p. 342,
who urge all that can be said
on the opposite side. The au-
thority of a writer so inaccurate
as Eutychius, if it had been
unsupported, would have had
no weight ; but, as we have
seen, this is not the case.
2 Between Dionysius and
Alexander four bishops of Alex-
andria intervene, Maximus (a.d.
265), Theonas (a.d. 283), Peter I.
(a.d. 301), and Achillas (a.d.
312). It will therefore be seen
that there is a considerable dis-
crepancy between the accounts
of Jerome and Eutychius as
to the time when the change
was effected. But we may
reasonably conjecture (with
Ritschl, p. 432) that the tran-
sition from the old state of
things to the new would be
the result of a prolonged con-
flict between the Alexandrian
presbytery who had hitherto
held these functions, and the
bishops of the recently created
Egyptian sees to whom it was
proposed to transfer them.
Somewhat later one Ischyras
was deprived of his orders by
an Alexandrian synod, because
he had been ordained by a
presbyter only : Athan. Apol. c.
Arian. 75 (i. p. 152). From
this time at all events the
Alexandrian Church insisted as
strictly as any other on episco-
pal ordination.
80
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
Increase
of the
Egyptian
episco-
pate.
Decree of
the Coun-
cil of Au-
cyra.
time the formal act of the bishop was considered
generally necessary to give validity to ordination.
Nor is the exception difficult to account for. At
the close of the second century, when every con-
siderable church in Europe and Asia appears to
have had its bishop, the only representative of the
episcopal order in Egypt was the bishop of Alex-
andria. It was Demetrius first (a.d. 190 — 233), as
Eutychius informs us^ who appointed three other
bishops, to which number his successor Heraclas
(a.d. 233 — 249) added twenty more. This extension
of episcopacy to the provincial towns of Egypt paved
the way for a change in the mode of appointing and
ordaining the patriarch of Alexandria. But before
this time it was a matter of convenience and almost
of necessity that the Alexandrian presbyters should
themselves ordain their chief
Nor is it only in Alexandria that we meet with
this peculiarity. Where the same urgent reason
existed, the same exceptional practice seems to have
been tolerated. A decree of the Council of Ancyra
(a.d. 314) ordains that 'it be not allowed to country-
bishops {')(oyp€'m(j K67roi<^) to ordain presbyters or
deacons, nor even to city- presbyters, except permis-
sion be given in each parish by the bishop in writing'^'
1 Eutych. Ann. 1. c. p. 332.
Heraclas, we are informed on
the same authority (p. 335), was
the first Alexandrian prelate
who bore the title of patriarch ;
this designation being equiva-
lent to metropolitan or bishop
of bishops.
2 Co?ici7.Jwc?/r.can.l3(Routh
Rel. Sacr. iv. p. 121) x^peTrio"-
kSttois fir] e^eipai irpea^vrepovs ij
diUKduovs x^'POTOJ'et/', dXXd [/Utji/]
fxrjSe Tpecr^vT^pots TroXeios x^P'-^
Tou eTiTpaTTTJvat vwb toG einaKd-
TTOV fiera ypa/ufxaTuu iv eKaaTy
irapoidq.. The various readings
and interpretations of this canon
will be found in Routh's note,
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
81
Thus while restraining the existing license, the
framers of the decree still allow very considerable
latitude. And it is especially important to observe
that they lay more stress on episcopal sanction than
on episcopal ordination. Provided that the former
p. 144 sq. Routh himself reads
ctXXA fj.r]v fji.r}8^ Trpea^vrepovs irb-
Xews, making Trpea^ur^povs wdXeus
the object of x^^porope'iv, but to
this there is a twofold objection :
(1) he necessarily understands
the former irpea^vr^pov^ to mean
irpea^vripovs x^P^-^y though this
is not expressed: (2) he inter-
prets aWa fiT]v firiS^ 'much less,'
a sense which fjLrjSd seems to
exclude and which is not borne
out by his examples.
The name and office of the
XwpeTTtV/coTros appear to be re-
liques of the time when iirl-
(T/fOTTos and irpeff^irepos were
synonymes. While the large
cities had their college of pres-
byters, for the villages a single
7r/)e<rj8i/Tepos (or kirlaKoiros) would
suffice; but from his isolated
position he would be tempted,
even if he were not obliged, to
perform on his own responsi-
bility certain acta which in the
city would only be performed
by the bishop properly so
called, or at least would not be
performed without his consent.
Out of this position the office of
the later x^P^'^'^'^'^ottos would
gradually be developed ; but the
rate of progression would not
be uniform, and the regulations
affecting it would be determined
by the circumstances of the par-
ticular locality. Hence, at a
later date, it seems in some
places to have been presbyteral,
in others episcopal. In the
Ancyran canon just quoted a
chorepiscopus is evidently placed
below the city presbytery; but
in other notices he occupies a
higher position. For the con-
flicting accounts of the xw/seTrfo-
KOTTos see Bingham ii. xiv,
Baur's account of the origin
of the episcopate supposes that
each Christian congregation was
presided over, not by a college
of presbyters, but by a single
irpeapOrepos or iiricTKOTros, i.e.
that the constitution of the
Church was from the first mon-
archical: see Pastoralbriefe p.
81 sq., Ursprung des Episco-
pats p. 84 sq. This view is
inconsistent alike with the ana-
logy of the synagogue and with
the notices in the apostolic and
early ecclesiastical writings .
But the practice which he con-
siders to have been the general
rule would probably hold in
small country congregations,
where a college of presbyters
would be unnecessary as well
as impossible.
6
82
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
Ordina-
tion con-
fined to
the
bishops.
Causes of
the deve-
lopment
of episco-
pacy.
is secured, they are content to dispense with the
latter.
As a general rule however, even those writers
who maintain a substantial identity in the offices of
the bishop and presbyter reserve the power of or-
daining to the former^ This distinction in fact may
be regarded as a settled maxim of Church polity in
the fourth and later centuries. And when Aerius
maintained the equality of the bishop and presbyter
and denied the necessity of episcopal ordination, his
opinion was condemned as heretical, and is stigma-
tized as ' frantic ' by Epiphanius^
It has been seen that the institution of an
episcopate must be placed as far back as the closing
years of the first century, and that it cannot, without
violence to historical testimony, be dissevered from
the name of St John. But it has been seen also
that the earliest bishops did not hold the same
independent position of supremacy which was and
is occupied by their later representatives. It will
therefore be instructive to trace the successive
stages by which the power of the office was deve-
loped during the second and third centuries. Though
something must be attributed to the frailty of human
^ St Jerome himself {Epist.
cxlvi.), in the context of the
passage in which he maintains
the identity of the two orders
and alleges the tradition of the
Alexandrian Church (see above,
p. 77), adds, ' Quid enim facit
excepta ordinatione episcopus
quod presbyter non f aciat ? ' So
also Const. Apost. viii. 28 iwl-
irpea^^Tepos x^'po^eTei oi/ x^'-f^'
Tovei, Chrysost. Horn. xi. on
1 Tim. iii. 8 rri x"po'"o''^P /^opy
VTrep^e^TiKaai Kal tovtu) jxbvop
doKouffi irXeoveKTcTv Trpecr^vripovs.
See Bingham ii. iii. 5, 6, 7, for
other references.
2 Haer. Ixxv. 3 ; comp. Au-
gustine Haer. § 53. See Words-
worth Theoph. Angl. c. x.
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY 83
pride and love of power, it will nevertheless appear
that the pressing needs of the Church were mainly
instrumental in bringing about the result, and that
this development of the episcopal office was a pro-
vidential safeguard amid the confusion of speculative
opinion, the distracting effects of persecution, and
the growing anarchy of social life, which threatened
not only the extension but the very existence of the
Church of Christ. Ambition of office in a society
where prominence of raiik involved prominence of
risk was at least no vulgar and selfish passion.
This development will be conveniently connected Three
with three great names, each separated from the co^ected
other by an interval of more than half a century, with its
and each marking a distinct stage in its progress.
Ignatius, Irenaeus, and Cyprian, represent three suc-
cessive advances towards the supremacy which was
ultimately attained.
1. Ignatius of Antioch is commonly recognized 1. Iqna-
as the staunchest advocate of episcopacy in the early
ages. Even, though we should refuse to accept as TheSyriac
genuine any portions which are not contained in the
Syriac Version*, this view would nevertheless be
amply justified. Confining our attenticm for the
moment to the Syriac letters we find that to this
father the chief value of episcopacy lies in the fact
^ In the earlier editions of is genuine ; but for the sake of
this work I assumed that the argument I have kept the tsvo
Syriac Version published by apart in the text, I hope before
Cure ton represented the Epistles long to give reasons for this
of Ignatius in their original change of opinion in my edition
form. I am now convinced of this father. [See p. 145 sq.,
that this is only an abridgment Additional Note C]
and that the shorter Greek form
6—2
84 THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
that it constitutes a visible centre of unit?/ in the
Thebishop congregation. He seems in the development of the
^a^A^centre office to keep in view the same purpose which we
of unity, may suppose to have influenced the last surviving
Apostles in its institution. The withdrawal of the
authoritative preachers of the Gospel, the personal
disciples of the Lord, had severed one bond of union.
The destruction of the original abode of Christendom,
the scene of the life and passion of the Saviour
and of the earliest triumphs of the Church, had re-
moved another. Thus deprived at once of the per-
sonal and the local ties which had hitherto bound
individual to individual and church to church, the
Christian brotherhood was threatened with schism,
disunion, dissolution. ' Vindicate thine office with all
diligence,* writes Ignatius to the bishop of Smyrna,
.'in things temporal as well as spiritual. Have a
care of unity, than which nothing is better\' ' The
crisis requires thee, as the pilot requires the winds
or the storm-tossed mariner a haven, so as to attain
unto God^' ' Let not those who seem to be plausible
and teach falsehoods dismay thee; but stand thou
firm as an anvil under the hammer: 'tis the part
of a great athlete to be bruised and to conquer^'
' Let nothing be done without thy consent, and do
thou nothing without the consent of God^' He adds
directions also, that those who decide on a life of
virginity shall disclose their intention to the bishop
only, and those who marry shall obtain his consent
to their union, that 'their marriage may be according
1 Polyc. 1. » Folyc. 3.
2 Polyc. 2. "^ Polyc. 4.
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY 85
to the Lord and not according to lust\' And turn-
ing from the bishop to the people he adds, * Give
heed to your bishop, that God also may give heed to
you. I give my life for those who are obedient to
the bishop, to presbyters, to deacons. With them
may I have my portion in the presence of God^'
Writing to the Ephesians also he says that in re-
ceiving their bishop Onesimus he is receiving their
whole body, and he charges them to love him, and
one and all to be in his likeness^, adding, 'Since love
does not permit me to be silent, therefore I have
been forward in exhorting you to conform to the will
of God^'
From these passages it will be seen that St
Ignatius values the episcopate chiefly as a security
for good discipline and harmonious working in the
Church. And, when we pass from the Syriac letters The Greek
to the Short Greek, the standing ground is still 1^**^^^-
unchanged. At the same time, though the point
of view is unaltered, the Greek letters contain far
stronger expressions than are found in the Syriac.
Throughout the whole range of Christian literature, no
more uncompromising advocacy of the episcopate can
be found than appears in these writings. This cham-
pionship indeed is extended to the two lower orders
of the ministry^, more especially to the presbyters*^.
But it is when asserting the claims of the episcopal Their ex-
office to obedience and respect, that the language is exalSon
strained to the utmost. ' The bishops established in of the
episco-
1 Polyc. 5. 5 Magn, 13, Trail. 3, 7, Phi- ^^^^'
2 Pokjc. 6. lad. 4, 7, Smyrn. 8, 12.
3 Ephes. 1. « Ephes. 2, 20, 3Iagn. 2, 6,
* Ephes. 8. Trail. 13.
86 THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
the farthest parts of the world are in the counsels of
Jesus Christ \' * Every one whom the Master of
the house sendeth to govern His own household we
ought to receive, as Him that sent him ; clearly
therefore we ought to regard the bishop as the Lord
Himself^.' Those 'live a life after Christ/ who 'obey
the bishop as Jesus Christ^' * It is good to know
God and the bishop ; he that honoureth the bishop
is honoured of God ; he that doeth anything without
the knowledge of the bishop serveth the devil ^' He
that obeys his bishop, obeys * not him, but the Father
of Jesus Christ, the Bishop of all' On the other
hand, he that practises hypocrisy towards his bishop,
* not only deceiveth the visible one, but cheateth the
Unseen*.' *As many as are of God and of Jesus
Christ, are with the bishop^' Those are approved
who are ' inseparate [from God], from Jesus Christ,
and from the bishop, and from the ordinances of
the Apostles^' ' Do ye all,' says this writer again,
* follow the . bishop, as Jesus Christ followed the
Father®.* The Ephesians are commended accord-
iugly, because they are so united with their bishop
' as the Church with Jesus Christ and as Jesus Christ
with the Father.' 'If,* it is added, 'the prayer of
one or two hath so much power, how much more
the prayer of the bishop and of the whole Church ^'
* Wherever the bishop may appear, there let the
multitude be, just as where Jesus Christ may be,
1 Ephes. 3. 6 Philad. 3.
2 EpJm. 6. 7 Trail. 7.
3 Trail. 2. 8 Smyrn. 8, comp. 3Iagn. 7.
* Smyrn. 9. » Ephes. 5.
Magn. 3.
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY 87
there is the universal Church ^' Therefore 'let no
man do anything pertaining to the Church without
the bishop'"*.' * It is not allowable either to baptize
or to hold a love-feast without the bishop : but
whatsoever he may approve, this also is well pleasing
to God, that everything which is done may be
safe and valid'.' 'Unity of God,' according to this
writer, consists in harmonious co-operation with the
bishop*.
And yet with all this extravagant exaltation of The pies
the episcopal office, the presbyters are not put out however
of sight. They form a council^ a 'worthy spiritual not for-
coronal**' round the bishop. It is the duty of every
individual, but especially of them, ' to refresh the
bishop unto the honour of the Father and of Jesus
Christ and of the Apostles''.' They stand in the
same relation to him, 'as the chords to the lyre**.'
If the bishop occupies the place of God or of Jesus
Christ, the presbyters are as the Apostles, as the
council of God^. If obedience is due to the bishop
as the grace of God, it is due to the presbytery as
the law of Jesus Christ ^l
It need hardly be remarked how subversive ofConsidera-
the true spirit of Christianity, in the negation of j^g^g^^jjy"
individual freedom and the consequent suppression this lan-
guage.
1 Smyrn. 8. very frequent in the Ignatian
'^ ib. ; comp. Magn. 4, Philad. Epistles.
7. 6 ^jagn. 13.
3 Smyrn. 8. 7 Trail. 12.
^ Polyc. 8 iv hbrrjTi 0eoD Koi ^ Ephes. 4 ; comp. the meta-
itnaKoirov (v. 1. iwiaKoirrj) : comp. phor in Philad. 1.
Philad. 3, 8. » Trail. 2, 3, 3Iagn. 6, Smyrn.
5 The word rrpea^vripiov, 8.
which occurs 1 Tim. iv. 14, is ^^ Magn. 2.
88 THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
of direct responsibility to God in Christ, is the
crushing despotism with which this language, if
taken literally, would invest the episcopal office. It
is more important to bear in mind the extenuating
fact, that the needs and distractions of the age
seemed to call for a greater concentration of authority
in the episcopate ; and we might well be surprised,
if at a great crisis the defence of an all-important
institution were expressed in words carefully weighed
and guarded.
The same Strangely enough, not many years after Ignatius
vancedin ^^^^ asserted the claims of the episcopate as a
the inter- safeguard of orthodoxy, another writer used the
Ebionism. same instrument to advance a very different form
of Christianity. The organization, which is thus
employed to consolidate and advance the Catholic
Church, might serve equally well to establish a
compact Ebionite community. I have already men-
tioned the author of the Clementine Homilies as a
staunch advocate of episcopacy \ His view of the
sanctions and privileges of the office does not differ
materially from that of Ignatius. 'The multitude
of the faithful,' he says, * must obey a single person,
that so it may be able to continue in harmony.'
Monarchy is a necessary condition of peace ; this
may be seen from the aspect of the world around :
at present there are many kings, and the result is
discord and war; in the world to come God has
appointed one King only, that ' by reason of monarchy
an indestructible peace may be established : therefore
all ought to follow some one person as guide, prefer-
ring him in honour as the image of God ; and this
* See above, p. 46.
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY 89
guide must show the way that leadeth to the Holy
City^' Accordingly he delights to speak of the
bishop as occupying the place or the seat of Christ 2.
Every insult, he says, and every honour offered to a
bishop is carried to Christ and from Christ is taken
up to the presence of the Father; and thus it is
requited manifolds Similarly another writer of the
Clementine cycle, if he be not the same, compares
Christ to the captain, the bishop to the mate, and
the presbyters to the sailors, while the lower orders
and the laity have each their proper place in the
ship of the Church ^
It is no surprise that such extravagant claims Monta-
should not have been allowed to pass unchallenged, reaction
In opposition to the lofty hierarchical pretensions against
thus advanced on the one hand in the Ignatian vagance.
letters on behalf of Catholicism and on the other by
the Clementine writer in the interests of Ebionism,
a strong spiritualist reaction set in. If in its mental
aspect the heresy of Montanus must be regarded
as a protest against the speculative subtleties of
Gnosticism, on its practical side it was equally a
rebound from the aggressive tyranny of hierarchical
assumption. Montanus taught that the true suc-
cession of the Spirit, the authorized channel of
Divine grace, must be sought not in the hierarchical
but in the prophetic order. For a rigid outward
system he substituted the free inward impulse.
Wildly fanatical as were its manifestations, this re-
action nevertheless issued from a true instinct which
rebelled against the oppressive yoke of external
1 Clem. Horn. iii. 61, 62. ^ ^-ft. m 66, 70.
2 ib. iii. 60, 66, 70. "* Clem. Horn. Ep. Clem. 15.
90
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
2. Ire-
The
bishop
the (lejw-
sitary of
primitive
truth.
tradition and did battle for the freedom of the in-
dividual spirit. Montanus was excommunicated and
Montanism died out ; but though dead, it yet spake ;
for a portion of its better spirit was infused into the
Catholic Church, which it leavened and refreshed
and invigorated.
2. iRENiEUS followed Ignatius after an interval
of about two generations. With the altered cir-
cumstances of the Church, the aspect of the episcopal
office has also undergone a change. The religious
atmosphere is now charged with heretical specu-
lations of all kinds. Amidst the competition of rival
teachers, all eagerly bidding for support, the per-
plexed believer asks for some decisive test by which
he may try the claims of the disputants. To this
(juestion Irenseus supplies an answer. 'If you wish,'
he argues, ' to ascertain the doctrine of the Apostles,
apply to the Church of the Apostles. In the suc-
cession of bishops tracing their descent from the
primitive age and appointed by the Apostles them-
selves, you have a guarantee for the transmission of
the pure faith, which no isolated, upstart, self-con-
stituted teacher can furnish. There is the Church
of Rome for instance, whose episcopal pedigree is
perfect in all its links, and whose earliest bishops,
Linus and Clement, associated with the Apostles
themselves : there is the Church of Smyrna again,
whose bishop Polycarp, the disciple of St John, died
only the other day\' Thus the episcopate is regarded
now not so much as the centre of ecclesiastical unity
but rather as the depositary of apostolic tradition.
1 See especially iii. cc. 2, 3, 4, iv. 26. 2 sq., iv. 32. 1, v.
preef., v. 20. 1, 2.
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY 91
This view is not peculiar to Irengeus. It seems The same
to have been advanced earlier by Hegesippus, for in by Hege-
a detached fragment he lays stress on the succession sippusand
° "^ . , Tertul-
of the bishops at Rome and at Corinth, adding that lian.
in each church and in each succession the pure faith
was preserved^; so that he seems here to be contro-
verting that 'gnosis falsely so called' which else-
where he denounces^. It is distinctly maintained by
Tertullian, the younger contemporary of Irenseus,
who refers, if not with the same frequency, at least
with equal emphasis, to the tradition of the apo-
stolic churches as preserved by the succession of
the episcopate^.
3. As two generations intervened between 3. Cy-
Ignatius and Irenaeus, so the same period roughly
speaking separates Irenaeus from Cyprian. If with
Ignatius the bishop is the centre of Christian unity,
if with Irenaeus he is the depositary of the apostolic
tradition, with Cyprian he is the absolute vicegerent The
of Christ in things spiritual. In mere strength ^^ ^i'^eqlrent
language indeed it would be difficult to surpass of Christ.
Ignatius, who lived about a century and a half
earlier. With the single exception of the sacerdotal
view of the ministry which had grown up mean-
while, Cyprian puts forward no assumption which
this father had not advanced either literally or sub-
stantially long before. This one exception however
is all important, for it raised the sanctions of the
episcopate to a higher level and put new force into
old titles of respect. Theoretically therefore it may
be said that Cyprian took his stand on the combi-
1 In Euseb. H. E. iv. 22. See '^ Euseb. H. E. iii. 32.
above, p. 61. "* Tertull. de Praescr. 32.
92 THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
nation of the ecclesiastical authority as asserted by
Ignatius with the sacerdotal claim which had been
Influence developed in the half century just past. But the
on the"pi^ ^^^^ influence which he exercised in the elevation of
scopate. the episcopate consisted not in the novelty of his
theoretical views, but in his practical energy and
success. The absolute supremacy of the bishop had
remained hitherto a lofty title or at least a vague
ill-defined assumption : it became through his ex-
ertions a substantial and patent and world-wide fact.
The first prelate whose force of character vibrated
throughout the whole of Christendom, he was driven
not less by the circumstances of his position than by
his own temperament and conviction to throw all
his energy into this scale. And the permanent
result was much vaster than he could have antici-
pated beforehand or realized after the fact. Forced
into the episcopate against his will, he raised it to
a position of absolute independence, from which
it has never since been deposed. The two great
controversies in which Cyprian engaged, though
immediately arising out of questions of discipline,
combined from opposite sides to consolidate and
enhance the power of the bishops \
First con- The first question of dispute concerned the
troversy. treatment of such as had lapsed during the recent
persecution under Decius. Cyprian found himself
1 The influence of Cyprian also Rettberg Thascius Cacilius
on the episcopate is ably stated Cyprianus p. 367 sq., Huther
in two vigorous articles by Cyprian's Lehre von der Kirche
Kayser entitled Cyprien ou p. 59 sq. For Cyprian's work
VAutonomie de VEpiscopat in generally see Smith's Diet, of
the Revue de Theologie xv. pp. Christ. Biogr. s. v.
138 sq., 242 sq. (1857). See
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY 93
on this occasion doing battle for the episcopate Treatment
against a twofold opposition, against the confessors J^apsed
who claimed the right of absolving and restoring
these fallen brethren, and against his own presbyters
who in the absence of their bishop supported the
claims of the confessors. From his retirement he
launched his shafts against this combined array,
where an aristocracy of moral influence was leagued
with an aristocracy of official position. With signal
determination and courage in pursuing his aim, and
with not less sagacity and address in discerning the
means for carrying it out, Cyprian had on this
occasion the further advantage, that he was defend-
ing the cause of order and right. He succeeded
moreover in enlisting in his cause the rulers of
the most powerful church in Christendom. The
Roman clergy declared for the bishop and against
the presbyters of Carthage. Of Cyprian's sincerity
no reasonable question can be entertained. In main-
taining the authority of his office he believed himself
to be fighting his Master's battle, and he sought
success as the only safeguard of the integrity of the
Church of Christ. In this lofty and disinterested
spirit, and with these advantages of position, he
entered upon the contest.
It is unnecessary for my purpose to follow out
the conflict in detail : to show how ultimately the
positions of the two combatants were shifted, so that
from maintaining discipline against the champions
of too great laxity Cyprian found himself protecting
the fallen against the advocates of too great severity ;
to trace the progress of the schism and the attempt
to establish a rival episcopate ; or to unravel the
94 THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
entanglements of the Novatian controversy and lay
open the intricate relations between Rome and
Power of Carthage^ It is sufficient to say that Cyprian's
in^his^own victory was complete. He triumphed over the
church de- confessors, triumphed over his own presbyters, tri-
nmphed over the schismatic bishop and his party.
It was the most signal success hitherto achieved for
the episcopate, because the battle had been fought
and the victory won on this definite issue. The
absolute supremacy of the episcopal office was thus
established against the two antagonists from which
it had most to fear, against a recognised aristocracy
of ecclesiastical office and an irregular but not less
powerful aristocracy of moral weight.
The position of the bishop with respect to the
individual church over which he ruled was thus
defined by the first contest in which Cyprian en-
Second gageil. The second conflict resulted in determining
versy. Re- ^^^ relation to the Church universal. The schism
baptism of which had grown up during the first conflict created
the difficulty which gave occasion to the second.
A question arose whether baptism by heretics and
schismatics should be held valid or not. Stephen
the Roman bishop, pleading the immemorial custom
of his church, recognised its validity. Cyprian in-
sisted on rebaptism in such cases. Hitherto the
bishop of Carthage had acted in cordial harmony
with Rome : but now there was a collision. Stephen,
^ The intricacy of the whole antagonists, varying and even
proceeding is a strong evidence interchanged with the change
of the genuineness of the letters of circumstances, are very na-
and other documents which tural, but very unlike the in-
contain the account of the con- vention of a forger who has a
troversy. The situations of the distinct side to maintain.
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY 95
inheriting the haughty temper and aggressive policy
of his earlier predecessor Victor, excommunicated
those who differed from the Roman usage in this
matter. These arrogant assumptions were directly
met by Cyprian. He summoned first one and then .
another synod of African bishops, who declared in
his favour. He had on his side also the churches of
Asia Minor, which had been included in Stephen's
edict of excommunication. Thus the bolt hurled by
Stephen fell innocuous, and the churches of Africa
and Asia retained their practice. The principle
asserted in the struggle was not unimportant. As Relations
in the former conflict Cyprian had maintained the bishops to
independent supremacy of the bishop over the officers ^^^ U"^-
and members of his own congregation, so now he church
contended successfully for his immunity from any <^6""6"-
interference from without. At a later period indeed
Rome carried the victory, but the immediate result
of this controversy was to establish the independence
and enhance the power of the episcopate. Moreover
this struggle had the further and not less important
consequence of defining and exhibiting the relations
of the episcopate to the Church in another way: As
the individual bishop had been pronounced indis-
pensable to the existence of the individual com-
munity, so the episcopal order was now put forward
as the absolute indefeasible representative of the
universal Church. Synods of bishops indeed had
been held frequently before; but under Cyprian's
guidance they assumed a prominence which threw
all existing precedents into the shade. A ' one un-
divided episcopate ' was his watchword. The unity
of the Church, he maintained, consists in the
96 THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
unanimity of the bishops ^ In this controversy, as
in the former, he acted throughout on the principle,
distinctly asserted, that the existence of the episcopal
office was not a matter of practical advantage or
ecclesiastical rule or even of apostolic sanction, but
an absolute incontrovertible decree of God. The
triumph of Cyprian therefore was the triumph of
this principle.
Cyprian's The greatness of Cyprian's influence on the epi-
viewofthe gcopate is indeed due to this fact, that with him the
episco- '^ ••11
pate. statement of the principle precedes and necessitates
the practical measures. Of the sharpness and dis-
tinctness of his sacerdotal views it will be time to
speak presently; but of his conception of the epi-
scopal office generally thus much may be said here,
that he regards the bishop as exclusively the repre-
sentative of God to the congregation and hardly,
if at all, as the representative of the congregation
before God. The bishop is the indispensable channel
of divine grace, the indispensable bond of Christian
brotherhood. The episcopate is not so much the
roof as the foundation-stone of the ecclesiastical
edifice ; not so much the legitimate development as
the primary condition of a churchy The bishop is
1 De Unit. Eccl. 2 ' Quam he argues (Epist. 43) that, as
unitatem firmiter tenere et vin- there is one Church, there must
dicare debemus maxime episco- be only ' unum altare et unum
pi qui in ecclesia praesidemus, saeerdotium (i.e. one episco-
ut episcopatum quoque ipsum pate).' Corap. also Epist. 46,
unum atque indivisum jJrobe- 55, 67.
mus'; and again 'Episcopatus ^ Epist. 66 'Scire debes epi-
unus est, cujus a singulis in scopum in ecclesia esse et eccle-
solidum pars tenetur : ecclesia siam in episcopo, et si quis cum
quoque una est etc' So again episcopo non sit, in ecclesia non
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY 97
appointed directly by God, is responsible directly
to God, is inspired directly from God^ This last
point deserves especial notice. Though in words he
frequently defers to the established usage of con-
sulting the presbyters and even the laity in the
appointment of officers and in other matters affecting
the well-being of the community, yet he only makes
the concession to nullify it immediately. He pleads
a direct official inspiration" which enables him to
dispense with ecclesiastical custom and to act on his
own responsibility. Though the presbyters may
still have retained the shadow of a controlling power
over the acts of the bishop, though the courtesy of
language by which they were recognised as fellow-
presbyters^ was not laid aside, yet for all practical
ends the independent supremacy of the episcopate
was completely established by the principles and the
measures of Cyprian.
In the investigation just concluded I have en- The power
of the
esse'; Epist. 33 ' Ut ecclesia rebellarunt.'
super episcopos constituatur et ^ See esp. Epist. 3, 43, 55,
omnis actus ecclesiae per eosdem 59, 73, and above all 66 {Ad
praepositosgubernetur.' Hence Pupianum).
the expression ' nee episcopum ^ ;^pist. 38 ' Expectanda non
nee ecclesiam cogitans,' Epist. sunt testimonia humana, cum
41 ; hence also 'honor episcopi' praecedunt divina suffragia';
is associated not only with Epist. 39 'Non humana sufifra-
' ecclesiae ratio' (jBpisf. 33) but gatione sed divina dignatione
even with ' timor Dei' {Epist. conjunctum'; Epist. 40 ' Ad-
15). Compare also the language monitos nos et iustructos sciatis
{Epist. 59) ' Nee ecclesia istic dignatione divina ut Numidicus
cuiquam clauditur nee episcopus presbyter adscribatur presbyte-
alicui denegatur,' and again rorum etc'
{Epist. 43) ' Soli cum episcopis ^ See above, p. 77, note 1.
non sint, qui contra episcopos
L. 7
98 THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
bishops a deavoured to trace the changes in the relative
practical^ position of the first and second orders of the
conveni- ministry, by which the power was gradually con-
centrated in the hands of the former. Such a
development involves no new principle and must
be regarded chiefly in its practical bearings. It
is plainly competent for the Church at any given
time to entrust a particular office with larger
powers, as the emergency may require. And, though
the grounds on which the independent authority
of the episcopate was at times defended may have
been false or exaggerated, no reasonable objection
can be taken to later forms of ecclesiastical polity
because the measure of power accorded to the
bishop does not remain exactly the same as in the
Church of the subapostolic ages. Nay, to many
thoughtful and dispassionate minds even the gigantic
power wielded by the popes during the middle ages
will appear justifiable in itself (though they will
repudiate the false pretensions on which it was
founded, and the false opinions which were associated
with it), since only by such a providential concen-
tration of authority could the Church, humanly
speaking, have braved the storms of those ages of
and un- anarchy and violence. Now however it is my
with sacer- purpose to investigate the origin and growth of
dotahsm. .^ j^g^ principle, which is nowhere enunciated in
the New Testament, but which notwithstanding has
worked its way into general recognition and seriously
modified the character of later Christianity. The
progress of the sacerdotal view of the ministry is
one of the most striking and important phenomena
in the history of the Church.
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY 99
It has been pointed out already that the sacer- No sacer-
dotal functions and privileges, which alone are in the New
mentioned in the apostolic writings, pertain to all Testa-
believers alike and do not refer solely or specially
to the ministerial office. If to this statement it
be objected that the inference is built upon the
silence of the Apostles and Evangelists, and that
such reasoning is always precarious, the reply is
that an exclusive sacerdotalism (as the word is
commonly understood) ^ contradicts the general
tenour of the Gospel. But indeed the strength or
weakness of an argument drawn from silence depends
wholly on the circumstance under which the silence
is maintained. And in this case it cannot be con-
sidered devoid of weight. In the Pastoral Epistles
for instance, which are largely occupied with
questions relating to the Christian ministry, it
seems scarcely possible that this aspect should have
been overlooked, if it had any place in St Paul's
teaching. The Apostle discusses at length the
requirements, the responsibilities, the sanctions, of
the ministerial office : he regards the presbyter as
an example, as a teacher, as a philanthropist, as
a ruler. How then, it may well be asked, are the
1 In speaking of sacerdotalism, tian ministry, may have borne
I assume the term to have essen- this innocent meaning. But
tially the same force as when at a later date it was certainly
applied to the Jewish priest- so used as to imply a sub-
hood. In a certain sense (to stantial identity of character
be considered hereafter) all offi- with the Jewish priesthood, i.e.
cers appointed to minister 'for to designate the Christian minis-
men in things pertaining to ter as one who offers sacrifices
God ' may be called priests ; and makes atonement for the
and sacerdotal phraseology, sins of others,
when first applied to the Chris-
7—2
100
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
Its rapid
spread at
a later
date.
sacerdotal functions, the sacerdotal privileges, of the
office wholly set aside ? If these claims were recog-
nised by him at all, they must necessarily have taken a
foremost place. The same argument again applies with
not less force to those passages in the Epistles to the
Corinthians, where St Paul asserts his apostolic autho-
rity against his detractors. Nevertheless, so entirely
had the primitive conception of the Christian Church
been supplanted by this sacerdotal view of the minis-
try, before the northern races were converted to the
Gospel, and the dialects derived from the Latin took
the place of the ancient tongue, that the languages
of modern Europe very generally supply only one
word to represent alike the priest of the Jewish
or Heathen ceremonial and the presbyter of the
Christian ministry \
^ It is a significant fact that
in those languages which have
only one word to express the
two ideas, this word etymolo-
gically represents ' presbyterus '
and not ' sacerdos,' e.g. the
French pretre, the German
priester, and the English priest ;
thus showing that the sacer-
dotal idea was imported and not
original. In the Italian, where
two words prete and sacerdote
exist side by side, there is no
marked difference in usage, ex-
cept ihoX prete is the more com-
mon. If the latter brings out
the sacerdotal idea more pro-
minently, the former is also ap-
plied to Jewish and Heathen
priests and therefore distinctly
involves this idea. Wiclif 'aver-
sion of the New Testament
naturally conforms to the Vul-
gate, in which it seems to be
the rule to translate irpea^v-
repot by * presbyteri ' (in Wiclif
' preestes ') where it obviously
denotes the second order in the
ministry (e.g. Acts xiv. 23,
1 Tim. V. 17, 19, Tit. i. 5,
James v. 14), and by 'seniores'
(in Wiclif ' eldres ' or ' elder
men ') in other passages : but
if so, this rule is not always
successfully applied (e.g. Acts
xi. 30, xxi. 18, 1 Pet. v. 1). A
doubt about the meaning may
explain the anomaly that the
word is translated ' presbyteri,'
* preestes,' Acts xv. 2, and
' seniores,' 'elder men,' Acts xv.
4, 6, 22, xvi. 4 ; though the per-
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY',
'ALmOi'UM
For, though no distinct traces of sacerdotalism
are visible in the ages immediately after the Apostles,
yet having once taken root in the Church it shot up
rapidly into maturity. Towards the close of the
second century we discern the first germs appearing
above the surface : yet, shortly after the middle of
the third, the plant has all but attained its full
growth. The origin of this idea, the progress of
its development, and the conditions favourable to its
spread, will be considered in the present section of
this essay.
A separation of orders, it is true, appeared at Distioc-
a much earlier date, and was in some sense involved *j^" of the
in the appointment of a special ministry. This, from the
and not more than this, was originally contained ^^ ^
in the distinction of clergy and laity. If the sacer-
dotal view of the ministry engrafted itself on this
distinction, it nevertheless was not necessarily
implied or even indirectly suggested thereby. The
term 'clerus,' as a designation of the ministerial
office, did not owing to any existing associations
convey the idea of sacerdotal functions. The word not de-
is not used of the Aaronic priesthood in any special the^Le-^^
sense which would explain its transference to the vitical
Christian ministry. It is indeed said of the Levites, hood,
that they have no 'clerus' in the land, the Lord
Himself being their 'clerus'\ But the Jewish
sons intended are the same. In reformed Church from Tyndale
Acts XX. 17, it is rendered in downward translate irpea^^repoL
Wiclif s version ' the grettist uniformly by ' elders.'
men of birthe,' a misunder- i Deut. x. 9, xviii. 1, 2 ;
standing of the Vulgate ' ma- comp. Num. xxvi. 62, Deut. xii.
jores natu.' The English ver- 12, xiv. 27, 29, Josh. xiv. 3.
sions of the reformers and the Jerome {Epist. lii. 5, i. p. 258)
. 102 THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
priesthood is never described conversely as the
special * clerus ' of Jehovah : while on the other
hand the metaphor thus inverted is more than once
applied to the whole Israelite peopled Up to this
point therefore the analogy of Old Testament usage
would have suggested * clerus ' as a name rather for
the entire body of the faithful than for the ministry
specially or exclusively. Nor do other references
to the clerus or lot in connexion with the Levitical
priesthood countenance its special application. The
tithes, it is true, were assigned to the sons of Levi
as their 'clerus '2; but in this there is nothing
distinctive, and in fact the word is employed much
more prominently in describing the lands allotted
to the whole people. Again the courses of priests
and Levites selected to conduct the temple-service
were appointed by lot^; but the mode adopted in
distributing a particular set of duties is far too
special to have supplied a distinctive name for the
whole order. If indeed it were an established fact
that the Aaronic priesthood at the time of the
Christian era commonly bore the name of * clergy,'
we might be driven to explain the designation in
this or in some similar way ; but apparently no
evidence of any such usage exists'*, and it is there-
says, * Propterea vocantur cle- ^ Deut. iv. 20 eXpui avrip Xadv
rici, vel quia de sorte sunt ^yKK-qpov : comp. ix. 29 oh-ot.
Domini, vel quia ipse Dominus Xa6y aov koI KXrjpds <xov.
sors, id est pars, clericorum est.' ^ Num. xviii. 21, 24, 26.
The former explanation would ^ i Chron. xxiv. 5, 7, 31, xxv.
be reasonable, if it were sup- 8, 9.
ported by the language of the 4 q^ Qib other hand Xa6s is
Old Testament : the latter is used of the people, as contrasted
plainly inadequate. either with the rulers or with
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY 103
fore needless to cast about for an explanation of
a fact which itself is only conjectural. The origin
of the term clergy, as applied to the Christian
ministry, must be sought elsewhere.
And the record of the earliest appointment made Origin of
by the Christian Church after the Ascension of the a name for
Lord seems to supply the clue. Exhorting the *^6 Chris-
assembled brethren to elect a successor in place of ministry.
Judas, St Peter tells them that the traitor 'had
been numbered among them and had received the
lot {Kkrjpov) of the ministry': while in the account
of the subsequent proceedings it is recorded that
the Apostles ' distributed lots ' to the brethren, and
that ' the lot fell on Matthias and he was added to
the eleven Apostles^' The following therefore
seems to be the sequence of meanings, by which
the word /cXrJpo? arrived at this peculiar sense :
(1) the lot by which the office was assigned; (2) the
office thus assigned by lot ; (3) the body of persons
holding the office. The first two senses are illus-
trated by the passages quoted from the Acts; and
from the second to the third the transition is easy
and natural. It must not be supposed however that
the mode of appointing officers by lot prevailed
the priests. From this latter Ezek. vii. 22) ; comp. Clem,
contrast comes XalV<:6s, 'laic' Rom. 40,
or ' profane,' and XatVc6w * to ^ Acts i. 17 ^Xaxev rbv KXijpou,
profane ' ; which, though not 26 ^dojKav K\iqpovs avrocs kuI
found in the lxx., occur fre- ^ireaep 6 KXrjpos irrlMaddiav. In
quently in the versions of ver. 25 KXrjpop is a false reading.
Aquila, Symmachus, and Theo- The use of the word in 1 Pet.
dotion (\aiVc6s, 1 Sam. xxi. 4, v. 3 KaraKvpie^ovres tCov Kk-fjpdyv
Ezek. xlviii. 15; Xaiff6w, Deut. (i.e. the flocks assigned to them)
XX. 6, xxviii. 30, Ruth i. 12, does not illustrate this meaning.
104 THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
generally in the early Church. Besides the case
of Matthias no other instance is recorded in the
New Testament ; nor is this procedure likely to
have been commonly adopted. But just as in the
passage quoted the word is used to describe the
office of Judas, though Judas was certainly not
selected by lot, so generally from signifying one
special mode of appointment to office it got to
signify office in the Church generally^ If this
account of the application of * clerus ' to the
Christian ministry be correct, we should expect to
find it illustrated by a corresponding progress in
the actual usage of the word. And this is in fact
the case. The sense ' clerical appointment or office '
chronologically precedes the sense 'clergy.' The
former meaning occurs several times in Irenseus.
He speaks of Hyginus as ' holding the ninth clerus
of the episcopal succession from the Apostles^'; and
of Eleutherus in like manner he says, 'He now
occupies the clerus of the episcopate in the tenth
place from the Apostles^' On the other hand the
^ See Clem. Alex. Qiiis div. ^ Iren. iii. 3. 3. In this pas-
salv. 42, where KK-qpovv is ' to sage however, as in the preced-
appoint to the ministry'; and ing, the word is explained by a
Iren. iii. 3. 3 K\r}poC<r6ai ttju qualifying genitive. In Hippol.
iiriaKoirrjv. A similar extension Haer. ix. 12 (p. 290), ijp^avTo
of meaning is seen in this same iiria-KOTroi Kal irpefffiiTepoL koL
word KXijpos applied to land. SidKouoi dlyafxoi Kal Tpiyafxoi ku-
Signifying originally a piece of dl(XTaadai ets kX^povs, it is used
ground assigned by lot, it gets absolutely of 'clerical offices.'
to mean landed property gene- The Epistle of the Gallican
rally, whether obtained by as- Churches (Euseb. H. E. v. 1)
signment or by inheritance or speaks more than once of the
in any other way. kXtjpos tCov jxaprupuv, i.e. the
2 Iren. i, 27, 1. order or rank of martyrs : comp.
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY 105
earliest instance of ' clerus,' meaning clergy, seems
to occur in Tertullian^ who belongs to the next
generation. ,
It will thus be seen that the use of ' clerus ' to No sacer-
denote the ministry cannot be traced to the Jewish ^^^^ ^^^^
priesthood, and is therefore wholly unconnected by the
with any sacerdotal views. The term does indeed
recognise the clergy as an order distinct from the
laity; but this is a mere question of ecclesiastical
rule or polity, and involves no doctrinal bearings.
The origin of sacerdotal phraseology and ideas must
be sought elsewhere.
Attention has been already directed to the Silence of
absence of any appeal to sacerdotal claims in the gtoiic^^
Pastoral Epistles. The silence of the apostolic fathers on
fathers deserves also to be noticed. Though the dotalism.
genuine letters of all three may be truly said to
hinge on questions relating to the ministry, no dis-
tinct traces of this influence are visible. St Clement, Clement,
as the representative of the Roman Church, writes
to the Christian brotherhood at Corinth, offering
friendly counsel in their disputes and rebuking their
factious and unworthy conduct towards certain pres-
byters whom, though blameless, they had ejected
from office. He appeals to motives of Christian
love, to principles of Christian order. He adduces
a large number of examples from biblical history
Test. xii. Patr. Levi 8. See again 'Extollimur et inflamur
Ritschl p. 390 sq., to whom I adversus clerum.' Perhaps
am indebted for several of the however earlier instances may
passages which are quoted in have escaped notice. In Clem,
this investigation. Alex. Quis div. salv. 42 the
1 e.g. de Monog. 12 ' Unde word seems not to be used in
enim episcopi et clerus ? ' and this sense.
106 THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
condemnatory of jealousy and insubordination. He
urges that men, who had been appointed directly by
the Apostles or by persons themselves so appointed,
ought to have received better treatment. Dwelling
at great length on the subject, he nevertheless ad-
vances no sacerdotal claims or immunities on behalf
of the ejected ministers. He does, it is true, adduce
the Aaronic priesthood and the Temple service as
showing that God has appointed set persons and set
Import of places and will have all things done in order. He
rison'wSh ^^^ before illustrated this lesson by the subordina-
the Aaron- tion of ranks in an army, and by the relation of the
hood. different members of the human body : he had
insisted on the duties of the strong towards the
weak, of the rich towards thie poor, of the wise
towards the ignorant, and so forth : he had enforced
the appeal by reminding his readers of the utter
feebleness and insignificance of man in the sight of
God, as represented in the Scriptures of the Old
Testament; and then follows the passage which
contains the allusion in question : ' He hath not
commanded (the offerings and ministrations) to be
performed at random or in disorder, but at fixed
times and seasons; and where and through whom
He willeth them to be performed, He hath ordained
by His supreme will. They therefore who make
their offerings at the appointed seasons are accept-
able and blessed, since following the ordinances of
the Master they do not go wrong. For to the high
priest peculiar services are entrusted, and the priests
have their peculiar office assigned to them, and on
Levites peculiar ministrations are imposed : the lay-
man is bound by lay ordinances. Let each of you.
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY 107
brethren, in his own rank give thanks to God, retain-
ing a good conscience, not transgressing the ap-
pointed rule of his service (XeLTovpyla^) etc.^' Here
it is clear that in St Clement's conception the sanc-
tion possessed in common by the Aaronic priesthood
and the Christian ministry is not the sacerdotal
consecration, but the divinely appointed order. He
passes over in silence the numerous passages in the
Old Testament which enjoin obedience to the priests;
while the only sentence (§ 42) which he puts forward
as anticipating and enforcing the authority of the
Christian ministry is a misquoted and misinterpreted
verse from Isaiah ; 'I will establish their overseers
(bishops) in righteousness and their ministers (dea-
cons) in faith I' Again a little later he mentions in
illustration the murmuring of the Israelites which
was rebuked by the budding of Aaron's rod^ But
here too he makes it clear how far he considers the
analogy to extend. He calls the sedition in the one
1 Clem. Rom. 40, 41. Ne- suspected passage, may be re-
ander {Church History, i. p. garded as decisive on this point.
272 note, Bohn's translation) 2 ig_ jx. 17, where the A.V.
conjectures that this passage is correctly renders the original,
an * interpolation from a hier- ' I will also make thy officers
archical interest,' and Dean (lit. magistrates) peace and thine
Milman {Hist, of Christianity, exactors (i.e. task -masters)
III. p. 259) says that it is 're- righteousness'; i.e. there shall
jected by all judicious and im- be no tyranny or oppression,
partial scholars.' At the risk The tax departs from the ori-
of forfeiting all claim to ju- ginal, and Clement has altered
diciousness and impartiality one the lxx. By this double di-
may venture to demur to this vergence a reference to the two
arbitrary criticism. Indeed the orders of the ministry is ob-
recent discovery of a second tained.
independent ms and of a Syriac ^ Clem. Rom. 43.
Version, both containing the
108 THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
case 'jealousy concerning the priesthood,' in the
other 'strife concerning the honour of the episco-
pate \' He keeps the names and the offices distinct.
The significance of this fact will be felt at once by
comparing his language with the expressions used
by any later writer, such as Cyprian, who was pene-
trated with the spirit of sacerdotalism 2.
Ignatius. Of St Ignatius, as the champion of episcopacy,
much has been said already. It is sufficient to add
here, that he never regards the ministry as a sacer-
dotal office. This is equally true, whether we accept
as genuine the whole of the seven letters in the Short
Greek, or only those portions contained in the Syriac
version. While these letters teem with passages
enjoining the strictest obedience to bishops, while
their language is frequently so strong as to sound
almost profane, this father never once appeals to
sacerdotal claims^, though such an appeal would
have made his case more than doubly strong. If it
' Contrast § 43 ipfjXov i/xire- stance, the writer seems to be
abvTos irepl riji lepuxrdprjs with maintaining the superiority of
§ 44 ^pts iarai eirl tov duofxaros the new covenant, as repre-
T^s ima-KOTTTjs. The common sented by the great High-Priest
feature which connects the two {dpxi-epeijs) in and through whom
offices together is stated in the the whole Church has access to
words, §43iVa/A^ dxarao-Tao-ia God, over the old dispensation
y^v7}TaL. of the Levitical priesthood
2 See below, p. 119 sq. [Upeh). If this interpretation
'^ Some passages are quoted be correct, the passage echoes
in Greenwood Cathedra Petri the teaching of the Epistle to
I. p. 73 as tending in this direc- the Hebrews, and is opposed to
tion, e.g. Philad. 9 koXoI Kal ol exclusive sacerdotalism. On the
iepeis, Kpeiaaov hk b a/)xtepci5s nieaning of duaiaaTripioi' in the
K.T.X. But rightly interpreted Ignatian Epistles see below,
they do not favour this view. p. 130, note 1.
In the passage quoted for in-
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY 109
be ever safe to take the sentiments of an individual
writer as expressing the belief of his age, we may
infer from the silence which pervades these letters,
that the sacerdotal view of the ministry had not yet
found its way into the Christian Church.
When we pass on to the third apostolic father,
the same phenomenon is repeated. Polycarp, like Polycarp.
Clement and Ignatius, occupies much space in dis-
cussing the duties and the claims of Christian
ministers. He takes occasion especially to give his
correspondents advice as to a certain presbyter who
had disgraced his office by a grave offence \ Yet he
again knows nothing, or at least says nothing, of any
sacerdotal privileges which claimed respect, or of any
sacerdotal sanctity which has been violated.
Justin Martyr writes about a generation later. Justin
He speaks at length and with emphasis on the ^^ ^^
eucharistic offerings. Here at least we might expect
to find sacerdotal views of the Christian ministry
propounded. Yet this is far from being the case.
He does indeed lay stress on sacerdotal functions,
but these belong to the whole body of the Church,
and are not in any way the exclusive right of the
clergy. ' So we,' he writes, when arguing against maintains
Trypho the Jew, * who through the name of Jesus g°j prS^-
have believed as one man in God the maker of the hood,
universe, having divested ourselves of our filthy
garments, that is our sins, through the name of His
first-born Son, and having been refined (irvpcoOevTefi)
by the word of His calling, are the true high -priestly
race of God, as God Himself also beareth witness,
saying that in every place among the Gentiles are
^ See PMlippians p. 63 sq.
110 THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
men offering sacrifices well-pleasing unto Him and
pure (Mai. i. 11). Yet God doth not receive sacrifices
from any one, except through His priests. Therefore
God anticipating all sacrifices through this name,
which Jesus Christ ordained to be offered, I mean
those offered by the Christians in every region of
the earth with (eVl) the thanksgiving (the eucharist)
of the bread and of the cup, beareth witness that
they are well-pleasing to Him; but the sacrifices
offered by you and through those your priests He
rejecteth, saying, " And your sacrifices I will not
accept from your hands etc. (Mai. i. 10) "^' The
whole Christian people therefore (such is Justin's
conception) have not only taken the place of the
Aaronic priesthood, but have become a nation of
high-priests, being made one with the great High-
Priest of the new covenant and presenting their
eucharistic offerings in His name.
Another generation leads us from Justin Martyr
to Irenaeus. When Irenseus writes, the second cen-
tury is very far advanced. Yet still the silence which
has accompanied us hitherto remains unbroken.
And here again it is important to observe that
Irenajus, if he held the sacerdotal view, had every
motive for urging it, since the importance and au-
thority of the episcopate occupy a large space in his
teaching. Nevertheless he not only withholds this
title as a special designation of the Christian minis-
try, but advances an entirely different view of the
priestly office. He recognises only the priesthood
of moral holiness, the priesthood of apostolic self-
denial. Thus commenting on the reference made
1 Dial. c. Tryph. c. 116, 117, p. 344.
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY 111
by our Lord to the incident in David's life where
the king and his followers eat the shew-bread, 'which
it is not lawful to eat save for the priests alone,'
Irenseus remarks^; * He excuseth His disciples by
the words of the law, and signifieth that it is lawful
for priests to act freely. For David had been called
to be a priest in the sight of God, although Saul
carried on a persecution against him ; for all just
men belong to the sacerdotal orderl Now all apo-
stles of the Lord are priests, for they inherit neither
lands nor houses here, but ever attend on the altar
and on God': ' Who are they,' he goes on, 'that have
left father and mother and have renounced all their
kindred for the sake of the word of God and His-
covenant, but the disciples of the Lord ? Of these
Moses saith again, " But they shall have no inherit-
ance; for the Lord Himself shall be their inherit-
ance"; and again, '*The Priests, the Levites, in the
whole tribe of Levi shall have no part nor inheritance
with Israel : the first-fruits (fructificationes) of the
Lord are their inheritance ; they shall eat them."
For this reason also Paul saith, " I require not the
gift, but I require the fruit." The disciples of the
Lord, he would say, were allowed when hungry to
take food of the seeds (they had sown): for "The
1 Haer. iv. 8. 3. and does not suit the context.
'^ This sentence is cited by The close conformity of their
John Damascene and Antonius quotations from the Ignatian
irds /SatrtXeus 5i/caios iepaTiKrjv letters is a sufficient proof that
ix^i To^tv; but the words were these two writers are not in-
quoted doubtless from memory dependent authorities ; see the
by the one writer and borrowed passages in Cureton's Corp.
by the other from him. ^aa-iXeds Igtiat. -p. 180 aq.
is not represented in the Latin
112 THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
labourer is worthy of his food.'" Again, striking
upon the same topic in a later passage^ and com-
menting on the words of Jeremiah (xxxi. 14), " I
will intoxicate the soul of the priests the sons of
Levi, and my people shall be filled with my good
things," he adds, 'we have shown in a former book,
that all disciples of the Lord are priests and
Levites: who also profaned the Sabbath in the
temple and are blameless.' Thus Irenieus too recog-
nises the whole body of the faithful under the
new dispensation as the counterparts of the sons of
Levi under the old. The position of the Apostles
and Evangelists has not yet been abandoned.
Explana- A few years later, but still before the close of the
passage^n Century, Polycrates of Ephesus writes to Victor of
Poly- Rome. Incidentally he speaks of St John as 'having
crates . .
been made a priest' and 'wearing the mitre'-; and
this might seem to be a distinct expression of sacer-
dotal views, for the ' mitre ' to which he alludes is
doubtless the tiara of the Jewish high-priest. But it
may very reasonably be questioned if this is the
correct meaning of the passage. Whether St John
did actually wear this decoration of the high-priestly
office, or whether Polycrates has mistaken a sym-
bolical expression in some earlier writer for an actual
fact, or whether lastly his language itself should be
treated as a violent metaphor, I have had occasion
^ Ilaer. v. 34. 3. ...tov irodrjpr] rrjs aXrjdelas /cat to
- In Euseb. H. E. v. 24 6s HraXov rrjs TriVrews k.t.\. See
iyevrjdr] lepeOs t6 iriToXov ire^o- also, as an illustration of the
pcKUis. Comp. TertuU. adv. Jud. metaphor, Tertull. Monoy. 12
14 'exornatus podere et mitra,' 'Cum ad peraequationem disci-
Test. xii. Patr. Levi 8 dvaaras plinae sacerdotalis provocamur,
ivSvffai TT}v o-toXtjv ttjs iepareias deponimus infulas.^
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY 113
to discuss above \ But in any case the notice is
explained by the language of St John himself, who
regards the whole body of believers as high-priests
of the new covenant 2; and it is certain that the
contemporaries of Polycrates still continued to hold
similar language ^ As a figurative expression or as
a literal fact, the notice points to St John as the
veteran teacher, the chief representative, of a ponti-
fical race. On the other hand, it is possible that
this was not the sense which Polycrates himself
attached to the figure or the fact: and if so, we have
here perhaps the earliest passage in any extant
Christian writing where the sacerdotal view of the
ministry is distinctly put forward.
Clement of Alexandria was a contemporary of Clement
Polycrates. Though his extant writings are con- ^^^^ ^^^"'
siderable in extent and though they are largely
occupied with questions of Christian ethics and
social life, the ministry does not hold a prominent
place in them. In the few passages where he
mentions it, he does not betray any tendency to
sacerdotal or even to hierarchical views. The bias
of his mind indeed lay in an opposite direction.
He would be much more inclined to maintain an
aristocracy of intellectual contemplation than of
sacerdotal office. And in Alexandria generally, as
we have seen, the development of the hierarchy was
slower than in other churches. How far he is from
1 Dissertations on the Ape- already quoted (p. 109), Dial. c.
stolic Age, p. 121 note. Tryph. § 116 dpxiepariKbv rb
2 Rev. ii. 17; see the com- dXrjdivbi' yivos iafih roD Qeov.
mentators. See also the passage of Origen
^ So Justin in the words quoted below, p. 117.
L. 8
114 THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
maintaining a sacerdotal view of the ministry and
how substantially he coincides with Irenseus in this
His *gno8- respect, will appear from the following passage. * It
tic' priest- • ^^^r r • • 1.1.
hood. ^^ possible tor men even now, by exercismg them-
selves in the commandments of the Lord and by
living a perfect gnostic life in obedience to the
Gospel, to be inscribed in the roll of the Apostles.
Such men are genuine presbyters of the Church
and true deacons of the will of God, if they practise
and teach the things of the Lord, being not indeed
ordained by men nor considered righteous because
they are presbyters, but enrolled in the presbytery
because they are righteous: and though here on
earth they may not be honoured with a chief seat,
yet shall they sit on the four and twenty thrones
judging the peopled' It is quite consistent with
this truly spiritual view, that he should elsewhere
recognise the presb3'ter, the deacon, and the layman,
as distinct orders 2. But on the other hand he never
uses the words ' priest,' ' priestly, * priesthood,' of
the Christian ministry. In one passage indeed he
contrasts laity and priesthood, but without any such
reference. Speaking of the veil of the temple and
assigning to it a symbolical meaning, he describes
it as ' a barrier against laic unbelief,' behind which
'the priestly ministration is hidden^' Here the
laymen and the priests are respectively those who
reject and those who appropriate the spiritual mys-
teries of the Gospel. Accordingly in the context
^ Strom, vi. 13, p. 793, p. 464) incorrectly adduces this
2 Strom, iii. 90, p. 552. passage as an express mention
3 Strom. V. 33 sq., p. 665 sq. of 'the distinction between the
Bp Kaye {Clement of Alexandria clergy and laity.'
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY 115
St Clement, following up the hint thrown out in
the Epistle to the Hebrews, gives a spiritual mean
ing to all the furniture of the holy place.
His younger contemporary Tertullian is the first Tertullian
to assert direct sacerdotal claims on behalf of the sacerdotal
Christian ministry. Of the heretics he complains '^^^^.^Z*^^
•^ _ ^ ministry,
that they impose sacerdotal functions on laymen \
' The right of giving baptism,' he says elsewhere,
* belongs to the chief priest (summus sacerdos), that
is, the bishop I' ' No woman,' he asserts, ' ought to
teach, baptize, celebrate the eucharist, or arrogate
to herself the performance of any duty pertaining
to males, much less of the sacerdotal office ^' And
generally he uses the words sacerdos, sacerdotium,
sacerdotalis, of the Christian ministry. It seems
plain moreover from his mode of speaking, that such
language was not peculiar to himself but passed
current in the churches among which he moved
Yet he himself supplies the true counterpoise to
this special sacerdotalism in his strong assertion of
the universal priesthood of all true believers. * We yet quaii-
should be foolish,' so he writes when arguing against ^is asser-
second marriages, ' to suppose that a latitude is tion of an
allowed to laymen which is denied to priests. Are priest-
not we laymen also priests ? It is written, " He hath ^°^^*
also made us a kingdom and priests to God and His
Father." It is the authority of the Church which
makes a difference between the order (the clergy)
and the people — this authority and the consecration
of their rank by the assignment of special benches
1 de Praescr. Haer. 41 * Nam ^ de Baptismo 17.
et laicis sacerdotalia munera ^ de Virg. veh 9.
injungunt.'
8—2
116 THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
to the clergy. Thus where there is no bench of
clergy, you present the eucharistic offerings and
baptize and are your own sole priest. For where
three are gathered together, there is a church, even
though they be laymen. Therefore if you exercise
the rights of a priest in cases of necessity, it is your
duty also to observe the discipline enjoined on a
priest, where of necessity you exercise the rights of
a priests' And in another treatise he writes in bitter
irony, * When we begin to exalt and inflame our-
selves against the clergy, then we are all one ; then
we are all priests, because, " He made us priests to
God and His Father": but when we are required
to submit ourselves equally to the priestly discipline,
we throw off our fillets and are no longer equal-.'
These passages, it is true, occur in treatises probably
written after TertuUian had become wholly or in
part a Montanist : but this consideration is of little
consequence, for they bear witness to the fact that
the scriptural doctrine of an universal priesthood
was common ground to himself and his opponents,
and had not yet been obscured by the sacerdotal
view of the Christian ministry ^
1 de Exh. Cast. 7. See Kaye's the old, and so interprets the
TertuUian p. 211, whose inter- text 'Show thyself to the priest';
pretation of ' honor per ordinis adv. Marc. iv. 9, adv. Jud. 14.
consessum sanctificatus ' I have Again, he uses ' sacerdos ' iil a
adopted. moral sense, de Spectac. 16
2 de Monog. 12. I have taken * sacerdotes pacis,' de Cult. Fevi.
the reading ' impares ' for ' pares,' ii. 12 * sacerdotes pudicitiae,' ad
as required by the context. Uxor. i. 6 (comp. 7) ' virgini-
3 TertuUian regards Christ, tatis et viduitatis sacerdotia.'
our great High-Priest, as the On the other hand in de Pall. 4
counterpart under the new dis- he seems to compare the Chris-
pensation of the priest under tian minister with the heathen
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY 117
An incidental expression in Hippolytus serves Sacerdotal
to show that a few years later than Tertullian J^^'^'J^^^
sacerdotal terms were commonly used to designate lytus.
the different orders of the clergy. ' We,' says the
zealous bishop of Portus, 'being successors of the
Apostles and partaking of the same grace both of
high-priesthood and of teaching and accounted guar-
dians of the Church, do not close our eyes drowsily
or tacitly suppress the true word, etc.^'
The march of sacerdotal ideas was probably slower Origen in-
at Alexandria than at Carthage or Rome. Though [^e^p^est-
belonging to the next generation, Origen's views are hoodspiri-
hardly so advanced as those of Tertullian. In the
temple of the Church, he says, there are two sanc-
tuaries: the heavenly, accessible only to Jesus Christ,
our great High-Priest ; the earthly, open to all priests
of the new covenant, that is, to all faithful believers.
For Christians are a sacerdotal race and therefore
have access to the outer sanctuary. There they
must present their offerings, their holocausts of
love and self-denial. From this outer sanctuary our
High-Priest takes the fire, as He enters the Holy of
Holies to offer incense to the Father (see Lev. xvi.
12)2. • Very many professed Christians, he writes
elsewhere (I am here abridging his words), occupied
chiefly with the concerns of this world and dedicating
few of their actions to God, are represented by the
tribes, who merely present their tithes and first-
fruits. On the other hand 'those who are devoted
to the divine word, and are dedicated sincerely to
priests, but too much stress ^ Haer. procem. p. 3.
must not be laid on a rhetorical ^ Hom. ix. in Lev. 9, 10 (ii.
image. p. 243 Delarue).
118 THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
the sole worship of God, may not unreasonably be
called priests and Levites according to the difference
in this respect of their impulses tending thereto.'
Lastly 'those who excel the men of their own
generation perchance will be high-priests.' They
are only high -priests however after the order of
Aaron, our Lord Himself being High -Priest after
the order of Melchisedek\ Again in a third place
he says, ' The Apostles and they that are made like
unto the Apostles, being priests after the order of
the great High-Priest, having received the know-
ledge of the worship of God and being instructed
by the Spirit, know for what sins they ought to
offer sacrifices, etc.^' In all these passages Origen
lias taken spiritual enlightenment and not sacerdotal
office to be the Christian counterpart to the Aaronic
but applies priesthood. Elsewhere however he makes use of
terms to^^ sacerdotal terms to describe the ministry of the
the minis- Church^; and in one place distinguishes the priests
and the Levites as representing the presbyters and
deacons respectively*.
1 In Joann. i. § 3 (iv. p. 3). (Or /^rcngs ii. p. 417), hardly bears
^ de Orat. 28 (i. p. 255). See this sense, for the ' pontifex '
also Horn. iv. in Num. 3 (ii. p. applies to our Lord ; and it is
283). clear from Horn, in Ps. xxxvii.
=* Horn. V. in Lev. 4(ii. p. 208 § 6 (ii. p. 688) that in Origen's
sq.) 'Discant sacerdotes Domini opinion the confessor to the
qui ecclesiis praesunt,' and also penitent need not bean ordained
ib. Horn. ii. 4 (ii. p. 191) 'Cum minister. The passages in Rede-
non erubescit sacerdoti Domini penning's Origenes bearing on
indicare peccatum suum et this subject are i, p. 357, ii.
quaerere medicinam ' (he quotes pp. 250, 417, 436 sq.
James v. 14 in illustration). ■* Horn. xii. in Jerem. 3 (iii.
But Horn. X. in Num. 1, 2 (ii. p. 196) * If any one therefore
p. 302), quoted by Redepenning among these priests (I mean us
try
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY 119
Hitherto the sacerdotal view of the Christian
ministry has not been held apart from a distinct
recognition of the sacerdotal functions of the whole
Christian body. The minister is thus regarded as a The priest-
priest, because he is the mouthpiece, the representa- ministry
tive, of a priestly race. Such appears to be the springs
conception of Tertullian, who speaks of the clergy priesthood
as separate from the laity only because the Church of thepon-
. . . gregation.
in the exercise of her prerogative has for convenience
entrusted to them the performance of certain sacer-
dotal functions belonging properly to the whole con-
gregation, and of Origen, who, giving a moral and
spiritual interpretation to the sacerdotal office, con-
siders the priesthood of the clergy to differ from the
priesthood of the laity only in degree, in so far as
the former devote their time and their thoughts
more entirely to God than the latter. So long as
this important aspect is kept in view, so long as the
priesthood of the ministry is regarded as springing
from the priesthood of the whole body, the teaching
of the Apostles has not been directly violated. But
still it was not a safe nomenclature which assigned
the terms sacerdos, Upev^, and the like, to the
ministry, as a special designation. The appearance
of this phenomenon marks the period of transition
from the universal sacerdotalism of the New Testa-
ment to the particular sacerdotalism of a later age.
If Tertullian and Origen are still hovering on Cyprian
the border, Cyprian has boldly transferred himself ^^jj^^f^".
into the new domain. It is not only that he uses disguised
the terms sacerdos, sacerdotium, sacerdotalis, of the talism.
the presbyters) or among these people (I mean the deacons)
Levites who stand about the etc'
120 THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
ministry with a frequency hitherto without parallel.
But he treats all the passages in the Old Testament
which refer to the privileges, the sanctions, the duties,
and the responsibilities of the Aaronic priesthood, as
applying to the officers of the Christian Church. His
opponents are profane and sacrilegious ; they have
passed sentence of death on themselves by disobey-
ing the command of the Lord in Deuteronomy to
'hear the priest^'; they have forgotten the injunc-
tion of Solomon to honour and reverence God's
priests^; they have despised the example of St
Paul who regretted that he 'did not know it was the
high priest^'; they have been guilty of the sin of
Korah, Dathan, and Abiram^ These passages are
urged again and again. They are urged moreover,
as applying not by parity of reasoning, not by
analogy of circumstance, but as absolute and imme-
diate and unquestionable. As Cyprian crowned the
edifice of episcopal power, so also was he the first to
put forw^ard without relief or disguise the sacerdotal
assumptions ; and so uncompromising was the tone
in which he asserted them, that nothing was left to
his successors but to enforce his principles and re-
iterate his language*.
After thus tracing the gradual departure from
the Apostolic teaching in the encroachment of the
1 Deut. xvii. 12 ; see Epist. ^ De Unit. EccL p. 83 (Fell),
3, 4, 43, 59, 66. Epist. 3, 67, 69, 73.
2 Though the words are a- " The sacerdotal language in
scribed to Solomon, the quota- the Apostolical Constitutions is
tion comes from Ecclus. vii. 29, hardly less strong, while it is
31 ; see Ejnst. 3. more systematic ; but their date
3 Acts xxiii. 4 ; see Epist. 3, is uncertain and cannot well be
69, 66. placed earlier than Cyprian.
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY 121
sacerdotal on the pastoral and ministerial view of
the clergy, it will be instructive to investigate the
causes to which this divergence from primitive truth
may be ascribed. To the question whether the Were
change was due to Jewish or Gentile influences, views due
opposite answers have been given. To some it has *° Jewish
appeared as a reproduction of the Aaronic priesthood, tile in-
due to Pharisaic tendencies, such as we find among "^^*'®^--
St Paul's converts in Galatia and at Corinth, still
lingering in the Church : to others, as imported into
Christianity by the ever-increasing mass of heathen
converts who were incapable of shaking off their
sacerdotal prejudices and appreciating the free spirit
of the Gospel. The latter view seems correct in the
main, but requires some modification.
At all events so far as the evidence of extant The
writings goes, there is no reason for supposing that Jewish
sacerdotalism was especially rife among the Jewish Christian
converts. The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs contain no
may be taken to represent one phase of Judaic *^^^^^ ^^
Christianity; the Clementine writings exhibit another, dotalism.
In both alike there is an entire absence of sacerdotal
views of the ministry. The former work indeed
dwells at length on our Lord's office, as the descen-
dant and heir of Levi^ and alludes more than once
to His institution of a new priesthood ; but this
priesthood is spiritual and comprehensive. Christ
Himself is the High-Priest ^ and the sacerdotal
office is described as being 'after the type of the
Gentiles, extending to all the Gentiles^' On the
Christian ministry the writer is silent. In the
1 Dissertations on the Aposto- ^ Ruben 6, Symeon 7, Levi 18.
lie Age, p. 76. ^ Levi 8.
122 THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
Clementine Homilies the case is somewhat different,
but the inference is still more obvious. Though the
episcopate is regarded as the backbone of the
Church, though the claims of the ministry are urged
with great distinctness, no appeal is ever made to
priestly sanctity as the ground of this exalted esti-
mated Indeed the hold of the Levitical priesthood
on the mind of the pious Jew must have been
materially weakened at the Christian era by the
development of the synagogue organization on the
one hand, and by the ever-growing influence of the
learned and literary classes, the scribes and rabbis,
on the other. The points on which the Judaizers of
the apostolic age insist are the rite of circumcision,
the distinction of meats, the observance of sabbaths,
and the like. The necessity of the priesthood was
not, or at least is not known to have been, part of
their programme. Among the Essene Jews es-
pecially, who went so far as to repudiate the temple
sacrifices, no great importance could have been
attached to the Aaronic priesthood^: and after the
Apostolic age at all events, the most active Judaizers
of the Dispersion seem to have belonged to the
Essene type. But indeed the overwhelming argu-
ment against ascribing the growth of sacerdotal
views to Jewish influence lies in the fact, that there
1 See the next note. bad to the good, the false to the
2 Dissertations on the Apo- true, Hke Cain to Abel, Ishmael
stolic Age, pp* 71), 82 sq., to Isaac, etc. In the Recogni-
350 ; Colossians p. 89. In the tions the estimate of the high-
syzygies of the Clementine priest's position is still un-
Homilies (ii. 16, 33) Aaron is favourable (i. 46, 48). Compare
opposed to Moses, the high- the statement in Justin, Dial.
priest to the lawgiver, as the c. Tryph, 117.
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY 123
is a singular absence of distinct sacerdotalism during
the first century and a half, when alone on any show-
ing Judaism was powerful enough to impress itself
on the belief of the Church at large.
It is therefore to Gentile feeling that this develop- Sacerdo-
ment must be ascribed. For the heathen, familiar ^^^{0 ^*^
with auguries, lustrations, sacrifices, and depending Gentile in-
on the intervention of some priest for all the mani
fold religious rites of the state, the club, and the
family, the sacerdotal functions must have occupied
a far larger space in the affairs of every-day life,
than for the Jew of the Dispersion who of necessity
dispensed, and had no scruple at dispensing, with
priestly ministrations from one year's end to the
other. With this presumption drawn from proba-
bility the evidence of fact accords. In Latin
Christendom, as represented by the Church of
Carthage, the germs of the sacerdotal idea appear
first and soonest ripen to maturity. If we could
satisfy ourselves of the early date of the Ancient
Syriac Documents lately published, we should have
discovered another centre from which this idea
was propagated. And so far their testimony may
perhaps be accepted. Syria was at least a soil
where such a plant would thrive and luxuriate. In
no country of the civilized world was sacerdotal
authority among the heathen greater. The most
important centres of Syrian Christianity, Antioch
and Emesa, were also the cradles of strongly- marked
sacerdotal religions which at different times made
their influence felt throughout the Roman empire \
1 The worship of the Syrian the most popular of oriental
goddess of Antioch was among superstitions under the earlier
fluences,
124 THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
This being so, it is a significant fact that the first
instance of the term ' priest/ applied to a Christian
minister, occurs in a heathen writer. At least I have
not found any example of this application earlier
than Lucian^
but sought But though the spirit, which imported the idea
Old^Testa" ^^^^ ^^^ Church of Christ and sustained it there,
ment ana- ^^s chiefly due to Gentile education, yet its form
logies. . . "^
was almost as certainly derived from the Old Testa-
ment. And this is the modification which needs to
be made in the statement, in itself substantially
true, that sacerdotalism must be traced to the
influence of Heathen rather than of Jewish converts.
(1) Meta- In the Apostolic writings we find the terms
^sacri^ * offering,' * sacrifice,' applied to certain conditions
fices.' and actions of the Christian life. These sacrifices
or offerings are described as spiritual^; they consist
of praise', of faith'', of almsgiving-^, of the devotion
of the body", of the conversion of unbelievers', and
the like. Thus whatever is dedicated to God's
service may be included under this metaphor. In
one passage also the image is so far extended, that
the Apostolic writer speaks of an altar^ pertaining
to the spiritual service of the Christian Church. If
on this noble Scriptural language a false supers truc-
Caesars; the rites of the Sun -god ' Heb. xiii. 15.
of Emesa became fashionable ■* Phil. ii. 17.
under Elagabalus. ^ Acts xxiv. 17, Phil. iv. 18;
^ de Mort. Peregr. 11 ttji/ comp. Heb. xiii. 16.
6avixa<rTr)v <ro<plav Tu>y XpiffTiavCbv ^ Kom. xii. 1.
e^^fiade irepl tt]v liaXaiffTlvrjv rots "^ Rom. xv. 16.
lepevffi Kal ypafifiaTeOaip airuv ^ Heb. xiii. 10. See below,
^vyyevSixevoi. p. 130, note 1.
2 1 Pet. ii. 5.
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY 125
ture has been reared, we have here only one instance
out of many, where the truth has been impaired by
transferring statements from the region of metaphor
to the region of fact.
These 'sacrifices' were very frequently the acts
not of the individual Christian, but of the whole
congregation. Such for instance were the offerings
of public prayer and thanksgiving, or the collection
of alms on the first day of the week, or the contri-
bution of food for the agape, and the like. In such Ofiferings
cases the congregation was represented by its ^^he ^
minister, who thus acted as its mouthpiece and ministers,
was said to 'present the offerings' to God. So the
expression is used in the Epistle of St Clement of
Rome\ But in itself it involves no sacerdotal view.
This ancient father regards the sacrifice or offering
as the act of the whole Church performed through
its presbyters. The minister is a priest in the same
sense only in which each individual member of the
^ Clem. Rom. 44 Tous d/A^/nTTTWs 7/as avroO Kavbva. Compare
KaloffLios irpoffeveyKdvTasTadoJpa. especially Heb. xiii. 10, 15, 16
What sort of offerings are meant, ^xoA'f" dvffia(rTr)piou i^ ov <pay€?v
may be gathered from other ovk exovatv [i^ovaiap] ol r^
passages in Clement's Epistle; aKrjvrj \aTp€vovT€S...Ai airoO odv
e.g. § 35 dvcrla alv^creios do^daei dva<pipo}iJ.€v dvalap abiaeus SiA
fie, § 52 dvaoi' Tip Gey dvaiav wavrbs T(p Qecp, rovriaTtv, Kapirbv
alviaetos Kal aTrbdos Tip v\pi<TTip ^^ t^^'^" bfioKoyoiLtvTiav Tip ovbfxaTi
ras evxo-s <rov, § 36 evpofxev t6 avToO' ttjs 8^ einroitas Kal KOivco-
aiOTrjpLOU 7)fxu}v 'IrjiTovv XpiffTOV vias fir] ^iriXauddveade, roiai^ratj
TOP dpxiep^a Twv TTpoaipopuv tiixCov yap dvalats evapecTTeiTai b Qebs.
Tbv TTpocrTdTTjv Kal §oT]dbv TTJs The doctrine of the early
dadeveias 7]fxQv, and § 41 'eKaaTos Church respecting ' sacrifice ' is
vixuv, d5e\(f)oi, ev Tip Ibiip Tay/xaTi investigated by Hofling die
evxapKTTeiTia Tip Qeip iv dyadrj Lehre der altesten Kirclie vom
avvtibriaeL vTrapx^^v, fJ-V Trapeze- Opfer (Erlangen 1851).
^alviav Tbv CipiCfjAvov ttJs XeiTovp-
126 THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
congregation is a priest. When St Clement de-
nounces those who usurp the functions of the
presbyters, he reprobates their conduct not as an
act of sacrilege but as a violation of order. He
views the presbytery as an Apostolic ordinance, not
as a sacerdotal caste.
Thus when this father speaks of the presbytery
as ' presenting the offerings,' he uses an expression
which, if not directly scriptural, is at least accordant
with the tenour of Scripture. But from such
language the transition to sacerdotal views was easy,
where the sacerdotal spirit was rife. From being the
act of the whole congregation, the sacrifice came to
be regarded as the act of the minister who officiated
on its behalf
Special And this transition was moreover facilitated by
onhe"iiie- *^^ growing tendency to apply the terms 'sacrifice'
taphor to and 'offering' exclusively or chiefly to the eucharistic
rist. service. It may be doubted whether, even as used
by St Clement, the expression may not have a
special reference to this chief act of Christian dedi-
cation \ It is quite certain that writers belonging
^ On the whole however the Compare Const. Apost. ii. 25
passage from the Epistle to the ai rbre dvalai vvv euxai koI
Hebrews alluded to in the last Se-fjaeL^ Kal evxapia-rlai, al rbre
note seems to be the best ex- airapxal Kal deKarai Kal d(f)aipi-
ponent of St Clement's mean- fiara Kal 8Qpa vvv Tpoacpopal ai
ing, as he very frequently follows 8ia tCov otrlcov iiriaKdvuv
this Apostolic writer. If fvxa- irpoaipepdfjLevai Kvplcj) k.t.X.,
piarelTO} has any special refer- § 27 Trpocr-qKei odv Kcd v/xds, dSeX-
ence to the holy eucharist, as it (f>ol, tcls dvalas xifiQiv -ffroi irpoc-
mayhave,5w/)a will nevertheless 0opAs t^ e-maKbiri^ irpo(y(f>ipeLv
be the alms and prayers and wj apxtepei k.t.X., § 34 roi>$
thanksgivings which accom- Kapiroiis vp.ojv Kal ra ^pya tuv
panied the celebration of it. x^i-P<^^ vfiiov els evXoylav v/xuv
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY 127
to the generations next following, Justin Martyr
and Irenseus for instances employ the terms very
frequently with this reference. We may here re-
serve the question in what sense the celebration of
the Lord's supper may or may not be truly called a
sacrifice. The point to be noticed at present is this;
that the offering of the eucharist, being regarded as
the one special act of sacrifice and appearing' ex-
ternally to the eye as the act of the officiating
minister, might well lead to the minister being
called a priest and then being thought a priest in
some exclusive sense, where the religious bias was
in this direction and as soon as the true position
of the minister as the representative of the congre-
gation was lost sight of.
But besides the metaphor or the analogy of (2) Ana-
the sacrifice, there w^as another point of resem- the^three
blance also between the Jewish priesthood and the orders and
Christian ministry, which favoured the sacerdotal cal prie st-
view of the latter. As soon as the episcopate ^°^^'
and presby'tery ceased to be regarded as sub-
orders and were looked upon as distinct orders,
the correspondence of the threefold ministry with
the three ranks of the Levitical priesthood could
irpofffpipovTCi avrip (sc. t<^ iiri- 13 (p. 60), i. 65, 66, 67 (p. 97 sq.),
<rK6irif3)...Ta Swpa v/xcSv dtd6vT€s Dial. 28, 29 (p. 246), 41 (p. 259
avT(^ 0)$ lepei Qeou, § 53 d(2pou 54 sq.), 116, 117 (p. 344 sq.), Iren.
iffTi 06^17 eKdarov irpoaevxh /cat Haer. iv. cc. 17, 18, 19, v. 2. 3,
evxapiaria : comp. also § 35. Fra^rw. 38 (Stieren). The place
These passages are quoted in occupied by the eucharistic ele-
Hofling, p. 27 sq. ments in their view of sacrifice
1 The chief passages in these will only be appreciated by
fathers relating to Christian reading the passages continu-
oblations are, Justin Apol. i ously.
128 THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
not fail to suggest itself. The solitary bishop
represented the solitary high-priest; the principal
acts of Christian sacrifice were performed by the
presbyters, as the principal acts of Jewish sacri-
fice by the priests; and the attendant ministrations
were assigned in the one case to the deacon, as in
the other to the Levite. Thus the analogy seemed
complete. To this correspondence however there
was one grave impediment. The only High-Priest
under the Gospel recognised by the apostolic writings,
is our Lord Himself Accordingly in the Christian
remains of the ages next succeeding this title is
reserved as by right to Him^; and though belonging
to various schools, all writers alike abstain from
applying it to the bishop. Yet the scruple was at
length set aside. When it had become usual to speak
of the presbyters as ' sacerdotes,' the designation
of 'pontifex' or 'summus sacerdos' for the bishop
was far too convenient and too appropriate to be
neglected.
Thus the analogy of the sacrifices and the cor-
respondence of the threefold order supplied the
material on which the sacerdotal feeling worked.
And in this way, by the union of Gentile sentiment
with the ordinances of the Old Dispensation, the
doctrine of an exclusive priesthood found its way
into the Church of Christ.
Question How far is the language of the later Church
sugges e . j^si^iflable ? Can the Christian ministry be called
a priesthood in any sense ? and if so, in what sense ?
1 See Clem. Rom. 36, 58, 9, Test. xii. Pair. Rub. 6, Sym.
Polyc. Phil. 12, Ignat. Philad. 7, etc., Clem. Recogn. i. 48.
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY 129
The historical investigation, which has suggested
this question as its proper corollary, has also sup-
plied the means of answering it.
Though different interpretations may be put Silence of
upon the fact that the sacred writers throughout stoiic^ri-
refrain from applying sacerdotal terms to the Chris- ters.
tian ministry, I think it must be taken to signify
this much at least, that this ministry, if a priesthood
at all, is a priesthood of a type essentially different
from the Jewish. Otherwise we shall be perplexed
to explain why the earliest Christian teachers should
have abstained. from using those terms which alone
would adequately express to their hearers the one
most important aspect of the ministerial office. It
is often said in reply, that we have here a question
not of words, but of things. This is undeniable: but
words express things ; and the silence of the Apostles
still requires an explanation.
However the interpretation of this fact is not far Epistle
to seek. The Epistle to the Hebrews speaks at Hebrews •
great length on priests and sacrifices in their Jewish
and their Christian bearing. It is plain from this
epistle, as it may be gathered also from other notices
Jewish and Heathen, that the one prominent idea of its doctri-
the priestly office at this time was the function of j^g
offering sacrifice and thereby making atonement.
Now this Apostolic writer teaches that all sacrifices
had been consummated in the one Sacrifice, all
priesthoods absorbed in the one Priest. The offering
had been made once for all : and, as there were no
more victims, there could be no more priests \ All
1 The epistle deals mainly antitype of the High-Priest
with the office of Christ as the offering the annual sacrifice of
L. 9
130
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
former priesthoods had borne witness to the necessity
of a human mediator, and this sentiment had its
satisfaction in the Person and Office of the Son of
Man. All past sacrifices had proclaimed the need of
an atoning death, and had their antitype, their realiz-
ation, their annulment, in the Cross of Christ. This
explicit statement supplements and interprets the
silence elsewhere noticed in the Apostolic writings,
t "^1 ^^^ai Strictly accordant too with the general tenour of
gies. his argument is the language used throughout by the
writer of this epistle. He speaks of Christian sacri-
fices, of a Christian altar; but the sacrifices are
praise and thanksgiving and well-doing, the altar is
apparently the Cross of Christ ^ If the Christian
atonement: and it has been doubt as to the exact significance
urged that there is still room
for a sacrificial priesthood under
the High-Priest, The whole ar-
gument however is equally ap-
plicable to the inferior priests :
and in one passage at least it is
directly so applied (x. 11, 12),
•And every priest standeth daily
{Kad' rj/ji^pav) ministering and
offering the same sacrifices,
etc.'; where the v. 1. apxiepei/s
for lepeifs seems to have arisen
from the desire to bring the
verse into more exact conformity
with what has gone before. This
passage, it should be remem-
bered, is the summing-up and
generalization of the previous
argument.
1 It is surprising that some
should have interpreted dvaiaa--
T-fipiov in Heb. xiii. 10 of the
Lord's table. There may be a
of the term in this passage, but
an actual altar is plainly not
intended. This is shown by
the context both before and
after: e.g. ver. 9 the opposition
of X'^P'-^ ^^^ /SpoiyLiara, ver. 15
the contrast implied in the
mention of dvaia alueaeus and
Kapirhs xft^f<«"'> 8,nd ver. 16 the
naming eviroita koL Koiucovia as
the kind of sacrifice with which
God is well pleased. In my
former editions I interpreted
the dv<Tt,a<TTTfjpi.ov of the congre-
gation assembled for worship,
having been led to this inter-
pretation by the Christian
phraseology of succeeding ages.
So Clem. Alex. Strom, vii. 6,
p. 848, ^(TTi yovv TO irap' ijtuv
dvaiacrrripiov evravda rb iwiyeiov
rb ddpoLcr/xa tQjv tois euxals ava-
KufjAptav. The use of the word
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
131
in Ignatius also, though less
obvious, appears to be sub-
stantially the same, Ephes. 5,
Trail. 7, Philad. 4 (but in
Magn. 7 it seems to be a meta-
phor for our Lord Himself);
see Hofling Opfer etc. p. 32 sq.
Similarly too Polycarp (§ 4)
speaks of the body of widows as
6v(na(TTr)piov Qeov. [See notes
on these passages in Apostolic
Fathers, Part ii. S. Ignathis,
S. Polycarp.] But I have since
been convinced that the con-
text points to the Cross of
Christ spiritually regarded, as
the true interpretation.
Since my first edition ap-
peared, a wholly different in-
terpretation of the passage has
been advocated by more than
one writer. It is maintained
that ^x^Mf'' dvaiaar-qpiov should
be understood 'we Jews have
an altar,' and that the writer
of the epistle is here bringing
an example from the Old Dis-
pensation itself (the sin-offering
on the day of atonement) in
which the sacrifices were not
eaten. This interpretation is
attractive, but it seems to me
inadequate to explain the whole
context (though it suits parts
well enough), and is ill adapted
to individual expressions (e.g.
dva-Laa-T'i^pt.ov where dvaia would
be expected, and ol tQ aK7}v^
XarpeiJovTcs which thus becomes
needlessly emphatic), not to
mention that the first person
plural and the present tense
^XO/wei' seem unnatural where
the author and his readers are
spoken of, not as actual Chris-
tians, but as former Jews. In
fact the analogy of the sacrifice
on the day of atonement ap-
pears not to be introduced till
the next verse, Hv yap ei(T<f)^peTaL
^{b(j}V K.T.X.
Some interpreters again, from
a comparison of 1 Cor. ix. 13
with 1 Cor. X. 18, have inferred
that St Paul recognises the
designation of the Lord's table
as an altar. On the contrary
it is a speaking fact, that in
both passages he avoids using
this term of the Lord's table,
though the language of the
context might readily have sug-
gested it to him, if he had con-
sidered it appropriate. Nor
does the argument in either
case require or encourage such
an inference. In 1 Cor. ix. 13,
14, the Apostle writes ' Know
ye not that they which wait at
the altar are partakers * with
the altar? Even so hath the
Lord ordained that they which
preach the gospel should live
of the gospel.' The point of
resemblance in the two cases
is the holding a sacred office;
but the ministering on the altar
is predicated only of the former.
So also in 1 Cor. x. 18 sq., the
altar is named as common to
Jews and Heathens, but the
table only as common to Chris-
tians and Heathens; i.e. the
holy eucharist is a banquet, but
9-2
132 THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
ministry were a sacerdotal office, if the holy eucharist
were a sacerdotal act, in the same sense in which the
Jewish priesthood and the Jewish sacrifice were
sacerdotal, then his argument is faulty and his
language misleading. Though dwelling at great
length on the Christian counterparts to the Jewish
priest, the Jewish altar, the Jewish sacrifice, he omits
to mention the one office, the one place, the one act,
which on this showing would be their truest and
liveliest counterparts in the every-day worship of
the Church of Christ. He has rejected these, and
he has chosen instead moral and spiritual analogies
for all these sacred types \ Thus in what he has
said and in what he has left unsaid alike, his language
points to one and the same result.
Christian If therefore the sacerdotal office be understood to
"ri^'pSs ^"^P^^ ^^® offering of sacrifices, then the Epistle to
in another the Hebrews leaves no place for a Christian priest-
* hood. If on the other hand the word be taken in
a wider and looser acceptation, it cannot well be
withheld from the ministry of the Church of Christ.
Onl^^ in this case the meaning of the term should be
clearly apprehended : and it might have been better
if the later Christian vocabulary had conformed to
the silence of the Apostolic writers, so that the
possibility of confusion would have been avoided.
According to this broader meaning, the priest
may be defined as one who represents God to man
and man to God. It is moreover indispensable that
he should be called by God, for no man 'taketh this
it is not a sacrifice (in the ^ For the passages see above,
Jewish or Heathen sense of pp. 124, 125.
sacrifice).
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY 133
honour to himself.' The Christian ministr}^ satisfies
both these conditions.
Of the fulfihnent of the latter the only evidence as having
within our cognisance is the fact that the minister appoint-
is called according to a divinely appointed order. If ment,
the preceding investigation be substantially correct,
the three- fold ministry can be traced to Apostolic
direction ; and short of an express statement we can
possess no better assurance of a divine appointment
or at least a divine sanction. If the facts do not
allow us to unchurch other Christian communities
differently organized, they may at least justify our
jealous adhesion to a polity derived from this source.
And while the mode of appointment satisfies the
one condition, the nature of the office itself satisfies
the other ; for it exhibits the doubly representative
character which is there laid down.
The Christian minister is God's ambassador to as repre-
men : he is charged with the ministry of reconcilia- go^To
tion ; he unfolds the will of heaven ; he declares in ma".
God's name the terms on which pardon is offered ;
and he pronounces in God's name the absolution
of the penitent. This last mentioned function has
been thought to invest the ministry with a distinctly
sacerdotal character. Yet it is very closely con-
nected with the magisterial and pastoral duties of
the office, and is only priestly in the same sense
in which they are priestly. As empowered to de-
clare the conditions of God's grace, he is empowered
also to proclaim the consequences of their accept-
ance. But throughout his office is representative
and not vicarial \ He does not interpose between
* The distinction is made in Maurice's Kingdom of Christ ii. p. 216.
134 THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
God and man in such a way that direct communion
with God is superseded on the one hand, or that his
own mediation becomes indispensable on the other,
and as re- Again, the Christian minister is the representa-
man to ^ive of man to God — of the congregation primarily,
^od. of the individual indirectly as a member of the con-
gregation. The alms, the prayers, the thanksgivings
of the community are offered through him. Some
representation is as necessary in the Church as it is
in a popular government: and the nature of the
representation is not affected by the fact that the
form of the ministry has been handed down from
Apostolic times and may well be presumed to have
a divine sanction. For here again it must be borne
in mind that the minister's function is representative
without being vicarial. He is a priest, as the
mouthpiece, the delegate, of a priestly race. His
acts are not his own, but the acts of the congregation.
Hence too it will follow that, viewed on this side as
on the other, his function cannot be absolute and
indispensable. It may be a general rule, it may be
under ordinary circumstances a practically universal
law, that the highest acts of congregational worship
shall be performed through the principal officers of
the congregation. But an emergency may arise
when the spirit and not the letter must decide. The
Christian ideal will then interpose and interpret
our duty. The higher ordinance of the universal
priesthood will overrule all special limitations. The
layman will assume functions which are otherwise
restricted to the ordained minister \
1 For the opinion of the early especially the passage of Tertul-
Church on this subject see lian quoted above, pp. 115, 116.
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY 135
Yet it would be vain to deny that a very different The preva-
conception prevailed for many centuries in the Church gacerdotal-
of Christ. The Apostolic ideal was set forth, and ism con-
within a few generations forgotten. The vision was
only for a time and then vanished. A strictly sacer-
dotal view of the ministry superseded the broader
and more spiritual conception of their priestly
functions. From being the representatives, the am-
bassadors, of God, they came to be regarded as His
vicars. Nor is this the only instance where a false
conception has seemed to maintain a long-lived
domination over the Church. For some centuries
the idea of the Holy Roman Empire enthralled the
minds of men. For a still longer period the idea of
the Holy Roman See held undisturbed sway over
Western Christendom. To those who take a com-
prehensive view of the progress of Christianity, even
these more lasting obscurations of the truth will
present no serious difficulty. They will not suffer
themselves to be blinded thereby to the true nobility
of Ecclesiastical History : they will not fail to see
that, even in the seasons of her deepest degradation,
the Church was still the regenerator of society, the
upholder of right principle against selfish interest,
the visible witness of the Invisible God; they will
thankfully confess that, notwithstanding the pride
and selfishness and dishonour of individual rulers,
notwithstanding the imperfections and errors of
special institutions and developments, yet in her
continuous history the Divine promise has been
signally realized, 'Lo I am with you always, even
unto the end of the world.'
A.
Additional Notes to the Dissertation upon
THE Christian Ministry.
The following extracts from Bishop Lightfoofs
works illustrate his view of the Christian Ministry
over and above the particular scope of the Essay in
his Commentary on the Philippians. He felt that
unfair use had been made of that special line of
thought which he there pursued, and soon after the
close of the Lambeth Conference of 1888 he had this
collection of passages printed.
It is felt by those who have the best means of
knowing that he would himself have wished the collec-
tion to stand together simply as his rej^ly to the con-
stant imputation to him of opinions for which writers
wished to claim his support without any justification.
1. Commentary on the Epistle to the Philip-
pians (Essay on the Christian Ministry, 1868).
(i) p. 199, ed. 1; p. 201, later edd. (See above,
p. 31.)
* Unless we have recourse to a sweeping condemna-
tion of received documents, it seems vain to deny that
early in the second century the episcopal office was
firmly and widely established. Thus during the last
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY 137
three decades of the first century, and consequently
during the lifetime of the latest surviving Apostle, this
change must have been brought about.'
(ii) p. 212, ed. 1; p. 214, later edd. (See above,
p. 51.)
'The evidence for the early and wide extension of
episcopacy throughout proconsular Asia, the scene of
St John's latest labours, may be considered irrefragable.'
(iii) p. 225, ed. 1 ; p. 227, later edd. (See above,
pp. 72, 73.)
'But these notices, besides establishing the general
prevalence of episcopacy, also throw considerable light
on its origin... Above all, they establish this result
clearly, that its maturer forms are seen first in those
regions where the latest surviving Apostles (more especi-
ally St John) fixed their abode, and at a time when its
prevalence cannot be dissociated from their influence or
their sanction.'
(iv) p. 232, ed. 1; p. 234, later edd. (See above,
p. 82.)
'It has been seen that the institution of an episco-
pate must be placed as far back as the closing years of
the first century, and that it cannot, without violence
to historical testimony, be dissevered from the name of
St John.'
(v) p. 265, ed. 1; p. 267, later edd. (See above,
p. 133.)
'If the preceding investigation be substantially cor-
rect, the three-fold ministry can be traced to Apostolic
direction ; and short of an express statement we can
possess no better assurance of a divine appointment or
at least a divine sanction. If the facts do not allow us
to unchurch other Christian communities differently
organized, they may at least justify our jealous adhesion
to a polity derived from this source.'
138 THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
2. Commentary on the Epistle to the Philip-
pians (Preface to the Sixth Edition), 1881.
' The present edition is an exact reprint of the pre-
ceding one. This statement a})plies as well to the Essay
on the Threefold Ministry as to the rest of the work.
I should not have thought it necessary to be thus ex-
plicit, had I not been informed of a rumour that I had
found reason to abandon the main opinions expressed in
that Essay. There is no foundation for any such report.
The only point of importance on which I have modified
my views, since the Essay was first written, is the
authentic form of the letters of St Ignatius. Whereas
in the earlier editions of this work I had accepted the
three Curetonian letters, I have since been convinced
(as stated in later editions) that the seven letters of the
Short Greek are genuine. This divergence however does
not materially afifect the main point at issue, since even
the Curetonian letters afford abundant evidence of the
spread of episcopacy in the earliest years of the second
century.
But on the other hand, while disclaiming any change
in my opinions, I desire equally to disclaim the repre-
sentations of those opinions which have been put forward
in some quarters. The object of the Essay was an in-
vestigation into the origin of the Christian Ministry.
The result has been a confirmation of the statement in
the English Ordinal, "It is evident unto all men dili-
gently reading the Holy Scripture and ancient authors
that from the Apostles' time there have been these
orders of Ministers in Christ's Church, Bishops, Priests,
and Deacons." But I was scrupulously anxious not to
overstate the evidence in any case; and it would seem
that partial and qualifying statements, prompted by this
anxiety, have assumed undue proportions in the minds
ADDITIONAL NOTES 139
of some readers, who have emphasized them to the
neglect of the general drift of the Essay.'
8. Sermon preached before the Representative
Council of the Scottish Episcopal Church in St Mary's
Church at Glasgow, October 10, 1882. (' Sermons
preached on Special Occasions,' p. 182 sq.)
' When I spoke of unity as St Paul's charge to the
Church of Corinth, the thoughts of all present must,
I imagine, have fastened on one application of the
Apostolic rule which closely concerns yourselves. Episco-
pal communities in Scotland outside the organization
of the Scottish Episcopal Church — this is a spectacle
which no one, I imagine, would view with satisfaction
in itself, and which only a very urgent necessity could
justify. Can such a necessity be pleaded ? "One body"
as well as "one Spirit," this is the Apostolic rule. No
natural interpretation can be put on these words which
does not recognize the obligation of external, corporate
union. Circumstances may prevent the realisation of the
Apostle's conception, but the ideal must be ever present
to our aspirations and our prayers. I have reason to
believe that this matter lies very near to the hearts of
all Scottish Episcopalians. May God grant you a speedy
accomplishment of your desire. You have the same
doctrinal formularies : you acknowledge the same epi-
scopal polity: you respect the same liturgical forms.
"Sirs, ye are brethren." Do not strain the conditions
of reunion too tightly. I cannot say, for I do not
know, what faults or what misunderstandings there
may have been on either side in the past. If there have
been any faults, forget them. If there exist any mis-
understandings, clear them up. " Let the dead past
bury its dead."
140 THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
"While you seek unity among yourselves, you will
pray likewise that unity may be restored to your
Presbyterian brothers. Not insensible to the special
blessings which you yourselves enjoy, clinging tenaciously
to the threefold ministry as the completeness of the
Apostolic ordinance and the historical backbone of the
Church, valuing highly all those sanctities of liturgical
office and ecclesiastical season, which, modified from age
to age, you have inherited from an almost immemorial
past, thanking God, but not thanking Him in any
Pharisaic spirit, that these so many and great privi-
leges are continued to you which others have lost, you
will nevertheless shrink, as from the venom of a serpent's
fang, from any mean desire that their divisions may be
perpetuated in the hope of profiting by their troubles.
Divide et impera may be a shrewd worldly motto ; but
coming in contact with spiritual things, it defiles them
like pitch. Pacifica et impera is the true watchword of
the Christian and the Churchman.'
4. The Apostolic Fathers, Part Ii. S. Ignatius :
S. Polycarp, Vol. i. pp. 376, 377, 1885 (pp. 390, 391,
1889).
'The whole subject has been investigated by me in
an Essay on "The Christian Ministry"; and to this
I venture to refer my readers for fuller information.
It is there shown, if I mistake not, that though the New
Testament itself contains as yet no direct and indis-
putable notices of a localized episcopate in the Gentile
Churches, as distinguished from the moveable episcopate
exercised by Timothy in Ephesus and by Titus in Crete,
yet there is satisfactory evidence of its development in
the later years of the Apostolic age ; that this develop-
ment was not simultaneous and equal in all parts of
Christendom ; that it is more especially connected with
ADDITIONAL NOTES 141
the name of St John ; and tliat in the early years of the
second century the episcopate was widely spread and
had taken firm root, more especially in Asia Minor and
in Syria. If the evidence on which its extension in the
regions east of the ^gean at this epoch be resisted, I
am at a loss to understand what single fact relating to
the history of the Christian Church during the first half
of the second century can be regarded as established;
for the testimony in favour of this spread of the episco-
pate is more abundant and more varied than for any
other institution or event during this period, so far as I
recollect.'
5. Sermon preached before the Church Congress
at Wolverhampton, October 3, 1887. ('Sermons
preached on Special Occasions/ p. 259 sq.)
' But if this charge fails, what shall we say of her
isolation ? Is not this isolation, so far as it is true, much
more her misfortune than her fault? Is she to be
blamed because she retained a form of Church govern-
ment which had been handed down in unbroken con-
tinuity from the Apostolic times, and thus a line was
drawn between her and the reformed Churches of other
countries ? Is it a reproach to her that she asserted her
liberty to cast off the accretions which had gathered
about the Apostolic doctrine and practice through long
ages, and for this act was repudiated by the Roman
Church? But this very position, — call it isolation if you
will — which was her reproach in the past, is her hope
for the future. She was isolated because she could not
consort with either extreme. She was isolated because
she stood midway between the two. This central position
is her vantage ground, which fits her to be a mediator
wheresoever an occasion of mediation may arise.
142 THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
But this charge of isolation, if it had any appearance
of truth seventy years ago, has lost its force now.'
6. Durham Diocesan Conference. Inaugural
Address, October, 1887.
' When I speak of her religious position I refer alike
to polity and to doctrine. In both respects the negative,
as well as the positive, bearing of her position has to be
considered. She has retained the form of Church govern-
ment inherited from the Apostolic times, while she has
shaken off a yoke, which even in medieval times our
fathers found too heavy to bear, and which subsequent
developments have rendered tenfold more oppressive. She
has remained stedfast in the faith of Nicaea, but she
has never compromised herself by anj'^ declaration which
may entangle her in the meshes of science. The doc-
trinal inheritance of the past is hers, and the scientific
hopes of the future are hers. She is intermediate and
she may become mediatorial, when the opportunity occurs.
It was this twofold inheritance of doctrine and polity
which I had in view, when I spoke of the essentials
which could under no circumstances be abandoned.
Beyond this, it seems to me that large concessions might
be made. Unity is not uniformity On the other
hand it would be very short-sighted policy — even if it
were not traitorous to the truth — to tamper with essen-
tials and thus to imperil our mediatorial vantage ground,
for the sake of snatching an immediate increase of
numbers.'
7. Address on the Reopening of the Chapel,
Auckland Castle, August 1st, 1888. ('Leaders in
the Northern Church,' p. 145.)
*But, while we "lengthen our cords," we must
ADDITIONAL NOTES 143
" strengthen our stakes" likewise. Indeed this strength-
ening of our stakes will alone enable us to lengthen our
cords with safety, when the storms are howling around
us. We cannot afford to sacrifice any portion of the
faith once delivered to the saints ; we cannot surrender
for any immediate advantages the threefold ministry
which we have inherited from Apostolic times, and
which is the historic backbone of the Church. But
neither can we on the other hand return to the fables
of medievalism or submit to a yoke which our fathers
found too grievous to be borne — a yoke now rendered
a hundredfold more oppressive to the mind and con-
science, weighted as it is by recent and unwarranted
impositions of doctrine.'
B.
Extract from Preface to the Didache
[Apostolic Fathers, pp. 215, 216).
The work is obviously of very early date, as is
shown by the internal evidence of language and
subject-matter. Thus for instance the itinerant pro-
phetic order has not yet been displaced by the per-
manent localized ministry, but exists side by side
with it as in the lifetime of S. Paul (Eph. iv. 11,
1 Cor. xii. 28). Secondly, episcopacy has apparently
not yet become universal ; the word ' bishop ' is still
used as synonymous with ' presbyter,' and the writer
therefore couples * bishops ' with ' deacons ' (§ 1 5) as
S. Paul does (1 Tim. iii. 1—8, Phil. 1. 1) under
similar circumstances. Thirdly, from the expression-
in § 10 * after ye have been filled * it appears that
the agape still remains part of the Lord's Supper.
Lastly, the archaic simplicity of its practical sugges-
tions is only consistent with the early infancy of a
church. These indications point to the first or the
beginning of the second century as the date of the
work in its present form.
c.
The Ignatian Question.
In the following passage in his later work, The
Apostolic Fathers, Part ii. S. Ignatius, S. Polycarp,
I. p. 407 sq. {Ist edit 1885), i. p. 422 sq. (2nc^ edit,
1889), Dr Lightfoot sums up his reasons for the
change of opinion upon the Ignatian question an-
nounced above, p. 83, note 1.
The facts then are these :
(1) No Christian writings of the second century,
and very few writings of antiquity, whether Christian
or pagan, are so well authenticated as the Epistles of
Ignatius. If the Epistle of Polycarp be accepted as
genuine, the authentication is perfect \
(2) The main ground of objection against the
genuineness of the Epistle of Polycarp is its authenti-
cation of the Ignatian Epistles. Otherwise there is
every reason to believe that it would have passed
unquestioned.
(3) The Epistle of Polycarp itself is exceptionally
well authenticated by the testimony of his disciple
Irenseus.
1 ' ...Ignatius, if the Epistle of Polycarp be accepted as genuine.'
(2nd edit.)
L. 10
146 THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
(4) All attempts to explain the phenomena of the
Epistle of Polycarp, as forged or interpolated to give
colour to the Ignatian Epistles, have signally failed.
(5) The external testimony to the Ignatian Epistles
being so strong, only the most decisive marks of spurious-
ness in the epistles themselves, as for instance proved
anachronisms, would justify us in suspecting them as
interpolated or rejecting them as spurious.
(6) But so far is this from being the case that one
after another the anachronisms urged against these letters
have vanished in the light of further knowledge. Thus
the alleged refutation of the Yalentinian doctrine of
seons in Magn. 8 depends on a false reading which re-
cently discovered materials for the text have corrected.
The supposed anachronism of 'the leopards' (Eoni. 5) has
been refuted by the production of passages overlooked
by the objector. The argument from the mention of
the 'Catholic Church' {Smyrn. 8) has been shown to
rest on a false interpretation which disregards the
context.
(7) As regards the argument which Daille calls
'palmary' — the prevalence of episcopacy as a recognized
institution — we may say boldly that all the facts point
the other way. If the writer of these letters had repre*
sented the Churches of Asia Minor as under presbyteral
government, he would have contradicted all the evidence,
which without one dissentient voice points to episcopacy
as the established form of Church government in these
districts from the close of the first century.
(8) The circumstances of the condemnation, cap-
tivity, and journey of Ignatius, which have been a
stumbling-block to some modern critics, did not present
any difficulty to those who lived near the time and
therefore knew best what might be expected under the
circumstances; and they are sufficiently borne out by
ADDITIONAL NOTES 147
examples, more or less analogous, to establish their
credibility.
(9) The objections to the style and language of
the epistles are beside the purpose. In some cases they
arise from a misunderstanding of the writer's meaning.
Generally they may be said to rest on the assumption
that an apostolic father could not use exaggerated ex-
pressions, overstrained images, and the like — certainly
a sandy foundation on which to build an argument.
(10) A like answer holds with regard to any ex-
travagances in sentiment or opinion or character. Why
should Ignatius not have exceeded the bounds of sober
reason or correct taste? Other men in his own and
immediately succeeding ages did both. As an apostolic
father he was not exempt from the failings, if failings
they were, of his age and position.
(11) While the investigation of the contents of
these epistles has yielded this negative result, in dis-
sipating the objections, it has at the same time had
a high positive value, as revealing indications of a very
early date, and therefore presumably of genuineness, in
the surrounding circumstances, more especially in the
types of false doctrine which it combats, in the ecclesi-
astical status which it presents, and in the manner in
which it deals with the evangelical and apostolic docu-
ments.
(12) Moreover we discover in the personal environ-
ments of the assumed writer, and more especially in the
notices of his route, many subtle coincidences which we
are constrained to regard as undesigned, and which
seem altogether beyond the reach of a forger.
(13) So likewise the peculiarities in style and
diction of the epistles, as also in the representation of
the writer's character, are much more capable of expla-
nation in a genuine writing than in a forgery.
148 THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
(14) While external and internal evidence thus
combine to assert the genuineness of these writings, no
satisfactory account has been or apparently can be given
of them as a forgery of a later date than Ignatius. They
would be quite purposeless as such ; for they entirely
omit all topics which would especially interest any sub-
sequent age.
On these grounds we are constrained to accept the
Seven Epistles of the Middle Form as the genuine work
of Ignatius.
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THEOLOGICAL CATALOGUE 5
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3s. 6d. each. — First Series : Genesis to Deuteronomy. — Second
Series: Joshua to Solomon. — Third Series: Kings and the
Prophets. — Fourth Series : The Gospel Times. — Fifth Series :
Apostolic Times.
THE DIVINE LIBRARY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. Its
Origin, Preservation, Inspiration, and Permanent Value. By Rev.
A. F. KiRKPATRiCK, B.D. Crown 8vo. 3s. net.
TIMES. — " An eloquent and temperate plea for the critical study of the Scriptures."
MANCHESTER GUAJiD/AJV.—" An excellent introduction to the modern view
of the Old Testament. . . . The learned author is a genuine critic. ... He expounds
clearly what has been recently called the ' Analytic ' treatment of the books of the Old
Testament, and generally adopts its results. . . . The volume is admirably suited to
fulfil its purpose of familiarising the minds of earnest Bible readers with the work which
Biblical criticism is now doing."
THE DOCTRINE OF THE PROPHETS. Warburtonian Lectures
1 886- 1 890. By Rev. A. F. Kirkpatrick, B.D, 2nd Edition.
Crown 8vo. 6s.
SCOTSMAN. — "This volume gives us the result of ripe scholarship and competent
learning in a very attractive form. It is written simply, clearly, and eloquently ; and it
invests the subject of which it treats with a vivid and vital interest which will commend
it to the reader of general intelligence, as well as to those who are more especially
occupied with such studies."
GLASGOW HERALD.—" Professor Kirkpatrick's book will be found of great value
for purposes of study.'
BOOKMAN.— " K% a summary of the main results of recent investigation, and as a
thoughtful appreciation of both the human and divine sides of the prophets' work and
message, it is worth the attention of all Bible students."
THE PATRIARCHS AND LAWGIVERS OF THE OLD
TESTAMENT. By Frederick Denison Maurice. New
Edition. Crown 8vo. 3s. 6d.
THE PROPHETS AND KINGS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT.
By the same. New Edition. Crown 8vo. 3s. 6d.
THE CANON OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. An Essay on the
Growth and Formation of the Hebrew Canon of Scripture. By The
Right Rev. H. E. Ryle, Bishop of Exeter. 2nd Ed. Cr. 8vo. 6s.
This edition has been carefully revised throughout, but only two sub-
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completely re- written on the strength of valuable material kindly supplied
to the author by Dr. Ginsburg.
EXPOSITOR.—" Scholars are indebted to Professor Ryle for having given them for
the first time a complete and trustworthy history of the Old Testament Canon."
EXPOSITORY TIMES.— "He rightly claims that his book possesses that most
English of virtues — it may be read throughout. . . . An extensive and minute research
lies concealed under a most fresh and flexible English style."
THE MYTHS OF ISRAEL. THE ANCIENT BOOK OF GENESIS.
WITH ANALYSIS AND EXPLANATION OF ITS COM-
POSITION. By Amos Kidder Fiske, Author of " The Jewish
Scriptures," etc. Crown 8vo. 6s.
THE EARLY NARRATIVES OF GENESIS. By The Right Rev.
H. E. RylEj Bishop of Exeter. Cr. Svo. 3s. net.
B
6 MACMILLAN AND CO.'S
The Old Testament — continued.
PHILO AND HOLY SCRIPTURE, OR THE QUOTATIONS OF
PHILO FROM THE BOOKS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT.
With Introd. and Notes by Bishop H. E. Ryle. Cr. 8vo. los. net.
In the present work the attempt has been made to collect, arrange in
order, and for the first time print in full all the actual quotations from the
books of the Old Testament to be found in Philo's writings, and a few of
his paraphrases. For the purpose of giving general assistance to students
Dr. Ryle has added footnotes, dealing principally with the text of Philo's
quotations compared with that of the Septuagint ; and in the introduction
he has endeavoured to explain Philo's attitude towards Holy Scripture,
and the character of the variations of his text from that of the Septuagint.
TIMES.—'' This book will be found by students to be a very useful supplement and
companion to the learned Dr. Drummond's important work, Philo Judceus."
The Pentateuch —
AN HISTORICO-CRITICAL INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN
AND COMPOSITION OF THE HEXATEUCH (PENTA-
TEUCH AND BOOK OF JOSHUA). By Prof. A. Kuenen.
Translated by Philip H. Wicksteed, M.A. 8vo. 14s.
The Psalms —
THE PSALMS CHRONOLOGICALLY ARRANGED. An
Amended Version, with Historical Introductions and Explanatory
Notes. By Four Friends. New Edition. Crown 8vo. 5s. net.
SPECTATOR.— " One of the most instructive and valuable books that has been
published for many years. It gives the Psalms a perfectly fresh setting, adds a new
power of vision to the grandest poetry of nature ever produced, a new depth of lyrical
pathos to the pjoetry of national joy, sorrow, and hope, and a new intensitjr of spiritual
light to the divine subject of every ejaculation of praise and every invocation of want.
We have given but imperfect illustrations of the new beauty and light which the trans-
lators pour upon the most perfect devotional poetry of any day or nation, and which they
pour on it in almost every page, by the scholarship and perfect taste with which they have
executed their work. We can only say that their version deserves to live long and to
pass through many editions."
GOLDEN TREASURY PSALTER. The Student's Edition.
Being an Edition with briefer Notes of "The Psalms Chrono-
logically Arranged by Four Friends." Pott Svo. 2s. 6d. net.
THE PSALMS. With Introductions and Critical Notes. By A. C.
Jennings, M.A., and W. H. Lowe, M.A. In 2 vols. 2nd
Edition. Crown Svo. los. 6d. each.
THE BOOK OF PSALMS. Edited with Comments and Reflections
for the Use of Jewish Parents and Children. By C. G. Monte-
fiore. Crown Svo. is. net.
Isaiah —
ISAIAH XL.— LXVI. With the Shorter Prophecies allied to it.
By Matthew Arnold. With Notes. Crown Svo. 5s.
A BIBLE -READING FOR SCHOOLS. The Great Prophecy of
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Young Learners. By the same. 4th Edition. Pott Svo. is.
Zechariah —
THE HEBREW STUDENT'S COMMENTARY ON ZECH-
ARIAII, Hebrew and LXX. By W. H. Lowe, M.A. Svo. 103. 6d.
THEOLOGICAL CATALOGUE }r
THE NEW TESTAMENT
THE AKHMIM FRAGMENT OF THE APOCRYPHAL
GOSPEL OF ST. PETER. By H. B. Swete, D.D. 8vo. 5s. net.
THE PROGRESS OF DOCTRINE IN THE NEW TESTA-
MENT: The Bampton Lectures, 1864. By Thomas Dehany
Bernard, M.A. Fifth Edition. Crown 8vo. 6s.
HANDBOOK TO THE TEXTUAL CRITICISM OF NEW
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of Manuscripts in the British Museum. 8vo. los. net.
THE RISE OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. By David Saville
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Immanuel Kant. — " The Rise of the Bible as the people's book is the greatest
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THE SOTERIOLOGY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. By W.
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THE MESSAGES OF THE BOOKS. Being Discourses and Notes
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ON A FRESH REVISION OF THE ENGLISH NEW TESTA-
MENT. With an Appendix on the last Petition of the Lord's
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DISSERTATIONS ON THE APOSTOLIC AGE. By Bishop
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BIBLICAL ESSAYS. By Bishop Lightfoot. 8vo. 12s.
THE UNITY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. By F. D. Maurice.
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A GENERAL SURVEY OF THE HISTORY OF THE CANON
OF THE NEW TESTAMENT DURING THE FIRST FOUR
CENTURIES. By Right Rev. Bishop Westcott. 7th Edition.
Crown 8vo. los. 6d.
THE STUDENT'S LIFE OF JESUS. By G. H. Gilbert, Ph.D.
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THE STUDENT'S LIFE OF PAUL. By G. H. Gilbert, Ph.D.
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THE FIRST INTERPRETERS OF JESUS. By G. H. Gilbert,
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AN INTRODUCTION TO THE NEW TESTAMENT. By
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THE TEACHING OF JESUS. By G. B. Stevens, D.D. Crown
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THE NEW TESTAMENT IN THE ORIGINAL GREEK. The
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HoRT, D.D. 2 vols. Crown 8vo. los. 6d. each. — Vol. I.
Text ; II. Introduction and Appendix.
Library Edition. 8vo. ios.net. {Text in Macmillan Greek Type,
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GREEK-ENGLISH LEXICON TO THE NEW TESTAMENT.
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ACADEMY. — " We can cordially recommend this as a very handy little volume
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GRAMMAR OF NEW TESTAMENT GREEK. By Prof. F.
Blass, University of Halle. Auth. English Trans. 8vo. 14s.net.
TIMES.— ^^ Will probably become the standard book of reference for those students
who enter upon minute grammatical study of the language of the New Testament."
THE GOSPELS-
PHILOLOGY OF THE GOSPELS. By Prof. F. Blass. Crown
8vo. 4s. 6d. net.
GUARDIAN. — "On the whole, Professor Blass's new book seems to us an im-
portant contribution to criticism. ... It will stimulate inquiry, and will open up fresh
lines of thought to any serious student."
THE SYRO-LATIN TEXT OF THE GOSPELS. By the Rev.
Frederic Henry Chase, D.D. 8vo. 7s. 6d. net.
The sequel of an essay by Dr. Chase on the old Syriac element in the
text of Codex Bezae.
TIMES. — "An important and scholarly contribution to New Testament criticism."
THE COMMON TRADITION OF THE SYNOPTIC GOSPELS,
in the Text of the Revised Version. By Rev. E. A. Abbott and
W. G. RusHBROOKE. Crown 8vo. 3s. 6d.
SYNOPTICON : An Exposition of the Common Matter of the Synop-
tic Gospels. By W. G. Rushbrooke. Printed in Colours. 4to.
35s. net. Indispensable to a Theological Student.
A SYNOPSIS OF THE GOSPELS IN GREEK AFTER THE
WESTCOTT AND HORT TEXT. By Rev. Arthur Wright,
M.A. Demy 4to. 6s. net.
" Every such effort calls attention to facts which must not be overlooked, but yet to
the scholar they are but as dust in the balance when weighed against such solid con-
tributions as Rushbrooke's Synopticon or Wright's Synopsis, which provide instruments for
investigation apart from theories." — Prof. A. Robinson at Church Congress, Bradford, 1898.
THE COMPOSITION OF THE FOUR GOSPELS. By Rev.
Arthur Wright. Crown 8vo. 5s.
CAMBRIDGE RE FIE IV.— "The wonderful force and freshness which we find on
every page of the book. There is no sign of hastiness. AH seems to be the outcome of
years of reverent thought, now brought to light in the clearest, most telling way. . . .
The book will hardly go unchallenged by the different schools of thought, but all will
agree in gratitude at least for its vigour and reality."
INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF THE FOUR GOSPELS.
By Right Rev. Bishop Westcott. 8th Ed. Cr. 8vo. los. 6d.
FOUR LECTURES ON THE EARLY HISTORY OF THE
GOSPELS. By the Rev. J. H. Wilkinson, M.A., Rector of
Stock Gaylard, Dorset. Crown 8vo. 3s. net.
THEOLOGICAL CATALOGUE 9
The Gospels — continued.
THE LEADING IDEAS OF THE GOSPELS. By W. Alex-
ANDER, D.D. Oxon., LL.D. Dublin, D.C.L. Oxon., Archbishop of
Armagh, and Lord Primate of All Ireland. New Edition, Revised
and Enlarged. Crown 8vo. 6s.
BRITISH JVJSEICLV.—" ReaWy a new book._ It sets before the reader with
delicacy of thought and felicity of language the distinguishing characteristics of the
several gospels. It is delightful reading. . . . Religious literature does not often
furnish a book which may so confidently be recommended. "
TWO LECTURES ON THE GOSPELS. By F. Crawford
BuRKiTT, M.A. Crown 8vo. 2s. 6d. net.
Gospel of St. Matthew —
THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MATTHEW. Greek Text
as Revised by Bishop Westcott and Dr. Hort. With Intro-
duction and Notes by Rev. A. Sloman, M.A. Fcap. 8vo. 2s. 6d.
MANCHESTER GUARDIAN.—" It is sound and helpful, and the brief introduc-
tion on Hellenistic Greek is particularly good."
Gospel of St. Mark —
THE GREEK TEXT. With Introduction, Notes, and Indices.
By Rev. H. B. Swete, D.D,, Regius Professor of Divinity
in the University of Cambridge. Svo. 1 5s.
TIMES.— " A learned and scholarly performance, up to date with the most recent
advances in New Testament criticism."
THE EARLIEST GOSPEL. A Historico-Critical Commentary on
the Gospel according to St. Mark, with Text, Translation, and In-
troduction. By Allan Menzies, Professor of Divinity and Biblical
Criticism, St. Mary's College, St. Andrews. Svo. 8s. 6d. net.
SCHOOL READINGS IN THE GREEK TESTAMENT.
Being the Outlines of the Life of our Lord as given by St. Mark, with
additions from the Text of the other Evangelists. Edited, with Notes
and Vocabulary, by Rev. A. Calvert, M.A. Fcap. 8vo. 2s. 6d.
Gospel of St. Luke —
THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. LUKE. The Greek Text
as Revised by Bishop Westcott and Dr. Hort. With Introduction
and Notes by Rev. J. Bond, M.A. Fcap. 8vo. 2s. 6d.
GLASGOW HERALD.— "Th^ notes are short and crisp— suggestive rather than
exhaustive."
THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. A Course
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Crown 8vo. 3s. 6d.
THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. LUKE IN GREEK,
AFTER THE WESTCOTT AND HORT TEXT. Edited,
with Parallels, Illustrations, Various Readings, and Notes, by the
Rev. Arthur Wright, M.A. Demy 4to. 7s. 6d. net.
ST. LUKE THE PROPHET. By Edward Carus Selwyn, D.D.
Gospel of St. John — [Crown Svo. 8s. 6d. net.
THE CENTRAL TEACHING OF CHRIST. Being a Study and
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10 MACMILLAN AND CO.'S
Grospel of St. John — co?ttinued.
EXPOSITOR Y TIMES,—'' Quite recently we have had an exposition by him whom
many call the greatest expositor living. But Canon Bernard's work is still the work that
will help the preacher most."
THE GOSPEL OF ST. JOHN. ByF.D. Maurice. Cr.Svo. 3s. 6d.
THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES.
ADDRESSES ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. By
the late Archbishop Benson. With an Introduction by
Adeline, Duchess of Bedford. 8vo. [/« the Press.
THE CREDIBILITY OF THE BOOK OF THE ACTS OF
THE APOSTLES. Being the Hulsean Lectures for 1 900-1.
By the Rev. Dr. Chase, President of Queen's College, Cambridge.
[/w the Press.
THE OLD SYRIAC ELEMENT IN THE TEXT OF THE
CODEX BEZAE. By F. H. Chase, B.D. 8vo. 7s. 6d. net.
THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES IN GREEK AND ENGLISH.
With Notes by Rev. F. Rendall, M.A. Cr. 8vo. 6s.
SATURDAY REVIEW. — "Mr. Rendall has given us a very useful as well as a
very scholarly book."
MANCHESTER GUARDIAN.—"' Mr. Rendall is a careful scholar and a thought-
ful writer, and the student may learn a good deal from his commentary."
THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. By F. D. Maurice. Cr.
8vo. 3s. 6d.
THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. Being the Greek Text as
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ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. The Authorised Version, with Intro-
duction and Notes, by T. E. Page, M.A., and Rev. A. S.
Walpole, M.A. Fcap. 8vo. 2s. 6d.
BRITISH WEEKLY.—'' Mr. Page's Notes on the Greek Text of the Acts are very
well known, and are decidedly scholarly and individual. . . . Mr. Page has written an
introduction which is brief, scholarly, and suggestive.
THE CHURCH OF THE FIRST DAYS. The Church of
Jerusalem. The Church of the Gentiles. The Church
OF the World. Lectures on the Acts of the Apostles. By
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THE EPISTLES of St. Paul—
ST. PAUL'S EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. The Greek Text,
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ST. PAUL'S EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. A New Transla-
tion by Rev. W. G. Rutherford. 8vo. 3s. 6d. net.
PILOT. — "Small as the volume is, it has very much to say, not only to professed
students of the New Testament, but also to the ordinary reader of the Bible. . . . The
layman who buys the book will be grateful to one who helps him to realise that this per-
plexing Epistle ' was once a plain letter concerned with a theme which plain men might
understand.'"
PROLEGOMENA TO ST. PAUL'S EPISTLES TO THE
ROMANS AND THE EPPIESIANS. By Rev. F. J. A. Hort.
Crown 8vo. 6s.
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the explanations offered appeal to our sense of what is reasonable."
THEOLOGICAL CATALOGUE u
The Epistles of St. Paul — continued.
TIMES. — " Will be welcomed by all theologians as ' an invaluable contribution to the
study of those Epistles' as the editor of the volume justly calls it."
DAILY CHRONICLE. — "The lectures are an important contribution to the study
of the famous Epistles of which they treat."
THE EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. An Essay on its
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ST. PAUL'S EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. A Revised
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LiGHTFOOT. loth Edition. 8vo. 12s.
ST. PAUL'S EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. Greek Text,
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ST. PAUL'S EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. A Revised
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ST. PAUL'S EPISTLES TO THE COLOSSIANS AND TO
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THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS. With
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THE EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. For English Readers. Part I. con-
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NOTES 0:N epistles of ST. PAUL FROM UNPUBLISHED
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The Epistles of St. Peter—
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12 MACMILLAN AND CO.'S
The Epistle of St. James —
THE EPISTLE OF ST. JAMES. The Greek Text, with Intro-
duction and Notes. By Rev. Joseph B. Mayor, M.A. 2nd
Edition. 8vo. 14s. net.
EXPOSITORY TIMES.—'' The most complete edition of St. James in the English
language, and the most serviceable for the student of Greek."
BOOKMA N. — " Professor Mayor's volume in every part of it gives proof that no time
or labour has been grudged in mastering this mass of literature, and that in appraising it
he has exercised the sound judgment of a thoroughly trained scholar and critic. . . .
The notes are uniformly characterised by thorough scholarship and unfailing sense. The
notes resemble rather those of Lightfoot than those of Ellicott. ... It is a pleasure to
welcome a book which does credit to English learning, and which will take, and keep, a
foremost place in Biblical literature."
SCOTSMAN. — " It is a work which sums up many others, and to any one who wishes
to make a thorough study of the Epistle of St. James, it will prove indispensable."
EXPOSITOR (Dr. Marcus Dous). — " Will long remain the commentary on St. James,
a storehouse to which all subsequent students of the epistle must be indebted."
The Epistles of St. John—
THE EPISTLES OF ST. JOHN. By F. D. Maurice. Crown
8vo. 3s. 6d.
THE EPISTLES OF ST. JOHN. The Greek Text, with Notes.
By Right Rev. Bishop Westcott. 3rd Edition. 8vo. 12s. 6d.
GUARDIA N. — " It contains a new or rather revised text, with careful critical remarks
and helps ; very copious footnotes on the text ; and after each of the chapters,
longer and more elaborate notes in treatment of leading or difficult questions, whether in
respect of reading or theology. . . . Dr. Westcott has accumulated round them so much
matter that, if not new, was forgotten, or generally unobserved, and has thrown so much
light upon their language, theology, and characteristics. . . . The notes, critical,
illustrative, and exegetical, which are given beneath the text, are extraordinarily full and
careful. . . . They exhibit the same minute analysis of every phrase and word, the same
scrupulous weighing of every inflection and variation that characterised Dr. Westcott's
cornmentary on the Gospel. . . . There is scarcely a syllable throughout the Epistles
which is dismissed without having undergone the most anxious interrogation."
SATURDAY REVIEW. — "The more we examine this precious volume the more
its exceeding richness in spiritual as well as in literary material grows upon the mind."
The Epistle to the Hebrews —
THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS IN GREEK AND
ENGLISH. With Notes. By Rev. F. Rendall. Cr. Svo. 6s.
THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS. English Text, with Com-
mentary. By the same. Crown Svo. 7s. 6d.
THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS. With Notes. By Very
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TIMES. — " The name and reputation of the Dean of LlandafF are a better recom-
mendation than we can give of the Epistle to the Hebrews, the Greek text, with notes ;
an edition which represents the results of more than thirty years' experience in the training
of students for ordination."
THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS. The Greek Text, with
Notes and Essays. By Right Rev. Bishop Westcott. Svo. 14s.
GUARDIAN. — " In form this is a companion volume to that upon the Epistles of St.
John._ The type is excellent, the printing careful, the index thorough ; and the volume
contains a full introduction, followed by the Greek text, with a running commentary, and
a number of additional notes on verbal and doctrinal points which needed fuller discus-
sion. . . . His conception of inspiration is further illustrated by the treatment of the Old
Testament in the Epistle, and the additional notes that bear on this point deserve very
careful study. The spirit in which the student should approach the perplexing questions
of Old Testament criticism could not be better described than it is in the last essay. "
THEOLOGICAL CATALOGUE 13
The Book of Revelations —
THE APOCALYPSE. A Study. By the late Archbishop Ben-
SON. 8vo. 8s. 6d. net.
LECTURES ON THE APOCALYPSE. By Rev. Prof. W.
MiLLiGAN. Crown Svo. 5s.
DISCUSSIONS ON THE APOCALYPSE. By the same. Cr. Svo. 5$.
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SCOTTISH GUARDIAN.—" The great merit of the book is the patient and skilful
way in which it has brought the whole discussion down to the present day. . . . The
result is a volume which many will value highly, and which will not, we thmk, soon be
superseded."
LECTURES ON THE REVELATION OF ST. JOHN. By Very
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THE CHRISTIAN PROPHETS AND THE PROPHETIC
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Cbtiatian Cburcb, Ibietor^ of tbe
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THEOLOGICAL CATALOGUE 25
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THEOLOGICAL CATALOGUE 27
English Theological Library — continued.
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THEOLOGICAL CATALOGUE 29
Hort (F. J. A.) — continued.
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THEOLOGICAL CATALOGUE 31
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EPISTLE OF ST. JOHN.
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THE DOCTRINE OF SACRIFICE.
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CHURCH TIMES.— ^' There is probably no writer of the present century to whom
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THEOLOGICAL CATALOGUE 33
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BOOKMAN. — "It is not only its anonymity which suggests comparison with Ecce
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THEOLOGICAL CATALOGUE 35
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The discourses included in this volume were delivered in 1893 in the
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THEOLOGICAL CATALOGUE 37
SCOTSMAN. — " They form an altogether admirable collection of vigorous and
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MANCHESTER GUARDIAN.—'' He speaks boldly as well as thoughtfully, and
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EXPOSITOR V TIMES.—'' Most of them are social, and these are the most interest-
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worthy of his reputation, is enough to say in commendation of his new book."
DAILY CHRONICLE.— " His whole book recalls men to those witnesses for the
unseen, which laboratories cannot analyse, yet which are abundantly rational."
TIMES. — " A series of brilliant and suggestive essays. . . . This pregnant and sug-
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CHRISTIAN ASPECTS OF LIFE. Crown Svo. 7s. 6d.
CHURCH TIMES.— ^^V^Q heartily conunend this volume to the notice of our
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LITER A TURE. — "A sermon of the national day of rest, and some attractive per-
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DAILY NEWS. — "Through every page . . . runs the same enlightened sympathy
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TIMES. — " Is certainly one of the most comprehensive, and, in our judgment, one of
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DAILY CHRONICLE.— "Thft story of the struggle of searchers after truth with
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THEOLOGICAL CATALOGUE 39
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SOME CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE RELIGIOUS THOUGHT
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MANCHESTER GUARDIAN.—'' SirWdng, stimulating and suggestive lectures.
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Printed by R. & R. Clark, Limited, Edinburgh.
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY
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