The Ancient Church Part 2

Statement of Justin Martyr, 499 Great obscurity resting on the subject, 500 Ill.u.s.trated by the Epistles of Clement and Polycarp, ib.

Circ.u.mstances which led to the writing of Clement's Epistle, 501 Churches of Corinth and Borne then governed by presbyters, 503 Churches of Smyrna and Philippi governed by presbyters, 504 The presbyters had a chairman or president, ib.

Traces of this in the apostolic age, 505 Early catalogues of bishops--their origin and contradictions, ib.

The senior presbyter the ancient president, 506 Testimony of Hilary confirmed by various proofs, 507 Ancient names of the president of the presbytery, 508 Great age of ancient bishops, 509 Great number of ancient bishops in a given period, ib.

Remarkable case of the Church of Jerusalem, 510 No parallel to it in more recent times, 511 Argument against heretics from the episcopal succession ill.u.s.trated, 513 The claims of seniority long respected in various ways, 515 The power of the presiding presbyter limited, for the Church was still governed by the common council of the presbyters, 516 Change of the law of seniority, 518 Change made about the end of the second century, ib.

Singular that many episcopal lists stop at the end of the second century, 519 Before that date only one bishop in Egypt, 520 In some places another system set up earlier, 521

CHAPTER VI.

THE RISE OF THE HIERARCHY CONNECTED WITH THE SPREAD OF HERESIES.

Eusebius. The defects of his Ecclesiastical History, 522 Superior erudition of Jerome, 523 His account of the origin of Prelacy, 524 Prelacy originated after the apostolic age, 527 Suggested by the distractions of the Church, 529 Formidable and vexatious character of the early heresies, 530 Mode of appointing the president of the eldership changed.

Popular election of bishops, how introduced, 532 The various statements of Jerome consistent, 533 The primitive moderator and the bishop contrasted, 535 How the decree relative to a change in the ecclesiastical const.i.tution adopted throughout the whole world, ib.

CHAPTER VII.

PRELACY BEGINS IN ROME.

Comparative length of the lives of the early bishops of Rome, 537 Observations relative to a change in the organization of the Roman Church in the time of Hyginus, 538 1. The statement of Hilary will account for the increased average in the length of episcopal life, 539 2. The testimony of Jerome cannot otherwise be explained, 540 3. Hilary indicates that the const.i.tution of the Church was changed about this period, 541 4. At this time such an arrangement must naturally have suggested itself to the Roman Christians, 542 5. The violent death of Telesphorus fitted to prepare the way for it, 543 6. The influence of Rome would recommend its adoption, 544 7. A vacancy which occurred after the death of Hyginus accords with this view. Valentine a candidate for the Roman bishopric, 545 8. The letters of Pius to Justus corroborate this view, 547 9. It is sustained by the fact that the word _bishop_ now began to be applied to the presiding elder, 550 10. The Pontifical Book remarkably confirms it--Not strange that history speaks so little of this change, 552 Little alteration at first apparent in the general aspect of the Church in consequence of the adoption of the new principle, 554 Facility with which the change could be accomplished, 565 Polycarp probably dissatisfied with the new arrangements, 556 Change, in all likelihood, not much opposed, 558 Many presbyters, as well as the people, would be favourable to it, ib.

The new system gradually spread, 559

CHAPTER VIII.

THE CATHOLIC SYSTEM.

History of the word Catholic, 561 Circ.u.mstances in which the system originated, ib.

The bishop the centre of unity for his district, 562 Princ.i.p.al or apostolic Churches--their position, 564 The Church of Rome more potentially princ.i.p.al, 566 How communion maintained among the Churches, 567 Early jealousy towards the bishop of Rome, 568 The Catholic system identified with Rome, 569 Why the Apostle Peter everywhere so highly exalted, 570 Roman bishops sought to work out the idea of unity, 571 Theory of the Catholic system fallacious, 572 How Rome the ant.i.type of Babylon, 573

CHAPTER IX.

PRIMITIVE EPISCOPACY AND PRESBYTERIAN ORDINATION.

Where Christians formed only a single congregation Episcopacy made little change, 575 The bishop the parish minister, ib.

Every one who could might preach if the bishops permitted, 576 Bishops thickly planted--all of equal rank--the greatest had very limited jurisdiction, 577 Ecclesiastics often engaged in secular pursuits, 578 The Alexandrian presbyters made their bishops, 580 When this practice ceased, 581 Alexandrian bishops not originally ordained by imposition of hands, 582 Roman presbyters and others made their bishops, 583 The bishop the presiding elder--early Roman bishops so called, 584 Bishops of the order of the presbytery, 585 All Christian ministers originally ordained by presbyters, ib.

A bishop ordained by a bishop and a presbyter, 586 Difference between ancient and modern bishops, 587

CHAPTER X.

THE PROGRESS OF PRELACY.

Power of the president of a court, 589 Power of the ecclesiastical president increased when elected by the people, 590 The superior wealth of the bishop added to his influence, ib.

Appointment of lectors, sub-deacons, acolyths, exorcists, and janitors, 592 These new offices first appeared in Rome, ib.

Bishops began to appoint church officers without consulting the people, 593 New canons relative to ordination, 594 Presbyters ceased to inaugurate bishops, 595 Presbyters continued to ordain presbyters and deacons, 596 Country bishops deprived of the right to ordain, 597 Account of their degradation, 598 Rise of metropolitans, 599 Circ.u.mstances which added to the power of the city bishops, ib.

One bishop in each province at the head of the rest, 601 Jealousies and contentions of city bishops, 602 Great change in the Church, in two centuries, 603 Reasons why the establishment of metropolitans so much opposed, 604

CHAPTER XI.

SYNODS--THEIR HISTORY AND CONSt.i.tUTION.

Apostles sought, first, the conversion of sinners, and then the edification of their converts, 605 No general union of Churches originally, 606 But intercourse in various ways maintained, ib.

Synods did not commence about the middle of the second century, 607 A part of the original const.i.tution of the Church, ib.

At first held on a limited scale, 609 Reason why we have no account of early Synods, ib.

First notice of Synods, 610 Synods held respecting the Paschal controversy, 611 Found in operation everywhere before the end of the second century, ib.

Tertullian does not say that Synods commenced in Greece, 612 Why he notices the Greek Synods, 613 Amphictyonic Council did not suggest the establishment of Synods, 615 Synods originally met only once a-year, ib.

Began to meet in fixed places in Greece and Asia Minor, 616 Met twice a-year in the beginning of the fourth century, ib.

Synods in third century respecting re-baptism, 617 Synods at Antioch respecting Paul of Samosata, 618 Early Synods composed of bishops and elders, 619 Deacons and laymen had no right of voting, ib.

Churches not originally independent, 620 Utility of Synods, 621 Circ.u.mstances which led to a change in their const.i.tution, ib.

Decline of primitive polity, 622

CHAPTER XII.

THE CEREMONIES AND DISCIPLINE OF THE CHURCH, AS ILl.u.s.tRATED BY CURRENT CONTROVERSIES AND DIVISIONS.

The rise of the Nazarenes, 623 Lessons taught by their history, 624 The Paschal controversy and Victor's excommunication, 625 Danger of depending on tradition, 628 Inst.i.tution of Easter unnecessary, 629 The tickets of peace and the schism of Felicissimus, ib.

Schism of Novatian, 631 Controversy respecting the baptism of heretics, and Stephen's excommunication, 632 Uniformity in discipline and ceremonies not to be found in the ancient Church, 633 Increasing intolerance of the dominant party in this Church, 634

CHAPTER XIII.

THE THEORY OF THE CHURCH, AND THE HISTORY OF ITS PERVERSION-- CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS.

The Church invisible and its attributes, 636 The visible Church and its defects, 637 The holy Catholic Church--what it meant, 639 Church visible and Church invisible confounded, 640 Evils of the Catholic system, 642 Establishment of an odious ecclesiastical monopoly, ib.

Pastors began to be called priests, 644 Arrogant a.s.sumptions of bishops, 646 The Catholic system encouraged bigotry, 647 Its ungenerous spirit, ib.

The claims of the Word of G.o.d not properly recognized, 648 Many corruptions already in the Church, 650 The establishment of the hierarchy a grand mistake, 652 Only promoted outward, not real unity, 653 Sad state of the Church when Catholicism was fully developed, 655 Evangelical unity--in what it consists, 656

PERIOD I.

FROM THE BIRTH OF CHRIST TO THE DEATH OF THE APOSTLE JOHN, A.D. 100.

SECTION I.