THE CHURCH AND THE MINISTRY BY THE SAME AUTHOR Roman Catholic Claims. Sixth Edition. Crown 8vo. 35. 6d. CONTENTS. The Via. Media and the Roman Catholic Develop- mentThe Unity of the Church The Authority of the Church The Bible in the Church The Promise to St. Peter The Growth of the Roman Church The Development of the Papacy in Latin Christianity The Nature of Schism Anglican Ordinations Anglican Orthodoxy Three Recent Papal Utterances. The Athanasian Creed, forming one of the Oxford House Papers. Crown 8vo. Sewed. 3d. LONGMANS, GREEN, AND 'CO. LONDON, NEW YORK, AND BOMBAY. THE CHURCH AND THE MINISTRY BY CHARLES GORE, M.A., D.D. OF THE COMMUNITY OF THE RESURRECTION CANON OF WESTMINSTER HON. CHAPLAIN IN ORDINARY TO THE QUEEN FOURTH EDITION, REVISED LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO. 39 PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON NEW YORK AND BOMBAY I 900 All rights rtservtd' PREFACE TO THE FOURTH EDITION. IN issuing a new and cheaper edition of this book it has been necessary in the first place to bring it up to date. Dr. Achelis' edition of the Canons of Hippolytus, and the practical certainty which the discussion of them has brought with it that they represent the ecclesiastical principles and practices of the Church of Rome (and Africa) at the beginning of the third or even the end of the second century, have rendered it necessary to take the ' ordinal ' which they contain as the basis for the study of the Church's rites of ordination instead of that certainly later development in the Apostolical Constitutions, which Dr. Hatch treated as 'the earliest form.' 1 Notice had also to be taken of the recently discovered ' Prayer Book of Bishop Serapion ' a writing not far from contemporary with the present form of the Apostolical Constitutions, but containing prayers for ordination of a quite independent character. 2 There were, moreover, a great number of minor points on which references to more recent literature had become possible. In the second place, on a few minor points it 1 See pp. 131 ff. 2 See pp. 131, 331 ff. 2065242 vi Christian Ministry. had become necessary to confess a change of mind. Thus I do not now think Dr. Liddon's view of the meaning of ' by means of prophecy/ in i Tim. iv. 14, is tenable. I think the words most probably refer to the ' prophecies ' which ' went before ' and designated Timothy for his office (as in i Tim. i. 18) and which therefore could be described as a means through which he received the gift of ordination. I no longer think they mean an inspired prayer or formula of ordination which accompanied the laying-on of hands. We sometimes need to be reminded that the two statements about Timothy's ordination (i Tim. iv. 14, 2 Tim. i. 6) are independent, and each complete for its own purpose. We must not combine them by dovetailing them into one another as if they were detached pieces to be put together in a child's puzzle. But I do not find myself, on reviewing this book after eleven years, constrained or able to alter it in any important respect. Scholars of all sorts are, it seems to me, increasingly accepting the principle on which my argument is based, that Christ instituted a visible society, called the Church. But the question is still much agitated (i) whether the visible society thus instituted was endowed by Christ's own action with officers of government and ministry in the persons of the apostles : (2) whether as the require- ments of the future opened out before the apostles, it was made evident to them, as Clement of Rome says it was, 1 that they must hand on the commission 1 See p. 287. Preface to the Fourth Edition. vii of ministerial authority as they had themselves re- ceived it : (3) whether thus an apostolic succession in the ministry is an element of continuity in the Church which we cannot dispense with : (4) whether, finally, any but bishops have in fact the authority to hand on ministerial authority and thus maintain the succession. Now (i) on the first of those points a decidedly negative answer has been returned by Dr. Hort in his posthumously published work on The Christian Ecclesia. It necessarily has very great weight as coming from Dr. Hort: and it is, beyond all ques- tion, an effective weapon in the hands of those who, like Dr. Brown, in his Congregational Union Lectures for 1897, seek to invalidate the principle of the Apostolical succession. 1 But it seems to many of us that it is only Dr. Hort's name which gives weight to his opinion. As an argument against the position that the apostolate is treated in the New Testa- ment documents as really an office of government and ministry in the Church, instituted and empowered by Christ and left by Him to carry on His work when His visible presence was withdrawn, it seems to me to be a failure. We only ask for argument in view of the whole evidence, and not merely fragments of it ; and I have endeavoured to deal with the matter in an appended note. 2 (2) I cannot but maintain my former position that 1 Apostolical Succession by John Brown, B. A., D.D. London, 2 See p. 382. viii Christian Ministry. the apostles did consciously hand on the ministerial authority which they had received from Christ as a permanent endowment of the Church. No doubt at the first, while the disciples, including the apostles, were expecting an immediate return of Christ, there was very little thought for the future. No doubt also the earliest Church was enriched with miraculous gifts which set the stamp of divine authorization upon certain men as inspired prophets, and made their authorization by the Church a minor matter. But not even recognised inspiration made a prophet independent of the Church. And the question how much was to be allowed to prophets whose divine inspiration was recognized either did not become, or at least did not long remain, a practical question. The importance of the Pastoral Epistles and of the evidence supplied by Clement of Rome 1 and Clement of Alexandria 2 lies precisely in this : that they show us how the apostles, and especially St. Paul and St John, dealt authoritatively with the ordinary organization of the Church in view of a more or less prolonged future and with experience of its normal requirements. (3) Again, setting aside the question of the power allowed to one whose divine inspiration the Church acknowledged, no evidence is forthcoming that the principle of the apostolic succession that is, the requirement for one who would take rank with the ' ministers of the word and sacraments ' of an appoint- 1 See pp. 287 ff. 2 See pp. 262 ff. Preface to the Fourth Edition. ix ment or ordination from above directly or indirectly apostolic was ever disregarded. There is nothing of real force to be set against St. Clement's letter, with its clear assertion of the principle, and the weight of the tradition as we find it in the later part of the second century. Dr. Brown has recently again repre- sented the excommunicated Montanists as main- tainers of a primitive or anti-hierarchical Christianity against an ecclesiasticism just becoming dominant. I can only with Mr. Headlam l say again, and en- deavour to prove, 2 that on the evidence such a view seems to me ' entirely false.' (4) The last question is whether the highest governing authority in the churches, including the authority to continue the succession, ever belonged to equal bodies of presbyter-bishops. I am sure that I am in no way unwilling to accept such a view if there were sufficient evidence for it, but it still seems to me that the evidence as a whole is against it. Since this book first came out, no one, as far as I have seen, has faced the difficulty of reconciling Jerome's statement about the early Alexandrian Church which would substantially support this position with the evidence of Origen's language, which is the language of an Alexandrian, contemporary with the changes which Jerome supposes to have occurred. 3 The Canons of Hippolytus assure us that the limita- tion of ordination to bishops was exactly as clearly 1 Authority and Archeology, p. 393. 2 See pp. 190 ff, 255 ff. 2 See p. 125. On p. 330 I have examined the meaning of the 'Apophthegm' which Dom Butler has quoted as having a bearing on Jerome's view. x Christian Ministry. recognized a principle circa 200, as when Jerome and Chrysostom were writing. Further back it seems clear that Clement of Rome does not suggest that the local presbyters held the right to appoint their successors, and certainly Ignatius' letters do not con- template any other Churches than those which were governed by the three orders. Thus while ad- mitting the obscurity and difficulties of the subject I still think the best supported view is that mon- episcopacy had its origin from a more or less gradual localizing of an authority which in the subapostolic age belonged in many parts of the Church to men of what one may call subapostolic distinction, called prophets, or evangelists, or leaders, and not yet settled as ' bishops ' of particular churches. Since this book was written, Dr. Moberly's power- ful work on the The Ministerial Priesthood (John Murray, 1897) has appeared, and Dr. Sanday's on the Conception of Priesthood (Longmans, 1899). On certain points their argument is a very valuable sign of progress. And Dr. Moberly has rendered parts of this book unnecessary by dealing with its subject- matter much more fully and profoundly. Never- theless, what had been written has been suffered to remain. Mr. Rackham also has dealt much more fully than I was able to do with 'the position of the laity in the early Church' in a volume of Essays in Aid of Church Reform (John Murray, 1898). In dealing with any questions touching the Preface to the Fourth Edition. xi principle of sacramentalism or sacerdotalism, it seems to me that nothing is more important than to observe moderation and balance of statement. On this as much as on any subject, one-sided statement of truth is almost equivalent to positive untruth. This lesson of balance and moderation is on this particular subject taught us, it seems to me, by our Lord Himself. For what do we find in His teaching? Denuncia- tions of the misuse of hierarchical or ecclesiastical power which have in them the most awful force, and which ' Protestants ' of all ages have not been slow to use as their most effective weapons. ' Thus have ye made the word of God of none effect because of your tradition.' ' Ye have taken away the key of knowledge.' ' Ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte.' Our Lord certainly saw and em- phasized all the dangers to which ecclesiastical authority is always liable. But on the other hand He refuses to allow us to dispense with its legitimate function because of its misuse. c The Scribes and Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. Whatsoever therefore they bid you observe, that observe and do. But do not after their works. For they say and do not.' Here is the plainest assertion of the principle that hier- archical authority is to be respected even altogether apart from moral worth. And when our Lord insti- tuted His own Church of the New Covenant, He conferred upon her those very functions of ' binding ' and 'loosing,' the misuse of which under the Old Covenant He had continually under His eye; and He xii Christian Ministry. most solemnly attached a supernatural sanction to the powers of ' binding ' and ' loosing,' and of remit- ting and retaining sins, by which His new society was to exercise, through its officers, a divine authority over its members. The point is that the Christ both recognized the dangers of ecclesiastical authority as none other has recognized them, and at the same time solemnly re-inaugurated it. I do not see how this is disputable. None the less one-sided tendencies have constantly prevailed in Christendom. They prevail still. They lie deep in human nature. It is very easy to be simply sacerdotalist, without any due regard to the perils of the principle, or simply protestant against sacerdotalism because of the obvious misuses of ecclesiastical power ; but neither attitude is our Lord's. And to discard the principle of ecclesiastical authority because the holders of it at a particular time have seemed to neglect their duty or abuse their power, is in fact to refuse to follow His leading. This book claims to be an 'apology 1 for what is in fact the formal or official attitude of the Church of England towards non-episcopal bodies. She does not condemn them, but she refuses to acknowledge their ministry. That is to say, she ordains de novo any minister not episcopally ordained who joins her communion ('unless he have formerly been made priest by episcopal ordination' 1 ), but does not do so with any who have received an episcopal ordination 1 Act of Uniformity of 1662. Preface to the Fourth Edition. xiii which she recognizes as valid. This is not to judge other men. It is neither to anticipate the divine judg- ment on their position nor to minimize the evidences of divine blessing which are found again and again to rest upon their work. It is simply to say that their organization has, as far as we can judge, been built up in neglect of a law of the Church with which we have no kind of right to dispense, and which, whatever else we may penitently or joy- fully surrender, must be retained as the basis of any future reconciliation. C. G. WESTMINSTER ABBEY, All Saints' Day, 1899. NOTE ON THE NEWLY DISCOVERED TESTAMENT OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. An interesting Syriac document has just appeared, viz. a Testantentum Domini Nostri Jesu Christi, discovered in a MS. at Mossul on the Tigris, and now edited with a Latin translation by the discoverer, Ignatius Ephraim ii Rahmani, the Uniat Patriarch of the Syrian Antioch (Mainz, 1899). The patriarch claims for this document, which is partly apologetic and partly liturgical, a date prior not only to the Apostolical Constitutions, but also to the Canones Ecclesiastiti ('Egyptian Ch. Ordinances'), and to the Canons of Hippolytus, which he disparages as a late and bad version of the ' Ordinances.' The patriarch's discovery is of great interest, but the whole of his contention is not at all likely to be sustained. In particular, and so far as concerns this book, the rites of ordination which it contains are, I cannot but think, obviously later than those in the Canons of Hippolytus, with which they are yet lineally connected. The ceremonies are more elaborate and the prayers longer. No presbyter takes a part in the ordination of 1 the bishop. The ordinations of bishop and presbyter are more differentiated. The passage about the rights to be allowed to confessors is vaguer. It seems xiv Christian Ministry, to me therefore that the newly discovered document, so far as its rites of ordination go, plainly vindicates the primitive position assigned in this book to the Canons named after Hippolytus. FROM THE PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. THERE are two large questions having reference to Christianity which it is important to keep distinct. There is the question whether Christianity is true, and there is the question what, as a fact in history, Christianity has been ? It is an indispensable preliminary to all effective dealings with the practical problems, which arise in the attempt to apply and adapt Christianity to current needs and circum- stances, that we should study profoundly the genius of Christianity as a continuous historical fact that we should have a clear answer to the question, what Christianity has been and is. This book, then (assuming broadly the truth of Christianity), attempts to give a partial answer to this second question. It maintains that Christianity is essenti- ally the life of an actual visible society, and that at least one necessary link of connection in this society is the apostolic succession of the ministry. In a word, this book claims on behalf of the apostolic succession that it must be reckoned with as a permanent and essential element of Christianity. It is an ' apology ' for the principle of the apostolic succession. From the Preface to the First Edition. xv As being an 'apology' for one clause in the Church's practical and theoretical creed, it will be subject to the usual suspicions of prejudice and want of free criticism to which apologetic literature is exposed, and from which the literature of ' free thought ' is supposed to be by comparison exempt. But it is, perhaps, only while we are very young that we are inclined to believe dissent from orthodox conclusions to afford any guarantee for a just and critical judg- ment ; in fact, the ambition to form or propagate a new theory gives as strong a bias to the mind as the desire to maintain an old one. At any rate, I have tried to do with my ' prejudices ' all that a man can do with those inevitable accompaniments alike of his birth into a continuous society and of the first activities of his own individuality ; I have tried to subject them to an exact and free examination in the light of reason and history, and to let it correct or verify them. A word must be said in explanation of the order and contents of this book. The principle of the apostolic succession has been a formative principle in church history. It seemed, therefore, the best course, after making good the preliminary grounds of this investigation (chap. I), and explaining the idea of the ministry (chap. II), to exhibit the extent to which in church history the principle of the apostolic succession has been postulated and acted upon since the time when the continuous record begins i.e. the latter half of the second century (chap. ill). The xvi Christian Ministry. principle is then examined in the light of the Gospels (chap, iv), of the apostolic documents (chap, v), and of the links of evidence which connect the apostolic age with the continuous history (chap. VI). After this nothing remains but to draw conclusions and make applications (chap. VII). This order treats the question What has the Church in fact believed about her ministry ? as a preliminary to the investiga- tion of her title-deeds, and it was hardly possible for the present writer to treat the question in any other order. Whether or no Mr. Darwin is right in main- taining ' that the only object in writing a book is a proof of earnestness, and that you do not form your opinions without undergoing labour ' (Life and Letters \ \. p. 334), it is, at any rate, true that a book had better represent that process of ' labour ' by which its writer's opinions have in fact been formed. The purpose of this book not being primarily or simply archaeological, it has been possible to leave out of discussion a good many elements in the history of the ministry which do not, or so far as they do not, affect the principle. It has been necessary to deal largely in quotations from ancient authors, but it has been possible to omit almost all that bears, e.g. upon the growth of the metropolitan and patriarchal systems, the relations of the later episcopate to secular society, and the history of ecclesiastical discipline or canon law in detail. PUSEY HOUSE, St Peter's Day, 1888. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. THE FOUNDATION OF THE CHURCH. PAGE Preliminary assumptions (1) The genuineness of New Testament documents . 2 (2) The truth of the Incarnation .... 6 Preliminary inquiry : Did Christ found a visible Church ? . 8 The reasonableness of the idea in itself . . 8 (1) Witness of the early Christian belief in a visible Church 1 1 (unanimous in spite of differences in point of view) 1 1 in the West Tertullian, Cyprian, Irenaeus, (holding ' nulla salus extra ecclesiam ' together with belief in God's wider dealings), the Roman Church . . 12 in the East Ignatius, Alexandrian writers . . 21 the Apologists Aristides, Justin, Theophilus . 25 confirmed by the pagan conception of Christianity . 27 (2) The social form of Christianity not due to the secular influence of the 'collegia,' for . . .27 (a) Christian writers show no trace of such influence . 31 (i>) Christian terminology was derived from Judaism . 31 (3) Witness of the New Testament . . . .32 (a) The Gospels (i) Christ's method, . . . -33 (ii) His institution of social sacraments . . 36 (iii) His Messianic claim . . . -37 (relation of the Church to the ' kingdom of God ') 39 (the Church not exclusive, though it makes an exclusive claim) . . . . . .40 (b) The Acts ...... 41 (c) St. Paul's Epistles ..... 42 This doctrine is not inconsistent with the doctrines of faith and liberty ....... 44 but agreeable to the principle of all human society . . 46 (Heaven in the Apocalypse a city) . . . .47 b xviii Contents. PACK Two misconceptions as to the origin of the visible Church 1 i ) That it arose out of a previous condition of individualism 47 (2) That it was due to Roman influence : difference between the Roman and Catholic conceptions of church unity 51 Notes on The idea of an invisible Church pp. 17, 33. CH. II. APOSTOLIC SUCCESSION The method of inquiry . -57 The principle of Apostolic Succession expounded . . 59 It corresponds to the Incarnation, Sacraments, etc. . 64 The principle more important than the form in which it is embodied ...... 65 Its importance as (a) a bond of union for a universal spiritual society . 69 (6) emphasizing men's dependence on God's gifts . 70 (f) satisfying the moral needs of those who minister . 73 Answers to objections that (1) ' It is sacerdotal ' : true and false sacerdotalism . 75 (2) ' Unspiritual men are thus made to mediate spiritual gifts ' : distinction of character and office . . 86 (3) ' It is opposed to liberty ' : but liberty is opposed to absolutism, not to authority ; the Church not at first or necessarily an imperialist institution . . 88 (4) ' It cannot be true in fact ' : this objection not tenable 98 (5) ' It unchurches presbyterian bodies ' : but results must not prevent our facing principles . . . 100 Noteon Mor inns' ' de sacris ordinationibus ' . p. 61 Sacramental teaching of the early Fathers 7 1 Doctrine of lay-priesthood in catholic theology 81 CH. III. THE WITNESS OF CHURCH HISTORY. Church history bears witness to certain fixed principles i. The principle of apostolic succession through the epis- copate (with the requirement for the ministry of episcopal ordination) . . . .104 appealed to by Irenaeus . . . .106 accepted by Tertullian . . . . .113 anticipated by Hegesippus . . . .115 Contents. xix A. Further evidence for the East The episcopal successions in Palestine, Syria, Asia, Greece, Macedonia Thrace, Crete . . . . .116 the supposed exceptional constitution of the Alexandrian Church . . . .122 (a) very doubtful in fact . . .125 (b) not opposed to the principle of succession . 129 The conception of the ministry in (i) liturgical writings . . . .131 (ii) canons of councils . . . .140 (iii) Greek Fathers Athanasius, Gregory Nazianzen, Chrysostom, Epiphanius . 142 B. Further evidence for the West The episcopal successions undoubted . . .149 The conception of the ministry in (i) Latin Fathers Cyprian, Lucifer, writers who minimize the distinction of bishop and presbyter, i.e. Ambrosiaster, Jerome, etc. . . . . -151 (ii) canons of councils .... 162 (iii) liturgies ..... 163 2. Ordination was regarded sacramentally . . . 168 and conferred by laying-on of hands . . .170 3. It was believed to impose an ' indelible character ' though the distinction of ' valid ' and ' canonical ' was slowly formulated . . . .172 4. The conception of the ministry from the first involved a sacerdotal principle, though the use of sacerdotal terms was of gradual growth . . .180 5. The ministry possessed exclusive powers, e.g. only a priest could celebrate the Eucharist . . .184 Tertullian's statement to the contrary due to Montanist views . . . 1 88 Montanism its characteristics . . .190 not a conservative movement . 193 Summary ....... 196 Note on The conception of the ministry in the Clementines p. 118 ,, % ,, Clem. Alex, 122 Origen . 127 The language of Firmilian , . 143 xx Contents. The early Irish episcopate . . . p. 1 50 ' One bishop in a community ' . . .152 The primacy of Peter' s see . . . .156 Functions of the presbyterate . . .166 Morinus on the 'tradition of the instruments' . 171 Signification oflaying-on of hands . . 172 Reordination . . . pp. 174, 176, 177 Sources of sacerdotal language . . .183 Moberly's ' Ministerial Priesthood' . .184 CH. IV. THE INSTITUTION OF THE APOSTOLATE. The postulates of church history to be verified by an appeal to Christ's intention . . . . . . 200 The Gospels generally suggest the institution of a permanent apostolate . . . . . .201 especially in the commissions to (1) St. Peter his relation _to (a) the other Apostles, (6) the whole Church ...... 204 (2) All the Apostles after the resurrection . . . 207 (the commission in St. John xx to the Apostles rather than the whole Church) .... 209 Note on Sacrificial aspect of the Eucharist p. 207. CH. V. THE MINISTRY IN THE APOSTOLIC AGE. Evidence of St. Paul's Epistles : (a) The office of an apostle . . . .213 (b) The Church an organism with differentiated gifts and functions . . . . .218 (c) The Pastoral Epistles their importance ; they show . 221 (i) a ministry of presbyter-bishops and deacons, not the chief ministry .... 223 (ii) an extension of the apostolate to ' apostolic men ' 225 (iii) St. Paul's idea of ordination by the laying-on of hands ...... 228 Evidence of the other Epistles ..... 230 Contents. xxi PAGE Evidence of the Acts : (a) The apostolate ' . . . . . 234 (b) A ministry of ' prophets and teachers ' . . . 238 (c ) A local ministry of presbyter-bishops and deacons . 240 Summary: (i) The apostolate ..... 242 (2) A subapostolic ministry .... 243 (3) Presbyter-bishops .... 244 (4) Deacons ..... 245 (5) Ordination by laying-on of hands . . 245 Evidence is lacking as to (a) details in the division of functions . . . 246 (b) the form of the future ministry .... 246 Note on The Angels of the Apocalypse p. 233. CH. VI. THE MINISTRY IN THE SUBAPOSTOLIC AGE. Links connecting this apostolic ministry with the episcopate of church history ...... 249 In the East I. St. James originates the ' episcopate ' in Jerusalem . 250 II. The Didache shows (a) a general ministry of ' apostles ' and ' prophets ' and ' teachers ' ; (b) a local ministry of ' bishops and deacons ' . 253 III. St. John (with other apostles) develops ' episcopacy' in Asia ....... 261 This is confirmed by the testimony of Ignatius to the threefold ministry of bishops, presbyters, and deacons 264 (HI what sense the presbyterate represents the Apostles) 275 In the West IV. Clement's Epistle (a) shows a differentiated ministry having succession from the Apostles ; (b) postulates an order above the presbyter-bistiops and deacons , 290 xxii Contents. V. Polycarp's Epistle implies absence of a bishop at Philippi ; but this is not inconsistent with a superior ministry not localized there .... 296 VI. The Shepherd of Hermas suggests a third order above presbyters and deacons 302 Summary of possible theories : 1. A college of equal presbyters .... 33 2. The bishop hidden in the presbyterate . . . 304 3. What alone seems to satisfy the evidence the episcopate derived from a gradual localization of 'prophets,' ' teachers,' and ' apostolic men ' 304 Note on A second apostolic council . p. 251 The office of reader . . 260 The Ignatian controversy . 265 CH. VII. CONCLUSIONS AND APPLICATIONS. The verdict of history as to (a) the Church, (b) sacerdotalism, (c ) episcopal ordination ..... 306 Is confirmed by the witness of (a) the Gospels, ((>) the apostolic, and (c) subapostolic documents .... 308 The cogency of the evidence : it can only be satisfied by the doctrine of the apostolic succession . . . .312 This doctrine in its application (a) invalidates non-episcopal ministries . . 313 (b) recalls episcopal Churches to their true principles . 316 APPENDED NOTES. A. Dr. Lightfoot's Dissertation on 'The Christian Ministry' . 321 B. The early history of the Alexandrian ministry . . 325 C. Rites and prayers of ordination . . . 331 D. (i) Canon xiii of Ancyra ..... 338 (ii) Chorepiscopi . . . . . -339 E. Supposed ordinations by presbyters in East and West . 340 Contents. xxiii PAGB F. The theory of the ministry held by Ambrosiaster, Jerome, etc. . -344 G. The laying-on of hands ..... 349 H. Montanism ....... 355 I. Prophecy in the Christian Church .... 359 K. The origin of the titles ' bishop,' ' presbyter, 3 and ' deacon,' with reference to recent criticism . . . 363 L. The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles . . . 374 M. Dr. Hort's view of the Apostolate .... 382 INDEX . . . . . . .386 CHAPTER I. THE FOUNDATION OF THE CHURCH. THE reader of the history of Christendom cannot The subject fail to be conscious, at each stage of his subject, of fn the prominent position held in the Church by a Ministry, which is regarded as having a divine authority for its stewardship of Christian mysteries an authority which is indeed limited in sphere by varying political and ecclesiastical arrangements, but which in itself is believed to be derived not from below but from above, and to represent and perpetuate, by due succession from the Apostles, the institution of Christ. It is this Christian ministry which is to be the subject of the present inquiry. We shall endeavour to ascertain its history, to trace it back through its series of changes to the fountain-head. More than this, we shall endeavour to investigate its authority and search into its title-deeds. Is this ministry, with its claim of an apostolic succession, the mere product of circumstances valuable just so far as it is found spiritually convenient? As claiming to be a priesthood, does it represent a temporary accommodation of the Christian ideal, more or less necessitated by circumstances, to the Jewish or pagan ideas amidst which the Church spread? Is it a temporary restriction of the free Christian spirit dangerous, however necessary? Or, on the contrary, A 2 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. is it an original portion of Christ's foundation ? Is the episcopal succession, as it meets us in history, simply the fulfilment of Christ's intention, an essential and inviolable element of Christianity till the end ? These are the main questions before us questions much controverted, yet not on that account incapable of yielding satisfactory solutions. But, like other controverted questions, these which concern the Christian ministry have a tendency to run off their own field and get upon territory foreign to them- selves in one direction or another. It will therefore Prelim, as- promote clearness if at the beginning the area of the sumptions. , i* r n i j present discussion is carefully marked out. (t)The I- As an historical inquiry, the investigation of the ofthe n N ne x! origtnes of the Christian ministry involves conclusions as to the date and authorship of a number of docu- ments. In regard to the great majority of these there is no division of opinion which is of serious moment for the present inquiry. But this is not the case with regard to some of the documents contained in the New Testament. The genuineness of the Epistles of St. Peter and St. James and of the Epistle of St. Paul to the Ephesians, still more the historical character of the Evangelical records and of the Acts of the Apostles, and the genuineness of St. Paul's Pastoral Epistles, are questions of vital moment in dealing with the history of the ministry. It is well then, in order to narrow the field of inquiry, to make it plain at starting that the genuineness of these Epistles and the historical character of these records are here generally assumed. True, a considerable part of the inquiry is not affected by the decision in one sense or another of these critical questions. But in the discussion of the ministry in the apostolic age I.] The Foundation of the Church. 3 it has great weight. 1 If a certain set of conclusions is here in the main taken for granted, this is not at all because it is desired to exempt the books of Scripture from free criticism. It is done, because no investigation is satisfactory which does not at starting make plain the basis on which it rests, while a dis- cussion of so large a number of critical questions would occupy too much space in preliminaries. It is done, then, to limit the area of inquiry ; but, it must be added, with the clearest conviction that the conclusions assumed are those which the facts warrant. There does not seem to the present writer to be good reason on the whole for doubting, for instance, the unity or the genuineness of the Epistles of St. Paul to the Ephesians, to Timothy, and to Titus. The authorship of the Epistle to the Ephesians is guaranteed, not only by the external evidence, not only by its connection with the more personal Epistles to the Colossians and to Philemon, but also by the lofty power and richness of thought with which it develops and unifies the fundamental conceptions of predestination and of the Church, which St. Paul had already presented in the Epistles to the Romans and the Corinthians. The Pastoral Epistles are linked together by intense coherence of subject and tone ; and there is hardly any writing which can be more 1 Thus Professor Harnack (Expositor, May 1887) discusses the origin of the Christian ministry on the assumption that not only the Pastoral Epistles but also the Acts of the Apostles and the Epistle of St. James are second century documents (PP- 334 n - 6 > 335 n- 1 ). an d that the Epistle to the Ephesians was written ' a consider- able time after the Apostle's death ' (p. 331). As he truly says when he is proceed- origin of certain New Testament and post-apostolic writings. Anyone, for example, who admits the genuineness of the Pastoral Epistles will reach quite different con- clusions from one who regards them as non-Pauline, and relegates them to the second century ' (p. 322). 4 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. certainly pronounced genuine by internal evidence than the second Epistle to Timothy. 1 When we pass to the Acts of the Apostles, there would seem to be scarcely any department of literary controversy in which, within recent years, we have experienced more completely the reassuring effect of thorough inquiry. 2 The remarkably undeveloped Christology of the early chapters : the position assigned to the prophets in the earliest Church : the accurate know- ledge, as tested by recent investigations, which the narrative displays of local geography, local sentiment, and the titles of local magistrates : the reiterated evidence, which the book affords in its later portions, that the author was an eye-witness of what he records 3 all this taken together goes to guarantee the substantial accuracy of the whole record. 4 Further, the position assigned to the Apostles in St. Paul's Epistles and in the Acts suggests or pre- 1 Prof. Salmon's vindication of the genuineness of these Epistles will, I think, be considered adequate by a fair-minded and impartial reader. See his Introduction to the New Testament, lecture xx. Cf. also Mr. Findlay's essay appended to Sabatier's Apostle Paul (E.T., Hodder and Stoughton, 1881). 2 If this was true in 1888 when this volume first appeared, it is conspicuously more true now in 1899. See A. C. Headlam in Authority and Archceology (John Murray, 1899), pp. 348 ff. 3 See Dr. Lightfoot's ' Illustrations of the Acts from Recent Discoveries,' Contemp. Revieui(May 1878), and, especially, Prof. W. M. Ramsay's very remarkable'testimony in his work, The Church in the Roman Empire before A. D. 1 70 (Hodder and Stoughton, '893), Part i. Prof. Ramsay held when he wrote this work that the author of the Acts used for the period of St. Paul's travels a ' travel document ' by another hand, written down under the immediate influence of Paul himself, which he dates ' between 60-70 A.D.' But the evidence of style, etc., seems to show that the eye-witness of the 'we 'sections is the author of the whole. And Ramsay himself came to hold that St. Luke is the author of the whole book before he wrote St. Paul the Traveller and the Roman Citizen, 1895. * On the subject of the Acts I may refer (i) to Dr. Lightfoot's article in the Diet, of the Bible (Ed. 1893), and to his essay 'St. Paul and the Three' (Epistle to the Galatians); (2) to Dr. Salmon's Introd. lecture xviii. ; (3) to the remarkable admissions of one of the last critics amongst those who pay honour to the name of Baur Dr. Pfleiderer, see his Hibbert Lectures, lect. i. ; and (4) to a more recent examination of the subject in Mr. A. C. Headlam 's article ' Acts of the Apostles ' in Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible (Clarks, 1898). I.] The Foundation of the Church. 5 supposes some such dealings of Christ with them in particular as the Gospels record. Once again, then (for this reason and in virtue of all the body of considerations which make for the trustworthiness of the evangelical records), it is here taken for granted without scruple that Jesus Christ did really give in substance those instructions and commissions to His Apostles and to His Church, both before and after His Resurrection, which He is recorded to have given in the narratives of St. Matthew, St. Mark, St. Luke, and St. John. 1 It is then from no fear of free 1 The authenticity of St. John's Gospel has been sufficiently vindicated of recent years by Professor Godet and Dr. Westcott. See also Prof. Sanday's articles in the Expositor of Nov. 1891, and following Nos., ' The present position of the Johannean question. ' With reference to a point of some importance for the subject of the ministry in St. Matthew's Gospel our Lord's commission to St. Peter Prof. Harnack has argued (Contewp. Review, Aug. 1886, ' The Present State of Research in Early Church History,' p. 230) that an earlier version of the narrative is preserved in the text of Tatian's Diatessaron. We have in Armenian St. Ephraem's Commentary on this Harmony of the Gospels. In the Latin translation of this (Evangelii Con- cordantis Expositio facta a S. Ephraento, in Lat. trans, a R. P. Aucher, Mechi- tarista, ed. Moesinger, Venice, 1876, pp. 153, 154) the words run: Beatus es Simon, et portae inferi te non vincent. Afterwards the words Tu es petra are quoted. Here it appears that it is against St. Peter that the gates of death are not to prevail, and nothing is said of the foundation of the Church. But we have not the whole text of the Diatessaron ', St. Ephraem only quotes it to com- ment on it. Nor does he always quote it fully. In this case he gives no hint of the words Tu es petra till afterwards, out of their order. Elsewhere it is mani- fest that he does not quote the whole text ; see his comments on St. John, as incorporated in the Harmony (pp. 145-153) ; and again (p. 66) on the Sermon on the Mount, where the quoted text of St. Matt. v. 22-32 runs thus : ' Sed ego dico vobis : qui dicit fratri suo, fatue . . . qui dicit fratri suo, vilis aut stulte. . . . Audistis quia dictum est : non adulterabis, sed ego dico vobis : quicunque aspicit et concupiscit, adulterat. Si manus tua vel pes tuus scandalizet te . . .' St. Ephraem does not by any means quote the whole text ; but he refers to more than he quotes. Thus in the passage under discussion, if we reconstruct his text from his commen- tary (Dominus cum ecclesiam suam aedificaret, etc., p. 154), it must have run to this effect : ' Blessed art thou, Simon. Thou art Peter, and on this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against thee.' The 'thee' may be due simply to the ' it' (avrijs) being referred to n-erpo and not to <Ai)tria, a reference which Origen iti loco discusses. St. Ephraem or Tatian accepted this reference and, interpreting the rock of St. Peter, glossed OUTTJS as equivalent to a-ov. There are no traces of any "such reading as Harnack imagines to have existed in the Greek or in the Syriac versions (either Cureton's or the Peshitto), which have our text. See Zahn's Diatessaron, pp. 163-4 (in h' s Forschungen, i Th., Erlangen, 1881). 6 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. criticism that the authenticity and trustworthiness of these New Testament documents is here assumed. (2) The truth 2. It will be also taken for granted that the apo- ot the In- i carnation, stolic interpretation of the Person of Christ is the true one that He was the Incarnate Son of God. It is important to make this plain, because, though little stress will be laid upon this doctrine, yet our rational attitude towards the development of Chris- tian institutions depends to a certain extent upon our relation to it. 1 The Incarnation represents necessarily a climax in the divine self-revelation. It represents this necessarily, because no closer relation of God to man is conceivable than that involved in the ' Word Who is God made flesh ' in the histori- cal Person, Christ Jesus, in such sense that ' he who hath seen Him hath seen the Father.' God cannot come any nearer to man, man cannot come any nearer to God than is effected in Him, in Whom 'dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.' This is ' the end of the days.' As M. Godet strikingly observes : ' The history of the world (from the Christian point of view) is summarized in its essence in these three words : He is coming : He is come : He is coming again.' 2 The development then of God's revelation of Himself comes to its climax in the Incarnation. Henceforth another sort of development begins. All institutions, all races, all individuals are gradually brought into the light of Christ and judged by their relation to Him. Christ develops Himself as the 1 For example, it seems a grave critical defect in Dr. Hatch's Bampton Lectures, The Organization of the Early Christian. Churches, that, as he has not explained his relation to certain most significant New Testament documents, so also he has not made it plain whether he really believes the ' supernatural ' character of the Person of Christ. If he does, then his propositions about the merely 'natural' development of Christian institutions will surely want correcting (lecture i. p. 18). * tudes Bibliques, N. T. p. 291. I.] The Foundation of tlie Church. 7 Second Adam, realizing the capacities of all human- ity by bringing it all, age by age, race by race, indi- vidual by individual, into relation to Himself, till He can ' come again,' in the revelation of the glory of the sons of God, as the acknowledged centre and head of humanity and of the universe. It is not here proposed to inquire whether analogies will be found in other departments of evolution 'to what has taken place in the history of religion. This is a large question, which does not belong to our present subject. But the general theory of evolution must, of course, like every other generalization, mould itself to the facts. It must take account, among other things, of religious facts. Now in the history of religion a term has, in a certain sense, been reached in the past. The Christian moral standard, the Chris- tian character claims to be essentially final. The Per- sonality of Christ, as it finds expression in His own language and action and in the belief about Him of His earliest disciples, 1 represents finality. Thus also the grace of His Spirit is the fulness of grace, adequate for all ages and all men ; and the truth revealed in Him is ' a faith once for all delivered/ simple and universal, which is to mould human character to the end. 2 Plainly, then, the rational acceptance of this position about Christ gives us certain premises or presuppositions with reference to the institutions which perpetuate the presence, and represent the will and mind, of Christ. A ' once for all delivered ' faith and a once for all covenanted grace associate 1 I may refer to Dr. Sanday's What the First Christians thought about Christ (Oxford House Papers) and to the argument in Mr. Stanton's Jewish and Christian Messiah p. 154 f. 2 See Dr. Westcott's Christus Consitmmator pp. 124 f. 151 f. 8 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. themselves naturally with a once for all instituted society and a once for all established ministry. The question whether 'the Christian societies, and the confederation of those societies which we commonly speak of in a single phrase as " the visible Church of Christ," were formed without any special interposition of that mysterious and extraordinary action of the divine volition, which, for want of a better term, we speak of as " supernatural," ' l is rationally conditioned by the question whether the manifestation of the Christ is of this order. A supernatural cause sug- gests supernatural effects. Nothing will be assumed here about the Church and the ministry. The con- clusions shall be drawn strictly from the evidence. But belief in the Incarnation opens our eyes to give due weight to the evidence. Now on the basis of these assumptions a question arises, which must be determined before the proper subject of the present inquiry can be approached. Did Christ found a Church in the sense of a visible society ? 2 That He should have done so is intelligible enough. As it has recently been said, 3 ' it is only by becoming 1 Hatch B. L. p. 18. On p. 20, the author says the Church ' is divine as the solar system is divine. 1 Now inasmuch as the Church is a human society, he must mean that it is divine, as the British constitution or the Roman empire is divine. But if Christ be personally God, if in virtue of a divine life He burst the tomb and rose the third day from the dead, the society to which He gave birth may presumably be divine in another sense not as exempted from ' the universe of law,' but because it belongs to that kingdom of law in which effects are relative to causes. - 'For although it is indisputable that our Lord founded a Church, it is an unproved assumption that that Church is an aggregation of visible or organized societies; and although it is clear that our Lord instituted the rite of Christian baptism, it is an unproved assumption that baptism was at the outset, as it has become since, not merely a sign of discipleship, but also a ceremony of initiation into a divine society ' (Hatch B. L. pref. sec. ed. p. xii). To the idea that the Church is 'a visible society, or aggregation of societies,' is opposed the idea that it is ' synony- mous with the elect.' 3 The Christian Church by R. W. Church, Dean of St. Paul's, (Oxford House Papers, No. xvii.) pp. 4, 5, 15. I.] The Foundation of the Church, 9 embodied in the undoubting convictions of a society, by being, as it were, assimilated with its mind and motives that is to say, with living human minds and wills and informing all its actions, that ideas have reality, and possess power, and become more than dry and lifeless thoughts.' ' As great moral and social and political ideas are preserved in life and force by being embodied in the common and living convictions of the society which we call the State, so great spiritual ideas, which are the offspring of Christianity, are preserved in life and force by be- coming the recognised beliefs and motives of the society which we call the Church.' Christianity would never have done what it has done in the world, if it had been a mere body of abstract truth, like a philosophy, to be apprehended by this or that individual. It would never have done what it has done, if it had been embodied only in a book or collection of books. It has lived on, and worked upon men, as a society or group of societies. This, of course, everybody would admit. The question is whether believers in Christ were left to organize themselves in societies by the natural attraction of sympathy in beliefs and aims, and are, therefore, still at liberty to organize themselves on any model which seems from time to time to promise the best results, or whether the divine Founder of the Christian religion Himself instituted a society, a brotherhood, to be the home of the grace and truth which He came to bring to men : so that becoming His disciple, meant from the first this in a real sense this only incorporation into His society. If this was the case, the Church was not created by men, nor can it be recreated from time to time in view of varying cir- IO Christian Ministry. [CHAP. cumstances. It comes upon men from above. It makes the claim of a divine institution. It has the authority of Christ. Christ did not, according to this view, encourage His disciples to form societies ; He instituted a society for them to belong to as the means of belonging to Him. 1 Now, as we watch the history of Christendom, we discern 'a great number of organized religious bodies owing their existence and their purpose to Christian belief and Christian ideas ' ; but in the midst of these we discern also something incom- parably more permanent and more universal one great continuous body the Catholic Church. There it is ; none can overlook its visible existence, let us say from the time when Christianity emerges out of the gloom of the sub-apostolic age down to the period of the Reformation. And all down this period of its continuous life this society makes a constant and unmistakeable claim. It claims to have been instituted as the home of the new covenant of salvation by the Incarnate Son of God. Is the claim which this visible Catholic Church has made a just one ? This is our present question : we are not asking yet whether the Church has any particular form of polity by divine institution, but whether the thing itself the visible society is the handiwork intrinsic of Christ. This much we premise : that it would be nothing extraordinary if Christ did institute a Church. It is reasonable to think that, 2 if He came 1 Of course this antithesis requires guarding. The supernatural influence in the genesis of the Church did not annihilate ' the natural inclination which all men have unto sociable life': but it controlled and intensified it. This consilience of the natural and supernatural is beautifully expressed by Hooker, E.P. i. 15. 2. 2 Cf. the measured words of Butler, Analogy pt. 11. ch. i : ' As Christianity served these ends and purposes, when it was first published, by the miraculous publication itself, so it was intended to serve the same purposes in future ages by means of the I.] The Foundation of the Church. it to leave among mankind the inestimable treasures of redemptive truth and grace, He would not have cast them abroad among men, but would have given them a stable home in a visible and duly con- stituted society a society simple enough in its principles to be capable of adaptation to the varying needs of ages and nations and individ- uals, simple enough to be catholic, but organized enough to take its place amidst the institutions of the world with a recognisable and permanent character. But, as a fact, does history record that He did witness of act thus? The affirmative answer to this question shall be given first by exhibiting the impressive unanimity with which the early Christians believed that He did : secondly, by making it plain that the existence of the visible Church was not due to external ' secular ' influences : lastly ', by supporting the position from the evidence of the New Testa- ment, especially of the Gospels. (i) It is plain that the visible society admits of (0 Early ,.,.-. ,. . Christian being differently represented, according as it is re- belief garded as the home of divine grace, uniting men by the Spirit through Christ to God and to one another ; or as the kingdom of truth, maintaining settlement of a visible Church ; of a society distinguished from common ones and from the rest of the world, by peculiar religious institutions, by an instituted method of instruction and an instituted form of external religion. Miraculous powers were given to the first preachers of Christianity, in order to their introducing it into the world : a visible Church was established in order to continue it, and carry it on successfully throughout all ages. . . . To prevent (Christianity being sunk and forgotten in a very few ages], appears to have been one reason why a visible Church was instituted ; to be like a city upon a hill, a standing memorial to the world o the duty which we owe our Maker, to call men continually ... to attend to it, and by the form of religion ever before their eyes, remind them of the reality ; to be the repository of the oracles of God } to hold up the light of revelation . . . and pro- pagate it throughout all generations to the end of the world.' Cf. also the general argument of his Charge to the Clergy of Durham , 12 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. the ' witness of Jesus ' ; or as the organ of divine authority, guiding and disciplining the lives of men. But it is equally plain that such modes of repre- senting the Church are not at all incompatible with one another, and all of them equally postulate the visibility of the Church. We proceed then to trace up the different lines of tradition in the Church so as to show that the differ- ence of colour put upon Christian truth by the varieties of spiritual temperament and the varying claims of circumstance did not affect this central position. And as, of recent years, considerable originality has been assigned to the 'Augustinian theory ' of the Church, 1 we will make a beginning in the West: with the Church of St. Augustin the Church of Africa. Now, whatever novelty there may have been in Augustin's presentation of the matter, 2 at least he did not originate the idea of a visible Church. Let us take our earliest representative of African Tertuiiian. Christianity, Tertullian (at the end of the second century), and listen to what he teaches on the sub- ject, in argument with the Gnostics, giving it as the one thing certain, whatever may be matter for question. 1 E.g. by Dr. Hatch I.e. pp. xii, xiii. 2 St. Augustin's doctrine of the Church is thus stated by Mr. Cunningham (St. Austin, p. 116) : 'The kingdom of God was not a mere hope, but a present reality, not a mere name for a divine idea, but an institution, duly organized among men, subsisting ;from one generation to another ; closely inter-connected with earthly rule, with definite guidance to give, and a definite part to take in all the affairs of actual life. To him the kingdom of God was an actual Polity, just as the Roman Empire was a Polity too: it was "visible" in just the same way as the earthly State, for it was a real institution with definite organization, with a recognised constitution, with a code of laws and means of enforcing them, with property for its uses, and officers to direct it.' This would represent what is meant by ' the Augustinian theory.' But in fact St. Augustin's relation to the idea of the Church is a complex one. On the whole he intended to spiritualize rather than materialize it : cf. Hermann Reuter Augustinische Stutiien, esp. pp. 101, 150-1, 485 ff. I.] The Foundation of the Church. 1 3 ' Christ Jesus our Lord,' he says, 1 ' so long as He was living on earth, spoke Himself either openly to the people or apart to His disciples. From amongst these He had attached to His person twelve especially, who were destined to be the teachers of the nations. Accordingly, when one of these had fallen away, the remaining eleven received His command, as He was departing to the Father after His Resurrection, to go and teach the nations, who were to be baptized into the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. At once, then, the Apostles (whose mission this title indicates), after adding Matthias to their number as the twelfth in the place of Judas on the authority of the prophecy in David's psalm, and after receiving the promised strength of the Holy Ghost to enable them to work miracles and preach, first of all bore witness to the faith in Judaea and established Churches, and afterwards going out into the world proclaimed the same teaching of the same faith to the nations, and forthwith founded Churches in every city, from which all other Churches in their turn have received the tradition of the faith and the seeds of doctrine ; yes, and are daily receiving, that they may become Churches ; and it is on this account that they too will be reckoned apostolic, as being the offspring of apostolic Churches. Every kind of thing must be referred to its origin. Accordingly, many and great as are the Churches, yet all is that one first Church which is from the Apostles, that one whence all are derived. So all are the first, and all are apostolic, while all together prove their unity : while the fellowship of peace and the title of brotherhood and the interchange of hospitality remain amongst them rights which are based on no other principle than the one handing down of the same faith.' Here we have a perfectly clear conception of the 1 de Praescr. 20 : Christus lesus, Dominus noster, permittat dicere interim, quis- quis est, cuiuscunque dei fill us, cuiuscunque materiae homo et deus, . . . quamdiu in terris agebat, ipse pronuntiabat sive populo palam sive discentibus secrsum, ex quibus duodecim praecipuos later! suo allegerat destinatos nationibus magistros. Itaque uno eorum decusso reliquos undecim digrediens ad Patrem post resurrec- tionem iussit ire et docere nationes tinguendas in Patrem et Filium et in Spiritum sanctum. Statim igitur apostoli, quos haec appellatio missos interpretatur, assumpto per sortem duodecimo Matthia in locum ludae ex auctoritate prophetiae quae est in psalmo David, consecuti promissam vim Spiritus sancti ad virtutes et eloquium, primo per ludaeam contestata fide in lesum Christum ecclesiis institutis, dehinc in orbem profecti eandem doctrinam eiusdem fidei nationibus promulgaverunt. Et proinde ecclesias apud unamquamque civitatem condiderunt, a quibus traducem fidei et semina doctrinae ceterae exinde ecclesiae mutuatae sunt, et quotidie mutu- antur, ut ecclesiae fiant. Ac per hoc et ipsae apostolicae deputabuntur, ut soboles apostolicarum ecclesiarum. Omne genus ad originem suam censeatur necesse est. Itaque tot ac tantae ecclesiae una est ilia ab apostolis prima, ex qua omnes. Sic omnes primae et omnes apostolicae, dum una omnes probant unitatem. Communi- catio pacis et appellatio fraternitatis et contesseratio hospitalitatis, quae iura non alia ratio regit, quam eiusdem sacrament! una traditio.' 14 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. one catholic Church, 1 founded in fulfilment of Christ's intentions by His immediate ambassadors, of which every local Church is the representative for a par- ticular area. Behind 'the Churches,' and prior to them in idea is the one Church which each embodies. 2 Thus the Church is to Tertullian's mind God's insti- tution for man's education and salvation. To the Church belong the Scriptures ; so utterly in fact does he refuse to separate the books of the Church from herself that he declines, in theory at least, even to argue as to the meaning of the Scriptures with those outside the Church, because they do not belong to them. So little does he conceive of the Christian religion as an abstract doctrine written in a Book ! 3 It was, then, through membership in this one apostolic Church, catholic and local, that African Christians believed themselves to inherit the grace of Christ. Communion with God depended on com- munion with His Church. ' He cannot have God for his father,' Cyprian is fond of emphasizing, 4 ' who has 1 Second century writers speak of the Church as actually catholic so strong is their sense that it is meant to be so i.e. they speak of the Church as having spread universally. Cf. TTO.VTO. TO, eOtn/) TO. VTTO TOP ovpavbv KOLTQIKOVVTO., aKOvtravTa Kai vitrrevfavTa. . . . icA>j0T)<ra>> (Hernias Sim. ix. 17) ; ^ e/ocArjcria . . . Kara TTJS oAjjs oi<cov/if IT;? ea>s irepariav rijs )>>) SuoTrapjmeVi) (Iren. i. 10. i) ; ' expansa in universum mundum ' (ib. iv. 36. 2) ', y KO.TO. Tyv oiicov/ieVT)' KodoAixr) exxArja-ia (Mart. Polyc. 8). 2 The thought of salvation in the Church is so prominent in Tertullian's mind that he finds it in the Lord's Prayer. Speaking of the title ' Father,' he says (fie Orat. 2) : 'Appellatio ista et pietatis et potestatis est. Item in Patre Filius invocatur ; Ego enim, inquit, et Pater unum sumus. Ne mater quidem ecclesia praeteritur. Sequidem in filio et patre mater recognoscitur, de qua constat et patris et filii nomen. 1 3 de Praescr. 19 : ' Ergo non ad scripturas provocandum est, nee in his constitu- endum certamen, in quihus aut nulla aut incerta victoria est, aut parum certa. Nam etsi non ita evaderet collatio scripturarum, ut utramque partem parem sisteret, ordo rerum desiderabat illud prius proponi, quod nunc solum disputandum est : quibus competat fides ipsa, cuius sint scripturae.' 4 Ep. Ixxiv. 7 : ' Ubi et ex qua et cui natus est, qui films ecclesiae non est ? ut habere quis possit Deum patrem, habeat ante ecclesiam matrem. 1 Cf. Ep. Iv. 24 : ' Quisque ille est et qualiscunque est, Christianus non est qui in Christi ecclesia non est.' Ep. Ixxiii. 21 : ' Salus extra ecclesiam non est.' Cyprian's conception of the bishop constituting the Church will be brought out later. I.] The Foundation of the Church. 15 not the Church for his mother.' ' Dost thou believe ' so runs the baptismal interrogation in St. Cyprian's day *( m ) t ne remission of sins and eternal life through the holy Church ? ' l There is no reason to think that such a question would have startled or shocked the faithful in any part of the Christian Church. Certainly Irenaeus, irenaeus the bishop of Lyons, who represents the Church of ' Gaul and the Churches of Asia where he had been brought up, held the same belief in the Church and made the same exclusive claim for it. ' In the Church," he says, ' God placed apostles, prophets, doctors, and the whole operation of the Spirit, and all who do not have recourse to the Church do not participate in Him, but deprive them- selves of life. . . . For where the Church is there is the Spirit of God, and where the Spirit of God is there is the Church and all grace.' 'God will judge all those who make schisms. . . . No reformation can be wrought by them which can compensate for the injury of the schism. God will judge all those who are outside the truth that is, who are outside the Church.' ' The Church has been planted as the paradise in this world : so then, of every tree of the paradise ye shall eat, says the Spirit of God that is, of every Scripture of the Lord.' 2 1 Ep. Ixix. 7 : ' Credis remissionem peccatorum et vitam aetemam per sanctam ecclesiam?' Ep. Ixx. 2 : ' Credis in vitam aeternam et remissionem peccatorum per sanctam ecclesiam ? ' Dr. Westcott (Historic Faith, Note iii. p. 186) does not notice the latter form. Previously (p. 116) he lays stress on the idea that 'we do not say we believe in ' the Church : we believe only ' that it is. This distinction comes from Rufinus ; cf. his Commentary on the Creed 36 : ' hac itaque praepositionis syllaha Creator a creaturis secernitur et divina separantur ab humanis.' Cf. St. Augustin de Fide et Symbolo 21. But this would apply neither to all the western Creeds (see, in Heurtley's Harmonia Symbolica, Creeds xix, xxvi, xxvii, xxx, xxxvii-viii, and the early Spanish Creed in Priscillian Tract, ii. p. 36), nor to the eastern form of the Con- stantinopolitan Creed (the form of most authority in the Church) with the earlier eastern Creeds (see Pearson On the Creed art. ix, notes 52, 53 ; and Westcott I.e. p. 195). It is therefore surely impossible to lay stress on it. 2 Irenaeus' conception of the organization of the Church is presented later. The passages here quoted are iii. 24. x (quoted below, p. 109) ; iv. 33. 7 : ' "Avcucpii'ei Je TOVJ TO. a\i<rntna. p-yao/j.eVovs, itevovs ovra<: TTJS TOU fleou dyamjs <cai TO IStov Avo*iTeAts <7KO ouiTas, aAAa fLrf TTfv fv<o<ril> Tryi eKxArjo-ias 1 cat id /iixpas <cal Tas [rvxov<rat] curi'dc'TO /xe'-ya xai fvSoov crdijiaroC Xpio-roC re'/n'oiras KOI Siatpovtrat icai oaov TO CTT* avrol? avaipovvraf . . . ovSfHut 5e TT)AiicavT7| SvpaTai Trpos auTu> KaTOf>wori; ycpc'o'dat, /jAiicr) TOU a\io>iaT6s f<mv 17 16 Christian Ministry. [CHAP, (recognition it might be asked how St. Irenaeus reconciles this also of God s Y id 3 r , exclusive claim which he makes for the Church with dealings). a truth to which he also gives expression namely, that God's revelation of Himself through His Son, Who is the Eternal Word, ' the Light which lighteneth every man,' is in a sense universal, and that in order to the apprehension of this universal revelation there is a universal capacity for faith which is exhibited in all moral obedience to God wherever found. 1 Irenaeus teaches this, with the Alexandrians and with Justin Martyr. 2 With the last-named father he would, no doubt, recognise all who, even in heathen lands as well as among the Jews, ' lived or live with right reason,' as the friends of Christ' the Eternal ludicabit autem et omnes cos qui sunt extra veritatem, id est qui sunt extra ecclesiam.' v. 20. a: ' Fiigere igitur oportet sententias ipsorum [haereticorum] . . . confugere autem ad ecclesiam, et in eius sinu educari, et dominicis scripturis enutriri. Plan- tata est enim ecclesia paradisus in hoc mundo. Ab omni ergo ligno paradisi escas manducabitis, ait Spiritus Dei ; id est, ab omni scriptura dominica manducate.' The connection in the mind of the early Church between schism and heresy is very close. The fundamental idea of heresy is that of self-willed separatism or particularism. Cf. Rothe Anfange der christlichen Kircht 53 p. 563 f. and pseudo-Athan. Diet, et Interpret. Parabol. Evang. qu. 38 (quoted by Rothe I.e. p. 566) IldOec Ae'yerai aiptcris ; aird roO aipeiadai TI IStov, Kai TOVTO eaic6\ovOeiv. This expresses the primitive idea. 1 Iren. iv. 6. 5, 7: 'Et ad hoc Filium revelavit Pater, ut per eum omnibus manifestetur et eos quidem, qui credunt ei iusti, in incorruptelam et in aeternum refrigerium recipiat ; credere autem ei, est facere eius voluntatem. . . . Nemo cognoscit . . . Patrem, nisi Filius et quibuscunque Filius revelaverit. Reve- laverit enim non solum in futurum dictum est, quasi tune inceperit Verbum mani- festare Patrem, cum de Maria natus ; sed communiter per totum tempus positum est. Ab initio enim assistens Filius suo plasmati, revelat omnibus Patrem, quibus vult et quando vult et quemadmodum vult Pater ; et propter hoc in omnibus et per omnia unus Deus Pater et unum Verbum Filius et unus Spiritus et una salus omnibus credentibus in eum.' Kai 'HpaKAeiTOs Kai oi 6/uoiot avrois, iv /3ap/3apoi{ fit 'AjSpaafi xai 'Acacia; Kai ' Afapias xai MtcraijA Kai 'HAta; Kai aAAoi iroAAoi, a>c rum irpafeis i; ra ocdjuara KaraAeyeti/ /jiaxpoc cicai C7rio^rdju.ecot racvc irapairoufieda. axTre Kai oi irpoyecdjixecoi acev Adyov /3iu<racT? dxpT/crroi Kai t^flpoi TU> Xptorip *;trai/ Kai </)Ocei? rue fiera Adyou ^lOiicTiov oi fie fiera Adyov /Siuaacref Kai /Siovcrcf Xpio~Tiacoi Kai a^o/Sot Kai I.] The Foundation of the Church. 1 7 Reason, and even as ' Christians.' How would he reconcile such a position with the exclusive claim of the Church ? Probably by holding that all who had not had the opportunity of becoming members of the Church while on earth would, if they had been true to their light, be received into the Church in Paradise. At any rate the reconciliation was not effected by the idea of an invisible Church to which they belonged an invisible Church containing the true servants of God whether they belonged to the visible Church or not. Neither the existence of good men outside the Church, nor the presence of bad men inside it, ever drove the Christian Fathers, whether eastern or western, to this hypothesis. 1 1 The Church on earth was regarded as subdivided into false and true members the latter constituting the Kupc'ws fKK.\T\<ria. of Origen, the corpus Christi verum of Jerome and Augustin. Neither of these (as Rothe, Anfange, etc., p. 618 n. 44, remarks) 'agrees with the invisible Church of the Protestants.' The point of difference is specially this, that, whereas the members of the ' invisible Church ' are regarded as belonging indifferently to any or no ecclesiastical unity, with Origen and Augustin the conception is the opposite. The membership in the ' true Church ' depends upon membership in the visible Church on earth. The true Church is a subdivision of the actual Church its genuine members. For 'non omnes qui tenent ecclesiam, tenent et vitam aeternam ' (Augustin de Bapt. v. 20) ; ' multi . . . sunt in sacramentorum communione cum ecclesia, et iam non sunt in ecclesia ' (de Unit. Eccl. 74). See further Rothe An/ange 61, esp. pp. 612 ff. and Stanton's Jewish and Christian Messiah, p. 230 : ' Let me premise that I think the distinction cannot be maintained, which was first introduced by the theology of the sixteenth century [' the idea appears pretty fully developed in Wiklif,' footnote], between a visible and invisible Church in this world, the latter consisting only of the truly godly. Not only is such a distinction uncountenanced by Scripture, but the very idea of a Church is that of a Society which has its officers and its organisation. It is a contradiction in terms to call a number of individuals a Church who are not united together in a body. The moment they do begin to unite, by virtue of their common supposed characteristic of genuine godliness, they cease to be invisible. There have been such attempts to form a pure Church ; but history and the warn- ings of our Lord Himself have taught us what to think of them.' Of course the greater part of the Church is to us invisible, but that is because its members are no longer on earth, and they enjoy ' perfect fellowship with one another, as well as with their Lord.' Cf. also William Law's Third Letter to the Bishop of Bangor, at the beginning a powerful and racy passage. Of course the truth that the Church is a visible society, containing evil as well as good, is involved in our Lord's language in the parables of the Net_ gathering of every kind and the Field of wheat and tares : it is involved also in St. Paul's whole conception of the Church and of ' the saints, 1 that is the Christians as bound to holiness by the consecration B 1 8 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. The Roman From Africa and Gaul we come to the great west- Church. ern centre Rome. Certainly the idea of the visible Church and its unity was prominent there at the victor time when Victor, the bishop, attempted to excom- municate the Churches of Asia for keeping Easter after their own specially Johannine tradition. He endeavoured, says Eusebius, 1 ' to cut them off from the common unity ' and make them ' utterly excom- municate.' He was reproved by Irenaeus for intro- ducing into the Church the idea of a rigid uniformity, in place of the common faith, as the bond of union. He is reminded how, in the middle of the century, his predecessor Anicetus had kept his fellowship with the Asiatic Polycarp, in spite of their difference as to this particular custom 'those who observed it, and those who did not, keeping the peace of the whole Church.' Hermas. But we may go back in the same Church at least 2 to the earlier part of the second century, to the days of Hermas, the seer of the Shepherd. In his visions the Church is represented as an aged lady, who appears to Hermas, and ' through whom he receives visions and revelations.' She is aged, it is explained to him, because ' she is the first creation of God, on whose account the world was made.' 3 The Church is laid upon them in virtue of being baptized members of Christ, but not necessarily holy. Still it was only when the long repose of the last parts of the second century and the first half of the third made the Christian profession popular and easy, that the full weight of the problem came upon the Church. In part there was a disposition to meet it by rigorous discipline, passing into an impatient refusal to tolerate the ' mixed ' condition of the Church ; and this was a fruitful source of schism. In part stress was laid upon the Church on earth being only an outpost of a celestial society (cf. Tertull. de Baft. 15 una ecclesia in caelis), an earthly image of it (cf. Clem. Alex. Strom, iv. 8. 66 tliuav -rift ovpaviov KicA)(rt'as >j eiri'yeios), or a pre- paration-ground for it : and thus necessarily imperfect. 1 Euseb. H. E. v. 2. 2 See further on the date, in chap. vi. 3 Vis. ii. 4: Tiji' irpfa-pvrepav, nap' fa sAo|3 TO /3i/Uc5tor, vivo. Soxeis eiixu ; eyu <frTj|Hi- TTJI> 2t/3vAAav nAaveurat, faaiv, OVK coriv. Ti's ovv taTiV ; <<")fii. 'H I.] The Foundation of the Church. 19 here thought of as in a way existing from the begin- ning in the purpose of God, in the ideal world. But this divine Idea has become a fact. The actual Church, made up of those yet alive and of some who have departed in the faith of Christ, is represented to Hermas under the figure of a tower with a marvellous unity, which is being built by the angels of God upon the waters of baptism, the stones which are used for the tower, and those which are rejected, representing all sorts of men. 1 This actual Church which is in process of being constructed is declared to be identical with the ideal Church. What existed before in idea is now real. 2 And this real, visible Church is the only way of salvation. 'When the tower is finished, those who have not yet repented can no longer find place, but will be cast out.' 3 There is another vision of the building of the tower to the same effect. 4 In this it is made plain that the Church in its present state is imperfect. Many, who had been gathered out of all nations ' into the one body,' have fallen away and been cast out for awhile or for ever. Those who are members of the Church at present are evil as well as good ; many will have to be cast out ; and thus the Church as a whole will at the last be purified tic(cAr)crta, cJ>T)crii'. tlirov avria' Atari ovv vpetrfivTfpaL ; *Ori, ^ijaiV, irairwp irpwnj eicTi<T0T) - 6ta TOVTO irp<r/3uTe'po, <cai Sia. T<XVTT)I> o KO<T>IOS <c<rn)pri'<r0T). Cf. Vis. iv. i: ai aTTOxoAi/iiei? Kai TO. opauara a fxoi e&ciffv fiia Trjs aytas (KK\r)<ria.s avTOV. 1 Vis. iii. 2-8. 2 The tower which is the visible Church on earth is the ideal Church which appeared to Hennas, 'O fier jrupyos ov /SAe'jrei? oitcoSofnoviJifvov, fyia M'j ^ eKteAijcria, 17 ixftSfta-d. <roi cal vvv ica.1 TO irportpov {Vis. iii. 3). Cf. [pseudo] Clem, ad Cor. 14. If Hermas' Church of the divine Idea is spoken of ' as a sort of Aeon ' (Rothe Anfdnge p. 612 n. 42), it must be remembered that the Idea is actualized to Hermas, as the Word is made flesh. This differentiates the Church's system from the Gnostic ; the Valentinian Aeon ejcicA7)<ri'a is (by contrast) only ideal. For the Jewish form of the eternal Church see Book of Enoch c. 39. 3 Vis. iii. 5. There is, however, an inferior salvation implied for some who do not find place in the tower, if they repent, and after a purgatorial purification (ib. 7). * Sim. ix. This tower is built upon the great Rock, Christ. 2O Christian Ministry. [CHAP. into complete holiness and unity. Still, as it is, the Church represents God's will, God's purpose of redemption ; and those who separate themselves from it, separate themselves from the hope of salva- tion like the covetous or the extortionate. They are represented as men diseased : ' they who are covered with scabs are they who denied their Lord and turned not to Him, but have become dry and desert-like, and cleave not to the saints of God, but, isolating themselves, lose their own souls.' 1 How could imagery express more strongly the idea of salvation through the Church ? 2 We may go back in the same Church to a yet clement earlier date, and still in the Epistle of Clement we shall find, without poetry or vision, the sense of the Church as vivid as possible. The Church in that Epistle is a visible society, with the divine principle of order stamped upon her, as upon the Church of the old covenant, by God's authority, 3 and there is a common tradition over the different local Churches, for neglecting which that at Rome is bound to take her sister at Corinth to task. The western temper no doubt tended later (as will be seen) to colour the idea of the Church. As the Church at Rome became Latinized and came to inherit the secular preroga- tives of the Roman name in addition to her own spiritual privileges, no doubt her influence gave a new tone the tone of secular empire to Christian insti- tutions. Thus the doctrine of the Church becomes 1 Sim. ix. 26. - The commission to Clement to send the book to the other cities (ei T efo> iroAfts) implies the sense that the local Churches are essentially connected (K/V. ii. 4). a Clem, ad Cor. 40-44 ; see further chap. vi. ' The new law of the Church ' Clement ' most characteristically connected with the two models of the political and military organization of the Roman state and the sacerdotal hierarchy of the Jewish theocracy ' (Pfleiderer Hibbtrt Lectures p. 252). I.] The Foundation of the Church. 21 materialized, but it is a complete mistake to suppose that the conception of the Church, or of the visible unity of the Church, was at all western in origin. Ignatius of Antioch was a thorough oriental, and he in the East writes to Churches which inherit the fruits of the last cf *?D. U IIO. years of apostolic influence when that influence had its centre at Ephesus. Yet it is impossible to con- ceive a teaching about the Church as a visible society more intense, more passionate, than that of Ignatius. Christ's authority is perpetuated in visible societies with a visible organization, and each of these societies, each Church, with its bishop and priests and deacons, is an embodiment of what is not local, but catholic. 1 ' Where the bishop appears, there let the people be, as where is Christ Jesus, there is the catholic Church.' ' He who is within the sanctuary is pure, he who is outside is impure, that is to say, he who does anything apart from bishop and presbytery and deacons is not pure in his conscience.' ' If any one follows a separatist he does not inherit the kingdom of God.' 2 The Church may be represented from different points of view. It may be emphasized, as was said above, as the home of a divine grace covenanted to its members alone ; this is perhaps the thought specially suggested by the scriptural metaphors of the body of Christ and the branches of the Vine. It may be The Alex- emphasized from the side of authority, the Church an being the mistress of men to subdue and to rule them ; and this is the thought specially dear to the Roman genius. It may be emphasized also from the side of the revelation of truth, the Church being the school 1 ad Stnyrn. 8. ' The bishop is fhe centre of each individual Church, as Jesus Christ is the centre of the universal Church' (Lightfoot's note). For further quota- tions and discussion see chap. vi. * ad Trail. ^ : ad Philad. 3. 22 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. of truth to train human characters under its discip- line ; and no doubt to the Alexandrians it is from this point of view that Christianity is mostly, though not of course exclusively, 1 thought of and loved. Christ is the Truth. It is on the Church's truth that the minds of Athanasius and Didymus are mainly fixed ; 2 it is the divine philosophy superseding all the fragmentary truth possible to the world apart from Christ by including it in a completer, purer whole that Clement and Origen love. But it is quite an error to suppose that they were the less churchmen on this account. We have in St. Augustin's Confes- sions an account of an old Platonic philosopher, Marius Victorinus, trying to induce a simple-hearted bishop to consider him a Christian on account of his convictions, without requiring him to come into the Church. Did walls, he asked, make Christians ? The question was one better left without a direct answer. But at any rate the philosopher was given to understand that he could only become a Christian by being baptized into the Christian body. This ' ecclesiastical temper ' was as much that of Clement and Origen as of later Alexandrians. clement c . Clement may indeed have had an idea of a ' Church within a Church,' a Church of the men of knowledge who get beyond mere faith ; but men of faith and men of knowledge are at one in common church membership, in common use of the sacraments, in 1 See, e.g., a fine passage in Origen (c. Ceh. vi. 48) where the Church is described as an organism, ensouled by the indwelling Word UJTO TOV uiou TOV OeoC I^VXOUJU.VTJV Ti) varav TOV Oeov KKAi)<rtac. B This is very beautifully illustrated by Didymus' commentary on the Psalms. The guidance and food of the soul is mainly the Church's truth, as expressed in her exact dogmas, and his feeling towards this truth is repeatedly expressed with the greatest genuineness and force. Later, in the fifth century, the theology of Cyril has a quite different tone from the theology of I.eo. The first thought of the one is truth and life, of the other government. I.] The Foundation of the Church. 23 common obedience to 'the Church's rule,' 'the apostolic and ecclesiastical right rule of beliefs.' l The faith is not a philosophy ; it is embodied in the one visible Church, true, ancient, catholic, and apostolic. This only, in contrast to all the late- devised ' schools ' of heresy which cannot be called Churches, is the home of the elect, the one true virgin mother of human souls. 2 ' This being the case,' he says, ' it is plain that these later-born heresies and those yet subsequent to them are innovations, driven along distorted lines, upon the most ancient and true Church. It has also, I think, been made plain from what has been said that the Church which is true and really ancient is one, and into it the elect according to God's purpose are gathered. . . . The One Church is associated with the nature of the One God. In substance, in conception, in origin, in excellence, we say that the ancient and catholic Church is one only, having nothing like or equal to herself.' 3 1 Men of understanding are described as oo-ot vw' avrov [XptoroG] Tup ypacfeaip efrjyrjaiv (card TOP eicicAijo-iaoTiicbp icapopa fKS(\6fJ.fVOi Siatrcofovcru' (Strom, vi. 15. 125); cf. ^ airooroAiKTj cai e(C(cAi)o-iaoriioj 6p00TO/ix TUP SoyfiaViop (/'. vii. 16. 1*4). The heretic is a man who has 'kicked at the tradition of the Church and leaped off to the opinions of human heresies ' (it. vii. 16. 95) ; he neither enters the kingdom of heaven himself, nor allows those whom he deceives to arrive at the truth. - Cf. Strom, vii. 17. (quoted below) ; vii. 15. 92 ; Paed. \. 6. 42 (on the one virgin mother). For further quotations see Rothe An/tinge pp. 384 f-, 593, 601, etc. ; and Dr. Bigg's Bampton Lectures, The Christian Platonists of Alexandria, pp. 86, 153 n 2 . 98-100, etc. 3 Strom, vii. 17. 107 : 'Op OVTCUS CXOPTCUP o~vfi^>apes eic r>js TrpoyepeoTanjs ai aATjfleoTanjs cKJcAr)o~i'as TOS ^i6Tayep<rTe'pos TavTas <cai TO? Ti TOVTWP viropt/Brjicvtas TU> xpopu Ke<caivoTOfi^o~dat irapa\apa.\8ei<ras aipt trees, eic Tuip eip7)/te'pjp apa </>apcpop oT/xai yeyeprjo"flai, /ii'av eTpai TT)P aAtjOTJ (titAr)O'iap TTJP ria OPTC ap\aiai', eis JJP ot KOTa irp69riv Sixaioi iyKaraXeyovrai.- epos -yap o pros TO fleou leal epos TOV Kvpi'ov. Sia TOVTO icai TO aicpus Tifiiop Kara TTJP (iopwo'ip eiraipeiTai fii'fiTjfia op apx^S n)S /i'?- TTJ yovp TOV epos <^uo~ei onryitAr|pouTai eicitAtjo'ta 7) >tui, i)P els jroAAas (taTare/ipeip Pia^oprai atpeVeis. KaTa Te oup vjroo-Tao-iP KaTa Te en-tpotap icaTa Te apxi)P Kara Te *XQ V povnv e'poi <f>afiep TY\V ap\aiav Kal ea9oAiiei|p edcAr)o~iap. . . . aAAa KOI i efoxi) Tijs e(CeAi)o-ias, (caflairep r; apxij Tijs o-vo-Tao-ews, *aTa rijp iiovaa earip irapra TO aAAa vTrep^dAAowa Kai fiT)Sep exovo~a ofxotop f} io"0p eaim). 24 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. Origen. Just in the same way the truth, which Origen set himself with such noble zeal to expound and to put into relation to the whole of knowledge, was no abstract truth to be thought out by the free action of the individual mind ; it was a truth committed to a society and, though the sanctified reason could explain, elucidate, accommodate it, it could not trans- gress or neglect ' the rule of faith ' without being self- A.D. j28-a 3 i. condemned. 1 ' Let the preaching of the Church be preserved,' he says at the beginning of the book which most laid him open to accusations of heresy, ' handed down through the order of succession from the Apostles, and remaining up to the present time in the Churches : that alone is to be believed as truth which is in no disagreement with the ecclesiastical and apostolical tradition.' 2 Origen's teaching upon the Church is full and rich, and when he comments, for instance, on the red cord which marked Rahab's house for safety, he says with equal positiveness that there is no salvation except through the blood of Christ, and no salvation outside the Church. 3 Un- doubtedly Clement and Origen alike endeavoured to mitigate this doctrine of exclusive salvation within 1 See Bigg B. L. lecture v. init. 2 de Princip. prooem. 2 : ' Servetur vero ecclesiastica praedicatio per successionis ordinem ab apostolis tradita et usque ad praesens in ecclesiis permanens ; ilia sola credenda est veritas, quae in nullo et ecclesiastica et apostolica discordat traditione.' 3 in fesu Nave horn. iii. 5 : ' Sciebat etenim quia nulli esset salus nisi in sanguine Christ!. ... Si quis ergo salvari vult veniat in hanc domum. . . . Ad hanc venial domum in qua Christ! sanguis in signo redemptionis est. . . . Nemo ergo sibi per- suadeat, nemo semet ipsum decipiat : extra hanc domum, id est extra ecclesiam, nemo salvatur.' in Matt. xii. n : TJTS e/ocArjcria, <o? XpioroC oiKo8o/u>j, TOV oiKoSo- H'i<7aiTO? eavTOv TJ)I> aiiciac <>poi'tfib>? eTrl Trfv Tre'rpav, ayeTriSe/CTo? etrri irv\iav <jSov, K<ni<r\vov<r!av fiev TTOVTOS of flpoiirov TOV efio TTJS TreVpas cai TTJS eKKArjfftas, ovSev fie Svvafitvuv irpo? ovnjv. Cf. his interpretation of St. John i. 29 : ' He taketh away the sin of the world,' i.e. ' the world of the Church, 1 the world within the world the true (coo-pot (in foann. vi. ad fin.). It should be added that Origen, like Augustin, recognised that the Church had in some sense begun to exist from the beginning, cf. in Cant. i. n, 12 : 'prima etenim fundamenta congregationis ecclesiae statim ab initio sunt posit a.' I.] The Foundation of the Church. 25 the Church, so as to bring it into harmony with God's universal purposes, with His recognised equity and good-will towards all, and with the universal presence of the Word to all men. 1 But with all this it is an undoubted truth that they did, like all the other Fathers, regard God's covenant in Christ as made with a visible society, membership in which was of universal 'obligation and alienation from which was death. Nor can it be maintained that the more philosophic The . gists apologists of the second century were inclined 'to transform the Gospel into a monotheistic moral system.' It has been said that in the recently recovered Apology of the philosopher Aristides Aristi presented to the Emperor Hadrian about A.D. 125, or perhaps to the Emperor Antoninus Pius about 140 ' Christianity is exhibited as the most absolutely certain philosophy.' 2 But an important considera- 1 E.g. (i) By generous recognition of the preparatory discipline of God leading up to the Incarnation all over the world : see above, p. 16. (2) By drawing a distinction between different points of Christian belief; oi eis rot Kvpuarara. jrapajri'jrTovTfs are distinguished from oi irepl rtov ev M- P" <T<f>oAAo/uievoi. Only the former are i/<eu<rrai TO> OVTI (Clem. Strom, vi. 15, 124). Cf. Origen c. Cels. v. 63. (3) By distinguishing grades of salvation, and excluding virtuous disbelievers in Christ only from the highest eternal life. Origen in Rom. ii. 7 : ' Iste licet alienus a vita videatur aeterna, quia non credit Christo, et intrare non possit in regnum caelorum, quia renatus non est ex aqua et Spiritu, videtur tamen quod per haec, quae dicuntur ab apostolo, bonorum operum gloriam et honorem et pacem perdere penitus non possit. . . . Sed tamen in arbitrio legentis sit, probare quae dicta sunt.' 2 Harnack, Contemp. Review (Aug. 1886), p. 229. The fragments of two Sermones S. Aristidis Philosophi had been edited from an early Armenian version, with a Latin translation, by the Mechitarist Fathers. The first 'sermo' was the opening of the apology previously known only by Eusebius' account of it. Since the original issue of this book the apology has become known to us as a whole in Syriac and, substantially, in Greek, see in Texts and Studies, vol. i. No. i (Cambridge, 1891). The Armenian and Syriac texts (pp. 32, 36) speak of four tribes or races of men. The original Greek perhaps read three : see pp. 90, 100. The earlier Preach- ing of Peter described the Christians as a 'third race,' p. 88 : cf. Hadrian (if his letter to Servian is genuine; see Lightfoot's Ignatius \. p. 464): 'hunc [nummum] Christian!, hunc ludaei, hunc omnes venerantur et gentes.' Cf. Melito's expression for the Christians TO r!av Beoartftuv ye'vos (ap. Euseb. H. E. iv. 26), and the same word in the Ep. ad Diognet. i tcati/ov TOVTO yevos i) ejrinjo'tv/xa, also rroAirtio (c. 5), 26 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. tion is here left out of account. Christians are spoken of as constituting a new ' tribe ' or ' race ' of men ; side by side with Greeks [and barbarians] and Hebrews are Christians. The mere adherents of a philosophic school could not be so described ; Chris- tians can be (however liable the expression is to be misunderstood), because Christianity is essentially Justin a society, a body. To Justin Martyr Christians are c . "iT^s. 'the genuine high-priestly race of God,' and the account of the sacraments which he gives the emperor in his Apology, shows us how completely he conceived of Christianity as a society^ There is, again, no more beautiful description of the Church than that given by another apologist, Theophilus of Antioch, when he compares the ' holy Churches ' to fertile and well- inhabited islands in the sea, which have fair harbours of truth to welcome and give security to storm-tossed souls. ' To these they flee for refuge who wish to be saved, and who are lovers of the truth, wishing to escape the wrath and judgment of God.' And there are other islands, barren and dry and uninhabited save of wild beasts, on whose harbourless coasts ships are only wrecked, and these ' are the schools of error, that is of the heresies, which destroy those who approach them.' 2 though the author is explaining that Christians remain members of their own different races and are not a people apart. Cf. Justin's apx<.fpa.TiKOv TO a\ri6ii>*ov yeVos co-picc TOU 9tov (Dial. 116) and pif <frXW (ea * f 11 ? <rvva.y<oyf[ ical /ti tx/cArjcrir; (it. 63). Also Origen c. Celt. viii. 75 : ^fitlf v eKaorrj TrdAei aAAo <ru<rr)jiia jrarpi'Sos, KTitrBev \6y<a eoi), c'lrtcrra/iti'oi. It becomes an expression of popular hatred against Christians that they are a genus tertium. See Tertull. Scorp. 10 : 'genus tertium depu- tamur.' ad Nat. i. 8 : ' Roman!, ludaei, dehinc Christiani: ubi autem Graeci?' 1 Apol. i. 65. 2 Theophilus ad Autolycum ii. 14. In order to carry back the evidence of the **J IMTMBMMBMUg * VJ31UIC DUClCLy j^U V Cl 11CU Lty il CU1I1I11UII 1 il U . J. IlC VlblUIC society, the Church, knit together by social sacraments (though these sacraments are I.] The Foundation of the Church. 27 Such being the Christian conception of their own The heathen idea of the body, it was inevitable that the world outside also Christians, should have regarded them as members of a society or brotherhood. As a matter of fact it was in this way that they became an object of suspicion. They seemed a sort of secret society, with an unintelligible 1 freemasonry ' of their own. Men suspected them of all sorts of secret iniquities. And all this was due to the closeness of their corporate life ; they seemed a ' people of profane conspiracy,' ' a secret race, avoid- ing the light, silent in public, chattering in corners,' who ' recognised one another by secret marks and signs, and loved almost before they knew one another,' l calling one another by the suspicious name of ' brother.' 2 So, like any other guild or sodality, they appeared before the eyes of men as a body whose privileges were conditional on membership. Exact terms of membership were a special feature of contemporary guilds. Their members constituted a sort of republic apart. 3 Thus, though Christians might make public explanation of their rites and doctrines to avoid the misconceptions of the outside world, yet these rites and doctrines were admittedly the private property of their society, and no one could have the Christian's God for his father who had not the Christian's Church for his mother. (2) But it has been suggested that Christianity (2) The social owed its existence as a visible society to the fact that Christianity not due to secular in- conceived of !n a Judaic, meagre spirit), is the home of the revelation of knowledge Co'i" ^ and immortality given in Christ, and the antechamber to the final kingdom. Cf. x. 5 : ' Remember Thy Church to deliver her from all evil, and perfect her in Thy love, and gather her from the four winds, the sanctified Church, into Thy kingdom which thou didst prepare for her." Cf. ix. 4^ 1 This vivid picture is given in the Octavius of Minucius Felix, cc. 8, g. 2 ' Sic nos, quod invidetis, fratres vocamus' (Octav. 31). 3 See esp. Boissier (as quoted on p. 28) p. 261. 28 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. in the age when it spread there was a special tendency to association ' in the air/ Undoubtedly it was an age of guilds. 1 'The need of association, of the strength which comes of association was, at any rate, as great in antiquity as to-day ; and among the peoples of antiquity it is the Romans, perhaps, who had the keenest sense of the need.' 2 The religious associations and trade guilds (sodalitates, collegia) were indeed ancient institutions at Rome. But the principle of association had received a great develop- ment, beginning with the later years of the Republic and under the early Empire. Thus every trade, every interest, came to have its collegium with its organization more or less elaborate, its officers, its specified terms of membership, its periodical feast. ' But it was not necessary, in order to form an association, to be members of the same profession, to be neighbours even, or compatriots ; it was enough to experience isolation or weakness, to feel the need of union to fight against misery or "ennui." This need was not rare, especially among the working classes.' 3 The tendency to use this freedom of association for purposes of political faction led to its being put under restraint. No association might, under the empire, be formed without permission. 4 But notwithstanding such prohibition, associations were formed and spread. ' They filled Rome, they spread in the little towns, they penetrated into the country, they covered the richest provinces,' they honeycombed all ranks of society. 5 They existed 1 See an admirable account Boissier La Religion Romaine bk. ii. ch. 3: Mommsen de Collegiis et Sodaliciis Romanorum : Hatch B. L. p. a6 f. Ramsay Ch. and Roman E>np. See index s.v. 'collegia.' My quotations are from Boissier. 2 Boissier ii. p. 248. 3 Boissier ii. p. 260. 4 Hatch, B. L. p. 27 n. 2 Ramsay, I.e. pp. 215, 359. 6 Boissier ii. p. 250. But the spread was unequal. I.] The Foundation of the Church. 29 where the authority to repress should have been strongest even in the army. Contemporaneously with the early spread of Christianity they developed largely as benefit clubs, especially for the purpose of burial in part, because association in this form was allowed. 1 These burial guilds, in common with perhaps all collegia, had a religious basis more or less nominal, though the real purpose of association was of another sort. 2 With some of the associations the religious object, the promotion of some special cult, was the primary and real bond of union. This had been the case with the Greek guilds. 3 They came into existence (from the sixth century B.C. onward) partly under Semitic influence, to cultivate some special worship on a basis of voluntary initiation and by the primitive ' sacramental ' method. In their developed form they had their terms of membership, their sacred book and ' immutable law,' their priests and officers, generally elected annually, and their assembly to pass decrees each one a microcosm of the organization of a democratic state. These Greek guilds had been less influential, less respect- able, and less prevalent than the Roman. However, they lasted on, and formed an element in that tendency to associate which (since the inscriptions have come to be studied) we know to have been a main characteristic of the otherwise somewhat monotonous life of the early empire. Such was the character of the period in which 1 This we know to have been the case in the first century. See Boissier ii. p. 280. The inscription from Lanuvium, which is the main evidence of this, is given at the end of Mommsen's de Collegiis. There were different classes of burial guilds, some not having the name collegium, but societas (Boissier ii. p. 272). 2 Boissier ii. p. 268. Collegia tenuiorum,funeraticia. 3 0ia0-ot, fpavoi., opyeoH/ef. See Foucart's Lcs Associations Religievses chez Us Greet, and F. B. Jevons' Introd. to Hist. <j/~./?e//7<7rt(Methuen, 1896), pp. 334 ff, 371. 3O Christian Ministry. [CHAP. Christianity spread. No doubt the Christian Church had obvious points of contact with these ' collegia.' It appears in the correspondence of Pliny and Trajan that the Christians of Bithynia came under the law against associations in virtue of their Sunday evening meetings for the social meal, which were consequently abandoned. 1 So far as associations were legal, on the other hand, Christians availed themselves of the law : ' the first form, in which any Christian body was recognised by the law, was as a benefit-club with special view to the interment of the dead.' 2 No doubt, again, the familiarity of the Greek and Roman world with incorporation into voluntary societies, with terms of membership, its privileges and the loss of them, greatly facilitated the spread of the Christian Church. It was thus an element in what we recog- nise as the ' divine preparation ' for the spread of the Gospel ; just as the Roman empire itself was another, and the general use of the Greek language, and the diffusion of the religion of the Jews through their dispersion, and the recognition in contemporary philosophy of the idea of the divine Reason or Word. But if the question be asked whether the influence of these contemporary guilds may not have modified the Christian religion in such a way as to be the cause of its assuming the form of an association or system of associations the Plmii Epp. x. 96, cf. Ramsay, p. 219. Their morning meeting was purely religious, and consequently legal. ' The Roman Government expressly allowed to all people the right of meeting for purely religious purposes.' 2 Lightfoot's Ignatius i. pp. 17-21. Ramsay thinks that in Phrygia the Christian Churches coficealed themselves under the guise of collegia. See Authority and Archeology pp. 380 ff. The Jewish communities were also classed with the 0iW<x ; cf. Josephus, Ant. tud. xiv. 10 : Taios K<u<rap, 6 ^e'repoy OTpaT! Y bs al viraros, > r<f fitaray/iari KcoAiW 0ca<rous <rvva.yf<r6a.t Kara. rrdAiv, JUOPOV? TOUTOVS OVK <rwci<r<t>tptiv OUT* (rvvSewa. iroieii/. I.] The Foundation of the Church. 31 Church and the Churches the answer is a decisive negative. 1 For, in the first place, any conception of real (<*) NO trace affinity between the Church and the collegia was, fluence in as the quotations above will have shown sufficiently, writers, quite foreign to the minds of the Christian writers. Tertullian indeed suggests a contrast between them based on the fact that Christians, and they alone, mutually supported one another and had all things common ; but there was no consciousness of resem- blance. 2 Nothing in fact was less characteristic of the Christian Church than those natural features of all association which it shared with the guilds, nothing less expressed the sentiments of its members towards their ' mother.' ' The resemblances ' between the Church and the collegia, says M. Boissier, ' are striking at the first glance ; as soon as one approaches, the differences are apparent.' 3 Secondly, the nomenclature of the Christian (*) Christian . . ,, . . r forms communities suggests the minimum of connec- derived from Judaism. 1 In some later developments Christianity may have borrowed in detail from con- temporary clubs, e.g. the subdivision of monastic bodies into decuriae and centuriae probably (see Boissier ii. p. 264 with reference to Jerome's letter) ; again, some customs with reference to the dead and the use of the term memoria in this connection (cf. fxc/iopioi/, fie/nopirrjO, Boissier ii. p. 290. The term trvvoSos was used for the meetings of guildsmen : cf. (re/xpoTaTTj awoSos, Foucart p. 202, sancta sy nodus (of an actors' guild with immoral reputation) Boissier ii. p. 267 f. But so obvious a term can hardly be said to have been borrowed to express the meetings of bishops. Also icA7j<ria, but (see next page, note !) not in the Christian sense. 2 The collegia were only very subordinately or slightly charitable associations (see Boissier L pp. 302, 303) ; the Greek epacoi perhaps even less. ' Les Eranes, says Foucart (p. 145), ' n'etaient pas des societes de secours mutuels.' See, however, Jevons I.e. p. 226. The stipes menstruae were contributions to benefit-clubs, not monthly alms ; see Tertull. Apol. 39. The point of closest connection between the Church and the guilds lay in the common meal ; the ' love-feast ' of the Christians had shown very early its affinities to the guild suppers (i Cor. xi. 17 f.). But St. Paul meets this danger by marking the essential difference in origin and aim of the ' Lord's Supper." Historically, it was a development of the Paschal supper (St. Matt. xxvi. 7). 3 Boissier ii. p. 302. See also Loening, Die Gemeindeverfasrung des Urchristen- thums (Halle, 1889) pp. 9 ff., and Hort Christian Ecclesia, pp. 128-9. 32 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. tion. 1 For in fact the Christian Church had its roots deep in Jewish soil. It derived from Judaism its characteristic nomenclature that is to say, from a source much more ancient than the Roman empire or Greek society. The origin of the social form of Christianity is to be sought in the Jewish conception of the Messianic kingdom and in the deliberate inten- tion of Him, who founded the Church, in claiming to be the Messiah. ( 3 ) witness (3) Does, then, the New Testament bear out the Christ ' a position that Christ appeared as the founder and v"ibi e e organizer of a visible society ? This question shall be answered from the evidence of (a) the Gospels, 08) the Acts, (7) St. Paul's Epistles. lf ) the V ' dence ( a ) ^e q 1165 ^ 011 mav be approached with less Gospels. alarm because there is a remarkable unanimity among men of the keenest historical insight in seeing 1 In the collegia and sodalicia we should hear of the album, or roll of members : the magistri : the quinquennales : the patroni : the gradus : the schola : thecena: theedituus: the quaestores. In the Greek epacoi or 0tWoi we should have the rpo<rrar>)s, the apxoxres, the ejn/ieAjjTrjs, the fa/copoi, the iepoirotoi, the ypafi/xaTcvt, the opxiepafitrnjs, the Tafias, the relieves. What an alien atmosphere to this is suggested by the Christian nomenclature ! It is the pagan Lucian who speaks of Peregrinus as 0ia<rapxi of the Christians. The characteristic Christian terms are derived from Jewish use ; e.g. KitA.i)<rt'a has, primarily at least, the sense of the holy people as such, the Church, rather than the classical sense of the assembly, i.e. the people gathered together for a special purpose; and the former sense is based on Old Testament use. Dr. Hort (The Christian Ecclesia, pp. 3 ff.) gives an account of the original meanings of the two Hebrew words /Hp and HIV and their LXX renderings eAcAi]<rta and (n/fayoiyrj T T T" somewhat different from that which Trench (N. T. Synonyms p. 4) adopted from Vitringa. But at least after the Captivity the Hebrew 7Hp and the Greek eiocAijo-ta had come to mean Israel or the sacred people (cf. Acts vii. 38), and it was in this sense that the word was adopted by our Lord. See Hort I.e. pp. IO-IT. Mvcrnjpioi' again has (at first) the Old Testament meaning of a divine secret communicated, rather than the pagan sense of a mystery of initiation. See Hatch Biblical Greek (Oxford, 1889) pp. 57-61. So /SoirTKTfios, evxapioria, Tparretja Kvpt'ov, iiriOftrif Xfipiav, cfo/ioA6yT)(ris, xplvfjia, aSf\<f>oi, KaBeSpa, Trpecr/SvTepos, Troifuji', 5rpo</jTij9, iayyAi<rnjs, etc., are all terms of Jewish colouring. So perhaps is e-i'<r/c07ros (see App. Note K). The prominent Christian functions and titles, except such as were substantially new, descend from the Jewish stock, with the whole religious basis of Christianity. I.] The Foundation of the Church. 33 in Jesus one who above all things came to found a society, a kingdom. 'To deny/ says the author of Ecce Homo, ' that Christ did undertake to found and to legislate for a new theocratic society, and that he did claim the office of judge of mankind, is indeed possible, but only to those who altogether deny the credibility of the extant biographies of Christ. If those biographies be admitted to be generally trust- worthy, then Christ undertook to be what we have described ; if not, then of course this, but also every other, account of him falls to the ground.' 'The city of God, of which the Stoics doubtfully and feebly spoke, was now set up before the eyes of man. It was no unsubstantial city such as we fancy in the clouds, no invisible pattern such as Plato thought might be laid up in heaven, but a visible corporation whose members met together to eat bread and drink wine, and into which they were initiated by bodily immersion in water.' 1 There are three lines of evidence which seem to make the truth of this posi- tion clear : First, there is the method of Christ. Nothing is (i> The - more remarkable than the refusal of Christ to Christ : commit Himself to men as He found them. There is something at first sight repellent in the solemn words of St. John : ' Jesus did not commit Himself to those who first believed in His name, when they 1 Ecce Homo [:8th ed.] pp. 39, 128. On this subject of Christ's institution of a visible Church, I should like to refer (among more recent writers) to Dean Church's Advent Sermons ii and iii, and his Oxford House Paper, No. xvii ; Mr. Stanton's Jewish and Christian Messiah ; Dr. Westcott's Essay on ' The Two Empires ' in his Epp. of St. John ; Mr. Holland's Creed and Character ; and Dr. Milligan's Resurrection of our Lord lecture vi. See also Archbishop Whately Kingdom of Christ Essay it. init. and F. D. Maurice Kingdom of Christ \. p. 285 f. These names represent (so far) a remarkable 'consensus. Among older English writers no one contends more powerfully for the church idea than William Law in his Letters to the Bisliop of Bangor. c 34 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. saw the miracles, because He knew all men, and needed not that any should testify of man, for He knew what was in man.' l That sad secret of human nature its lamentable untrustworthiness the secret which in slow, embittering experience has often turned enthusiasts into cynics and made philan- thropists mad Jesus knew it to start with. And, knowing it, He would not build His spiritual edifice on the shifting sands of such a humanity. It was not that He distrusted the capacity of human nature for the highest life. On the contrary, He came to pro- claim the brotherhood of all men under the realized fatherhood of God but not the brotherhood of men as they were. Except ye be converted, He said, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. 2 Man must have a fresh start : he must be built upon a fresh foundation : he must be re- generated, converted, if he is to be fit for sonship and for brotherhood. So Jesus Christ set Himself to give humanity a fresh start from a new centre, and that centre Himself. To do this He withdraws from the many upon the few. To the multitude He speaks in parables, 'that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.' Only a few, whom He sees capable of earnest self-sacrifice, of perseverance, of enlightenment, are gradually initiated into His secrets. These are ' the disciples.' These He trains with slow and patient care to appreciate His Person. From the most ready of these He elicits, after a time, by solemn questioning a formal confession of His Messiahship a formal confession that He, the Son of Man, is also the 1 St. John ii. 23-25. 2 gt. j o i, n ,. 3 f ; gt. Matt, xviii. 3. I.] The Foundation of the Church. 35 Christ, the Son of the living God. 1 This thorough recognition of His claim gives Him something to depend upon. He has got down to the rock ; He can begin to build. 2 ' Blessed art thou, Simon Bar- Jona ; and I say unto thee that thou art Rock-Man, and on this rock (the rock of this human person acknowledging My divine Sonship and mission) I will build my new Israel.' 3 This gives us the clue to His method. All along Christ had had in view this foundation of the Church, and we see now what He had been waiting for. It was till He had won out of the hearts of His disciples that absolute devotion to His own Person, that complete acknow- ledgment of His claim, which would enable them to look away from all else and become the stable nucleus of a new society which was to represent His Name. Indeed, the more we study the Gospels, the more clearly we shall recognise that Christ did not cast His Gospel loose upon the world the world which was so incapable of appreciating it ; that would have been indeed to cast His pearls before swine ; but He directed all His efforts to making a home for it, and that by organizing a band of men called ' out of the world,' and consecrated into a holy unity, who were destined to draw others in time after them out of all ages and nations. 4 On this ' little flock ' He fixed all His hopes. He prayed 1 St. Matt. xvi. 16. '- Holland Creed and Character pp. 46-49. All the idea of this paragraph is admirably expressed in the sermon ' The Rock of the Church.' ' Pity, infinite pity, He gave [the crowds] but Himself He never gave ; He could not commit Himself unto them. His work, His mission, His purpose on earth how could they receive it? how could they understand it? ... How can He build [the new house of God] on that loose and shifting rubble, on that blind movement of the crowd, so vague and so undetermined ? ' 3 See Hort, I.e. p. n. 4 St. John xvii, and the whole of these last discourses. 36 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. not for the world, but for those whom God had given Him out of the world. These in wonderful ways He meant to link to Himself in an indissoluble unity, as the branches to the vine, that they might live as an organized body in the world, yet distinct from it alive with His life, sanctified through His truth, enlightened by His Spirit. Christ then by His whole method declared His intention to found a Church, a visible society of men which should be distinct from the world and independent of it, even while it should present before the eyes of all men the spectacle of what their common life might become, is insti- Secondly, the intention of Christ to found a social tution of * ' social sacra- organization is apparent in the solemn ceremonies ments : . which He instituted as tokens of discipleship as well as channels of grace. The sacraments are social ceremonies. Baptism had formed part of the ceremony of initiating a proselyte into the Jewish Church. As used by John the Baptist, it had been used in distinct relation to the coming of the Messianic kingdom. As adopted by Christ, it was no doubt meant to admit into the kingdom which had come, the Church of the new covenant. 1 And whatever possible ambiguity attends the conception of baptism in this respect, is removed by the other 1 Dr. Hatch calls this an ' unproved assumption ' (/?. L. pref. sec. ed. p. xii). I should have thought that all possible doubt was set at rest by the parallel institu- tion of the Eucharist. That at least is the sacrament of a society. But I cannot understand Dr. Hatch expressing a doubt that baptism had the social significance. It was never an individual purification amongst the Jews (see Edersheim's Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah i. pp. 272-274) ; it was always in connection with the covenant which was with a race. The baptism of a Jewish proselyte was his incorporation with the race ' his new birth.' See Sabatier La Didacht p. 84 f. (an excellent passage on the relation of Christian to Jewish Baptism) ; Taylor Teaching of the Twelve Apostles p. 55 f. ; and Edersheim ii. app. xii (on the antiquity of the practice). Cf. also i Cor. x. a. I.] The Foundation of the Church. 37 sacrament. The Eucharist is nothing if not social. Its whole natural basis as a common meal implies a community. Christ, then, in making baptism and the Eucharist the sacraments of His kingdom, just as in making love of the brethren the characteristic of His disciples, emphasized His intention to attach men to Himself not as individuals but as members of a brotherhood. Lastly, and perhaps most conspicuously, the inten- <) His />,,/ i -r-r. claim to be tion of Christ to found a society is prominent in His the Messiah. whole claim to be the Messiah. The Messianic king of the Old Testament is the centre of a Messianic kingdom ; the suffering Servant of Jehovah, by whose stripes men are healed, is no mere individual, but also the embodiment and representative of the chosen race. 1 Christ, then, when He came as the Messiah, brought the kingdom. ' The kingdom of heaven is at hand ' that is John the Baptist's mes- sage, that is the first word of Christ's preaching. 2 But in Him it was more than 'at hand.' It had come upon men and was among them. 3 John the Baptist had been outside it, but now there were those who were inside it, and who, though they were but little, were ' greater ' than John the Baptist on that very account. 4 The kingdom had thus a definite limit in time because it was to be a visible institu- 1 Stanton/tfTO/jA and Christian Messiah p. 122 f. 2 But only the first word, and then, too, with the addition given by St. Mark ireTrArjpcorai 6 icaipos (Stanton I.e. p. 218). 3 St. Matt. xi. n, 12, xii. 28; St. Luke xi. 20, xvi. 16, xvii. 21. In spite of Dalman, Worte Jesu p. 119, and Dr. F. Field Notes on Trans, of N. T. (Camb. 1899) p. 71, I think I>TOS VJU.MV can mean ' among' you. The kingdom of heaven, our Lord tells the Pharisees, is not to be found by close watching (n-apanjprjo-is). It will not be manifest to those who wait merely on external observation. (Lo, here ! or Lo, there !) For it has already passed your frontiers (cp. xi. 20 tyOaaev e<f> 'v/aas) and is among you ; see the two examples from Xenopbon in Grimm-Thayer's Lexicon. Whether there are any similar examples in Greek more akin to St. Luke's remains to be seen. * St. Matt. xi. n, 12. 38 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. tion and not a mere invisible association of good men. Christ had indeed to purify and elevate the conceptions of His disciples so that they might understand its spiritual nature and object ; but though it was spiritual, though it was not adapted to the carnal wants of the Jews, though it was not ' of this world,' l yet it was to be in the world 'a net to gather of every kind till the end of the world,' a visible society, that is, in which evil and good should be mixed. 2 Christ then came to establish a ' kingdom of heaven ' or a ' kingdom of God.' What does this expression mean ? It means an organized society of men in which the old barrier which sin had interposed between heaven and earth has been done away, in which Jacob's ancient dream is a dream no longer, for ' the angels of God ascend and descend ' upon the new humanity, and God and man are at one again. It is because Christ's new society is thus heavenly that a divine sanction can attach to its legislative and judicial decisions : thus what they bind or loose on earth is to be bound or loosed in heaven, and whose sins they forgive are to be for- given, whose sins they retain to be retained. 3 Is 1 St. John xviii. 36. 2 St. Matt. xiii. 47. Cf. Stanton I.e. p. 220 f. Add Matt. xxii. 2 (the Marriage of the King's Son). ' Let us suppose,' says William Law (Letter iii. pp. 173-4), ' that the Church of Christ was this invisible number of people united to Christ by such internal invisible graces, is it possible that a kingdom consisting of this one particular sort of people invisibly good should be like a net that gathers of every kind of fish? If it was to be compared to a net it ought to be compared to such a net as gathers only of one kind, viz., good fish, and then it might represent to us a Church that has but one sort of members. ... If any one should tell us that we are to believe invisible scriptures and observe invisible sacraments, he would have just as much reason and Scripture on his side as your Lordship has for this doctrine. And it would be of the same service to the world to talk of these invisibilities if the canon of Scripture was in dispute, as to describe this invisible Church, when the case is with what visible Church we ought to unite.' s St. Matt, xviii. 17-20; St. John xx. 22, 23. I am not raising the question yet whether the gift in this latter passage is not given to the ministry. See later, chap. iv. I.] The Foundation of the Church. 39 then Christ's new society, the Church, simply identi- (The relation cal with the kingdom of God or of heaven ? To church to , . .... .1 . the kingdom answer this question a distinction must be drawn in of God.) view of the double sense in which the kingdom is said to come. In one sense the kingdom is already come ; that is, it is established in spiritual power and all its forces are at work. But, as St. Augustin has expressed it, ' non adhuc regnat hoc regnum ' ; for it has yet to grow like the mustard-seed, to work its way like the leaven through all the institutions of the world, it has yet to bear its universal witness ' to all the nations ' ; only so at last can the kingdom come in glory. Thus in one sense the kingdom already exists, in another sense it has yet to appear. 1 In this latter sense, then, the Church prepares for the kingdom rather than is it. 2 But in the first sense, though the ' kingdom of God ' remains a less definite and concrete term than ' the Church,' yet the Church is so simply identified with the ' kingdom ' that St. Peter, as the Church's future steward, has promised to him ' the keys of the kingdom of heaven ' the 1 All this is expressed in the double use of all the characteristic Gospel terms, as (T) of things already being enjoyed ; (2) of things hoped for. We are sons, yet we ' wait for the adoption ' ; we are redeemed, yet we wait for ' the redemption of our bodies ' ; we are saved, yet only in the future will ' our salvation draw nigh ' ; it is now only ' nearer than when we believed.' Here in fact the kingdom is in power not in glory or final fulfilment. But it is because the present Church is a simple anticipation of the Church as it is to be the same society at an earlier stage that even now it is called 'heavenly.' We have been 'made to sit in heavenly places ' : we have ' tasted the powers of the world to come ' : the institutions of the Church are ' the heavenly things ' : and we ' are come unto the heavenly Jeru- salem ' (Eph. i. 3, 20 ; Heb. vi. 5, ix. 23, xii. 22). 2 Cf. Didache ix. 4 : ' Let Thy Church be gathered together from the ends of the earth into Thy kingdom." Clem, ad Cor. 43 : oi iiro<rro\oi . . . i-!j\0oi> evayyeAtfd/iei/ot TTJV fiacri\eia.v rov Oeov fie'AAti/ IpxecrOai. Cf. Church's Advent Sermons p. 70 : The kingdom of God ' has its witness, its representative in the universal Church of Christ. Nothing can be an adequate representation of that invisible kingdom of God ; it extends, even on earth, beyond even the bounds of the universal Church. But His Church is the designated and appointed recognition of His kingdom.' Ib. p. 72 : The Church is ' the religious body which he has called into being, to be the shadow and instrument of His kingdom.' 4O Christian Ministry. [CHAP. power, that is, by admitting to the Church and ex- cluding from it, to admit men to or exclude them from the kingdom of God. Christ, then, according to the evidence of the Gospels, founded a community of men, a Church, to be the depository of the gospel which He came to bring, to be the household in which His stewards should dispense the food of God until He came again ; l and in the great forty days, when He spoke to His disciples of the things concerning the kingdom of God, He spoke to them as the first representatives of that visible society which was to be at least its earthly counterpart. (The church We must not suppose that the institution by Christ site*)" 1 of a Church with a definite limit and an exclusive claim is a narrowing of His love. 2 The claim which the Church makes on every man simply corresponds to his moral needs as Christ interprets them. It is because He loves all that He established a Civitas Dei, wide enough for all, in order to their spiritual recovery. The Church would indeed represent a narrowing of the divine love if any were by Christ's will excluded from it. But it is open to all. And as there are those to whom 'the gospel of the kingdom ' has never come, or never come with its true appeal, so we are assured that God's purpose is larger than His Church on earth. 3 There are ' last ' 1 St. Luke xii. 41, 42. 2 See Holland Creed and Character serm. iv. 'The Secret of the Church,' esp. pp. 59, 60. "God's love in Christ found itself limited. . . . How? Not by the Church, but by the crowd, by the block of blind and heedless ignorance.' a See esp. St. Matt. xxv. 31 f. Cf. Dr. Pusey's Responsibility of Intellect in Matters of Faith p. 44 [ed. 1879] : ' In those ever open portals there enter that countless multitude whom the Church knew not how to win ... or, alas 1 neglected to win them. ... In whatever hatred, or contempt, or blasphemy of Christ nurtured, God has His own elect, who ignorantly worship Him, whose ignorant fear or longing He Who inspired it will accept.' I.] The Foundation of the Church. 41 in the knowledge of God here and now who shall be ' first ' in His final acceptance, because they practised all they knew. (/3) When Christ speaks to St. Peter of the (ft) Evidence p ^ \ of the Acts. foundation of the Church, it is still in the future. The Church only receives its commission to all nations after His Resurrection. It comes into actual corporate life only with the Pentecostal gift. Thus, in the Acts of the Apostles, the Church goes forth for the first time a visible community, vitalized by Christ's Spirit, to be the representative on earth of the risen and ascended Lord. 1 That Christianity in the Acts is represented by a community, there can surely be no doubt. The souls ' who were added ' at Jerusalem ' continued steadfast in the Apostles' teaching and fellowship.' They were members of a society more or less organized. They had all things common. Salvation was in the community ; ' the Lord added ' to them 'day by day those who were being saved.' 2 As the new religion spread over Galilee and Samaria it was still 'the Church.' 3 'The Church at Antioch,' 1 ' To [the Church] alone,' says Prof. M.i\\\gzn(Resitrrection ofovr Lord, second thousand, p. 218), ' as the representative of the Risen Lord, is the power entrusted by which [His] work may be successfully accomplished. We know that this can be done by no other means than the agency of the Spirit ; and it would seem that the gift of the Spirit is bestowed only through the Church as the organ upon earth of the Risen and Glorified Lord in heaven. We dare not indeed restrain the power of the Almighty ; but what we have to do with is His//an ; and of that plan what has now been said appears to be one of the most striking characteristics. ... It appears to be the teaching of the New Testament that, as it is the pre- rogative of Christ in His glorified humanity to bestow the Spirit, so it is only through the Church, as the representative of that glorified humanity, that the in- fluences of the Spirit are communicated to the world.' He emphasizes earlier the visible unity which the Church was meant to have as the representative of the Risen Christ (p. 204). 2 Acts ii. 41-47. 3 Acts ix. 31: 'The Church through the whole of Judaea and Galilee and Samaria had peace.' The baptism of the eunuch is an act of an exceptional character. 42 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. where Christians got their new name, 1 is the same society extending itself to a new city. So when St. Paul went abroad, he founded ' Churches ' to prepare men for the kingdom. 2 And the local Churches are but branches of one stock. Behind the Churches is the Church represented by the Apostles. This is the truth which is impressed on the narrative of the Apostolic Conference with its authoritative direction to the Churches ' It seemed good to the Holy Ghost and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things.' 3 This is only the exhibition in act of the authority given by Jesus Christ to His society over its members, to bind and to loose with heavenly sanction. ( y ) Evidence (7) The picture presented in the Acts is the same Epistles 3 " s as that of which we become spectators in St. Paul's Epistles. He writes to ' the Church of God which is at Corinth,' and that Church is undoubtedly a visible body containing good and bad members alike. It is a ' temple of God,' but a temple which sin can corrupt ; 4 a chosen people, but one like that of the old covenant, capable of like failure ; 5 it is the ' body of Christ ' through sacramental parti- cipation in His life, but there may be ' schism in the body.' 6 St. Paul then conceives of the local Church as a visible community of mixed character, but with unmistakeable limits. The distinction between 1 Acts xiii. i ; xi. 26. On the significance of the exact form Christian! see Simcox's Early Church History p. 62 : on the analogy ofHerodiani, Pompeiani, etc., it suggests, not the disciples of a school, but the adherents of a leader or king. 2 Acts xiv. 22, 23 ; xv. 41 ; xvi. 5. 3 Acts xv. 28. 4 i Cor. iii. 17. s T COT. x. 1-13. 6 i Cor. x. 16; xii. 12-28. It is of course plain why the imperfections of the Church are dwelt on in connection with the local societies : they are naturally matters of specially local concern and local treatment. I.] The Foundation of tlie Church. 43 ' those within ' and ' those without ' is very marked. 1 But each local Church is only one representative of the Church which is general. St. Paul governs each particular Church in accordance with the evangelical tradition of truth and life, which is common to all and to which he is himself subject. 2 He passes back imperceptibly, without any break in thought, from the Churches to the Church ; 3 the Church in fact simply (as far as this world is concerned) consists of the Churches. Thus, when in the Epistle to the Ephesians he is drawing out the spiritual significance of the Church as ' the body of Christ, the fulness of Him who filleth all in all ' when he is declaring it to be one, in virtue alike of the one life which it derives from Christ by the communication of the Spirit, and of the one truth which 'apostles and prophets ' delivered from Christ, and of the love in which it must bind both Jews and Gentiles in one * he is indeed describing the Christian society ' from an ideal point of view ' ; that is to say, he is describ- ing all that the Church potentially is, as when we too proclaim the Church ' one, holy, and catholic.' 5 1 i Cor. v. 9-13 ; cf. xiv. 23 ; 2 Cor. vi. 14 f. Of course the brethren at a particular place, as at Rome, when St. Paul wrote his Epistle to * the saints ' there, may not yet have been completely organized into a local Church. That was, as it is now, a work of time. But a Christian, as such, is a member of the Christian society, and, unless in exceptional circumstances, of an organized local Church. 2 i Cor. xi. 2 'The traditions' ; i Cor. xv. 3; 2 Thess. iii. 6; i Cor. vii. 17 'So ordain I in all the Churches'; Gal. i. 7, 8 'Though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach unto you any other gospel ... let him be anathema.' 3 i Cor. xii. 28, xv. 9 ; Gal. i. 13. 4 Eph. iv. 3-16 : It is 'one body' in virtue of the 'one Spirit' whose indwelling is Christ's indwelling ; owns ' one Lord ' in the power of 'one faith ' and the consecra- tion of one baptism ; and it knows no God and Father but one. It ought to live, therefore, in the unity of love (ver. 3), but the ' bond of peace ' is a duty which may be neglected. The inward unity of life, though dependent on outward facts (e.g. ' one baptism '), is a reality, whether recognised in practice or not. 6 The Church has never yet so developed all the fulness within her as to exhibit herself in her full catholic glory and holiness as the ' bride of Christ.' She is potentially more than she is actually. Potentially catholic, for example, she still leaves outside her fold the mass of Orienta peoples. 44 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. Nevertheless it is the visible, actual Church of which he is speaking, 1 the Church to which Christ gave visible officers ' some apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers,' for the full equipment of the Church with a view to what it is to do and what it is to become. This visible hier- archy belongs plainly to a visible society exactly that same society which St. Paul similarly describes in his Epistle to the Corinthians as ' the body of Christ,' even as part of Christ, 2 the Church in which 'God set first apostles, secondly prophets, thirdly teachers,' 3 that is the general community which is locally represented in the Churches of Corinth and Ephesus. 4 St. Paul then means by the Church a society as visible as the Churches which represent it. church It is sometimes argued that St. Paul could not ^consistent have believed in salvation through the Church, be- c^tio n u by cause this contradicts his doctrine of the justifying effect of individual faith. 6 But in fact there is no 1 See Pfleiderer's account of the Epistle to the Ephesians ( Paulinism. ii. pp. 190- 193) and Hort's Ecclesia p. 169 ; and my own Efhesians pp. 140 if. 2 'The Christ' consists of the head and the members (i Cor. xii. 12). 3 i Cor. xii. 37-28. This passage (vv. 12-28) about the body of Christ, taken with such passages as Gal. iii. 27 ('baptized into Christ') and i Cor. x. 16, 17 (about the Eucharist), seems to me to contain all the truth that is developed in the Epistle to the Ephesians ; nor can I see that there is anything in the expression ' the Church, the pillar and ground of the truth' (i Tim. iii. 15), which might not have occurred in the Epistles to the Ephesians or to the Corinthians. 4 Dr. Hatch calls it an unproved assumption that ' the Church of which St. Paul speaks as the body of Christ, " the fulness of Him which filleth all in all," is really, as the Augustinian theory assumes it to be, a visible society, or aggregation of societies ' (. L. pref. sec. ed. p. xii). His view appears to coincide with that of Bishop Hoadly, who was Law's opponent. The Bishop held ' as the only true account of the Church of Christ," in general, that it was ' the number of men, whether small or great,' who were sincere Christians i.e. the invisible society of the elect. This, he held, is what St. Paul calls the Church. ' It cannot be supposed,' he pleads, ' that a man's being of the invisible Church of Christ is inconsistent with his joining himself with any visible Church ' ; but the first is essential, the second is voluntary. Law deals with trenchant power with this utterly unscriptural distinction between the ' universal invisible ' and ' particular visible ' Churches (Letter iii. pp. 177 ff.) 5 Pfleiderer tfibbert Lectures lect. vi. I.] The Foundation of the Church. 45 such contradiction. The Christian life is a corre- spondence between the grace communicated from without and the inward faith which, justifying us before God, opens out the avenues of communication between man and God, and enables man to appro- priate and to use the grace which he receives in Christ. There is thus no antagonism, though there is a distinction, between grace and faith. Now grace comes to Christians through social sacraments, as members of one ' spirit-bearing body.' ' By one Spirit are we all baptized into one body ' ; ' we being many are one bread and one body, for we are all partakers of that one bread.' Thus the doctrine of the Church as the household of grace is the comple- ment, not the contradiction, of the doctrine of faith. Faith is no faith if it isolates a man from the fellow- ship of the one body, and the one body has no salvation except for the sons of faith. Ignatius then with his strenuous insistence on churchmanship can rightly, so far, ' claim to be a good Paulinist.' * In fact St. Paul's teaching about the Church is given nowhere with more practical force than in the Epistles to the Corinthians, which belong to that very group of Epistles in which he fights the battle of faith. And both principles are brought into play by him to vindicate against Judaism the catholicity of the Gospel. Christianity is a catholic religion, he argues in his earlier Epistles, because it appeals to a faculty as universal as human nature the faculty of faith : men are justified by nothing of national or local observance like the Law ; ' it is one God Who will justify the circumcision by faith and the uncir- cumcision through faith.' Christianity is catholic, he 1 Pfleiderer I.e. p. 262 ; Ignatius ad Phil. 8. 46 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. argues again in effect, in the Epistles of the first captivity, because the Person of Christ is a catholic, a universal Personality; 'by Him were all things created by Him and for Him and in Him all things have their consistence.' Therefore also His redemptive power transcends all local, national dis- tinctions ; ' He hath made both (Jews and Gentiles) one ... in one body.' For the unity of that body, in which on the basis of faith the Gospel offers sanctifica- tion to mankind, is by its very essence as the body of Christ universal in its capacity. But these two grounds of catholicity are correlative, not antagonistic, nor with the Once again, if there be such a thing as liberty in lhe e sjirh' c ? law or a ' law of liberty,' l the obligations of church membership and the authority of a common rule of truth are not in any way antagonistic to the freedom of the spirit. The good citizen, whether of the earthly or heavenly city, is free in the law by being at one with the spirit of the law. Here again the same St. Paul held to both sides of the antithesis which is represented by authority and freedom, by fellow- ship and individuality. but agree- The doctrine of the Church is indeed only one pr/ncipie h of expression of a principle as broad as human society llocie'ty"*" tne principle that man realizes his true self only by relation to a community, that ' he is what he is only as a member of society.' Aristotle said of old that ' the society (the city) is prior to the individual ' prior, that is, in idea, because it is essential to his being really man, because man is by his very essence 'a social animal.' 2 By isolating himself he hinders, 1 St. James i. 25. 2 On the Greek idea of the iroXi? see Newman Politics of Aristotle i. p. 560 : 'a strongly individualized unity, which impresses its dominant ideas upon its members ; etc.' I.] The Foundation of the Church. 47 he narrows himself, he perishes : by merging himself in the larger whole, he realizes his true individuality and his true freedom. So when God sent redemption upon the earth, He sent it in a community or king- dom. Fellowship with God is to be won through fellowship with His Son, but that not otherwise than through fellowship with His Church. ' That ye may have fellowship with us ' that is why St. John writes his Epistle 1 'and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.' Nor are we to suppose that this association is only a temporary and painful expedient that we are to submit to be one body for a while in order to live a more separate and isolated life hereafter. No, as the life of perfected humanity 2 is presented to us in the vision of the Apocalypse, it is the life of a city indissolubly one. It is the life of the one bride of Christ, the one humanity, whose white robes are the distinctive, yet coincident, ' righteousnesses of the saints.' 3 Now that we have brought this investigation to a TWO miscon conclusion, we are in a position to repudiate two the'g^wth ways of conceiving the development of Christianity, church. i. It has been represented * as if at the first stage i. That it we must conceive of Christians rather as individual outof re- believers who were led to unite in local associations, This is accounted for by the ' tendency to associa- tion,' characteristic of the Roman empire of that date. But association was not at first a 'fixed 1 i St. John i. 3. ' Manifests ostendit B. lohannes quia quicunque societatem cum Deo habere desiderant primo ecclesiae societati debent adunari ' (Bede, quoted by Westcott in he.). 2 I am not wishing to deny that St. John is representing the Church as she now is Cf. Milligan The Revelation of St. John p. 228. But it is certainly a picture of what she will not only be, but be "wholly and manifestly, hereafter. 3 Rev. xix. 8. 4 By Dr. Hatch (B. L. p. 29 f.), if I can understand him rightly. Dr. Sanday interprets him otherwise (Expositor, Jan. 1887, p. 10 n !). 48 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. habit ' ; it was not ' universally recognised as a primary duty ' ; it did not ' invariably follow belief.' Afterwards the local associations succeed in so asserting themselves over individual Christians that adhesion to a community ceases to be voluntary ; a man is no Christian unless he belongs to one. This is the state of things which the Ignatian letters were intended to promote. Still, however, Christians might be supposed to unite in Churches how and where they pleased. But later ' this free right of association ' vanishes ; * each Church with its bishop and presbytery asserts itself as the exclusive local ' ark of the covenant.' All who would be within the pale must belong to this one and none other. This is the successful contention of Cyprian. Still later these authoritative local Churches grow into closer and closer combination. The idea of the Catholic and Apostolic Faith, due to St. Irenaeus, 2 had already formed a bond of union under a common authorita- tive Creed. Now, the Churches become one great confederation of societies in a unity which found expression in ecumenical councils with their common authority. 3 Gradually, meanwhile, the hierarchical gradations amongst the various bishops develop on the lines of the imperial system. -a theory Now this mode of conceiving the progress of Chris- tianity is in direct violation of the evidence. The only evidence produced for the supposed first stage which preceded obligatory association consists in the fact that the earliest church teachers found it necessary to preach the duty of association, ' if not 1 Hatch B. L. pp. 103-106. 3 Ib. p. 96 : ' Its first elaboration and setting forth was due to one man's genius.' 3 /* PP- 97, 175-189. I.] The Foundation of the Church. 49 as an article of the Christian faith, at least as an element of Christian practice.' 1 This is evidenced by the warning in the Epistle to the Hebrews against forsaking the Christian assemblies ; 2 by St. Jude's denunciation of those who ' separate them- selves'; 3 by the passages in the Shepherd of Hermas 4 about those who 'have separated them- selves ' and so ' lose their own souls.' What do such utterances really go to prove ? A separatist tendency on the part of those who had been Christians^ a sin of schism, denounced like any other sin. But the idea is nowhere discernible that every Christian was not, as such, a member of the Church, bound to the obligations of membership. 6 Schism is a sin in Scripture 7 as really as in Ignatius' letters. Next, the supposed right of free association into Churches never existed. No doubt the tendency to associa- tion in the Roman empire made (as has been said) for the spread of the Christian Church. It made the idea of a Church easier to men's minds. But more than this the facts of the case will not allow us to grant. Christ Himself constituted the Church and gave it its authority, so that it came upon men as a divine gift, with a divine claim, through the apostolic preaching. ( Jesus,' says Mr. Stanton, ' never speaks of the kingdom as something which men could con- stitute for themselves ; it must come to them.' 8 1 Hatch B. L. p. 29. 2 Hebrews x. 25. 3 St. Jude 19. 4 See above, pp. 18-19. 5 That they had been members of the Church is quite plain in the passages quoted from Hermas. 8 Of course he might find himself in an isolated position away from church privileges, as may happen to-day. 7 The 'heretic' is the man of self-willed, separatist tendencies (Tit. iii. 10). Cf. St. Jude 19 ; St. Matt, xviii. 17. * Jewish and Christian Messiah p. 218. D 50 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. From the beginning of Christianity it came to men and took them up, one by one, out of their isolation and alienation from God into its holy and blessed fellowship. It was never a creation of their own by free association. The idea is a figment. From the first each local Church with its organization repre- sented the divine will for man's salvation in one body. Those who would share what Christ came to give must be added to it. Once added to it, they must remain in it, obedient children of the divine mother, loyal citizens of the city of the saints. Thus Cyprian's vigorous condemnation of schismatics who broke off from the Church at Carthage or in Rome involved no new principle at all, 1 nothing that was not implied in Ignatius' cry ' one altar, one Eucharist, one bishop ' 2 or in Clement of Rome's remonstrance with the schismatical party at Corinth. Nor was the Catholic Apostolic Faith an idea originated or sub- stantially developed by Irenaeus, though he gave it a new and powerful application. Irenaeus is anything rather than a genius who originates. This idea of the universal authoritative tradition of the Christian faith, as it made possible in a later epoch the general councils, as it inspired Clement in Alexandria quite as much as Irenaeus in the West, so in earlier days it made possible the ' Catholic Epistles,' 3 and was present in the Church since men first rallied to the apostolic doctrine. Whatever development there was, then, from the day of Pentecost till the Council of Chalcedon did not touch the truth of the visible 1 The Eastern Churches which were at first inclined to accept Novatian would have accepted him as the bithop of Rome, not as one among a number. The question was simply who was the bishop. See further in chap. in. 2 ad Phil. 4. 3 Harnack Texte . Untersuch. ii. band, heft 3. p. 105. I.] The Foundation of the Church. 5 1 Church or aggregation of Churches, which it always presupposed, nor the corresponding obligation of membership in it : it presupposed the doctrine of the visible Church with its threefold unity in the life which it derived from its Head, Christ, in the truth of the apostolic tradition, and in the fellowship and intercourse of love. 2. It remains to point out that this idea of the 2- That the /~i 11 /-< i i- 1 Church idea Church, known as Catholicism, was not the creation was a Roman of western influences and cannot historically be m e e V nt p identified (as is sometimes 1 done) with Romanism. Was there, then, nothing new in that western concep- tion of the Church which was finally expressed in the mediaeval papacy ? Novelty there undoubtedly was, but it was not in any sense the doctrine of the visible Church. What then do the facts of history allow us to describe as Catholicism and what as Romanism ? Church unity in the New Testament is expressed but there is primarily in such metaphors as those of the body d^'Sne"^ of Christ or the Vine with its branches. What churdi ble primarily constitutes the unity of the Church is the life of Christ derived to its members by His Spirit. The Church is one on account of the spiritual presence which makes her the temple of God or the ' Christ- bearer.' None the less the Church is an external reality, a visible society ; for the principle of the Incarnation, which governs the Church, links the 1 See for this idea, in a curiously unhistorical shape, Allen's Continuity of Christian Thought pp. 100-105. Cf. Harnack's Dogmengesch. i. pp. 362-371 (Katholisch u. Romisch) ; also Renan's Hibbert Lectures. The latter assumes in support of his theory that St. Luke's writings (p. 132), the 'Preaching of Peter' the basis of the Clementine Homilies' and Recognitions (p. 134) and probably the Pastoral Epistles (p. 163) derive from the Roman Church and represent its ideas. At least the Pastoral Epistles, like the Ignatian (p. 170), exhibit what is character- istically the Roman temper ! 52 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. inward to the outward, the spiritual to the material there is 'one body' as well as 'one Spirit/ Spiritual gifts are given by sacraments, and sacra- ments are visible and social ceremonies of incorpora- tion, or benediction, or feeding. Thus the Christian's spiritual privileges depend on membership of a visible society ; but the visible society exists not as an instru- ment of external secular authority, but as the divine home of spiritual edification, for the ' building up of the body of Christ,' for the perfecting of man into one into the unity of the life of God. 1 Therefore the instrument of unity is the Spirit ; the basis of the unity is Christ, the Mediator ; the centre of the unity is in the heavens, where the Church's exalted Head lives in eternal majesty human, yet glorified. If it be the case, as Ignatius taught (and of course that is still an open question in this discussion), that a bishop is an essential element of the organization of each visible Church, then he will be the centre and symbol of local unity ; but, as the local Church exists only in order to bring men into relation to Christ and to the redeemed humanity which Christ is gathering to Himself in the unseen world, so the catholic Church, the society which each local Church repre- sents, has its centre of unity in Christ. 2 Only (so to speak) the lower limbs of the body of Christ are on earth. The Church is a society in the world, but not 1 St. John xvii. 23. It is characteristic of the scriptural and fundamental idea of church unity that it should be a progressive thing, progressing with a spiritual advance ; not an external thing once for all imposed. See St John as above, St Paul's Epistle to the Ephesians iv. 13 eU avSpa re\eiov. See also on the Shepherd offfettnas, above p. 18. The unity of the Church becomes constantly closer as the barriers which sin interposes between man and God, and so between man and his fellows, are removed. Sin, on the other hand, tends to mar the unity by ' schisms ' which may be more or less pronounced. 2 See the passage from Ignatius quoted before (p. 21) with the Bishop of Durham's comment. I.] The Foundation of the Church. 53 wholly in the world, nor existing for the world's ends. Thus the primary importance of its organization is local. Each local Church exists to keep open (so to speak) the connection of earth and heaven ; to keep the streams of the water of life flowing ; to maintain and teach and protect the creed which moulds the Christian character. Of course the Christian Churches have a necessary relation to one another. They con- stitute together one body ; they maintain one tradi- tion, and the test of it is found in their consent ; they exhibited, they ought still to exhibit, an unbroken fellowship. At the same time each has a relative independence, 1 for the authority over all is that of a common tradition, of which the witness lies in the general consent (as expressed most fully in a general council), coupled with the canon of Scripture. 2 Such is the conception of the Church as existing for the ends of 'grace and truth,' which can be justly described as Catholic. 3 Enough has been said to enable us to indicate by distinct fr contrast what may historically be called its Roman modiffcati development. The scriptural and catholic concep- tion admitted of development in this sense, that saving the original principle, the relations between 1 As St. Cyprian emphasized. See in chap. HI. 2 So the rule of faith is formulated by Irenaeus, i. 10. i, 2, and iii. 1-5, Tertull. de Praescr. 27-36, Vincent. Commonit. a, 9, 20, 23, 29. 3 On this conception of the Church see a typical passage in St. Augustin Enarr. in Psalm. Ps. Ivi. i : ' Quoniam totus Christus caput est et corpus . . . caput est ipse salvator noster, passus sub Pontio Pilato, qui nunc postea quam resurrexit a mortuis, sedet ad dexteram Patris : corpus autem eius est ecclesia ; non ista aut ilia, sed toto orbe diffusa ; nee ea quae nunc est in hominibus qui praesentem vitani agunt, sed ad earn pertinentibus etiam his qui fuerunt ante nos et his qui futuri sunt post nos usque in finem saeculi. Tola enim ecclesia constans, ex omnibus fidelibus, quia fideles omnes membra sunt Christi, habet illud caput positum in caelis quod gubernat corpus suum ; etsi separatum est visione, sed annectitur caritate.' Cf. the excellent account of the Church in Mr. Mason's The Faith of the Gospel ch. vn. 9, 10 and ch. vm. 54 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. the different Churches admitted of elaboration as facilities for communication increased under imperial recognition, or as the authority of the common tradi- tion was forced into prominence by the disintegrating effects of Gnosticism and other heresies. But the Roman development gave a new colour to the idea of the Church, not indeed by the introduction of any wholly novel element, but by distorting the idea of its function and unity. It has been already noticed how the Roman Church inherited the imperial con- ceptions of empire and government. The injunction ' Tu regere imperio populos, Romane, memento, Parcere subiectis et debellare superbos ' might have been spoken to the popes as well as to the emperors. At Rome, then, to a slight extent perhaps even from Victor's days to a more palpable extent from the fifth century, the idea of the Church becomes in a measure secularized. The Church be- comes a great world-empire for purposes of spiritual government and administration. The primary con- ception of her unity becomes that of unity of govern- ment, the sort of unity which most readily submits itself to secular tests and most naturally postulates a visible centre and head : the dominant idea becomes that of authority. All the needs of the early mediaeval period tended to add strength to this tendency, for what the world wanted was above all things order, discipline, rule. Thus the conception of government tends to overshadow earlier conceptions of the Church's function even in relation to the truth. Compare the Roman Leo's view of the truth with that of the Alexandrian Didymus or Athanasius, and the contrast is marked. Both the western and eastern writers insist equally on the truth of the I.] The Foundation of the Church. 55 Church dogma ; but to the eastern it is the guide to the knowledge of God, to the western it is the instru- ment of authority and of discipline. Once again, the over-authoritativeness of tone which becomes charac- teristic of the Roman Church makes her impatient of the more slow and laborious and complex methods of arriving at the truth on disputed questions which belonged to the earlier idea of the 'rule of faith.' The comparision of traditions, the elaborate appeal to Scripture, these methods are too slow and sometimes (as the revelation in this world is incomplete J ) yield no decisive result : something is wanted more rapid, more imperious. It is no longer enough to con- ceive of the Church as the catholic witness to the faith once for all delivered. She must be the living voice of God, the oracle of the divine will. Now, as the strength and security of witness lies in the consent of independent testimonies, so the strength of authoritative, oracular utterance lies in unimpeded, unqualified centrality, and Christen- dom needs a central shrine where divine authority speaks. Thus an essentially different idea of the Church's function finds expression in the general councils and in the papacy. At least a differently balanced idea of the function of the episcopate finds expression in the catholic conception of the bishop as securing the channels of grace and truth and representing the divine presence, and in the Roman conception of an external hierarchy of government centering in the papacy. The conflict between the two conceptions begins perhaps even in the days of Victor or Stephen ; it bears fruit in the Great Schism and in the further 1 Cf. i Cor. xiii. 9-12. 56 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. I. schisms of the Reformation. 1 Of course the Roman doctrine of church unity does not annihilate the other and older conception. The bishop remains still in the Roman Church what he was from the beginning, but another idea has been superadded, and it is this superadded idea which differentiates the Romanized from the primitive and undivided Church. With this superadded conception we shall not be further concerned in this argument. We have only to do with the fundamental doctrine of the visible Church as the body of Christ, which is inseparably associated with the doctrine of the faith and the sacraments, and which we are now in a position to assume was a con- ception held from the first, running up for its primary authority to the will of Christ the King. 1 It is not suggested that the Roman claims were more than one among several causes of these schisms. CHAPTER II APOSTOLIC SUCCESSION JESUS CHRIST, we are now in a position to assume, pid Christ founded a visible society, which, as embodying God's lULLt^* new covenant with men and representing His good- will towards them, was intended to embrace all mankind. As that society has existed in history, it has exhibited a more or less broad and marked dis- tinction between clergy and laity, priests and people, pastors and their flocks. Such a distinction would, it may be argued, inevitably grow up on the same principles which regulate the division of labour in other departments of human life. The question then arises : Is the Christian ministry simply, like a police force, a body which it has been found advantageous to organize and may be found advantageous to re- organize ? Did Christ in instituting His society leave it to itself to find out its need of a differentiation of functions and develop a ministry, or did He, on the other hand, when He constituted His society, constitute its ministry also in the germ ? Did He establish not only a body, but an organized body, with a differentiation of functions impressed upon it from the beginning ? It may be urged that the former alternative is The idea not more in accordance with what we should expect, 1 IIDpro1 1 As by Hatch B. L. pp. 17-20. 57 58 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. for it will exhibit the Christian ministry as of a piece with the ordinary products of social evolution. Such a presumption might be met in a measure, antecedently to the question of historical evidence, by the consideration that founders of great institu- tions, where they successfully observe and corre- spond to the conditions of their time, are able, to a certain degree at least, to anticipate the results of evolution and impress upon their foundations from the first an abiding form. 1 But it is a more satis- factory consideration that the Church is naturally of a piece with the Incarnation, the fruits of which it perpetuates, and that, as was pointed out in the last chapter, has a finality which belongs to its very essence. It is not that the religion of Christ, as final and supernatural, has no progress or develop- ment in it ; it is not a code of rules covering all possible occasions of the future. But it is a religion which in its principles and essence is final which contains in itself all the forces which the future will need; so that there is nothing to be looked for in the department of religion beyond or outside it, while there is everything to be looked for from within. This essential finality is expressed in the once for all delivered faith, in the fulness of the Spirit's presence and operation once for all granted to the Church, in the visible society once for all instituted ; and it is at least therefore a ' tenable proposition ' 2 that it should have been expressed 1 This is conspicuously the case with Islam. Mahommed incorporated pre-existing elements of Arab and Jewish belief of the Christian faith also in a debased form ; it may be said with truth that there was no originality in the theology of Islam. But its founder incorporated the elements that came to hand into a book, and on the basis of his book founded a religion which with its motives, its institutions, its obligations was a new thing in the world and yet had a remarkable completeness ab ovo. That is to say, it was as complete as its fundamental idea would allow of its being. > See Hatch B. L. [sec. ed.J pref. p. xii, where the coherence of ideas is recognised. II.] Apostolic Succession. 59 in a once for all empowered and commissioned ministry. That it is much more than a ' tenable proposition ' that it is a proposition which states a fact of history it will be the business of succeeding chapters to show. What it is proposed to do now but the prin -M . . . cipleofthe is to clear up the idea of the Christian ministry to ministry i must be explain what is meant by it, and why it is a reason- first ex- i i i plained, able idea before we go on to test, with as rigorous a criticism as can be applied, its basis in history. Why adopt such a method ? it will be said. Why explain first what you are going to look for, and then proceed to look for it? Why not let the principle, whatever it may be, emerge simply from the facts ? The answer is perhaps a twofold one. First, that the method here proposed corresponds to the method by which we actually in most cases arrive at convictions. We do not start afresh ; we take the traditional belief, the traditional position, and test it. This is the normal method of human progress. If the traditional belief will not bear the light of facts, it has to be modified, or even reversed ; we have to go through the process which a modern writer calls ' the correction of our premises.' But we give, and rightly give, a prerogative to an accepted position, so far at least as to start from it. Secondly, it may be answered that the method of hypothesis is one of the most normal methods of scientific inquiry. The scientific investigator is not asked to approach the facts without antecedent ideas, without anticipations, without desires ; to ask this of him in the field of nature or of history is, in most cases, to ask an impossibility. What we have a right to expect is that the facts shall be looked at with 60 Christian Ministry, [CHAP. severe impartiality and be allowed their legitimate weight to support, or contravene, or modify the original hypothesis. And further, the scientific investigator, when he makes public demonstration of the results of his investigations, is not expected to re-enact all the process he has himself gone through. He asks the right question at once ; he propounds at once the right hypothesis, and proceeds to verify it. That is what it is proposed to do here. There have been several theories or, to speak more accurately, modifications of one theory of the Christian ministry, which, as having more or less authority in tradition, have some prerogative claims to be examined, but which will not, as they are, stand the verifying test of facts. Underlying them there is a theory that will. There is, that is to say, a number of more or less perverted conceptions of what the Christian ministry has always essentially meant, as well as a true one. In what follows an attempt will be made to distinguish the true idea from its perversions. Any one who undertakes to vindicate for any Christian truth or institution its claim to permanence or authority its claim, that is, to be an integral part of the Christian revelation is confronted on the threshold of his undertaking with a difficulty. The idea or institution has been abused, or overlaid with what exaggerates or disfigures it. He has to attempt what makes a considerable claim on mental patience, to draw distinctions between the abuse of a thing and its use, between the permanence of a thing in its fundamental principle and its permanence with the particular set of associations which in this or that epoch have clustered round it. This is remarkably II.] Apostolic Succession. 61 true of the institution of the Christian ministry and the associated idea of the apostolic succession. It because its . , . , perversions is maintained, though not perhaps with very much have caused ,, _ _ . . . misunder- truth, that superseded elements of Judaism survived standing. and discoloured more or less the conception of the ministry in the Church : it is much more certain that in the early Middle Ages this, with every other Christian institution, ran a great risk of becoming incrusted with associations left by the dying forms of paganism. Again, the ambition of the clergy and the spiritual apathy and ignorance of the mass of the laity have led to its assuming false claims and a false prominence. Feudal and other passing forms of political society have adopted it and more or less perverted it to their own ends, so that, when their day was over or their support withdrawn, it has been left with its hold on human life weakened, because its true nature was overlaid and forgotten. Once again, it has lived in the security of uncritical epochs and based its claims on careless statements, and the steady rise of an exacter examination of facts has seemed to shake its foundations. Thus the conception of the ministry needs purging before it can be vindicated. 1 ' There is a short way,' 1 The learned Oratorian Morinus, in his work de Sacris Ordinationibus (A.D. 1686), offers a good example of a Christian student purging an idea in order to vindicate it. At the time when he wrote there were several false conceptions current on his subject. Notably, it was held that the essential ' matter ' (or rite) of ordination lay in the 'tradition of the instruments,' i.e. the giving to the ordinand the character- istic vessels of his ministry. This scholastic doctrine had gained expression in a formal papal decree, though Morinus does not mention this. Eugenius iv. had written thus in his Decretum de Unione A rnteniorum (the decree which affirmed the doctrinal basis of union with the see of Rome for the benefit of the Armenians, who were seeking reunion at the time of the Council of Florence A.D. 1439) : 'Sextum sacramentum est ordinis, cuius mater ia est illud per cuius traditionem confertur ordo, sicut presbyteratus traditur per calicis cum vino et patenae cum pane porrectionem. Diaconatus vero per libri evangeliorum dationem. . . . Forma sacerdotii talis est : Accipe potestatem offerendi sacrificium in ecclesia pro vivis et mortuis, in nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus sancti : et sic de aliorum ordinum formis 62 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. says St. Cyprian, ' for religious and simple minds to lay aside error, or to find and elicit the truth. For, if we go back to the head and origin of the divine tradition, human error ceases : the real nature of the heavenly mysteries is seen, and whatever was hid in darkness and under a cloud is opened out into the light of truth. If a canal which used to give a copious supply of water suddenly fails, men go to the fount to find the reason of the failure whether the water has dried up at the spring, or has been intercepted in mid-course ; so that, if this happened through a defect in the canal preventing the flow of the water, it may be repaired and the water gathered for the supply of the city's wants may reach them in the abundance and purity with which it left the fount. This is what, on the present occasion, the priests of God should do, keeping the divine precepts, so that, if the truth in any matter has been weakened or impaired, we may go back to the original of our Lord and His Gospel or to the apostolic tradition, and let the principles of prout in pontifical! Romano late continetur.' Labbe Collect. Concil. xviii. p. 550). Here, it will be seen, there is no mention at all of the laying-on of hands, and this represented for some centuries the authoritative doctrine. The absence of the porrectio instrumentorum, with the accompanying words, from our ordination of priests had been made the standing objection against the validity of our orders (cf. Estcourt Question ofAngl. Ord. pp. 260-1). This was due, as Morinus remarks (p. iii. ex. i. i. i), to the fact that the ' doctores scholastic! ' were ' Graecarum ordinationum ignari et antiquae Latinorum traditionis incuriosi.' He was at pains to make an appeal to antiquity. He investigated and reproduced in his work types of early Oriental ordinations from ancient Greek and other Eastern MSS, and demon- strated the absence of the ceremony in question from these rites. Yet Oriental ordinations were confessedly valid. He then reproduced the earliest types of Western ordinations from Latin MSS, and demonstrated that in the West the ceremony with its accompanying words was a later addition unknown in the first thousand years of the Church's history. He then asserted the principle that only that could be essential which had been the practice both in East and West and the constant practice from the first, i.e. the laying-on of hands with accompanying prayer. Thus he purged the tradition. It is the frank inquiry which characterizes his work, and his genuine belief in historical evidence and its value as a corrective of current teaching, which has given his work the high place among works on ecclesiastical subjects which it deservedly holds. II.] Apostolic Succession. 63 our action take their rise there, where our order has its origin.' J Whether the idea now to be expounded represents ' the original of our Lord ' and the ' apostolic tradi- tion,' will be the question afterwards. We take it now only as an hypothesis, and it is this. Let it be The idea of J * the apostolic supposed that Christ, in founding His Church, founded succession of ' _, TT . the ministry. also a ministry in the Church in the persons of His Apostles. 2 These Apostles must be supposed to have had a temporary function in their capacity as founders under Christ. In this capacity they held an office by its very nature not perpetual the office of bear- ing the original witness to Christ's resurrection and making the original proclamation of the Gospel. 3 But underlying this was another a pastorate of 1 Ep. Ixxiv. TO. 2 ' By the Church on earth," says MShler (Symbolism pt. i. ch. 5 36), ' Catholics understand the visible community of believers, founded by Christ, in which, by means of an enduring apostleship, established by Him and appointed to conduct all nations, in the course of ages, back to God, the works wrought by Him during His earthly life for the redemption and sanctification of mankind are, under the guidance of His Spirit, continued unto the end of the world.' 3 See Pearson Determinatio Theol. i (in his Minor Theol. Works \. pp. 283, 284, and quoted by Dr. Liddon in A Father in Christ [sec. ed.] pref. pp. x-xii) : ' Ordinem episcopalem fuisse in ipsis apostolis institutum ac per successionem ab ipsis pro- pagatum. Ad hanc assertionem explicandam sciendum est, concessam fuisse apostolis duplicem potestatem, temporariam unam et extraordinariam, ordinariam alteram diuque permansuram. Prior potestas duplicem respectum habuit, ad Christum et ad ecclesiam. Respectu Christi facti sunt apostoli peculiares testes resurrectionis eius : respectu domus Dei facti sunt lapides in fundamento, h.e. ad praedicandam fidem baud prius revelatam, ad fundandas ecclesias, ad colligendum populum Deo instituti et instruct!. Posterior potestas erat regendi ecclesias iam fundatas, praedicandi verbum ndelibus collectis, administrandi sacramenta populo Dei, ordinandi ministros ad ecclesiastica munia, peragendi omnia ad salutem Christianorum necessaria. Quod erat in iis temporarium, id erat pure et peculiariter apostolicum ; quod autem erat ordinarium et perpetuum, idem erat in eisdem proprie episcopale. Acceperunt totam potestatem a Christo : quicquid erat in eis personale, cum ipsis mortuum est ; quicquid erat omnibus ecclesiae temporibus necessarium, ipsorum, dum viverent, manibus transmissum est. Dixit Christus apostolis ' Sicut misit me Pater, ita et ego mitto vos.' Sicut ipse habuit a Patre mandatum docendi populum et ministros ad hoc necessaries necessaria auctoritate instructos deputandi, ita et apostoli habuerunt idem officium et mandatum cum eadem potestate ministros eligendi et ita successive usque ad consummationem saeculi continuata successione. Est itaque apostolus episcopus extraordinarius, est episcopus apostolus ordinarius; atque ita episcopatus fuit in apostolis a Christo institutus, in successoribus apostolorom ab apostolis derivatus.' 64 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. souls, a stewardship of divine mysteries. This office instituted in their persons was intended to become perpetual, and that by being transmitted from its first depositaries. It was thus intended that there should be in every Church, in each generation, an authoritative stewardship of the grace and truth which came by Jesus Christ and a recognised power to transmit it, derived from above by apostolic descent. The men, who from time to time were to hold the various offices involved in the ministry and the transmitting power necessary for its con- tinuance, might, indeed, fitly be elected by those to whom they were to minister. In this way the ministry would express the representative principle. 1 But their authority to minister in whatever capacity, their qualifying consecration, was to come from above, in such sense that no ministerial act could be regarded as valid that is, as having the security of the divine covenant about it unless it was performed under the shelter of a commission, received by the transmission of the original pastoral authority which had been delegated by Christ Himself to His Apostles. This is what is understood by the apostolic suc- cession of the ministry. It will be seen how, thus conce i ve d, tne ministry corresponds in principle to the Incarnation and the sacraments, and, indeed, to the original creation of man. In all these cases the material comes from below. Christ's humanity is of real physical origin of the stock of Adam. The material of the sacraments is common water, ' bread of the earth,' common wine. ' Of the dust of the 1 Proper election was requisite, ' not for the authority itself but for the success of the exercise of it ' : cf. Denton's Grace of the Ministry p. 183. II.] Apostolic Succession. 65 ground the Lord God formed man.' But this material, which is of the earth, is in each case assumed (though not in each case in the same sense) by the Spirit from above. The Divine Son assumes the humanity, and makes it redemptive. A consecration from above comes upon the sacrament; 'the bread which is of the earth,' which man offers for the divine accept- ance. ' receiving the invocation of God, is no longer common bread, but Eucharist made up of two things, an earthly and a heavenly.' J ' God breathed into man's nostrils the breath of life.' In each of these cases we have the material offered from below and the empowering consecration from above. It is just these two elements, then, that are present to con- stitute the ministry. Those who are to be ordained are, like the Levites, the offering of the people ; but they receive, like Aaron and his sons, their consecra- tion from above. 2 It is a matter of very great importance as will The principle appear further on to exalt the principle of the moreTm^- 11 tant than the form of the 1 Iren. iv. 18. 5. ministry. 2 In the Dissertation on the Christian Ministry, appended to his commentary on the Philippians, (on which see Appended Note A,) Dr. Lightfoot maintains that the priestly tribe of the Old Testament were only the ' delegates of the people ' ' the nation thus deputes to a single tribe the priestly functions which belong to itself as a whole ' (Dissert, pp. 182, 183). Surely 'dormitat Homerus.' His reference is to the laying-on of hands by the people upon the Levites (Numb. viii. 10). But whatever significance this act had, it must not lead us to forget the ordination of the priests, the sons of Aaron. These had been consecrated to their office ' before this laying-on of hands upon the Levites took place, and with far different ceremonies, by Moses himself, without any intervention of the people whatever ' (Willis Worship of 'the Old Covenant p. 112). Thus, if the Levites represent the self-consecration of the people, the 'lay-priesthood,' (Numb. viii. 10-20,) Aaron, who is to 'offer the Levites before the Lord ' (ver. ii) Aaron, to whom, with his sons, God is said to have ' given the Levites as a gift to do the service of the children of Israel ' (ver. 19) Aaron, and his sons the priests, represent the ministers of the covenant instituted by God Himself, whose prerogative was so jealously guarded, even against the sons of Levi, ' in the matter of Korah ' (Numb. xvi). ' Moses himself, as the representative of the unseen King, is the consecrator" (Diet. Bible, s.v. PRIEST, ii. p. 917). I am speaking of the Mosaic Law in its final 'form , as the writers of the New Testament knew it, without discussing the date of its different portions. 66 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. apostolic succession above the question of the exact form of the ministry, in which the principle has expressed itself, even though it be by apostolic order- ing. What is meant is this : the apostolic succession has taken shape how uniformly the next chapter will show in a threefold ministry, consisting of a single bishop in each community or diocese with presbyters and deacons, the bishop alone having the power of ordaining or conferring ministerial authority on others, the presbyters constituting a 'co-opera- tive order' which shares with him a common priest- hood, and the deacons holding a subordinate and supplementary position. But this is rather the out- come of a principle than itself a principle, at any rate a primary or essential principle. 1 No one, of whatever part of the Church, can maintain that the existence of what may be called, for lack of a distinctive term, monepiscopacy is essential to the continuity of the Church. Such monepiscopacy may be the best mode of government, it may most aptly symbolize the divine monarchy, it may have all spiritual expediency and historical precedent on its side nay, more, it may be of apostolic institution : but nobody could maintain that the continuity of the Church would be broken if in any given diocese all the presbyters were consecrated to the episcopal office, and governed as a co-ordinate college of bishops without presbyters, or presbyter-bishops. 2 A state of things quite as abnor- mal as this existed for many centuries in the Celtic Church of Ireland. Something equivalent to this 1 See Church Principles, by W. E. Gladstone, pp. 244, 245, 252, 253. 2 'The things proper to bishops,' says Bishop Bilson (Perpet. Govt. of Christ 's Church ch. xiii), ' which might not be common to presbyters, were singularity in succeeding and superiority in ordaining." But of these two things the latter is really that which forms the vital distinction between the orders. n.] Apostolic Succession. 67 very arrangement has been commonly believed in the West to have existed in the early Church. Why was the violation of the ordinary arrange- ment of the ministry regarded in these cases as a matter of only secondary importance ? Because the principle of the apostolic succession was not violated. There have always (it is here supposed) existed in the Church ministers, who, besides the ordinary exercise of their ministry, possess the power of transmitting it ; they may, so far, be one or many in each community ; but, when they ordain men to the holy offices of the Church, they are only fulfilling the function intrusted to them out of the apostolic fount of authority. There are other ministers, again, who have certain clearly understood functions committed to them, but not that of transmitting their office. Should these ever attempt to transmit it, their act would be considered invalid. For this is the church principle : that no ministry is valid which is assumed, which a man takes upon himself, or which is merely delegated to him from below. That ministerial act alone is valid which is covered by a ministerial commission received from above by suc- cession from the Apostles. This is part of the great principle of tradition. ' Hold the traditions,' reiter- ates the Apostle. The whole of what constitutes Christianity is a transmitted trust a tradition which may need purging, but never admits of innovation, for ' nihil innovandum nisi quod traditum ' is a fundamental Christian principle. For instance, the truth revealed in Christ is adequate to all time. It is fruitful of innumerable applications and adap- tations to the new wants of each age. It may need setting free and purifying from accretions from time 68 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. to time, but not more. What breaks the tradition is heresy the intrusion, that is, of a new and alien element into the deposit, having its origin in personal self-assertion. This conception of heresy is involved in the very idea of a revelation once for all made. Now, what heresy is in the sphere of truth, a viola- tion of the apostolic succession is in the tradition of the ministry. Here too there is a deposit handed down, an ecclesiastical trust transmitted ; and its continuity is violated, whenever a man 'takes any honour to himself and assumes a function not com- mitted to him. Judged in the light of the Church's mind as to the relation of the individual to the whole body, sucli an act takes a moral discolouring. The individual, of course, who is guilty of the act may not incur the responsibility in any particular case through the absence of right knowledge, or from other causes which exempt from responsibility in whole or in part ; but judged by an objective standard, the act has the moral discolouring of self-assertion. The Church's doctrine of succession is thus of a piece with the whole idea of the Gospel revelation, as being the communication of a divine gift which must be received and cannot be originated, received, moreover.through the channels of a visible and organic society ; and the principle (this is what is here emphasized) lies at the last resort in the idea of succession rather than in the continuous existence of episcopal government even though it should appear that this too is of apo- stolic origin, and that the Church, since the Apostles, has never conceived of itself as having any power to originate or interpolate a new office. 1 1 The words of the Anglican Art. xxin. are : ' Non licet cuiquam sumere sibi munus publice praedicandi aut administrandi sacramenta in ecclesia, nisi prius fuerit II.] Apostolic Succession. 69 It will be easy to see that the existence of an its import- apostolic succession serves several important ends. (i) It forms a link of historical continuity in a CO as a bond . of union in a society intended to be universal and permanent, spiritual Nations have many bonds of union. There is the unity of blood and language and common customs : there is the unity of a common government over men inhabiting a common territory, Such bonds of union are lacking to a universal spiritual society such as the Church claims to be. Embracing all peoples and languages, admitting and consecrating the greatest varieties of local custom and taste, inhabiting no common territory but spread over all the earth, 1 how should the Church preserve or exhibit its identity and continuity as a visible society without some such instrument and evidence of succession as is afforded by the ministry as traditionally conceived? No doubt it may be urged, and with partial truth, that the real unity of the Church lies in the Spirit, which lives in her, and the truth she holds and teaches ; but that truth was committed to a society, as what Iren- aeus calls ' its rich depository,' 2 and that Spirit has a body and how can the outward organization, which enshrines and perpetuates the inner life, main- ad haec obeunda legitime vocatus et missus. Atque illos legitime vocatos et missos existimare debemus, qui per homines, quibus potestas vocandi ministros atque mittendi in vineam Domini publice concessa est, in ecclesia cooptati fuerint et asciti in hoc opus.' It should be noticed that the principle of mission is here asserted before the specific reference to actual orders in the ministry (Art. xxxvi. with the ordinal read into it). 1 We know how familiar a boast this is with early Christian writers. Cf. e.g. Ef>. ad Diogmt. 5 : ' Christians (of the " new race " which has just come into the world, c. i) are distinguished from the rest of mankind neither by land, nor by language, nor by customs. They have neither cities of their own, nor exceptional language, uor remarkable mode of life. But inhabiting Greek or barbarian cities as the lot of each determined, and obeying the local customs in dress and food and general conduct of life, the character of their own polity which they exhibit is everywhere wonderful and confessedly strange.' Cf. Iren. i. 10. 2. - Iren. iii. 4. i : 'quasi in depositorium dives.' 70 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. tain or exhibit its identity without some such bond as the apostolic succession of the ministry affords ? x (ii) The ministerial succession serves the end of dependence impressing upon Christians that their new life is a of Christ ; communicated gift, and from this point of view it is naturally associated with the sacraments. A Chris- tian of apostolic days was taught by St. Paul to look back to the day of baptism as the moment of his incorporation into the life of Christ. 2 He had received the gift of the Spirit by the laying on of apostolic hands. 3 He was fed with the Body and Blood of Christ through the ' effectual signs ' of bread and wine. 4 This sacramental method went to impress upon his mind the idea of his dependence upon grace given from without. True, this grace given from without could only be appropriated, in- corporated, used, by the inward faculty of faith. This is the Christian principle of correspondence. When Christ was on earth healing men's sickness, the ' virtue' which went out of Him could speaking generally only be liberated to act in effective power on those who had ' faith to be healed,' and it was thus men's faith which made them whole, though the means of their healing was the virtue of Christ's body which came from without. His permanent redemptive activity upon the souls of men exhibits, 1 For an interesting statement of the function of the episcopal succession from this point of view, see F. D. Maurice's Kingdom of Christ pt. ii. ch. iv. 5 ; also Gladstone Church Principles ch. v. esp. pp. 193, 194 : ' If it were attempted to insist on succession in doctrine as the sole condition of the essence of a Church, any such proposition would be self-contradictory, inasmuch as that which would be thus per- petuated would not be a society at all, but a creed or body of tenets." What is required is 'succession of persons,' as well as 'continuous identity of doctrine.' - Gal. iii. 27 ; Rom. vi. 3 ; i Cor. xii. 13 ; Tit. iii. 5. 3 Acts viii. 17-20, xix. 6 ; cf. Heb. vi. 2. 4 i Cor. x. 16, 17. I do not see how it is possible to deny that the New Testament does attach inward gifts to external channels, i.e. is sacramental. II.] Apostolic Succession. 7 1 and with less possibility of exception, the same law. He saves in virtue of an inward faith but by the instrumentality of a gift given from outside. This outward bestowal of grace was no peculiarity of the Apostolic age, though the symbolic miracles which at first called attention to it passed away. It is im- possible to deny that the early Christians believed in the sacraments as the covenanted channels of divine grace. 1 It is, indeed, part of God's condescending compassion that He should thus embody in visible form His divine gift So it is made most easily 1 I may refer, in confirmation of what is said above, to the way in which the Fathers, at the end of the second century, emphasize the sacramental principle, as of a piece with the principle of the Incarnation, against the Gnostic depreciation of what is material. See a vigorous passage of Tertullian (de Returr. Cam. 8), emphasizing how, at each stage of the spiritual life, the inward gift is mediated through the material body and that, of course, implies through a material sacrament. ' As the soul is attached to God, it is the flesh which enables it to be united. The flesh is washed that the soul may be cleansed : the flesh is anointed that the soul may be consecrated : the flesh is marked with the Cross that the soul may be protected : the flesh is shadowed with the imposition of hands that the soul may be illuminated by the Spirit : the flesh is fed with the Body and Blood of Christ that the soul may feed upon the fatness of God.' Cf. de Bapt. 2, quoted on p. 165. This is no advance upon the principle of Irenaeus. To Irenaeus the bread and wine are consecrated to become the Body and Blood of Christ, and so to impart eternal life even to man's body (iv. 18. 5): 'the mixed cup and the bread which has been made receives the word of God, and the Eucharist becomes the Body [and Blood] of Christ, and the substance of our flesh grows and gains consistence from these. How, then, can they say that our flesh is not susceptible of the gift of God, which is eternal life our flesh, which is nourished by the Body and Blood of the Lord, and which is his member?' (v. 2. 3). Irenaeus' contemporary at Alexandria, Clement (though his exact view of the Eucharist is hard to grasp or state) certainly believed that the sacraments convey to us the life and being of Christ ; cf. Paed. \. 6. This would appear in Dr. Bigg's references B. L. pp. 105, 106. But we may go back earlier. The simple account, which, earlier in the second century, Justin Martyr gives of the meaning of the Chris- tian sacraments (Apol. i. 61, 65-67), carries conviction that Irenaeus and Tertullian are stating no new doctrine. We go back to the beginning of the century, to Ignatius, and we find the same stress on the sacraments in the earliest stage of controversy with Gnosticism. ' The heretics,' he writes (ad Smyrn. 7), ' abstain from the Eucharist and prayer, because they confess not that the Eucharist is the Flesh of our Saviour Jesus Christ, which suffered for our sins, which by His goodness the Father raised up. They, therefore, who speak against the gift of God, die by their disputing.' [Dr. Lightfoot would interpret this in the light of Tertullian's ' Hoc est corpus meum : id est figura mei corporis.' Tertullian's language about the Eucharist is remarkable, but taken as a whole it suggests not that he believed in no ' real presence ' in the elements, but that he regarded the consecrated bread as a figure of Christ's body, in 72 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. intelligible and accessible to the ignorant. 1 So it is most easily and forcibly impressed on men's minds that Christ has come, not merely to show them what in any case they are, but to make them what apart from Him they cannot be. ' Except a man be born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.' ' Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink His blood, ye have no life in you.' z Aristotle represented man as ' self-sufficient ' not indeed as an individual, but as a member of an organized society, the city of Greek civilization. If he needed to come into contact with God, that was rather at the circumference of his life and as the remote goal of its highest efforts. Christianity, on the contrary, represents man as fundamentally and from the first dependent upon God. It proclaims that man's initial step of true progress is to know his utter, his complete dependence, that the essence and secret of all sin is his claim to be independent, to be sufficient for himself. Thus Christ, when He the sense that, remaining bread, it so to speak (like Christ's body on earth) embodied the spiritual presence or spirit of Christ which it was to communicate : see my Disser- tations (Murray, 1895), pp. 308, ff.]. The earliest language about baptism also is very emphatic in making it the instrument of the new birth and its accompanying purification. See Hermas Vis. iii. 3, Sim. ix. 16, and Barnabas Ep. n. The only early Christian writings which seem to take a low view of the sacraments are very Judaic, e.g. the (Ebionite) Clementines and the Didache, which, though not Ebionite, has no hold on the doctrine of the Incarnation or of the grace which flows from it. 1 It is instructive to contrast in this respect Christianity with Neo-PIatonism. Communion with God oneness with God was regarded by the philosophers as attainable only through intellectual self-abstraction from the things of sense and an ecstatic rapture possible but to a very few ' select ' natures. In the Church it was believed to depend upon a simple act, possible to the most ignorant. ' Take, eat ; this is My Body.' 'He that eateth My Flesh dwelleth in Me, and I in him.' 2 F. W. Robertson (Sermons, ad series, pp. 55, 56) attempts to make baptism merely an announcement of what is, instead of a creative or re-creative act : but this is to do violence to the whole body of Scriptural and ecclesiastical language. The Church is the 'new creation, 1 and the sacraments are 'practica* or 'efficacia signa." II.] Apostolic Succession. 73 came to restore men to their true selves and to God, did all that was necessary to emphasize that their restoration must be by the communication of a gift from outside, which they had not and could not have of themselves. This is the essential message of Christianity, and is what differentiates its whole moral scheme from its very foundations. But in the second part of the Aristotelian position Christianity recognises a divine truth, of which man had never lost his hold ; man must still realize his true being in a society, the city of God. Only in the divine household of the Church can he be fed with his necessary portion, the bread of life. Yet if it be important to impress upon men's minds, permanently and persistently, as a part of a catholic system, their dependence upon gifts bestowed from outside, it must be admitted that there is no way of making the impression more effective than by the institution in the Christian household of a steward- ship, which should represent God, the giver, dis- tributing to the members of the divine family their portion of meat in due season ; and it is quite essential that such stewards should receive their authorization by a commission which makes them the representatives of God the giver, and not of men the receivers. ' It is the doctrine of the ministerial succession by commission from the Apostles, which makes, and which alone makes, this required pro- vision for representing to us, along with the matter of the revelation, and as needful to its due reception, this lively idea of its origin.' * (iii) The apostolic succession seems to correspond, (m) as meet- as nothing else does, to the moral needs of the HULL of" 101 those who 1 Gladstone Church Principles p. ao8. minister. 74 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. ministers of Christ's Church. 1 ' How shall they preach,' said St. Paul, ' except they be sent ? ' He himself had been sent by an immediate mission from Christ as direct, as visible (so he believed) as that which empowered the other Apostles. When he exhorts Timothy to make ' full proof of his ministry,' it is by recalling his mind to an actual external com- mission received, with its actual and accompanying gift. ' There is not in the world,' says Bishop Taylor, ' a greater presumption than that any should think to convey a gift of God, unless by God he be appointed to do it.' 2 Such appointment or com- mission, to be valid, must be of an authority not unquestioned indeed, for St. Paul's was questioned, but not justly open to question, as representative of Christ. Men are needed for Christ's ministry who have ready wills and clear convictions, men, that is, with a sense of vocation ; but they must be also men of humility, distrustful of their own impulses and powers, like the prophets of old. The very thing that such men need is the open and external com- mission to support the internal sense of vocation through all the fiery trials of failure and disappoint- ment, of weariness and weakness, to which it will be subjected nay, to be its substitute when God's inward voice seems even withdrawn maintaining in the man the simple conviction that, as a matter of fact, ' a dispensation has been committed to him.' The idea of the apostolic succession is, then, we may claim, in natural harmony both with the moral needs of men and with the idea of the Church. Such a succession of ministers would serve, as nothing else 1 See Dr. Liddon's sermon The Moral Value of a Mission from Christ. - Ductor Dubitant. in his Works [ed. 1822] xiv. p. 26. II.] Apostolic Succession. 75 could serve, both as a link of continuity in the society, and as an institution calculated to represent to men's imaginations the dependence of the Christian life upon God's gifts, and as a means of supplying a satisfying commission to those called to share the ministry. On the other hand, objections are raised against it Bu t it which may best be considered before we approach the discussion of the historical evidence, especially unds: as the consideration of them will serve to put more clearly before our minds what the exact conception is which is to be subjected to the test of history. The most important of them may be summarized under five heads : (1) the doctrine of the apostolic succession is sacerdotal : (2) it postulates what is so incredible that bad or unspiritual men can impart spiritual gifts to others : (3) it is incompatible with the true ideal of liberty : (4) the chances against its having been actually preserved are overwhelming : (5) it is exclusive in such a sense as to be fatal to its claim. (i) 'The doctrine of the apostolic succession is or it is sacerdotal.' This we admit in one sense and deny in ** another. It is necessary for us in fact to draw a distinction between what we regard as legitimate and what as illegitimate sacerdotalism. 1 For the term is associated historically with much that is worst, as well as much that is best in human character. Priest- 1 Dr. Liddon University Sermons, 2nd series, p. 191 : 'A formidable word, harmless in itself, but surrounded with very invidious associations.' See the whole passage. 76 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. hood has been greatly abused. But must not the same be said of liberty or of State authority ? Must not it be said of religion itself, in common with all the greatest and most ennobling truths? What would become of us if we should agree to abandon every idea and institution which has become corrupt, or been exaggerated, or made to minister to ambition and worldliness? Life would be a barren thing indeed ! There is surely no better task for the wise man than to set himself to vindicate the truths which lie behind persistent and popular errors and abuses to the reality and power of which, indeed, the very popularity and persistence of the abuses bear witness. The minis- The chief of the ideas commonly associated with terial priest- i ...... , . . hood, how- sacerdotalism, which it is important to repudiate, is vicious. that of a vicarious priesthood. 1 It is contrary to the true spirit of the Christian religion to introduce the notion of a class inside the Church who are in a closer spiritual relationship to God than their fellows. ' If a monk falls,' says St. Jerome, ' a priest shall pray for him ; but who shall pray for a priest who has fallen ? ' Such an expression, construed literally, would imply a closer relation to God in the priest than in the consecrated layman, and such a concep- tion is beyond a doubt alien to the spirit of Chris- tianity. There is 'no sacrificial tribe or class be- tween God and man.' ' Each individual member [of the Christian body] holds personal communion with , the Divine Head.' 2 The difference between clergy and laity ' is not a difference in kind ' 3 but in function. Thus the completest freedom of access to God in 1 Sec Maurice Kingdom of Christ ii. p. 216. 2 Dr. Lightfoot Dissert, on the Christian Ministry p. 181. 3 Liddon I.e. p. 198. II.] Apostolic Succession. 77 prayer and intercession, the closest personal relation to Him, belongs to all. So far as there is gradation in the efficacy of prayers, it is the result not of official position but of growing sanctity and strengthening faith. It is an abuse of the sacerdotal conception, if it is supposed that the priesthood exists to cele- brate sacrifices or acts of worship in the place of the body of the people or as their substitute. This con- ception had, no doubt, attached itself to the ' massing priests ' of the Middle Ages. The priest had come to be regarded as an individual who held, in virtue of his ordination, the prerogative of offering sacrifices which could win God's gifts. Thus spiritual advan- tages could be secured for the living and the dead by paying him to say a mass, and greater advantages by a greater number of masses. Now this distorted sort of conception is one which the religious indolence of most men, 1 in co-operation with the ambition for power in ' spiritual ' persons, is always tending to make possible. It is possible to believe not only in a ^pcarious priesthood of sacrifice, but also in a vicarious office of preaching, which releases the laity Trom the obligation to make efforts of spiritual appre- hension on their own account. But in either case the conception is an unchristian one. The ministry is no more one of vicarious action than it is one of exclusive knowledge or exclusive spiritual relation to God. What is the truth then ? It is that the Church is one body : the free approach to God in the but Sonship and Priesthood of Christ belongs to men as x ' members of 'one body,' and this one body has different organs through which the functions of its ' * Cf. p. 307, where stress is laid upon the disastrous effect of secularly in the Church in widening the gulf between clergy and laity. 78 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. life find expression, as it was differentiated by the act and appointment of Him who created it. The reception, for instance, of Eucharistic grace, the approach to God in Eucharistic sacrifice, are functions of the whole body. ' We bless the cup of blessing,' ' we break the bread,' says St. Paul, speaking for the community : ' we offer,' l we present/ is the language of the liturgies. 1 But the ministry is the organ the necessary organ of these functions. It is the hand which offers and distributes ; it is the voice which consecrates and pleads. And the whole body can no more dispense with its services than the natural body can grasp or speak without the instrumentality of hand and tongue. Thus the ministry is the instrument as well as the symbol of the Church's unity, and no man can share her fellowship except in acceptance of its offices. Why is this conception unreasonable ? The people of Israel of old were ' a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation' (Exod. xix. 6). But that priestliness 1 i Cor. x. 16. It is remarkable that Hugh of St. Victor (Summ. Sentent. tract vi. c. 9, quoted by Morinus de Sacr. Ord. p. iii. ex. v. i. 4) gives as the current reason for denying that heretics or schismatics could consecrate the Eucharist the fact that in the Eucharist the priest speaks for the whole Church : ' Aliis videtur quod nee excommunicati nee manifeste haeretici conficiunt [corpus Christ!]. Nullus enim in ipsa consecratione dicit offero, sed offerimus, ex persona totius ecclesiae. Cum autem alia sacramenta extra ecclesiam possint fieri, haec nunquam extra, et istis magis videtur assentiendum.' The idea of the representative character of the priesthood in the ministry of the eucharistic sacrifice finds beautiful expression in the prayers (ascribed traditionally to St. Ambrose) which are used in the West as a Preparatio ad Missam : ' Profero etiam,' the celebrant prays, '(M digneris propitius intueri) tribulationes plebium, pericula populorum, captivorum gemitus, miserias orphanorum, necessitates peregrinorum, inopiam debilium, desperationes languen- thim, defectus senum, suspiria iuvenum, vota virginum, lamenta viduarum.' He is the mouthpiece of the needs of ' all sorts and conditions of men.' As the necessary mouthpiece for the expression of these needs in the eucharistic celebration, the repre- sentative priest is in a certain sense a go-between, a mediator. Thus this same prayer has earlier these words : ' quoniam me peccatorem inter te et eundem populum tuum medium esse voluisti, licet in me aliquod boni operis testimonium non agnoscas, omcium saltern dispensationis creditae non recuses, nee per me indignum eorum salutis pereat pretium, pro quibus victima salutaris dignatus es esse et redemptio.' II.] Apostolic Succession. 79 which inhered in the race had its expression in the divinely ordained ministry of the Aaronic priesthood. 1 The Christian Church is in an infinitely higher sense ' a royal priesthood, a holy nation.' 2 But why should it u not . ... 111 t_ i inconsistent that priesthood exclude, and not rather involve, a with the ministry through which it finds official and formal priesthood, expression and that not by mere expediential arrangement, but by divine ordering ? Let us examine the notion of the general priesthood of all Christians as it finds expression, for example, in Justin Martyr in the earlier part of the second century. 3 'Just,' he says, 'as Joshua, who is called by the prophet (Zech. as taught iii. i ) a priest, was seen wearing filthy garments . . . and was called y J 1151111 ' a brand plucked out of the burning because he received remission of sins, the devil also, his adversary, receiving rebuke, so we, who through the name of Jesus have believed as one man in God, the Maker of all, have been stripped through the name of His First-begotten Son of the " filthy garments " of our sins ; and being set on fire by the word of his calling are the genuine high-priestly race of God, as God 1 It is maintained without any adequate ground (Diet. Bible s. v. PRIESTHOOD) that the Levitical priesthood was in a sense the substitute for the general priesthood, instead of its expression that the special priesthood was appointed because the people refused to realize the priesthood which belonged to them all so that it was in this sense a. pis oiler, a ievrepos irXous. There is no evidence for this. The same chapter which recognises the general, recognises also aspecial priesthood, Exod. xix. 22-24. It would appear in fact that the developed conception of the Jewish priest- hood as maintaining the consecration and holiness of the whole nation in its relation to Jehovah, the conception which is prominent in Ezekiel (chap, xliii. ff.) and in the Law of Holiness (Levit. xvii. -xxvi), is but the expression of the fundamental idea of the 'priestly kingdom,' i.e. the ' peculiar 1 people consecrated to Jehovah, cf. Deut. vii. 6, xiv. 2, xxvi. 18. 'The business of the priest,' says Mr. Montefiore (Hibbert Lectures, 1892, p. 318), ' is to make a holy community among whom God may dwell . . . It is the central conception of the priestly code." - jSaffiAetov iepamifto, i Pet ii. 2. /3a<riAei'a, iepeis T<U 9cJ, Rev. i. 6. St. Peter is quoting and St. John referring to the words in Exodus. I do not wish to press the analogy of the old and new covenants too far. Single Christians are often spoken of as ' priests,' and not merely as belonging to a priestly race. This is natural enough. For undoubtedly all Christians have an individual union with God and freedom of approach to God, which (so to speak) individualizes that in them which can be. rightly called priesthood. I only use the argument to prove this that a ministerial priesthood is in no contradictory relation to a general priesthood. 3 Dial. c. Tryph. 116, 117. 8o Christian Ministry. [CHAP. beareth witness Himself, saying that "in every place amongst the gentiles men are offering sacrifices acceptable to Him and pure," and God receives from no man sacrifices, except through His priests. So, then, of all the sacrifices through this name, which Jesus the Christ delivered to be made, that is (the sacrifices) at the Eucharist of the bread and of the cup, which in every place of the earth are made by the Christians, God by anticipation beareth witness that they are acceptable to Him.' Here is indeed a vivid consciousness of the priest- hood, which belongs to the Church as a whole, 1 but finds expression in a great ceremonial action the Eucharist an action which belongs not to the indi- vidual but to the whole body, and is celebrated by the ' president of the brethren.' 2 How, then, is this priesthood interfered with, if we should find reason to believe that Christ Himself ordained ministers of this mystical action such as did actually exist in Justin Martyr's days to be the mouthpieces of the Church in its celebration ? No one, again, is more identified than Irenaeus with the principle of the apostolic succession. He regards it undoubtedly as of the essence of the Church. Her mark, her character, is ' according to the successions of the bishops.' 3 Yet he does not hesitate to say that in some sense ' every just man is 1 It appears that the idea of the priesthood of the Christian Church as a whole carried with it a thought not to be found in the Old Testament, at least directly the thought of approach to God on behalf of others. The Christians are high priests on behalf of the world. They are the ' soul of the world ' ; the world is their prison- house, but they ' keep it together ' (Ep. ad Diognet. 6). They can plead effectually for the empire and mankind. So Aristides, Apol. c. 16 : .' I have no doubt that the world stands by reason of the intercession of Christians,' cf. Tertull. Apol. c. 30. This function of the Church St. Paul presses on St. Timothy. The Church is not to confine intercessions to her own body ' I exhort that prayer, etc. , be made for all men,' ' for God will have all men to be saved ' ; ' He is the Saviour of all men,' though 'specially of them that believe' (i Tim. ii. 1-4; iv. 10). 2 7rpocT'|<tptTai TO! irpoecrrum T<OI> a6eA<f>a>i' aprot (cat TTOTJJpioi' (Apol. i. 65). He offers the prayer and Eucharist, and the people say Amen. This 'president' is presumably the bishop. So Harnack (Expositor, May 1887, p. 336). 3 iv. 33. 8. : ' character corporis Christi secundum successiones episcoporum.' II.] Apostolic Succession. 8 1 of the priestly order/ and 'all the disciples of the Lord are priests and Levites ' that is, they have the freedom of the old priesthood, not its ministry. 1 If it be said that Irenaeus is admittedly ' unsacerdotal,' that is, that he does not apply the term priesthood to the Christian ministry, 2 it may be pointed out, further, that writers, who confessedly are sacerdotal in their conception of the ministry, still continue down and later into the Middle Ages to speak also without hesitation of the general priesthood. 3 For the official hierarchy 1 iv. 8. 5 and v. 34. 3 ; see Lightfoot Dissert, p. 252. The point in both passages is that our Lord in justifying the conduct of His disciples when they broke the Sabbath (St. Matt. xii. 1-5) claimed for them and for David in virtue of their righteousness the freedom of priests, ' who profane the Sabbath and are blameless.' Again, inasmuch as, like the Levites, our Lord's disciples had ' no inheritance,' they could, like the Levites, claim support. Thus ' they were allowed when hungry to take food of the grains.' In both cases the priesthood which belongs to good men or disciples lies in a certain freedom, not in any power of ministry. 2 See further in chap. in. I have endeavoured there to point out that the idea of a gradual growth in sacerdotalism in the early Church hardly corresponds to the facts. There is a change rather in language than in principle. 3 Thus Origen (for whose admittedly sacerdotal view of the ministry see further in chap, m.) in some passages ' takes spiritual enlightenment and not sacerdotal office to be the Christian counterpart to the Aaronic priesthood.' (Lightfoot Dissert. p. 255) ; cf. in loann. i. 3. : ' Those who are devoted to the divine word, and are dedicated sincerely to the sole worship of God, may not unreasonably be called priests and Levites according to the difference in this respect of their impulses tend- ing thereto. . . . Those that excel the men of their own generation perchance will be high-priests' (Lightfoot's trans.); see also in Lev. iv. 6, vi. 5, ix. i, 8, xiii. 5. He uses such language, however, with qualifications 'secundum moralem locum,' ' secundum spiritalem intelligentiam ' (in Lev. i. 5, ii. 4, ix. 6, xv. 3), i.e. he draws a distinction between the moral and ministerial sense of priesthood ; see Dr. Bigg's note, B. L. p. 215 note *. He adds that 'in Num. ii. i . . . priests, virgins, ascetics are said to be in professione religionis; in lesu Nave xvii. 2 shows that there was a strong tendency in Origen's mind to restrict the language concern- ing the priesthood of the Christian to those "religious."' So also among the scholia on the Apocalypse ascribed to Victorinus of Petau (but not by him in their present form) occurs the following one. xx : 'Qui enim virginitatis integrum serva- verit propositum et decalogi fideliter praecepta impleverit . . . iste vere sacerdos est Christi et millenarium numerum perficiens integre creditur regnare cum Christo et apud eum recte ligatus est diabolus.' For a recognition of the general priesthood among later sacerdotal writers, cf. Leo the Great Serm. iii. i: 'ut in populo adoptionis Dei, cuius universitas sacerdotalis atque regalis'est, non praerogativa terrenae originis obtineat unctionem, sed dignatio caelestis gratiae gignat antistitem.' Serm. iv. i : ' In unitate igitur fidei atque baptismatis indiscreta nobis societas et generalis est dignitas, secundum illud beatissimi Petri. . . . Vos autem genus electum, F 82 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. offered no bar to its recognition, provided that the general priesthood was not supposed by those church- men who recognised it (as in fact it was not) to carry with it the power of ministry. It may be worth while to quote a passage which seems to push to its extremest point the right of the priesthood which is common to all in virtue of their baptism and con- firmation. regale sacerdotium.' August, de Civ. Dei xvii. 5. 5: 'Sacerdotium quippe hie ipsam plebem dicit, cuius plebis ille sacerdos est mediator Dei et hominum homo Christus lesus.' Quaest. Evang. ii. 40. 3 : ' Sacerdotium vero ludaeorum nemo fere fidelium dubitat figuram fuisse futuri sacerdotii regalis, quod est in ecclesia, quo consecrantur omnes pertinentes ad corpus Christ! summi et veri principis sacerdotum. Nam nunc et omnes unguuntur quod tune regibus tantum et sacerdotibus fiebat, . . . ipsi nondum accepto baptismatis sacra- mento nondum spiritaliter ad sacerdotes pervenerant.' See the same idea in a collect of the Gelasian Sacramentary (Bright Ancient Collects p. 99). Hence we get a priesthood ascribed, as by St. Irenaeus, to each Christian (though of course as a member of the one body) in virtue of baptism and unction. St. Jerome (adv. Lucifer. 4) writes : 'sacerdotium laici id est baptisma.' So Isidore of Seville (de Eccl. Off. ii. 25) writes : ' Postquam Dominus noster verus rex et sacerdos aeter- nus, a Deo Patre caelesti mystico unguento est delibutus, iam non soli pontifices et reges sed omnis ecclesia unctione chrismatis consecratur, pro eo quod membrum est aeterni sacerdotis et regis. Ergo quia genus regale et sacerdotalc sumus, ideo post lavacrum ungimur, ut Christi nomine censeamur.' Cf. Alcuin [Albinus Flaccus] Ep. ad Oduinum, ap. Hittorp. de Div. Cath. Eccl. Offic. [Colon. 1568] p. 100 : ' Sacro chrismate caput pungitur . . . ut intelligat se diadema regni et sacerdotii dignitatem portaturum ' ; Rabanus Maurus de Inst. Cler. i. 29 ap. Hittorp. p. 322 ; Walafrid Strabo de Reb. Eccl. 16, ap. Hittorp. p. 401 of the common priesthood of all in the Eucharist, the generale sacerdotium; Ivo Carnot. ap. Hittorp. p. 469 ; Paschasius Radbert de corf, et sang. Domini ix. 6 : ' Idcirco teneamus nos ad istum pontificem et sacerdotem Christum, et in illo maneamus, quia per hoc quod ille in nobis est et nos in illo, etiam et ipsi omnes sacerdotes dicimur et sumus ' ; cf. St. Thomas Aquinas Sum. iii. q. 82. art i. ' Laicus iustus unitus est Christo unione spiritali per fidem et charitatem, non autem per sacramentalem potestatem ; et ideo habet spiritale sacerdotium ad offerendum spiritales hostias.' The consideration of such passages as these will serve to show that sacerdotalism is not incompatible with an even zealous recognition of a lay priesthood. The only form of expression which seems to have passed away was that by which all Christians were called in some sense priests and Levites, and even ' high-priests ' (Origen). But they were not so called, either by Origen or Irenaeus, in any sense which sug- gests tninisterial powers. The point of comparison lies in nearness to God and constant service (Origen), or in a certain sort of freedom and privilege (Irenaeus). There is an admirable passage in Mason's Relation of Baptism to Confirmation (Longman 1891) on the common Christian priesthood in its relation to holy orders, pp. 262-3 > ar "d there are in this work frequent examples of its recognition by the Fathers, especially as the result of confirmation (chrism) pp. ii, 148, 160, 201, etc. II.] Apostolic Succession. 83 ' From that day and that hour in which thou earnest out of the font thou art become to thyself a continual fountain, a daily remission. Thou hast no need of a teacher, or of a priest's right hand. As soon as thou ascendedst from the sacred font thou wast clothed in a white robe and anointed with the mystic ointment ; the invocation was made over thee, and the threefold power came upon thee, which filled the new vessel that thou wert with this new teaching. Thenceforth it made thee a judge and arbiter to thyself; it gave thee knowledge to be able of thyself to learn good and evil to discern, that is, between merit and sin. And because thou couldest not, whilst in the prison of the body, remain free from sin, it placed thy remedy after baptism in thyself, it placed remission in thine own judgment, that thou shouldest not, when need should be urgent, 1 seek a priest, but thyself, as a cunning and clear-sighted master, correct thine error within thee and wash away thy sin by penitence ; and so hardness might cease, despair be over, apathy be at an end. The fountain never fails, the water is within, the washing is in thine own judgment ; sanctification is in skilfulness, remission in the dew of tears.' 2 Such language sounds unsacerdotal, but it comes out of the sacerdotal Church of the West in the sixth century, as it would seem. It could have been used in any age previous to the time when confession was made compulsory. But the writer of these words would not have dreamt of admitting that this freedom of the Gospel belonged to a man, except as a member of the Church, baptized and anointed and a communicant, and therefore dependent on the ministry of her clergy. Thus the -principle of the ministry must not be assailed either on the ground that it ' interposes a 1 That is, probably, 'when sin required a remedy." 2 S. Laurentii How. i. de Poenit. Bibl. Max. Vet. Pair. ix. p. 466 h. This and the following sermon of Laurentius (probably of Novera, c. A.D. 507 ; see Diet. Chr. Biog., s. v. LAURENTIUS (15) surnamed Mellifluus) are full of the thought of various activities of the will as opening the way of restoration from sin and making despair foolish : ' Homo, noli diffidere : res in promptu est, vita in nianu est : virtus in voluntate est : victoria in arbitrio est : si voluisti, vicisti ' (I.e. pp. 468-9). The activity emphasized is sometimes penitence and tears ; sometimes almsgiving, ' aqua et ablutio et' remissio in eleemosyna largientis est' (ib.); sometimes fasting (P- 474 g)- 84 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. sacerdotal caste between the soul and God,' or on the ground that it connives at the spiritual indolence of men, by offering them official substitutes to do their religion at second hand. 1 The true The ministerial principle, then the sacerdotalism dttaiism. which cannot be disparaged or repudiated means just this : that Christianity is the life of an organized society in which a graduated body of ordained ministers is made the instrument of unity. The religious life, so far as it concerns the relations of man to God, has two aspects. It is first an approach of man to God. And in this relation each Christian has in his own personal life a perfect freedom of access. But he has this because he belongs to the one body, and this one body has its central act of approach to God in the great memorial oblation of the Death of Christ. Here it approaches in due and consecrated order; all are offerers, but they offer through one who is empowered to this high charge, to ' offer the gifts ' for God's acceptance and the consecration of His Spirit. In the second place, religion is a gift of God to man a gift of Himself. What man receives in Christ is the very life of God. Here again, each Christian 1 A word must be said to vindicate the true sacerdotalism from interfering with the unique Priesthood or High-Priesthood of Christ. Surely the representatives of a king do not interfere with his monarchy, and a Christian minister is in a relation to Christ infinitely more dependent than that of any representative of an absent king to him who sends him. If we were consistent, such a notion of the 'jealousy ' of Christ as militates against a ministerial priesthood would make us 'fifth-monarchy men,' because kings as much interfere with his unique Kingship as ministers do with His Ministry. Nor is it very consistent to accuse the ministerial priesthood at once of interfering with the incommunicable Priesthood of Christ and also with the Priest- hood which he has communicated to all His members. The Church indeed must have a priesthood, not although Christ has one, but because He has. What He is, the Church is in Him. All He is in His Human Nature, the Church is ; in Him the Church has a priesthood therefore, because Christ is Highpriest. The only question is as to the distribution of functions in the Church, and whether Christ has willed to delegate a special sort of authority to a special class of men to be exercised in his name for the good of the whole body and this is a question of evidence, with which we are not yet dealing. II.] Apostolic Succession. 85 receives the gift as an endowment of his own personal life ; his whole life may become a life of grace, a life of drinking in the Divine Spirit, of eating the Flesh of Christ, and drinking His Blood. But the indi- vidual life can receive this fellowship with God only through membership in the one body and by de- pendence upon social sacraments of regeneration, of confirmation, of communion, of absolution of which ordained ministers are the appointed instru- ments. A fundamental principle of Christianity is that of social dependence. In all departments of life we are dependent one on another. There is a priesthood of science minis- tering the mysteries of nature, exercising a very real authority and claiming, very justly, a large measure of deference. There is a priesthood of art, minister- ing and interpreting to men that beauty which is one of the modes of God's revelation of Himself in material forms. There is a priesthood of political influence, and that not exercised at will, but organized and made authoritative in offices of state. 1 There is a natural priesthood of spiritual influence belong- ing (whether they will it or not) to men of spiritual power. It is to this natural priesthood that God offers the support of a visible authoritative com- mission in sacred things ' to feed His sheep.' The Christian ministry is at once, under normal circum- stances, God's provision to strengthen the hands of the spiritual men, the natural guides of souls, by 1 ' If it be granted, as it well may be, that proper qualifications are a hundredfold more requisite for the Christian ministry than for any other office, this would not remove nor lessen the obligation not to dispense with a divine commission, supposing it to have been granted and still attainable, any more than the highest legal know- ledge or perfect integrity of character would dispense with the necessity of a com- mission from the source of temporal power to render the decisions of a magistrate of state binding and effectual ' (Denton Grace of the Ministry p. 23). 86 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. giving them the support which comes of the con- sciousness of an irreversible and authoritative com- mission : and it is also God's provision for days when prophets are few or wanting, that even then there may be the bread of life ministered to hunger- ing souls, and at least the simple proclamation of the revealed truth, so that even then ' men's eyes may see their teachers.' ( 2 ) Unspirit- (2) But it will be said : Such a doctrine would be c^n^t' credible enough if the priests of the Gospel had primal been, or were at present, in the main men of spiritual power, or even universally good men. But how is it conceivable that men of evil or utterly unspiritual lives, such as too many of the clergy have been, can be God's instruments to impart his spiritual gifts to others? Surely spiritual gifts must come from spiritual persons. BuMveare Church history records how strongly this objec- distinguish tion has often appealed to men, but it is one which between r r ' character rather admits of being strongly felt than consistently and office. f p argued. It would have of course much more force if it were possible reasonably to deny that, on the whole, in Christian history spiritual office and spiritual char- acter have tended to converge ; that, on the whole, the ministry has been a spiritualizing force in society. As it is, it may be briefly met with a threefold answer. First, we reply, with Pope Stephen and St. Augustin of old, 1 that ' the unworthiness of the ministers hinders not the grace of the sacrament,' because the Holy Spirit, and not they, is the giver of 1 See Diet. Chr. Biog. s.v. CYPRIAN i. p. 752. Of course the force of this argu- ment depends on the recognition that there are such things as sacramental channels of grace. The personal defects of the minister gain a wholly new importance in religious bodies where sacraments, creeds, and liturgies are unrecognised, i.e. where all his usefulness depends on his personal character and capacities. II.] Apostolic Succession. 87 the grace ; they neither ' give it being nor add force to it.' For according to the truest view of the sacraments the ' grace ' conveyed in them represents the personal action of the Holy Spirit, who on each occasion when the sacrament is duly administered acts afresh, according to the divine promise, from the centre of His own personality. St. Ambrose accord- ingly 1 deprecates the idea of priests being spoken of as having power over the divine gifts which they minister. Secondly and so far as the argument relates to the intention of Christ in founding His Church we reply that He clearly recognised that moral unworthiness does not interfere with official authority. The Scribes and Pharisees who sat in Moses' seat who held, that is, the succession from Moses were to be obeyed, even where they were least to be imitated ; 2 and all ' the twelve ' had equally the authority and powers of the apostolate, though ' one of them was a devil.' 3 Thirdly, we reply that the possibility of ministers unworthy of their office is involved in the very idea of a visible society in which good and bad are to be mixed together. There is really no more difficulty in believing that bad men can share the functions of the ministerial priesthood than that bad men share the priesthood which belongs to all Christians and which differs from the other, as has been said, not in kind but in application and degree. Yet the whole method of appeal used by the apostolic writers to unworthy Christians, is to address them not as men who lack the prerogatives and spiritual powers of 1 See Ambrose De S. S. prol. 18 : ' Nostra enim servitia, seel tua sunt sacramenta. Neque enim humanae opis est flivina conferre.' Cf. Paschasius Radbert </e corp. et sang. Dom. xii. 3 and Lux Mundi (Murray 1895), p. 244. 2 St. Matt, xxiii. 2-3. 3 St. John vi. 70. 88 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. the Christian life, but as men who do not 'walk worthily of the vocation with which they were called.' There is really again no more difficulty in recognising in a bad priest a steward of divine mysteries than in a bad magistrate a steward of divine justice, a ' minister of God for good.' 1 ' There is this difference,' says an old writer, 2 'betwixt the ecclesiastical ministers or magistrates and ministers or magistrates of state ; if these offend, the whole world can distinguish between their persons and their functions ; no disparagement falleth upon any but the offenders. But if ecclesiastical persons become obnoxious, then they confound their persons and their functions, and transfer the shame of the faults of some even upon all, yea upon the whole order itself ( 3 ) 'it is (3) Now we approach another objection: The apostolical succession is associated with bygone ideas of liberty/* of authority, with the divine right of kings, and a state of society which is gone for ever ; it is incom- patible with the true ideal of liberty. But the It i s astonishing how frequently, and from what StTo b<r opposite quarters, we meet with the identification of identified Christianity with that phase of Christianity which is abstimum, characteristic of the Middle Ages. At that period we become witnesses of a process which is at least of absorbing interest. The untamed, undisciplined races which formed the material of modern nations are subjected to the yoke of the Church (mostly at the will of kings or chiefs), as to an external law which is to train, mould, restrain them. The one need of such an age is authority, discipline, rule. The Church 1 Rom. xiii. 3-6. 2 Isidore of Pelusium Epist. ii. 52 (paraphrased by Hickes Dignity of Episc. Ordtr in his Treatises [Oxon. 1847] ii. p. 288). II.] Apostolic Succession. 89 becomes largely a 'schoolmaster to bring men to Christ ' a law preparing for a Gospel. She has, under these circumstances, to do with children in mind. The one faculty which is in full exercise is faith, in the form of a great readiness to accept revelations of the supernatural world and to respect their ministers the sort of faith which wants nothing but dogmatic clearness and a sufficiently firm voice of authority. 1 Christianity thus becomes, by a one- sided development, a great imperial and hierarchical system. Such a state of things is not permanent. Men's faculties develop into free exercise, and constitute their separate departments according to an inevitable law, as knowledge grows and life becomes more complex. Other natural ' priesthoods ' arise in art, in science, in medicine, and politics, in trade, in law and become the successful rivals, in their own spheres, of the spiritual hierarchy. The Church, to all appearance, suffers loss, though in regions which were not properly her own at all, at least in such sense as to justify her in dictating terms to the pioneers in each on their own subject-matter. Thus the area in which religious authority speaks and faith accepts becomes limited. More than this : authority itself tends to change its character ; it ceases to be absolute in religion no less than in politics ; and this change affects the Church, not only as a dogmatic authority, but as a government. It affects her hier- archical system. Mere imperialism will no longer suffice, at least for the most vigorous or intelligent 1 The saintly writers, like St. Bernard, who lived in these vaunted 'ages of faith,' do not suggest a too favourable view of them. They help us to see that an un- spiritual credulity, such as characterized those times, is no nearer Christian faith, in its full sense, than a good deal of modern scepticism. 9O Christian Ministry. [CHAP. races, in the Church, any more than in the State. Democracy, the representative system, is in the air as much as free inquiry and has to be reckoned with. and true But in politics this transition does not mean a liberty is ' ' opposed to repudiation of the principle of authority. ' What absolutism * tit- / I-IT not to the world thirsts for at present, said Joseph Mazzmi, authority , J . r who was surely no friend to despotism, ' is authority. * What has come about is a change in the conditions of authority, in the character which it must assume. This holds true in the Church also ; there, too, authority must cease to be absolutism and faith mere acceptance. Authority, however, is not less real because it is limited, or faith less zealous be- cause it is rational and inquiring. 2 But then it is said : ' You are really abandoning the principle ; you are only trying to cloak your surrender by keeping a name, emptied of its power. The authority of a Church or hierarchy really ceases when it cannot dictate its own terms, when it has to submit to criticism.' To this objection there seems to be a complete answer, and one which needs to be forced on the consideration of men. Christianity did not come into existence in the West or just in time for the Middle Ages. Christianity spread in a Greek world in a society of the most developed sort, 1 See his Thoughts upon Democracy in Europe, cf. ' On the Duties of Man,' chap. viii : ' Liberty is not the negation of all authority : it is the negation of every autho- rity which fails to represent the Collective Aim of the nation.' 2 ' Is a limited, conditional government in the State such a wise, excellent, and glorious constitution? And is the same authority in the Church such absurdity, nonsense, and nothing at all, as to any actual power ? If there be such a thing as obedience upon rational motives, there must be such a thing as authority that is not absolute, or that does not require a blind, implicit obedience. Indeed, rational creatures can obey no other authority ; they must have reasons for what they do. And yet because the Church claims only this rational obedience, your Lordship explodes such authority as none at all ' (Law's First Letter pp. 67-8). II.] Apostolic Succession. 91 containing all the elements of intellectual develop- ment in free activity. If we want to know the original character of Christian authority and Chris- tian faith, we should study Greek church life from St. Paul to the fifth century, or, at any rate, early church life before Western Christianity took the peculiar colour of Romanism. We are concerned here, however, not with Chris- Government ... i i * / i' n tne ear 'y tianity as a dogma, but with the social life and church was _,, 1.1 representa- government of the Church. In this department tive. then, when we look back to the life of the early Christian communities, what a beautiful picture of freedom, of representative institutions, of the corre- lation of rights and duties, we find for our contem- plation. The sacred ministry receives indeed its authority from above and acts in God's name, as God's representative ; but the man who is to minister is the elect of the people, and is their representative also. Thus the Apostles ordained the first deacons, but the Church elected them. ' Look ye out, brethren, from among you seven men of good report, whom we may appoint over this business.' So spoke the Apostles to the first Christians. 'And the saying pleased the whole multitude : and they chose seven men : whom they set before the Apostles : and when they had prayed, they laid their hands upon them.' So in the subapostolic age Clement speaks of the presbyter-bishops as ordained from above, 1 but with the consent of the whole Church, and in such a way as to suggest that, under certain circumstances, they were not exempt from the judgment of the Church. Other documents of the first age speak in the same way of the election of bishops by the com- 1 Clem, ad Cor. 40 and 44. More will be said on this. 92 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. munity. 1 Nor does this method of popular election, or control over election, appear only in the dim shadow of the subapostolic age : counteracted at all times by other influences, 2 it yet lasted on as the ideal of the Church for centuries. The emperor Alexander Severus ' was fond of praising the careful way in which the Church posted the names of all whom she destined for the priesthood, so that any, who knew evil of them, might object.' 3 He would have it made a model in the appointment of provincial governors. We know, again, that the bishop to be elected over any Church was to be thoroughly known in the Church one who had passed through the inferior grades of the ministry. ' That custom is to be diligently observed,' says Cyprian, ' as of divine tradition and apostolic observance, which is main- tained amongst us also and almost over all provinces, that, with a view to the due celebration of ordina- tions, the neighbouring bishops of the same province should come together to the community for which a ruler is to be ordained, and the bishop should be chosen in the presence of the people who have com- plete knowledge of each man's life and conduct by his conversation among them.' 4 This popular check on ordinations he requires no less for the presbyterate and the diaconate. So, again, it is regarded by Pope 1 Didache xv. t : \(ipoTovri<ra.Te oJiv favrols eiritrKoirovs icai SiaKoyovs. Cf. also the very ancient Egypt. Ch. Ordinances 16 : 'If there be a paucity of men, and in any place there be a number less than twelve of those who can vote for a bishop,' and Canones Hippolyti ii. (Texte w. Untersuch. Bd. vi. p. 39). 2 As in the first period by prophetic nomination ; see Clem. Alex. Quis Dives 42 : ' St. John would go about here to appoint bishops, . . . there to ordain to the clergy some one of those pointed out by the Spirit.' 3 Mason Diocletian Persecution pp. 84, and 85 n.l 'dicebatque grave esse, cum id Christian! et ludaei facerent in praedicandis sacerdotibus qui ordinandi sunt, non fieri in provinciarum rectoribus quibus et fortunae hominum committerentur et capita' (Ael. Lampr. Alex. xlv. 7). * Ep. Ixvii. 5 ; see Bingham Ant. ii. 10. 2. II.] Apostolic Succession. 93 Julius as monstrous that ' Gregory, a stranger to the city, who had not been baptized there and was not known to the community in general and had not been asked for by presbyters or bishops or people,' should be obtruded on the Church of Alexandria, 'whereas the ordination of a bishop ought not to have taken place thus lawlessly and contrary to the ecclesiastical canon, but he should have been ordained in the Church itself (over which he is to rule), out of the priesthood, out of the actual body of the clergy, and not, as now, in violation of the canons which come from the Apostles.' x Priscillian the Spaniard, again, gives us, as the sentiment of the bishops con- temporary with him in Spain about A.D. 380, the view that, 'as a bishop's consecration lies with the bishop, so the choice of whom to ask for lies with the people.' 2 Once more Leo the Great, ' the founder of the papacy,' writes : ' He who is to preside over all must be elected by all.' ' Before a consecration must go the suffrages of the citizens, the approbation of the people, the judgment of persons of distinction, the choice of the clergy that the rule of apostolic authority may be in all respects observed, which en- joins that a priest to govern the Church should be supported not only by the approval of the faithful, but also by the testimony of those without.' ' No metropolitan should we allow to ordain a priest (bishop) on his own judgment without the consent of clergy and people : the consent of the whole com- munity must elect the president of the Church ' : only where division makes unanimity impossible the 1 ap. A than. Apol. c. Ar. 30. 2 Priscillian, Tract, ii. p. 40 (ed. Schepss in the Vienna Corpus Script. Eccl. Lot.) : ' sicut dedicationem sacerdotis in sacerdote, sic electionem consistere petition!.-, [in] plebe.' 94 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. metropolitan may decide the election in favour of the man who has the best support. ' No reason can tolerate that persons should be held to be bishops ' (so he says on another occasion to the African clergy) ' who were neither chosen by the clergy, nor demanded by the laity, nor ordained by the provincial bishops with the consent of the metropolitan.' 1 Quota- tions to this effect might be greatly multiplied, and from later sources. The Latin rites of ordina- tion are framed in recognition of this represen- tative system. 2 This then was undoubtedly the ideal of the bishop's election in the early Church. 3 The bishop was to be really the persona of the Church he ruled. This, moreover, he was enabled to be in some real sense in virtue of the very small community over which he presided. Through the greater part at least of the Roman empire each town-community had its bishop, and the country-bishop supplemented his authority in the surrounding district, first in the East and later in the West. The bishop of Rome was in an extraordinary position in the middle of the third century, because he had under him as many as forty-six presbyters, seven deacons, and seven sub- deacons, besides those of minor orders. 4 Ordinarily the numbers would have been very much smaller. Thus the bishop, according to the early ideal, was by no means the great prelate ; he was the pastor of 1 Leo Epp. x. 4-6 ; xiii. 3 ; xiv. 5 ; clxvii. i. 2 See App. Note C. Cf. also R. B. Rackham in Essays on Church Reform (Murray 1898) pp. 72 ff. 3 On the extent and limits of its observance see Bingham Ant. ii. 10. 3-7 ; also Diet. Chr. Ant. s. v. BISHOP. Mr. Haddan, the author, remarks how vaguely the words suffragium testimonium indicium consensus are used (i. p. 214). Vague unformulated rights are more easily overridden. 4 Euseb. H.E. vi. 43. II.] Apostolic Succession. 95 a flock, like the vicar of a modern town, in intimate relations with all his people. 1 Nor was he in theory absolute even within the and not absolute. limits of his 'parish' or diocese. For, in the first place, he was himself subject to the laws which he administered. When St. Chrysostom is referring to the custom of holding the Gospel over the head of the bishop who is being ordained, he says that it is to remind him that ' if he is the head of all, yet he acts under these laws (of the Gospel), ruling all and ruled by the law, ordering all and himself ordered ' : it is a symbol of the fact that he is ' under authority.' 2 At first indeed this authority had no visible sanction ; St. Cyprian claims repeatedly for the bishop that he is ' responsible to none but God.' Later it came to be embodied in provincial and ecumenical councils. Secondly, within his own diocese he shared his rule with others. No doubt his power was not subject to formal limitations ; but round him there was the council of his presbyters, ' the Church's senate ' ; 3 and St. Cyprian tells us that he made it a fixed rule from his consecration 'to do nothing on his own private judgment, but everything with the counsel of his clergy and the consent of his laity.' 4 The whole conception indeed of the diocesan synod was the basis of a great representative system which culminated at last in the ecumenical council. 5 Thus the ideal of church government in early days was not at all absolute. If the guilds of the Roman 1 The facts are well known: see Bingham Ant. ii. 12, Hatch B.L. lect. viii. The principle is exemplified in the Apost. Ch. Ordinances 16. 2 Bingham Ant. ii. n. 8. 3 Bingham Ant. ii. 19. 7. 4 Ep. xiv. 4. See other references in Bingham Ant. ii. 19. 7, 8. 5 Cf. art. CYPRIAN in Diet. Chr. Biog. \. p. 753 : ' the assembly representative : each bishop the elect of his flock.' Th^change g6 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. empire represented, as they did, the elements of free life and spontaneous movement through all the classes of non-Christian society down to the lowest, the principle of liberty and spontaneity was at least as prominent and real in the supernatural society of the Church. It was by no means necessarily an impe- rialist institution, though its officers were of divine authority and apostolic descent. Q ass j m ii a t e the Church to the empire in ideas and methods no less than in gradation of dignities. In the West the essentially imperialist temper of Rome moulded the institutions of Christen- dom, and gave them a new direction and new charac- teristics. Thus in the fifth century Socrates remarks that ' the episcopate of the Romans, like that of the Alexandrians, had already for some time advanced beyond the limits proper to the priesthood to the point of despotism.' 1 So it was that episcopacy passed into a new phase. The authority of kings and popes overwhelmed the democratic elements in the Christian polity. If they survived, they survived rather as names and forms than as realities. But names and forms still bear witness beyond their present power to a principle which is not dead. Thus the mediaeval and modern prelate, Anglican or Roman, is not the only, or the original, type of bishop. He differs a good deal from the bishop of the earliest period not indeed in fundamental, spiritual principle, but in outward appearance and rank. 2 We need not necessarily deplore the change. 1 ire'pa TTJS itptixrvvrii e?rl &vva.<rreiav ffSri TraAai TrpoeAflouorjs {H.E. vii. n). He is speaking of Celestine suppressing the Novatian body in Rome. Cf. vii. 7. 2 Dr. Hatch describes the change in B.L. lect. viii and Growth of Ch. Instil. See also Rosmini Five Wounds of the Holy Church ch. v. II.] Apostolic Succession. 97 The age of barbarism and the age of feudalism had each its own needs, and the Church adapted herself to them. But there is a protest, based on the facts of church history, which it is essential to make : it is against all language such as would imply that Christianity had no history before it became domi- nated by imperialism and embedded in feudalism. The catholic principle is not Romanism merely or Byzantinism, nor is it identified with the Anglican episcopate of monarchical and aristocratic days. It has its roots deeper down in human nature than any of these. If, then, the imperialism which coloured not church theology and church organization is becoming ^' a thing of the past, there is nothing in church prin- ciples to prevent our saying : Let it die. ' The powers that be' the actually existing authorities of the new age ' are ordained of God.' Meanwhile let us disentangle the essential and permanent creed, the essential and permanent organization, from the passing phase of civilization in which it has become embedded ; let us make clear what church principles essentially are. We shall not be afraid of the ( democratic ' temper within the Church, so far as it is a return upon the Church's earliest spirit or an application of it. There is however one essential principle of all politics, secular and spiritual, which must be kept steadily in view : ' political rights are only the correlative of political duties done.' This is always the church principle. Whatever rights the Christian layman should have, it must be as a Christian layman, i.e. as subject himself to the divine authority of the Gospel and to the Church, the common mother of clergy and of laity. For it is only as subject to discipline that we can take any G 98 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. part in the exercise of it, and the lesson which Chrysostom finds in the ceremony of episcopal con- secration applies to the layman in his degree, at least as much as to the bishop in his : ' the layman is bound by the layman's ordinances.' ( 4 ) -it can- (4) It has been contended by Lord Macaulay not have . , * been and the contention was not a new one that, how- unbroken. 1 ever much the Church may have insisted on apostolic succession, as a matter of fact the chances are over- whelming against its having been preserved. ' Whether a given clergyman be really a successor of the Apostles depends on an immense number of such contingencies as these ; whether, under King Ethel- wolf, a stupid priest might not, while baptizing several scores of Danish prisoners who had just made their option between the font and the gallows, inadvertently omit to perform the rite on one of these graceless proselytes ; whether, in the seventh century, an impostor, who had never received con- secration, might not have passed himself ofT as a bishop on a rude tribe of Scots ; whether a lad of twelve did really, by a ceremony huddled over when he was too drunk to know what he was about, convey the episcopal character to a lad of ten.' 1 Thisobjec- Such an argument has nothing to recommend it noThohT; except the vigour of Lord Macaulay 's style. Indeed, if we take it on its own level, its force is gone when once it is borne in mind that failures of baptism do not enter into the question of the permanent succes- sion, except where the person whose baptism was omitted or irregular subsequently became a bishop ; 1 Essay on Gladstone on Church and State. Chillingworth cannot be quoted in this sense, because in his argument (Relig. of Prof. ch. ii. 67) he is taking into account that ' very dungeon of uncertainty,' the Romanist doctrine of intention. II.] Apostolic Succession. 99 and that invalidating irregularities in episcopal ordina- tions, when they exist, would not have the effect which the objection supposes, because succession comes of interlacing lines, each bishop having as a rule been consecrated by three of his order. 1 In fact it has been mathematically argued that, even if we make the absurd supposition of one consecrator in twenty at any particular moment in history having been, through some accident, himself not validly consecrated, the chances will be 8000 : I against all three consecrators in any given case being in a like position, and the chances against a bishop consecrated under such circumstances, who would thus be no bishop, being combined with coadjutors similarly incapacitated to continue the succession, are 'as 5 1 2,000,000,000 to unity.' 2 But a much better answer to such a suggested and we are . . . r . responsible difficulty lies in the consideration that, if we have f r n mre i i i /--it 11 than obe- reason to believe that Christ intended to institute a self-perpetuating ministry in His Church, He makes Himself responsible for its possibility, and His power is not limited by such material conditions. * Leaving, then, all hidden things to Him to whose sole cogni- zance they belong, we may securely depend on His goodness and justice, that so long as His sacred appointments are maintained, as far as lies in our 1 The three consecrators were required originally not to secure validity (in case one of the bishops was, by some accidental omission of a necessary rite, no real bishop at all), but as a guarantee of general provincial recognition. The other con- sideration is perhaps too materialistic to have entered into the mind of the early Church. When things were duly done according to Christ's ordinance, they were regarded as certainly having His certificate. But when validity came to be conceived under more materialistic conditions at a later period of theology, it was natural to suppose that each bishop who joined in the act of consecration gave additional security that it was valid. They were cooperatores and not merely testes. The point is, however, discussed : see Estcourt Question of Angl. Ord. pp. 110-114. I do not pursue the question, because I do not lay stress on the argument in the text. - Gladstone Ch. Princ. pp. 235, 236. roo Christian Ministry. [CHAP. power, we shall never suffer through any secret blemish or incapacity of His ministers.' x ( 5 ) ' it would (5) ' But,' it will be exclaimed, ' however reasonable non-epTsco- the idea of B. ministerial succession may be however adaptable in principle to new conditions of society and thought in fact it has become so unreasonable and so stereotyped, so fatally conservative of what was shown to be false and corrupt, at epochs of past history that great Christian nations, or great bodies of Christian men, have broken away from its organi- zation. Are these, then, which have no succession, or a succession which you declare invalid, to be "unchurched" to be declared outside the pale of the covenant and left in unrecognised isolation?' This question is always being asked in tones of passionate appeal or indignant remonstrance. As we shall have occasion to recur to the problem the Preliminary less need be said here. Suppose, however, an im- partial investigation to convince us that a ministerial succession was really part of Christ's intention and belongs only to the episcopal Churches in a legitimate sense, it will surely be our duty to maintain it and be faithful to it. Nor, if we are at all familiar with the disappointing side of church history, shall we be greatly surprised that its corruptions have bred revolt. These corruptions are, no doubt, so many apologies for the revolters. It is conceivable that they may reach the point of excusing revolt in particular cases and throwing the blame of it on the representatives of authority. If that were so, or so far as it was so, we shall abstain from condemning individuals or races, but we shall not abandon principles. Men are dealt with according to their opportunities ; and as God's love is not limited by His covenant, so He can 1 Archbp. Potter : quoted by Denton Grace of the Ministry p. 258. II.] Apostolic Succession. 101 work through ministrations which are not ' valid ' that is, ministrations which have not the security of the covenant. But though God can do this, we have no right to claim it of Him. If He is not bound to His sacraments, we men, up to the limits of our know- ledge, 1 certainly are. However excusable many may be in ignorance of divine institutions, we shall not be excusable if we are faithless to them for fear of hurting other men's feelings or disturbing existing arrange- ments. Such conduct would be most false charity, most real treachery. Bishop Butler 2 reminds us ' how great presumption it is to make light of any institu- tions of divine appointment ' ; and he emphasizes to us 'the moral obligation, in the strictest and most proper sense,' which attaches to any command 'merely positive, admitted to be from God.' And if anything could increase this obligation, it would be the sense that we are living through an age of change. It is when there is a general ' shaking ' of existing estab- lishments of all that has been merely recognised and customary that religiously- minded men are likely to be driven back upon those institutions which can give the completest guarantee of security and permanence. With this much preface, giving (it may be hoped) a clearer idea of what the principle of the ministry and of the apostolic succession may really be said to mean, we turn to the witness of history. 1 When we speak of ' essentials ' in religion, it is of course important to recall that God is a father and equitable, and that His action is not tied to His covenanted channels. There is a useful distinction drawn hy Roman Catholic theologians between things necessary to salvation necessitate medii, i.e. absolutely and in all cases, and things necessary necessitate praecepti, i.e. obligatory upon all who are within the hearing of a divine ordinance. Only the right disposition of will is (we may say) essential in the first sense. This may exist under all conditions of ignorance. All else is necessary in proportion as we come under the responsibilities of nearness to God's revelation of Himself (cf. Newman's Parochial Sermons vol. vi. pp. 170, 171' Faith the Title for Justification '). a Analogy part 11. ch. i. CHAPTER III THE WITNESS OF CHURCH HISTORY The ministry T H E conception of the Christian ministry described in church history [ n the last chapter is confessedly no mere ideal. It represents what has been, beyond a doubt, a fact of primary importance in the Christianity of history. In many respects, indeed, if we were to trace back the genealogy of the ministry in the Church, we should find that it has passed through strange vicissitudes, and from time to time has wonderfully changed its appearance. It may be well to call attention to this at once, so that variations of aspect, which are even startling, may serve to make more emphatic the principles and facts which have been throughout permanent and unchanging. 1 in spite of For example, the episcopate of the first period, features when, speaking generally, every town Church had its independent episcopal organization and country bishops arose to superintend the scattered flocks of the rural districts, was a very different thing from the episcopate of the mediaeval epoch, when the great dioceses of Teutonic Europe were formed, when bishops became great feudal lords, and the feudal character at times almost superseded the spiritual. Very different again was the organization of the Celtic 1 Cf. Dr. Liddon A Father in Christ p. 26 f. CHAP, ill.] The Witness of Church History. 103 Church of Ireland (and thence of Scotland), where the presbyter-abbots were the real ecclesiastical rulers and the succession of abbots the important succession, while the episcopate, indefinitely multiplied, had its place only as the necessary ' instrument of spiritual generation,' or the appropriate decoration of sanctity, in entire subordination to the monastic authority. Again, there have been vast changes in the relation of the bishops to secular society, and in their relation to one another. There has been the slow develop- ment of the metropolitan system on the lines of the imperial organization ; the upgrowth of the papacy ; the rise of national Churches ; the schisms of the eleventh and sixteenth centuries. There have been ' Erastian ' epochs, whether under the Byzantine and Prankish emperors or under English kings, and epochs, on the other hand, when a king 1 could com- plain that 'absolutely the only persons who reign are the bishops,' or when a pope could claim, as in the famous bull Unam Sanctam, to have the sword of secular authority committed to him as well as that of ecclesiastical government. Again, there have been days when bishops adminis- tered, and submitted to, a rigorous discipline, such as finds expression in the early Spanish council of Elvira, and days of the collapse of discipline, such as gives the tone of something like despair to the lamen- tations of Basil and Gregory of Nyssa in the Arian period in the East, or such as Isidore and Gregory of Tours describe in the West. There have been, once again, great changes in the idea of episcopal election, as it passes out of the 1 Chilperic (Greg. Tur. H. F. vi. 46); but the context, as well as the circumstances, take away from the force of this. IO4 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. primitive method which made the bishop the real representative of the community in the midst of which he had grown up, ' behaving himself well in the inferior offices/ to become the prerogative in fact, if not in name, of metropolitans, or popes, or kings. has been These have been immense changes. In part they fhrou r ghout have been inevitable and beneficial ; in part the cipiesf prm recognition of them should be a stimulus to the Church to recover in idea, and so at last in fact, a primitive standard which ought never to have been abandoned. But all through these changes there have been certain fixed principles l of supreme im- portance, which have been uniformly maintained, and which all the changes in outward circumstance only serve to throw into stronger relief, and it is with these alone that we are here concerned. These fixed principles represent what the Church has continuously believed with reference to the ministry, and con- sistently acted upon (let us say to start with) since the middle of the second century down to the period of the Reformation. They may be expressed thus : such as the (i) that Christ instituted in His Church, by suc- requirement r t A i of apostolic cession from the Apostles, a permanent ministry of succession, . , , . .. , etc. truth and grace, of the word and sacraments, as an indispensable part of her organization and con- tinuous corporate life : (2) that while there are different offices in this ministry, especially an episcopate, a presbyterate, and a diaconate with functions and mutual relations 1 A sermon of Dean Stanley's ' The Burning Bush' (quoted in Remarks on Dr. Light/oofs Essay on the Christian Ministry, by C. Wordsworth, Bishop of St. Andrews, pp. 2-6) illustrates how these fixed principles can be ignored. He describes, for instance, the mediaeval abbeys and the great universities as ' fragments of presbyterianism imbedded in the midst of the episcopate ' (p. 4). Their relation to the papacy is quite forgotten. III.] The Witness of Church History. 105 fundamentally fixed, though containing also variable elements there belongs to the order of Bishops, 1 and to them alone, the power to perpetuate the ministry in its several grades, by the transmission of the authority received from the Apostles, its original depositaries ; so that, as a consequence, no ministry except such as has been received by epi- scopal ordination can be legitimately or validly exercised in the Church : (3) that the transmission of ministerial authority, or Ordination, is an outward act, of a sacramental character, in which the laying-on of hands, with prayer, is ' the visible sign.' It will appear also (4) that the Church, without change of principle, and merely by the clearing-up of ideas, came to reckon the effect of ordination as indelible, and to recognise as a Priesthood the ministry of bishops and presbyters, which it conferred. The general recognition of these principles during the period specified will hardly be matter of dispute. ' In the latter part of the second century of the Christian era, the subject [of the apostolic succession] came into distinct and formal view ; and from that 1 I reckon the bishops as a distinct order ; see, however, on the supposed anomaly of the Church of Alexandria, and what it implies, pp. 124 ff. and 302 ff. The later tendency to reckon the episcopate as constituting with the presbyterate only one ordo sacerdotum (Catech. Cone. Trident, ii. 7. 25) was due partly to the desire to emphasize the pre-eminent dignity of the sacerdotium; partly to the desire to reduce church orders to the mystical number of seven ; partly to the wide influence of Jerome in the West (see below pp. 157 ff.). It has its parallel in early days when the bishop was sometimes reckoned with the presbytery. But so long as bishops are regarded as having special functions of their own, which presbyters cannot validly perform, and are ordained with a special ordination (Catech. Cone. Trident. I.e.) the exact ordering of grades is rather a matter of nomenclature. See on the varia- tions Diet, Chr. Ant. ii. pp. 1474-5 s - v - ORDERS, HOLY. Morinus, however, among more recent Roman theologians (A.D. 1686) says of those who reckon eight orders of the ministry, major and minor, by counting the episcopate as a distinct order : ' huic sententiae plurimum favent rituales omnes tarn Graeci quam Latini et universa prope ecclesiae traditio ' (de S. Ord. p. iii. ex. i. 2. 26), and his authority is deservedly very high. io6 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. time forward it seems to have been considered by the great writers of the catholic body a fact too palpable to be doubted, and too simple to be mis- understood.' l The agreement, however, as to what has historically been accepted in the Church on the subject of the ministry is not nearly complete Evidence enough to render argument unnecessary. We pro- i. or the ceed then, first of all, to review the evidence for the episcopal successions existence of the threefold ministry, after the middle from A. D. 150. f . * o-ii of the second century, 2 with the accompanying principle of the apostolic succession and the limita- tion to bishops of the right of ordination. as appealed I. The basis shall be laid in the testimony of aeus. Irenaeus. Irenaeus had been born in Asia Minor not later than A.D. 130.* He tells us that in early youth he had sat at the feet of Polycarp, ' who had been appointed by Apostles a bishop for Asia in the Church of Smyrna' a venerable old man, whose appearance and ways of life were, he assures us, indelibly imprinted on his memory and that he had listened to his discourses in public and private, 4 and that he had also had opportunities of instruction by Asiatic 'elders,' amongst whom some at least had been disciples of Apostles. Thus imbued with the traditions of the Asiatic Church, in which especially St. John's influence was a living reality, he passed as a young man, probably before Polycarp's martyrdom (c. A.D. 155), from Asia to Rome. How long he remained there we do not know ; but at the latest in the year 177, when the persecution fell upon the Churches of South Gaul and the aged bishop Pothinus 1 Gladstone Church Principles p. 189. 2 The reason for not at first going back behind about A.D. 150 will appear after- wards, p. 199. 3 For this and other details of St. Irenaeus' life see Diet. Chr. Biog. iii. p. 253 f. * See his epistle to Florinus in Euseb. H. E. v. 20. III.] The Witness of Church History. 107 was one of many victims, Irenaeus was a presbyter of Lyons, and he succeeded the martyr in his episcopal see. Previously, however, he had visited Rome, in order ' to promote the peace of the Church ' by bearing communications from the Gallican con- fessors to Eleutherus, the bishop, on the subject of the Montanist controversy. 1 True to his name of ' peaceful/ he again intervened, as has been already mentioned, in the dispute between Victor of Rome and the Asiatic Churches in the matter of keeping Easter, to rebuke Victor for his hasty breach of ecclesiastical unity on the ground of an indifferent matter of custom, not of the faith. Thus much account of the man has been given in The value of order to emphasize his remarkable connection alike with the apostolic traditions which lingered in that last home of the apostolic band, the Churches of Asia, and with the sentiments of the contemporary Churches both of East and West. Irenaeus was fitted by cir- cumstances, as well as by character, to be what he pre-eminently claims to be, the staunch maintainer of apostolic tradition. Of course the 'tradition of the elders ' 2 to which he so frequently refers is not infallible. 3 Elders may have made mistakes, or Irenaeus' memory may have been treacherous as to this or that point of their record, in spite of his 1 Euseb. H. E. v. 3, 4 : Diet. Chr. Biog. iii. p. 937 s.v. MONTANUS. It \& possible that there was at this time no other episcopal see in Gaul than that of Lyons and that Irenaeus was consecrated at Rome. Eusebius speaks of the irapoixiai xara raAAiap as Ecp7)i/aZo5 eTreaxoTret, but cf. M. Tixeront Les origines de ffglise ctEdesse (Paris, 1888) p. 14. 2 ap. Euseb. H. E. v. 20 (the epistle to Florinus). 3 He gives us, on the authority not only of Papias but also of other ' elders ' who remembered St. John to have related it among our Lord's discourses, the fabulous prophecy ascribed to Him of the Millennial Vines (v. 33. 3, 4). He bases also on the authority of these same elders ' all the elders who had intercourse with John, the disciple of the Lord, in Asia ' as recording St. John's teaching, the statement that our Lord was over forty years old (ii. 22. 5). io8 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. assertion that he recalled the scenes of his youth when he was in the company of Polycarp in all their details with more precision than recent events. The value of tradition depends very much on the exact point for which it is alleged. But a mistake or failure of memory, not hard to account for in details of tradition, cannot invalidate his testimony in matters of such primary importance as the character and traditional reputation of the church ministry, or, to take another example, the authority of the four Gospels during the period covered by his own eastern and western experience. On such matters a mistake is hardly possible. We take Irenaeus, then, for our primary witness as to the apostolic succession. He is combating Gnosticism in his great work Against the Heresies, written probably during his episcopate ; and in view of the imaginative idealism of the Gnostic teachers, he rests his case in the main on the historical revelation. He is therefore not so much occupied in developing a Christian ' science ' over against the ' science falsely so called ' of his opponents this was rather the work of the Alexandrians as in emphasizing what the rule of faith has been in the Churches as derived from the apostolic preaching. 1 In the consent of all the Churches he finds the security of the tradition. The case was put by his more epigrammatic disciple Tertullian in the question : ' Is it probable that so many Churches of such importance should have hit by an accident of error on an identical creed ? ' 2 There is, then, ever before Irenaeus' eye, the picture <xAt)(W)S y TU>V awoa*r6\<av SiSa^y Kal TO apxatov rijs eKicArj<7tas Kara wai/ros rov KOIT/J.OV (iv. 33. 8). ' Ecquid verisimile est, ut tot ac tantae [ecclesiae] in unam fidem erraverint?' (de Praescr. 28.) III.] The Witness of Church History. 109 of the universal Church, spread over all the world, His appeal ,,. , . ,, . , ..to the handing down in unbroken succession the apostolic episcopal truth : and the bond of unity, the link to connect the generations in the Church, is the episcopal succession. Irenaeus' use of language, indeed, about the bishop is not quite determinate ; l the venerable title of ' presbyter,' the ' ancient ' or ' elder,' is still used in an inclusive sense for the Church's rulers. But the idea is quite determinate. He regards the bishops in every Church as succeeding in an especial sense to the Apostles. They represent in every place by apostolic succession the catholic faith ; they have the ' gift of the truth ' and the apostolic authority of government ; 2 they are the guardians also no doubt of the grace by which Christians live, of which as much as of the truth the Church is the ' rich treasury.' 3 But it is mainly as preserving the catholic traditions that Irenaeus regards the apostolic succession. From this point of view he makes it without hesitation one of the primary essentials of Christianity. 1 That is, he calls the bishops also presbyters. See iii. 3. 2 (compared with til. a. 2) ; iv. 26. a, 4, 5 ; Ep. ad. Viet. ap. Euseb. H. E. \. 24. So the Anonymous Presbyter who writes against Montanism (ap. Euseb. H. E. v. 16) speaks of the church authorities at Ancyra, bishop no doubt included, as ' the presbyters.' So (as will appear) Clem. Alex., Origen, Firmilian. 2 ' Charisma veritatis certum ' (iv. 26. 2) ; ' quos et successores [apostoli] relinque- bant suum ipsorum locum magisterii tradentes ' (iii. 3. i). 3 ' Depositorium dives' (iii. 4. i). Cf. iii. 24. i, where he speaks of the Church as possessing ' earn quae secundum salutem hominum est solitam operationem, quae est in fide nostra ; quam perceptam ab ecclesia custodimus et quae semper a Spiritu Dei, quasi in vase bono eximium quoddam depositum iuvenescens et iuvenescere faciens ipsum vas'_in quo est. Hoc enim ecclesiae creditum est Dei munus, quemadmodum ad inspirationem plasmationi, ad hoc ut omnia membra percipientia vivificentur : et in eo disposita [? deposits] est communicatio Christi, id est Spiritus sanctus, arrha incor- ruptelae et confirmatio fidei nostrae et scala ascensionis ad eum. In ecclesia enim, inquit, posuit Deus apostolos, prophetas, doctores et universam reliquam opera- tionem Spiritus, cuius non sunt participes omnes qui non currunt ad ecclesiam. . . . Ubi enim ecclesia, ibi et Spiritus Dei, et ubi Spiritus Dei, illic ecclesia et omnis gratia ; Spiritus autem veritas. Quapropter qui non participant eum, neque a mammillis matris nutriuntur in vitam, neque percipiunt de corpore Christi proce- dentem nitidissimum fontem.' We observe here in what close and inseparable con- 1 10 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. ' The true knowledge ' (so he calls the Christian religion) ' is the doctrine of the Apostles, and the ancient system of the Church in all the world : and the character of the body of Christ, according to the successions of the bishops, to whom they [the Apostles] delivered the Church in each separate place : the complete use (moreover) of the Scriptures which has come down to our time, preserved without corruption, receiving neither addition nor loss ; its public reading without falsification ; legitimate and careful exposition according to the Scriptures, without peril and without blasphemy : and the pre-eminent gift of love. ' 1 Again, ' The way of those who belong to the Church is encompassing the whole world, because it holds the tradition firm from the Apostles, and enables us to see that the faith of all is one and the same, while all teach one and the same God the Father, and believe the same dispensation of the Incarnation of the Son of God, and acknowledge the same gift of the Spirit, and meditate the same precepts, and preserve the same form of that ordination which belongs to the Church, and expect the same coming of the Lord, and await the same salvation of the whole man, both soul and body.' 2 These summary statements of what constitutes nection he puts the gifts of grace and truth. The gifts of grace he connects specially with the sacraments, regeneration with baptism (v. 15. 3), incorruption with the Eucharistic gifts (iv. 18. 5 : cos yo-P <"ro yijs apros, 7rpo<7Aam/3ai>6fiei'Os -rr\v exKArjaip TOU Oeov. ov/ce'ri KOivbs apros itrriv, aAA' cvx a P to " rt ' a > * K &v irpayfidriav <rvv eo"n)Kuta, finyeiov re icai ovpaviov. otirw? Kal TO. tria^a/ra. Vj/xwi/ /aeraA.a/i/Sai/oi'Ta rijs evxapiorias /itrjKeVi elvai </>0apra). It cannot, I think, be reasonably doubted that Irenaeus would have regarded the episcopate as entrusted with the ministry of the sacraments, no less than of the truth, though it was not his present business to lay stress on this ; cf. his words to Victor (ap. Euseb. H. E. v. 24) : ' Anicetus allowed Polycarp to celebrate the Eucharist in the Church at Rome ' (Trapex^pijcrei/ T*IV cvxapurriav). Already in Clement's epistle (c. 44) the 'offering of the gifts' is the characteristic function of the bishop. 1 iv. 33. 8 : Tvucns aAijOijs ^ T<OI> airoordXwi' SiSa.xn< * a ' TO ap\a1ov TTJS cKK\i)<riaf <rv(m)/xa Kara iravrbs rov (cda/iov : et character corporis Christi secundum succes- siones episcoporum, quibus illi earn, quae in unoquoque loco est, ecclesiam tradid- erunt : quae pervenit usque ad nos custoditione sine fictione scripturarum tractatio plenissima, neque additamentum neque ablationem recipiens ; et lectio sine falsatione et secundum scripturas expositio legitima et diligens et sine periculo et sine blasphemia : et praecipuum dilectionis munus." Cf. i. n. i (ifiios xapaicnip) ; 24. 7 ; 28. i. 2 v. 20. i: 'Eorum autem, qui ab ecclesia sunt, semita circumiens mundum universum, quippe firmam habens ab apostolis traditionem, et videre nobis donans omnium unam et eandem esse fidem, omnibus unum et eundem Deum Patrem praecipientibus, et eandem dispositionem incarnationis Filii Dei credentibus, et eandem donationem Spiritus scientibus, et eadem meditantibus praecepta, et eandem figuram eius quae est erga ecclesiam ordinationis custodientibus et eundem exspec- tantibus adventum domini, et eandem salutem totius hominis, id est animae et corporis, sustinentibus.' ('Ordinatio' translates Tafis, i.e. ecclesiastical order, in iii. 3. 3-) III.] The Witness of Church History. in Christianity are valuable as showing that to Irenaeus Christianity is not an idea but an institution, a catholic Church, and in the Church the essential link of continuity is the apostolic succession. To it there- fore he makes his great appeal against the Gnostics. 1 1 All who wish to see the truth have it in their power to fix their both in West eyes on the tradition of the Apostles, which is manifested in all the and East> world ; and we can recount the number of those, who were appointed by the Apostles as bishops in the Churches, and their successors down to our own time, who neither taught nor had any knowledge of the wild notions of these men. For had the Apostles known any mysteries which they taught to the perfect in private and unknown to the rest, they would have delivered them to those surely before all others to whom they intrusted the very Churches themselves. For they desired them to be eminently perfect and utterly without reproach, whom they 1 iii. 3. 1-3: ' Traditionem itaque apostolorum in toto mundo manifestatam in omni ecclesia adest respicere omnibus qui vera velint videre ; et habemus annumerare eos qui ab apostolis instituti sunt episcopi in ecclesiis et successores eorum usque ad nos, qui nihil tale docuerunt neque cognoverunt, quale ab his deliratur. Etenim si recondita mysteria scissent apostoli, quae seorsim et latenter ab reliquis perfectos docebant, his vel maxime traderent ea quibus etiam ipsas ecclesias committebant. Valde enim perfectos et irreprehensibiles in omnibus eos volebant esse, quos et successores relinquebant, suum ipsorum locum magisterii tradentes ; quibus emendate agentibus fieret magna utilitas, lapsis autem summa calamitas. Sed quoniam valde longum est in hoc tali volumine omnium ecclesiarum enumerare successiones, maximae et antiquissimae et omnibus cognitae, a gloriosissimis duobus apostolis Petro et Paulo Romae fundatae et constitutae ecclesiae earn, quam babel ab apostolis traditionem et annuntiatam hominibus (idem, per successiones episcoporum pervenientem usque ad nos, indicantes confundimus omnes eos, qui quoquo modo vel per sibiplacentiam vel vanam gloriam vel per caecitatem et malam sententiam praeterquam oportet colligunt. Ad hanc enim ecclesiam propter potentiorem [? potiorem] principalitatem necesse est omnem convenire ecclesiam, hoc est eos qui sunt undique fideles, in qua semper ab his, qui sunt undique, conservata est ea quae est ab apostolis traditio. OcfLcAKocraiTet ovv cat oiKo<5ofi7;<rai'-es oi juaxapiot dirooToAot TT\V icA7j<ri'ai>, \iv<a TT\V rrj? eirnTKOTrrj^ AeiTovpycap tytxtipurav TOVTOV TOW AIPOV IlavAos iv rat? irpbs TifioOeov eirioroAais fnffivTfrai- oia&e\eTa.i fie avTov *AyeyicAT/Tos. jutra TOVTOV Se rpirta roirta ajrb T>V ajrooToAwi' rrjv eirio~Koinjv xAijpovrat KAijfiT^, 6 (toi ecopaxuis TOVS ^.axapiov? aTTOordAovs Kai <rvfi.|3ej3A7j<ca>s OUTOIS ai ert e^avAov TO ic^piryfia TUV OTroaToAwv- /tal Tr)p irapd&otriv irpb b<^6a.\fi!av e\iav, ov fiovof ert yap jroAAol vTreAeiVoiro Tore airb TIOV auroarTokiav ScSiSayfievoi . . . TOV Sf KAij/ievra TOVTOV SiaSf^erai EvopeOTos' ical TOV Euapeffroi" 'AAe'favipo?' elff OVTU>? CTOS airb riav a.jrooToAaii' Ka9i<rra.Tai Evoros. fiera fie TOVTOV TeAe<nopos, 05 <cai fv&6ws e/jiapTvpij<reV' eTreira "Yyivo?, eira IIios, fieO' ov ' Avucrfros . SiaSf afi.(vov TOV 'A.VIKTITOV SoJTTJpO?, VVV SdtOfKOiTta TOJftf TOV TTJS iri<7ICO7rijS alTO TtilV aJTOtrTOAwC KO.Tf\fl K\ripov 'EAruffepo?. rtf avTjf rafet ical rg avrfj SiaSoxfj [Euseb. otSaxJi, Lat. succes- sion*] r) Tf ajrb rwf ajrooToAwi' ev TJJ EKjeA^crio irapa&xri? Kai TO rij^ aAij?ei'as 112 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. left behind as their actual successors, handing on to them their own position of presidency.' Thus he appeals to the successors of the Apostles. Then, ' because it would be tedious in a volume like this to enumerate the successions of all the Churches,' he gives that of the greatest of all, the Church of Rome a Church to which he attributes a specially representative character l and records how Peter and Paul intrusted the ministry of the episcopate there to Linus, and how he in turn was succeeded by Anencletus, Clement, Evarestus, Alexander, Xystus, Telesphorus the martyr, Hyginus, Pius, Anicetus, Soter, and finally in his own day Eleutherus. Thus ' there has come down to us with the same order and the same succession the tradition from the Apostles in the Church and the preaching of the truth.' With this tradition of truth ' coming down to us through the succession of the bishops,' Irenaeus proceeds to ' confound ' his opponents, corroborating, however, the tradition of the West, according to his essential principle, with the apostolic tradition of the Church of Smyrna and ' all the Churches of Asia.' 2 What we have quoted will be enough to illustrate his method of appeal. The results of it he constantly presses on the men of his time. 'We must obey those who are the elders in the Church, those who, as we have shown, have the succession from the 1 It seems most probable that the words of disputed meaning should be translated 'for to this Church, on account of its special pre-eminence, all Churches must needs come together, that is the faithful from all sides, and in her the apostolic tradition has been always preserved by those who are from all parts' I think Langen (Gesch. der Rdmischcn Kirche i. pp. 170-174) has made this interpretation good. But it does not concern us here. 2 iii. 3. 4 : Kai IIoA.vcap7ros . . . vrb OTrooroAwi/ KaTaaraflius ets rrjf 'Aaiap ev TJJ iv Sfiupi/T) e(e<cAr)(Ti<f eiriVitOTros . . . Taura SiSafas aei, a KOL irapa. TCOI/ dwooToAiui' efjLa8ev, a (cat ^ c)cXi)<rta 7rapa6u5u>cru', a Kai /mova early aArjSrj. jiiapTVpov<7i TOUTOIV 01 KOTO Tiji' 'Ao-i'ai/ 6KKArj(n<u jrairoi. III.] The Witness of CJiurch History. 113 Apostles : who, with the succession of the episcopate, have received also the sure gift of truth according to the will of the Father : but as for the rest, who leave the original succession and come together wherever it may be, them we must hold in suspicion, whether as heretics of a wrong opinion, or as men who make division through pride and self-pleasing, or again as hypocrites.' x ' Where one is to find [the true elders], Paul teaches, when he says, " God set in the Church first apostles, secondly prophets, thirdly teachers." Where, then, the gifts of God are placed, there he should learn the truth, with those who have the Church's succession from the Apostles and maintain a sound and irreproachable mode of life and uncor- ruptness of speech.' 2 The position of Irenaeus is thus very clear and accepted by definite. It is accepted by his more brilliant but less C.^.D/^O'; stable disciple, Tertullian, who reproduces his argu- ment with striking vigour in his work, called Prae- scriptiones (or ' Preliminary Pleas ') against the Gnostic teachers. In it he has a double question to ask these pretenders to represent Christianity. First do they hold the rule of faith ? Secondly have they an apostolic succession ? ' Let them produce the account of the origins of their Churches ; let them unroll the line of their bishops, running down in such 1 iv. 26. 2 : ' Quapropter eis qui in ecclesia sunt presbyteris oboedire oportet, his qui successionem habent ab apostolis, sicut ostendimus ; qui cum episcopatus sue- cessione charisma veritatis certum secundum placitum Patris acceperunt ; reliquos vero, qui absistunt a principal! successione et quocunque loco colligunt,suspectos habere vel quasi haereticos et malae sententiae, vel quasi scindentes et elatos et sibi placentes, aut rursus ut hypocritas quaestus gratia et vanae gloriae hoc o per antes.' 2 ib. 5 : ' Ubi igitur tales inveniat aliquis, Paulus docens ait : Posuit Deus in ecclesia primo apostolos, secundo prophetas, tertio doctores. Ubi igitur charismata domini posita sunt, ibi discere oportet veritatem, apud quos est ea quae est ab apostolis ecclesiae successio et id quod est sanum et irreprobabile conversationis et inadulteratum et incorruptibile sermonis constat.' H 1 14 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. a way from the beginning that their first bishop shall have had for his authorizer and predecessor one of the Apostles, or of the apostolic men who continued to the end in their fellowship. This is the way in which the apostolic Churches hand in their registers : as the Church of the Smyrnaeans relates that Poly- carp was installed by John, as the Church of the Romans relates that Clement was ordained by Peter. So in like manner the rest of the Churches exhibit the names of men appointed to the episcopate by Apostles, whom they possess as transmitters of the apostolic seed.' l ' So now,' we resume after a few chapters, ' you who wish to exercise your curiosity to better profit in the matter of your salvation, run through the apostolic Churches, where the very chairs of the Apostles still preside in their own places '- Corinth, Philippi, Thessalonica, Ephesus, Rome. Make it your business to inquire what they have learned and taught ! This is his challenge. 2 The unchanging tradition goes hand in hand with the 1 de Praescr. 32: 'Ceterum si quae [haereses] audent interserere se aetati apos- tolicae, ut ideo videantur ab apostolis traditae, quia sub apostolis fuerunt, possumus dicere : Edant ergo origines ecclesiarum suarum, evolvant ordinem episcoporuin suorum, ita per successiones ab initio decurrentem, ut primus ille episcopus aliquem ex apostolis vel apostolicis viris, qui tamen cum apostolis perseveraverit, habuerit auctorem et antecessorem. Hoc enim modo ecclesiae apostolicae census suos deferunt, sicut Smyrnaeorum ecclesia Polycarpum ab loanne collocatum refert, sicut Romanorum Clementem a Petro ordinatum. Itidem proinde utique et ceterae ex- hibent, quos ab apostolis in episcopatum constitutes apostolici seminis traduces habeant. Confingant tale aliquid haeretici. Quid enim illis post blasphemias illicitum est?' 2 ib. 36 : ' Age iam, qui voles curiositatem melius exercere in negotio salutis tuae, percurre ecclesias apostolicas, apud quas ipsae adhuc cathedrae apostolorum suis locis praesidentur, apud quas ipsae authenticae literae eorum recitantur, sonantes vocem et repraesentantes faciem uniuscuiusque. Proxima est tibi Achaia? habes Corinthum. Si non longe es a Macedonia, habes Philippos, habes Thessalonicenses. Si poles in Asiam tendere, habes Ephesum. Si autem Italiae adiaces, habes Romam, unde nobis quoque auctoritas praesto est . . . Videamus quid didicerit [ecclesia Romana], quid docuerit, quid cum Africanis quoque ecclesiis contesserarit.' ib. 37 : ' Si haec ita se habent, ut veritas nobis adiudicetur, quicunque in ea regula incedi- mus, quam ecclesia ab apostolis, apostoli a Christo, Christus a Deo tradidit, constat ratio propositi nostri.' III.] The Witness of Church History. 115 steadfast ministerial succession, just as on the con- trary the novelties of heresy are associated with care- lessness about order. ' Their ordinations are heedless, capricious, changeable. At one time they appoint neophytes ; at another, men bound to secular em- ployment ; at another, apostates from us so that official distinction may act as a bond to hold them, where truth cannot. Nowhere is promotion so easy as in the camp of rebels, where even one's presence is in itself a claim. And so one is a bishop to-day, another to-morrow ; the reader of to-morrow is a deacon to-day ; the layman of to-morrow a pres- byter to-day. For they impose even on laymen the functions of the priesthood.' 1 The age of Irenaeus is to be for the present our anticipated starting-point ; but it is important to emphasize that ^pp^f e ' there is no originality about his ecclesiastical concep- c ' A ' D ' I&5 ' tions. Not only does his own language exclude such a supposition, but we have external testimony to the same effect. Eusebius 2 has preserved for us some words of Hegesippus, ' the father of church history,' in which he is speaking of his journey to the West, made not later than A.D. 167 : 'The Church of the Corinthians,' he says, 'remained in the right word down to Primus' bishopric in Corinth. I had inter- 1 zi. 41 : ' Ordinationes eorum temerariae, leves, inconstantes. Nunc neophytos collocant, nunc saeculo obstrictos, nunc apostatas nostros, nt gloria eos obligent, quia veritate non possunt. Nusquam facilius proficitur quam in castris rebellium, ubi ipsum esse illic promereri est. Itaque alius hodie episcopus, eras alius ; hodie diaconus, qui eras lector ; hodie presbyter, qui eras laicus ; nam et laicis sacerdotalia munera iniungunt.' 2 Hegesipp. ap. Euseb. H. E. iv. 22 : Kai eire'/ievv T\ (cA7)<ri'o Vj Kopu'diW tv r<f bpdia \oy<a fie'xpt Hpt/iov eirtoveoTrevoiros iv KopiV9o>" ots <rwtyLta irA'ap ei? 'Pa>/ni]v, <ai <njv&tfTpi\l/a, rot? Kopirdi'oi; Tjjxe'pCK ucai/d?, fv at 9 <ruva.i>eird7)fi.ev r<2 bpfka \6yta. ffvofievos 5 tV'Pco/tiT) 5tao\r)v 7roii7<rafH)^ fie'^pis 'AiuioJTOU, ou SLOLKOVOS ^f'EAe'uOepos' Aral irapa 'Ai'ttojrou SiaSi^erat Samjp, ftefl* ov 'EAruflpo. ev aoTp 8e SiaSoxrj <cai fv cxaaTT) nAf i ovT<i>f e.\i, lot 6 fd/xot KT)pi/(T<7ei teal oi Trpo^vjrai Kai b icvptof . 1 1 6 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. course with them when I was sailing to Rome, and I passed some days with the Corinthians, in which we took comfort together in the right word. And when I was in Rome I made a succession [i.e., a list of the succession] down to Anicetus, whose deacon was Eleutherus. And from Anicetus, Soter succeeds, and after him Eleutherus. Now in each succession and in each city it is as the law proclaims and the prophets and the Lord.' Hegesippus then had found a succession in each city. He made a list for the purpose of his history at Rome ; but there, as else- where, he had found the thing existing. Let Hege- sippus' testimony then reinforce that of Irenaeus. Starting thus from about the middle of the second century the episcopal succession is an undoubted fact Further in all known Christian Churches. It is, however, detail" 06 desirable to review the evidence not only of the fact, but also of the importance attached to it. A. The East. A. We begin with the East, and in the East with the "cradle of our religion" Palestine. 'As early as the middle of the second century all parties concur in representing James [the Lord's brother] as a bishop in the strict sense of the term.' 1 The episcopate, that is to say, was at that date an institution certainly believed to derive in Jerusalem from St. James. Eusebius has preserved to us a complete list of the successors of Symeon, who was chosen in his place first, thirteen Jewish bishops, and then, after the annihilation of Jerusalem and the foundation upon its site of Aelia Capitolina, thirteen Gentile bishops, 2 1 Lightfoot Dissert, p. 208. See Hegesipp. ap. Euseb. //. E . iv. 22 ; the Clemen- tine Ep. Petri, Ep. Clem, init., Horn. xi. 35 ; and Clem. Alex. ap. Euseb. H. E. ii. i. In this review of second century episcopacy I am mainly following Dr. J,ight- foot. 2 Euseb. H. E. iv. 5, v. 12. III.] The Witness of Church History. 117 down to the accession of the venerable Narcissus, who was engaged in the Paschal controversy. 1 There can be at least no doubt of the existence in Jerusalem of an episcopal succession of immemorial antiquity at the date which is our starting-point for the present. In the Paschal controversy we find the bishop ofA.D. i 5 s. Jerusalem associated with three other Palestinian bishops 2 (of Caesarea, Tyre, Ptolemais), in writing an encyclical letter in favour of the western view. The testimony of the Clementines, 3 which may be taken to represent Ebionite ideas at the end of the second century, goes to assure us that at that date the episcopate at Caesarea, Tyre, Sidon, Berytus, Tripolis, and Laodicea could plausibly be represented as having been instituted by St. Peter. 4 It must be noticed that there is the same insistence upon the episcopal succession in the Ebionite Clementines as in the fragments of Hegesippus and in the writings of Irenaeus ; episcopacy, and episcopacy derived * Euseb. H. E. v. 23. 2 Euseb. H. E. v. 25. 3 The Clementine Homilies and Recognitions contain substantially the same narrative. They purport to contain an account given by Clement of his connection with St. Peter and of St. Peter 'sjourneyings, discourses, etc., including his institution of bishops, presbyters, and deacons at various places in Syria. Both are Ebionite, though the Recognitions present Ebionite ideas in a very modified form. Both are based apparently on an earlier document, and are of Syrian origin. Dr. Salmon {Diet. Chr. Biog. CLEMENTINE LIT.) dates the Recogn. about A.D. 200 and the Homilies about A.D. 218. [Origen quotes the former about A.D. 230.] He thinks the document on which they are based may go back to A. D. 160. Dr. Lightfoot says : ' the Homilies cannot well be placed later than the end, and should perhaps be placed before the middle of the second century ' (Dissert, p. 211). There are also two letters to James from Peter and Clement, both now prefixed to the Homilies, but the latter probably served originally as preface to the Recognitions (Diet. Chr. Biog. i. p. 570). It describes St. Peter's ordination of Clement as bishop of Rome. 4 See Recogn. vi. 15 : '[Peter] appointed as bishop over them [at Tripolis] Maro . . . and with him he ordained twelve presbyters and deacons at the same time. Cf. iii. 66 (Caesarea, bishop, twelve presbyters, and four deacons), x. 68 (Laodicea); Horn. iii. 72 (Caesarea), vii. 5 (Tyre),'8 (Sidon), 12 (Berytus), xi. 36 (Tripolis, bishop, twelve presbyters, and deacons), xx. 23 (Laodicea). See also Ep. Clem, ad lac. c. A.D. no. Il8 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. from the Apostles, was not, we perceive, a matter of dispute. 1 Syria, The episcopal succession at Antiock is historical /- a r T v A * * at least from Ignatius. If we cannot fully rely upon the list of bishops given us by Eusebius, 2 at least bishop Theophilus, the apologist, and bishop Serapion come out into the light during the second century. So much for the Church of Palestine and the Greek Church of Syria. Of the early ' Syrian Church, strictly so called ' the Syriac-speaking Church we have no authentic history. It is, however, worth while noticing that the early traditions of that Church represent the 'ordination to the priesthood' as the 1 It is worth while collecting the conception of the ministry given in the Clemen- tine documents. (1) There is the idea of succession to the Apostles. Clement succeeds St. Peter (Ep, Clem. 2, 19). St. Peter, in his letter to James, emphasizes the idea of succession on the analogy of the seventy elders who succeeded to ' the chair of Moses.' Here the successors seem to be the whole presbyterate, but subordination to the bishop is strongly marked (Ep. Petr. 4. 2). The bishop's chair is also called ' the chair of Christ ' (Ep. Clem. 17, and Horn. iii. 70). (2) The idea of the episcopal succession is mainly that of succession to the teaching office, in order to keep the tradition (cf. Irenaeus): see Ep. Petr. init. and Ep. Clem. 2, 6 : 17 riav \6yiav KaOeSpa, b Trjs a.\T)9(ia.s 7rpoica0e<Joju.ei'O9 ) 6 TTJJ <x\i70eias irpe<r/3ur>)9. But the bishop has intrusted to him ' the authority to bind and loose ' with divine sanction (ib. 2 : avTco jmeraSiSw/ju 1171' cfoucriai/ TOV Sev/ueveip al \ueif, 'iva. jrepl TTai/rbs oC av x e 'PTOi/jj<rjj TTI TJJS yijs e<rrai SeSoyjmaTio>ieVoi' ev ovpavols '. cf. ib. 6, Horn. iii. 72); he is the Trpoeorais (Ep. Clem. 6) ; he has the general administration of the Church (8ioiKT)<rts, ib. 3, etc.) ; and all is to be done by the presbyters with his knowledge (Ep. Petr. 4. 2). He is to be kept clear from secular cares (Ep. Clem. 5, 6). St. Peter is represented as baptizing and breaking bread ; also the elders at Jerusalem as baptizing (Ep. Petr. 4. i). (3) Presbyters are to exercise moral discipline ; to administer charitable relief ; I reconcile disputants (Ep. Clem. 7-10 ; Horn. iii. 67, 68). The deacons are ' the eyes of the bishop,' to assist his pastoral care in the distribution of alms, with considerable independence in the latter department (Ep. Clem.. 12 ; Horn. iii. 67). There is also mention of catechists, but the bishop is represented in one place as the catechist (Ep. Clem. 13, 14). The Ship of the Church is described elaborately with her full equipment of officers, etc. (ib. 14, 15). (4) Ordination is by laying on of hands (Ep. Clem. 19 ; Horn. iii. 72 ; Recogn. iii. 66), with accompanying prayer (Horn. iii. 72). In all this there is nothing specially Ebionite ; but James is called ' bishop of bishops,' and has a universal authority ascribed to him (Ep. Clem. init.). Even Peter, though he is called ' first of apostles ' (ib. i), has to give an annual account to him of his doings (Recogn. i, 17), and is subject to him (ib. 72). This is Ebionite. 3 Euseb. H. E. iv. 20, 34 ; v. 23. III.] The Witness of Church History. 119 means of the propagation of the Gospel, venerate the threefold ministry as of apostolic institution, and lay great stress on the episcopal succession derived in each Church from an apostle through the laying on of hands. 1 We pass from Syria to ' Asia ' to find the epi- Asia Minor, scopal succession a very old established institution. It is enough to say that Ignatius had impressed A.D. no. upon the Churches of Ephesus, Magnesia, Tralles, Philadelphia, and Smyrna, that the bishop, with the presbyters and deacons, represents the authority of God, and we are not allowed to doubt that at least they learned the lesson. Besides Polycarp of Smyrna, Onesimus of Ephesus, Damas of Magnesia, and Polybius of Tralles, whom Ignatius mentions, we hear during the second century of Papias, a contem- porary of Polycarp, and Claudius Apollinaris, bishops of Hierapolis, 2 of Sagaris, bishop of Laodicea, and 1 See The Teaching of Addaeus the Apostle and The Teaching of the Apostles ancient Syriac documents, trans, in Clark's Ante-Nicene Library, vol. xx esp. pp. 32, 48. See Tixeront Origines de feglise d"Edesse pp. 114 ff. The former is a re- touched version, dating apparently from about 400 A.D., of the document quoted by Eusebius (ff. E. i. 1 3), which existed in 'the archives of Edessa, at that time a royal city. 1 The latter document uses an old pre-Peshitto Syriac reading. As to their ecclesiastical ideas, it may be noted that the bishop is called by a word translated ' guide and ruler.' Addaeus, the apostle, ordains Aggaeus, and he ' made priests and guides in the whole country of Mesopotamia.' The authority of the guide is limited : ' it is not lawful for him to transact the affairs of the Church apart from those who minister with him ' ( Teaching of the Apostles p. 41). Cf. Lightfoot Dissert, p. 21 1 n. 6 It should be noticed that the apostles who originate 'ordination to the priesthood' (Teaching of the Apostles p. 48) are reckoned at seventy-two, and amongst them are Luke and Addaeus, whom Eusebius calls Thaddaeus and describes as ' one of the seventy disciples of Christ' (H. E. \. 13). The number seventy-two represents the older Curetonian Syriac reading of St. Luke x. i ; the Peshitto has ' seventy.' (On the relations of the Cur. Syr. to the Pesh. see Westcott and Hort, Introd. to N. T. pp. 84, 85). The Arab, El Makrizi (who wrote a history of the Coptic Church in the fourteenth century, but drew upon earlier authors, such as Eutychius) speaks likewise of ' seventy apostles ' (in Malan Orig. Doc. of the Copt. Ch. iii. p. 23) ; this may represent some old Alexandrian statement, directly or indirectly. 2 The episcopate of Claudius, c. A.D. 171, rests on the authority of his contemporary, Serapion (ap. Euseb. H. E. v. 19) ; Papias' on that of Eusebius representing the common account (//. E. ii. 15). I2O Christian Ministry. [CHAP. Melito, bishop of Sardis. 1 Polycrates, bishop of Ephesus at the end of the second century, speaks of himself as having had seven of his own family before him in the episcopate, whose traditions he followed. 2 If we pass from the proconsular province to Asia Minor, in the wider sense of the term, we have not much evidence bearing on the subject ; but we hear of bishops in the second century at Sinope 3 and at Eumenia, 4 at Amastris, at Comana, at Apamea 6 ; and there is no indication such as would lead us to doubt the universal extension of the episcopate in the Churches of that country. Towards the end of the century episcopal synods become common ; at the time of the Paschal controversy there were a number of bishops in Pontus ; and Polycrates 6 speaks of ' great crowds ' of bishops whom he had summoned to conference on that subject. If there is less evidence of the diffusion of episco- pacy in Greece in the latter half of the second cen- tury, this probably does not mean more than that the Church there was less prominent than the Church in Asia. 7 Where we hear of church government it is episcopal. At Corinth, when Hegesippus visited it, there was not only a bishop, Primus, but a succes- 1 c. A.D. 150-170, on the authority of Polycrates in Euseb. H. E. v. 24. 2 Euseb. H. E. v. 24. 3 Marcion of Sinope is described as ' episcopi filius ' in [adv. Omn. Haer. appended to] Tertull. de Praescr. 51. Marcion propagated his system before the middle of the second century. He was himself recognised as bishop by his sect and organized it on the Church's model ; ' faciunt favos et vespae, et faciunt ecclesias Marcionitae ' (Tertull. adv. Marc. 5). 4 Polycrates ap. Euseb. H. E. v. 34. 8 Palmas of Amastris is mentioned by Dionysius of Corinth writing to the Churches of Pontus (Euseb. H. E. iv. 23). Zoticos of Comana and Julianus of Apamea are mentioned by the anonymous contemporary adversary of the Montanists (ap. Euseb. H. E. v. 1 6). Euseb. H. E. v. 24. ' The problems presented by the Epistles of Clement and Polycarp will be con- sidered below. They do not fall within this period. III.] The Witness of Church History. 121 sion l ; after him we hear of Dionysius, and at the time of the Paschal controversy of Bacchyllus. 2 In the mention which Eusebius makes of one of Dionysius' letters 'to the Athenians' (about A.D. 170), we hear of at least two bishops in the succes- sion of Athens prior to that date Publius, who was martyred, and Quadratus, who had recalled their Church from something like ' apostacy from the word,' into which they had fallen. 3 It is doubtful whether this bishop can be identified with that Quadratus whom Eusebius records to have presented his Apology to Hadrian at Athens. 4 But if Dionysius did, as Eusebius says he did, describe his namesake the Areopagite as the first bishop of Athens, he must have believed the episcopate there to go back to the apostolic age. 5 We have the names of no bishops on contemporary evidence during the second century in Macedonia, but when Tertullian is rhetorically bidding the here- tical teachers to take counsel of ' the apostolic Churches, where the very chairs of the Apostles still preside,' he goes on, ' Is Achaia nearest to you ? you have Corinth ; if you are not far from Macedonia, you have Philippi, you have Thessalonica/ showing that at the end of the century Macedonia had episcopal successions which were believed to be derived from apostolic ordination. 6 If we pass from Macedonia to Thrace we pass to Thrace. a district almost without Christian record, but to- 1 Euseb. H. E. iv. 22. 2 Euseb. H. . iv. 23 ; v. 22, 23. 3 Euseb. H. E. iv. 23. Publius is called 6 n-po<rro>s OLVTUV. 4 The question is discussed in Texts and Studies vol. i. No. i. pp. 10 ff. 6 Euseb. H. E. iii. 4 ; iv. 23. 6 Tertull. de Praescr. 36. Cf. Origen on Rom. xvi. 23 : fertur sane traditione maiorum quod hie Gaius [St. Paul's host] primus episcopus fuerit Thessalonicensis ecclesiae.' 122 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. wards the end of the century we find a bishop of Debeltum signing an encyclical letter, directed against the Montanists, 1 ' and the existence of a see at a place so unimportant implies the wide spread of episcopacy in these regions.' z Crete. On our passage from Greece to Egypt we may take Crete by the way. There we know that at least two episcopal sees existed about A.D. 170, for Diony- sius of Corinth wrote a letter ' to the Cnossians,' with words of advice to Pinytus their bishop, and another ' to the Church at Gortyna, with the other parishes [i.e. dioceses] in Crete,' specially commending Philip, the bishop of Gortyna, who is also known as the author of a work against Marcion. 3 Alexandria. On arriving at Alexandria we shall undoubtedly find ourselves in a Church of the three orders. It is true that we cannot trace to its source or verify the complete and dated list of Alexandrian bishops, which Eusebius gives us, reaching back to St. Mark as founder of the Church. 4 We do not in fact know the name of any Alexandrian bishop on indisputable evidence till we get to Demetrius, Origen's contem- porary ; for ' the Alexandrian succession, in which history is hitherto most interested, is not the succes- sion of the bishops, but of the heads of the cate- chetical school.' 5 But Clement's evidence gives us all Thesis- that we want. He was born about the middle of the bishops at second century, and not only had the Church which Alexandria 1-1 i, , i i indisputable ; he knew bishops, presbyters, and deacons, 6 but it had 1 Euseb. H.E. y. 19. 2 Lightfoot Dissert, p. 217. 3 Euseb. H. E. iv. 23, 25. 4 Euseb. H.E. ii. 24 (Mark, Annianus) iii. 14 (Abilius) 21 (Cerdon) iv. i (Primus), etc. 5 Lightfoot Dissert, p. 226. 6 ' The grades in the Church here of bishops, presbyters, deacons, I believe to be imitations of the angelic glory ' (Strom, vi. 13. 107 : at ivravda. Kara -n\v eKK\rj<riav irpOKOiral ema-Koviav, irpfffpvTfpiav, Staxoviav, fit^ijjiiaTa otfiai ayycAiKJjs SOT)S.) The whole chapter runs thus : The perfect Christian gnostic is even here equal to the III.] The Witness of Church History. 123 even passed out of memory that ' bishop ' and ' pres- angels: he maybe made equal to the Apostles: 'not that they became apostles because they were chosen for some special peculiarity of nature, for Judas was chosen with them ; but they were capable of becoming apostles on being chosen by Him Who foresaw even how they would end. For Matthias, who was not chosen with them, on showing himself fit (afios) to become an apostle, is substituted for Judas. So now too, those who have exercised themselves in the Lord's command- ments and have lived perfectly and with knowledge (yi/woriKais), according to the Gospel, may be enrolled (eyypou^rjvat) in the chosen body of the Apostles. Such an one is in reality a presbyter of the Church and a true deacon of the will of God, if he do and teach the things of the Lord, not being ordained (x'porovovjoiei/os) by man, nor reckoned just because he is a presbyter, but counted ((caTaAeyo^ei/os) in the presbyterate because he is just. And even if here upon earth he be not honoured with the chief seat (TrpuroKafcSpia), he will sit on the four and twenty thrones judging the people, as John says in the Apocalypse.' The four and twenty elders, he continues, are the chosen of the chosen, equally from Jews or Greeks. ' Since I think the grades in the Church here of bishops, presbyters, deacons are imitations of the angelic glory and of that dispensation (otKovo/bita;) which the Scriptures say await those who, following the footsteps of the Apostles, have lived in perfection of righteousness according to the Gospel. For these, the Apostle writes, "lifted up in the clouds " will serve their diaconate first (Siewcoi'TJo-eii'), then be reckoned with the presbyterate in a higher grade of glory, for glory differeth from glory, until they grow up into a perfect man.' Clement's meaning is apparently that moral excellence and gnostic enlightenment were qualifications for the apostolate of old and make a man a true priest now (cf. the exclamation of the people in demanding Athanasius' election 'aATjftiseTri'crKOJros,' Athan. Apol. c. Ar. 6); not, however, in the sense that they can enable a man to dispense with ordination or justify him in assuming ministerial functions without it, but only in the sense that, if he be not admitted to the clergy here, he will be hereafter raised to those grades of glory which the pre- sent distinctive offices in the Church adumbrate here below ; they are titles for a place in the hierarchy in heaven, if not here. It will be noticed that though Clement divides the hierarchy into three orders, he can still (like Origen and many others) speak of the presbyterate as the 'chief seat' ( 106 above). The main dis- tinction with him, as with Irenaeus and many after them, is between presbyters and deacons. Thus in another passage (Strom, vii. i. 3), contrasting the two sorts of ministry to men the more menial service (vTnjpeTiitTJ) and the higher ministry of improvement (/SeAriomio] Bepaneia) he finds the former exemplified in the Church's bishop. Clement's position on many points is somewhat hard to define. His line of thought is not one which, like that of Irenaeus, leads him to speak much about the ministry. At the same time there is an intellectualism in his whole conception of religion, a recognition of a ' priesthood of knowledge ' (for reffs. see Bigg B.L. p. 101), which represents an| opposite tendency to the ' priesthood of enthusiasm" among the Montanists. This, we must acknowledge, whatever fascination Clement's gentle, pious, generous spirit has for us had in it dangerous elements of Gnosticism, and led him even.to shrink from attributing to our Lord real human feelings, a real flesh and blood like ours (Bigg B.L. pp. 93, 71 n. 5 ); it makes him in a measure depreciate mere faith and desire to create ' a Church within a Church,' a Church of the spiritually enlightened (Bigg p. 85 f.). Thus it may have tended to 124 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. byter ' were interchangeable titles in St. Paul's days. 1 We have some additional reason to believe that the episcopate was recognised at Alexandria as distinct from the presbyterate very early in the century. The emperor Hadrian visited Alexandria in A.D. 130, and he gave an account of his visit in a letter to Servianus which is preserved. Amidst the motley crowd of the devotees of all sorts of religions and superstitions, whose fickle inconsistency, as it appeared in his eyes, half amused and half dis- gusted him, he recognised the ' bishops of Christ ' as distinct figures from the Christian presbyters. 2 but Jerome There is thus no ground for doubting the existence of an episcopal succession at Alexandria long before the middle of the second century. But we have it on Jerome's evidence that this succession had some peculiarity. He is writing 3 in a state of great in- dignation with the arrogance of deacons in the Church make him depreciate the ministry which comes of ordination by comparison with the priesthood of knowledge, but there is no evidence of this. His point of view is not at all unecctesiastical. Christianity is not by any means to him a mere idea or philosophy ; it is embodied in a visible society. Nor in the passage quoted is there anything to lead us to suppose that he shrank from recognising the necessity for orders in the Church, or their exclusive rights, any more than he shrank from recog- nising the exclusive prerogative of the Church. Dr. Bigg says no more than is true when he says : ' It is important to add . . . that Clement lays great stress upon the observance of the existing church discipline, the regular use of all the ordinary means of grace' (pp. 96, 97). He very likely, however, did not recognise fully that ' the unworthiness of the minister hinders not the grace of the sacraments,' and he speaks of baptism administered by heretics as OVK otxctov icai yfijtrioi/ iJSiap (Strom. i. 19. 96). On this, and on his not using sacerdotal language of the ministry, see below, p. 1 80 f. 1 Paed. iii. 12. 97: 'there are an infinite number of suggestions in the sacred books directed to select persons, some to presbyters, some to bishops, some to deacons, others to widows.' 2 See his letter to Servianus (ap. Vopisc., quoted by Lightfoot Ignatius i. 464 ; cf. Dissert, p. 225) : ' Illic qui Serapem colunt Christiani sunt, et devoti sunt Serapi qui Christ! se episcopos dicunt. Nemo illic archisynagogus ludaeorum, nemo Samarites, nemo Christianorum presbyter, non mathematicus, non haruspex, non aliples. Ipse ille patriarcha, cum Aegyptum venerit, ab aliis Serapidem adorare, ab aliis cogitur Christum.' The 'patriarcha' is (no doubt) the Jewish patriarch. 3 Ep. cxlvi ad Evangclitm. III.] The Witness of Church History. 125 of Rome. He (like other patristic writers) wishes to emphasize, as a corrective to their self-assertion, the especial dignity of that priesthood, which, with some differences of function, presbyter and bishop share in common. His view will be considered later, but he illustrates it by a practice which he attributes to the Church of Alexandria in earlier days, and with this illustration we are now concerned. Jerome then asserts that 'from the days of St. that down to Mark the Evangelist down to the episcopates of nd'A 3 D.249- Heraclas and Dionysius the presbyters at Alexandria btftops were used always to appoint as bishop one chosen out of by n mere ted their number and placed upon the higher grade, just ele as if an army were making a general, or deacons were choosing one of themselves whose diligence they knew and calling him archdeacon. For what ' (he asks) ' except ordination does a bishop do which a presbyter does not ? ' l The language of this state- ment is ambiguous, but Jerome seems to mean, as he was certainly understood to mean by later Latin writers, that there was no fresh consecration or ordination required in earlier days at Alexandria to make a presbyter bishop, but that he became bishop simply in virtue of his election by the other presby- ters. There would have been thus a substantial identity between the two orders. Jerome had of course resided at Alexandria, and had had oppor- tunities of making himself acquainted with Alex- andrian traditions; but, if this is his meaning, his His state- statement does not find independent support where ^)" ac ks we have a right to expect it. 2 Epiphanius, f O r support; 1 The Latin is quoted in App. Note B, where there is some further discussion of the matter. - His statement is copied by later Latin writers, and an Arab patriarch of the tenth cent., Eutycbius, is quoted in support ; on whom see App. Note B. Surely 126 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. example, Jerome's older contemporary and bishop of Salamis in Cyprus, though he knew Egypt better than Jerome and was acquainted with the peculiar position of the Alexandrian presbyters, which antici- pated that of the parish priests of later days was seemingly ignorant of any such fact as Jerome men- tions. 1 There is no trace of it in any Alexandrian writer of the third or fourth centuries. Thus Athana- sius records how a council at Alexandria in A.D. 324 had declared null and void a pretended ordination by a schismatical presbyter, Colluthus. It has been recently suggested that the mere fact of such an ordination having occurred is a sign that the older traditions of the substantial identity of the bishop and the presbyter still survived in the byways of the Alexandrian Church. But Athanasius' language, or rather the language he quotes from the letter of a synod of Egyptian bishops held in A.D. 324, does not countenance this. ' How then,' they ask, ' is Ischyras a presbyter ? Who appointed him ? Colluthus, was it not ? This is the only plea left. But that Collu- thus died a presbyter, and that his every ordination is invalid and all who were appointed by him in his schism have come out laymen and are so treated, is plain, and nobody doubts it' ' 2 This is not the language Dr. Lightfoot is mistaken (Dissert, p. 231 n. 2 ) when he quotes Ambrosiaster (in Eph. iv. 12) in support of Jerome: 'denique,' says Ambrosiaster, 'apud Aegyptum presbyteri consignant si praesens non sit episcopus.' The reference here is to confirmation, not ordination. Moreover Ambrosiaster's words do not involve that a presbyter could under any circumstances consecrate the chrism. Didymus, who lived and taught at Alexandria and was Jerome's teacher, says absolutely : eTri'ovcoTros fxoco? TJJ aviadev \aptTt reAtt TO xpioyjia (de Trin. ii. 13). 1 Haer. Ixix. i., cf. p. 325. Had he been acquainted with the supposed fact, it probably would have appeared in his language against Aerius, which is referred to later. It would have needed explanation : see pp. 147 f. 2 Athan. Apol. c. Ar. n, 12 (quoting from a synodical letter of Egyptian bishops): oSro? Sf eorii' b 7roAu0pvAAT)TOS 'I^wpai, 6 fi^re turb nij? eVxArjcrias xeipOTOT)0ei <coi, OTC roil? VJTO MeAeriov KaTaoTaOeiras 7rp<r/3uTe'povs "AAe'favSpos eSe'xero, /urjSc cKciVoic <rvvapi8/mT)0eiV OVTWS ovSe exeiOev Kareorafij). Jroflev ovv irpe<7/3vrepos 'I<rxvpa? ; III.] The Witness of Church History. 127 which could have been used if there had been an appeal in the matter to any ancient tradition of the Church. Moreover, it appears from another docu- ment quoted by Athanasius that Colluthus did not profess to ordain as a presbyter, but pretended to be a bishop. 1 The language and silence of Origen are also sig- nificant. Origen was thirty-eight years old when Heraclas became bishop, in whose time the gradual exaltation of the episcopate is supposed to have begun. Origen, besides giving us to understand that the method of ordaining bishops was by laying on of hands, 2 also speaks of them frequently as occupying a quite different grade to presbyters, and he uses language which implies that the position of bishops was one of immemorial antiquity. 3 It must TiVos (caTO(mjcravTOS ; apa KoAAovflou ; TOVTO yap \oiirov. aAA' on KoA 7rpe<r/3vTepo S>v eTeAiTT)<rf, (tat Tto.ua. x^P avrov ytyovev oueupo? Kal TraWes oi Trap' avrou KaTaaraflcVres tv r<a o^iVfiare. Aaticot yfyovayi ical oinia owayoirou, o'ijAoi', ical oiiSevi Ka8f<m)Kev afj.<fii^o\oi'. Cf. 74 (and 76) : ovfie'irore Aeiroupybs TTJS fKK\ri<rtas yeyovev . . . eKireaiav Kal TTJS \f/evSovs virovoia? TOV irpe<7/3uTept'ov. 1 SeeAfloI. c. Art. c. 76 (quoting Letter of Mareotic clergy, A.D. 335, to civil authori- ties) : into yap KoAAouflov rov 7rpe(7/3uTe'pou <f>avra<r9evros ejrrco7rr)v, ical vtrrepov VJTO (coiiTJs (rvvoSov 'Ocriov al riav aiiv a\n<a emtncoiriov KeAevSeVros irpccrjSvTepoi' eti/at KoOb Kal Trporepov Ijv, <eaTeoT<i07). 2 When Origen {in Num. xxii. 4) is rebuking the ' principes ecclesiae ' (i.e bishops) for appointing their own relations or even their sons to succeed them in their sees, he quotes Num. xxvii. 18-20 (where Moses is directed to choose Joshua and lay hands upon him, etc.) and continues : ' audis evidenter ordinationem principis populi tarn manifesto descriptam, ut paene expositione non egeat.' Just above he had distinguished the 'princeps populi' from the 'presbyteri' of Num. xi. 16. Cf. also in Exod. xi. 6. 3 Origen's language about church offices is of this nature : (1) Bishops and presbyters are classed together as Ta? jrpwroicafleSpi'as irewioTevfie'i'oi or ev ec<cAi}<naoTiiq7 Sofcouvre? eti/at virepoxfl (? n Matt. xvi. 22, in loann, xxxii. 7). But it should be noticed that deacons also are included under these phrases in in Matt. xiv. 22. (So later Bp. Dionysius Alex, speaks of ' my fellow-presbyter ' af. Euseb. H.E. vii. u). (2) Much more frequently they are spoken of as constituting distinct classes ; cf. in Luc. xx : 'Si lesus subiicitur Joseph et Mariae, ego non subticiar episcopo qui mihi a Deo ordinatus est pater? Non subiiciar presbytero qui mihi Domini digna- tione praepositus est?' Again, in the beautiful contrast which he draws (c. Cels. iii. 30) between the Christian and the pagan CKKA7)<rca, he distinguishes the ap\<av of the Christian community from the /SouAevroi the bishop from the presbyters in several 128 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. also be remembered that Origen had suffered severely from specially episcopal authority at Alexandria. He had been ordained presbyter, as is well known, at Caesarea, without the consent of Demetrius, the bishop of Alexandria. Now, while a mixed synod of Egyptian bishops and presbyters had consented only to banish him for this breach of canonical discipline, a synod of bishops alone had gone further and deposed him from his presbyterate, as he and his friends thought, unjustly. 1 This severer treatment would make him quick, like Jerome, to notice the arrogance of bishops. 2 If then Heraclas, Demetrius' successor, had deprived the presbyters of an ancient right, it would not have escaped his attention ; yet, writing at the end of Heraclas' episcopate, he characterizes the Alexandrian Church among others as 'a mild typical Churches, of which Alexandria is one. Again, speaking (de Orat. 28) of the different ' debts ' which different classes of the community have to pay, he specifies the distinct debt of widow, deacon, presbyter, and continues : KOI firia-Korrov 6e 6(J>eiArj /Sapvranj aTraiTOUjAe'i/r; VTTO rov TTJS SArjs KK\r)<rias (ramjpos KCU tx6iKov/ifVr; el fir) oTrofii&pTo. And in a similar strain in lerem. xi. 3 : ov iravr<a<; 6 K\i]po<; <r<i>cjei . . . irXetov yw ajraiTOv/iai irapa rov SLO.KOVOV (this was after he was ordained priest), irXetoi/ 6 Sidicovos irapa. rov AaixoV 6 fie riji' iravriav Vj/j-wf eyKe^eipicr/xtVos apxyv aiiTTfv rrfv eccAT;<7ia<7Ti(c})>' eri irAeiov oTraiTetrat. Cf. in Ezech. v ; in Luc. xvii. (3) He puts the bishops alone in a remarkable way, as the Church's rulers : ' per singulas ecclesias bini sunt episcopi, alius visibilis, alius invisibilis ; ille visui carnis, hie sensui patens' (in Luc. xiii). He is alluding to the Angel of the Apocalypse, whom he conceives of as the spiritual guardian of the Church and counterpart of the earthly bishop. This leads to the remark that (4) He conceives the bishop of his day to be the bishop of whose qualifications St. Paul instructs us (in Matt. xi. 15, xiv. 22 ; c. Cels. iii. 48). Also he speaks of bishops as the immemorial tradition in the Church ; he speaks of people who have to boast of fathers and ancestors irpoeptas qf iup.cVoit fv TJJ e<c(cAT)<ri'^ fni.tTKOiri.KOv 6poi>ov i) irpea-fivTepiov TI/XTJS 7) Siaxoi/t'af ei TOV \aov (in Matt. xv. 26). And as he singles out ' stability ' as a note of the Church, when he is contrasting it with the pagan societies (c. Cels. iii. 30 : irpaela TIS ical evoTa&js) and this when Alexandria is specially mentioned among other Churches he is clearly not conscious of any change in the Church's constitution which is going on. Nor does his language at all suggest that the episcopate of Alexandria was in a peculiar position. 1 See p. 328. Cf. Did. Chr. Biog. s. v. ORIGEN iv. p. 100. 2 He does, as a fact, rebuke the bishops, especially those of great cities, for covetousness, secularity and pride, but not as if their order was at the moment exalting itself at the expense of the presbyters ; cf. in Matt. xvi. 2, in Exod. xi. 6. (Bishops will hardly condescend to take counsel with the inferior priests.) Hi.] The Witness of Church History. 129 and stable ' society, and speaks of want of zeal, not of rivalry, as the fault likely to be found in bishops and clergy. 1 So far then as Jerome's theory postu- lates at Alexandria an original lack of clear distinc- tion between the orders of bishop and presbyter, followed by a gradual exaltation of the episcopate, during the period of Origen's life, it has all the testimony of his language against it. 2 It requires, then, a great effort of confidence to (<o if true, is _ ,. -111 i not: i ncon - trust Jeromes witness, especially when we consider sistent with that it is the witness of Jerome in a temper, and thatofsucces- under such circumstances he is not too careful with S1C his facts ; but it has been so generally accepted by western writers from the fourth to the twelfth century and by modern critics, that it will be the better course, as our object is not merely archaeo- logical, to face what is at any rate the possibility of its being true. It should then be noticed that, when western church writers of the Middle Ages quote and accept Jerome's statement, it causes them no dis- quietude in view of the existing distinction of bishops and priests. They would maintain that no one can validly execute any ecclesiastical function which does not belong to him by the proper devolution of ecclesi- astical authority. But this no one accuses the Alex- 1 c. Cels. iii. 30. 2 So far again as Jerome's words postulate that the elective authority for the epi- scopate lay simply with the presbytery, it has against it the evidence that the ancient mode of episcopal election at Alexandria gave great power to the vote of the whole people. See Athan. Apol. c. Ar. 6 -nav TO jrArjOos (to! was 6 Aaos and Greg. Naz. Orat. xxi. 8, who praises this as the ancient and apostolic method. Liberatus (cir. 560) tells us of a curious custom in the episcopal succession at Alexandria (Breviar. 20) : ' Consuetude quidem est Alexandriae ilium qui defuncto succedit excubias super defuncti corpus agere, manumque dexteram eius capiti suo imponere et, sepulto manibus suis, accipere collo suo beati Marci pallium et tune legitime sedere.' But he cannot mean that this was a substitute for consecration by living bishops. We know that Stress was laid in Athanasius' case (326) both on popular election and public episcopal consecration : and the latter could not have been abandoned later. I 130 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. andrian presbyters of having done. They were ordained, ex hypothesi, on the understanding that under certain circumstances they might be called, by simple election, to execute the bishop's office. They were not only presbyters with the ordinary commission of the presbyter, but also bishops in posset Elsewhere there were two distinct ordina- tions, one making a man a bishop and another a presbyter ; at Alexandria there was only one ordina- tion, which made a man a presbyter and potential bishop. When this arrangement ceased and Alex- andria was assimilated to other Churches, the pres- byters began to be ordained as mere presbyters ; and henceforward any assumption by one of them of episcopal powers, such as Colluthus was guilty of, was treated as a mere assumption, the results of which were simply invalid. It is unnecessary to do more than recall, in view of such an hypothetical situation, the contention of the last chapter, namely that the church principle of succession would never be violated by the existence in any Church of epi- scopal powers, whether free or conditional, in all the presbyters, supposing that those powers were not assumed by the individual for himself, but were understood to be conveyed to him by the ordination of the Church. The state of things, then, which is assumed to have existed at Alexandria violates the complete uniformity of the church ministry in the period we are considering it requires us to introduce qualifications into our generalization of results but it does not affect the principle. 2 1 Their position would not have been very unlike that of the chorepiscopi, who could only ordain validly (in the mind of the early Church) where they had the sanction of the town bishop. 2 See Simcox Early Church History p. 359 n. 1 . III.] The Witness of Church History. 131 So far we have been going through the evidence Further supplied by the history of Eastern Christianity otitohmrtfce , .. ... .. ministry was the existence of episcopal successions in every conceived Church. It remains to seek additional light on the conception entertained of the ministry; and that from three sources (1) writings which are concerned with worship and church order : (2) the canons of councils : (3) some representative Fathers. (i) Besides the oriental offices of ordination, of (0 Liturgies, ancient though uncertain date, 1 and some mediaeval commentaries on the ancient rites, such as that of Symeon of Thessalonica, we have older sources of evidence. There is the work of the Syrian pseudo- Dionysius, On the Ecclesiastical Hierarchy^ a work probably of the end of the fifth century, elaborating the mystical significance of the Church's orders ; and more ancient are the recently discovered Prayers of Bishop Serapion of Thmuis (c. 350), a friend of St. Athanasius, among which are prayers for ordinations, or ' layings on of hands ' ; 2 and the Syrian Apostolical Constitutions? a work which in its present form is probably contemporary with Serapion, but which, in the portion which concerns us, is based upon the earlier Egyptian Church Ordinances, and those again upon the so-called Canons of Hippolytus, which may perhaps be the work of the famous man whose name they bear, but at any rate must be held to be a body of canons not later than the beginning of the 1 Given in Morinus de S. Ord. p. ii. and see App. Note C. 3 See Texte u. Untersuch. ii. 3. b. (Leipzig) 1899, and Bishop Sarapion's Prayer Book, by John Wordsworth, D.D?, Bishop of Salisbury S.P.C.K., 1899). 3 On their date and character see Lightfoot Ignatius i. p. 253, and Brightinan Liturgies Eastern and Western (Oxford, 1896) i. p. xvii. 132 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. third century and of Roman origin. 1 Though of Roman origin, however, they belong to the Roman Church before it had ceased to use the Greek lan- guage ; and, as they lie at the basis of the Greek ritual of ordination, they may most fitly be con- s j^ ere( j h ere xhe portions which concern us run thus in the surviving versions : 'Let the bishop be chosen from [probably "by"] all the people. Let him be "orderly," as is written of him in the apostle. 2 In the same week 3 in which he is ordained, let the people say "We choose him." Then when all the people are silent, after the confession, 4 let them all pray for him, saying : " Oh God, strengthen this man whom Thou hast prepared for us. " Afterwards let one be chosen from among the bishops and the presbyters 5 to lay his hand upon his head and pray, saying : "Oh God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all consolations, who dwelleth [? dwellest] in the holy place, and hath respect unto the humble, who knoweth all things before they come to pass, who hast established the bounds (or ' laws ') of Thy Church, by whose injunction it cometh about that a holy race should be maintained from Adam . . . 6 who hath established 7 rulers and princes : do Thou now look upon N. thy servant, giving to him Thy power and the effectual Spirit ; which Thou didst give to Thy holy Apostles through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thine only Son, to those 1 Brightman I.e. p. xxiii. They exist only in Arabic and Ethiopia versions, themselves translated from Coptic versions of the original Greek. They have been recently brought into fresh notice by Achelis Texte u. Untersuch. vi. 4, Die Canones Hippolyti: see also A. C. Headlam in the Guardian for 1896, pt. i. pp. 243, 699. The conclusion as to their date is that of Duchesne and Batiffol as well as the critics just mentioned. I have translated Achelis' Latin version of the Arabic. 2 i Tim. iii. 2. 3 It is suggested that 'on the same Sunday ' should be read. The ceremony in that case would begin with a formal presentation of the chosen bishop to the people and their public acceptance of him. 4 This reminds us of the Didache xiv. i. See p. 377 n. 2 . 5 This expression is of uncertain meaning. But we must not translate ' bishops or presbyters,' for we read later ' the power of ordination is not given to the presbyters.' I venture to think the original must have meant, Met one of the bishops and one of the presbyters be chosen to lay on hands and pray.' ' The text runs on ' rations huius episcopi qui est magnus Abraham.' This gives no sense ; the later rites commemorate how God has always maintained 'rulers and priests in His holy people (making mention of Abraham with others) and ' never left His sanctuary without a ministry.' ' All these verbs in the 3rd person should probably be in the 2nd as ' hast estab- lished ' is. III.] The Witness of Church History. 133 who founded the Church in every place, to the honour and glory of Thy holy name. Because Thou knowest the heart of each one, grant to him that, without sin, he may behold (?) Thy people, that he may be worthy to feed Thy great [and] holy flock. Make his way of life also to be more holy than that of all the people without any lapse. Make him to be emulated 1 of all for his excellence, and receive his prayers and oblations which he shall offer to Thee day and night, and let them be to Thee a sweet savour. Grant to him also, O Lord, the office of a bishop and a spirit of gentleness, and power to forgive sins : and give to him authority (or 'ability') to loose all the chains of the iniquity of evil spirits, and to heal all diseases, and bruise Satan under his feet quickly, through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom be glory to Thee with Him and the Holy Spirit for ever and ever. Amen. " After that let them all turn to him the newly-made bishop giving him the kiss of peace, for he deserves this. And let the deacon bring the oblations, and let him who has been made bishop lay his hand on the oblations with the presbyters, saying : " The Lord be with you all.'" Then after the reply ' And with thy Spirit,' and the Sursum Corda, he is to continue the celebration of the eucharist to the end. And he is to bless the oil (if there be any) and the offerings of food and fruits of the earth. 2 ' But if a presbyter is ordained, everything shall be done with him as with a bishop, except that he shall not take his seat upon the throne. But the whole of the same prayer shall be prayed over him as over the bishop, with the single exception of the name of the bishop's office. The bishop is in all respects to be on the same level with the presbyter, except in the matter of the throne and in ordination, for the power of ordaining is not granted to him.' Of the deacon we learn that he is to serve the bishop and presbyter in all things, and not only at the time of the eucharist, and also that he is to serve the sick who have no helper, and inform the bishop of their state that he may pray over them, and also relieve their state, as likewise also that of other needy folk. He too is to be ordained by the bishop with a laying-on of hands and prayer to the effect that he may be granted the Holy Spirit in the same 1 We may hope that this expression ' ut invideatur ' does not exactly represent the Greek original probably fr)Aou<r0ai to be the object of zeal in others. 2 The bishop's primary functions are liturgical, and it is in the performance of these that, at the date of the canons, his ' usurpatio juris ' consists : see Achelis p. 160. 134 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. manner as was Stephen, and power effectually to use the sign of the cross, with which he himself is signed, against all the devices of Satan, and a blameless life, and learning to lead many in the way of salvation in the Church without offence. 1 Then follows the more peculiar canon ' When any one is found worthy to stand before the tribunal for his faith and to be sentenced to punishment for Christ's sake, and is after- wards pardoned and let go free, such an one forthwith is worthy of the rank of presbyter before God, not in virtue of ordination by the bishop. Rather his confession is his ordination. But if he become a bishop, let him be ordained. If any one has confessed but not been tortured, he is worthy of the presbyterate, but he must be ordained. If one who was a slave to another man has endured tortures for Christ's sake, he too is a presbyter to the flock. He has received the spirit of the presbyterate without the form ; let the bishop therefore leave out the part of the prayer which refers to the Holy Spirit.' That is to say : one who has been tortured for the faith a martyr in will is to rank as a presbyter without further ordination, but only if he is a free- man. If he was a slave he is to be ordained (with a certain omission). Confession, without torture, does not exempt from ordination to the presbyterate but qualifies for it. 2 Now these canons and prayers are very remarkable. We notice that though the bishop is at present but very little differentiated from the presbyter in other respects, yet the difference is none the less marked in the single matter of the power to ordain. He only can ordain to the several orders, though probably a presbyter is to assist in the laying-on of hands in the 1 cc. i.-v. 2 c. vi. The Latin (which I have not cited hitherto as it is so far from the original) runs, 'quando quis dignus est qui stet coram tribunal! propter fidem et afficiatur paena propter Christum, postea autem indulgentia liber dimittitur, talis postea meretur gradum presbyteralem coram Deo, non secundum ordinationem quae fit ab episcopo. Immo confessio est ordinatio eius. Quodsi vero episcopus fit, ordinetur.' III.] The Witness of Church History. 135 case of a bishop, as Timothy was ordained by St. Paul, but also 'with the laying-on of the hands of the presbytery.' Of course the bishop came, in course of time, to occupy a much more distinctive position, but in one sense we should notice that what succeed- ing ages witnessed was the evolution of the presbyter rather than of the bishop, for in the age represented by these canons, the presbyter is in fact a very sub- ordinate official so long as the bishop is present who is the normal pastor. 1 He can hardly have been as essential to the community as the deacon. ' It is the bishop who normally, at any rate, celebrates the eucharist, it is the bishop who distributes the offer- ings and gifts to the poor ; although the presbyters have a part in the baptismal service, it is the bishop to whom those to be baptized make their confession or profession, 2 who consecrates the oil with which the presbyter anoints them, who lays his hands on them with prayer for the reception of the Holy Spirit when they have been baptized. The bishop is clearly the centre and life and head of all authority in the community,' 3 its chief celebrant as well as ruler. And this is the position in which we shall indis- putably find the bishop when we look back to the letters of Ignatius at the very beginning of the second century. Later we find a process of decen- tralization going on in the East, and much more in the West, which resulted in the presbyter gaining a more independent and influential ministry. 4 1 In the bishop's absence, however, he takes his place (c. xxxiv.) at the love-feast and doubtless at the altar also. - c. xix. ' tune confiteatur epistopo huic enim soli de ipso est impositum onus.' 3 Headlam i.e. p. 991. 4 e.g. at Alexandria in the 4th century there were 'parish priests' in the later sense. 1 36 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. But what it concerns us specially to notice in this enquiry is, that neither the evolution of the distinctive office of the presbyter, nor the elevation of the bishop above his presbyters affected, as far as our evidence goes, that substantial point of distinction between the two offices, ' that the power of ordination is not granted to the presbyter.' This is to the author of the canons, and this is still to Jerome and Chry- sostom, 1 the one point of difference. It was no doubt the fact that in the period when these canons were composed, the presbyterate was, under normal circumstances, rather a position of dignity than an administrative or liturgical office, which accounts for the rule that the will for martyrdom on the part of a free man (though not of a slave) that is, confessorship with endurance of torture is, without further ordination, to constitute him a presbyter. What exactly this means, or exactly what powers would be included in it, we cannot determine. But it is, no doubt, because the presbyterate is rather the ecclesiastical dignity, and the episcopate the ecclesiastical office, that martyr- dom qualifies without more ado for the one, while consecration is in any case required for the other. And we must add that the canon belongs to the period, the results of which appear in St. Cyprian's episcopate, when there was a tendency so to rever- ence the martyrs on whom God Himself had seemed to set his seal and consecration, as to allow them seriously to interfere with Church order and discipline. The evil effect of this mistaken reverence is apparent in the marked reversal of the language of this l See pp. 147, 159. III.] The Witness of Church History. 137 canon which appears in the later version of it in the Apostolical Constitutions. 1 ' A confessor is not ordained f i. e. is not in the clergy], for confessor- ship is a matter of will and endurance [not of ecclesiastical office]. But he is worthy of great honour as having confessed the name of God and His Christ before Gentiles and kings. But if there is need for him to become bishop, or presbyter, or deacon, then he is ordained, But if any confessor, not having been ordained, attempt to seize any such dignity for himself, on the ground of his confession, let him be excom- municated and expelled. For he is nothing, since he has denied the ordinance of Christ, and is worse than an unbeliever.' It is very interesting to watch the changes which take place in other respects also as these canons pass into the rules of the Egyptian Church Order, and then into those for the Apostolical Constitutions. The one bishop who, probably with the presbyter, is to consecrate his fellow by laying-on of hands in the canons becomes the three bishops of the Constitu- tions, 2 and the ceremony appears of the laying of the open book of the Gospels upon the head of him who is being ordained. 3 The prayer becomes more elaborate ; more specific allusion is made in it to the power of ordaining others, ' of giving orders,' and, in one text of the Constitutions, to the offering of the eucharistic sacrifice 4 ' the pure and bloodless sacri- fice, the mystery of the New Covenant.' There is 1 viii. 23. (It remains, however, substantially in the intermediate Egyptian Ch. Ordin. See Achelis' Canones Hippolyti p. 68.) ' O/noAoyjj'njs ov xeiporoi/eiToi- yviafitf; yap TOVTO coi virojuofi?? . . . cap Se \peia avrov fi t is firitTKOitov ij irpco'jSvrepoi' TJ Sidxovov, xetpoTOveiTai' el ie TIS o/noXoy^nj? fit) \eiporovr)0els apTrdtrr) eavria dftuj^a TL roiovTov <i)f Sia TTJI> bfj.o \oyiav, OUTOS xadaipcicrtiu xai diro/3aAAc'<T0w ov yap itrrtv, eirei'n-ep rjpiojTai TTJV Xpiarov iidraf ii/ ai itrriv airurrov \tipuv. 2 The versions of the dg. Ch. O. vary. See Achelis I.e. pp. 40-1. 3 The laying-on of hands is not specially mentioned. See p. 352. The popular election still remains. * Though the fact that the newly-consecrated bishop immediately proceeds to celebrate the Eucharist shows that this was, in the days of the Canons, regarded as his most important function. 138 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. also in the Constitutions a distinctive prayer for the presbyter's ordination, recalling the appointment by Moses of the elders to assist him in judgment, and specifying among his functions ' priestly ministries * on behalf of God's people.' But these changes are not considerable. And the prayers of Bishop Serapion for the laying-on of hands in the making of a presbyter and of a bishop 'of the succession of the holy apostles,' suggest as simple an idea of these offices as the prayers in the canons of Hippolytus. 2 More emphasis, however, is laid on sacerdotal principles in the ' Constitutions ' generally than in these ordinals. General There is an intense insistence on the necessity for theprie e st - ordination to qualify a man for any ministerial work 3 : there is a reiterated magnifying of the office of bishops, whether as priests ministering the obla- tions of the new covenant, especially the eucharistic sacrifice, 4 or as prophets and kings (' he is your king 1 Upovpyiai. Sacerdotal terminology, however, is not absent from the Canons. The bishop is the ' high priest,' c. xxiv. See also c. xxxvi. 2 See below for Serapion's prayers, pp. 331 f. Nothing has been said of the re- cognition of minor orders in these ordinals, for they do not fall within the purview of this work, and throughout they are placed upon a quite different level to those of the bishops, priests, and deacons, ordained by the Apostles. See Apost. Const, viii. 46. Dionysius Areop. and Symeon of Thessalonica, ap. Morinus de S.O. p. ii. p. 129. 3 E.g. ii. 27 : His oiov Tf avdpiawov cavToi/ 619 iepiatnv^v eiripplitTfiv, /UT) Aaj36vra TO du<j/u,a irapa (tpeiTTOvor, Kal iroielv ixflva. a. fjiovoif TOIS iepev<riv e^ea'Tiv. Cf. ii. 28, iii. 10 : ovre AaiKot; ejrirpe'iro/xej' Trotetv TI TCOI/ lepanidov tpyior. It seems admitted (viii. 46) that God's supernatural or miraculous call, as in the case of Ananias (Acts ix.), dispenses with the necessity for human ordination. But cf. viii. 26 : an exorcist with the gift of healing would require to be ordained to the regular ministry. * E.g. ii. 25 : 'Yjnets oZv cnj/u.epoi', co ejriV(cojroi, tore TU> Aa<o v/j-Stv icpeis, \euirai, oi AetTOVpyovvTes rfj i(p< <rKi\irfj, rf ayi'f Kal (cafloAiicjj eKKArjtrio, Kal irapefTTwre? ria 6v<ria.<TTripi<a Kvpiou roO Oeov ri^iav Kal Trpocrayoi'Tes aura! ras Aoyticas ical avaifj-ax- TOVS Svcrtas Sta 'Irjcrovrov pieyaAou apxiepew i/aeis TOI? tv vfilv \aiKots e<TT6 jrpo <j>rj- rai, <ip\ovTfS *cal r;yoii/xei'0t ical /SaaiXet;, oi fieairai fleou Kal riav iriariav aurov, oi fio\eis TOU Xdyov Kai ayye\Tr}pfs, ot yvtotrTat. riav ypa.$5>v Kal $Q6yyoi TOV Oeov Kai fxaprvpe? TOU SeXjftaTO? aiiToC, ot iravrtov TO? o/napTi'as ()a.<rraovTfS ai 7Tpi iravriov oiroXoyovj^evot. Cf. ii. 27, 28. III.] The Witness of Church History. 139 and ruler,' nay more, ' he is your earthly God after God' 1 ), or as mediators between God and His people, 2 (he is, ' after God, your father, begetting you to adoption through water and the Holy Ghost ') : there is an emphatic distinction drawn between the powers of a bishop and those of a presbyter 3 (' the distinction of names is a distinction of realities' specially, only a bishop can ordain) : there is a strong and powerful assertion of the prin- ciple of order : finally, there is a noticeable pass- age on the apostolical succession, with special re- ference to the perpetuating of the eucharistic sacrifice. ' Christ, the only-begotten, was the first high priest by His Nature, not having snatched the honour for Himself, but being appointed by the Father ; who became man for us, and, when offering His spiritual sacrifice to His God and Father before His passion, appointed us * only to do this, though there were with us others too who had believed on Him but a believer did not, as such, become a priest or obtain the high priestly honour and after His assumption, we, having offered 1 ii. 26 '. OCros o.p\tav cou ^yov/icvo? vjuuc. OVTOS V/JMV j3ao"tAevs KOU OVTOS v/xcov eiriyeios Cebs /xcra 6e6v os 6<eiAei TTJS wap" vju.wi' Ttfirjs airoXavciv. wept yap TOVTOV Kal TUP onoiiav ar-ros 6 Sebs eAeyev'. 'Eyu etira 0eoi e<rre teat viol vi//t<r- rov iraircf, at Qeou? ov KaKoAoyrja-f is 6 yap ciri'oxuiro; irpoKa.6eecr8u> vftjav <os 0eoO af 10 TeTi/iTjueVos, ]7 Kparet rov KArjpou Kal rov Aaou TTOITOS ap^ct. Cf. ii. 33. This is surely rather overstrained language. - ii. 25, 26 : The bishop is /ie<ri'n)s fleov al vfiuv v rait wpb aiiToi' karpeuut ovros /xera Btov irarTjp vfiiav, Si' V&O.TOS ital m/eu^iaTOS apayevi^cras v^ /^ov ei av, eyai a^fitpoi' yeye'ia^Ka <re. 3 viii. 46 : *I<rre yap iravTio? e7rto"edirov5 irap* r/fiCii' opOftairfleWas at irpta- /SuTt'povs <cal Stajcopovs evx77 <ta <' X 6 '?''"' *iriflri, Tif Siaijopa' rwi' opo/iaTwi' KOI rJiv 6ia({)Opat' TWP Trpa.yiJLa.Tiov &eiKVvovra.r ov yap 6 ^ovAdfievo? irap' TJJUU/ e A^pov TJ)' ^ctpa, utinrep firi nis ij35^Aou TUP Sa/naAeu)i< eirt TOV 'lepo^oaft irapaxeicofif iepaio-vi^is, aAA" o KaAovMf "Os virb" TOV fltov. iii. 10 : Ovie eTTiTptVo/iep irptcr^vT Xtporoveiv. viii. 46 : 'Exeii/o KOII^J irarre? irapayye'AAo/ity, a<rro' efj./j.(vtiv T)J SoOeiVj} tivTta teal fiij virfpftaCvciv TOVS opov;. 4 The Apostles are supposed to be the speakers. 140 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. according to His commandment a pure and bloodless sacrifice, ap- pointed bishops and presbyters and deacons, seven in number.' 1 The later writings to which we have alluded are without the exaggerated tone which sometimes appears in the Constitutions, and the thoughts con- nected with the various ordinations are often of great moral beauty and interest. It is tempting to dwell upon them. 2 But, in spite of certain differ- ences, the whole literature is pervaded by the same principles and it has been better for our purpose to exhibit them as they appear in the earliest documents. ( 2 ) Canons of (2) What is the witness of oriental councils ? It is very slight. For, as the principle of the ministry was little opposed, it was as little contended for ; and it is not till the fourth century that we begin to have the canons of councils. The canonical literature is occupied a good deal with clerical discipline, and the distinctive powers of bishops, priests, and deacons are throughout assumed and guarded. The earliest A.D. 314. recorded canons are those of Ancyra. The council held here was of the nature of a ' general council ' of the Churches of Asia Minor and Syria, ' to heal the wounds inflicted on the Church by the persecution under Maximin.' 3 The language of its twenty-five canons implies throughout the threefold ministry : there is the general government of the bishop, 4 the 1 viii. 46 : UpwTOS Toivvv TJJ tf>v<rei ap^iepcv; 6 fioi/oyevrjs Xpioros, ov^ favria TTIV TtjUTjv apjraaas, aAAa irapa TOU Harpo? KaTaorafleiV os yevo/JLfvos avdpiairos Si' Tj^a; (tai rtfv wvfVii.aTi.Kijv (hiaiav n-pocr^epup TCO 9e<j> auToC Kal jrarpt Trpb TOU iraflous, Vj/jui' SterafaTO fxopoit TOUTO rroifiv, (cairoi dvriav <ruv r)l*.lv Kal erepiav TWP eiy aiirbv ireirKTTfVKOTiav a\V ov jrai/rtos 6 7rrreu<7or f/Sri Kal iepev; xareon) J) apxiepoTKC^j aft'as ITUX*' fitra Se -ri}v ivAkiffyiv OVTOV rineif, irpoveveyicovTes Kara. TIJP StaTafiy avrov 0v(Tiav KaSapai' Kal arai^aKTOv, 7rpoe^6ipi(ra^ieda C7rK7XO7rov9 Kal TrpetrjSvre'povt Kal SiaKovovf firra TOV api.9ii.6v. 2 Some of the chief passages are quoted in App. Note C. 3 Hefele Conciliengesch. 16. 4 Cc. 2, 3, 10, 15. The clergy in general (c. 3) constitute a rots. III.] Tlie Witness of Church History. 141 priestly ministration of the presbyters, 1 and the assistant ministry of the deacons. 2 The thirteenth canon has been much quoted as (implicitly) giving not only country bishops but also town presbyters a power to ordain, with the leave of the bishop of each diocese ; but the canon is very obscure and the reading which would give this meaning is not the best supported in the MSS. and versions. The more probable reading may be best translated : ' Country bishops may not ordain [country] presbyters or deacons, no nor town presbyters either, without the written permission of the bishop, in another diocese ' [or better ' in each diocese ']. 3 It has been men- tioned already that a council at Alexandria (A.D. 324) declared the man who had been ordained by a presbyter to be a mere layman. The great Council A.D. 325. of Nicaea, among other canons, 4 prohibits deacons ' who have no power to offer ' from ' giving the body of Christ to the presbyters ' who have the sacrificial authority ; 5 it also sternly rebukes a practice, which 1 C. i : presbyters TTJS Tt/nijs rijs Kara T)JV KaOeSpav p.eTexov<riv ', their functions are rpO(r<epeii'. ojiiAeu-, Acirovpycti' TOL? iepaTiicds Aeiroupyias. 2 C. 2 : -fi iepa Acirovpyui, ^ TOW apror T) iro-njptov avaififpeiv i.e. either the presenting the oblation to the presbyter who ' offers ' (irpoox^c'pct, c. i ; cf. the use of avo.if>ep(.v in the account of the ordination of a bishop, Apost. Const, viii. 5) : or the communicating the people (see below, Can. Nicaen. 18). 3 On this see App. Note D. There were ' country priests ' as well as ' country bishops.' Each class, having in some sense the same powers as the corresponding class of the town, had limited rights in the exercise of them. Thus only on an emergency could country priests celebrate in the town church (Can. Neo-Caes. 13) ; on the other hand country bishops could ' offer ' in the town freely (Can. Neo-Caes. 14), but not ordain at all without special permission. (So Ancyra c. 13 if exacrnj be read and cf. p. 338). The council of Neo-Caesarea was almost contemporary with that of Ancyra. It may be mentioned that the canons of Neo-Caesarea mention a current idea that the imposition of hands in ordination carried with it the absolution from all sins except carnal ones. * The legislation about the metropolitan sees, i.e. the distinction of rank amongst bishops, does not here concern us. Notice will hereafter be taken of the absence of clear distinction between a valid and a canonical ordination. 5 C. 18 (itpoa^ifpfiv, SMvai TO fftofia TOV xpurrov); cf. Can. Laodic. 19. The practice here rebuked, of deacons communicating presbyters, may have some analogy with the western custom, which gave the deacons an independent authority to 142 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. had come to the ears of the Fathers, of deacons com- municating even before bishops. 'Let all these things, then,' the canon concludes, ' be done away, and let the deacons remain within their proper limits, knowing that they are the servants of the bishop and inferior to the presbyters : and let them take the Eucharist according to their rank after the presbyters, when it is given them either by the bishop or the presbyter. And deacons must not even sit down in the midst of the presbyters, for this is contrary to rule [canon] and order. And if any one will not obey, even after these regulations, let him be deposed from his diaconate.' At Nicaea, and in the synods which followed, we have a great multitude of canons bearing on clerical discipline insisting on clergy passing gradually through the various grades of the hierarchy, prohibiting their passing from one diocese to another, limiting their respective rights, regulating the gradations of rank but nothing more that concerns our present purpose. ( 3 ) Greek (3) What is the witness of the Greek Fathers? Fathers. T-, /. znd century. The powerful testimony of Ignatius to the divine and exclusive authority of the bishop, as in each com- munity the sole source of government and ministry, falls outside the period now under consideration and will be taken account of later. In the Clementines we have found a theory of the functions of the three- minister the consecrated elements. ' As the consecration belongs to the priest, so the dispensation of the sacrament belongs to the minister (deacon) . . . the former sanctifies the oblations, the latter dispenses them when they are sanctified. More- over, the priests themselves are not allowed for fear of presumption to take the chalice from the Lord's table, unless it have been given them by the deacon.' Thus ' without deacons a priest has his name but not his office.' This comes from Isidore of Spain de Eccl. Off. ii. 8 (ap. Hittorp. p. 23) ; it is repeated by Rabanus Maurus de Inst. Cler. \. 7 (ap. Hittorp. p. 316), and Ivo, bishop of Carnot (ap. Hittorp. p. 472). At the some time the deacon's ' ministerium ' is carefully distinguished from the priesthood. Cf. Can. Ancyr. 2. III.] The Witness of Church History. 143 fold ministry, in which the bishop has the supreme administration and the authority to bind and loose, but in which his teaching authority, as the successor to the ' chair of the apostle,' or ' the chair of Christ,' the great Prophet, is mainly emphasized. 1 Clement of Alexandria says but little of the ministry, as we have seen, but speaks of its three orders as representing ascending grades of spiritual dignity. In the third century almost all that we get on the srd century, theory of the ministry 2 in the East consists of scat- tered references in the writings of Origen. To him the ministry not only represents the divine authority of government, but is a priesthood, after the analogy of the Mosaic, and in application of the one priest- hood of Christ. 3 1 See p. 118 n. 1 . It must be remembered that the Clementines are more or less Ebionite. 2 It should, however, be said that Firmilian of Caesarea, one of the most distin- guished bishops of the third century, in his letter in reply to Cyprian, A.D. 256 (ap. Cypr. Ep. Ixxv), reproduces all Cyprian's language about the episcopate. See 16 : ' Potestas ergo peccatorum remittendorum apostolis data est et ecclesiis quas illi a Christo missi constituerunt et episcopis qui eis ordinatione vicaria successerunt. 17 : ' Stephanus se successionem Petri tenere contendit.' It maybe noticed that he speaks of bishops as presbyters : ' quando omnis potestas et gratia in ecclesia con- stituta sit, ubi praesident maiores natu [Le. oi irpeo-jSurepoi] qui et baptizandi et manum imponendi et ordinandi possident potestatem ' ( 7) : yet he also ( 8) specifies bishops as claiming to give the Holy Ghost by laying on of hands : ' ut hi quidem [i.e. episcopi qui nunc] possint per solam manus impositionem venientibus haereticis dare Spiritum sanctum.' Cf. 4: ' seniores et praepositi.' The word ' presbyter ' could still be used in such a sense as to cover the bishops. This letter must have been translated by Cyprian. The traces of a Greek original, however, are plain ; see Diet. Chr. Biog. s. v. CYPRIAN i. p. 751 n. 1 . We can hardly be wrong so far in con- cluding that Firmilian accepted and repeated Cyprian's language about the episco- pate, though he uses presbyter in a sense which leads to Cyprian translating it into maior natu. 3 See in Levit. v. 3 : Christ is the only sacrifice and the only priest ; but He has given His priesthood to His Church ; ' consequens est ut secundum imaginem eius qui sacerdotium ecclesiae dedit, etiam ministri et sacerdotes ecclesiae peccata populi accipiant, et ipsi imitantes magistrum, remissionem peccatorum populo tribuant.' The priests who preside in the Church are said repropitiare ilelic ta ( 4), but this is explained of the moral process by which they bring men back to God. There are strong exhortations to confession, which is to be private or public at the con- fessor's discretion, in Psalm, xxxvii. 6, horn. ii. ; in Levit. ii. 4. It should be mentioned at the same time that Origen seems to say that the un- 144 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. 4 th century. J n the fourth century the body of testimony grows with the mass of writings. There is, to quote some Athanasius. examples, the beautiful letter of Athanasius to Dracontius. Dracontius was a monk, who had been elected to a bishopric close to Alexandria and had received the ' grace of the episcopate,' but afterwards, moved by various fears, fled into concealment and left his high charge. Athanasius endeavours to recall him to his duty, in part by reminding him of monks who have made good bishops, but principally by re- calling to his mind the dignity of the episcopate as instituted by Christ through His Apostles and having, therefore, not merely the authority of the Church but the authority of Christ Himself, and as being the essential condition of the continuous life of the Church and the handing down of grace ; by reminding him also that he has received an actual grace in his ordination as real as the grace of baptism, for which he will be in any case responsible. 1 There is a temptation to dwell on the spiritual beauty and power which is put into the patristic conception of the ministry. When is Gregory of worthiness of the minister does affect the spiritual validity of his ministrations ; cf. in Levit. v. 12 : the unworthy priest 'non est sacerdos nee potest sacerdos nominari.' See Bigg B.L. p. 215 f. We have quoted from Origen above (p. 127 n.3) on the three-fold ministry. 1 Rp. ad Dracont. 3, 4 : El fie TUX eKxArjo'icov 7; 6iarais OVK apeVxet troi, ow5e pojbttcjejs TO rij? eTTto-KOTnijs AetTOVpyrjiua fiterflbv ex et "> <*AAa (cara^poi/eti/ TOU rauTa 8taTaa/eVou (Tio-rijpos ireJrotTjicas o-avToV irapaitaAw, /ur; TOtavra Aoyt'fov /u.7)Se ave'xov T<av TavTa <rvfifiov\ev6vT<av' ov yap dfta ApaKoi/Tt'ou TaOVa' a yap 6 Kvpto? Sia rdv a7ro<rToA(i>i> TeTviriaice, ravra xaAa (cai j3c'/3ata fie'vei* 17 Se riav a8e\<t>tov SeiAi'a iraii- <7erat. ti yap TOV avrov vovv t\\ov jrai/res, oloi' v\iv tx ov<riv ' <n>nfiov\evovTfS <70i, 7ra> ov eyevov <rv XP'O'Ttavo?, iiturKoirtav JUT) OI/TWV ; eav fie Kai ot fie6' ^as ai'aAa- /3cotri TOV TOLOVTOV vovv, wwt av <rv<TTf\vai. Svin/jtrtovTai al tic/cAijcriat ; jj vofti^ov<nv oi o-vj^/SovXevovre's trot nySev eiAi)</>eVat o-e, ort Karaifrpovova-iv ; a\\a (cat TOUTO i^euSij. iapa. yap auTOVS vopifeiv /u.r)6ei/ eti/at /iT)5t TT)!' TOU Aourpoi) \apiv, iav Ttves TOUTOU KOTou|>poi'<Ti.' aAA" eiArji^os, & ayam)Te ApaKOfTte" JUT) ave'xou rait' orv/ix/3ovAevoi'Twv <roi, f-fj&f airara aawrov airatnjSTJffeTat yap TOUTO ?rapa row SfSiaxoTOS 6(Ov. rj OVK fjKova-at TOV aTroo-roAou Ae'-yovros MTJ ajxe'Aet TOV ev o-ot xaptV/otaTos. The expression ij Tijs ejrto-itOTr^s X"P l * occurs in 2. UI.] The Witness of Church History. 145 Nazianzus' eloquence so high as in speaking of the Gregory of priesthood? There is the intense sense of the dignity of the priesthood, of the surpassing moral claim which it makes on those who share it ; l there is the clear and powerful realization of its connection with the whole purpose of the Incarnation : of the dependence of the priesthood of the Christian ministry upon the unique priesthood of Christ, and of its relation to the Mosaic priesthood as being its spiritual counterpart and fulfilment; 2 there is the unfailing spirituality of idea the outward sacrifice which it is the priest's high vocation to offer, always being kept in close connection with its inward and spiritual correlative, ' the sacrifice of praise and of a contrite heart, which is the only sacrifice which God 1 See especially Orat. ii. 94, 95 (on the occasion of his ordination as pres- byter, A.D. 361) : OlSa S' eyaiye fj.rjSf TOVS tv TOis craj/j.ao'i TOIV tcpe'top ij rCiv BVJJ.O.TUV dvefeTaoTOvs fievovras aAAa TeAei'ovs Te'Aeia vpoaayfiv vtvoni&nevov, or/fi/SoAov, ot/uat, TOVTO TTJ9 Kara \f/v\rjv dpTioTriTOS' fxijSt oroAT)s TTJS JepaTCKrjs ij o~Kevovy TLVOS TWV ayiiav i^avctv Trai/rl 0efj.irbv ov ju.7)5t T<ZS Outri'a; avra; v<ji' !>v Kal ore Kal ov JITJ Ka#rjKOi> Jjv oj/aAcViceo'flai' fATjSe TO tAaiov airo/xt/uLeto'dai rqj xP t '" e< S MlSe TO Svfj.iafj.a rijs o-ui/fleVeios 1 /xrjSe el? TO lepov ei&ifvai, 6o"Tt? ^ \fru\riv ij aw.aa ov xaOapd;, jue^pi at TO>V /itiKpOTOTCov' TOaovrou Sec ecj Ta ayia Tfaiy ayi'aw irpoo~i^otT<jj' floppoVKTO, iv ft Kai airaf TOV tviavTOv fiovov ejri/UaToi/ ^y TOCTOUTOU 5ec TO KOTaTreTaafta 7) TO lAao'T^ptoi' T; TTJI' Kifiiarbv fi TO. XepoujSlfj, ij irpoo'/SAe'ireii' elyai Tra^rbs >j Trpoo'dnTeO'Sai. TauTa ouv eiScu? e^w, (cot OTI ^ii)6eis a^io? TOV /xeyaAou Kal Scov, Kal 0vfj.a.TOS Kai apxiepe'ws, b'o"Ttj /XT) irporepov tavrbv Trape'cTT/jo'e TW Oe&T Ovaiav ta<ra.v, ayiav, nySe TTfv Aoyifcrji' AaTpttai/ fvapecrrov firf$fii;a.TO, jaijSe e&vcrt Tip 0e<3 OvtrCav aivetrcias Kal irvevfia. <ruvTfTpiii.^fvov, rfv fiovT)i> 6 TraiAra Soil? airaiTet Trap' ijfuav Ovtriav, iris efieAAop Oapprjo'a.t: Trpo<r<j>epfiv avTia TJJI' fu>6ev, r^v riav /aeyaAwi/ fivanripiiav OLiniTvirov, jj irus lepe'u; o^ij/iia Kal oi'0fj.a viro&vfO'Oa.i, irplv 6o"t'ois tp-yoi? TeAeiaiaai Tas ^t tpas. 2 Orat. x. 4 t Ala TOVTO ei? fxeVoi* ayeis Kal vjro^copovi'Tos Aafi/Savjj Kal rrapa O"eavTO>/ Kaflcfcis' TOVTO TO e/xoi> aOiKrjfia, (^airj? ac ; Kal KOti/wfbi' TTOIJ; Twy <f>povriStov Kal T<OI/ O'Teilxii'ODV Sia TOVTO \pdty ap^cepe'a Kal 7repi|3dAAeis TOI/ iro6^pij Kal wepiTi'ftjs TTJI> Ki&apiv Kal Trpoadyecs TCO 6vcriaoT)jpt'([)Tii)S Tri<eiifiaTiKi}S 6AoKavTaio"<o? Kal flveis TOI/ fj.6<r\ov TTjs TcAetioo"ea>s Kal TeAetots Ta? x 'P a 5 T< {' >rvev^iaTi <cal elo'dyets ts Ta ayia TW^ ayiiav fironreva'ovTa Kal iroieis AeiTOvpybi/ TTJI O-KTJI/IJ? TTJS aAT)0H'TJs TJf fTrr)(v o Kvpto; Kal OVK avflpcoTros' ei e Kal tiiov Vfioii/ TE TUV XP'' /TU> ' Ka ' ujrep ou Kal ei? oy fj ^pt'crty, oifie TOVTO 6 rranjp TOV aArj^tvov Kal OI/TOJS xP t(7TO "> "^ *XP l<rcv ^atov ayaAAido'ews irapa TOVS fieToxovs auTOV, ^pio*a$ TTJV av^pajTroTriTa T|) flednjTi, oiio'Te TroiTJaai Ta afi^oTepa. ei>, Kal aviTos 6 (?ebs Kal Kv'pios r)ij.!av 'I>)<ro{/s Xpto-Tos, 5i* 08 TI;I> KaTaAAayrj^ eo^i(Ka/aei'. Kal TO BifVfMl TO ayiov, o fOero )/Jiaf eis TTJC Buucovtav THVTTJI' ev jj Kal to-TriKa/iec Kal Kavx<ifxe#a err' eAjri'St TIJ? SO^TJS TOV Kvptov rmiav 'Irjaov Xpt<TTOV, u rj 6dfa ij TOVf acaii-as Tail' altavutv. a/.'.);v. K 146 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. asks of us ' ; l there is the anxious sense of the difficulty of the pastoral cure, in view of all the per- plexing varieties in men's dispositions and neces- sities, capacities and states of life, all of which the pastor must have in constant and instinctive view ; there is, lastly, the strong belief in the reality of ordination grace conveyed through the laying on of hands. 2 Chrysostom. John Chrysostom, again, is emphatic in asserting that orthodoxy is ' of no avail to justify a Christian body, unless its priesthood is secured by proper ordination.' 3 But if he thus shows himself to be alive to the spiritual dignity of the priesthood, in virtue alike of its sacrificial and of its judicial powers, he is equally alive to its responsibility for individual souls laying immense stress on the necessity for consid- erateness, for gentle and patient self-adaptation to the different characters and needs and weaknesses of men, whether of high or low estate. 4 He is as im- pressive on the function of the pastor as on that of 1 See the quotation above from Orat. ii. On the true succession to the episcopate moral as well as actual see Orat. xxi. on St. Athanasius. 2 Cf. the account of St. Basil on his death-bed (Orat. xliii. 78) : OavnaTovpyei riav irpoeiprjfteVwf OVK eAaTTOV waking his faculties of speech and action on the verge of death to ordain some of his disciples, rrji' x e 'P a SiStavi xa.1 TO TireC/na. St. Basil's own clear view about Church ordinations is cited pp. 176 n. 1 , 353. There is a striking passage on the sacramental change wrought in a man by ordination in Gregory of Nyssa, in Bapt. Chr. P. G. xlvi. p. 581 D. 3 In Ephes. Horn. xi. 5, and see his famous work de Sacerdotio iii. 4-7 ; vi. 4. * Cf. de Sacerdot. ii. 3, 4 ; iii. 16 (on the case of the widows) ; iv. (latter part) ; vi. 8. This is a remarkable feature of the patristic conception of the ministry ; for great orators, like Gregory and Chrysostom, are apt to be more alive to the common sensibilities of man than sympathetic with the differences of individual temperament. This insistence on the need of discerning men's different needs and characters appears equally in the western writers on the ministry. If it is not so prominent in St. Ambrose's de Officiis, it appears sometimes remarkably in St. Leo's conception of government where we should not expect it, and it is very prominent in St. Gregory (de Cura Pastorali ii. init. and iii. This work had immense recognition and autho- rity in the West and even in the East ; see pref. to Mr. Bramley's translation). The same characteristic appears in the instructions to the penitentiary priest in the ancient Ordo Romanus (ap. Hittorp. p. 25 f.). III.] The Witness of Church History. 147 the priest. We should notice also that while he speaks of the common priesthood which belongs to bishops and presbyters and emphasizes (like some westerns) the closeness of the two orders to one another in dignity, he never fails to distinguish the unique privilege and power of ordaining which be- longs to the bishop. 1 This special power of the episcopate was empha- E P ; P hanius. sized in the famous saying of Chrysostom's younger contemporary, Epiphanius, that while presbyters could beget children to the Church, i.e. by baptism, only bishops could beget Fathers to the Church, i.e. by ordination. This passage in Epiphanius 2 is im- portant (like the action of the Alexandrian council in the case of Colluthus), because it gives us an expression of the Church's mind in clear view of the.*- antagonistic position. Aerius 3 had definitely he 4u that there was no difference of order 4 between a * Cf. ffom. in i Tim. xi. i : Ou n-oAu p.io-ov avrtai> [irpeo"j3vTe'p<oi/] (cat eiriirKoiriaf Kal yap xal aviTOt &iSacrKa\Cai> eiaiv avaStoeyfuevoi Kal ifpo<rratriav 7175 encxATjat'as. (cat a jrepi firio-KOTTtav eiTre, TOLVTO. Kal irpecr/SuWpoi? apjuoTTef rg yap \eiporovia fi-ovy t>jrepj3e/3rj(cao"i, (eat TOUTOI fj.6vov SoKOva't ir\fOv(KTfiv TOUS irp(T/3uTe'povs. Horn, in Prtil. i. i : OVK av oe irpeo~/3t!Tepoi firi&KoTrov f\fipoTovfi<rav. ffom. in i Tim. xiii. i : ou yap STJ jrpc<r^uTcpoi TOV inivKOwov exeiporovovv. Chrysostom (on Phi!, i. i) admits that St. Paul uses the terms bishop and presbyter interchangeably. But so also, he adds, is the word Siajeovia applied to the bishop's office. The language was not fixed, but the three offices were distinct : on-ep ovv t$>r\v, KO.L oi irpecr/Sv-repoi TO TraAaibc eKaAoviro eiriVicoTroi icac SIOLKOVOI. TOW Xpio"TOU, Kal oi ejrio-KOTrot Trpeo"- jSurepoi' oOfv Kal vvv iroAAot o-ujx7rpeo-/3uTe'po> ewC<rKonoi, yp<i<f>ov<ri, Kal trvv&iaxovia' Aoiwoi' S TO i&iaov eKa<rrta aTroi/ei/e'/xijTai ovofj-a, o eirtVcoiros (cat 6 irpfO'ftvTCpo^. 2 adv. ffaer, Ixxv. 4 : *OTI /uec o<^poo~uin)9 eoTt TO irav eij.ir\ov [sc. Aerius], rots <rvi'f<riv (ceKTTjfieVots TOVTO JijAov TO \iyeiv avrov ini&KOirov Kal irpfafivrepov io'civ fii/ai. Kal irws eoTat TOUTO Svvarov ; y (Lev yap e<7Ti irartpiav yevvr)TiKT) Ta^ts- iraTe'pa? yap ytvva TJJ ic(cAT)o-ia' 17 Se iraTe'pas /HTJ Suvafte'iT/ yfvv^v Sia. TTJS rov Aovrpou jraAiyyei/eo'ia? TfKva yevff rff e(C(cAijcrta, ov fiT)i> Trare'pas i) Stiao-KaAous. icat ira>s olov Te J\v TOV Trpe<rflvT(pov Ka0i<rrat> fit) e\ovra \eipodfcriav rov \eipoTovflv, i) eiirfiv avrov etvai Icrov r<a firiVKomp ; * Aerius was still alive ( i) when Epiphanius wrote. His original motive in formulating his anti-ecclesiastical views was not apparently a noble one, though Epiphanius does not make the best of those against whom he writes. He was in opposition not only to the right of bishops but to other church customs, and he was also of Arian antecedents. * fata Tafi?, fii'a TifiJj, ci> au>>/xa (| 3). 148 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. bishop and a presbyter. ' The bishop lays on hands,' he said, ' but so does the presbyter : x the bishop baptizes, so does the presbyter likewise : the bishop is the minister of worship, so is the presbyter: the bishop sits upon the raised seat (throne), and the presbyter too.' There is then no difference. Aerius does not seem to have appealed to any church tradition, but simply to facts in the Church's present constitution and to the common use of the words ' presbyter ' and ' episcopus ' in the New Testament. Epiphanius meets his argument from the New Testament with a mixture of truth and error with which we are not at present concerned. 2 He meets him, however, first of all with an appeal to the mind of the Church on the matter. His customary abusiveness of tone must not blind us to the fact that he speaks clearly, with the consciousness that he is on quite sure ground, when he says that, whatever the presbyter may do, he cannot lay on hands in ordination that in this sense bishops alone constitute the ' generative order ' of the Church. 3 Summary Now the evidence of the Eastern Church has been for the East. p assec j j n review. What is the result ? Leaving out * I.e. in certain benedictions of penitents the priest used prayer with the laying on of hands ' the prayer of imposition of hands.' This at least the Church would have admitted ; irpea/Svrepos x et P " 6T '> " X et P OTO " e ' (Apost. Const, viii. 28). See note (22) on Apost. Const, viii in Migne Patrol. Grace. \. p. 1083. 2 He denies (unlike Chrysostom) that St. Paul uses n-peo-jSuTtpo? and en-io-fton-os of the same person. So far he has a bad case. On the other hand he argues that the Church in the apostolic days was incomplete ; in some places there were bishops and deacons, in others presbyters, according to the degree of completeness of each Church or the fitness of individuals : ov yap navra. eiSus ySvvri&ria'a.v 01 aTrdoroAoi KaTa- <rrfj<rat. . . . OVTTW [OUTO> MSS.] TTJS eKitAijcrias Xa/3ov(njs TO. 7r\i)pai/iiora TTJS oixoi'O/niaj. ouTto KOLT' e/ceiVo xaipoC JI<TO.V ot TOTTOI. ical yap fKa.<TTOv rrpay/na OVK air' apx'Jt TO. irdWa fcr\ev aX\a irpojSaiVovTOS TOV \povov TO. Trpb? TeAetaKrtv riav xft fl ^ v Kart\p- Ti^ero ( 5). He also calls attention to the fact that the presbyters have at least some one over them in the Pastoral Epistles. Cf. Theodore Mops, on i Tim. iii. 8. 3 There is a passage about the apostolic succession, which may be referred to, in Ephraem Syrus adv. Ifaer. serm. xxii, see Opp. Syr. [ed. Rom. 1740] ii. p. 488. III.] The Witness of Church History. 149 of account for the moment some elements in the estimate formed of the ministry which will come into consideration later, it is enough to say at present that everywhere, where there is any evidence forth- coming, we have found the threefold ministry existing and regarded as alone authoritative in virtue of suc- cession from the Apostles. In all cases the authority to ordain the clergy has been found, wherever the question can be raised, to belong to the bishops, nor can fair evidence be produced of any single instance in which ordination by a presbyter (or in view of the exceptional arrangement supposed to have existed at Alexandria, we must say, by a presbyter with the ordinary commission) was either allowed 1 or even contemplated as under any circumstances allowable or valid. B. We pass from the witness of Greek to that of B. The west. Latin Christianity. Here we may deal very briefly successions with the evidence for the existence of the successions of bishops in the period under consideration, for it is not disputed. The episcopal succession was clearly of immemorial antiquity at Rome when Irenaeus wrote. There is no trace of a pre-episcopal age in any other part of Italy, or in Africa, Gaul, or Spain. The beautiful letter of the Churches of Lyons and Vienne, giving an account of the persecution which fell upon them in the time of Marcus Aurelius, con- firms the testimony of Irenaeus for Gaul. 2 The lan- guage of Tertullian is evidence enough for Africa, where indeed episcopacy developed into an exuber- ance of sees rivalled only in Asia. It is true that in 1 See on the case of Paphnmius.App. Note E. 2 Euseb. H.E. v. i. There is the aged bishop Pothinus, 6 TT)I> Suucovuiv T^ en-icncoTTTJs fv \ovySow<a irfirurrevpievos ; there is the deacon Sanctus ; there is the presbyter Irenaeus (c. 4). 150 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. later centuries episcopacy took some remarkable forms, especially, as has been noticed, in the Irish Church. 1 There Christianity was monastic in a unique sense. The abbot took his place as spiritual head side by side with the chieftain of the clan. Often, indeed, the same person was both abbot and chieftain, and the old clan government continued with a new monastic character. Under these circum- stances the bishop lost the governing authority which properly belonged to his office and became a mere instrument kept to perform those spiritual functions which he only could fulfil. But for such purposes 1 A satisfactory account of the episcopate in the Scotic Church of Ireland may be found in Todd's St. Patrick, Apostle of Ireland, and Reeves' Eccl. Antiquities of Down, Connor, and Dromore. Its three notable features were (i) its indefinite multiplication ; (2) its undiocesan character ; (3) its subordination to the abbot- chiefs. The Church outside the empire, as inside it, was organized on the lines of the existing society. Thus in Ireland it became tribal, and small chieftaincies would have resulted in small episcopates (Reeves p. 303 : ' the spiritual jurisdiction of the bishop was coextensive with the temporal sway of the chieftain '). But what introduced its unique features into Church organization here was its predominantly monastic character. The abbot was the real church ruler, and he was not always or generally a bishop. Hence the subordination of the episcopate. The bishops even lost control over the ordinations which they administered (cf. Bede H.E. iii. 4 ; Todd pp. 7-25). The episcopate, having thus lost its characteristic functions of government, was given as a mark of spiritual distinction (Todd p. 5). Thus it became indefinitely multiplied ; seven bishops are often found together in one spot (Todd pp. 33-35). Also it lost its diocesan character (Reeves p. 135 f. on 'the ambulatory nature of episcopacy '). When the Danish invasions (c. A.D. 795 and onward) drove the Irish clergy and monks in great numbers on to the continent of Europe, the bishops seem to have behaved themselves as if they were in their own country, in entire neglect of diocesan restrictions. Hence conciliar enactments against these ' Scoti qui se dicunt episcopos esse ' (Reeves p. 135). And up to the twelfth century, when the Irish Church was organized on diocesan lines under papal influence, the looseness of Irish episcopacy was a standing scandal to ' canonical ' Europe ; see the protests of Anselm and Bernard, quoted by Todd pp. 2-4 : ' dicitur," writes Anselm to a titular king of Ireland, ' episcopos in terra vestra passim eligi et sine certo episcopatus loco constitui, atque ab uno episcopo episcopum sicut quem- libet presbyterum ordinari.' [This latter irregularity was characteristic of the Celtic Church, but the canonical rule seems to have been observed at lona ; cf. Bede H.E. iii. 17-22]. So St. Bernard (de vita S. Mai. 10) : ' nam, quod inauditum est ab ipso Christianitatis initio, sine ordine, sine ratione "mutabantur et multiplicabantur episcopi pro libitu metropolitan; ita ut unus episcopatus uno non esset contentus, sed singulae paene ecclesiae singulos haberent episcopos.' He clearly does not understand the situation. III.] The Witness of Church History. 1 5 1 he was kept : ' the bishops were always applied to, to consecrate churches, to ordain to the ecclesiastical degrees or Holy Orders, including the consecration of other bishops ; to give Confirmation, and the more solemn benedictions ; and to administer the Holy Communion with peculiar rites.' l No acces- sion of power to abbot or king ever militated against the principle of ministerial succession. Through all the different forms which the church ministry assumed, and they have been very various, this has been the constant principle. Never has it been supposed that the accident of ecclesiastical authority, apart from episcopal order, gave a man the power to ordain. 2 It remains then to seek the light thrown upon this The concep- conception of the ministry in the West mtoisry in (1) by typical theologians after A.D. I5O: 3 (2) by the canons of councils : (3) by writers on worship and by the church offices. (i) St. Cyprian, the great bishop of Carthage, (i) western stands out prominently among western writers who vindicated the claim of the apostolic ministry. Itcypnan, cannot be rightly maintained that he added anything ' new to the belief of his predecessors, western or eastern, in the visible unity of the Church or the authority of the episcopate. Nor did he bring these 1 Todd St. Patrick p. 5. Cf. Vita S. Brigidae, ed. Colgan in the Triadis Thaumaturgae Ac/a, p. 523; Adamnan VitaS. Columbaei. 36, ed. Fowler (Oxford, 1894), p. 47 ; cf. xvii, xxxiv, xL 2 See App. Note E on some supposed cases of presbyterian ordination. 3 Clement of Rome is therefore not yet in discussion. The conception of the ministry held by Irenaeus and Tertullian has been already exhibited. A passage from Hippolytus is noticed in another connection, App. Note G. 152 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. two doctrines into any new connection ; Ignatius and Irenaeus had already put the bishop in a very clear position in relation to church unity. Nor again is it true to say that Cyprian in any way created the doctrine of schism or destroyed an existing ' freedom of association ' in the Church. 1 He did not in fact create or innovate, but he gave emphatic expression to an existing church principle in view of the parti- cular circumstances of his episcopate. The Church is one, then, this is his position 1 Dr. Hatch (B.L. p. 103) has maintained that ' the rule [that " there should be only one bishop in a community"] was not firmly established until the third century. Its general recognition was the outcome of the dispute between Cyprian and Novatian.' ' For this assertion,' says Dr. Salmon truly, 'he offers no proof what- ever. "Cyprian certainly treats it as a monstrous and impious thing, that when one bishop had been duly elected another should be ordained ; but there is no evidence that this view was then either novel or singular. Novatian no doubt had a respect- able following, but there is no evidence that he claimed to be anything less than the bishop of Rome, or that either he or any of those who acknowledged him as bishop of Rome acknowledged Cornelius also as bishop' (Expositor, July 1887, p. 8 n. !). The opposite is in fact quite plain : cf. the letters of Cornelius to Fabian and of Dionysius to Novatian, ap. Euseb. H.E. vi. 43, 45. The Novatianist confessors clearly imply that there was no question of acknowledging both : see their profes- sion ap. Cyprian Ep. xlix. To go back a long way before Cyprian, it is surely of the essence of Ignatius' conception that there should be but ' one bishop ' in each com- munity. Of course difficulties may have arisen in particular cases in determining what constituted a community. Ordinarily, no doubt, the civil 'ci vitas' became the ecclesiastical ' parish ' ; but there must have been situations hard to deal with under this rule. Thus Lightfoot is very possibly right in regarding Hippolytus as neither strictly bishop of Portus nor bishop of Rome, but an ' assistant bishop' to the see of Rome, an eTriVfcoTroj fBviav, dealing with the mixed population of various nationalities at Portus, the port of Rome, and traditionally associated therefore with that place, see Clement of Rome vol. ii. pp. 427 ff., cf. also Dr. Salmon in Diet. Chr. Biog. s.v. HIPPOLYTUS iii. pp. 90, 91. But such a position would have been exceptional. Harnack appends to his translation of Hatch's work (die GesellscJiaftsverfassung etc. p. 252) a note in disagreement, in the above sense : ' Ich kenne iiberhaupt keinen Grund, der gegen die Annahme spricht, dass sich die Regel, in jeder Stadt sei stets nur ein katholischer Bischof zu dulden, bereits am Ende des zweiten Jahrhunderts festgestellt hat." Dr. Hatch has more recently quoted in support of his view (Growth of Ch. Instit. p. 17) some words of Epiphanius : ov yap n-ore T\ 'AAefai/Speta Svo eiricrxoTrous f<7\fv ais at aAAat ir6\ts (adv. Haer. Ixviii. 7). But the second bishop here spoken of as existing in other Churches of Egypt but not at Alexandria is the schismatic Meletian bishop. The Meletian schism is the subject of the whole section, and the context leaves no doubt as to the meaning. On the subject of this note see Ch. Quart. Rev., July 1888, 'Ancient and Modern Ch. Organization.' III.] The Witness of Church History. 153 with a visible external unity. The essence of that unity lies indeed in a spiritual fact the life of Christ which is communicated to the Church ; but this life is communicated to a visible society, bound together by visible bonds of external association. 1 To this visible society he that would be Christ's must belong ; 1 he cannot have God for his father who has not the Church for his mother.' 2 The sin of schism separates from Christ in such completeness that not even martyrdom can expiate it. 3 Of this unity the bishop is in each community at once the symbol, 4 the guardian, 5 and the instrument. He is the instru- ment of it because ' the bishops, who succeed to the Apostles by an ordination which makes them their representatives,' are the possessors of that sacerdotal 1 Cf. de Unit. Eccles. 5 : ' Ecclesia Domin! luce perfusa per orbem totum radios suos porrigit : unum tamen lumen est quod ubique diffunditur, nee unitas corporis separatur : ramos suos in universam terrain copia ubertatis extendit, profluentes largiter rivos latius pandit : unum tamen caput est et origo una et una mater fecund itatis successibus copiosa.' 2 Ep. Ixxiv. 7 (quoted above, p. 14, with other passages). 3 de Unit. Eccles. 14. Great light is thrown on Cyprian's conception of the sin of schism, so far as concerns the relations of different Churches, by his subsequent attitude towards Stephen of Rome. He would no doubt have said that the sin of schism in the case of any division lies with the Church from which the unjust claim proceeds which causes the division. Stephen made such a claim, \.e. a claim affecting the independence of the Churches of Africa in an open question, and en- deavoured to enforce it by an excommunication which Cyprian and the Africans ignored. ' Make no mistake,' wrote St. Firmilian of Caesarea, speaking of Stephen, ' you have excommunicated yourself (ap. Cypr. Ep. Ixxv. 24). It is to be remarked that St. Augustin makes St. Cyprian in this matter the type of the unschismatical temper, because, while he maintained the independent judgment of the African Churches, he did not break off communion with those who differed from them ; but, as far as in him lay, remained at unity with them in spite of differences (de Bapt. v. 25. 36). Augustin is following Jerome in this, who commends Cyprian on the same grounds (adv. Lucifer. 25 : ' non cum anathemate eorum qui se sequi noluerant'). 4 Ep. xliii. 5 : ' Deus unus est et Christus unus et una ecclesia et cathedra una super Petrum Domini voce fundata. Aliud altare constitui aut sacerdotium novum fieri praeter unum altare et unum sacerdotium non potest.' 5 de Unit. Eccles. 5 : .' Quam unitatem firmiter tenere et vindicare debemus, maxime episcopi qui in ecclesia praesidemus, ut episcopatum quoque ipsum unum atque indivisum probemus. 154 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. authority and grace with which Christ endowed His Church, and which is necessary for her existence. 1 This plenitude of the priesthood 2 is in every bishop, and in every bishop equally, just as every one of the Apostles was ' endowed with an equal fellowship of honour and power.' But the apostolate, which was finally given to all equally, was given first to St. Peter, that by its being given first to one man, there might be emphasized for ever the unity which Christ willed to exist among the distinct branches or por- tions of His Church. 3 The episcopate which be- longs to each bishop belongs to him as one of a 1 Ep. bcvi. 8 : Unde scire debes episcopum in ecclesia esse et ecclesiam in episcopo et si qui cum episcopo non sit in ecclesia non esse.' ib. 4, 5 : ' [Christus] dicit ad apostolos ac per hoc ad omnes praepositos qui apostolis vicaria ordinatione succedunt : Qui audit vos, me audit . . . qui reiicit vos, me reiicit. . . . Unde enim schismata et haereses obortae sunt et oriuntur? dum episcopus qui unus est et ecclesiae praeest superba quorundam praesumptione contemnitur et homo dignatione Dei honoratus indignus hominibus iudicatur.' Ep. xxxiii. i: 'Dominus noster, cuius praecepta metuere et servare debemus, episcopi honorem et ecclesiae suae rationem disponens in evangelio loquitur et dicit Petro : Ego tibi dico quia tu es Petrus, et super istam petram aedificabo ecclesiam meam, et portae inferorum non vincent earn, et tibi dabo claves regni caelorum, et quae ligaveris etc. . . . Inde per temporum et successionum vices episcoporum ordinatio et ecclesiae ratio decurrit ut ecclesia super episcopos constituatur et omnis actus ecclesiae per eosdem prae- positos gubernetur. Cum hoc ita divina lege fundatum sit, miror quosdam audaci temeritate sic mihi scribere voluisse ut ecclesiae nomine litteras facerent, quando ecclesia in episcopo et clero et in omnibus stantibus sit constitute. ' 2 As having this plenitude of the priesthood, the word sacerdos is generally used of the bishop ; but the presbyter also has sacerdotal powers. Cyprian speaks of our Lord as 'adorning the body of the presbyterate with glorious priests,' i.e. at the ordination of a presbyter (Ep. xl). Cyprian did not draw out the analogy of bishop, priest, and deacon to high-priest, priest, and Levite of the O.T. See Benson's Cyprian (Macmillan, 1897) pp. 31-41. * de Onit. Eccles. 4 : ' Loquitur Dominus ad Petrum : Ego tibi dico, inquit, quia tu es Petrus etc. . . . Super unum aedificat ecclesiam, et quamvis apostolis omnibus post resurrectionem suam parem potestatem tribuat et dicat : Sicut misit me Pater et ego mitto vos : accipiteetc. . . . tamen ut unitatem manifestaret, unitatis eiusdem originem ab uno incipientem sua auctoritate disposuit. Hoc erant utique et ceteri apostoli quod fuit Petrus, pari consortio praediti et honoris et potestatis, sed exordium ab unitate proficiscitur, ut. ecclesia Christi una monstretur. Quam unam ecclesiam etiam in cantico canticorum Spiritus sanctus ex persona Domini designat et dicit : Una est columba mea.' ib. 5 : Episcopatus unus est, cuius a singulis in solidum pars tenetur,' i.e. in such a way that each has the responsibility of the whole ; the whole is in each. III.] The Witness of Church History. 155 great brotherhood linked by manifold ties into a corporate unity. 1 A bishop stands, then, in various relations to the Church. In virtue of his election he represents his flock : 2 he is a part of the Church and in a sense re- sponsible to it and stands in a certain constitutional, though not clearly defined, relation to his presby- terate and the clergy generally. They are his recognised council, advisers, co-operators ; he does nothing without them. 3 But over and above this he represents divine authority. He is divinely appointed ; he has not taken his honour upon him- self. 4 Moreover, in the exercise of his authority, he is responsible to no man outside his Church but to God only. Cyprian does not explain, in connection with this position, the meaning of the provincial council of which he made so much use. Presumably the provincial council has a certain authority over the individual bishop, 5 but none the less the inde- pendence of each bishop is asserted by Cyprian with unrestricted completeness. 6 His respect for the see 1 Ep. Iv. 24 : ' Cum sit a Christo una ecclesia per totum mundum in multa membra divisa, item episcopatus unus episcoporum multorum concordi numerositate diffusus.' 2 ' Ecclesia in episcopo est.' Cf. Ep. Iv. 5, and Diet. Chr. Biog. i. p. 741. 3 See above, p. 95, and also Cyprian's letters to his presbyters, when in retire- ment, explaining the grounds on which he had ordained to the clergy without con- sultation ; Ep. xxxviii. i : ' In ordinationibus clericis, fratres carissimi, solemus vos ante consulere et mores ac merita singulorum communi consilio ponderare.' Ep. xxx. 5 : ' collatione consiliorum cum episcopis, presbyteris, diaconis, confessoribus, pariter ac stantibus laicis.' See Epp. xxix; Ixvii. 5. 4 Ep. Ixx. 3 : ' Secundum [Domini] dignationem sacerdotium eius in ecclesia administramus. 1 Ep. lix. 5 : ' Existimat aliquis summa et magna aut non sciente aut non permittente Deo in ecclesia Dei fieri, et sacerdotes, id est dispensatores eius, erunt non de eius sententia ordinati?' On the contrary: 'plane episcopi non de voluntate Dei fiunt, sed qui extra ecclesiam fiunt.' 5 St. Augustin expresses the gradations in the authority of bishop and of church councils (de Bapt. v. 22. 30). 6 Ep, Ixii. 3 : ' Qua in re nee nos vim cuiquam facimus aut legem damus, quando habeat in ecclesiae administratione voluntatis suae arbitrium liberum unusquisque 156 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. of Rome, as being in a special historical sense what every episcopate is essentially, as possessing the same authority the see of Peter, will not go to the length of allowing it any jurisdiction over other Churches. It may be in a special way the symbol of unity, as Peter was among the Apostles, but it is nothing more. 1 This is the theory of the episcopate into which St. Cyprian poured all the force of his great char- acter, all the dignity of his strong holiness, to make it a living reality. He stands out in church history as the typical bishop, and with his weighty sentences he impressed on the episcopal theory an abiding form. Lucifer, Next to Cyprian, it will be well to quote a vivid expression of the principle of the succession from a bishop of Cagliari in Sardinia that Lucifer who was Athanasius' friend, but whose impatience and praepositus, rationem actus sui Domino redditurus.' Ep. Ixxiii. 26 : ' nemini praescribentes aut praeiudicantes, quo minus unusquisque episcoporum quod putat facial, habens arbitrii sui liberam potestatem.' 1 It is ' locus Petri,' 'Petri cathedra, ecclesia principalis, unde unitas sacerdotalis exorta est ' (Epp. Iv. 8, lix. 14). By these last words he means probably that the African succession came from Rome (so Puller Primitive Saints and the See of Rome, p. 56). He goes on to assert the independent jurisdiction of each episcopate. Cf. Jerome Ep. cxlvi ad Evangelum : ' Ubicunque fuerit episcopus sive Romae, sive Eugubii, sive Constantinopoli, sive Rhegii, sive Alexandriae, sive Tanis, eiusdem merit!, eiusdem est etiam sacerdotii. Potentia divitiarum et paupertatis humilitas vel sublimiorem vel inferiorem episcopum non facit. Ceterum omnes successores apostolorum sunt.' It is not the place here to discuss what effect this conception of the see of Peter, as in a special way the symbol and centre of unity, had on the development of Petrine claims. The conception reappears in St. Optatus of Milevis (de Schism. Don. ii. 2, vii. 3 with a more ' papal ' tone, but cf. vi. 3) and in St. Augustin; see ABCDarium 1. 232: ' Numerate sacerdotes vel ab ipsa Petri sede ' ; c. Ep. Man. 4 : ' Multa sunt alia quae in [ecclesiae catholicae] gremio me iustissime teneant . . . tenet ab ipsa sede Petri apostoli, cui pascendas oves suas post resurrectionem Dominus commendavit, usque ad praesentem epis- copatum successio sacerdotum." Elsewhere he speaks of all the Apostles as the source of the succession : ' ecclesia ab ipso Christo inchoata et per apostolos provecta certa successionum serie usque ad haec tempora, toto terrarum orbe dilatata . . . ecclesia, quae ab ipso per apostolos succedentibus sibimet episcopis usque ad haec tempora propagata dilatatur ' (c. Faust, xxviii. 2, 4). III.] The Witness of Church History. 157 violence led him at last into being the founder of a schismatical body. He is addressing Constantius the emperor out of his place of exile in Palestine and speaking of his nobler friend Athanasius. 1 ' You persecute the man,' he says, ' whom you ought to listen to. While *he is still alive, you send to succeed him that George who is your partner in heresy, when, even if Athanasius had been set free from the body, it was not lawful for you to send any one, but it was and is in God's hand to appoint whom he thought proper as bishop of His people, and that through His servants the catholic bishops. For no man can be filled with the power of the Holy Ghost to govern God's people, save he whom God has chosen, and on whom hands have have been laid by the catholic bishops, just as, when Moses was dead, we find his successor Joshua, the son of Nun, filled with the Holy Ghost ; because, says Scripture, Moses had laid his hands upon him.' 2 Now we approach an interesting class of writers Ambrosias- . , ter . Jerome, who represent a tendency in the western Church to etc., c. A.D. 360" 400. minimize the position of the episcopate. There is, first, the author of the Commentaries on St. Paul's Epistles who is commonly called Ambrosiaster and who wrote in Damasus' episcopate at Rome. 3 Who- ever he was, he was a man of mental power and 1 Whether he was himself ever actually separated from the Church is doubtful ; see Diet. Chr. Biog. s.v. LUCIFER. His writings date from his exile. 2 de S. Athan. i. 9 : ' Persequeris eum per quern te audire praeceperit Dominus ; agente eo in rebus humanis cohaereticum tuum Georgium mittis successorem, cum tametsi fuisset liberatus iam Athanasius ex corpore, tibi non licuerit mittere, sed fuerit ac sit in Dei manu quern fuisset dignatus populo suo antistitem instituere per servos videlicet suos, hoc est catholicos episcopos. Neque enim posset impleri virtute Spiritus sancti ad Dei gubernandum populum nisi is quern Deus allegisset cuique manus per catholicos episcopos fuisset imposita, sicut defuncto Moyse impletum Spiritu sancto invenimus successorem eius Iseum Naue. Loquitur scriptura sancta dicens : Et Iseus filius Naue impletus est spiritu intelligentiae ; imposuerat enim Moyses manum super eum : et audierunt eum filii Israel et fecerunt secundum quod mandavit Dominus Moysi. Conspicis ordinationi Dei te obviam isse contra Dei faciendo voluntatem, temet mucrone gladii tui iugulatum, siquidem non licuerit ordinari, nisi fuisset defunctus Athanasius, et defuncto Athanasio catholicus debuerit per catholicos ordinari episcopos.' 3 'Cuius [ecclesiae] hodie rector est Damasus (in i Tim. iii. 14). We may assume that St. Augustin is right in calling him Hilary (see for evidence Diet. Chr. Biog. s.v. AMBROSIASTER). It is however hardly possible that he can be Hilary, the Sardinian deacon, associated with Lucifer in his embassage to Constantius in A.D. 354, and subsequently a ' Luciferian." Not so much (a) because St. Augustin calls him ' sanctus,' for Jerome calls Lucifer ' beatus ' and ' bonus pastor ' even when 158 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. spiritual insight ' brief in words, but weighty in matter,' and one must add, of a rather sharply cri- tical spirit. Secondly, we have the author of some Questions on the Old and New Testament, once ascribed to Augustin probably a Roman writer of the same epoch as the commentator, or it* may even be the same person. 1 Thirdly, there is Jerome, who expresses the same sentiments as the other two writers, but at a later date, apparently when he had become thoroughly disgusted with the Church at Rome, and had changed his earlier tone towards it and its clergy. 2 It must be added that Jerome's sentiments passed into the writings of some later western authors. 3 he is deploring his grave mistake (adv. Lucifer. 20 though, be it remembered, St. Augustin borrows considerably from this little treatise in his argument against the Donatists and in it Hilary is pilloried with all the power of Jerome's sarcasm) not so much, however, on this account as (b) because the commentary on i Cor. i. 12-16 is not the work of one who followed Lucifer, a rigorous anabaptist (adv. Lucifer. 26), and (c) because he acknowledges Damasus as bishop. But we have not the means of saying how much the Commentaries may have been interpolated or when. 1 He wrote at Rome (Qu. cxv ; cf. his polemic against Roman deacons in Qu. ci ; the ' we ' who are opposed to the Romans in Qu. Ixxxiv are probably the Christians see Langen Gesck. der RSm. Kirche i. p. 600) about 300 years after the destruc- tion of Jerusalem under Vespasian (Qu. xliv) i.e. A.D. 370-380. He was seemingly a priest ' sacerdos Dei et praepositus plebis ' (Qu. cxx) ; and we gather that he was a presbyter from his polemics against deacons and depreciation of bishops (Qu. ci). This, however, does not give us any ground for saying that he belonged to the Luciferian party. The same tone meets us in Jerome. Dom Morin holds him to be certainly the same man as ' Ambrosiaster,' Rev. dhist. et de lit. relig. Tom. iv p. 98. 2 In Jerome's earlier years his tone is papal, e.g. in his letters to Damasus from the East A.D. 375-380 (//. xv, xvi). Afterwards, disgusted with Roman manners and disappointed of the Roman episcopate, he broke with the Church there A.D. 385, and his abusive tone about the Roman clergy is subsequent to this date, e.g. Ep. Hi ad Nepotian. is after A.D. 393. His Commentaries on the New Testament which contain the passages minimizing the episcopal office by comparison with the presbyterate, date A.D. 386-392. His letter to Evangelus (E#. cxlvi) is marked by its hostile tone towards Rome to belong to the period subsequent at any rate to A.D. 385, and Ep. Ixix ad Oceanunt is about A.D. 400. 3 See App. Note F. 'S. Hieronymi sententia,' says Morinus (de S. Ord. p. iii. ex. iii. 2. 19), 'universae ecclesiae Latinae acceptissima fuit et immerito a multis theologis cum gravi censura repudiata: imprudentes enim cum S. Hieronymo universam prope ecclesiam Latinam condemnarunt.' III.] The Witness of Church History, 1 59 What then is it that these writers teach about These last .11 i . writers the ministry? First, it must be said that they in () are sacer /-i dotal; no way minimize the sacerdotal character of the ministry. Jerome indeed sometimes appears as an extreme sacerdotalist ; and if the unknown Com- mentator is not that, at least he gives us a substantial view of the priestly function. ' Layings-on of hands [i.e. ordinations],' he says, 'are mystical words, by which the selected man is confirmed for his work, receiving authority, so that he should venture in the Lord's place to offer sacrifice to God.' ' That/ says St. Jerome, ' can be no Church which has no priest.' 1 Next, none of these writers disputes the present ($) do not authority of the threefold ministry or the limitation e^dusfve e to bishops of the power of ordination. They do not b?shoL In maintain that, even in the extremest circumstances, thl a presbyter a presbyter of the existing Church could validly ordain. Thus the Commentator is emphatic 'that none of the clergy, who has not been ordained to it, should take to himself any office which he knows not to have been intrusted or granted to him ' (in spite, that is, of what may have been the primitive practice). ' It never was lawful or permitted,' he says again, ' that an inferior should ordain a superior, for nobody gives what he has not received.' ' All orders are in the bishop ' ; ' the ' dignity of all ordinations is in the bishop.' ' What does a bishop do,' says St. Jerome, even when he is minimizing the episcopate, 'that a presbyter does not do, except ordination^ The bishop and the presbyter are to one another as the high priest and priest of the old covenant. Once more, they do' not regard the present three- or since the Apostles : 1 For all quotations from these writers see App. Note F. 160 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. fold arrangement of the ministry as an innovation of the postapostolic Church, so that it should lack the authority of the Apostles. The present constitution represents their ordering. Nay, according to the Commentator, it represents more : ' because all things are from one God the Father, He hath decreed that each Church should he presided over by one bishop.' only they Jerome, however, seems to hold that, while Christ maintain . . . that presby- instituted only one priestly office, it was the exigencies ters were at first of church life which led to its being sub-divided s> under apostolic sanction into the presbyterate and the episcopate. At any rate, whether the distinction was 'ordained by Christ Himself or of apostolic authority, these writers were agreed that (as the names ' bishop ' and ' presbyter ' are used in the New Testament of the same officers) the presbyters originally were also bishops, and it was because of the dangers of rivalry and division which threatened this arrangement from the first that it was deter- mined that in future only one person should have the authority and name of the episcopate, the rest re- ceiving only the commission of presbyters. 1 How much truth there is in this view is not now in ques- andsome tion. They thought also that this original identity milfe'the"'" f *ke P res t>yterate and episcopate had left its mark subsequent on the subsequent constitution of the Church in such difference. sense that presbyters and bishops still share a common priesthood, and that (waiving the question of confirmation 2 ) there is nothing which is reserved 1 Jerome affirmed, as has been said, that the old constitution had in a measure been maintained at Alexandria down to the third century. 2 The western councils strictly limit to bishops the consecration of the chrism. St. Jerome makes no remark on the subject where he is speaking controversially on the subject of bishops, but he assumes (adv. Lucifer. 9) the limitation of confirma- tion to bishops in a sense which implies that under no circumstances, not even of imminent death, could a presbyter confirm. At Alexandria, say the Comtnemator III.] The Witness of Church History. 161 to a bishop except the function of ordination. 1 Jerome used this view with powerful effect to exalt the priesthood of the presbyter, as against the arrogance of Roman deacons on the one hand, and on the other against the overweening self-assertion of bishops. It was a bad custom, he thought, which prevailed in some Churches, that presbyters should not be allowed to preach in the presence of bishops. 2 Their exalted dignity is a thorn in Jerome's side ; ' as if they were placed in some lofty watch-tower, they scarcely deign to look at us mortals or to speak to their fellow-servants.' 3 A priest should indeed ' be subject to his bishop [pontifex] as to his spiritual father, but bishops should know that they are priests, not lords, and if they wish their clergy to treat them as bishops, they must give them their proper honour.' 4 This is the animus in Jerome's theory. 5 Now when we have clearly considered this view, we shall see surely that it is not what it is sometimes represented as being. It is not a ' presbyterian ' view. It does indeed carry with it the conception of the great church order being the priesthood ; it emphasizes that the distinction of presbyter and bishop is nothing compared to the distinction of deacon and priest. Moreover, it involves a certain tentativeness in the process by which the Apostles are held to have established the church ministry ; it and the author of the Quaestiones, a presbyter confirms (consignatorconsecrat) if the bishop be absent, i.e. he uses the chrism which the bishop only can conse- crate. See p. 125 n. 2 . 1 Cf. Chrysostom (on p. 147 n. 1 ) and Canons of Hippolytus (p. 136). 2 Ep. Hi. ad Nepot. 7 : ' Pessimae consuetudinis est in quibusdam ecclesiis tacere presbyteros et praesentibus episcopis non loqui.' 3 in Gal. iv. 13. 4 Ep. Hi. 7. 5 'S. Hieronymus in aestu contentionis indulgere solet exaggerationibus rhetoric^ (Morinus). L 1 62 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. admits a survival of an older constitution into the This view later life of the Church. But it does not carry with not un- acceptable, it the idea that the presbyter, pure and simple, the presbyter of the settled church constitution, has the power under any circumstances to assume episcopal functions. It teaches something quite different, viz. that the earliest presbyters were ordained with episcopal functions were, in fact, bishops as well as presbyters till the subsequent ordination of presby- ters without episcopal functions put an end to the old arrangement and brought about not episcopacy but what we have called monepiscopacy. 1 St. Paul, says the Commentator, passes from the ordina- tion of bishops to that of deacons, because the ordination of a bishop and a presbyter is the same. But this 'is' must be an 'historical present.' The ordinations of a bishop and a presbyter were wholly distinct in his day. ' In our day,' he says, a few lines further on, ' there should be in a city seven deacons and a certain number of presbyters and one bishop.' Church authority had in fact restrained to one the functions which at first were more widely extended, and no one can at all enter into the feelings of the early Church about ordination who does not perceive how much stress they laid on church authority, as conditioning a man's spiritual status. 2 ( 2 ) Canons (2) We need not dwell long on the western councils. After the Carthaginian council in 256 A.D., which simply echoes the mind of Cyprian on the rebaptism of heretics and only gives us evidence we 1 See Thomassin Vetus et Nova Ecclesiae Disciplina p. i. lib. 5. c. i. 6. 2 Morinus sees the more modern representation of Jerome's view in the scholastic opinion that the episcopate does not differ from the presbyterate in sacerdotal character, but is an extension of the same character by the addition of a new authority. The consecration of a bishop does not impose a new character, but only superadds a new authority. See de S. Ord. p. iii. ex. iii. c. t. ill.] The Witness of Church History. 163 hardly need that Cyprian's view of the bishop's office was also the view of his colleagues, the record of western councils opens with that of Elvira (Illiberis) in Andalusia, which occurred in the early years of the fourth century, and that of Aries a representa- tive western council in A.D. 314.* Both these councils assume as a matter of course the sacer- dotal ministry of the Church and the three orders of bishops, presbyters, and deacons. 2 So far as they are concerned with the ministry, they are occupied only with the maintenance of discipline and the regulation of inter-episcopal relations. 3 (3) When we turn to the Latin rites of ordination, ( ? ) Latin we find a constant implication of the doctrine of the indiSte 5 priesthood and of the orders in the ministry of 1 Augustin even calls it a ' plenarium ecclesiae universae concilium.' 2 Episcopi, presbyteres et diacones (Elvira, cc. 18, 19; cf. 27, 75 and Aries, cc. 20, 21): clerical office a status (Elvira, c. 53): the bishops sacerdotes (Elvira, c. 48): the sacerdotal function sacrificare (Aries, c. 19). 3 E.g. there is the restraining of deacons in Aries, c. 18, whose arrogance we hear of first in Cyprian's letters (Ep, iii. 3 : the deacon must ' honorem sacerdotis agnos- cere '). In days of persecution deacons had been known even to offer the Eucharist in many places, and this is curtly reprimanded : cf. Aries, c. 15 ' De diaconibus quos cognovimus multis locis ofFerre, placuit minime fieri debere.' [There is no reason whatever for thinking that this represents any remains of an earlier discipline. How in days of persecution such an abuse should have sprung up is intelligible enough. It must be remembered that the fourth century is full of lament over the decay of discipline, as e.g. in Basil the Great, Ep. xc.] In Spain there is no trace of such a license, but we hear of deacons in charge of congregations, as in later ages, and Elvira c. 77 enacts thus : ' Si quis diaconus regens plebem sine episcopo vel presby- tero aliquos baptizaverit, episcopus eos per benedictionem perficere debebit [i.e. confirm] quod si ante de saeculo recesserint, sub fide qua quis credidit potent esse iustus.' Elvira c. 32 restrains to bishops the function of dealing with penitents ; only in cases of necessity may a presbyter admit to communion, or even a deacon, if the priest order him. Cf. Carthage, A.D. 390, cc. 3, 4 ; Hippo Regius, A.D. 393, c. 30. Other canons concern clerical discipline (Elvira, c. 33, Aries, c. 2); the mutual rela- tion of bishops (Elvira, cc. 53, 58, Aries, c. 17); the requirement of at least three bishops to consecrate another (Aries, c. 20) ; the permission, in necessity, of lay bap- tism, to be followed by episcopal confirmation (Elvira, c. 38). We notice specially in later councils (e.g. Carthage, A.D. 390, cc. 3, 4 ; Hippo, A.D. 393, c. 34 ; Toledo, A.D. 400, c.' 20) the limitation to bishops of the consecration of the chrism. There was clearly a tendency in the presbyters to assume this function. 164 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. bishops, priests, and deacons. 1 The distinction between these and the minor orders is marked in the West by the subdeacon not receiving the laying-on of hands. 2 It should be noticed in this connection that the uniformity of idea which pervades the the various rites of ordination (and in this respect we may include the Greek with the Latin) makes a great impression upon the mind. It is not indeed the case that there is no change of ideas, but it is not in any way fundamental. The conception of the Christian pastorate and priesthood in succession to the apostles is the constant element. () increase Such change as appears is mainly of two sorts. !" Sine? There is, first, the elaboration of ritual. It is im- portant indeed to remind ourselves that a more elaborate ritual of ordination does not necessarily mean a deepening of the conception of what ordina- tion brings with it. The earliest writing devoted to the consideration of a Christian sacrament Ter- tullian's treatise On Baptism is as full of belief in the spiritual effect of the laver of regeneration as any treatise of a mediaeval schoolman could be ; but he makes it his special point that it is on account of the real spiritual efficacy of Christian sacraments that they do not need to be made impressive by outward pomp. They can be simple, because they have so real an inward grace attached to them. It is pagan rites which need decking out with pomp and circum- 1 This statement is justified in App. Note C. The episcopate is called an ordo (episcopatusordo) in the Gregorian Sacram. ap. Muratori Lit. Rom. Vet. ii. p. 358. 2 So the so-called canons of the fourth council of Carthage ordained (c. 5 quoted by Morinus de S. Ord. p. ii. q. 260). Cf. Isidore de JEccl. Off. ii. 10 ap. Hittorp. p. 23: 'hi [sc. subdiacones] igitur cum ordinantur, sicut sacerdotes et Levitae, manus impositionem non suscipiunt.' So Rabanus Maurus de Inst. Cler. \. 8 ap. Hittorp. p. 316. III.] Tlie Witness of Church History. 165 stance, just because they have nothing else to trust to for impressing men's minds. 1 The belief in baptismal grace, then, did not grow with the elabora- tion of baptismal ceremony. Just in the same way it does not follow that, because ordination rites be- came more complicated, the Christian Church was growing to rate more highly the consecration which they conveyed. To the last there remains in the western office a reminder that, while outward pomp was of the essence of the old priesthood, for the very reason that that was essentially external and sym- bolical, the essence of the new priesthood lies in inward and spiritual reality. The prayer for the consecration of a bishop calls to mind the glory of the vestments of the Aaronic priesthood, and prays that whatever those vestments signified by the brilliancy of gold, by the splendour of gems, by the variety of manifold workmanship, may shine forth now in the characters of Christian bishops, and that the precious ointment upon the head which runs down unto the beard and goes down to the skirts of the clothing may be to them the unction within, and even without, of spiritual grace and spiritual power. 2 Secondly, beside ritual adjuncts there is a certain {*) * growing change in idea noticeable in the rites of ordination, ence in the T ,./,. ... , ., priesthood It consists chiefly in emphasizing the special sacer-ofthe 1 The passage is well worth quoting, de Bapt. z : ' Nihil adeo est, quod tarn obduret mentes hominum, quam simplicitas divinorum operum quae in actu videtur et magnificentia quae in effectu repromittitur : ut hie quoque quoniam tanta simplici- tate sine pompa, sine apparatu novo aliquo, denique sine sumptu homo in aqua demissus et inter pauca verba tinctus non multo vel nihilo mundior resurgit, eo in- credibilis existimetur consecutio aeternitatis. Mentior, si non e contrario idolorum sollemnia vel arcana ds suggestu et apparatu deque sumptu fidem et auctoritatem sibi exstruunt. Pro misera incredulitas, quae denegas Deo proprietates suas, sim- plicitatem et potestatem ! ' - See App. Note C. 1 66 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. dotal functions of the presbyter. Thus in the later forms we have the commissions to the priest: 'Receive power to offer sacrifice ' ; ' Receive the Holy Ghost : whose sins thou dost remit, they are remitted, etc.' Now these later forms are significant. There is indeed nothing new in the conception of sacrifice or of the power of absolution as belonging to the priest- hood, nor is any new idea involved in the imperative form of commission ; what is new is the specification of them and especially of the latter in the case of the presbyter. It belongs to a stage of church organization in which the presbyter is regarded as having a more independent priesthood, attaching to him as an individual. In earlier days the priest- hood is kept more closely in connection with the Church or community. In the Church or community the high priest or bishop exercises the sacerdotal and pastoral functions, and the presbyters are attached to him as ' co-operators of his order.' This idea of co-operation is what is remarkably emphasized in the early prayers for their ordination. Later owing to the more independent position which the circumstances of large dioceses gave to the presbyter his substantive priesthood, inhering in him as an individual, comes more to the front. A presbyter is not so much a man who occupies a certain position and grade in the hierarchy of the community ; he is an individual with special powers. His priesthood has become detached. 1 1 It will be useful at this point to quote some summary statements from western writers of what belongs to the presbyter's office. Thus from St. Isidore, c. A.D. 620, de Reel. Off. ii. 7 ap. Hittorp. p. 22 :' [Presbyteris] sicut episcopis dispensatio mysteriorum Dei commissa est. Praesunt enim ecclesiis Christi et in confectione divina corporis et sanguinis consortes cum episcopis sunt, similiter et in doctrina populorum et in officio praedicandi.' He follows Jerome, and quotes him in saying that only ordination is reserved to the bishop. But later (c. 25) he adds confirmation (quoting Pope Innocent), ' nam presbyteri, licet sint sacerdotes, pontificatus tamen III.] The Witness of Church History. 167 Now the evidence which early Christian history conclusion affords for the position of the ministry has been history from passed in review. If reference is made to the four A ' positions which were enunciated at the beginning of dpieoF "' this chapter, it will be found that the two first to go s^ceLlon at present no further have been thoroughly justified. a ^ Everywhere we have found a ministry, recognised copate'wfth as having authority by succession from the Apostles : p^werTof everywhere the three distinct orders of bishop, universal! 1 ' presbyter, and deacon : everywhere the limitation to the episcopate of the power of ordination. The only qualification which has to be made lies in the recognition that a school of western writers held apicem non habent. Hoc autem solis pontificibus deberi, ut vel consignent vel para- cletum Spiritum tradant, quod non solum ecclesiastica consuetude demonstrat, verum et superior ilia lectio apostolorum, etc. . . . Nam presbyteris, sive extra episcopum, sive praesente episcopo baptizant, chrismate baptizatos ungere licet, sed quod ab episcopo fuerit consecratum : non tamen frontem ex eodem oleo signare, quod solis debetur episcopis, cum tradunt Spiritum paracletum.' When speaking of penitence, he specifies ' sacerdotes ' as the ministers of it ' astante coram Deo sollem- niter sacerdote' without mentioning whether bishop or presbyter (ii. 16). The Ordo Roman-its (ap. Hittorp. p. 93) specifies offerre, benedicere, praeesse, praedicare, baptizare, as the functions of the presbyter. Pseudo-Albinus Flaccus (ap. Hittorp. p. 50), while repeating the older canon which allows a deacon to receive confessions where there is no priest, makes the bishops or presbyters ' quibus claves regni caelorum traditae sunt ' the proper ministers of the penitential discipline. Rabanus Maurus (de Inst. Cler. ii. 30), while making bishop or presbyter the minister of private confession, makes the bishop the minister of public penance, and the bishop or presbyter at his desire (iussu tamen episcopi) the minister of public absolution. All this is summed up in canon 7 of the second council of Seville presided over by Isidore A.D. 619 : ' Nam quamvis cum episcopis plurima [presbyteris] ministeriorum communis sit dispensatio, quaedam tamen auctoritate veteris legis, quaedam novellis ecclesiasticis regulis sibi prohibita noverint : sicut presbyterorum et diaconorum ac virginum consecratio ; sicut constitutio altaris, benedictio vel unctio : siquidem nee licere iis ecclesiam vel altarium consecrare ; nee per impositionem manus fidelibus baptizatis vel conversis ex haeresibus paracletum Spiritum tradere ; nee chrisma con- ficere, nee chrismate baptizatorum frontem signare ; sed nee publice quidem in missa quemquam poenitentium reconciliare ; nee formatas cuilibet epistolas mittere. Haec enim omnia illicita esse presbyteris, quia pontificatus apicem non habent, quod solis debere episcopis auctoritate canonum praecipitur, ut per hoc et discretio graduum et dignitatis fastigium summi pontificis demonstretur. Sed neque coram episcopo licere presbyteris in baptisterium introire, neque praesente antistite iufantem tingere aut signare, nee poenitentes sine praecepto episcopi sui reconciliare, nee eo praesente sacramentum corporis et sanguinis Christi conficere, nee eo coram posito populum docere vel benedicere aut salutare nee plebem utique exhortari. ' 1 68 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. that originally there had been no substantial dis- tinction between a bishop and presbyter ; and one of these writers affirms, in effect, that this state of things continued in the Church of Alexandria into the third century. It has however been pointed out that in the view of these writers, so long as the presbyters were understood to have episcopal powers (either generally or under certain circumstances), there was no separate ordination to the episcopate. 1 They do not hold that episcopal functions could under any circumstances be assumed by the later presbyters of the settled church constitution, who have been ordained as presbyters and nothing more and would require a separate ordination to make them bishops. Evidence Some further points have still to be made good in order to justify the remaining positions which we enunciated at starting. ii. That II. The Church did from the first, we maintain, wasregarded regard ordination as a ' sacramental ' 2 rite, to which any? was attached a special authorization or grace, of which the laying-on of hands was the ' outward sign.' On the other hand it has been recently urged that 1 St. Paul implies that normally a man will pass from one grade of the church ministry up to another. This was always the canonical method ; see Apost. Const. viii. 17. But ordinations per saltum, even to the episcopate, were known and recognised in early days. See Denny and Lacey de hierarch. Anglican, p. 104. 2 I use this expression without exact definition of a sacrament. The conception of ordination, for example, given by Rabanus Maurus, de Inst. Cler. \. 4-7, is sacramental in the sense that the laying on of episcopal hands is regarded as an act conferring certain mystical powers. Yet when he comes to speak (c. 24) of the sacraments of the Church, he reckons three only : ' Sunt sacramenta baptismum et chrisma, corpus et sanguis, quae ob id sacramenta dicuntur, quia sub tegumento corporalium rerum virtus divina secretius salutem eorundem sacramentorum operatur: unde et a secretis virtutibus vel sacris sacramenta dicuntur. Quae ideo fructuose penes ecclesiam fiunt, quia sanctus in ea manens Spiritus eundem sacramentorum latenter operatur effectum.' Earlier, however, St. Augustin had in substantially this sense spoken freely of ordination as a sacrament. But I want to avoid, as much as possible, the history of terminology. III.] The Witness of Church History, 169 the idea of ' ordination ' in the earliest Church carried with it only the association of official appointment, such as belonged to contemporary secular society. The words by which it is described 'were in use to express appointment to civil office. When other ideas than those of civil appointment came beyond question to attach themselves to ecclesiastical ap- pointment other words were used.' l This is a strange argument in view of the history of Christian termino- logy. ' Ecclesia ' was a common term enough in the Greek language ; but did it carry to St. Paul no special Christian associations? 'To break bread,' ' to give thanks/ were common terms; but ' the bread which we break/ St. Paul says, ' is the communion of the body of Christ.' ' Baptism ' had common enough associations in connection with pots and cups, brazen vessels and tables ; but we could not therefore argue that it was only when the sacrament of initiation came to be known as ' the enlightenment ' or ' the salvation/ that associations of spiritual power began to be attached to it. 2 It is the earliest Christian writings that are most suggestive in this respect. It is the simplicity of the language in which Tertullian speaks of Christian baptism and Justin describes the Christian Eucharist, which throws into high relief the profound conception which they entertained of their spiritual efficacy. 3 So far as technical language 1 Dr. Hatch B. L. p. 129. In notes 33 and 34 he says : ' The words in use in the first three centuries are x e 'P oro '' e ' l '> KadiaTai/cip, KArjpovcrftu, constituere, ordinare. . . . After the first three centuries there were not only other words of the same kind, e.g. irpoeAflecv, rpo<rye<r0ai, promoveri, praeferri, but also Xetpoflereio-flai, iepacrflat, consecrari, benedici.' 2 Bingham Ant. xi. i, 4, 5. 3 Tertullian is quoted above. Justin Martyr's account of the Eucharist is studiedly simple. There is no term which is not of common life, yet he concludes with the well-known passage : ' We receive it not as common bread and common drink . . . but we have been taught that the food . . . is the flesh and blood of that Jesus who was made flesh ' (Apol. i. 65, 66). 170 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. is concerned, certainly Christianity poured new wine into old bottles. Accordingly, it will not at all surprise us that the author of the Acts should speak simply of Paul and Barnabas ' appointing ' elders in every Church (^eiporovelif, Acts xiv. 23), or that St. Paul should leave Titus to 'appoint' elders (fcaBta-Taveiv, Tit. i. 5); and that we should elsewhere be, as it were, let into the secret of such ' appointment ' by St. Paul attributing it to the Holy Ghost (Acts xx. 28), and speaking to Timothy of the gift or special endowment of the Spirit ' which was in him by means of the laying-on of his hands.' We may recognise, further, that in the whole pro- cess of her ordinations the Church seems to have borrowed a good many elements from civil society round about her. The elements of appointment to civil offices ' were nomination, election, approval, and the declaration of election by a competent officer' the " renunciatio." ' Then there was the ' usurpatio iuris'.; the consul or praetor designate, for example, formally exercised his office and by exercising it entered upon its legal tenure. 1 Now some of the steps of this process belong to human nature and would reproduce themselves in all appointments ; but it is impossible to avoid tracing back to this civil process some of the features of the Church's later forms of ordination. If election, testimony, examination, approval must necessarily have been there, yet we need not have found, as in fact we do, the ' renunciatio ' to be an element in the ordination ceremony of the West, and still more of the East, though in characteristic Christian language. 2 Further, 1 See Dr. Hatch B.L. p. 129 ; Diet. Chr. Ant. s.v. ORDINATION ii. pp. 1303-1507 . 2 Diet. Chr. Ant. ii. p. 1507 ; and below, App. Note C. III.] The Witness of Church History. 171 the reading of the Gospel by the newly-ordained deacon ; the ' concelebration ' of the newly-ordained priest ; the enthronization of the bishop ; l the giving to the persons ordained to the minor or (much later) to the higher orders the 'instruments' of their ministry all these ceremonies are probably enough the Christian form of the 'usurpatio iuris.' 2 But all these features in the ordination ceremonies of East or West were additions of varying and uncertain date. As what stamped the Christian ministry from the 1 Or earlier, his celebrating the Eucharist and consecrating oil etc. p. 133 n. 2 . 2 Morinus saw this, and seems to draw the right conclusion. He notes : (1) The fundamental identity of the method of ordaining bishops, presbyters, and deacons in East and West. (2) The divergence with reference to the minor orders as they grew up : in the East they were ordained with laying-on of hands, but in the West by the ' tradition of the instruments ' of their office, with some appropriate injunction. (See, for the ordina- tion of a reader, Canons of Hippolytus c. vii in this respect the Ap. Constitutions deserts its Roman prototype and the canon of iv Carthage, quoted by Morinus p. ii. p. 260: ' subdiaconus cum ordinatur, quia manus impositionem non accipit, patenam de episcopi manu accipiat vacuam et calicem vacuum; de manu vero archidiaconi urceolum cum aqua et mantile et manutergium:' and so on for the other orders.) This he compares to the method of assuming civil or military office by adopting or receiving the 'insignia.' So e.g. Dio Cassius (Hist. Rom. Ixviii. 16) speaks of the giving of the sword by the emperor as the method of appointing prefects of the praetorians : ore npOtrov -na fie'AAoiri To>f Sopv<f>6ptav eTrapfeii/ TO fJ>os, o irapatavwtr6ai, O.VTOV e\prjv, clipeer, tyvjuvwo'e re avrb xal acareiVat f<f>Tf AajSe TOVTO TO t'4>o;, tea, av /lev icaAtos ap\o>, virep c/xov, av Si KCUCU? , KOLT' tVoG avnp XP^T7- Reimar says in his note : ' hinc peri- phrasis praefecti praetorio e<' <j> TO f t<f>os Jp>, ap. Philostratum ' ; and gives references, quoting also 'cum insigne potestatis, uti mos est, pugionemdaret' from Victor. Caes. xiii. 9. Morinus concludes that, whereas the higher spiritual orders which were derived from the Apostles were always conferred in East and West by the apostolic method (even though much later the ' traditio instrumentorum ' was added in their case too), the minor orders, which were a gradual and utilitarian development, were imparted differently in Eastand West, and in the West by ceremonies suggested by the method of secular appointment (de S. Ord. p. iii. ex. xi. c. 5). This would be borne out by the evidence recently adduced by Harnack connecting the development of the minor orders in Rome with the reorganization of civil offices (Text. u. Untersvch. ii. band, heft 5, pp. 97-103) : ' Die romische Gemeinde es verstanden hat . . . brauchbare Elemente des Sacral- und Staatswesens zu adoptiren." He thinks the seven sub- deacons were instituted, probably.by Fabian, to equalize the diaconate without losing the sacred number with the fourteen newly-instituted curatores urbis. Certainly the church organization was developed closely on the lines of the im perial system, as convenience no doubt suggested. 172 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. first had been the idea of divine mission and authori- zation, so the rite which corresponds to this idea had been all along the central and characteristic rite. Derived from Jewish traditional practice but stamped by the Apostles with a new significance, it was the laying-on of hands accompanied no doubt from the first with a prayer for the gift of the Holy Spirit which consecrated and empowered the minister in the Christian Church for his pastoral charge. 1 in. That III. Now we approach the subject of the ' indelible 'character- character ' impressed by ordination. So far as church t^ccom- ve officers are elected representatives and ministers of the congregation, they would naturally be regarded, and all down church history have been regarded, as holding their place on terms of their good behaviour. The disorderly cleric has been deposed. But this does not exhaust the matter. The church officer is also a representative of God : his ordination has given him a divine commission and gift of grace ; and as ' the gifts and calling of God are without repentance,' so from this point of view it is necessary to regard him who is once a priest as always a priest, whether 1 The 'laying-on of hands' in the Old Testament appears with a double signifi- cance, (a) When the people laid their hands upon the Levites, when the priest or the sacrificer laid his hand on the victim, the ceremony meant that the subject of it was made a representative a substitute (Numb. viii. 10 ; Levit. xvi. 21, iii. 2-15, iv. 4-29). The Levites were to represent the people ; the victim was taken as a sub- stitute for the offerer, (b) It expressed the idea of benediction (Gen. xlviii. 14), and so specially it is used of Moses consecrating Joshua (Numb, xxvii. 18 ; Deut. xxxiv. 9: 'Joshua was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands upon him'). It also became, before our Lord's time, the Jewish mode of appointing magistrates and rabbis (Morinus de S. Ord. p. iii. ex. vii. c. 3), and they laid stress upon a succession front Moses (ib. 8). The characteristic use of it in the New Testament (apart from its use in healing, which however is symbolical) is by the Apostles to convey the gift of the Holy Ghost (Acts viii. 17, xix. 6). Cf. the way in which the apostolic succession is connected with the Jewish in the Clementine Ep. Petri. See further, for the evidence and significance of the rite in the Christian Church, App. Note G. III.] The Witness of Church History. 173 he adorn his office or no. 1 The later doctrine of the ' indelible character ' impressed by ordination in common with baptism and confirmation, and the clearly drawn distinction between valid and canonical ordinations, were the final outcome in the West of the conflict between these two principles involved from the first in the position of the Christian ministry. We see these opposite principles at work in St. Clement's Epistle. On the one hand, because the presbyterate has been appointed from above and has a divine authority, it is declared to be ' no light sin to cast out of their episcopate those who have holily and blamelessly offered the gifts.' 2 On the other hand, it is implied that had these holders of the sacred office been bad men, the Church, with whose consent they hadj been elected, might have deposed them from their charge. When Callistus, a bishop of Rome in the beginning of the third century, repudiates this idea, issuing his edict that 'if a bishop sin, though it be a sin unto death, he may not be removed ' he is stating the ' indelibility of ordina- tion character ' 3 in a form against which the canonical depositions of bishops, all down church history, are a continuous protest. In what sense then did the early Christian Church hold this doctrine ? In such sense, first of all, that there is no record from the beginning of church 1 Harnack states the conditions of the problem well in modification of Dr. Hatch (die GeselUchaftsverfassung etc. p. 234 n. 13 ) : 'As far as concerns the bishops and deacons, their activity was almost without control and ranked as charismatic. This, without any doubt, carries with it the reason why the officers in the Christian com- munities occupied from the beginning a position so wholly different from that held by the officers in the flwuroi, or " guilds."' 2 Clem, ad Cor. 44. 3 Harnack I.e. p. 258. The words are (Hippolytus Re/. Otnn. ffaer. ix. 12) : oCros eSoy/u<m(ref Sn-wf *! en-iVicoJros ojuaproi TI, el Kac irpb? 9a.va.Tov, /i) ieiv K 174 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. history of the reordination of any one episcopally ordained in the Church. Once let a man be ordained to any office, and his ordination held good in every Church where he offered satisfactory evidence of his status. In the ' Canons of Hippolytus ' l this is 1 C. ix : ' Let him not be ordained again. ' The Apostolic Canons (8) condemns to deposition any cleric who receives a second ordination, both him and his ordainer, ' unless it should appear that his (first) ordination was from heretics ' ; the synod of Capua, A.D. 391, forbade rebaptisms, reordinations, and translation of bishops, and the canon was incorporated into the African collection (Hefele Conciliengcsch. 108) ; so Theodoret tells us that a foolish monk, who was afraid he should be ordained over again (having been ordained once without knowing it), was assured that ' it was not possible to give him twice the same ordination ' (Rel. Hist, xiii ap. Migne Patrol. Graec. Ixxxii. p. 1404) ; so the author of the Quaestiones in Vet. et Nov. Test. assures us (Qu. ci.) : ' quamquam apud . . . Deum unicuique hie honor maneat, qui decretus est singulis ecclesiarum officiis, ut qui diaconus est diaconihonorem per omnes ecclesias habeat.' When bishops are forbidden to ordain clerics who belong to other dioceses (Can. Nicaen. 16, cf. Can. Apost. 15 and later), this of course means to a higher grade than they already held. Dr. Hatch's statement (Growth of Ch. Inst. p. 36 ; cf. Diet. Chr. Ant. ii. p. 1479) that in early days ' the transference of the officer of one Church to another . . . when allowed, involved reappointment, or, as it would now be called, reordination,' is absolutely gratuitous and unsupported by facts. Dr. Hatch has repeatedly quoted, as evidence of a double ordination, an ' im- portant Galatian inscription of A.D. 461, which speaks of one who filled the office of presbyter twice ' (Corp. Inscr. Graec. No. 9259 : Sis yev6fj.fv os Trpecr/Surepos) ; cf. his B.L. p. 137 n. 51 . Harnack accepts-this use of the inscription, I.e. p. 234 n. 13 . On this I had remarked (ist and 2nd ed.) that (T) the whole inscription does not at all support the sense that Dr. Hatch puts on it. A certain Tarasis there buried is described as Sis yevoi*.fvos 7rpe<r/3* KCU irapafxoi/aptos 7rapoKCT)<7as ei> TO> TOTTW TOVTU>. A rrapafiovapios (or Trpcxr/iovapios) is the Latin mansionarius. He is a ' residentiary ' in charge of any institution belonging to the Church. This Tarasis was twice appointed ' presbyter and residentiary ' of a particular church or monastery. There is nothing here to suggest that he was twice ordained in the fifth century. A similar expression (referring, I think, to one man) occurs twice in the Ordo Romanus ap. Hittorp. pp. i, 10: 'presbyterio et mansionario.' (2) It surely is important to remember that tombstone inscriptions all over the world express a lax popular theology. This has been brought out lately by recent investigations in the Christian sepulchral inscriptions of Egypt, Syria, and Asia. Those of Phrygia, for example, perpetuate for a long time the pagan maledictions on those who lay hands on the tomb. See Authority and Archaeology pp. 374, 421 ; also an article by M. E. Revillout in the Revue Egyptologique, 1885, no. i. But the inscription has now been re-edited (See Journal of Hellenic Studies, Supplem. Paper i, ' Ecclesiastical sites in Isauria,' Macmillan, 1892, pp. 24-5), by Mr. Headlam of All Souls. He takes Tdpeuris Sis together as = 'Tarasis, son of Tarasis'; refers to Ramsay, Oxford Mag. vol. ix. No. 24 (1891), p. 411 ; and Reinach, Epigr. Grecque, p. 508, and remarks : ' This idiom is so common, especially in inscriptions of Asia Minor, that it is hardly necessary to give instances.' The previous mistranslation taking Sis with yevoftevos as = twice appointed is described (p. 18) as 'very natural to any scholar who was not acquainted with the study of inscriptions.' The right translation, of course, remove!? all difficulty. ill.] The Witness of Church History. 175 laid down for presbyters : and, to take a somewhat earlier instance, St. Peter is represented in the Clementines as travelling about with some attendant ' presbyters ' who are clearly conceived of as being more than local officers as being presbyters wherever they are. 1 Nor, again, when we hear of the reinstate- ment of clergy who had been deposed, or who had lapsed into heresy or schism, do we ever hear of their reordination. It is not indeed until comparatively late that we hear of any such case : for the severe view which was taken of deadly sin in the clergy forbade that they should resume their office, just as it was forbidden to ' penitents ' to be ordained at all. 2 Such lapsed or deposed clergy were treated as laymen, thougb.de- or, when their sin was grave, deprived even of lay ^^treatf communion. 3 But after the middle of the fourth as laymen ' century we have plenty of instances in which clergy, who had become Arians, Nestorians, Pelagians, or heretics of whatever sort, were readmitted to their ' order,' always without reordination ; 4 and it is noticeable that St. Basil, though holding that the 1 See Clem. Horn. vii. 2 : a?rb Ttov eiro^ieVuv avria irpc&fivTepiov eVa firi&Koirov aurois KaTcurnjtraj (cf. 5, 8). 2 ' Nullum mihi occurrit exemplum spatio trecentorum et quinquaginta annorum clerici catholic! ad haereticos transfugae post reyersionem ad ecclesiam cum ordinum exercitio recepti ' (Morinus de S. Ord. p. iii. ex. v. 10. 2). Cf. Apost. Can. 26 : /leTavorjo-a? <o? Aai'icb? ie^^i}, and Cyprian Ep. Iv. n : 'sic tamen admissus est Trofimus ut laicus communicet, non . . . quasi locum sacerdotii usurpet. ' Morinus, I.e., deals with some instances advanced in the opposite sense. 3 E.g. Can. Sardic. i : rjyovfj.ai fj.ri&t \tuKtov ex ftv TOUS TOIOVTOVS xprjwu Koiviaviav. Cf. Cyprian Ep. Iii. i : ' Evaristum de episcopo iam nee laicum remansisse.' * They are 'certainly not ordained again,' St. Augustin says (de Bapt. i. i. 2) ; cf. Hefele Conciliengesch. 42 : ' They [i.e. the Massalians] were admitted on condition of anathematizing their former errors. Morinus I.e. 7, 8 f. collects other instances. The Council of Toledo in A.D. 633 (c. 28) gives the form for the restoration to their order of some clergy who had been unjustly deposed. They are to receive their lost orders, 'gradus amissos recipere, ' before the altar by a renewed reception of the vestments or (in the case of subdeacons) instruments proper to their office ' ea in reparationem sui recipiant, quae cum ordinarentur perceperant.' This is not 're- ordination' technically, as Dr. Hatch calls it (Diet. Ckr. Attt. ii. p. 1520). 176 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. clergy who fall away from the Church lose the power of administering valid sacraments, still speaks of the ordination gift as a permanent endowment. 1 On the other hand, it is quite certain that the early Church did not draw the clear line which was drawn later between the reality of the priesthood and its regular exercise. The deposed priest was really regarded as a layman. 2 And in the same way ordi- and nations, which later would have been regarded as uncanonical . . 11.1-1 ordinations uncanonical, were in early days regarded as invalid. as invalid. -..-. i 1-111 Monnus expresses the matter admirably by saying, 'moraliter magis et civiliter de istis philosophati sunt.' They thought of ordination, that is, in con- nection with all its moral and social associations, as part of the whole life of the Church; thus very naturally, ' they did not regard the validity of the ordination as lying merely in the character of the act, but they took into account also the authority of the Church and questions of moral expediency.' 3 The word 'valid ' meant to them what, according to more elaborated definitions, is expressed by both valid and canonical. How could they believe an act done in violation of the will of God to carry with it His ratification and be valid ? So they reasoned, and so reasoning they pronounced invalid (aicvpos, unratified) an ordination of which, in later days, it would only have been said : fieri non debet : factum valet.^ 1 Ep- clxxxviii : oi yap irpwrot ava\<api)(rcurTes mzpa -riav jraTt'pcoi/ lo"xoi / ra? \eipo- Tovio? (cot 8ta rr}s 7ri0e'<re<i>s ilav \eipSiv avriov etxov TO papier/ma TO Trveu/xaTKCoc. 2 irfiravaOia TOV leArjpov is a common phrase. Cf. Diet. Chr. Ant, ii. p. 1520. 3 Morinus de S. Ord. p. iii. ex. v. cc. 9. 8, n. 2 ; cf. Bingham Ant, xvii. 2. * aicvpot eo-T(o 17 \eipoTOvia, tcaOaipeiaOui. This is very frequent : cf. e.g. Can. Apost. 36; Antioch. 13, 22; Sardic. 15; Constantin. 4; Chalcedon. 6. A person who had thus received an ' invalid ' ordination became disqualified for the canonical ministry, and the question of his reordination did not therefore often occur. But the Church, as we shall see, accepted the Donatist ordinations. Before that the Church's action is more doubtful. III.] The Witness of Church History. 177 The great peril, however, of making the unworthi- Distinction ness of the minister hinder the grace of the sacrament 'canonical; soon became apparent, first in connection with bap- sk>wi y ' tism. Thus the council at Aries 1 decreed for the thTweft ; West the validity of heretical baptisms. But the rigorism, which was always ready to ' make a man an offender for a word' and then repudiate his ministry, was still felt in the case of the Luciferians and Donatists to be a real danger. Accordingly Jerome and Augustin lead the way in extending the principle of the decision at Aries, so as to admit of the recognition of ordinations made by Arians, The Council of Nicaea (i) rejected the baptism of the disciples of Paul of Samosata (c. 19) on the ground, as Athanasius tells us, of their heresy not owing to their use of a defective form (Bright, Notes on the Canons, p. 67). It therefore decreed also that those, who had been amongst the Paulinist clergy and were yet considered fit for church orders, should be first ' baptized afresh and then ordained by the bishop of the catholic Church.' The repudiation of their baptism carried with it a repudiation of their ordinations. (2) With reference to the Novatian clergy (ot *a0apoi) the Council decreed ware XeipofleTOVfieVous aurous /leveiv OVTWS ev TU K\rjo<a (c. 8). It has been disputed whether this means that they should be reordained, or receive the imposition of hands as a ceremony of reconciliation. The former interpretation seems perhaps of the two the more probable ; see Bright, Notes, p. 25 f. But it is possible that the bishops of the council did not accurately distinguish between a fresh ordination and an act of reception by the Church which gave validity to an old one. They use the words /le'veiy iv r<a xX^pw, and certainly the language does not suggest a new ordination, such as the Paulianists needed. So in the same way the clergy ordained by Meletius were allowed to retain their office (TIJIJJV icai \firovpyiav) when they had been 'confirmed by a more sacred ordination ' (jivtrriKoyripa xeiporopta /3e/3cuu>- Oerras, ap. Soc. H.E. L 9) ; this certainly suggests the idea of an act giving validity to an old ordination, rather than a completely new ordination. (In a similar manner the penitential laying-on of hands is regarded as a recovery of the gift of confirma- tion, or identified with confirmation, Mason, Rel. of Ba.pt. to Conf. pp. 67, 101, 175, 179.) Later western councils receive clergy ordained amongst the Gothic Arians by a similar laying-on of hands ' cum impositae manus benedict ione ' (i Cone. Aurel. A.D. 511, c. 10), 'accepta denuo benedictione presbyteratus ' (Cone. Caesaraug. A.D. 592, c. i). In the context of the passage quoted above from Socrates there is a clear recognition by the historian in the case of Meletius himself of the distinction between being a bishop and being allowed to act as such. The council allowed him (he says) to retain the <xia 1-779 7ri<T<coirijs, but took away the cot><ria TOV irparretv avrov Tiva. us eTTiaKOiroy. 1 c. 8 : 'Si perviderint [haeretidum] in Patre et Filio et Spiritu sancto esse baptizatum, manus ei tantum imponatur ut accipiat Spiritum sanctum.' c. 13 decided that the ordinations of 'traditor' clergy were valid. M 178 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. where the person so ordained gave satisfactory evidence of his orthodoxy, or again by Donatists, if their clergy would communicate again with the Church on her terms. 1 And this was not a mere economical arrangement in view of particular cases. It was based by St. Augustin on general principles which would apply in many directions the principle, namely, that ' the sacrament of ordination remains in those who are ordained ; and if from any fault a man be removed from his office, yet he will not be without the Lord's sacrament once imposed, though remaining now only to condemn him ' ; 2 and the associated principle 1 This is the point of Jerome's argument against Lucifer. He has a beautiful passage on the rarity of perfect faith, and the necessity therefore of recognising that imperfect faith, is no obstacle to God's Spirit being administered ; 'fides, quae etiam apud eos qui bene credunt difficile perfecta invenitur' (adv. Lt4cifer. 15). He also presses the principle involved in the recognition of heretical baptism : ' eadem ratione episcopum ab Arianis recipio qua tu recipis baptizatum ' (it. 14). He does not, however, commit himself as Augustin does. Augustin carries out the argument with great vigour, using in part and developing Jerome's material, in his anti-Donatist writings. The question (he contends) what a man believes who receives or administers the sacrament of baptism is of great importance for his own salvation, but is wholly immaterial for its effect on the sacrament ' ad quaestionem sacramenti ' (de Bapt. iii. 14). Sacraments ministered by heretics are valid, but their benefits are suspended till those who receive them come over to church unity (de Bapt. vii. 54. 103 ; c. Epist. Parnien. ii. 13. 29). This is as true of ordination as of baptism ; as ordained men, if they secede and return to the Church, ' are certainly not ordained again, but either again exercise their former ministry, or if they do not exercise it at any rate retain the sacrament of their ordination,' so also 'we do not dare to repudiate God's sacraments even when administered in schism ' (de Bapt. 5. i. 2). So, with great clearness, c. Epist. Parnien. ii. 13. 28 : 'nulla ostenditur causa cur ille, qui ipsum baptismum amittere non potest, ius dandi potest amittere : utrumque enim sacramentum est : et quadam consecratione utrumque homini datur, illud cum baptizatur, istud cum ordinatur. Ideoque in catholica utrumque non licet iterari. Nam si quando ex ipsa parte venientes etiam praepositi, pro bono pacis correcto schismatis errore suscepti sunt et si visum est opus esse ut eadem officia gererent quae gerebant, non sunt rursum ordinal! : sed sicut baptismus in eis, ita'ordinatio mansit integra : quia in praecisione fuerat vitium quod unitatis pace correctum est, non in sacramentis, quae ubicunque sunt ipsa sunt.' 2 de Bono Conjugali 24. 32 : ' Quemadmodum si fiat ordinatio cleri ad plebem congregandam, etiamsi plebis congregatio non subsequatur, manet tamen in illis ordinatis sacramentum ordinationis : et si aliqua culpa quisquam ab officio re- moveatur, sacramento domini semel imposito non carebit, quamvis ad iudicium permanente.' III.] The Witness of Church History. 179 transferred from baptism to ordination, that schism and heresy do indeed destroy the spiritual value of sacraments, but not their reality. This latter prin- O ni y parti- ciple was not indeed generally admitted in the Ea^t. n ' East, 1 nor was it quickly worked out to its results in the West. Still it took root. Leo the Great, for example, pronounces that some uncanonically conse- crated bishops are no bishops at all? but ' pseudo- episcopi.' But then he goes on to intimate that, where their ordinations otherwise ' vain ' were allowed by the canonical bishop, they could be accepted as ' valid,' showing clearly that, though he did not regard consecration with the proper form as absolutely valid by itself apart from canonical conditions, he yet did regard it as valid in such sense as that church recognition, subsequently given, might impart to it a retrospective validity. In this uncertain and ambiguous position the matter long remained. ' What is it,' says Morinus, ' to track the controversy [on the validity of heretical or schismatical or simoniacal ordinations] but to exhibit bishops against bishops, councils against councils, pontiffs against pontiffs, waging a Cad- meian war ? ' 3 The Eastern Church has, in fact, 1 Not, e.g., by St. Basil. In Ep. clxxxviii he does not admit the principle of the validity of baptism by sects who are in fundamental heresy on the doctrine of God : nor quite thoroughly as regards the Novatians and Encratites, though some of their ordinations had been allowed. He seems to regard it as a matter depending on the Church' s judgment in any case : so eastern writers subsequently. 2 Ep. clxvii ad Rusticum inq. i : ' Nulla ratio sinit ut inter episcopos habeantur qui nee a clericis sunt electi nee a plebibus sunt expetiti nee a provincialibus epis- copis cum metropolitani iudicio consecrati. Unde, cum saepe quaestio de male accepto honore nascatur, quis ambigat nequaquam istis esse tribuendum, quod non docetur fuisse collatum? Si qui autem clerici ab istis pseudo-episcopis in eis ecclesiis ordinal! sunt, qui ad proprios episcopos pertinebant, et ordinatio eorum consensu et iudicio praesidentium facta est, potest rata haberi, ita ut in ipsis ecclesiis perseverent : aliter autem vana habenda est creatio, quae nee loco fundata est nee auctore munita.' 3 de S. Ord. p. iii. ex. v. 8. i. i8o Christian Ministry. [CHAP. never got beyond the position that the Church has the power to ratify in any particular case, or set of cases, ordinations which in the West would be called per se valid but uncanonical. 1 It can hardly be a subject for regret that the Church should have exhibited considerable unwilling- ness in isolating the consideration of the validity of ordination from its context in the whole question of what constitutes a right relation to the Church. It cannot, however, be denied that the analogy of all sacramental grace forced the Church to distinguish between the gift that is in the man by the laying-on of hands and its reverent or obedient exercise. It must also be borne in mind, especially from the point of view of our present argument, that whatever hesitation was felt in accepting and formulating this principle was due to the high regard in which the ordination gift was held not to any dis- paragement of it : so that there was at no time any hesitation in recognising the indelibility of orders, when imparted and exercised in obedience to the Church. iv. That use IV. It will be noticed that whereas the conception termsYm- tal of the Christian ministry and pastorate of souls dates lde e a d of ( the ew back behind our present period into the immemorial ministry. p as t } it is only at the beginning of our period that the title of the Priesthood begins to be applied to it. Irenaeus and Clement do not speak of the Christian ministers as priests, while Tertullian and Origen do, so that it is only towards the end of the second 1 Morinus I.e. c. n. 4 : ' His cum praecedentibus comparatis, colligitur ecclesiam orientalem varie pro variis temporibus haereticos admisisse. Constat enim quibusdam temporibus, praesertim nascente haeresi, ut via planior ad reditum iis sterneretur, certorum haereticorum ordinationes admisisse : aliis vero eas irritas declarasse et iterasse.' III.] The Witness of Church History. 181 century that sacerdotal terms begin to be regularly l applied to the clergy. The question arises : Does this change of language represent a change of ideas, or merely a readjustment of terms in view of changed circumstances ? We cannot argue always or absolutely from a gradual change in language to a change in ideas. For Reasons for i r ^1- L earlier instance, we have every reason for supposing that abstinence. the first Christians believed in the Divine Sonship of Christ. A Christian of the first century, with the teaching of the Apostles in his mind, when he under- stood the controversy, would, we feel no doubt, have sided unambiguously with St. Athanasius and not with Arius ; and that not because Athanasius would have persuaded him to give any new honour to Christ, but because he would have seen easily enough what his old faith implied : that it was indeed the teaching of St. John and St. Paul about Christ that He was ' God of God, very God of very God.' But, on the other hand, this faith of the Church could not be expressed so unreservedly in the first age as in later times. ' Jesus is very God ' was not the first truth to put before a Jew, but ' Jesus is the Christ ' : this is the substance of the first apostolic preaching as recorded in the Acts the Messianic authority of Christ, not His divine nature. ' Jesus is the Son of God ' was not the first truth to preach to the heathen with their polytheism and mythology, lest they should only too easily incorporate Him into their Pantheon : the basis of 1 Dr. Lightfoot thinks Polycrates' description of St. John as ' a priest wearing the mitre jre'ToAoi-' (ap. Euseb. H.E. v. 24) is perhaps the first instance of sacer- dotal language being applied to the Christian ministry. But we have the expression in the Didache xiii. 3 : ' they are your high priests.' For the Canons of Hippolytus see p. 138 n. 1 . 1 82 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. monotheism must be firmly laid before the Divine Sonship of Christ can be securely preached. 1 There is then a change of terminology which means a change of circumstances rather than of ideas. To take another instance from the records of the lan- guage of the early Church. The early apologists believed in a Christian sacrifice in the Eucharist ; if the sense in which they did so may be discussed, the fact is undoubted. But Justin Martyr, who ex- presses his appreciation of the eucharistic sacrifice to Trypho the Jew, denies to the heathen emperor that God needs material oblations. 2 Athenagoras makes the same denial, and then puts in parentheti- cally as it were under his breath 'and yet we must offer a bloodless sacrifice and bring before God the spiritual service.' 3 The Christian in fact had, or had not, a sacrifice according as the term was used in one sense or in another. The same seems to have been true of the priesthood. ' It would only have caused confusion,' Mr. Simcox justly says, 4 ' when " a great company of the priests was obedient to the faith," to have said that St. Barnabas was a priest, when he was in fact a Levite.' The term ' priest ' indeed carried with it many associations, Jewish and pagan, which did not belong to Christianity. Out- side the Epistle to the Hebrews Christ is not termed a priest, and even there it is said : ' if He were on earth He would not be a priest at all, seeing there are those who offer the gifts according to the law.' 5 So, too, it is conceivable that a Christian missionary of our own day might find it necessary, amidst the 1 See St. Paul's first preaching to heathen, Acts xiv. 14-18 and xvii. 22-31. 2 Dial. c. Tryph. 117 (cf. 22); Apol. i. 10. 3 Legal. 13 : KGUTOI irpoox^epeiv Se'ov dvaifiaicrov Overlap icat TIJV AoyiKTji' npoa'ayeiv Aarpet'ac. * Early Church History p. 59. 5 Hebr. viii. 4 (R.V.). III.] The Witness of Church History, 183 associations of a pagan priesthood, to emphasize by the avoidance of the term the points of difference in the Christian ministry : just as it would have been wiser at times to have produced a monotheistic atmosphere as a preparation for preaching the divinity of Christ. But when once the Christian atmosphere has been cleared, when once the unique high-priesthood of Christ is realized and the communication of that priesthood to the Church, it becomes natural to apply the term ' priest ' to the divinely ordained ministers of this priestly congregation. As this special application has been shown in the last chapter to involve no loss of the general conception of the ' high-priestly race,' so also it carries with it no change of ideas about the ministry. The bishops whom Clement speaks of as ' offering the gifts ' in the spiritual temple of the Church, under Christ 'the high-priest of our oblations,' may as well as not be called priests. Hippolytus expresses by the term ' the high-priesthood ' exactly the same idea of the episcopate as is expressed by Irenaeus without its use. 1 Ignatius, who does not call the Christian officers priests, emphasizes their authority more than Origen, who uses the term freely, and not less than Cyprian. There is an overstrained expression of 1 See App. Note G. It is important to notice the triple derivation of sacerdotal language. There is (i) the idea of the high-priesthood of Truth. The term high priest is applied thus to the prophet (DidacJte xiii. 3), or to the bishop as sitting in the chair of the prophetic teacher (Hippolyt. Ref. Ontn. Haer. prooem. and ithe Clementines). There is (2) the idea of the high-priesthood of Sacrifice realized in the Church through the mediation of Christ. This is the idea of priest- hood in the Epistle to the Hebrews, in Clement of Rome, in Justin Martyr, in Irenaeus ; and the term priest came to be applied in this sense to the bishop or presbyter as to him 'who offers the gifts.' It is noticeable that the unity of prophecy and priesthood underlies the use of the sacerdotal term Aeiroupyelv TU> Kvpuo of the prophets in Acts rfiii. 2. There is (3) the idea of the Power of the Keys the authority to bind and loose in the Christian society, belonging to the bishop with the presbyters, as it is emphasized in the Clementines. 1 84 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. sacerdotal authority in the Apostolical Constitutions \ but this comes from a slight hardening of Ignatius's teaching and is in no apparent connection with the change in terms. On the other hand, the Fathers are not, generally speaking, chargeable with a false conception of the priestly office ; but (as these pages will have shown) in the old offices of ordination, in the writings on the pastoral charge and in the early canons the idea is kept in due proportion and harmony with the whole of church life and spiritual truth. If the Church is a high-priestly race, and if in the Church there is a ministry of divine authority both in the communication of God's gifts to man and in the offering of man's gifts to God, that ministry can quite legitimately be called a priesthood. 1 V. We may claim now to have fairly substantiated the four fundamental positions which were pro- 1 exclusive.- p Oun( j ec i at fa e opening of this chapter. It is still however necessary, in order to make our case com- plete, to refer to the exclusive character attributed to the powers of the ministry, and attributed to them, as far as the evidence goes, from the first. A positive claim is in a certain sense necessarily also exclusive ; the position involves a negation. ' I 1 Dr. Moberly (Ministerial Priesthood, Murray, 1897) has lately done the Church an immense service by at the same time vindicating the institution of the priestly ministry in the Church and also insisting on a right conception of it. In particular he insists that the authority to offer the eucharistic sacrifice does not admit of being isolated from the other (pastoral) functions of the ministry, and represented as substantially constituting priesthood as was done in the later Roman tradition without moral or intellectual disaster. The Christian priest is the Christian pastor. And Dr. Sanday has written with reference to this book : ' When the doctrine of a " sacrificing priesthood " is presented in this way, I confess that I do not see why any of us should quarrel with it. I do not think that we do quarrel with it. If that sainted bishop [Lightfoot] who brought out the store of his learning to combat what is generally known as "sacerdotalism " could arise and be questioned, and have the theory of "Ministerial Priesthood " set before him, I fully believe that he would not condemn but welcome it.' Conception of Priesthood (Longmans, 1899) p. 92. III.] The Witness of Church History. 185 am empowered by ordination to minister' implies that 'you who have no such ordination have no such power.' The church ministry made, then, an exclusive claim. This, of course, needs qualification ; however much the office of teaching or baptizing was kept under the bishop's control and practically confined to the clergy, still lay baptism was generally regarded as valid and allowable in circumstances of necessity, 1 while lay teaching also was from time to time per- mitted. 2 Ambrosiaster tells us, as has been noticed already, that there was at first greater freedom in this respect. But, though this be admitted, it is still true to say that certain functions have been regarded as confined to certain church officers, in such sense as that others cannot validly perform them. Thus St. Jerome writes : ' Since Hilary, a deacon, has withdrawn from the Church, a world in himself as he imagines, he can neither consecrate a eucharist (for he has neither bishops nor presbyters) nor without a eucharist hand on baptism ; and when the individual is dead, his sect is gone with him ; for, as a deacon, he could ordain no clergyman after him. And that is no Church which has no priests.' 3 Again, the eighteenth canon of 1 Cf. e.g. Tertull. de Bapt. 17 ; Council of Elvira, c. 38. Jerome (adv. Lucifer. 9) says : ' Inde venit, ut sine chrismate et episcopi iussione neque presbyter neque diaconus ius habeant baptizandi. Quod frequenter, si tamen necessitas cogit, scimus etiam licere laicis.' 2 Apost. Const, viii. 32. 15 : 6 SiSdcncuv, et (cot Acuicbs eiT), e/iireipos 5e TOV \6yov KOU. TOV Tftoirov <Tfii'd, StSaa-itfTta. See note (32) in Migne Patrol. Graec. i. p. 1132. 3 Jerome adv. Lucif. 21 : ' He cannot without a eucharist hand on baptism,' be- cause ' baptism ' is used to include confirmation, and confirmation can be administered only by a bishop ; see adv. Lucif. 9, (the chapter in which occurs the admission, just quoted, of baptism, in the narrower sense, by a layman) ' baptizatus nisi per manum episcopi noa accipiet Spiritum Sanctum quern nos asserimtts in vero baptismate triirui.' The chrism for confirmation is specially connected with the eucharist and the altar in Cyprian, p. 70. 2 : ' Ungi quoque necesse est eum qui baptizatus est, ut accepto chrismate jd est unctione esse unctus Dei et habere in se gratiam Christi possit. Porro autem eucharistia est unde baptizati unguuntur oleum in altari sanctificatum. Sanctificare autem non potuit olei creaturam qui nee altare habuit nee ecclesiam ' ; see on both passages Mason, Relation of Confirmation to Baptism, pp. 68, 168. 1 86 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. Nicaea distinguishes between the deacons ' who have not the authority to offer ' and the presbyters who have. This, of course, represents the common doctrine ; only a priest can offer or consecrate the Eucharist, as only a bishop can ordain. But it is sometimes urged that this is a later conception in the Church : earlier, as in Ignatius and Clement, you have the conception of the authority of the ministry strongly developed, but without this ' sacerdotal ex- clusiveness.' ' Let that be esteemed a valid Euchar- ist,' Ignatius says, ' which is celebrated under the bishop or his delegate ; ... it is not lawful, apart from the bishop, to baptize or celebrate a love- feast ' : * but here, it is urged, the idea is simply that a sacrament must be duly authorized ; and this would be quite compatible with the validity of a lay Eucharist, if only the layman had authority given him to celebrate it. It was a question of order not of exclusive grace. The rights of Now it is perfectly true that in the first age the a maueTo7 dominant idea was that of Church order. 2 The priest- hood was not, as much as in later days, regarded as an endowment of the individual. There was not the same distinction drawn between what was valid and what was canonical. On this point enough has but also of already been said. But it is obvious that the con- ception of church order is capable of embracing what is included in both the terms ' canonical ' and ' valid.' Thus the language of Ignatius about the Eucharist is 1 ad Smyrn. 8; see however further, in chap, vi., for Ignatius's whole conception. 2 Cf. Tertull. de Bapt. ^^ '. ' Dandi quidem [baptismum] habet ius summus sacerdos, qui est episcopus : dehinc presbyter! et diaconi, non tamen sine episcopi auctoritate, propter ecclesiae honorem, quo salvo salva pax est.' Cf. Jerome, in note above : and [Ambrose] de Sacramentis iii. 1.4:' exordium ministerii a summo est sacerdote.' III.] The Witness of Church History. 187 capable of covering the position that only a presbyter can have the bishop's license to consecrate, even if it also covers the position that a presbyter's celebration, apart from episcopal authority, would lack validity. And we certainly find that Clement assigns the ' offering of the gifts ' to the episcopal (or presbyteral) office, and speaks of each order as having its own limited functions in the celebration of the Eucharist by divine appointment. 1 Again, when we go further back, we find in the Acts the idea of exclusive function : for, though nothing is said about the Eucharist in particular, only the apostle, or perhaps also the prophet, can lay on hands to give the gift of the Holy Ghost. And so, in special connection with ordination, St. Paul speaks of Timothy as empowered by a gift of grace given to him as an individual by the laying-on of hands, and presumably conveyed by him to those on whom he is directed to lay hands after the apostolic pattern. 2 It does not the least follow that, because Ignatius and Clement press the idea of divine order, they ignore the reality of ordina- tion grace, which as positive is also exclusive. It is, of course, a fact that there is much more early evidence for the general position that no ministry was acknowledged in the Church which was not per- formed in accordance with church order, and for the principle of special positive powers conveyed to individuals by ordination, than there is for the particular limitation to presbyters of the celebration of the Eucharist : but it is a false supposition (con- sidering the traditional character of the Church) that 1 ad Cor. 40 ; see further in chap. vi. 2 The argument is the same, for our present purpose, if the Acts and Pastoral Epistles are relegated to the second century. 1 88 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. an institution or limitation only began to exist when we happen first to hear of it. 1 Have we, then, any reason to believe that a layman would in any age have been allowed to celebrate the eucharist even in case of necessity? Yes, it is at Tertuiiian's once answered : Tertullian says so. 2 It is in a contrary e Montanist treatise, where he is arguing, in the severe spirit of that body, against the lawfulness of second marriages. His opponent is supposed to urge that they are forbidden only to priests. ' Vain,' replies Tertullian, ' shall we be if we think that what is not lawful for priests is lawful for laics. Are not even we laics priests ? (Rev. i. 6 quoted.) It is the authority of the Church which makes a difference between the order and the people. . . . Thus, where there is no bench of clergy, you offer and baptize and are priest alone for yourself. Nay, where three are, there is a Church, although they be laics. . . . Therefore, if you have the rights of a priest in your person when it is necessary, it behoves you to have likewise the discipline of a priest when it is necessary to use his right. If you are a digamist, can you baptize ? can you offer ? How much more capital a crime is it for the digamist laic to act for the priest, when the priest himself, if he turn digamist, is deprived of the power of acting as priest ? ' 8 1 It must have been a surprise to many people to find in the Didache the obser- vance of the Wednesday and Friday fasts and of trine affusion. Cf. Harnack in Expositor, May 1887, p. 321. 2 When Clement of Alexandria says of the Christian : tcrn-epas Se ai/aira.vcraa-0cu KaOi)Ket. /A6Ta TT\V to'Tia.o'iv Kal juera T<}V CTT! T<U? a.Troh.a.va'eai.v euxapioTiW {Pacd. ii. 10. 96), he is referring to the ' grace ' for the supper. EvxapctrTeii/ long continued to be used for ' saying grace ' in the chutrch of Alexandria ; cf. pseudo- Athan. de Virgin. 12 : e<r0ie TOV aprov <row evx a P to " n )' a< '' a T V " 6l ? ' 7rt T ') s rpaire'jJVjs <rov (and so three times in c. 13). Dr. Bigg's suggestion of a domestic ' Eucharist" with only the head of the house to celebrate it (B.L. p. 103 n. 2 ) seems, therefore, gratuitous, and is not borne out by the words of Clement. 3 de Exhort. Cast. ^ : ' Vani erimus, si putaverimus quod sacerdotibus non liceat laicis licere. Nonne et laici sacerdotes sumus? Scriptum est : Regnum quoque nos et sacerdotes Deo et Patri suo fecit. Differentiam inter ordinem et plebem constituit ecclesiae auctoritas et honor per ordinis concessum sanctificatus. Adeo ubi ecclesi- astici ordinis non est consessus, et offers et tinguis et sacerdos es tibi solus. Sed ubi tres, ecclesia est, licet laici. Unusquisque enim de sua fide vivit, nee est personarum acceptio apud Deum : quoniam non auditores legis justificabuntur a Deo, sed factores, secundum quod et apostolus dixit. Igitur si habes ius sacerdotis in temetipso ubi necesse est, habeas oportet etiam disciplinam sacerdotis, ubi necesse est habere ius sacerdotis. Digamus tinguis ? digamus offers ? quanto magis laico digamo capitale erit agere pro sacerdote, cum ipsi sacerdoti digamo auferatur agere sacerdotem?' III.] The Witness of Church History. \ 89 Tertullian is here confessedly speaking about abnormal cases, and in this same treatise he speaks of a man offering the eucharist under usual circum- stances for his wife or wives departed by the hands of the priest per sacerdotem. 1 At the same time there is no doubt about his meaning ; and if this passage could be fairly quoted as evidence of the mind of the Church at the time, it would go at least to show that while the right of the layman to baptize, in cases of necessity, was rather grudgingly conceded, there was no sharp line yet drawn in respect of his powers between baptism and the eucharist. But though we grant this, it is, on the other hand, certainly not the case that this passage can be fairly quoted as illustrating the mind of the Church at all. Tertullian, follows from f , .. ,., .,. -hisMontan- m fact, is writing as a Montanist ; J that is as one 01 ist position. a body which was setting itself against the Church as in other respects, so also in reference to the authority of the episcopal ministry. 3 He had himself, before he became a Montanist, adopted a different tone. He had made carelessness about sacerdotal distinctions the very characteristic of heretical bodies. 'Their ordinations are heedless, capricious, changeable. At one 1 ib. ii : ' Offeres pro duabus et commendabis illas duas/tr sacerdotem de mono- gamia ordinatum ? ' 3 There is no doubt about this, for a prophecy of Prisca is quoted (de Exh. Cast. 10) : ' Item per sanctam prophetidem Priscam ita evangelizatur, quod sanctus minister sanctimoniam noverit ministrare. Purificantia enim concordat, ait, et visiones vident et ponentes faciem deorsum etiam voces audiunt manifestas, tarn salutares quam et occultas. 1 There can be little doubt that these words belong to the true text : (so Bonwetsch Montanismus, p. 198). 3 Tertullian speaks of course as if his opponent would grant his position. But Tertullian though he is a very powerful is not a fair arguer, and it cannot be the least concluded that, when Tertullian uses or implies a ' Nonne,' his opponent would have answered ' Yes." It needs to be remembered further that, on all showing, a private Christian of Tertullian's day could receive the sacrament at home, Ad -ux. ii. 5. Thus he could ' play the priest for himself,' at least by giving himself the sacrament. It is not impossible that Tertullian "has nothing more than this behind his argument. As indeed such a custom seems to remove all excuse for any further concession to the laity. Christian Ministry. [CHAP. time they put novices in office ; at another, men involved in secular employment ; at another, men who have apostatized from us. ... And so it comes about that one man is a bishop with them to-day, another to-morrow ; to-day a man is a deacon, and to-morrow a reader ; to-day a presbyter, and to-morrow a layman ; for they impose even on laymen the functions of the priesthood? 1 The tone here is undoubtedly different. Again, in another treatise, he makes it part of the un- written but authoritative tradition of the Church, that only the 'presidents' that is, no doubt, the bishop and presbyters should administer the eucharist. 2 The statement, then, that Tertullian makes as to the power of the layman ' to offer,' in cases of necessity, can no more be admitted as evidence of what the Church would have granted, than similar appeals made by Waldensians or Wesleyans of later days. character- It is, however, necessary to explain a little more western fully the position of the Montanists, and that especi- ally in order to refute the notion that, in their claim to dispense with the church ministry, they represented in any way an older and fast vanishing ' freedom of the spirit.' 3 1 de Praescr. 41. For the Latin, see p. 115 n. 1 . 2 de Corona 3,4:' Eucharistiae sacramentum et in tempore victus et omnibus mandatum a Domino, etiam antelucanis coetibus, nee de aliorum manu quam praesidentium sumimus.' He then proceeds to argue on the authority of the Church traditions, and on their claim to obedience; 'harum et aliarum eiusmodi disciplinarum si legem expostules scripturarum, nullam invenies : traditio tibi praetendetur auctrix, consuetude confirmatrix et fides observatrix. Rationem tradition! et consuetudini et fidei patrocinaturam aut ipse perspicies aut ab aliquo qui perspexerit disces : interim nonnullam esse credes, cui debeatur obsequium.' Thus he makes this limitation of the distribution of the eucharistic sacrament to the clergy one of many immemorial traditions of the Church ; and he speaks of the authoritativeness of church customs in a tone so different to what is to be quoted from the de Virginibus Velandis that, though the de Corona has some of the Montanist rigorism about it and dates not before the end of the century, it cannot belong to his latest and most Montanist period. The contemporary Canons of Hippolytus expressly exclude the layman even from making the sign of the cross over the bread at the love-feast, c. xxxv. 3 'The fact of the existence of Montanism," Dr. Hatch says (. L. p. 125), 'strongly confirms the general inferences which are drawn from other evidence, ill.] The Witness of Church History. 191 Montanism, then, as represented by Tertullian, (o rigorism; had two chief characteristics. 1 First, it was a move- ment characterized by an intense ascetic rigorism. Tertullian, who had deplored 2 but not corrected his own impatience, was drawn into its ranks, as men of impatient, undisciplined zeal have been drawn in every age into puritan or Novatian parties. In this spirit, it was opposed to the laxer or more merciful tendencies of the authorities of the Roman Church of that day. 3 ' I hear,' says Tertullian with bitter scorn, 4 ' that an edict has been issued, and that a peremptory one. That " pontifex maximus," that bishop of bishops, 5 decrees: I forgive the sins of adultery and fornication to those who have performed penance.' This readiness to grant absolution for even the worst sins the Montanists intensely resented. Further, the Montanist discipline involved special fasts and special restrictions on marriage and other ascetic rules for laity, no less than clergy which find in Tertullian a vigorous advocate, and which enable him to heap contempt on the more ordinary standards of living, which were reckoned sufficient among churchmen or ' natural men,' as the Montan- ists called them. The second characteristic of western Montanism, (2) belief in which it had derived from its Phrygian parentage, prophets, 1 that church officers were originally regarded as existing for the good government of the community and for the general management of its affairs . . . that the func- tions which the officers performed were such as, apart from the question of order, might be performed by any member of the community.' 1 On the Montanist movement generally, see App. Note H. - This is what gives such pathos to his treatise de Patientia, 3 The view of the policy of the Roman Church which Mr. Pater gives in Afarius the Epicurean is so far justified by the number of reactionary movements which history connects with the names of Tertullian, Hippolytus, and Novatian. * de Pvdic. i. 5 The first title no doubt implies the paganism of the proceedings, and the second its arbitrariness, in Tertullian's judgment. 192 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. was a belief in the ' new prophets.' There had been in the persons of the first Montanist prophets a new outpouring of the prophetic spirit. They had been the subjects of a new and absolute inspiration ; and still (though they were gone) the Montanist society had brethren with ' the gift of revelations/ who saw visions and had access to divine truth denied to andconse- common men. Men who believe themselves inspired quent dis- 11- paragement naturally tend to despise mere church officers who of the regular 11- AII-I ministry. make no such claim. And, besides, the church officers in the East first, and later in the West, had judged and repudiated this claim to inspiration The Church of the ' natural men ' had, according to the Montanists, rejected the Spirit. 1 It will not therefore at all surprise us that the Montanists should have regarded their inspired prophets as organs of spiritual power, in the possession of whom they were enabled to despise the bishops with their official claims. The Church never expressed any opinion on the rights which could be recognised in genuine prophets, but she denied that these men were prophets of God at all. Hence the tone of antagon- ism. Tertullian is still speaking of the episcopal edict. ' You say,' he argues, 2 ' that the Church has the power of forgiving sins. This I acknowledge more than you and determine I, who have the Paraclete Himself in the person of the new prophets saying " the Church can forgive the sin, but I will not do it lest they commit others withal." ' The claim to the power of absolution in the Church was based on our Lord's promise to St. Peter, and Tertullian 1 See T.ertull. adv. Prax. i and App. Note H. '2 tie Pudic. 21 : ' Sed habet, inquis, potestatem ecclesia delicta donandi ? Hoc ego magis et agnosco et dispono, qui ipsum Paracletum in prophetis novis habeo dicentem : Potest ecclesia donare delictum, sed non faciam, ne et alia delinquant.' III.] TJie Witness of Church History. 193 proceeds to examine the promise and declares that it was given to St. Peter only as an individual. The promised power, therefore, of binding and loosing has nothing to do with those who claim to inherit it. ' Now, then, what has this power to do with the Church, with your Church forsooth, mere natural man? For, in accordance with the person of Peter, it is to spiritual men that this power will belong, either to an apostle, or else to a prophet. For the Church is properly and principally the Spirit Himself, in whom is the Trinity of the One Godhead Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Spirit combines that Church which the Lord has made to consist in three persons. And thus, from that time forward, any number of persons, who may have combined together with this faith, is accounted "a Church" from the author and consecrator of the Church. And, accordingly, the Church, it is true, will forgive sins ; but it will be the Church of the Spirit by means of the spiritual man ; not the Church which consists of a number of bishops. ' * It will now be seen that Tertullian's argument about three constituting a Church, in the passage which came first under discussion, is in direct connection with the argument of this last passage. The ' anti- sacerdotal ' tone of it is quite manifest or rather, what is manifest is that it substitutes a priesthood of supposed inspiration for the priesthood of an ordained and official ministry. It sets the Church of the Spirit against the Church of the bishops. So far, then, Montanism gives us good evidence as to the temper of the Church when she rejected that movement in the second century. But is it, then, the case that Montanism represented the older mind of the Church an older ' freedom of prophesy- 1 id. 'Quid nunc et ad ecclesiam, et quidem tuam, psychice? Secundum enim Petri personam spiritalibus potestas ilia conveniet aut apostolo aut prophetae. Nam et ecclesia proprie et principaliter ipse est Spiritus, in quo est trinitas unius divini- tatis, Pater et Filius et Spiritus sanctus. 111am ecclesiam congregat, quam Dominus in tribus posuit. Atque ita exinde etiam numerus omnis, qui in bane fidem con- spiraverint, ecclesia ab auctore et consecratore censetur. Et ideo ecclesia quidem delicta donabit : sed ecclesia Spiritus per spiritalem hominem, non ecclesia numerus episcoporum.' N 194 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. ing ' ? l Not in the least. The Church never in fact committed herself at all to any position with refer- ence to the rights and powers which would be allowed to those whose real inspiration she could recognise. She did not admit Montanist inspiration and then deny that it had accompanying rights ; she simply denied that it was inspiration. She was taking up no new line towards prophecy whatever. And the more closely we look at Montanism, whether in its origin or in its development, the less inclined shall we be to attribute to Montanism conservative or retrospective tendencies. ' It was the element of conservatism in it,' it has been recently said by one whose justice always commends his words, 'the fact that it spoke the language and reaffirmed the idea of a bygone day, that gave Montanism its strength, and won over to it so powerful a champion as Tertullian.' 2 Such language, however, seems con- trary to the evidence we have of the nature of Montanism. If we read Tertullian 's de Virginibus Velandis, we shall be struck with its ^conservative tone. Tertullian, the catholic, strikes the note of conservatism in the Praescriptiones. As a Montanist he still kept his hold on the ancient doctrine ; 1 We have not, it must be remembered, to deal in Montanism with a claim for ' liberty of prophesying ' in any modern sense, but with a claim of supernatural inspiration. See Dr. Salmon's article in the Diet. Chr. Biog. on MONTANUS, and Authority and Archaeology pp. 292 ff. 2 Dr. Sanday in Expositor, Feb. 1887, p. no. Bonwetsch, the best recent investigator of the matter, though he does not altogether accept this view of Montanism as a conservative or reactionary movement, quotes some words from the acts of a bishop Achatius in the Decian persecution ( 4 ap. Ruinart Ada Martyr. Sincerd) as a sign that this view of them was held already in early days (Zeitschr. f. k. Wissenschaft it. k. Leben, 1884, heft ix. p 473). The words are : ' Cataphryges aspice homines religionis antiquae." But they are completely misunderstood. The words are put in the mouth of the pagan magistrate. He had first induced the Montanists to apostatize and sacrifice, and then held them up as examples of return to the ancient religion, i.e. the old Roman religion: 'ad mea sacra converses,' he continues, 'reliquisse quae fuerant, et nobiscum Diis vota persolvere.' III.] The Witness of Church History. 195 but 'novitas' is his watchword in matters of dis- cipline. In this region he denounces custom : ' custom, which, taking its origin from ignorance or sim- plicity, is strengthened by succession into a practice, and then makes its position good against the truth. . . . It is not the charge of novelty, but the truth, which refutes heresies. Whatever is against the truth, this is heresy, even though it be an old custom.' The rule of faith indeed is immovable, 1 but ' the other matters of discipline and life admit the novelty of correction, because the grace of God works and advances even till the end.' There is a gradual development, then, in the Church as the Spirit ' the Lord's Vicar' gradually works out His plan of discipline. This development has for its content ' the direction of discipline, the revelation of Scriptures, the improvement of our understanding, the advance to a better state of things.' It is like the natural development of physical life. The infancy of man- kind was under the Law and the Prophets ; it came to its hot youth under the Gospel ; now, through the Spirit (i.e. the Spirit which inspired the new prophets, the Montanist Spirit, in virtue of which they set the ' Church of the Spirit ' against the ' Church of the bishops') it is realizing the strength of manhood.' 2 1 But is more fully unfolded to Montanists : see ad Prax. z. 30 de Res. Cam. 63. 2 de Virg. Vel. i : ' Hac lege fidei manente, cetera iam disciplinae et conver- sationis admittunt novitatem correctionis, operante scilicet et proficiente usque in finem gratia Dei. . . . Cum propterea Paracletum miserit Dominus, ut quoniam humana mediocritas omnia semel capere non poterat, paulatim dirigeretur et ordinaretur et ad perfectum perduceretur disciplina ab illo vicario Domini Spiritu sancto. . . . Quae est ergo Paracleti administrate, nisi haec, quod disciplina dirigitur, quod scripturae revelantur, quod intellectus reformatur, quod ad meliora proficitur? Nihil sine aetate est, omnia tempus exspectant. . . . Sic et iustitia (nam idem Deus iustitiae et creaturae) primo fuit in rudimentis, natura Deum metuens ; dehinc per legem et prophetas promovit in infantiam ; dehinc per evan- gelium efferbuit in iuventutem : nunc per Paracletum componitur in maturitatem.' 196 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. This passage has no direct bearing on the claim to possess a substitute for ordained bishops in inspired prophets, but it disposes of the contention that Montanism represented conservative tendencies in matters of church discipline. As well, then, might one quote the contemporary humanitarians as illus- trating what had hitherto been the Church's doctrine about Christ, as the Montanists to illustrate her doctrine of orders. 1 Now we have come to the end of a long argument. Starting from the age of Irenaeus, we have traced downward the stream of church life, and everywhere we have found the Church recognising the authority of a ministry, derived by succession from the Apostles, and consisting of bishops, presbyters, and deacons ; everywhere we have seen reason to believe that these ministers were qualified for their high functions by an ordination given after due election with the laying-on of the hands of the bishops who were before them, and only in virtue of such ordination held to possess the authority and the grace of God requisite for the ministry they were called to fulfil. It was of course only gradually that this ministerial principle gained complete and adequate expression. It was with this as with church doctrine. In both departments there is a development in explicitness of conception and in accuracy and fulness of language. But the principle held the ground from the first with thorough recogni- tion ; and the evidence of this is that, wherever the claim of the ministry was challenged, the spirit of the Church rose to maintain it, and those who could not 1 These humanitarians really did make the claim to be the true conservatives ; see Euseb. H. . v. 28. The Little Labyrinth makes the suggestive rejoinder : ' What they said might have been perhaps convincing, if, first of all, the Holy Scripture had not contradicted them." III.] The Witness of Church History. 197 recognise the authority of their fathers in Christ found themselves aliens from the brotherhood. The challenge may have come from the side of Montanist enthusiasm or Novatian separatism ; or it may have been due to the self-assertion of an individual against church order, as when Colluthus, who was no bishop, attempted to ordain a presbyter ; or it may have had its origin in a collapse of discipline such as led to the attempt of some deacons, in days of persecution, to offer the eucharist ; or it may have been a challenge in theory rather than in practice, like Aerius' denial of the distinctive dignity of the episcopate. But, in whatever sense and from whatever quarter the authority of the ministry was challenged, the mind of the Church spoke out loud in its vindication. For the ministry was acknowledged, instinctively and univer- sally, as the divinely given stewardship of truth and grace, as part of the new creation of God ; and, ' the things which the Lord instituted through His Apostles, these,' in Athanasius' words, ' remain honourable and valid.' As an institution of Christ through His Apostles divine, permanent, and necessary the threefold ministry made its appearance pn the horizon of our epoch and ' the memory of man ran not to the contrary.' CHAPTER IV THE INSTITUTION OF THE APOSTOLATE The present HITHERTO we have been occupied in expounding a theargu? certain set of principles which are involved in the phrase ' the apostolic succession of the ministry,' and in adducing a great body of evidence calculated to show how completely, and (as far as appears) with- out exception, these principles obtained acceptance in the Church, and governed her action, from the middle of the second century onwards. It is, in fact, impossible to exaggerate the intimacy with which the episcopal succession is bound up with the fixed canon of Scripture and the permanent and stable creed to constitute what can rightly be called 'historical Christianity.' We may indeed see more clearly, on reviewing the earlier period, that there was the same tentativeness in the process by which the formulated nomenclature and the exact form of the ministry was arrived at, as appears in the corresponding formula- tion of the creed of the Church ; but in neither case did this development in language and form involve any uncertainty of principle in the period already reviewed : and, if we compare the development of the ministry with the process by which the canon of Scripture was fixed, we are struck with the fact that the hesitation, which appears in the latter 198 CHAP. IV.] The Institution of the Apostolate. 199 process as to what did and what did not fall within the canon, has no parallel in any hesitation as to what did or what did not constitute at any particular moment the ministry in the Church. On this subject there was no conflict or division of opinion inside the body of the Church which is brought under our notice. The discussion about Montanism was not (as we have seen) a discussion as to the rights of pro- phets, but as to whether certain people were or were not justified in claiming the prophetic inspiration. Hitherto, however, we have not touched the period which lies behind the middle of the second century. The reason for this has been that we have such very fragmentary light on the space which intervenes between this date and the point where the Acts of the Apostles comes to an end. ' I have elsewhere,' says Dr. Salmon, 'described the paucity of docu- ments dating from the age immediately succeeding the apostolic, by saying that church history passes through a tunnel. We have good light where we have the books of the New Testament to guide us, and good light again when we come down to the abundant literary remains of the latter part of the second century ; but there is an intervening period, here and there faintly illumined by a few documents giving such scanty and interrupted light as may be afforded by the air-holes of a tunnel. If in our study of the dimly-lighted portion of the history we wish to distinguish what is certain from what is doubtful, we may expect to find the things certain in what can be seen from either of the two well-lighted ends. If the same thing is visible on looking from either end, we can have no doubt of its existence.' 1 1 Expositor, July 1887, p. 3 f. 2OO Christian Ministry. [CHAP, it remains We proceed, then, to examine the beginnings of to verify the . . . - postulates the ministry in other words, first, to obtain an history, answer to the question whether the postulates of the later Church are verified by the intention of Jesus Christ as recorded in the Gospels : secondly, to inter- rogate the history of the apostolic Church as recorded in the Epistles and in the Acts of the Apostles, and draw out the witness which this record affords on the earliest development of the Christian ministry : lastly \ to scrutinize the documents which shed a certain amount of light on the subapostolic period, and see whether they bear out the theory of the apostolic succession, and whether, further, they supply the links which enable us to form an adequate idea of the method by which the ministry of the apostolic days passed into the ministry of the better known period of church history. 1 first, in the The first task before us is to investigate the inten- christ-s tion of Christ. It has been already pointed out that the method of Christ was to withdraw from the many upon the few. While He healed widely and freely all who had ' faith to be healed,' He taught those only, except by the way, in whom He discerned the higher sort of faith which would make them disciples. These He trained to become a firm consolidated body, rooted 1 Speaking of The Churchand the Ministry, a pamphlet in review of his Bampton Lectures, Dr. Hatch says of the author : ' He begins by asserting that he accepts the author's method, and that he wishes only to answer the question which the author proposed, viz. What does the existing evidence teach as to the early history of ecclesiastical organization? but he silently, and perhaps unconsciously, devotes the rest of his review to the consideration of a very different question, viz. How far can the existing evidence be interpreted on the Augustinian theory?' {B.L. pref. to 2nd ed. p. xiii.). My contention is that the evidence at certain periods teaches positively, that is to say, the evidence collected in the last chapter and portions of the evidence now to be produced ; but in the subapostolic period it is often necessary, on account of the deficiency of positive evidence, to be content with finding that what there is is consistent with the positive position, which the earlier and later evidence so strongly suggests as almost to force it upon us. IV.] The Institution of the Apostolate. 201 and grounded in faith in Himself, that they might be the nucleus of His universal Church. Even within the body of these disciples there were inner and outer circles : there were the twelve and also * they that were with them,' 1 the women who ministered to them and the seventy who shared at a certain stage the apostolic commission. 2 Confining our attention now The Gospels to the inner circle, with whom Christ chiefly concerned fnSfuftion 6 Himself, we ask ourselves : Was His training of the a^toi*"* 1 twelve the training merely of typical disciples? or was it, over and above this, the training of ministers, of officers in His kingdom ? This latter seems un- doubtedly the true answer. ' He called unto Him whom He Himself would, . . . and He appointed twelve that they might be with Him, and that He might send them forth to preach and to have authority to cast out devils.' ' He called His disciples and He chose from them twelve, whom also He named 1 St. Luke xxiv. 33 ; cf. St. Mark iv. 10 : ot irepl O.VTOI> avv rots - The seventy (or seventy-two according to another reading) of St. Luke x. i share the earliest apostolic commission : they are sent forth (St. Luke x. 3 : iiov dnxxfrc'AAw vjtias, cf. ix. 2), with authority over the powers of Satan (x. 17, 19, cf. ix. i), as representatives of the kingdom, endowed with its peace and having power to com- municate it (x. 9, cf. ix. 2, and observe x. 6 : en-avairaucreToi ejr* avrbv -q cipijio; v/xwv* ei fie f"jye, </>' v^as avaxafii^ei), and as representatives of Christ (x. 16 : 6 O.KOVUIV iiftiav efxov oxovct, K.r.X.). The number seventy or seventy-two is supposed to have reference to the seventy-two heads of the Sanhedrin ; or to the seventy-two tribes of mankind (see Godet in loc. and Clem. Recog. ii. 42) ; or, much more naturally, to the seventy elders endued with the spirit of prophecy (Num. xi. 16-30). Thus the later Church saw here the institution of the presbyterate by our Lord ; see CUm. Ep. Petri i and Jerome Ep. Ixxviii. ad Fabiol. mans. 6. (The seventy elders, however, were also regarded as the prototype of the chorepiscopi.) In some tradi- tions these seventy are reckoned apostles. Thus the Syriac Teaching of the Apostles reckons seventy-two apostles as originating ' the ordination to the priesthood,' and a late Arab writer, historian of the Coptic Church, who may draw on an earlier tradition, speaks of the apostles as seventy, besides the twelve ; see refs. p. 119, n. 1 This suggests the 'apostles' and 'prophets' of the Didache. It is important that those who accept the historical character of St. Luke's Gospel should recollect that there must have been in the apostolic Church a number of these ' evangelists,' who had received our Lord's commission, and whom we certainly cannot identify with presbyters whose office was local. 202 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. apostles.' l These, as appears from His instructions to them, are to be His authorized representatives in the ministry of mercy and judgment. 2 ' Evidently,' says Mr. Maurice, ' He never separates the thought of training them in their office from that of performing His own. As evidently He is training them to an office ; He is not teaching them to be great saints, to keep up a high tone of personal holiness as if that were the end of their lives.' Thus, he adds, 'if we called the four Gospels " the Institution of a Christian Ministry," we might not go very far wrong or lose sight of many of their essential qualities.' 3 Further, this apostolic ministry which Christ is seen to be training, though at times it seems to constitute almost the whole of that definite body which is being prepared to be the Church, is intended to be what in history it became not the whole Church, but only one element in it. 4 This is implied in a striking manner and there is no doubt that what a teacher implies often produces as striking an effect upon the mind as what he explicitly teaches in the parable in which 1 St. Mark Hi. 13, 14 ; St. Luke vi. 13. 2 The personal and official position of the twelve appears clearly in St. Matt, x., St. John vi. 67-70, St. Luke xxii. 29, 30 ; cf. St. Matt. iv. 19. They are called ' the disciples' par excellence (in e.g. St. Mark x. 23-46, St. John xviii. i); so they mediated between Christ and the crowd in the feeding of the five thousand (St. Luke 5x. 10-17), and at other times (St. Matt. xv. 32-39, St. John xii. 20-22); while for their position after the resurrection cf. St. Luke xxiv. 9, 33. 3 Kingdom of Christ ii. p. 118 [3d ed.]. On the view of the apostolate recently proponed by Dr. Hort see App. Note M. p. 382. 4 Such a passage as St. Matt, xxiii. 8, referred to by Dr. Hatch B. L. p. 121, does not imply that our Lord condemned all grades and distinctions in His Church, any- more than it implies a condemnation of all grades and distinctions in the State, or than St. Luke xiv. 26 implies a condemnation of all human affections, or St. Luke vi. 20, 24 of all wealth, or St. John x. 8 of all the O. T. prophets. In all these pass- ages there is a mode of speech, which Christ often used, and of which we have to take account. He condemns all dignities which interfere with His unique mastership, not such as represent it, whether in Church or State ; all wealth held as a possession or right instead of as a trust, not all wealth absolutely ; all love which interferes with His divine jealousy, not domestic love in its right place ; precursors who came with His claim, not those who came as His heralds. IV.] The Institution of the Apostolate. 203 Christ gives St. Peter a picture of the divine house- hold which He is intending to establish. He had been uttering some warnings and encouragements to His disciples, partly in the form of parables, with reference to the spirit of detachment and its reward, and St. Peter questions Him whether He is speaking to them, the twelve, only or to all. Christ answers with another question : ' Who is that faithful and wise steward whom his Lord shall set over his household of servants, to give them their portion of meat in due season? Blessed is that servant whom his Lord, when he cometh, shall find so doing.' * Here is a picture of ' the household ' of the Church which Christ is intending to organize, and it is represented with a permanent distinction, enduring till the Lord come again, the distinction between the ordinary servants and the steward who distributes the ' bread of life.' Thus the impression is left on us that in the Christian household there is to be, by dis- tinction from the ordinary members, a stewardship, instituted by the Master and enduring till the end. 2 This impression, derived from a general considera- tion of Christ's dealings with His Apostles, is deepened by the study of special commissions given to them. 1 St. Luke xii. 41-43. The future (coTooTijaei is to be noticed ; it is like the futures oiKoSofi-na-ia, Siatru, in St. Matt. xvi. iS, 19. 2 M. Godet's comment on this parable is as follows (S. Luc. ii. p. 138) : ' This utterance seems to imply that the apostolate will perpetuate itself till Christ's return ; and in fact it is an irresistible conclusion from the figure employed, that there will remain to the end, in the Church, a ministry of the word established by Christ. The Apostles perceived this so clearly that, when they left the world, they were at pains to establish a ministry of the word to take their place in the Church. This ministry was a continuation of their own, if not in its completeness, at any rate in one of its most indispensable functions that of which Jesus speaks in this parable the distribution of spiritual nourishment to the flock. . . . The theory which makes the pastorate emanate from the Church as its representative is not scriptural. This com- mission is rather an emanation from the apostolate, and therefore mediately an institution of Jesus Himself.' 2O4 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. (i)Thecom- (i) We have the commission promised to St. Peter. 1 st. s pete! Christ meets St. Peter's confession of His Messiahship or Divine Sonship with a special benediction. He pronounces him ' Peter,' the man of rock, and declares that on this rock He will build His Church. So far He is dealing with the human character of St. Peter. There is in His language, as it has been admirably explained, 2 a sense of relief, the relief that comes of perceiving in St. Peter's deliberate acceptance of His divine claim a solid basis on which His spiritual fabric may be reared, or at least a basis capable of being solidified by discipline and experience till it become a foundation stone on which the Church may rest. The rock then, of which Christ speaks, is the rock of a human character confessing the divine claim. It is as men, as human characters, that the twelve Apostles are the twelve foundation stones of the New Jerusalem. And, if the promise to St. Peter which follows must be interpreted of an official posi- tion which is to be given to him in the Church, we have here at starting an emphatic intimation that official dignity in the Church is meant to rest on a basis of moral fitness. 3 But does Christ pass in His promise to St. Peter from words which concern his moral character to words which imply his spiritual office? He certainly does. He promises that He will give him ' the keys of the kingdom of heaven,' or of the Church, and this is in other words promising to make him the official steward of the divine house- 1 St. Matt. xvi. iS, 19. 2 Holland Creed and Character p. 49. 3 Christ, however, in choosing Judas whom He ' knew from the first ' among the twelve, showed that He distinguished between moral worth and spiritual authority, and this is also implied in His words about the Jewish authorities (St. Matt, xxiii. 2, 3) : ' the scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses" seat : all therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do, but do not ye after their works.' IV.] The Institution of the Apostolate. 205 hold. When Shebna was substituted for Eliakim in the treasurership or stewardship of the house of David, this was the word of the Lord : x ' I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah : and I will clothe him with thy robe, and strengthen him with thy girdle, and I will commit thy government into his hand. . . . And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder ; so he shall open, and none shall shut ; and he shall shut, and none shall open.' It is promised, then, that St. Peter shall be made the steward of the divine household, 2 and this carries with it an authority to ' bind ' or ' loose,' that is to prohibit or permit in a word, to give legislative decisions with that heavenly sanction and authority which is the proper endowment of the kingdom of heaven. 3 Two questions may be raised with reference to this as (a) the promise. What, it may be asked first, is St. Peter's twel^stl relation in respect of this official position to the other Apostles ? The answer seems to be that the official position is here not given but promised, and that the commissions actually given after the resurrection, the commissions which are seen in action in the apostolic history, are given to the whole apostolic body, and acted upon by all alike with the same authority though St. Peter is their leader. 4 A question a nd(*)ad- may be raised secondly as to St. Peter's relation to Sffi"e S rrfth the whole Christian community : for on another Church - 1 Isai. xxii. 20-22, cf. Moberly Great Forty Days pp. 127-130. 2 Of course subordinately to Christ (Rev. iii. 7). 3 See Edersheim Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah ii. pp. 81-85. Binding or loosing referred simply to the prohibition or else permission of things or acts. It was one of the powers claimed by the Rabbis. But in relation to persons it implies a judicial, administrative power. , 4 St. Cyprian's opinion in this sense has been already quoted. It coincides with Origen's in the East (in loc.) and represents in fact the general mind of the early 206 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. occasion, when Jesus Christ was speaking of the duty, under which His disciples might lie from time to time, of bringing one of their brethren under the censure of the Church, He attributes to the local Church as a whole that authority to bind and loose which in its application to individuals is of course a judicial authority to which He again declares the supernatural sanction to attach. 1 The answer to Church. So Theophylact (in loc.)'. 'They who have obtained the grace of the episcopate as Peter had (oi KO.TO. Tlerpov r>js eTrMrxoirt/crji dftajfleVres ^apiros) have authority to remit and bind. For though the " I will give thee " was spoken to Peter alone, yet the gift has been given to all the Apostles. When? When He said " whosesoever sins ye remit, they are remitted." For this " I will give" indicates a future time the time, that is, after the resurrection.' Perhaps the strongest evidence of the truth of this view is the absence of any special claim made by, or for, St. Peter in the Acts or Epistles, especially in St. Peter's own first Epistle, where (v. i, 2) his pastoral charge (St. John xxi. 15-17) is identified with that of the elders ; and on the other hand St. Paul's strenuous claim to be, as an apostle, dependent on none but Christ and in no respect inferior to the others; see Gal. i. n, 12, ii. i-io. This of course admits of a primacy being assigned to St. Peter so that oi Trepl Iltrpov can be the name for all of them, as in Ign. ad Smyrn. 3, and the conclusion of St. Mark's Gospel in L (given in Alford, and Westcott and Hort). I deal briefly with this matter because this book is meant to be simply a vindication of the catholic idea of the ministry and not to go into questions which arise within the area where this finds acceptance. Tertullian's view of the meaning of the passage now in question, referred to on p. 193, is essentially the view of a Montanist. 1 St. Matt, xviii. 15-18. The declaration is still future, it is a promise. Afterwards follows the promise which attaches to the prayer of even two disciples (ver. 19), based on the fact that Christ's presence is with even so small a number as two or three if they are gathered together ' in His Name ' (ver. 20 : that is, in the knowledge of Him and in accordance with His will). This last declaration applies primarily to the promise which attaches to united prayer, for the ' two or three ' refers back to the 'if two of you shall agree to ask.' It may however also refer to the promise of judicial authority, and would mean that this authority is not dependent on numbers, but can be enforced by even two or three in accordance with His will, if they can speak with the voice of the Church so that to disobey them would be to ' refuse to hear the Church ' : cf. among the Pirqe Aboth of Dr. Taylor p. 60 f. ' When ten sit and are occupied in words of Thorah the Shekinah is among them, for it is said, God standeth in the congregation of the mighty. . . . And whence [is it proved of] even three ? Because it is said . . . and hath founded his troop in the earth. And whence even two? Because it is said, Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another.' Cf. note 15 : ' Every ten men that are assembled in the synagogue, the Shekinah is with them, for it is said, God standeth in the 'edah, etc. And whence even three that judge, because it is said. He judges among gods, etc.,' i.e. the divine presence is amongst even three who constitute a beth din, or house of judgment, to administer justice. So Christ may have meant that His presence is with the smallest 'court of justice' which represents the Church. Cf. Expositor, March 1887, p. 229. IV.] T/ie Institution of the Apostolate. 207 this question has already been indicated when the general subject of the relation of the ministry to the Church was under discussion. The supernatural authority does inhere in the Church as a body, but the Church has (not by her own but by Christ's authority) executive officers, and it is through them that her judicial power is put into effect. Christ makes two promises : He promises judicial authority to the Church, and He promises to make St. Peter a steward, an administrative officer in the Church with special reference to this power ; and these two promises are correlative, not contradictory. (2) Christ's dealings in the last days of His minis- (2) The com- try are wholly concentrated upon the twelve. With X^hofe them alone He celebrates the Last Supper and insti- body after tutes the memorial of His death, which He commits ifa^** to them to be perpetuated in the Church x ; to them He addresses the last discourses, which are calculated 1 The Eucharist was certainly regarded from the first in the Church as a sacrifice. ' The conception of the whole action of the Last Supper as a sacrificial action (Opferhandlung) is found clearly in the Didache (c. xiv), in Ignatius, and before all in Justin (Apol. i. 65 f.). But Clement of Rome also expresses it when he (cc. 40-44) draws a parallel between the bishops and deacons and the O. T. priests and Levites, and indicates the Ttpotr&epfiv TO Siapa as their special function ' (Harnack Dogmengesch. \. 152 n. 1 ). See Didache xiv : Kara Ki>puuri]i/ c KvpCav avvaxOevrfS icAcuraTe aprov Kal ewxapioTTJO'aTe TpotrefoftoAoyTjcrei/iei'Oi Ta irapoirrol/xaTa iiyjav, OTTWS Kadapa r) Ovtria. v/iui' ij . . . ovrr/ yap itrnv 17 pT)0ei<7a wirb Kvpiov' 'Ev jrairl TOJTW Kal \pov<a ffpocnjie'peii' ftot Bvaiav xadapdv. Justin Dial. c. Tryph. 41 : Kai 17 rf}s o-e/iiSaAecos poa<Jopa, u> arSpes, i\fyov, rj i'-ep riav KaJSapi^Ofifviav airb TTJS AeVpas 7rpo<r<Jiepecr6ai TrcLpa&oSfl&a, TUITOS f t v TOU aprou TTJS euxapiartaj, &v eis ivafivT^tTiv TOW irafiou?, o5 eiraOev virep riav KaSaipOfitviav Tas ^ru\a.<; dirb TraOTjs jropTjpi'os avSpiamav, "IrjiroOs Xpi<rTo 6 KV'PIOS rtit.lv jrape'8tt(ce troitlv : the offering, he explains, is to be made in thanksgiving for the blessings of creation and redemption through Christ's death ; he then quotes the usual passage from Malachi i. n and continues : irept Se riav iv iraiTi Toirw v<f> T\iJiU>v r!av fdviav irpotr^xpofiiviav OVTO> 0vcri<av, roirTfO'ri TOW aprow 117? rw^apioTi'tt? teal TOW iroTTjpt'ou ofioi'w; TJ}S cwxapiffTias, irpoAcyei TOTE tlirlav xal TO bvofiti awrow &odtiv Tffxa; vjitas ie /Se/STjAow. Irenaeus iv. 17. 5 : ' Sed et suis discipulis dans consilium primitias Deo offerre ex suis creaturis . . . eum qui ex creatura panis est, accepit et gratias egit, dicens : Hoc est meum corpus. Et calicem similiter, qui est ex ea creatura quae est secundum nos, suum sanguinem confessusest, et novi testament! novam docuit oblationem quam ecclesia ab apostolis accipiens in universo mundo offert Deo.' It would not be in place here to discuss at length the sense in which the early 208 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. to prepare them in character and intelligence for the withdrawal of His visible presence and the substi- tution for it of that new and higher mode of inward presence by His Spirit, which He should give to His Church when He was glorified. In all this Christ is dealing with them no less as apostles 1 than as representative disciples. After His resurrection He does not cease to deal with them in the latter capa- city, but it would appear that the commissions, which in the 'great forty days' were no longer promised Church believed the eucharist to be a sacrifice. Briefly however it is in place to remark that (1) The whole language of the earliest Church seems most easily interpreted, if we suppose that the bread and wine, chosen out of the general offerings of the con- gregation and presented before God as a memorial of Christ's sacrifice with accom- panying prayers, were regarded as constituting the thank-offering (eucharist) or oblations (gifts) of the Church and as expressive of that relation of sonship and purity and freedom of approach to God, which belonged to the Church in virtue of her redemption, as being the 'high-priestly race.' These 'gifts' were then offered for the consecration of the Holy Spirit. They became 'no longer common bread but eucharist, made up of two substances, an earthly and an heavenly ' : they became to the Church ' the Body and Blood of Christ. ' This response of God to the Church's invocation, this mingling of heavenly and earthly things, gave to the Church's sacrifice a new power and brought it into essential union with the One Sacrifice, with 'Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant," and with 'the blood of sprinkling.' But for this, the Church's sacrifice would have been most Judaic in character. (2) The consent of the Church in regarding the eucharist as a sacrifice appears to fix the meaning of Christ's words of institution. In this connection it requires to be observed (a) That Justin Martyr interprets iroiflv as = ' to offer ' (Dial. c. Tryph. 41, just quoted, and 70), and this use of the word is common in the LXX without any qualification, e.g. in Exod. xxix. 36-41, Lev. ix. 7-22, it occurs nine times. But it lacks support in the New Testament and generally in Fathers and Liturgies. It enables us, however, in St. Luke xxii. 19, 20, i Cor. xi. 24, 25 to give, as is natural, the same meaning to TOVTO in both corresponding clauses, TOVTO <TTLV . . . TOVTO mxeiTe : and in i Cor. xi. 25 also to make TOVTO the accusative, as the sentence requires, to both verbs, jroieire and nrnjTe. (6) That there is an obvious reference to the words of Moses in Exod. xxiv. 8, ISov TO at/ua r^s 6ta07JKi7s, and that agree- ably with this reference the word ttcxuvvonevov (Matt., Mark, Luke) expresses probably not the shedding of Christ's blood in death, but the sacrificial pouring out of it. See Rendall Theol. of the Hebr. Ckr. (Macmillan, 1884) p. 123 f., and cf. Exod. xxix. 12, Lev. iv. 7, 19, 25, 30, 34, viii. 15, ix. 9, etc., in LXX. (c) That ayajxi/rjo-is in the LXX means a memorial before God ; see Lev. xxiii. 7, Num. x. 10, Ps. xxxvii. and Ixix. (titles) ; but, on the other hand, see Wisd. xvi. 6, Heb. x. 3 and the references in the liturgies : Me/ui")|U.eVoi ovv Siv Si' TJ/UOS vn-efieivep, K.T.\. (Brightman Liturgies pp. 20, 52). 1 See St. Luke xxii. 14, 29-30 : St. John xiii. 16, 29, xv. 16, xvii. 18. IV.] The Institution of the Apostolate. 209 but given, were addressed to them in their official character and to them alone. It would appear to be undeniable, if it had not been so often denied, that these commissions, taken together, are commis- sions given to an abiding apostolate, destined to be permanent till 'the end of the world.' The ' eleven as in st. disciples ' are expressly mentioned as the subjects of the commission recorded by St. Matthew as given on the 'mountain where Jesus had appointed them,' which invested them with His royal power to go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the threefold Name and teaching them to observe all His precepts, and which was accompanied by the promise of His presence with them ' all the days till the com- st. Mark, pletion of the age.' 1 The parallel account of the commission of Christ given in the verses which at present conclude St. Mark's Gospel describes it as given ' to the eleven.' z In St. Luke's narrative, where in connection with Christ's appearance on the evening of His resurrection mention is made of ' the disciples and those who were with them,' it is noticeable that, though there is a record of encouragement and enlightenment and promise, there is no record of a ministerial commission. 3 There was however such a and St. John, commission, given apparently on this occasion, which is recorded by St. John. 4 It is there described as given to ' the disciples ' ; but this expression at the end of St. John's Gospel commonly refers to the 1 St. Matt, xxviii. 16 f. It is urged that, as there were 'some who doubted,' so others must have been present beside the Apostles. I should have thought that, as a matter of Greek, oi 6 eSitrraa-av must express a subdivision of ' the eleven,' who are the subject of the whole sentence. See Meyer in lac. At any rate they are the only people mentioned in connection with the commission given. z St. Mark xvi. 14-18. 3 St. Luke xxiv. 33 f. but cf. Acts i. 1-5. 4 St. John xjc. 19-23. o 2io Christian Ministry. [CHAP. twelve, who are the subjects of His typical training. 1 The words of the commission, moreover, and the analogy of that recorded in St. Matthew and St. Mark, seem to make it natural to conclude that, though others may have been present, it was addressed to the Apostles only. 2 ' As My Father hath sent Me,' Christ said, ' even so send I you,' and when He had said this, He breathed on them and said : ' Receive ye holy spirit : 3 whosesoever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them ; whosesoever sins ye retain, they are retained.' Here the opening words contain a manifest reference to the apostolate, and the sub- 1 So Dr. Westcott says that by ' the disciples ' (in c. xxi. i) is meant ' in all probability the Apostles, the disciples in the narrower sense, though "the twelve" were not all assembled on this occasion, but at most " seven" only.' This use of the word ' disciples ' may be illustrated by a passage closely parallel to that under dis- cussion. Our Lord's prayer in St. John xvii. is spoken amongst ' the disciples ' (xvi. 29, xviii. i). Yet by this is meant ' the twelve ' (St. Matt. xxvi. 20) : thus He prays for them as those whom the Father ' has given Him' (xvii. 6, 9, n) and whom 'He guarded,' so that 'not one of them perished but the son of perdition' (ver. 12), and whom He 'has sent into the world,' as the Father sent Him into the world (ver. t8). These are clearly the definite body, the twelve ; and the expression ' As thou didst send me, so sent I them' (ver. 18) interprets that in xx. 21. 2 I am of course aware that I have Dr. Westcott against me (Revel, of the Risen Lord pp. 81-83 and Comm. in loc.), as well as many others. On the other hand I am following M. Godet, one of the best recent commentators on St. John ; and the arguments which seem to me of determining force in the matter are (1) The parallel commissions to ' the eleven ' in St. Matt, and St. Mark. (2) The obvious reference to the apostolate in the words of St. John xx. 21 ; cf. xvii. 18. (The use of ntfiwu in the former case hardly weakens the force of this.) (3) The habitual reference of ' the disciples ' at the end of St. John's Gospel to the Apostles. (4) The implication of the Acts (as bearing on all the commissions taken together) ; if the Acts is accepted as historical, undoubtedly the Apostles must have received a commission distinct from the Church as a whole to account for their position. On the other hand (a) the presence of ' those with them" does not seem to be, in this case, more than in the case of any later ministerial commissions, an argument against the limitation to the Apostles ; (3) the absence of St. Thomas is no hindrance to the commission having been given to the Apostles, as such. The narratives are fragmentary, and we cannot say but that St. Thomas may have had his loss by absence made good to him. He was present among the eleven to receive the com- mission recorded in the other Gospels. 3 Ao/Sere iri/ev^to. ayiov. Cf. I Cor. xiv. 12 where irvfu^ara. = xapiVjAaTa, and St. John vii. 39 where TO iri>e{)/na = the Holy Ghost and Trveu/tte^His inspiration (Westcott in loc. The distinction, however between nrev|ua and TO irvevfia is patristic ; see Didymus de Sp. S. 15). IV.] The Institution of the Apostolate. 211 sequent act of breathing, with the words accompany- ing, seems to be the actual bestowal in power and spirit of those ' keys of the kingdom ' which Christ had formerly promised to the chief of the Apostles. What is bestowed is a judicial power with a super- natural sanction the power, in pursuance of Christ's redemptive mission, to admit men into the new covenant of absolution and to exclude them from it according to considerations of their moral fitness. (3) If the threefold pastoral commission to St. (3) The com- Peter x represents, as seems most probable, simply a restored to personal restoration of St. Peter to the position of trust which his threefold denial might be supposed to have lost him, then we shall only be justified in con- cluding from our Lord's words on that occasion that the pastoral care, to govern and to feed, was supposed to be involved in the apostolic commission. 2 It may very well be maintained that it would be Conclusion impossible to draw certain conclusions on the matter institution 5 * which has been under discussion from the four ArLfties. Gospels, if they existed as isolated documents with no history of the Church to interpret them ; but from a mere examination of the narratives the conclusions arrived at above appear to be the most probable, and as a fact they are supported by all the evidence of church history from its beginning. It would appear, then, that Christ founded not only a Church but an apostolate in the Church, an apostolate moreover which was intended in some real sense to be per- manent; this apostolic office included all that was necessary to perpetuate that mission on which the Father had sent the Son into the world : it involved the authority to teach in Christ's name, to govern, 1 St. John xxi. 15-17. 2 St. John xxi. 15, 17 06<rice, 16 jroi'/tau-e. 212 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. IV. and to feed, and in this sense was described as a stewardship and pastorate : in order to its function of government, a supernatural sanction was attached to its legislative and judicial authority : and finally the two great sacraments of Baptism and the Eucharist were committed to its administration. 1 Whether, then, it be true or no to say that the Church began in a ministry, 2 it appears certainly true to say that the Church began with a ministry. Those who had received the commission of the apostolate, and those who had not, awaited side by side the same in discipleship but different in office and function that Pentecostal gift which was to make all alike and for the first time, in the full sense, members of the Church of Christ. 1 Nothing is said to explain the sense in which baptism and the Eucharist re- spectively were committed to the apostolate. As a matter of fact St. Paul regarded the actual administration of baptism as not specially characteristic of the apostolic office. On the other hand it should be noticed that there is no mention in the Gospels of the institution of that which in the Acts appears as the complement of baptism and as specially administered by the Apostles, the rite of laying-on of hands. 2 See Gladstone Ch. Princ. pp. 201-2 : ' in the Apostles, then, the Christian Church properly so called potentially lay, at the moment when our Saviour uttered those sacred and momentous words which St. Matthew has conveyed to us ; but it had no other existence ; and if we take that moment of time for our point of view, we see the heavenly gift arrested, as it were, on its passage from God to man, given from Him, but not yet arrived at its destination ; not yet communicated to us ; just as the loaves and the fishes were, after Jesus had given thanks and broken, and had given them to the twelve to distribute, but before they had actually served them to the multitude. . . . And so it was to remain until the day of Pentecost.' Cf. Gleanings iii. p. 262 : ' No doubt (as I for one believe) the Church began with a clergy; nay, began in a clergy.' I should have thought however that before the day of Pentecost there were others besides the apostolic clergy who were, in the same sense as they, themselves members of the Church. ' The number of names together were about an hundred and twenty.' CHAPTER V THE MINISTRY IN THE APOSTOLIC AGE THE task now before us is to investigate the witness of the apostolic Epistles and of the Acts of the Apostles as to the origin and nature of the Christian ministry and its development in the first period of the life of the Church. The most convenient method will be first to marshal the evidence and then to draw the conclusions which it seems to warrant. Accord- ingly we begin with the evidence of St. Paul's Epistles. I. First of all then, St. Paul gives us in each group i. The evi- of his Epistles l a vivid impression of what he under- St. Paul's stood by the ministry of an apostle. 2 He is one (J5rT apostle 1 The two Epistles to the Thessalonians constitute the earliest group. Then come the two Epistles to the Corinthians, with those to the Romans and the Gala- tians all bound together by close connections in subject and tone. Then follow ' the Epistles of the first captivity ' to the Philippians, the Colossians, the Ephesians, and to Philemon. Last come the Pastoral Epistles. Of these Harnack recognises the first two groups as genuine, and the Epistle to the Philippians (Contemp. Review* August 1886, p. 224). I endeavour above to indicate how natural and harmonious a result is derived from the evidence of all of them, taken as genuine, on the subject of the ministry. [Harnack now admits Colossians and practically Ephesians.] 2 I.e. in the narrower sense, so that a man could rank with 'the twelve.' We find the term used also in a wider sense in 2 Cor. viiL 23 : Rom. xvi. 7, where Andronicus and Junias, St. Paul's kinsmen, are spoken of as ' of note among the apostles ' : Phil. ii. 25, where Epaphroditus is spoken of as St. Paul's fellow-labourer and ' the apostle ' of the Philippian brethren, vfiCtv Se a7rd<rroAoi> icai AetTovfrybv rip xP* la9 f- ov - 1 the latter case the word probably means no more than the messenger sent by the Philippians to minister to St. Paul's need : see Lightfoot in lac., but cf. Clem, ad Cor. 44 oi oirooToAoi ^fxup. In the former cases however (and 213 214 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. who, having seen Christ after His resurrection and so become qualified to witness to that fundamental fact, 1 has received by no mediating hands but per- sonally from Christ a definite mission. 2 An authori- tative mission is indeed essential for all evangelistic work, for 'how shall men preach, except they be sent ? ' 3 how, that is, can any one take upon himself so responsible an office? But for an apostle it is essential that this mission should be direct from Him who said : ' As my Father hath sent me, so send I you.' Such a direct mission, actual and unmistak- able, from Christ Himself, St. Paul believed himself to have received and was recognised as having re- ceived by his fellow-apostles, who had been appointed in the more normal way while Christ was still on earth. 4 The function of the apostle was primarily that of proclaiming the Gospel. 5 He had become a ' steward of the mysteries of God ' an administrator, that is, of the divine revelations, which, having been kept in the secret counsels of God through ages and generations, had, now that the fulness of the time possibly in the latter) the term apostle is probably used much in the sense in which we find it in the Didache perhaps as equivalent to 'evangelists.' For the idea that it included the seventy, see Salmasius de Episcop. p. 61. Theodoret on Phil. ii. 27 says: airoo'TO\ov Se avrbv KeK\rfKev aiiriav ws TT)V einfJLe\eiav avriiiv e/mreirioTevfieVov. 1 i Cor. ix. i, xv. 8. 2 Gal. i. i : OVK car' avOpiairiav ovSe Si" avSpioirov. Timothy's mission on the other hand, though not an-' a.v6p<air<av, was Si' avOpiairov (2 Tim. i. 6). St. Paul cannot have regarded the event recorded in Acts xiii. 1-3 as more than a recognition by the Church of a mission which he had already received from Christ. 3 Rom. x. 15. 4 St. Paul was an eicrpw/ua (i Cor. xv. 8) ; but he was recognised by his fellow- apostles. See Gal. ii. 7-9. 8 i Cor. i. 17 : ' Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the Gospel ' (for the reason of this see vv. 14, 15). i Cor. ix. 14. (Alford's comment here is quite beside the mark. ' Preaching the Gospel ' is the primary function of the apostolate, or of the general ministry, as distinguished from the local ministry, whose primary func- tion was administration. Cf. in Clement Quis Dives 42 how St. John does not himself baptize the young man but hands him over to the local ejn'o-xon-oy.) i Thess. ii. 4-9 ; i Tim. ii. 7. V.] The Ministry in the Apostolic Age. 215 was come, been declared through the Incarnate Son. 1 This office at once involved absolute subordination and lofty authority. For on the one hand the apostle was ' the slave of Jesus Christ.' As he had no per- sonal, arbitrary lordship over the faith of the disciples, so he could proclaim nothing of his own : it was quite beyond his power to alter or innovate upon ' the tradition' which constituted his message. 2 On theandgover- other hand it involved a plenary authority to teach and to govern : for the message was not one to be cast loose as a disembodied truth among mankind, it was to be the basis on which organized societies were to be built. The apostle accordingly was a founder and ruler of Churches, with divine authority given him for their edification ruling them all alike on the basis of a common tradition of doctrine and practice, and claiming from them the obedience of affectionate children to their spiritual father. 3 And inasmuch as the whole purpose of Christ's coming is to reconcile man to God, so of course the authority of an apostle is that of an empowered ambassador and minister of the reconciliation with God which Christ has won : ' God hath put in us,' says St. Paul, ' the word of 1 i Cor. iv. i : oucovofio? /iv<rn)p<W Oeou. Cf. Eph. iii. 1-13. 2 He is personally a SovAos (Rom. i. i), officially a wrrjpenjs (i Cor. iv. i) or fiioxoco; (i Cor. iii. 5, 2 Cor. iii. 6, iv. i). Cf. 2 Cor. i. 24 : ox OTI cvpiruofi> iiiuav TTJS iri'orews, and i Pet. v. 3. Gal. i. 8 : (av rjfiei? TJ 0-yyeA.os ef ovpapov evayyeAtVr/Teu [vulv] jrap' S evriyyeXi.a-diJ.fOa. v/Jiiv, avouBefia <rr<o. Thus again St. Paul distinguishes between his own judgment and the command of Christ (i Cor. vii. 6, 10, 12, 25, 40). The primary requirement of his ministry is faithfulness to Christ (i Cor. iv. 2). On the other hand for the authority of the apostle's teaching see 2 Cor. xiii. 3 : TOV tv e/*ol AoAovvros xpiOToC ; 2 Tim. i. 13 : vtroTvma<riv i%f vyianvovTuiv \6yiav iav Trap' e/xou T)icov(7a. 3 2 Thess. iii. 14, ii. 15 ; i Cor. iv. 15-21, xi. 16, 34 ; 2 Cor. x. 8, xiii. 10 : ij eouo-ui Tpiwi', f/f eSiaKfv d KV'PIOS is oixoSofiriv. (The word efov<ri'a expresses also the right to be supported which accompanied the apostolate, 2 Thess. iii. 9, i Cor. ix. 5 f.) Cf. 2 Cor. vi. 13, xii. 14, The 'word of God,' which the apostles minister, is declared in i Cor. xiv. 36 to be authoritative over all churches alike ; cf. i Cor. iv. 17, xi. 16, xiv. 33. 216 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. reconciliation.' 1 It was 'in him' moreover not merely in word as a message, but in power ; so that he could pass sentence on the sins of individuals, to retain or forgive them, with a sanction which is not only supernatural in the spiritual sphere but miracu- lous also in the physical. An offender whose sins merit condign punishment can be 'delivered to Satan,' that he may be taught by physical penalties ' not to blaspheme.' 2 This plenary authority over individuals, which St. Paul describes himself in his pastoral Epistles as exercising in the case of Hymenaeus and Alexander in his single person, we watch him in his Epistles to the Corinthians exer- cising in conjunction with the Corinthian congrega- tion. He rebukes the Church there for not having 'removed out of their midst,' or, according to the later church phrase, ' excommunicated,' an incestuous man. Thus, where they had shown only too great a readiness to forgive, St. Paul proceeds, as controlling their action, to judge or to retain the sin. And, because this judgment of a sin has a miraculous physical sanction attached to it, it is described as ' delivering such an one unto Satan for the destruc- tion of the flesh,' in order that the physical penalty may startle him to repentance, and ' his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.' 3 And accordingly in * 2 Cor. v. 1 8, 19 t TO. iravTa. eic TOV 9fov TOV . . . SoVros 'n^v TTJV Sicueoviav TIJS KaTaAAayrjs, cos <m Seb? fy . . . tfejiepos fv ^/niv TOV \6yov rijs KaTaAAayrjs. iiTrep Xpiorov ovv irpecr/Seuo/Kev. ^ i Tim. i. 20 : irapeSiaKa T<O Sarai^r ; I Cor. v. 5 : irapaSovvai Tta Sarara. Cf. Job ii. 6 TrapaSi'Scoju croc avToV, and Stanley s note in loc. 3 i Cor. v. 3-5 : KexpiKa TOV TOVTO KaTtpyaaanevov ev Tia ovo^aTi TOV Kvpiov 'I>)trou, <rava.\6fvr<av vfiiav Kal TOV efioC irvevfuaTOf o~vv TJJ 8vva.ij.ti TOV Kvpiov -fifiiav 'lija'ov, K.T.A. St. Paul seems to imply that the Corinthian Church, endowed as it was with the gift of ' government,' could have removed the evil-doer out of their midst by the disciplinary authority belonging to the community ; cf. ver. 13. But probably only the apostle could inflict the physical punishment; see Alford in loc. It has been remarked above how clear cut is the distinction in this passage between ' those within,' whom the Church has a right to 'judge,' and 'those without,' over whom she has no such right (w. 12, 13). V.] The Ministry in the Apostolic Age. 217 the event, when presumably the isolation from the Christian community as well as the accompanying punishment had had its perfect work in the particular case, St. Paul exhorts the congregation to receive back their penitent brother ; and again taking the initiative upon himself, speaks of himself as for- giving ' in the person of Christ ' the sin he had before ' retained.' x An apostle can thus bring his authority to bear on His ministry i r \T r catholic. the details of the life of a single congregation, but, speaking generally, his ministry is of the general or catholic order. He has ' the care of all the Churches.' He represents the general Church rather than the particular Churches. It is in this respect that the apostolate is primarily distinguished from the local ministry, of the origin of which we get no clear infor- mation in St. Paul's Epistles, but which yet appears as a recognised institution in that which is of earliest date. Over against the catholic authority of apostle is the local authority of the ' presidents,' who mi ' labour amongst ' the Thessalonian Christians and keep them in mind of their duties. 2 There were similar ' presidents ' as well as ' ministers ' and 1 2 Cor. ii. 5-11 and 2 Thess. iii. 6, 14, 15. The punishment is spoken of as in- flicted by the community in general (ot TrAei'oi/es) and the forgiveness also is assigned to them (cJ $f TI xapt'<C<e<rde, tayw), but St. Paul apparently has to take the initia- tive. For the expression ex jrpocrwmo Xpicrrov, cf. ft> opdjbum Xpiorov (2 Thess. iii. 6). 2 i Thess. v. 12 : TOVS KoiritavTas ev vfilv Kai ffpoiorofAeVovs vfiSiv ec <evpa teal vovOeTovvras ifias. They are to he esteemed very highly for their work's sake. For (cojrioV cf. i Tim. v. 17 oi KOTrtwiTes iv \6y<a KOLI 8iSa<rK<xAi'(f, and, generally of labourers for Christ, apostolic or others, both male and female, Rom. xvi. 6, 12, x Cor. xv. 10, xvi. 16. It is to be noticed that St. Paul addresses to the whole Church (i Thess. v. 14 f.) admonitions, the execution of which would fall to the presidents ; see esp. v. 14 i/ovOeretTe TOUS ardxTOUs. Government was a function of the whole community exercised through certain official organs. It should be noticed that the Thessalonian Church ne'eds to be admonished not to 'quench the spirit' or 'despise prophecy.' Its tendencies to disorder proceeded from a different cause to those which existed among the Corinthians. 218 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. ' teachers ' amongst the Roman Christians, 1 and cor- responding officers of ' government ' and ' assistance ' amongst the Corinthians. 2 But in the Epistles to Corinth and to Rome these other 'ministries' are among the presented to us from a. new point of view. The dowmemrof Church, as the Spirit-bearing body of Christ, is the church v j ewec j as a richly diversified organism in which the life common to all is yet riot given to all alike or to all for the same function. There is a great variety of ' gifts,' that is of special miraculous or spiritual endowments imparted to different individuals over and above the spiritual life necessary for the Chris- tian profession as such, or as special determinations of it ; 3 so that the Christian Church is presented to us as a great spiritual hierarchy of graduated orders or powers, with apostles, prophets, teachers, rulers, helpers, ministers of mercy and exhortation, workers church gifts or officers. The prophet, the teacher, the president, the deacon, are well-known figures, and the ministration of mercy may refer to such a function as that of Phoebe, 'the deaconess' (xvi. i, 2), unless indeed hers is the SIO.KOVIO. (cf. i Cor. xvi. 15) and the deacon is 6 nfraSiSovs. But it still remains difficult to assign a distinct office to 6 TrapcucoAcJi' and 6 e\ewi>. It has to be noticed that the Roman Christians had not yet been organized by any apostolic person into one Church ; cf. xvi. 5, 10, n, 15. 2 At Corinth the ' distinctions of gifts ' (StaipeVeis x a P l<r M <1 ' T < 1 >'')t each with its accompanying ministry (Siaitoi'ia) and power (epe'pyijfia), are the word of wisdom, the word of knowledge, faith, gifts of healings, workings of miracles, prophecy, discern- ings of spirits, kinds of tongues, interpretation of tongues (i Cor. xii. 4-11). These are strikingly different from those mentioned among the Roman Christians. They are much more miraculous and abnormal. The corresponding list of officers in the Church is (w. 28-30) : apostles, prophets, teachers, powers (i.e. workers of miracles), gifts of healings, helps (ai/TiA^n^eis, which may well correspond to the deacon's office), governments (/cu/Sepi^creis, which probably represents the 'presidents' of the Church), kinds of tongues. 'Are all,' St. Paul adds, 'apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all powers? have all gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret?' He is here clearly intent on asserting the principle of unity in variety, not on enabling us to distinguish the variations. 3 The word x<>pt<rjua is used for an ordinary ' favour ' or ' gift ' of God, as in 2 Cor. i. ii. But it gets a technical sense in which it is distinguished from the fundamental spiritual qualifications of faith and love (i Cor. xii. 4 and 31, cf. xii. i, xiv. i). v.] The Ministry in the Apostolic Age. 219 of miracles, speakers with tongues, interpreters each class being not self-constituted but instituted and empowered of God. 1 A hint in the Epistle to the Romans would indicate what is of course amply corroborated in the Acts of the Apostles and Pastoral Epistles that these spiritual gifts, though they are specially de- scribed as the gifts of God's Spirit, were mediated through the apostolic agency. 2 Otherwise, though it is implied that the gifts were actual, recognisable endowments in all cases and were subject to the apostolic order in their exercise, we have no informa- tion as to how they were communicated, or, when they were non-miraculous, like the gift of ' govern- ment,' how they were recognised. Some, however, of the gifts which caused the Corinthian Church to present such an appearance of wealth in spiritual endowment, were not destined to take a very impor- tant or permanent place in the equipment of the Church. The gift of tongues is heard of but for a little while, and the gifts of healing and miracles do not appear again, any more than some of the functions mentioned in the Epistle to the Romans as constituting distinct offices in the Church. In the there emerge Epistles of the next group the more permanent minence ministries of the Church are seen to emerge into clearer prominence. Christ, says St. Paul to the 1 The household of Stephanas is described in i Cor. xvi. 15 as having set them- selves to minister to the saints : els jtaxoctW rots a-yi'oi? fTaav eavrovs. In conse- quence the Corinthians are exhorted to be subject to them, as to all workers for Christ. The reference is here probably to a ministry of mercy in general. These persons set themselves to supply the Church's needs, like good Christians in later days. There is probably no reference to any special office, and their authority is such as has been allotted to ' patrons ' of the Church in later days ; cf._ irpoordns, used of Phoebe (Rom. xvi. 2). - Rom. i. 1 1 : fTruro6<a l&flv vfias ii/a TI" |xTa3u> ^apicr/ia itfj.lv TrreufiaTKcbi' els TO <m)j>tx9Vji>ai. vfia;, coupled with i Cor. xii. 4; cf. Acts viii. 14 f. 220 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. Ephesians, after His ascension, ' gave some to be apostles, and some prophets, and some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers.' 1 Here, with St. Chrysostom, we may recognise the apostles and prophets (who are elsewhere in this epistle classed together as the recipients of the divine secrets now revealed and as the foundation-stones of the Church 2 ) as constituting with the less clearly-defined evan- gelists, the general or catholic ministry of the Church ; while the pastors and teachers, as local officers, 3 are local easily identified with the 'bishops' whom we hear anddeacons of, coupled with ' deacons,' in the inscription of the Epistle to the Philippians. 4 There was, we should 1 Kph. iv. n. The ' pastors and teachers,' under one TOVS Se, represent the same officers. The different orders are, as has been remarked, first gifted (ver. 7), and then themselves God's gifts to the Church (ver. n). 2 Eph. iii. 5, ii. 20. These prophets are, no doubt, the prophets of the new covenant. This seems to be generally admitted as to Eph. iv. n and iii. 5. But Chrysostom and others among the ancients, with Estius, etc., among moderns, explain Eph. ii. 20 of the O. T. prophets. But it seems manifestly wrong to separate this passage from the other two. The intimations we get of the position of prophets in the earliest Church are somewhat perplexing. On the one hand they are assigned, in the Epistle to the Ephesians, as in Acts xiii. i, 2 and in the Didache, a position of very great importance in the Church as a whole, closely allied to that of apostles. On the other hand, in the Epistle to the Corinthians, though prophets are ranked next to apostles, the gift of prophecy is regarded as a gift belonging to the local Church and exercised in it (i Cor. xiv. 29-33, 39) > c f- also Acts xix. 6. It would appear that at least certain persons with the gift of prophecy occupied a prominent place as prophets and were ranked in that capacity close to apostles as founders of the Churches. See esp. Eph. iii. 5, ii. 20, and Acts xiii. i, 2, where Paul and Barnabas are ranked as ' prophets and teachers,' who are afterwards called ' apostles ' (xiv. 4). All who were given an occasional power of prophecy were not ' prophets,' e.g. those in Acts xix. 6. Cf. App. Note I. 3 Chrysostom says on Eph. iv. n : TroijueWs (cal SiSao-xaAovs TOVS oAoKAijpoi' e/UTreTncTTeu/iieVovs efli/os' TI o5v ; oi Troi/xe'fe? Kal 01 SiSdcncaAot tAarTOV? ; al waw rwv rrepuoi'Twi' Kal euayye AifojieVwi/ oi Ka.6rjii.fvoi. Kal Trepl eW -rcmov 7J<rx^ 1 l/ ae> ' 01 ' He goes on however to cite Timothy and Titus as instances of the latter class. Chrysostom here clearly does not (like Ambrose and Theophylact) identify evangelists with deacons. It is true that Philip, one of the seven (who, in Acts viii., clearly has not the apostolic function), is in Acts xxi. 8 called ' the evangelist ' ; but this was not in virtue of his ' diaconate,' but of his conversion of Samaria. There is also no reason why he should have remained in the lower office. The work of Timothy is' described as that of an ' evangelist," and such a relation to the apostolate suits better the rank assigned here to the evangelists. 4 Phil. i. i : <rvv ejricricojrois Kal SiaxoVoif. These are different officers. V.] The Ministry in the Apostolic Age. 221 gather, a college or group of ' presidents ' or ' bishops ' in each community who discharged the office of government, and acted subordinately to the apostles and prophets, as pastors and teachers of the flock. To these was also attached the ' assistant ' ministry of the ' deacons.' This is borne out in the Pastoral Epistles, where we learn further that these local ' presidents ' or ' bishops ' were also known as ' pres- byters.' x The Pastoral Epistles are the locus classicus in The import- the New Testament on the subject of the Christian p^torai' e ministry. Elsewhere St. Paul writes to Churches or plst to a private Christian like Philemon, but here he writes to his own representatives, evangelists and ministers of Christ like himself, on the duties of their office. And these Epistles themselves supply the answer to the question what may have prompted the change of method. It was because the circumstances of St. Paul's last days led him to emphasize the necessity for government in the Church. In the department of doctrine he saw an unpractical profane spirit of speculation springing up, on a Jewish basis, but already displaying that sort of false spiritualism, that horror of what is material and actual, which has constantly characterized oriental thought, and which found such a conspicuous development, in a direction 1 Titus i. 5-7. More is said below on the identity of the 'bishop ' and 'presbyter.' The irpoiVrrojiei'os among the Thessalonian and Roman Christians = the officer of 'government' among the Corinthians = the 'bishop' among the Philippians = the ' pastor and teacher ' among the Ephesians= the ' presbyter ' of the Pastoral Epistles. This is at least what St. Paul's Epistles suggest taken as a whole. The vague use of terms at first need not surprise. See Winterstein Der Episcopat (Leipzig, 1886) p. ii. The apostolate is called a Siaxovia by St. Paul in i Cor. iii. 5 ; cf. i Tim. iv. 6, 2 Tim. iv. 5, and Acts i. 25 ; also (with reference to the Psalm) an eirto-Komj in Acts i. 23. The term presbyterate covers the episcopate long after this latter term had gained its later distinct sense. Again, Pothinus is spoken of in the Epistle of the Churches of South Gaul as ' having been entrusted with the Siaxovia of the ejrtoTcoJnj ' (Euseb. H. E. v. i). 222 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. most opposed to Judaism, in the Gnostic movements of the second century. 1 This speculative tendency was frequently joined to a self-seeking proselytism and a thinly-veiled covetousness ; 2 and it allied itself with a terrible tendency to lawlessness, which clouded the whole moral atmosphere of the Christian Church, whether in the department of civil authority and secular occupations, or in the relations of master and servant, or in the inner sphere of church life. 3 There was a special need of government, then, in the circumstances of his last years, and this not only in face of the moment but even more in view of the future. In the earlier period of his life St. Paul seems to have expected the second coming of Christ during his own lifetime. 4 In these Epistles, on the other hand, he certainly contemplates his own death and, as in his speech to the Ephesian elders, views with apprehension the characteristics of lawlessness and disobedience, which he foresees will mark ' the last days ' after he is gone, both in the department of doctrine and of life. 5 Both in view of present and of future needs, then, there is a profound need to stir up that gift of government which God has given to the Church. St. Paul in these Epistles is emphasizing no new thing. Just as in the Epistle to the Colossians he develops a doctrine of the person of Christ which had been implied in the expressions of his earlier Epistles, and in the Epistle to the 1 i Tim. i. 4-7 ; iv. 1-5; vi. 20, 21 ; 2 Tim. ii. 16-18 ; Titus i. 10-16, iii. 8, 9. The intellectual and moral phenomena in Ephesus and Crete are closely parallel. St. Paul's insistence on the duty of praying for secular rulers and all men (i Tim. ii. 1-5, obs. emphasis on iravres, and iv. 10) seems aimed at a tendency which was antici- pating the later Gnostic exclusiveness and depreciation of nature. 2 Tit. i. 10, ii ; 2 Tim. iii. 6, 7 ; i Tim. vi. 4, 5. 3 i Tim. vi. i, 2 ; Tit. ii. 9, iii. 1-3 ; 2 Tim. iii. 1-8. 4 See i Thess. iv. 15 ; i Cor. xv. 51, 52. % 2 Tim. iv. 6-8, cf. iii. 1-6, iv. 1-5 ; i Tim. iv. 1-5 ; cf. Acts xx. 17-35. V.] The Ministry in the Apostolic Age. 223 Ephesians works out the doctrine of the Church which had been more briefly suggested in his Epistles to the Corinthians, so now he emphasizes that idea of governmental and doctrinal authority in the Church which had been an element in his earlier teaching, especially in his Epistles to the Thessalonians and Corinthians, and conse- quently lets that gift of government, which in the Corinthian Church had been associated with other more exciting but less permanent and necessary endowments, emerge into greater isolation and dis- tinctness. We may class under three heads the lessons as Their to the ministry which are to be derived from these wltness Epistles to Timothy and Titus. First, as to the local ministries of bishop and (i)Onpresb deacon, if we do not gain much new information, tei on the other hand we have a greater clearness and definiteness given to the picture we can form of their office. Thus the ' episcopus ' is also called ' pres- byter ' ; and, though the latter title would naturally suggest a dignity associated with the reverence due to age x and indicate rather a position than (like the first title) a definite office, yet this will not bear being pressed. A word is used for old men distinct from the title of presbyter, 2 and the latter is 1 Thus, though indicating a definite office with an assigned KAijpo? (i Peter v. 3 and Huther in loc.), the title presbyter still retained its natural meaning and could be put into antithesis to 'young men'(' Peter v. 5, Clem, ad Cor. i. 3), on which more will be said. Later we have presbyter used, not only in its technical sense, but as a title of veneration for the Fathers of the Church by Papias ap. Euseb. H. . iii. 39, and Irenaeus ap. Euseb. H. E. v. 20 : ' the elders before us and those associated with the Apostles. ' Cf. St. John's acceptance of the title for himself in 2 John i and 3 John i. Thus the title presbyter, like that of deacon, retained a broader, side by side with a stricter, use. There rs not I think sufficient reason to attach the idea of a definite office to the term ' young men ' in Acts. v. 6. 2 jrpe<r/3vr>7S, Tit. ii. 2. 224 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. markedly identified in the Epistle to Titus with the title of bishop. 1 These ' bishops ' constituted a college or group of 'presidents' in each Church, 2 and are spoken of as being really entrusted with the care of the Church. 3 They share the apostolic stewardship, and that not only in the sense of administration, but also in the sense of being entrusted really, though subordinately, with the function of teaching. 4 The proper discharge of their office is secured by their being carefully chosen, after due probation, in view not only of their moral fitness, but also of their capacities as rulers ami deacons; and teachers. 5 The lower ministry of the deacons is provided for in the older and more developed Church of Ephesus, not in the newer Churches of Crete, and it too is to be entrusted only after a due scrutiny of the moral fitness of the man who is to hold it. 6 We gain no light upon the functions of the diaconate, except so far as that the deacons would not be 1 Tit. i. 5-7. This is quite unmistakable. There is nothing more in the singular en-iWon-os (Tit. i. 7, i Tim. iii. 2) than in the singular irpeo-/3vTepos (i Tim. iv. i). 2 i Tim. iv. 14 TO 7rpe<rj3uTe'pioi> ; cf. Tit. i. 5. Baur at first maintained that Kara. TrdAiv irpecr/SvTe'pous meant one presbyter in each city, but he abandoned the con- tention. See Holtzmann Pastoralbriefe pp. 208, 209. 3 i Tim. v. 17 oc TrpoeorioTes Trpeo-jSvTepot ; iii. 5 eicKAijen'as fleov cjri/u.eAi}o-eT<u. * Tit. i. 7 fleov oiKovojiov, cf. ver. 9 irapaKaAeiv ev Tjf 8i8acrK<iAia <cai TOVS dimAe'- yoi'Tas eAe'-yxeiv : cf. I Tim. iii. 2 SiSaxriKos, V. 17 juaAiora 01 KOiriupref ei/ Aoyu KOI SiSaa-xaXCa (this need hardly imply that there were any presbyters who did not teach at all), 2 Tim. ii. 2 iKavoi. ere'povs StSafai. 6 (carj)x<">j> in Gal. vi. 6 seems in the context to be a local officer. 5 i Tim. iii. 1-7 ; Tit. i. 6-9. ftr) veo<t>vrov is omitted in reference to the newly- established Church of Crete, and TKJ/<X e^eiv mora takes its place, see Kiihl Gemeindeordnung in den Pastorattriefen (Berlin, 1885) pp. 13-15. 8 i Tim. iii. 8-13. The fact that the requirements for the diaconate are nearly the same as those for the presbyterate is to be accounted for by the consideration that the requirements are negative. St. Paul requires much of the Christian, as such. His requirements of the ministry are mainly such as are involved in the absence of any positive reproach in what we should call ' a good character.' There are distinct offices in the Church, not different standards of living for clergy and laity. V.] The Ministry in the Apostolic Age. 225 required, by contrast with the presbyters, to teach or to rule. 1 Secondly, we gain important information as to the p te " ; ^ e extension of the apostolic office. In Timothy and apostolic office to Titus we are presented with apostolic delegates, 2 legates, exercising the apostolic supervision over the Church of Ephesus and the Churches of Crete respectively. 3 They are not indeed what St. Paul and the other Apostles were, the original proclaimers of a revela- tion ; they stand in this respect in the second rank, as entrusted only with the task of maintaining a tradition, of upholding a pattern of sound words. 4 But in this task they exercise the supreme apostolic authority, and not in this respect only. To them belongs the function, in Titus' case of founding, in both cases of governing, the Churches committed to them. 5 They ordain men to the church orders, after being duly satisfied of their fitness, and exercise discipline even over the presbyters. 6 Again, as it is their function to maintain the truth, so in defence of 1 On the inferiority of the diaconate, see Kuhl Gemeindeordnung pp. 15, 16. 2 Simcox Early Ch. Hist. p. 140 calls them ' vicars apostolic.' Lightfoot Ignatius ' P- 377 speaks of their exercising a ' moveable episcopate.' In Clement of Rome \\. p. 433 he calls them 'itinerant bishops.' Winterstein, Der Episcopat p. 18, calls them ' apostolische Delegaten.' Cf. Rom. xvi. 21 6 avvepyos pav. 3 How many more of such 'viri apostolici' there may have been we cannot tell. The Siaxovia. of Archippus at Colossae (Col. iv. 17) may have been like that of Timothy at Ephesus. And there may be truth in such a tradition as that mentioned by Dionysius of Corinth (see above, p. 133) as to the position of the Areopagite in the Church of Athens, or that mentioned by Origen as to the position of Gaius at Thessalonica. 4 2 Tim. i. 13 ; cf. i Tim. i. 3, iv. n, 13, vi. 3 : jrapo/yeAAetv, SiScuncetp, avayvwcrt?, TrapaxAi)<ri?. 2 Tim. iv. 2 ?A.eyoi>, etrirtpiproi' ; Tit. i. 13 Aeyx l " airoro/uus, ii. 15 eXe'yx* 1 " nera. iracnjs eiriToyjjs. The rapa#rj<c>) intrusted to Timothy is the truth he is to teach and hand on to others (i Tim. vi. 20, 2 Tim. i. 14). 5 As e.g. in matters of worship and female behaviour (i Tim. ii. i, 2, 8, 9, n). 6 Tit. J. 5, i Tim. v. 22. (It seems to me probable that St. Paul is in this latter place speaking of the laying-on of hands in ordination, not in the reception of a penitent. See, however, Paciari of Barcelona Par. ad Poen, 15, Ellicott in loc., and Hort Ecclesia p. 214) i Tim. v. 19-21 ; these judicial powers apparently rest on Timothy's own judgment without appeal. P 226 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. it they are to oppose false teachers, and when these exhibit the temper of separatists and heretics and will not 'hear the Church,' they are to act in the spirit of Christ's directions and leave them to their wilful courses, having nothing further to say to them. 1 We do not, however, gather that they possessed the miraculous power to inflict physical penalties, which St. Paul describes in his phrase 'delivering unto who act Satan for the destruction of the flesh.' As apostolic as later bishops, legates, then, Timothy and Titus exercise what is essentially the later episcopal office, but it would not appear that their authority, though essentially per- but are not manent, was localized like that of the later diocesan bishop. 2 Timothy indeed had been left at Ephesus by St. Paul to represent himself in view of that Church's needs, and St. Paul certainly contemplates his continuing his ministry after his own death, 3 and presumably in the same Church of Ephesus, in which again it would appear that he had been solemnly ordained to his office. 4 Nor perhaps can we argue 1 Tit. iii. 10-11. This 'rejection' of a heretic seems to express the idea of St. Matt, xviii. 17. He is to be as one avoided as ' the gentile or the publican.' He is among ' those without.' See for an interesting comment on the passage Origen c. Cels. v. 63, where he describes the true method of dealing with opponents of the faith. 2 Dr. Lightfoot calls the usual conception of Timothy by church writers as ' bishop of Ephesus ' the ' conception of a later age ' (Dissert, p. 199), but he also describes it as not altogether without foundation. ' With less permanence but perhaps greater authority, the position occupied by these apostolic delegates nevertheless fairly represents the function of the bishop early in the second century.' Perhaps then the only question in dispute between Dr. Lightfoot and one who, like Prof. Shirley (Apostolic Age p. 116), represents the office of Timothy and Titus as 'episcopal in the full range of its power' is as to the exact localization of the office. It can hardly be denied that Timothy and Titus possessed a permanent authority as apostolic delegates, with a permanent \a.p>.fr\i.a. in this sense a 'delegatio perpetua.' The only question is whether it was limited to one place, or still, like the apostolic office which it represented, general. 8 2 Tim. iv. 1-8. * The presbytery of i Tim. iv. 14 is presumably the presbytery of Ephesus, but see Hort Ecclesia p. 184. On the other hand 'the good confession' (i Tim. vi. 12) apparently refers to Timothy's baptismal profession. Note esp. the e/cXTJflrjs, and cf. Kuril i.e. p. 29. V.] The Ministry in the Apostolic Age. 227 against his localization from the fact of St Paul summoning him to Rome, or from the fact of his having gone there. 1 But there is a close analogy between the office of Timothy and that of Titus, and Titus certainly appears to have left Crete to join St. Paul, to have been his companion at Rome, and to have left again not for Crete but for Dalmatia. 2 Again we do not gather from these Epistles any clear intimation that Timothy and Titus, though they were to provide for a succession of sound teachers, 3 were to ordain men to succeed them in their apostolic office in the local Churches. All that we can fairly con- clude is that St. Paul after ordaining, or with a view to ordaining, the local ministers, bishops and deacons, appointed delegates to exercise the apostolic office of supervision in his place, both before and after his death : and it must be added that the needs which required this extension of the apostolic ministry were not transitory ones. They were the needs of ' the last times ' the constant phenomena of moral failure and doctrinal and moral instability and disorder. It should be added that no definite title is assigned to Timothy and Titus, though their function is spoken of as a ' ministry ' and as ' the work of an evangelist,' 4 and Timothy at least is distinguished from the pres- byters as a comparatively young man. 5 No doubt the necessity for fixed titles grew greater with lapse of time and increase of controversy. 1 2 Tim. iv. 9, Hebr. xiii. 23. 2 Titus iii. 12, 2 Tim. iv. 10. 3 2 Tim. ii. 2. 4 i Tim. iv. 6, 2 Tim. iv. 5. It should be noticed that St. Paul calls his own ministry also a SLOJCOVM (i Tim. i. 12) and speaks of himself as a tao-KaAo? iOviov, as well as KTJpuf icai aJrd<rroAo (ii. 7, 2 Tim. i. u). It is most likely, I think, that Timothy and Titus would have been known as evangelists. 5 i Tim. iv. 12 ; cf. pp. 223 n. 1 , 277 n. 2 . 228 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. (Hi) on the Thirdly, the Pastoral Epistles give us a clear view idea of ordi- nation, of St. Paul's conception of the ministerial office. Beyond what constitutes the gift of the Christian life, the apostolic ' minister' 1 is spoken of as qualified for his work by a special ministerial gift or ' charisma ' ' a spirit of power and love and discipline ' im- parted to him (after his fitness has been indicated by prophetic intimations) in a definite and formal manner, ' by means of the laying-on of the hands of the apostle,' or ' with the accompaniment of the laying-on of the hands of the presbytery.' z In this process there was one feature which was not destined to be permanent. The prophetic indi- cation of the person to be ordained gradually ceased. The ' bishops ' of the later Church owed their appoint- ment not to prophecy but to some other means of election. And indeed, even in the earliest days, the prophetic voice was only one means of selection to office. But it is only a very arbitrary criticism which can fail to see here, with one slight miraculous and transitory modification, the permanent process of 1 I assume that what St. Paul says of Timothy he could have said of Titus also no great assumption, as their offices are so wholly similar. 2 2 Tim. i. 6, 7 : avajuijui'ijo'/cw ere ava^iawvptiv TO xpto>ia TOU Oeov, o ianv eV croi Sea TTJ? eiridto'eios rav \eipiav JU.QU' ov yap eStaxev r\fiiv o 0ebs nreO/Aa cSeiAi'as, aAAa Svvd/uea>s Kai ayamjs icat <r<a<}>povi<rfLov. (The iiji.lv here refers surely to St. Paul and Timothy classified together in the ministry.) i Tim. iv. 14 : /it) a/ne'Aei TOW tv croc xa.ftitrna.TOf eSdflrj troi Sia irpo^jjTei'as /oiera eVifle'crecos TUIV \eipi>v TOV Trpeo-jSurepiou. I Tim. i. 18 : Kara ras Trpoayoucros errl ere 7rp<x^r)Tei'os. With this last expression compare Acts xiii. 2 and Clement of Alexandria Qttis Dives 42, where he describes St. John as icA>jp<f> tva. ye TWO. KArjpcocrwi' TIOV virb TOW Trveu/uiaros cnjjuaii'OjuiiVwr. And the 810 5rpo</>r)Tei'os of the second passage seems to refer to these same prophetic indications, to which equally with the laying-on of apostolic hands Timothy owed his office. The use of Sia as applied to the apostle, while Hera is applied to the presbytery, would naturally indicate the secondary and unessential position of the latter in the act of ordination. But I doubt whether when the prepositions are used in different epistles it is fair to lay as much stress on the contrast as is sometimes done. Besides ' the presbytery ' who lay on hands may include the Apostle himself (cf. i Peter v. i, where the Apostle calls himself a presbyter among presbyters) : i.e. the local officers, with the apostle amongst them, may still be described as ' the presbytery.' v.] The Ministry in the Apostolic Age. 229 ordination with which we are familiar in later church history, and that conception of the bestowal in ordi- nation of a special ' charisma,' which at once carries with it the idea of 'permanent character,' 1 and that distinction of clergy and laity which is involved in the possession of a definite spiritual grace and power by those who have been ordained. It is also arbitrary to deny that St. Paul, when he appointed Timothy and Titus to ordain presbyters and deacons, as we gather, by the same process of laying-on hands, 2 would have hesitated to attach the same ideas to the subsequent ordinations made by them. The final conclusions which are to be drawn from 1 The ' charisma ' is described as a permanent endowment which having been once received requires only to be ' stirred up,' like baptismal grace. The idea expressed by xdpio>ui in the Pastoral Epistles is exactly the same as that expressed by in/evjio (not TO irvev/na) in St. John xx. 22. Cf. i Cor. xiv. 12, where irvevftaTa^irvni/iaTHtd Since Baur {Die sogenannten Pastoralbriefe des Aposteh Paulus, 1835) denied the Pauline authorship of these Epistles and emphasized as a ground for this rejection their hierarchical character, a prolonged controversy has been carried on in Germany the one party emphasizing everything hierarchical and sacerdotal in these documents, and denying their Pauline authorship on that account ; the other party minimizing these characteristics, and then vindicating their Pauline author- ship. Thus on their premises the party of denial (of whom Holtzmann is the ablest recent representative) has a motive to exaggerate the sacerdotalism of the Pastoral Epistles and the party of vindication (as represented recently in the able work of Kuhl Gemeindeordnvng in den Pastoralbrief.) a motive to minimize it. Thus Holtzmann is exaggerating when he sees in oi Aomm of i Tim. v. 20 an expression for the laity (as was Baur when he saw in Timothy and Titus the prototypes of arch- bishops), but on the other hand he seems to me to say no more than is true in the following passage (J.c. p. 231) : ' Es ist also keine Frage, dass der Ausdruck xapt(rpLa in den Pastoralbriefen die bestimmtere Bedeutung einer, vermittels der Ordination ubertragenen, Amtsgabe besitzt. Erst bei solcher Auffassung versteht sich endlich auch die beidemal stehende Formel TO \<ipi.<rna. tv om, weil ein mit der Begabung zugleich ubertragenes Amtsrecht allerdings seinem Trager mehr einwohnt, als bios beilegt. Fiele die HandauClegung i Tiin. v. 22 mit den bisher besprochenen Stellen in eine Kategorie, so wurde Timotheus hier uberdies noch davor gewarnt werden, die ihm inharirende Gabe vorschnell weiter zu tradiren.' So he quotes Weizsacker (p. 233) : ' Man sieht, hier ist eine ganze festgeschlossene Kette von Begriffen, in welcher kein Ring fehlt ; der Inhalt des Ganzen aber ist das Amt als Inhaber der reinen Lehre und des rechten Geistes, verburgt durch eine formliche und sichere Uebertragung.' ' Das Amt ist daher im eigentlichen Sinne die Lebensbedingung fur den Bestand und Geist der Gemeinde.' 2 i Tim. v. 22 : \fipax Ta.\fias jirjievi eiriTiflei : cf. Acts vi. 6. 230 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. what St. Paul tells us about the church ministry shall be reserved till we have finished our review of the New Testament literature. 1 of'thSe"" H. There is very little additional information to be Epistles. derived from the other apostolic Epistles, but there are indications which must not be neglected. It will be borne in mind that, though the apostolic office was essentially ecumenical, yet a distribution, not of area but of races, had been arrived at among the Apostles. It was recognised that St. Paul had been divinely ' intrusted with the gospel of the uncircumcision, even as Peter with the gospel of the circumcision,' and it was accordingly agreed that Paul and Barnabas should evangelize the heathen, while James, Peter, and John preached the same Gospel amongst the Jews. 2 We shall look then in the Epistles of James, Peter, John, and 'Jude, the brother of James,' for information about the ministry in the Jewish Christian com- munities, as well as in the Epistle to the Hebrews. 1 It ought to be added that St. Paul recognises a ministry of women in the Church ; see Rom. xvi. I : 9oiftiiv TTJI' aSe\<J>r)v itfiMV, oJxrav [xal] SLO.KOVOV TTJS t-KKArjo-ias TTJS ec Keyxpeais. But it is a ministry which is concerned with works of mercy and, if with teaching also, only in private (Acts xviii. 26). St. Paul clearly excludes women from public teaching (i Cor. xiv. 34, 35; i Tim. ii. n, 12). A woman may however have the gift of prophecy (i Cor. xi. 5) and St. Paul apparently contemplated her exercising that in public. We naturally wish that we knew more of the position of prophetesses, like Philip's daughters (Acts xxi. 9), in the earliest Church. On the whole, however, St. Paul clearly excludes women from public teaching; and, at least in his Epistle to Timothy, he is doing this in a general society which allowed great freedom to women. ' Under the Roman Empire we find [in Asia Minor] women magistrates, presidents at games, and loaded with honours. The custom of the country influenced even the Jews, who in at least one case appointed a woman at Smyrna to the position of archisynagogos,' Ramsay, The Ch. in R. E. pp. 67-8. ' The prominence assigned to women was,' Prof. Ramsay explains, 'firstly, pagan rather than Christian, and, secondly, heretical rather than catholic,' pp. 161-2, cf. 403. But it appears that the dignities of women in pagan society were honorary rather than administrative. There is no evidence that they could assist at assemblies or give votes or speak in public. See my Ephesians (John Murray) p. 227. Probably what was allowed and forbidden them in the Church represented pretty fairly the allowances and prohibitions of secular life. 2 Gal. ii. 7-9. This arrangement was, however, only temporary. V.] The Ministry in the Apostolic Age. 231 And so in fact we find throughout those documents evidences more or less pronounced, not only of the apostolic ministry which the writers represent, but also of a local ministry in the several communities. 1 By what title are these local ministers known ? In St. Paul's Epistles, as we have seen, they are called first ' presidents,' then ' bishops,' and later in the Pas- toral Epistles also ' presbyters.' Now while the first of these titles is of the most general significance, the second, though it is used in the Old Testament and its use in the Christian Church was certainly influ- enced by this fact, was of common acceptance in the Greek of the empire to express ' commissioners ' or 'superintendents' of many different sorts. 2 The title ' presbyter ' on the other hand was a specially Jewish title, and was in familiar use at any rate in Jerusalem. St. James is pre-eminently a Jew ofst.james. 1 Thus James writes himself as a teacher with the authority which we know him on other grounds to have held in specially Jewish circles, and speaks (iii. i) of local teachers and (v. 14) more unmistakably of presbyters. Peter writes as an 'apostle of Jesus Christ' (i Pet. i. i, cf. 2 Pet. i. i), but identifies himself as a presbyter with the local presbyters (i Pet. v. 1-5) as sharing the same pastoral office. He speaks also (i Pet. iv. 10, n), in language which reminds us of St. Paul's, of the Church as differentiated by different 'charismata' for different ministries intended for the common good. Each man's charisma makes him a 'steward of the manifold grace of God.' The stewardships or charismata of which he especially speaks are those of speaking in God's name and of ministering. If, as is probable, these refer to the presbyterate and the diaconate, we have here another case to add to those of Eph. iv. n and i Tim. v. 17 of the presbyterate being considered a teaching office. St. Jude indicates that Korah, the author of revolt against the Old Testament priesthood, had, as well as the self-seeking pastors whom Ezekiel denounced, his followers in the Church of the new covenant (Jude n, 12). The Epistle to the Hebrews speaks of 'leaders' (riyov^evoi) in the Christian Church who had spoken the word of God and were passed away, alluding apparently to apostolic teachers (cf. Acts xv. 22, Luke xxiL 26), and he uses the same expression of the rulers of the Church still living, who exercise the office of pastors over the Hebrews, 'watching for their souls as those who shall give account' (Heb. xiii. 7, 17), and he bids the Hebrews to ' greet them' (xiii. 24). This title will be con- sidered further in connection with Clement's letter. * See App. Note K. on the origin of the terms 'episcopus' and 'presbyter,' in connection with recent criticism. 232 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. Jerusalem writing to Jews, 1 and accordingly he uses the term 'presbyters' for the local church rulers among the Jews of the dispersion ; but on the other hand, while Jewish presbyters had been merely judicial officers, and not officers of worship, nor teachers, the Christian presbyters have assigned to them by St. James a ' ministry of healing,' 2 both of body and soul, with accompanying prayer, which has no analogy in the Jewish presbyterate, while it accords naturally St. Peter, with the general pastoral functions assigned to them by St. Peter. 3 St. John. it may surprise us that, whereas St. John is specially connected in authentic tradition with the estab- lishment of the ' monarchical episcopate ' and with the general development of the ministry, we have hardly (The 'angels' an y i n f orma tion on the subject in his writings. If. prob. sym- * J boiic.) indeed, the Apocalypse dates from the end of his life, we shall naturally see in the ' angels ' of the seven Churches of Asia some indirect reference to the re- sponsible bishops. 4 But the mention of these angels cannot be put in evidence, because their primary 1 See especially the use of the word ' synagogue ' (James ii. 2) for the Christian place of meeting. 2 The 'elders of the Church' (James v. 14-16) are assumed to have the gift of healing by means of unction, accompanied by their ' prayer of faith ' (cf. St. Mark yi. 13). But as sickness is the symbol, and often the effect, of sin (cf. i Cor. xi. 30), so the healing is spiritual as well as physical it is spiritual absolution with the miraculous sanction and evidence still attached (cf. St. Mark ii. 10) : ' if he have committed sins, it shall be forgiven him.' Then follows a general admonition to confess sins mutually one to another. This probably implies that the sick man would have confessed his sins to the presbyters whom he had summoned. See Origen in Levit. ii. 4. Generally great light has been thrown on this practice of mutual confession among Christians by the passages in the Didache, iv. 14 and xiv. i : ' On the Lord's day gather yourselves together and break bread and give thanks (evxapicmjo-uTe), having first confessed your sins, that your sacrifice may be pure.' The practice was derived from the Jewish synagogue ; cf. Sabatier La Didache pp. 47, 48. Cf. also i John i. 9 and Westcott in loc. 3 i Pet. v. 1-5. St. Peter also (if he does not actually use the word eiruricoirtiv in ver. 2, where the reading is doubtful) implies the use of the term eitCo-Koiros by using it of Christ the 'chief pastor ' (ii. 25, cf. v. 4). 4 Cf. Origen in Lwc. xiii. V.] The Ministry in the Apostolic Age. 233 meaning seems to be symbolical ; 1 they seem to be symbols of the temper or spirit of the different Churches. In the same way, as we have other reasons for believing St. John to have instituted bishops, we shall probably be inclined to see in Diotrephes, with his ambitious self-exaltation and his power ' to cast out of the Church' 2 brethren who had come from St. John, one of these local bishops who was misusing his authority. But here again the indication is too ambiguous to constitute evidence of itself. It remains for us then to seek such additional information, 1 The angels have been generally taken to be bishops, the use of ' angels ' in Mai. ii. 7 and Eccles. v. 6 being quoted. If this is so, they are addressed as embodying the Church, and Ignatius' language may be compared where he speaks (ad Trail, i) of 'seeing the whole community in the bishop,' and when he passes imperceptibly (ad Folyc. 5, 6) from addressing the bishop of Smyrna to addressing his Church. But the identification of the bishop with the Church in the Apocalypse goes further than this, and the fact that the female personage, Jezebel (ii. 20), seems clearly symbolical would suggest a symbolical meaning for the angels also. So also the use of the whole book leads us to see in the angels symbolic representations of different agencies, e.g. Milligan (on Rev. x. 1-3 in SchafFs Pop. Comment, on the N. T.) Ls certainly right in describing ' the strong angel ' as ' neither the Lord, nor a mere creature executing His will, but a representation of His action. The angel by whom such representation is effected has naturally the attributes of the Being whose action he embodies.' The more in fact one studies the Apocalypse, the more the symbolical character of personages, numbers, and events is impressed upon one. So the angels of the seven Churches seem to be ideal personifications of the temper or genius of the Churches. See Lightfoot Dissert, pp. 109, 200; Simcox Early Ck. Hist. p. 172 n. 1 ; Milligan in loc. For the other sense, see Trench Epp. to the Seven Ch. and Godet in Expositor, Jan. 1888, p. 67. Among the ancients, Arethas of Caesarea, using Andreas and other more ancient authors, interprets the angels first as guardian angels (who are addressed on behalf of the Churches, as masters on behalf of their pupils : eiSus <us oixciovcrdai <>tAct TO. TOW /u.a9rjTOV 6 SiSaoxaAos, eire Karop6iaiia.ro., tire ^mj/iaTa), and then as the Churches themselves (ayyeAov nij 'E<eVov rt\v tv avrj7 eKicXrjo-tai' \eyei); see Cramer's Catena Graec. Pair. N. T. viii. p. 200. So also the writer who passes for Victorinus of Petau, the earliest commentator on the book ; he clearly interpreted the angels as symbolical of classes of individuals, for he . paraphrases the letter to the angel of Ephesus thus : 'ad eos scripsit [loannes] qui et laborant et operantur et patientes sunt et cum videant homines quosdam in ecclesia dispensatores praeposteros, ne dispersio fiat, portant, . . . Haec universa ad laudem spectant et laudem non mediocrem sed tales viros et talem classem et tales electionis homines oportet omnimodo admoneri.' So he deals with the other letters : ' aut ad eos scripsit . . . aut ad eos . . . aut ad eos, etc." Origen in Num. xx. 3 interprets of angels in the strict sense (arid hence Andreas, as above), and so Jerome on Mic. vL init. 2 3 John 9-10. Diotrephes seems clothed with official power. 234 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. especially on the origin of the local ministry, as can be derived from the Acts of the Apostles, in. Evi- ni. In the Acts of the Apostles we are presented dence of the * teffxhe ^ rst ^ a ^ W ^ a Ver 7 clear picture of the apostolic apostoiate ministry. Just exception can indeed be taken to divinely J J appointed, M. Kenan's phrase when he describes ' the divine institution of the hierarchy' as a 'favourite thesis' of St. Luke, 1 just so far as the phrase seems to carry with it too much implication of conscious design in writing ; but it cannot be fairly denied that the divine authority of a hierarchy in the Christian Church does appear conspicuously enough in the course of St. Luke's narrative. From the first the disciples appear as a body amongst whom eleven, or after Matthias' election twelve, are held to possess a ministerial office and commission direct from Christ. 2 Upon the whole body, thus differentiated into ministers and people, the Holy Ghost descends and the Church begins her life as the Spirit-bearing body, with the Apostles for with her authoritative teachers and for her centre of unity. authority; Thi s is sufficiently implied in the phrase which describes the first new converts as 'continuing steadfast in the Apostles' teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of the bread and the prayers.' 3 They are prominent in the early history as representing Christ, acting in His name to work physical miracles of healing on ' those without,' of judgment also on ' those 1 Les Apdtres p. xxxix. Cf. Sabatier La Didache p. 155 : ' Deja du temps de saint Luc on faisait preceder les decisions du concile de Jerusalem d'un preambule gros de toutes les pretensions hierarchiques romaines' (i.e. such as M. Sabatier thinks were derived from the influence of the Roman Church upon Christianity). 2 Acts. i. 25 : Siaxovia. Kal airooroAjj : also by implication (ver. 20) en-tocomj. 8 Acts ii. 42 : TJJ SiSaxil Ttav ajroo-roAuv KCU rfj KOivtavtq, Tfj xAacrei TOV aprou Kai rat? 77poirevx<uSj the phrase riav a7ro<rr6Awi> seems to characterize the whole sentence . See also following note. V.] The Ministry in the Apostolic Age. 235 within.' a Again, they have the authority to ordain to those various ministries of the Church the origin of f"^* which will be considered shortly : thus the Church at ^y Jerusalem set the seven (we are told) 'before the of hands> Apostles, and when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them.' 2 When we hear afterwards of those later-added Apostles, Barnabas and Saul, ' appointing elders' in the Churches they founded, 3 we cannot doubt, especially in view of the evidence of the Pastoral Epistles, that the method of appointment was the same method of laying on hands with prayer ; and we shall not be surprised that St. Paul should describe the presbyters at Ephesus, appointed as they must have been by his hands, as none the less insti- tuted by the Holy Ghost. 4 It is indeed not only in the case of the appointment of the ministry that we are led to associate the action of the Holy Ghost with the laying-on of apostolic hands. The narrative of inconfir the Acts elsewhere assures us that the Apostles laid nc their hands on all Christians after their baptism, in order by this means to impart to them that gift of 1 Acts v. i-n. These judgments brought a great fear not only on the Church but on all who heard of them (ver. n) a fear of the Apostles. Afterwards we are told that they wrought many public miracles and made public appearance as teachers in Solomon's porch (cf. iii. n). Hence it seems necessary to interpret the words that follow ' of the rest durst no man associate himself with them ' (icoAAao-0ai aurois, cf. viii. 29, ix. 26, x. 28) as meaning ' of the rest of the Christians durst no man associate himself with the apostolic college on their public appearances.' A clear distinction appeared between them and the rest of the Christians. 'And the Jews as a whole held them in honour, and the Christian Church made rapid pro- gress.' Only so do we get a natural interpretation of the passage throughout. 2 Acts vi. 6. 3 Acts xiv. 23 : \eipOTOirf<ravTes Se avrois KO.T' cKjeAij<ruu' irpe<7/3uTe'pov9. With reference to this word \tiporovflv Holtzmann remarks (I.e. p. 219): 'sprechen philologische Grunde allerdings mehr fur die Bedeutung "erwahlen" schlechthin als fur Hdurch Stimmabgabe erwahlen lassen," ' i.e. it had become a quite general word for ' to elect." * Acts xx. 28 I po<re'xTe . . . irairi r<a iroi.it.vita, iv <a vfxa? TO nvev/xa TO aytov fOero eiriaxoirovs. (The (Sen recalls i Cor. xii. 28 : ous fiev fSero 6 8eb? iv TTJ e*tA7)o-ia irpS>rov airoo-ToA.ovs, K.T.\. The Holy Ghost had made them bishops by prophetic indications and the special \dpi.<T^a. bestowed upon them. 236 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. the Holy Ghost which is the essence of the Christian andordina- iif e . The laying-on of hands in 'ordination' is, tion ; * as we should gather from the Acts and Pastoral Epistles taken together, a determination of this same divine gift to a special ministerial function, or the bestowal of a superadded power. Further we are led to believe that this function of the laying-on of hands at least as a means to the bestowal of the Holy Ghost for Christian life or ministerial office belonged normally to the Apostles alone. 1 ( 7fts a do 1 not S This gift of the Holy Ghost, which is imparted to dispense every Christian, was in the first days of the Church from ordma- t'n) commonly accompanied by miraculous signs, such as 'prophesyings' and 'tongues'; 2 and where the divine gift evidenced by such outward miracles preceded baptism and the laying-on of hands, the instrumen- tality by which the gift was ordinarily communicated followed in part baptism apparently without the 1 See Acts xix. 6, and especially Acts viii. 15-19, cf. Rom. i. n, ii. Tim. i. 6. There is no such language about authority (efouaia) or instrumentality (8ii) used except of apostles. True, Ananias, a 'layman' apparently, laid hands on St. Paul. Whether this was the occasion of St. Paul receiving the Holy Ghost, as well as recovering sight, is not plain. Acts ix. 17 may suggest it. But, any way, Ananias received a special divine commission to do this thing. And it was essential to St. Paul's apostolate that he should not have received his spiritual gifts through other apostles. Again the prophets and teachers at Antioch lay hands on Barnabas and Saul. But here also we have a special divine authorization ; and it is to set apart two already of their own ' order ' to a special work (xiii. 2). Probably, however, these ' prophets ' held quasi-apostolic ' authority ' to lay-on hands in all cases. Who, unless Barnabas, can have ' confirmed ' the people of Antioch? 2 I assume that the bestowal of the Spirit was only accompanied by the miraculous gifts, while its essence lay in the bestowal of that presence which makes the Christian the temple of God. The miraculous x a pt< r l JLara passed away, but the underlying gift remained, mediated by the same ' laying-on of hands.' I do not think this can be fairly questioned. In the Acts those who had not yet received ' the laying-on of hands ' are represented not as being without certain miraculous powers, but as not possessing the Spirit. See viii. 16, xix. 3-7. The possession of the Spirit undoubtedly constitutes the essence of Christianity, with or without miraculous powers ; see Gal. iii. 2 and Rom. viii. 9-17, where St. Paul speaks of it as received at a definite moment and as a permanent possession (eAa/Sere, oixei tv v/jtiv). Cf. Hebrews vi. 2 for the close association of baptisms with the laying-on of hands. V.] The Ministry in the Apostolic Age. 237 laying-on of hands but it became not the bestowal of a gift so much as the recognition of it. 1 In the same way the ' laying-on of hands ' by the prophets and teachers at Antioch upon Saul and Barnabas, who had been themselves already classed under the same names, can hardly be regarded as more than the recognition by the Church, under the divine inspiration there recorded, of a mission which, at least in St. Paul's case, we have every reason to know came directly from Christ. 2 There may, in fact, have been many cases where the 'gift of government' evidenced by miraculous signs, or the recognised gift of prophetic inspiration, anticipated the appointment to the church office. But the ordination by the Church, where it was not needed as a channel of grace, was needed as its recognition. And the language of St. Paul's Epistle to Timothy and of the Acts makes the imposition of apostolic hands in ordinary cases, whether for ' confirmation ' or 'ordi- nation,' nothing less than the instrument of divine bestowal. Once more, the narrative of the Acts brings and power before us in action that power of binding and loosing, loose. that is of legislation with a supernatural sanction, with which Christ endowed His Church. Questions were raised at Antioch as to the obligation of the Jewish law on Gentile converts. Accordingly Paul and Barnabas with others were sent up by 'the brethren ' to confer on this subject with the Apostles at Jerusalem who appear as associated in this func- tion with the elders. There ensued an apostolic conference, resulting in a formal decision by which 1 Acts x. 44-48 ; cf. x\. 15-17 and the case of St. Paul. - Acts xiii. 1-3 ; cf. Gal. i. i, Acts ix. 15, xxii. 14-21, xxvi. 16. 238 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. certain things were loosed and certain others bound i.e. by which a certain amount of conformity to Jewish scruples was required, at least for the time, and in other respects the prescriptions of the law were declared to be not binding on Gentile Christians. This decision, issued in the name of ' the apostles and elder brethren,' was sent to those whom it concerned in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, with the unmistak- able declaration : ' it seemed good to the Holy Ghost and to us, to lay upon you no greater burdens than these necessary things.' 1 (b) The sub- So far then, it must be admitted that the narrative apostolic , office of the Acts gives us a very clear picture of the apostolic office and authority. But, on the other hand, the indications given us of the position of those of prophets ' prophets and teachers,' and other associates of the ' Apostles of whom we also hear, are somewhat in- definite. 2 James, though he apparently was not one of the twelve, is clothed with apostolic authority, 3 and (as we shall have occasion to note further) when the Apostles go forth to exercise their universal mission, remains to represent the apostolic office in the Church of Jerusalem. How was he appointed ? Probably not by the Apostles. Probably his authority would have been understood to have been given to him when Christ appeared to him after His resurrection. 4 And it must be remembered that, though 'the Lord's brethren' had not been among the disciples who believed before the passion, there 1 Act xv. 1-29 ; cf. xvi. 4. 2 Acts xi. 27, xiii. i, xv. 32, xxi. 10. 3 See esp. Acts xv. 13-21. 4 i Cor. xv. 7. Cf. Dr. Ch. Wordsworth's Remarks on Dr. Light/oofs Essay p. 19. The tradition in Clement of Alexandria represents James as appointed by the Apostles. But Hegesippus, who is a much better authority, speaks of him as 'succeeding to the government of the Church with the Apostles.' This will appear further on. V.] The Ministry in the Apostolic Age. 239 had been others who had not only believed but had been commissioned as representatives of Christ. Besides the twelve there had been the seventy, and among the 'hundred and twenty' disciples who awaited the day of Pentecost there must have been some who had received a commission in some respects like that of the Apostles. Tradition assigns this position to the Levite Joseph Barnabas among others. 1 We are not then going beyond probabilities if we consider that the original ministerial equipment of the Church before the day of Pentecost consisted of others besides the twelve. Some of these may be amongst the prophets and teachers of whom we hear in the Acts, not as teaching only or foretelling, but as ' ministering to the Lord,' performing, that is, acts of worship and laying on hands to give the recognition of the Church to the mission of Barnabas and Saul. 2 There were, however, other fellow- labourers with the Apostles, who certainly did not belong to the original equipment of the Church. These we should certainly suppose would have re- ceived ordination from those who did. Such would have been St. Paul's sons in the faith, Timothy and Titus, as to the ordination of the former of whom by St. Paul we have positive information, which we naturally extend to similar cases. 3 Such ordination 1 For Barnabas see Clem, Alex. ap. Euseb. H. E. ii. i. 2 The Christian prophets in thus combining the ministry of worship with that of preaching recall the functions of Elijah and Samuel.', With the phrase \firovpyovvnov ria nipiia, cf. the Didache xv. i : TT\V Acirovpyuu' rStv JT/XX^IJTCUP coi SiSaoxaAcur. This laying-on of hands, if only in recognition of a divinely-given mission, would probably imply a power to do it in other cases. It should be noticed that, while Paul and Barnabas are here called 'prophets and teachers,' they are afterwards called ' apostles ' (xiv. 4). 3 Cf. Judas Barsabbas and Silas (Acts xv. 22, 32). Silas becomes St. Paul's companion (ver. 40), and is coupled with Timothy in 2 Cor. i. 19 and in the inscrip- tions of i and 2 Thess. 240 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. again we should suppose A polios to have received ; 1 nor is the silence of the Acts on the subject any objec- tion to this view, for that narrative is silent also about his baptism and reception of the laying-on of hands, 2 *vhich yet are not only mentioned but emphasized in exactly parallel cases. 3 It will however be of course acknowledged that miraculous evidence of the divine will, such as the Church could recognise, went far to reduce the ceremony of ordination to a lower level of importance than it held in ordinary cases. ( C ) The local Leaving now the order of apostles, with its exten- mimstry sion to prophets and teachers and other apostolic legates, it remains to collect the information given us in the Acts as to the origin of the local ministry, of presbyters We find the existence of presbyters in the Church at Jerusalem assumed. 4 This is probably to be ac- counted for by the fact that there Jewish ' presbyters ' were an institution of old standing and that the Christian ' synagogue ' naturally had the like. It is however very easy to exaggerate the Jewish char- acter of these Church officers. Later evidence leads us to believe that they were definitely appointed to their office by the Apostles, 6 and that, while they shared their legislative counsels at Jerusalem and were associated in their legislative authority in a matter of church discipline, they were not, as amongst the Jews, merely disciplinary officers. St. James, as we have seen, assigns to them a ministry 1 St. Paul classes him with the Apostles as 'steward of the divine mysteries, etc. (i Cor. iv. 1-6). 2 Acts xviii. 24-28. 3 Acts xix. 1-6. These men had been baptized ' into John's baptism ' (cf. xviii. 25 of Apollos : ' knowing only the baptism of John '). St. Paul gave these Christians baptism and confirmation. So again St. Paul himself had received baptism (ix. 17). * Acts xi. 30, xv. 2, 4, 6, 23, xvi. 4, xxi. 18. 8 Acts xiv. 23. V.] The Ministry in the Apostolic Age. 241 of physical and spiritual healing ; St. Peter allots to them the general pastoral function ; and in accord- ance with these indications St. Paul tells them at Ephesus that it is the Holy Ghost who has given them their office and, calling them by the name of overseers or bishops, implies that the government (=< bishops') and nourishment of the Church, 1 in the general sense, belonged to them. The subapostolic evidence concurs in allotting to the presbyter-bishops a clearly spiritual ministry. 2 Here in fact, as elsewhere, the Church adopted a Jewish nomenclature, but infused into the thing to which the old name was given a new spirit ; and the hostility of the Jews to the Church certainly facilitated the process of distin- guishing the ideas attached to the offices of the new Jerusalem from those which belonged to the old. Besides the presbyters we hear of the institution and deacons. in the Church at Jerusalem of an inferior office. The occasion of its institution was the complaint of Hellenistic Christian Jews that 'their widows were neglected in the daily ministration,' apparently of food. In order, therefore, that this ministration of Christian charity might be carefully supervised with- out any hindrance to the Apostles in their higher ' ministry of the word,' a new office was created with a view to these ' works of mercy.' Seven, apparently Hellenistic Christians, 3 ' full of the Spirit and of wisdom,' are chosen by the community according to 1 Acts xx. 28-31. They are to act as pastors, and this implies the double idea of feeding and governing. The former is more closely associated with the word /Sooxeiv than with Troi^aCveiv (St. John xxi. 15-17), but it cannot be excluded from the latter : see Jude 12 eawrous iroi/^atVovre? = feeding themselves. 2 Clem, ad Cor, 44 : the offering of the eucharistic gifts. The Didache (xv. i) attaches the election of the bishops and deacons with an otiv to the account of the eucharistic service, and associates their Aecrovpyi'a with that of the prophets and teachers. 3 To judge from their names being Greek ; but cf. Lightfoot Dissert, p. 188. Q r 242 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. apostolic direction and ordained by the Apostles with the laying-on of hands and prayer. 1 In these seven we must see (with most authorities, ancient and modern) the prototype of the deacons. 2 In the case of some of these first appointed deacons, their peculiar gifts as preachers 3 sufficed to throw into the shade their humbler functions, but it is to be noticed that, though St. Philip can evangelize Samaria and baptize, he does not share the apostolic power to lay on hands. 4 Summary. We are now in a position to sum up the results derived from our investigation of the origin, nature, and development of the Christian ministry, as it is presented in the writings of the apostolic period. (i)The (i) In the first place we have found that the conception of the apostolate which was derived from the Gospels is confirmed in the apostolic history. The Apostles are empowered by Christ and inspired by the Spirit as the primary witnesses of Christ's resurrection, stewards of the divine mysteries, am- bassadors and ministers of the effected reconciliation 1 Acts vi. 1-6. 2 'So Irenaeus iii. 12. 10, iv. 15. i, etc., among ancients : so with mostmoderns Light- foot and Renan : ' On donna,' says Renan Les Apdtres p. 120, 'aux administrateurs ainsi designes le nom syriaque de Schammaschin, en grec Sidicovoi. On les appelait aussi quelquefois "les Sept" pour les opposer aux "Douze."' On the other hand St. Chrysostom in loc. speaks doubtfully, but implies on the whole that this office antedated both the presbyterate and the diaconate, and was in fact special for this particular need. So CEcumenius : ou Kara, rbv ei> rats eic(cA.T)eri'<us jSafyxoV. Cf. recently Miiller Verfassung, etc., p. 10. See Lightfoot (Dissert. p. 182), who also notes that the office here instituted cannot have been suggested by the ii7rr;pe'r>)s of the synagogue, who was more like a parish clerk. See St. Luke iv. 20. Schurer Gemeindevcrfassung der Juden p. 28. 3 Philip is called ' the evangelist ' (Acts xxi. 8). This title is generally used in closer connection with the apostolic office, which Philip had not; cf. Eph. iv. n, 2 Tim. iv. 5 : Euseb. H. E. iii. 37. Either we must suppose the word to have had, like ' presbyter ' and 'deacon,' a wider as well as a stricter use, or may suppose that Philip became later what, at the period described in Acts vi.. he was not. * Acts viii. 12-16. V.] The Ministry in the Apostolic Age. 243 of man to God. Their function is the ministry of the word or divine message, and inasmuch as the word is the basis of a covenant with a Church which is to be its 'pillar and ground,' so this apostolic ministry is not merely one of preaching. It involves the founding and governing of Churches with Christ's authority, the administration-in-chief of discipline, and the accompanying authority to bind and loose with divine sanction. It involves also a ministry of grace. Besides administering the chief sacraments committed to them by Christ, the Apostles appear (with a reservation to be mentioned afterwards) as alone possessing power to communicate the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying-on of hands. By means of this rite they bestowed both the funda- mental grace of the Spirit's indwelling, which made a Christian the temple of God (and frequently carried with it in the first age a variety of special powers or ' charismata ') and also the particular ' charisma ' which empowered men for the sacred ministry. The Apostles thus appear as the ordainers of an official clergy in the Churches, by communicating to them through the laying-on of hands an empowering gift of the Holy Ghost. The presbyters in some, or all, cases of ordination assisted at this rite, but, as the evidence suggests, to give their assent and witness, not as chief agents. (2) This apostolic ministry is in its essence uni-(2)Thesub- , T . apostolic versal. It is true that a temporary agreement ministry, assigned to Paul and Barnabas the evangelization of the Gentiles, while James, Peter, and John kept themselves to the Jews ; it is true, further, that of these last-named ' Apostles,' St. James was very early localized at Jerusalem ; still, in its primary 244 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. character, the apostolate is not a localized but a ' general ministry of the word.' And in this general ministry others share. St. James himself was not an apostle in the sense of being one of the twelve. Further, side by side with the Apostles, we hear of ' prophets ' and ' teachers ' and ' evangelists ' names somewhat indefinitely used who shared the apostolic function of teaching. And, though they never appear as clothed with the same primary authority as the twelve, yet ' prophets and teachers ' share also the ministry of worship and the laying-on of hands. We recognise then an extension of the apostolic function in some of its main features (a) to ' prophets/ whose authority was guaranteed by the permanent possession of those miraculous powers which in the first age witnessed to the inner presence of the Spirit. Such men would have received either Christ's own commission before or after He left the earth, or, failing this, the recognition, as by the laying-on of hands of those who were apostles and prophets before them, of that divine mission which their miraculous ' gifts ' evidenced : (b) to apostolic men like Timothy and Titus, known probably as ' teachers ' and ' evangelists,' who without, as far as we know, sharing miraculous power, had yet im- parted to them by the laying-on of apostolic hands what was essentially apostolic authority to guard the faith, to found and rule Churches, to ordain and discipline the clergy. ( 3 )presb y . (3) Under this general ministry of the Apostles ter-bishops \ ' . - ,, , , . . and their fellow-workers we find a local ministry of ' presbyters ' or ' bishops,' who are appointed by the Apostles and ordained by the laying-on of hands to share in some particular community the pastorate V.] The Ministry in the Apostolic Age. 245 and stewardship which Christ instituted in His Church. They are the local ministers of discipline this being the function which was attached of old to the Jewish presbyterate but they are as well the ' superintendents ' in general of local affairs, the administrators of the Churches ; and as the Churches are spiritual societies, so their function is spiritual. These local pastors are called also ' teachers ' in the Epistle to the Ephesians, and we have no reason to suppose that they were not from the first, in a sense, ' ministers of the word,' though in subordination to apostles, prophets, and teachers. Again, since the earliest subapostolic writers speak of ' the offering of the gifts' or the ministry of the eucharist as the special function of the ' bishop,' and St. James presents the presbyters to us as exercising a ministry of healing, both physical and spiritual, we need not hesitate to regard them as having been from the first ministers of the sacraments. (4) We are also presented with a subordinate ( 4 ) Deacons ministry of deacons. If their primary function was to administer alms, yet they are also presented to us as baptizing and teaching, at least when they were endowed with qualifying gifts, though probably this function did not belong to their office. Besides we find a female ' diaconate' as well as instances of and ' prophetesses ' in the Church, with regard to whose public ministry however we have no certain informa- tion. We also hear of other leading Christians who specially addicted themselves to works of mercy and received a corresponding authority. (5) Finally the Pastoral Epistles give us an un- ( 5 > The con- mistakable picture of the conception attached by or the Apostle St. Paul to the ceremony of ordination. 246 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. He regarded the laying-on of his hands as the instrumentality through which Timothy received a special empowering gift of the Holy Ghost, which in virtue of this ceremony was ' in him ' as a thing he might neglect or use, but which in either case was in him as at once his power and his responsibility. And we cannot but extend this conception to the ordinations of other clergy which Timothy is com- missioned in his turn to make by the same ceremony of the laying-on of hands. Here we have the sacerdotal conception of a special order in the Church, differentiated by a special endowment. Evidence is Two points may be mentioned in which the witness of the New Testament needs supplementing by the witness of the Church. 0) exact First. We have no clear information as to the functions : limitation of the functions of the different orders in the Church, except that to the ' viri apostolici ' alone is the power attributed to impart the gift of the Holy Ghost by laying-on of hands. We have no clear information as to who exactly can celebrate the eucharist or who can baptize. But we must re- member that the New Testament does witness to a binding or loosing power in the Church and to a continuity in the Church's life. This enables us to rest satisfied with the fact that the principle of a ministry with different grades of function and power is given us in the apostolic age, and to accept in detail the mind of the Church, as soon as it declares itself, as representing the mind of the Spirit. (H) form of Second. We have no determining evidence as to mini^u^ 6 the exact form which the ministry of the future was to take. True the ministry of ' bishops ' and deacons does appear in the New Testament as an almost V.] T/te Ministry in the Apostolic Age. 247 essentially subordinate ministry, and we have clear evidence that the apostolic office admitted of being extended and localized, as in the case of St. James and (more or less) of St Timothy and St. Titus ; but all that the New Testament can be said to give us clearly is the principle that the church ministry is a thing received from above with graduated functions in different offices, so that it follows as a matter of course that there would always be persons who had the power to minister and persons who had also the power to ordain other ministers ; with the corresponding position that only those who had the power communicated to them could exercise the function. What we do not get, then, is a distinct instruction as to what form the ministry was to take. Were the local bishops to receive additional powers, such as would make them independent of any higher order? Or were the apostles and apostolic men, like Timothy and Titus, to perpetuate their distinct order? and, if so, was it to be per- petuated as a localized or as a general order ? These questions are still open. CHAPTER VI THE MINISTRY IN THE SUBAPOSTOLIC AGE Two moments in the history of the Christian ministry have hitherto come under our notice. First, we have traced back the ministry of bishops, presby- ters, and deacons, as church history makes us familiar with it, to the dim period of the middle of the second century. Secondly, we have seen it take its rise at the apostolic fountain-head. We have, so to speak, watched the Divine Founder of the Church separate and educate and institute the apostolate, and we have watched the Apostles at work, after the withdrawal of His visible presence, with the full consciousness of divine commission and authority. And in doing this we could not but perceive that, while in a cer- tain sense they exercised a unique function so far, that is, as they were the original witnesses and heralds of the revelation given in Christ, in another sense they held a stewardship and pastorate of souls, a function of government and a corresponding power, which they intended to perpetuate in the life of the Church : the Church was not to develop her ministry from below, but to receive it from above by apostolic authorization. Thus we have found in the records of the New Testament the origin and title-deeds of a permanent ministry in the Church, the outcome of 243 CH. VI.] The Ministry in the Subapostolic Age. 249 the apostolate, and we have found in the latter half of the second century that this ministry has taken shape in the episcopal successions of the Churches, which claim to perpetuate the apostolate in certain of its most fundamental functions. Now we Questions approach another group of questions. What are hh e the the links which connect the ministry of the apostolic ministry. ' age with that of the age of Irenaeus ? are they such as to justify the claims which Irenaeus makes for the episcopate ? In particular, does the history, so far as we can trace it, suggest that the apostolic authority was perpetuated from the first in a special office superior to that of the presbyters, though it came shortly to be known by a title at first synonymous with the presbyterate, viz. the episcopate ? Or does the evidence, on the other hand, lead us to believe that the permanent functions of government and or- dination hitherto exercised by apostles and apostolic men were, so to speak, put into commission in the local colleges of presbyter-bishops, and that subsequently these supreme functions, hitherto belonging to all in common, came to be limited to one who alone retained the title of bishop ? There is of course a third possibility, viz. that the functions exclusively discharged by the general or apostolic order in the first days (for instance, that of the laying-on of hands) lapsed altogether, and the Church of the second century, so to speak, redeveloped an apostolic order of bishops from below. With a view to answering the questions thus presented, we proceed to examine the historical links afforded by the sub- Links of apostolic documents. 250 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. I scopatelT The first link is that supplied by the episcopate in Jerusalem. j erusa i em derived from James. ' James/ says Hege- james the sippus, ' receives the Church in succession with the line of a Apostles.' l This corresponds to the evidence of the New Testament. James ranks with the Apostles ; 2 but, unlike the Apostles, he is localized in Jerusalem, where he presides with the presbyters, 3 and where at the apostolic conference he seems to hold the office of president and speaks with some degree of decisive authority, suggesting and probably framing the apostolic decree. 4 Thus it has been common from the earliest times to see in James the 'bishop of Jerusalem ' in the later sense, i.e. a localized apostolic ruler of the Church, and this commends itself to most modern critics. 6 But though localized, his per- sonal reputation and apostolic character made him a universal authority with Jewish Christians. 6 This is 1 ap. Euseb. H. K. ii. 23 : SiaSe\erai TIJC eKK\rj(riav fiera. ruiv aTrtxrroAwi'. 2 Gal. i. 19, ii. 9 ; Acts xv. 3 Gal. i. 19 ; Acts xii. 17, xxi. 18. 4 Acts xv. 13, 19, 20. See Lightfoot Dissert, p. 197. 8 Clement of Alexandria (ap. Euseb. //. E. ii. i) says : ' Peter and James and John, after the assumption of the Saviour, though even the Lord had assigned them special honour, did not claim distinction, but elected James the Just bishop of Jerusalem.' 'As early as the middle of the second century,' says Dr. Lightfoot (p. 208), ' all parties concur in representing him as a bishop in the strict sense of the term.' He refers to Hegesippus ap. Euseb. H. E. ii. 23, iv. 22, and to the Clemen- tines, Horn. xi. 35, Ep. Petr. init., Ep. Clem, init., Recog. i. 43, 68, 73, etc. He himself concurs : James ' can claim to be regarded as a bishop ' (p. 197). He gave, says Mr. Simcox (Early Ch. Hist. p. 50), ' it is scarcely inaccurate to say, the first example of a diocesan bishop.' Cf. Miiller Verfassung p. 12. B Gal. ii. 11-14 illustrates St. James' influence, however little those who 'came from ' him acted as he would have had them act ; cf. the opening of his own epistle. Hegesippus gives a sacerdotal colour to his office ; see Harnack Expositor, May 1887, p. 327. He was held in high regard amongst non-Christian Jews, and was known from the protection given by his constant intercessions as the jrepiox*) TOU Xaov; see Heges. ap. Euseb. H. E. ii. 23; Josephus Ant. Jud. xx. 9. i; cf. Simcox I.e. p. 123. VI.] The Ministry in the Subapostolic Age. 251 the historical basis for the ' archiepiscopal ' and even papal dignity assigned to him in the Ebionite tradi- tions. 1 When the hostility of the extreme Jewish nationalists led to his being put to death for ' break- ing the law' just before the siege of Jerusalem, Symeon was elected to take his place, who, like James, was a relative of Jesus Christ. Hegesippus, whom Eusebius speaks of as ' having been born in the time of the first succession from the Apostles,' apparently recorded his election by the Apostles themselves, 2 and certainly distinctly identifies his office with that of James and calls it a bishopric. He also mentions that there was a disappointed rival for the see called Thebuthis, who subsequently raised 1 Recog. i. 73 and Ep. Clem. init. 'bishop of bishops,' and 'archbishop.' He exercises a quasi-papal authority over Peter ; Ep. Clein. i, Recog. i. 17, 72. 2 ap. Euseb. H. E, iii. 32, iv. 22 ; cf. Lightfoot Dissert, pp. 202, 208. Eusebius says, iii. n : 'After the martyrdom of James and the taking of Jerusalem which immediately ensued, it is recorded (Aoyos (care'xei) that those of the Apostles and of the Lord's disciples who were still alive came together from all parts, with those who were related to our Lord ; for of them also there were still several alive : and that they all held conference together as to whom they ought to select as worthy to succeed to James (df iov nijs 'Iaxci/3ov SiaSox'n^). And that they all with one mind approved of Symeon the son of Clopas ... as worthy of the throne of the parish there, who was a cousin as they say of the Saviour. For Hegesippus relates that Clopas was a brother of Joseph.' The authority for this meeting may fairly, as Rothe maintains and Dr. Lightfoot admits, be assigned to Hegesippus. The question arises granted this meeting historical, as it well may be can it be supposed that it not only elected a bishop of Jerusalem but also issued a general decree for the establishment of episcopacy? Such a 'second apostolic council' forms the basis for the supposed apostolic legislation of the Constitutions, and the establishment of ' monepiscopacy ' seems to be assigned to it by Ambrosiaster on Eph. iv. 12 (' prospiciente concilio '). Jerome probably has the same meaning when he assigns the establishment of episcopacy to a formal ' decretum,' apparently of the Apostles (see on Tit. i. 5). Besides this Rothe (Anfange pp. 351-392) quotes for the council the expression of Ignatius, TO Siaray^ara. riav <iiro<rrdAioi' (ad Trail. 7), and the expression of the second of Pfaff"s fragments, attributed to Irenaeus, at Sevrepai Ttav aTTooroAoji' Siaraf eis. He also thinks that the ambiguous language of Clement's letter (c. 44) supports the same view. He holds that it was on this occa- sion that the Apostles so distributed the work amongst them as that Asia, according to a tradition mentioned by Origen (ap. Enseb. H. E iii. i), 'was assigned to John.' This evidence is discussed fully by Dr. Lightfoot Dissert, p. 204 f., and most people will agree with him that it affords a very insecure basis for the idea of a formal second council of the Apostles legislating for the establishment of episcopacy. 252 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. a schism and ' made a beginning of corrupting the virgin purity of the Church' with false doctrines. No one apparently supposes that the Jerusalem episcopate from this date was not continuous. 1 It is plain then that here at any rate the episcopal office was not only developed under apostolic patronage, but was in direct continuity with the apostolate, as represented by James, who, though not one of the twelve, ranked and acted with them : and whether the presbyters at Jerusalem were ever known as 'bishops' or no, certainly the episcopal authority never belonged to them. who at first But this earliest episcopate at Jerusalem had one femfiyof 6 unique feature. It was held by relatives of Christ. Symeon, our authority tells us, was chosen as ' the cousin of the Lord ' ; he was ' a descendant of David and a Christian.' z And we have other evidence of a tendency in the Jewish Christian Church of Palestine to prefer for ecclesiastical offices of authority those who could thus claim royal blood. Thus St. Jude's othersof this grandsons 'of the family of the Lord,' who were familyhelda . ,, less localized compelled (as Hegesippus tells us) to appear before authority. , v Domitian in order to satisfy him that the empire was in no peril from their royal claims, when they were dismissed, became ' rulers of the Churches,' or ' rulers of every Church.' 3 This last expression (which seems to be Hegesippus' own) would probably indi- cate that, while there was a local episcopate at 1 Eusebius' list of subsequent bishops of Jerusalem (ff. E. iv. 5) is not apparently derived from Hegesippus. See Lightfoot I.e. p. 209 n. 2 . 2 Euseb. ff. E. iv. 22 : ov TrpoeOeiro Trajres, OVTOL avityiov TOV /cvpiou, Sevrepov. 3 See ap. Euseb. ff. E. iii. 20 and 32. In the first case Eusebius, apparently quoting Hegesippus in the oratio obliqua, says that they ^yijeroo-ftu riav enncArja-tii'. In the second passage he quotes his actual words : irporjyovvraj. 7ra<n)s e(cicAi)o-iav. This is therefore the more trustworthy expression. Dr. Hatch says (B. L. p. 89) ' they presided in other Churches ' ; but Hegesippus seems to give them a more general authority. VI.] The Ministry in the Subapostolic Age. 253 Jerusalem, there was a more general authority assigned, amongst the Jewish Christians of Palestine, to these members of the royal family of Christ not, however, as the case of Symeon would assure us, by mere right of birth, but by due appointment. Chief authority in the Church was not yet, even among Jewish Christians, in all cases a localized or diocesan authority. And this is the evidence of the next document to be considered. II The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles or, as it was n. The probably originally called, the Teaching of the Apostles? is a document which we may assume to its general belong probably to the first century, and to have c been composed by a Jewish Christian for a Christian community also Jewish in tone. There were reasons for attributing it to some remote district of Syria or Palestine, but recent evidence leads us to think rather of Egypt. 2 The theology which it represents is of a very inadequate nature, when compared with the teaching of the New Testament, and suggests in fact nothing so much as the condition of belief of those Hebrew Christians to whom the Epistle to the Hebrews was directed, in order to lift them out of the stage of rudimentary knowledge in which they were into some more adequate conceptions of the person of Christ, of His priesthood and mediation in the Church. It will cause no surprise that there 1 See Dr. Warfield Bibliotheca Sacra, Jan. 1886, p. no. - ' I should conjecture [the Didache], on account of its strongly Jewish character, to have had its birth in the countr^ east of the Jordan, where Christian Jews were numerous ' (Salmon Introd. p. 612) ; but see further on the whole subject of the Didache App. Note L. 254 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. should have existed in the latter part of the first century a community of Jewish Christians with very imperfect doctrinal instruction, perhaps in a district remote from any centre of apostolic influence ; and, though we shall not look to a writing emanating from amongst them for much light on Christian theology, we shall look with great interest to their form of church organization. its church In the Didache then we are presented with a form Sol?; 1112 * of Church ministry which ought not to perplex any local bishops one acquainted with the Acts of the Apostles. We and deacons, \^ v& as i oca i o ffi cers bishops and deacons, who are elected specially with a view to the conduct of worship in the community. 1 But, as in the apostolic church, these local officers are not the chief figures in with the organization. Over them are ' apostles,' ' pro- prophet's, phets,' and ' teachers,' who exercise a ministry not over t thm? rs yet localized in any particular Church. 2 The apostles are not indeed the twelve ; they correspond to what we should suppose is meant by the ' evangelist ' of the New Testament; they are 'ambulatory' messengers of the Gospel, 3 and are almost identi- fied with the prophets, 4 who are better defined 1 xv. I : \eipoTovrj<Ta.Tf ovv eaurots eiritncoirovs (tat SIOKOVOVS. This o5v connects the election of the officers with c. xiv about the Sunday celebration of the ' pure sacrifice. ' It will be noticed that nothing is said about the bishop in the passage (xiii. 4) about almsgiving. We should not however be right in assuming that the bishop had nothing to do with this, any more than concluding from c. vii that the bishop had nothing to do with baptizing. The community in fact is addressed as a whole. They are directed to baptize, to fast, to give alms, to pray, to come together on the Lord's Day and confess their sins and celebrate their thank-offering, and then, with a view to the due performance of all these functions, they are directed to elect for themselves bishops and deacons. - xi. 3, xiii. 2. 3 They are perhaps like the ' apostles ' of Rom. xvi. 7, Andronicus and Junias. For the use of the word ' teacher ' we may compare the Ep. ad Diognet. 1 1 : aTroordAoji/ yei/d/nei/os /xaOrjTrjs yiVofiai SifiacrxaAo; eOviav. (This chapter, however, is not part of the original letter.) 4 The apostle who stays in a Church more than two days is called a ' false prophet ' (xi. 5) ; again (xi. 6) if he ask for money, he is a ' false prophet.' VI.] The Ministry in the Sub apostolic Age. 255 figures than either apostles or teachers. These re- presentatives of the Church at large, when they visit a community of Christians, are first of all to be tested by the standard of right teaching and of moral character. 1 The true apostle is to be distinguished by the absence of any selfish motive ; any sign of an inclination to fasten himself upon a Church or to abandon the holy poverty of his vocation is to stamp him as a false prophet. The prophet too is to be tested by his character and conformity to the truth which he teaches, but when once he has been approved, his inspired utterances are not to be sub- jected to any criticism. This would be a sin which cannot be forgiven. He is to be listened to with reverent acceptance and allowed the freedom, which the old prophets had, to perform exceptional acts 'for a sign ' or in a mystery. 2 He has freedom also to give thanks in the eucharistic celebration without the restriction of any set form ; 3 and receives the first fruits of all the produce of the community, because the prophets are the Christian ' high-priests.' 4 Clearly then these prophets, with the apostles and teachers, occupy the first rank in the church ministry, but, as we saw reason in the apostolic age to believe that the local ' clergy ' shared fundamentally the same spiritual ministry as the : apostles, only in a subordinate grade, so here we have it specified that the bishops and deacons exercise the same ministry 2 iv. i, xi. ii. I do not wish to express any certainty about the meaning of these words ; see Taylor Teaching of the Twelve Apostles, pp. 82-92. 3 x. 7 : TOIS Se 7rjxxJ>7jTous eirirprrr fvxaf>i<rrfiv oera 0e'Aov<rtv. 4 xiii. But ver. 4 : ' if you have no prophet, give to the poor.' It is probably im- plied that the prophet will^himself, when he is present, minister to the wants of the poor. He could not take the first fruits for himself only without coming under the category of a 'false prophet.' 256 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. as the prophets and teachers, and are therefore not to be ' overlooked.' l So far then the indications of this document suggest a state of church government closely akin to what we should suppose would have existed in apostolic and subapostolic days in any community not under the direct supervision of the twelve. There are bishops and deacons, and over them prophets and teachers and apostles in the sense of evangelists, men belonging to a ministry as yet The prophet, unlocalized, and, in the case of the prophets at least, inspired. But two points specially require notice. (i)by'sett. (i) It is specified that the prophet has the right ling ' would i). r 1 /- 1 i i o -r become a to settle in any of the Churches he visits. 2 It is just in this context that he is declared to be the proper recipient of all first fruits and the ' high- priest' of the community. Can we doubt then that, in the event of this prophetic teacher taking up his permanent residence in any Church, with his authority as an inspired man, with his free power of eucharistic celebration, and with his ' high-priestly ' dignity, he would have become, by whatever name he was called, the bishop of the community in the later sense? As then we have in St. James the first instance of a member of the apostolic ministry localized in a single Church, so the Teaching seems to give us an indication that the settling of prophets 1 C. xv, after providing for the election of fit persons as bishops and deacons, afi'ous TOV Kvpiov, ai'Spas irpaeis (eai a</uAapyvpovs cai aA^Sei? <cal SeSoKijxacrficVous, continues : vji.lv yap AeirovpyoCo-i al avroi TT)V AeiToupyi'ac rtav 7rpo<^r)Ta)i/ ica! &iSa<TKO.\uiv JXT/ o$v ijrepiSijTe avrovV aural yap eitfip 01 Terifxij/neVoi vjmuii' /xcra riav n i po<^T)T<li' Kal &iScuTK<i\(av. I shall remark further on this word TCTifiij/ueVoi in connection with the Epistle of Clement. 2 xiii. i : n-a? Se 7rpo<J"iTTjs aAr/flti/os, Ot\<av (caflrjtrai Trpbs vfxas, dfio? <rri rijv rpofyrpi avrov, (C.T.X. VI.] The Ministry in the Subapostolic Age. 257 would have been at least one way in which the transition was effected from the apostolic ministry to that of the later Church. What in fact was Poly- carp of Smyrna, or Ignatius of Antioch, but a prophet who had become a bishop ? * Thus the Teaching gives no countenance to the idea that in the region which it represents the ' bishops ' (i.e. pres- byters) and deacons would ever have held the place of chief authority in the Church. (2) The community in the Teaching are exhorted (2) must ' , , have before to elect their bishops and deacons; we have here a held the more democratic mode of election than is general. 2 i^yTng^n Nothing is said of any control over the election, or of any ordination from above by laying-on of hands. Now some modern critics show a tendency to exalt the Didache in this respect as a source of evidence over the Pastoral Epistles and the Acts of the Apostles ; and undoubtedly, if we are to take this anonymous writing of very ambiguous doctrinal character and exalt it as a criterion of what early Christianity meant over writings whose genuineness and apostolic authority there is no good reason to doubt, we shall probably see grounds for believing that the subapostolic Church rated not only church orders, but also baptism and the eucharist at a very low estimate. Believing, however, the Pastoral Epistles and the Acts to be genuine documents, we 1 Ignatius claims the gift of prophecy : ad Philad. 7. For Polycarp, see Mart. Polyc. 16 : ' having been an apostolic and prophetic teacher, bishop of the holy Church in Smyrna,' and cf. c. 5, where he foresees his own martyrdom by means of a vision. On ' teachers ' becoming bishops, see Kuhl Genuindeord. p. 131. 3 In the Acts and the Pastoral Epistles the man of apostolic authority appoints elders : so also in Clement's Epistle they are appointed from above, ' with the con- sent of the whole Church ' (c. 44). Here the Church simply elects, and the same is the case in the Egyptian Church Ordinances, where very small communities of twelve are contemplated electing their bish'op (in the later sense). It should not of course be forgotten that the election of ' the seven ' in the Acts was made by the community. R 258 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. naturally prefer to look at so questionable a writing as the Didache in the light of apostolic practice and injunction. The question we ask is this : Is the evidence of the Didache incompatible with the evidence about ordination which we derive from apostolic sources ? The answer is, we think, in the negative. The Didache is silent about ordination, but it is silent also about all ' laying-on of hands.' Yet we know that there was closely associated in the minds of the early Church, and especially of its Jewish members, with the doctrine of baptisms that of the laying-on of hands. 1 The silence of the Didache about ordination then, like other instances of silence, proves too much, if it is to be taken as equivalent to ignorance. It can be accounted for easily enough with a little consideration. The Didache appears to be a manual of directions for the local church. It does not presume to dictate to the prophets. 2 It says, therefore, nothing about the functions which do not belong to the local church with the local officers. Now all the evidence of the apostolic documents leads us to believe that the function of the laying-on of hands did not belong to the local officers, but to apostles and apostolic legates and also, as appeared, to certain prophets and teachers, the associates of apostles. As, therefore, we find the prophets in the Didache performing that ' liturgy ' which is assigned to them also in the Acts, 3 what is more reasonable than to suppose that to them would have belonged as well that ' laying-on of hands ' which in the same passage of the Acts is also assigned to them ? We may well believe then that in the communities represented by the Didache^ the bishops and deacons would have been elected by the whole body but ordained with 1 See esp. Hebr. vi. a. 2 x. 7, xi. 7, n. 3 Acts xiii. 2. VI.] The Ministry in tJie Subapostolic Age. 259 laying-on of hands by some one of the prophetic ' high priests ' on their occasional visits. The picture which is here given us of Churches in cr. the the subapostolic age still governed by a local body Eu^ S bms of bishops, 1 while the higher authority in the word ev and sacraments remained with men who exercised an 'ambulatory' ministry, may be compared with the picture that Eusebius draws of the activity of evangelists in immediate succession to the Apostles. He describes how they went among the heathen, laying the foundations of the faith in some places, and appointing pastors in others to whom they entrusted 'the husbandry' of those just brought within the pale, while they themselves went forth into new fields ; how they had still many extra- ordinary powers working in them ; and how it would be ' impossible for him to enumerate by name all those who in the first succession to the Apostles became pastors or evangelists in the Churches over the whole world.' 2 We have only to suppose that these missionaries with their miraculous gifts not only founded Churches but also for a time, like the Apostles to whom they succeeded, supervised them on occasional visits, and we have a picture, with merely the substitution of the title evangelist, very like that which the Didache presents. And it must not be forgotten that the earliest recorded traditions of the Syriac Church pointed back not, like those of Asia and of the West, to twelve Apostles, but to seventy-two, as having founded the successions of the priesthood in their communities. 3 1 Who are of course equivalent to presbyters though they are not called so. See App. Note K. . 2 Euseb. iii. 37. These evangelists are described as -n\v -aftwn\v TOIV rijs rSiv 3 See above, pp. it 8, 119 and note. 260 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. It only remains to add that this is the latest document which presents us with prophets exercis- Prophets ing any ministerial function as such. It is true that cease, as, i i i i T i-r-vi such, to hold later we have bishops like Ignatius and Polycarp the ministry. , . f , , , , . who in fact are prophets but they exercise their functions not as prophets but as bishops. The power of prophecy had not died out when Hennas saw his visions, or when Irenaeus wrote against heresies, or when Ammia and Quadratus pro- phesied l ; but the prophets held no official rank. So far as they had in early times been the chief teachers of the Church, their ' high-priestly ' functions and their teaching 'chair' passed to the bishops 2 : in a minor sense, the ' readers of holy Scripture in the congregation' 3 were accounted 1 Euseb. v. 17. See App. Note H. 2 The high-priesthood ascribed by Hippolytus to the bishops (Kef. Omn. Haer. prooem. quoted in App. Note G) seems to be specially connected with teaching authority: he speaks of a 'grace and high-priesthood and teaching' which the bishops hold in succession to the Apostles. So Polycrates describes St. John as a ' priest, wearing the mitre, and witness and teacher ' (ap. Euseb. H.E. iii. 31). So again the xade'jpa of the bishops was first of all the chair of the teacher. Thus in the Clementines (Ep. Clem. 2) St. Peter speaks : KAiy/uej'Ta TOVTOV firi<ricorrov vjtii XeipoTori, <a TT\V f^v rtav \6yiav Triorevio KaQeSpav. So in Irenaeus the office of the bishop is conceived of primarily as carrying with it the 'charisma veritatis certum ' (iv. 26. 2), and this coincides with Hegesippus" view of the episcopal succes- sion. It is also noticeable that the right of extempore eucharist seems to have passed to the bishop, as in Justin Martyr Apol. i. 67 ; cf. Did. x. 7. 3 The prayer for the ordination of a reader in Apost. Const, viii. 22 invokes upon him ' the prophetic spirit ' (cf. the Gk. Vers. of the Syriac Didascalia quoted by Harnack, Texte u. Untersuch. Band ii. H. 3. p. 77) ; and the western writers on church offices from Isidore down into the later middle ages regard the reader's office as a continuation of that of the prophet : thus Isidore de Eccl. Off. ii. n (Hittorp. p. 23) writes : ' lectorum ordo formam et initium a prophetis accepit.' These words are repeated by Rabanus Maurus de hist. Cler. i. 1 1 (p. 317) and by (pseudo) Albinus Flaccus de Div. Off. (p. 70). Amalarius de Eccl. Off. ii. 8 (p. 163) regards the office as a continuation of another charisma : ' hoc ministerium continetur in dono gratiae Dei de quo dicit apostolus : alii sermo scientiae secundum eundem Spiritum." In the Church Ordinances (c. 17) the reader ranks above the deacons and is said to ' work the place of an evangelist.' The so-called second Epistle of Clement seems to be the homily of a reader ; cf. also the reff. to ' reading ' in the N. T. i Tim. iv. 13 and Apoc. i. 3, and on the whole subject, see Harnack I.e. p. 57. Such readers held of course an office of great importance when illiterate bishops were contemplated (Apost. Const, ii. i, Ch. Ordin. 16). VI.] The Ministry in the Subapostolic Age. 261 their successors. This then is the last time that we are presented with the apostolic ministry exercised by men who are called prophets. If we ask the question, how these prophets were appointed to their ministry, we cannot obtain a very definite answer. We do not know exactly what rights were understood to belong to those who had these miraculous gifts as pledges of divine favour and mission, but the evidence of the Acts as to the laying-on of hands, which gave, or confirmed, the mission even of St. Paul and St. Barnabas, will not allow us to suppose that the inspiration of these later prophets would have enabled them to dispense with ecclesiastical ordination by apostles or apostolic men. It is however evident enough in the Didache that there was a considerable admixture of self- seeking impostors in the ranks of these later apostles and prophets, and it is very easy to see that the system of an unlocalized prophetic ministry was not one which could have been safely allowed to become permanent in the Churches. 1 As it is, we have evidence such as cannot be resisted that the transi- tion to the localized episcopate was effected by no less an authority than that of apostles. Ill At the time when the prophets and teachers of ni. St. John 1 r . institutes whom the Didache speaks were going on their the diocesan episcopate, 1 The same suggestion of spiritual expediency would have promoted the transition from the state of things which we find in the Didache to that which we find in Ignatius' letters, which in a later age led to the drawing tight of diocesan restric- tions : see above p. 150 n. 1 on the wandering bishops from Ireland and elsewhere. This wandering ministry gave every opportunity for imposture, and we ought not perhaps to be surprised to find a similar danger and similar abuses in the subapostolic age. As to the bearing of such dangerous periods on the security of the apostolic succession, enough perhaps was said in the second chapter. 262 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. journeys from Church to Church, St. John was living at Ephesus ; and Polycrates, who was bishop there within the second century, speaks of him ' who lay upon the Lord's breast ' as having become ' a priest, wearing the mitre, and witness and teacher ' before he fell asleep in Ephesus. 1 What then was the nature of St. John's activity during this last period of his life ? A tradition which cannot be set aside connects with his name not only the writing of the fourth Gospel but also the establishment of epi- scopacy in its later sense. ' Listen,' says Clement of Alexandria, ' to a legend, which is no legend but very history, which has been handed down and preserved about John the Apostle. When on the death of the tyrant he returned from the isle of Patmos to Ephesus, he used to go away when he was summoned to the neighbouring districts as well, in some places to establish bishops, in others to organize whole Churches, in others to ordain to the clergy some one of those indicated by the Spirit.' z The reference here is to bishops in the later sense : and Clement means that St. John ordained one bishop in each place, for the history which he goes on to narrate turns on the conduct of one of those appointed bishops who 'presided over' a certain city, which St. John visited once and again on occasions of necessity. 3 Here then we have St. 1 ap. Euseb. H.E. iii. 31 : eyei/tjflrj tepev? TreVoXoy Trt^opeicto; Kai /uapTus at SuSaVxaAos. z Quis Dives 42. These last words vividly recall the apostolic age, cf. i Tim. i. 18, Acts xiii. 2. They ' seem to convince us that St. Clement reproduces the usage [of St. John's age] faithfully ' (Simcox Early Ch. Hist. p. 183). See Lightfoot Ignatius i. 380 on Clement's special means of knowledge through his ' Ionian ' teacher. 3 Clement calls him also 6 Trpecr/Uv'Tepot, but perhaps in its natural sense, as he calls him 6 irpe<r/3un)s later on. However, we have seen already that the word rrpea- /3vTpowas used to include bishops by Clement and Irenaeus and later writers. VI.] The Ministry in the Subapostolic Age, 263 John organizing episcopacy in the district about Ephesus. This testimony is confirmed by Tertullian : 'We have,' he says, 'the Churches who have John for their teacher. For the series of bishops (of the Churches of Asia) if taken back to its origin will rest upon his authorization.' x So, earlier than Tertullian, the author of the Muratorian fragment speaks of St. John as urged to write his Gospel by ' his fellow-disciples and bishops.' Once again Irenaeus, who represented all the traditions of Asia, who had been Polycarp's disciple ' in his first youth ' and kept up so vivid a memory of those early days, tells us that his master ' was not only made a disciple by apostles and held converse with many who had seen Christ, but was also established in Asia by apostles as bishop in the Church of Smyrna.' 2 In the term ' apostles ' Irenaeus certainly means to include St. John. Here is then a great body of testimony connecting the episcopacy of the Churches of Asia with St. John. It suggests strongly that St. John regarded it as his apostolic function to perpetuate a church ministry. And in this last period of the apostolic ministry with other we must not isolate St. John. Irenaeus, as noticed Apostiel* above, speaks of Polycarp as instituted by apostles. Ignatius speaks of episcopacy as the ordinance of the Apostles. ' When,' Dr. Lightfoot says, ' after the destruction of Jerusalem St. John fixed his abode at Ephesus, it would appear that not a few of the oldest surviving members of the Palestinian Church 1 adv. Marc. iv. 5. Later however the Asiatic Church received Timothy as the first bishop of Ephesus, i.e. they carried back the succession behind Jojin. See Labbe Collect. Condi, iv. p. 1620. 2 Euseb. H.E. iv. 14, cf. Tertull. de Praescr. 32 : ' Smyrnaeorum ecclesia Poly- carpum ab loanne collocatum refert.' 264 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. accompanied him into ' Asia,' which henceforward became the headquarters of apostolic authority. In this body of emigrants Andrew and Philip among the twelve, 1 Aristion and John the presbyter among other personal disciples of the Lord, are specially mentioned.' ' A lifelong friendship would naturally draw Philip the Apostle of Bethsaida after John, as it also drew Andrew. And, when we turn to St. John's Gospel, we can hardly resist the impression that incidents relative to Andrew and Philip had a special interest, not only for the writer of the Gospel, but also for his hearers. Moreover the Apostles Andrew and Philip appear in this Gospel as in- separable companions.' 2 There is then reason to connect the establishment of the Asiatic episcopacy with the combined action of several of the Apostles. Ignatius' Even, however, if we had not such direct testimony testimony. as j^g j ust Deen recorded to this organization of episcopacy by the Apostles who survived the de- struction of Jerusalem, 3 the claim which Ignatius makes for episcopacy in the beginning of the second century would force us to postulate it. In passing to the consideration of the evidence which his letters afford for the history of the ministry, we cannot but congratulate ourselves that now for the third time in the history of literary controversy their genuineness 1 Andrew is mentioned among the ' condiscipuli ' of St. John who urged him to write his Gospel in the Canon Mu.ra.tor. Philip, one of the twelve, is mentioned by Polycrates ap. Euseb. H.E. iii. 31 : ' Philip . . . who sleeps in Hierapolis, and his two daughters, having grown old in virginity, and his other daughter, having lived (jroA.iTu<ra./iVr)) in the Holy Ghost, sleeps in Ephesus.' Dr. Lightfoot's argument that this Philip was really the Apostle and not the evangelist (Colossians p. 45 note) is convincing. 2 Colossians p. 45 and n. 3 3 It may well be considered that up to the time of the destruction of Jerusalem that 'end of the age' for the Jewish Church all ecclesiastical arrangements had a provisional character. VI.] The Ministry in the Subapostolic Age. 265 has been vindicated by an English scholar. It is perhaps hardly too much to say that Dr. Lightfoot has now at last brought the controversy to an end. 1 1 Since the revival of learning, when scholars first began to perceive that the mediaeval ' Ignatian letters ' were not the same as those quoted by the Fathers, down to the present time, the writings of Ignatius have been a field for controversy constantly renewed. The decision of the controversy, at least for the time, has (as was said) thrice been due to English scholars. First in 1644 the critical insight and genius of Ussher led to the recovery, though only in Latin, of the seven shorter letters in the form now recognised as genuine, and banished for ever their mediaeval interpolated or spurious representatives. Next, when after the appearance of the Geeek text (in the main) in 1646 the presbyterians, especially the French presbyterians, represented by Daill (1666), were alarmed at the witness of the letters of Ignatius in favour of the cause of episcopacy and did their best to prove them spurious, the great Bishop Pearson wrote his Vindiciae Igna.tia.nae (1672) ' incomparably,' Dr. Lightfoot says (Ignatius i. p. 320), ' the most valuable contribution to the subject which had hitherto appeared, with the single exception of Ussher 's work,' and on the main issue seemed almost to have put the question at rest for those open to convic- tion. But once again, after an interval of more than two centuries, Cureton's publication in 1845 of some Syriac abridgements of some of the letters or extracts from them (as we may now pronounce them to be), which he maintained to be the only original letters, stirred the embers of the old discussion, and the question was again rife which version, if any, represented the real Ignatius ; and now once more the vindication of the genuineness of the ' shorter Greek ' letters has fallen to an English scholar, Dr. Lightfoot, the prince we may be proud to call him of recent historical critics in the department of church history. Dr. Lightfoot does not indeed stand alone in his work of renewed vindication. Zahn's Ignatius von Antiochien, which appeared in 1873, is described by Dr. Lightfoot himself (/.c. p. 272)35 'quite the most important contribution to the solution of the Ignatian question which has appeared since Cureton's discovery," and as having ' dealt a fatal blow at the claims of the Curetonian letters.' But the chief merit rests with the English scholar. Dr. Harnack speaks of his work as ' the most learned and careful (sorgfaltigste) patristic monograph of the century,' and is in common with almost all scholars convinced by the array of historical, linguistic, and general evidence on behalf of the letters which has been produced. He speaks of their genuineness as 'certain,' and of the ' inner grounds for it ' as ' overpowering ' (Expositor, Jan. 1886, pp. 10, 15). Harnack however, while accepting Dr. Lightfoot's conclusion that Ignatius, bishop of Antioch, was the author of these letters, disputed the position that Ignatius wrote these letters and suffered martyrdom in the time of Trajan. He would bring the letters down from A.D. 110-118 to some date probably after A.D. 130. The earlier date he speaks of as a ' mere possibility, which is highly improbable, because it is not supported by any word in the Epistles, and because it rests only upon a late and very problematic witness ' (Expositor, March 1886, p. 190). As regards however (i) the internal witness to date, Dr. Lightfoot has certainly the advantage over Harnack in the discussion of the nature of the heresy which Ignatius is opposing. In the Epistles to the Ephesians, Trallians, and Smyrnaeans, a docetic heresy is in question, in the Epistle to the Philadelphians, a Judaistic. But in the Epistle to the Magnesians, at least, we learn that these do no{ represent separate and distinct tendencies. The heresy there in question is Judaeo-docetic a type of heresy which recalls that with which St. Paul contended at Colossae and Ephesus. And throughout the Epistles the same general terms are used in speaking of either heretical tendency. There are 266 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. Ignatius, bishop of Antioch, appears as a condemned prisoner moving by a route through Asia to his death at Rome, in the custody of a maniple of ten soldiers, whom for their harshness he calls 'ten leopards.' 1 But his progress is converted into a sort of triumph. The Churches hear where he can be seen, and at Smyrna deputations arrive from Ephesus, Magnesia, and Tralles and join the flock of Polycarp in doing him honour. While he is at Smyrna he writes four of the extant letters to the Ephesians, to the Mag- nesians, to the Trallians, and to the Romans. The other three were written from Troas, whither an Ephesian deacon had accompanied him, and were addressed to Churches through which he had just passed, to Philadelphia and Smyrna, and to Smyrna's bishop, Polycarp. He passes from Neapolis to Philippi, where he is again welcomed by the Church and escorted on his way, and so he goes on towards Rome and we lose sight of him. 2 Here then we Hisquaiifi- have a very notable witness. He is a man who, cations as a t nou gh he loves to describe himself as 'only now beginning to be a disciple,' is probably old in years. 3 no signs of two movements which Ignatius was resisting. Harnack admits that Lightfoot ' can appeal on behalf of [his position] to the consensus of most scholars of modern times. 1 But this Judaeo-docetic heresy points strongly to the earlier date. See Lightfoot i. pp. 361-3 ; Harnack I.e. pp. 175-185. As regards (2) the external evidence, Harnack quite underrates the force of Origen's testimony to the early date. Origen quotes and mentions Ignatius the martyr as ' second bishop of Antioch after the blessed Peter, who fought with beasts in the persecution at Rome ' (in Luc. vi). This must refer (see Lightfoot ii. p. 470) to the persecution under Trajan. On the whole we may accept the connection of Ignatius' martyrdom with Trajan's reign with great confidence. And Harnack himself now substantially admits this. See his Chronologic (Leipzig, 1897), p. 406. ' Die Ignatiusbriefe und der Polycarpbrief sind echt, und sie sind in den letzten Jahren Trajans verfasst (109-117) oder vielleicht einige Jahre spater (117-125).' 1 ad Rom. 5 : Sexo. AeoTrapSots, o eon <TTpa.nuni.Kov Tayncf 01 cal tvepytrovfj.evoi Xeipov? yivovrau.' 2 Lightfoot i. pp. 34-37. 3 He writes to Polycarp ' in language which is most appropriate on the lips of an old man speaking to one who is many years his junior ' (Lightfoot i. p. 425). Now Polycarp, if he bad received his appointment in the Church of Smyrna, as Irenaeus witness. VI.] The Ministry in the Subapostolic Age. 267 He would have been a boy at least when St. Paul wrote his great Epistles ; he would have been in full manhood when the last days came upon Jerusalem. If the traditions of his relation to St. John cannot be depended upon, at any rate we must admit that he can bear unexceptionable testimony to apostolic intentions, and, unlike some of the subapostolic witnesses, he is one who, whatever age he had be- longed to, would have been remarkable for his character and powers. The doctrinal and ecclesi- astical interest of his letters has sometimes led to the moral beauty and power which they exhibit being overlooked. They reveal a man on fire with love, filled with the Spirit, one whom it would be absurd to call a literalist, a formalist, or a mere lover of organization. In spite of his Italian name, he is a thorough oriental, with a mystical, meditative spirit, who sees things according to their inner forces and hidden powers witness his sayings of intense con- viction about the silent workings of God 1 and of holiness, his spiritual conception of Christianity and of the eucharistic gifts, 2 his perception of the sanctity of common life. 3 Again he is beyond question the greatest theologian among the ' apostolic fathers,' with his deep insight into the Incarnation as a principle, a fact, a doctrine, and with his power to hold in balance its great antithesis in all its applica- tions the antithesis of the spiritual and the material, of the Word made flesh. 4 says, from apostles, must, even if ordained at thirty, have been well on in life in A.D. 110. 1 SetadEfk. 6, 15, 19, ad Philad. i, ad Mag*. 8, ad Trail. 4. 2 Whatever external conditions church unity requires, its essence is an inward fact. God Himself is the inner principle of union ; ad Troll, n, ad Magn. 15. For the eucharistic gifts, see ad Eph. 20, cf. i and 5, ad Troll. 8, ad Rout. 7. 3 ad Eph. 8 : a yap Kara crapica irpewrorre, ravra jrvev/taTuca onr. * Cf. his constant balancing of o-opcucwt and jrvtvjtoTuci?, ad Eph. 10, ad Magn. i, 13, ad Trail. 12, ad Smyrn. i, 12, ad Poly c. 2 ; cf. Lightfoot ii. p. 48. 268 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. This man then is on his way to death. Time is passing away from him, and he has but few moments in which to give as his last message to the Churches, what he thinks of most urgent importance for them in view of that age of restless speculation and wild imaginative idealism, the solvent forces of which they were just beginning to feel. Under these circum- stances he applies himself to strengthening two great fortresses of the Church's life. The first is the Incarnation as a fact in history, as a thing sacra- mentally perpetuated, as a principle to be meditated upon, formulated, and fought for. 1 The second is the Ministry the visible organization of bishops, presbyters, and deacons, by which the Church, the home of God's redemption, is to be known, and by which it is made plain that the Christian religion is not a dream or a speculation but a manifested life, social, organized, and disciplined, under the authority of a divinely-given rule. The claim he In his assertion of the prerogative of the threefold threefofd rthe ministry Ignatius is almost violently emphatic, as ministry. ma y. fo e seen f rom th e following passages from his letters 2 : ' It is meet therefore . . . that being perfectly joined together in one submission, submitting yourselves to your bishop and presbytery, ye may be sanctified in all things.' ' I was forward to exhort you, that ye run in harmony with the mind of God : for Jesus Christ also, our inseparable life, is the mind of the Father, even as the bishops that are settled in the farthest parts of the earth are in the mind of Jesus Christ. So then it becometh you to run in harmony with the mind of the bishop ; which thing also ye do. For 1 The emphasis upon the physical fact of Christ's incarnation, birth, death, resurrection, as against Docetism, is of course constant (ad Magn. n, ad Trail. 9, ad Smyrn. i) ; see Lightfoot i. pp. 359, 360. For the close connection of the Incar- nation with the Eucharist, see ad Smyrn. 7. For Ignatius' tendency to formulate the antithesis it involves as a doctrine, see ad Eph. 7, ad Polyc. 3, cf. ad Eph. 20. 2 From Dr. Lightfoot's translation. VI.] TJie Ministry in the Subapostolic Age. 269 your honourable presbytery, which is worthy of God, is attuned to the bishop, even as its strings to a lyre.' 1 Let no man be deceived. If any one be not within the precinct of the altar, he lacketh the bread [of God]. For, if the prayer of one and another hath so great force, how much more that of the bishop and of the whole Church. . . . Let us therefore be careful not to resist the bishop, that by our submission we may give ourselves to God. And in proportion as a man seeth that his bishop is silent, let him fear him the more. For every one whom the Master of the household sendeth to be steward over His own house, we ought so to receive as Him that sent him. Plainly therefore we ought to regard the bishop as the Lord Himself.' ' Assemble yourselves together in common, every one of you severally, man by man, in grace, in one faith and one Jesus Christ, who after the flesh was of David's race, who is Son of Man and Son of God, to the end that ye may obey the bishop and the presbytery without distraction of mind ; breaking one bread, which is the medicine of immortality and the antidote that we should not die." * ' Forasmuch then as I was permitted to see you in the person of your godly bishop Damas, and your worthy presbyters Bassus and Apollonius and my fellow-servant the deacon Sotion, of whom I would fain have joy, for that he is subject to the bishop as unto the grace of God and to the presbytery as unto the law of Jesus Christ : Yea, and it be- cometh you also not to presume upon the youth of your bishop, but according to the power of God the Father to render unto him all reverence, . . . yet not to him, but to the Father of Jesus Christ, even to the Bishop of all. . . . For a man does not so much deceive this bishop who is seen, as cheat that other who is invisible." 1 ad Eph. 2 : vpfirov ovv foriv Kara, iravra TOOWOV iofcujeu' 'Ii)<rovv Xpiorbi' TOV &oa.o-avra ti/xas, iva fv /ica vjrorayjj eaT7)pTiovieVoi, vtroratro-ofifvoi. TW cjricxoirtp icai ri> irpeo~/3vTep:ci>, Kara iraWa )Te iiyiiuritfvoi. 3, 4 : wpof \aftov irapaKaAcif v/xos, OITOJS trvvrpfxtre rg yvu/iij TOV fleou- icat yap 'I. X., TO a.&ia.KpiTov THiiav Vj>', TOV irarpb? rj yvufit), (os cat 01 iiritTKOttoi 01 Kara. TO ire'paTa 6prfleVres tv 'I. X. -yi'aj/ijj flciv. *O3ev irpe'jrei vft.lv avvrpexfiv rfj TOV e7Ti<Tico;rov yvtaufi, Sirep Kai iroieiTe. TO yap afiovo/iaorov v/juai> irpfirftvTfpiov, TOV fleou <iiov, ovTias avvrjpnoirrai Tta eiriaicoirci) 015 ^opoai. KiBdpa. 5, 6 i fiTjieis w\a.vd,<r6<i)' iav pri Tty jj fvrot TOV Ovaiairrripiov vtrrepftTai. TOV dpTOV [TOU 0fov], fl yap tvbs cai SrvTepov irpo<revx'I TOo~avTi)v ler^vv x' l > nowp jiaAAoi' rj Tf TOV firiiTKOirav Kal iraorjs Trjs ticicAijo'iai . . . oTrouSowrw/iei' ovv ftrj ajTtT<io"<reo^ai TCO fTn<ric6ma, iva !a/j.ev Beta viroTaa<r6p.evoi. Kal o<rov p.WTret Ttj <ny<avra tirivKOirov, irAeidfuf avTOv <j>o^e((rB<a' iravra yap 8f ire'/iirei 6 oi*co8eoT7OTi)s el? ISiav OLKOVOiiia.v, ouTut Sfl TJ/JLOL^ avrbv Se'^eo^ai us avrov TOV vffiifiavTa' TOV ovv firi<TKOirov STjAovoTi ws ouTOi' TOV Kvpiov Ofl Trpoo'^AcVeii'. 20 : oi (caT* avSpa Koiirfi irdvres tv \apni. t bvofiaTos ovvepxf<r8f tv |ii^ irt'oTci itai tv 'I. X. TOI KaTa adpKa. e yfvovs Ao^i'5, ry vita avOptunov Kal vita Oeov, ei? TO vnoKOveiv ufias TCO Jrto~<co'7r<j) icac Tta trpeo"/3uTept'o> airepienroo~nj> Siai'onf fva aprov eo-Ttf <ap/uaxoi/ adavao-ias, aiTiooTOS ToC fxJ) airctfaitlv' 270 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. ' It is therefore meet that we not only be called Christians, but also be such ; even as some persons have the bishop's name on their lips, but in everything act apart from him. Such men appear to me not to keep a good conscience, forasmuch as they do not assemble themselves together lawfully according to commandment.' ' Be ye zealous to do all things in godly concord, the bishop presiding after the likeness of God and the presbyters after the likeness of the council of the Apostles, with the deacons also who are most dear to me, having been entrusted with the diaconate of Jesus Christ. ' ' As the Lord did nothing without the Father, [being united with Him] either by Himself or by the Apostles, so neither do ye anything without the bishop and the presbyters. And attempt not to think anything right for yourselves apart from others ; but let there be one prayer in common, etc.' ' Do your diligence therefore that ye be confirmed in the ordinances of the Lord and of the Apostles, that ye may prosper in all things whatsoever ye do in flesh and spirit ... in the Son and Father and in the Spirit, . . . with your revered bishop, and with the fitly wreathed spiritual circlet of your presbytery, and with the deacons who walk after God. Be obedient to the bishop and to one another, as Jesus Christ was to the Father [according to the flesh], and as the Apostles were to Christ and to the Father, that there may be union both of flesh and of spirit. ' 1 1 ad Magn. 2, 3 : 'Eire! ovv ti^iuiO^v ISelv vfj.as Sia. Aajia TOU aftofleou v/awi/ eirtcrKOJrov (cat irpecr/3uTp<oi' aitov Bd<7<roi; (cat "An-oAAwciou at TOU <rvvSov\ov jaou <5oa*:o'i'oi> /(oTioji'os, o5 eya) bva.iit.fiv, on UTTOTacro-eTat T<a emo~Koma 109 \apiTi Oeov (cat Tia Trpecr/SuTepi'w ws voV<? 'I. X. Kat vjj.lv oe irpeirei. /urj <rvyxpa.(r6ai TJJ ^AiKt'a TOU e7rtcr(co'7rou, aAAa KO.TO. ovva.ft.iv 6eov jrarpbs ira.o~a.v evTpoinjv avrtf airovefieiv, K a.0o)5 fyviov (cat TOUI dytous Trpeo-jSuTe'povs ov irpo<rei\T)<f)6Ta.s -rr\v $a<.voju.e'i/i)i> vftarfpiKTjv Taiv, oAA' <os ^>povi/ji.<f ev flea) <rvyx<apovma.s avria' OVK avrip Se, aAAa T<U Trarpt I. X. TCU Tracrwp 7rto"/cO7T(o. . . . errei ov^ 6Vt TOV etria'Koirov TOVTOV TOV /SAen-oVei'Oi' ir\av$ Tts, aAAa TOV aoparov wapaAoyi^cTat. 4 : npe'irov 05^ early jitr) fiovov icaAeio-flai XpioTiavoiis aAAa (cat elvar Sxnrep (cat rives eiritTKOirov JHCP KoAoucriv, X a> P t! ^^ avroO irdvTa. Trpacro'oucrii'' ot ToioOrot fie OVK euoT/cet'SjjTOt /ixot etfat (jtaivovrai. fita TO fj.T) /3f/3at'io; icar' ei/ToAijv cruraflpotfccrflai. 6 : ev ofjiovoiif Ofov <rrrovSdeTe TTO.VTO. Trpaacreiv, TrpOKa.6riiJ.fvov TOV CTricrKOTrou ets TVTTQV Oeov (cat TWV rrpeo~j3uTpwi/ ets TVTTOV o~vve&piov Tiav a.noo~Td\tav, (cat TIV oia.Koviav, Tiav ffiol y\vKVTa.Tiav ireiri.aTevft,eviav SiaKoviav "I. X. 7 :*Ocr7rep oJiv b Kvptos oivev TOV iraTpbs ovSev eiroir)o~ev [^vw^tcVos iav] OVTS Si' eavTOV OVTS Sia Tiav aTroo^ToAuH'' OVTUS fir)Se v^iety avfv TOV eirtcrKOTrou (cat TWI/ Trpfir^VTepiav fxr)Sei/ 7rpacrcr6T6, ju.i)5e TreipacnjTe fv\oydv TI ^aiVccrflat t6ta v/xiv aAA" inl TO OUTO juta Trpoaevxr) K.T.A. 13 : SwovSajJere ovv ^e^atudrji/at ev Toty Soyfiao-iv TOV Kvpiov (cat Tiav aTrooTo'Awv, iVa iravra. bVa jroietT* (caTeuoSojfl^Te o~apict (cai. nvfVjj.a.Ti, irio~Tei (cat ayaTrjj, ev vl<a (cat iraTpt KOI ev irvev/iari, ev apxj? (cat ei Te'Aet, ftTa TOU afiOTrpeireo-ToYou eTTiff/coTrou viJ,u>v (cat <xioirAo(cou wveuftaTKCov trre^avov TOV Trpecr/SvTept'ou i/xuu' (cat TU>V (caTa flebj* Staxoi'oji'. v7rOTayi]Te TW eirtcTKCiTrm (cat aAA^Aots, os I. X. TU Trarpt [(caTa crapxa] (cat ot OTrooroAoi TW X. (cat TU irarpi, ifa eVwo*ts J7 o~ap*ct(c^ Te (Cat VI.] The Ministry in the Subapostolic Age. 27 1 ' When ye are obedient to the bishop as to Jesus Christ, it is evident to me that ye are living not after men but after Jesus Christ. ... It is therefore necessary, even as your wont is, that ye should do nothing without the bishop ; but be ye obedient also to the presbytery, as to the Apostles. . . . And those likewise who are deacons of the mysteries of Jesus Christ must please all men in all ways. For they are not deacons of meats and drinks but servants of the Church of God. It is right therefore that they should beware of blame as of fire. In like manner let all men respect the deacons as Jesus Christ, even as they should respect the bishop as being a type of the Father and the presbyters as the council of God and as the college of apostles. Apart from these there is not even the name of a Church.' ' This will surely be, if ye be not puffed up and if ye be inseparable from [God] Jesus Christ, and from the bishop and from the ordinances of the Apostles. He that is within the sanctuary is clean ; but he that is without the sanctuary is not clean, that is, he that doeth aught without the bishop and presbytery and deacons, this man is not clean in his conscience.' ' Fare ye well in Jesus Christ, submitting yourselves to the bishop as to the commandment, and likewise also to the presbytery.' l ' For as many as are of God and of Jesus Christ, they are with the bishop ; and as many as shall repent and enter into the unity of the Church, these also shall be of God. ... Be not deceived, my brethren, if any man followeth one that maketh a schism, he doth not inherit the kingdom of God. If any man walketh in strange doctrine, he hath no fellowship with the passion. Be ye careful therefore to observe one eucharist, for there is one flesh of our Lord Jesus Christ and one cup unto union in His blood ; there is one altar, as there is one bishop, together with the presbytery and the deacons my fellow-servants.' 2 1 ad Trail. 2, 3 : "Orav yip r<Z eVioxoVto v7rordVoT)O'fle <J>s "I. X., <f>aiveo~9e jtoe ou Kara avBpuTrov; ^ivrej, dAAa Kara. 'I. X. ... avayKalov ovv eo-TiV, Oia-rrep iroteiTt, aVev TOU fc7rio"K6;rou prjoev irpao~o'iv v/tas* aAA' uffOTao*o*eo~0e /cat T<O Trp<rf$VTfpitp t w? [rot?] aTrooToAois 'I. X. ... Set fie cai TOUS Siaxovovs ovras iivo~rr\pi<av 'I. X. Kara travra. rpoftov Tratriv apfiTKfiv ou yap /SpwjuaTioi' Kal iroTiav fio~lv SiaKovoi, aAA.' "Ouoi'a>s rravres ei/Tpe7re'o~$u)0"ai> TOUS fitajcopou? ws 'I. X. ws Kal rov firiffKonov ovra. rvirov TOV iraTpds, TOUS fie jrpeo~/3uTe'pous ws a-vveSpiov Oeov Kal <ij o'vVo'eovioi' airoaToAwv- Xbjptf TOUTWI' GKK\.TJO~ia. OU KaAdTat. 7 : TOUTO Se ecrrai ufiic fiij (j>vo~iou/u.cVoit Kal ov&t.v a^wpioTois [Ceou] "I. X. ai TOU firi.o'Koirov Kal riav oi.arayfia.Tiav riav airoo-To\<av. 6 eirbs fluo~ia<m;piou >v icaflopos ecrrt^, 6 6e eKToy TOV #u(7ia<m7piou tav ou Kaflapos tmv' TOUTo*rtv, o XU>PL? ewto**co7rou icai irpeo"^uTept'ov Kal &IOKOVOV TTpao~<r<av n, OUTOS ou (caflapo's i&rlv Tfj ovvtt&qo'ti. 13 : eppiufffle fv "I. X., VTTOTaao'oii.fvoi. TOI fVUTKOirtf <os rfi evroAjJ, o/xoito? <cai r<a 2 ad Philad. 3, 4: 00-01 yap Oeov f'urlv Kai'I. X. OUTOI fieTa TOU tn-io-KoVou eio-iv 272 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. ' Shun divisions, as the beginning of evils. Do ye all follow your bishop, as Jesus Christ followed the Father, and the presbytery as the Apostles ; and to the deacons pay respect, as to God's commandment. Let no man do aught of things pertaining to the Church apart from the bishop. Let that be held a valid eucharist which is under the bishop or one to whom he shall have committed it. Wheresoever the bishop shall appear, there let the people be ; even as where Jesus may be, there is the universal Church. It is not lawful apart from the bishop either to baptize or to hold a love-feast ; but what- ever he shall approve, this is well-pleasing also to God ; that every- thing which ye do may be sure and valid.' ' It is good to recognise God and the bishop. He that honoureth the bishop is honoured of God ; he that doeth aught without the knowledge of the bishop rendereth service to the devil.' 1 The ministry The following points in Ignatius' teaching about the ministry require to be emphasized : (i> of divine (i) He has an intensely clear perception that the authority, < m ind o f God ' for man's salvation has expressed itself not in any mere doctrine but in a divinely instituted society with a divinely authorized hier- archy. This is the ' mind of God,' this is ' the com- mandment,' so clearly that he who would obey the commandment and run in harmony with the divine purpose must perforce have merged his individuality in the fellowship of the Church and submitted his wilfulness to her government. (cat ocrot a.v fTai'Cjcra>'TS tA0ai<ni> tTri T^P ei'onjTO. rijs e/c<cAi]cn'as, (cat OVTOI fleoC f<TOVT<u. . . . JUT) jrAacacrfle, aSeA^ot'nof' et Tts ar^ovTi. aKoAovflet jSacriAetW Oeov oil (cAi)poi/o/uiei' el TIS ey aAAorpt'a yvia^rj TreptTraret, euros TW jrdflet ou crvy(caTaTi(?eTai. SirouSdo-are o$v pit} evxapto-Tt'ct xp^^ al -' M' a y^P 0"ap{ To " Kvpiou im.S>v 'I. X., ical ev TTOTrjpioi' els evuinv TOU atjoiaTos airoi;' fv fluataaTiiptoy, <o? eis eTTitTKOiros, ana TO> 7rpe(rj3i)T6pi(}) (cat cita/coveus, rots crwSouAots /aot. 1 ad Smyrn. 8 : TOUS e fxcpicryaov? (j>evyeTf, (is apxV ica(c<oi>. TrdfTes rta ejrtcr(cdn-a) a.KoX.ovOeiTf, <<)$ 'I. X. TtS irarpi, (cat TO> irpecr^UTcpt'to (us TOIS ano<rT6\oi.s. TOVS Se StaKorov? ei/TpeTTecrOe, cos 9cov VTO\TIV. jLtr/Sets X^^P^ To ^ CTIC/KOTTOV Ti TrpacrcreTO) Ttav avriKovrw ets rrji' fKK\T)<riav. exct'ia) fiepaia. eu^aptcrrta TjytivBia ^ virb TOV eViVico7roi> ovcra, f/tf av avrbs fmTpfifiy. OTTOU av <j>avfi o enicrKOTros, et TO irA-rj^os CCTTO- oicrTrep OTTOV ai' ^ 'I. X., c(cet ^ (ca6oXtKT) e(C(cAi;cria. ov/c efdv tcrrii' X^P 15 T0 *' eTicrKorrou oire ^aTTTtfetf ovre aydm/i/ Troierv aXA' o av eiceivos Soicifidcrr;, TOUTO (cat TW flcaT eiidpeo'TOi', iva a<r<^aAes }5 (cat ^e'^aiov Tray o TrpdcrcreTe. 9 : jcaAws e^et flebf (cat firiffKOirov elSevai.- o Ti/j-tav firicrKOTTOV UTTO fleov TTt/u.r)Taf 6 Adflpa tTTio-KOTrou Tt jrpacrcrwv TW Sia^dAw Aarpeuci. VI.] The Ministry in the Subapostolic Age. 273 (2) He regards the authoritative hierarchy of the (2) essenti- ,,, i- 1 i .. ally three- Church as essentially threefold a ministry of fold; bishops, presbyters, and deacons. It is not merely, as has been suggested, that he exhorts men to be, or to be more decidedly, members of the church organization which happens to have a ministry of bishops, priests, and deacons. He insists polemically that this particular form of ministry is essential to the existence of a Church : ' without these three orders' (so Dr. Lightfoot renders his words) 'no Church has a title to the name.' l (3) Ignatius' testimony presents us with the ' mon- (3)undis- archical episcopate ' as ' firmly rooted,' ' completely beyond dispute.' z We cannot doubt that he bases its authority on the ' ordinances of the Apostles!* (4) Besides regarding episcopacy as of the essence CO universal of a Church and as of apostolic authority, he speaks church. 1 ad Trail, 3 \iopis rovnav eiucAi)<ria oir KoAeiTai, and see Lightfoot in loc. Cf. also Zahn I gnat, von A ntioch. p. 300 : ' was obne die Trager des dreifachen Kirchen- amtes ist, heisst nicht Kirche.' He however goes on : ' aber den Gegensatz bildet nicht eine Gemeinde, welche dieser Institute oder eines derselben entbehrt, sondern ein kirchliches Handeln, wie Abendmahlsfeier oder sonstige gottesdienstliche Ver- sammlungen, welches ohne Wissen und Willen, ohne directe oder indirecte Leitung des an der Spitze stehenden Bischofs und der ihm untergeordneten Presbyter und Diaconen vor sich geht." Cf. Lightfoot L p. 382. It is quite true that Ignatius has no ' presbyterian ' form of government in view, but it seems to me beyond fair ques- tion that he insists upon episcopacy as the only church government, and would have refused to recognise any other. It must be noticed that Ignatius claims prophetic gifts and as a prophet has received special communications on the subject of church order. He claims (ad Philad. 7) to have spoken with the voice of God : ' It was the preaching of the Spirit, who spake on this wise ; " do nothing without the bishop ; keep your flesh as a temple of God ; cherish union ; shun divisions ; be imitators of Jesus Christ, as He Himself also was of the Father."' 2 Harnack Expositor, Jan. 1886, p. 16. Lightfoot disposes of the notion that veurepiKT) ra|is (ad Magn. 3) refers to the episcopate as a ' newly instituted order.' 3 ad Trail. ^ '. ovaiv <xx<opt'<7TOis [<?eov] 'Ii)<rov <cai TOW eiriovcoirov <cai riav Sia.Ta.y- liaTiav riav a.no<rTo\<av. ' The reference [of the last four words) is doubtless to the institution of episcopacy ' (Lightfoot in loc). Cf. ad Trail. 12, where he orders the Church and presbyters to comfort their bishop to the honour of the Father and of Jesus Christ and of the Apostles. Kuhl has no grounds for his attempt to mnke Ignatius struggle to promote a new ideal ; see Gemeindeord, pp. 132, 133. 274 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. of it as co-extensive with the Church, that is, as existing everywhere. He speaks of the bishops as established in the farthest parts of the earth)- He knows of no non-episcopal area. This of course is evidence to which it will be necessary to pay atten- tion when we come to consider the state of the western Churches, especially that of Philippi, through which he was to pass, and that of Rome, which he addresses in such high praise as ' enlightened through the will of Him who willed all things that are, . . . in flesh and in spirit united unto His every command- ment.' 2 (s)The (5) Lastly, it is of great importance to see what ^presents answer Ignatius suggests to the question whether archyof the monarchical episcopate came into existence by elevation out of the presbyterate, or whether it in- herited functions which had belonged hitherto only to apostles and those who were fellow-workers with apostles or who subsequently had shared their authority. Now all the indications of Ignatius' letters seem to assure us that the latter is the true view. That is to say, the presbyters in the Church of Asia, as in the Churches of Palestine and Syria, never had held the office which Ignatius calls episcopal. They had indeed borne the name (which perhaps St. John's authority transferred to those whom he put in chief charge of the Churches 3 ) but 1 ad Eph. 3 01 eiruricoTroi 01 Kara TO jre'paro opurdeiref ; cf. ad Rom. 6 TO. irepa.ro. TOV Koo-fxov. ' Ignatius would be contemplating regions as distant as Gaul on the one hand and Mesopotamia on the other ' (Lightfoot in loc). He ascribes equal catholicity to the Church and to the episcopate. 2 ad Rom. inscr. ; see also c. 4, where he specially speaks of the Roman Church as having received commandments from the Apostles Peter and Paul, and cf. Lightfoot i. p. 357. 3 This transference of the title ' episcopus ' need not surprise us. It will be noticed that St. Peter classes himself, though he is an apostle, among the presbyters (i Peter v. i ; cf. Lightfoot Dissert, p. 198 on St. Paul's relation to the presbyterate VI.] The Ministry in the Subapostolic Age. 275 they had never held the office. The reasons for this view are these. Ignatius attributes to the bishops an authority essentially monarchical. He does not speak of them as succeeding to the Apostles, but he regards them as representing Christ or the Father, while the presbyters, the companions of the bishop, are like the circle of the twelve round their Master. 1 Thus each Church with its bishop and presbytery is like a little theocracy, in which the bishop represents the authority of God and is a fresh embodiment of that divine presence which was in the world when Christ moved about with His Apostles round Him. This appears to have been a Jewish way of representing the succession in the Church. We recall how Hege- sippus spoke of James as ' receiving the Church in succession with the Apostles,' implying that he and at Corinth). Thus, when the ' vir apostolicus ' like Timothy was put in charge of a Church, he doubtless became a presbyter among presbyters, though he was their ruler, and would have been reckoned with them as holding the eiri<rjt<nnj. But, where there was a distinction of office and power, a distinction of names was desir- able, and it was most natural that the localized representative of apostolic authority, like ' bishops ' James and Symeon, should have the title ' episcopus ' reserved to him (while the title presbyter remained common to all who sat on the raised bench of church rulers), for it is in itself much more applicable to a single president than to the members of a college. (It is perhaps just worth notice that the term en-icricoTnj is first used, though with reference to the Psalm, for the apostolic office in Acts i. 20). The titles ' apostle,' ' evangelist,' ' teacher,' ' prophet,' were on the other hand, for different reasons, not suitable to describe the chief pastors of a particular Church. We have a parallel to this transference of a title from a lower to a higher use in the history of the term imperator. So it may be noticed that the term \eipOTOvia. passed upward from meaning election by the members of the Church (Did. xv. i) as well as by the Apostles, (Acts xiv. 23) to meaning ordination, while the phrases xeipoic eTrtflecris, xeipas eirtTifleVai, as represented by \tipodtrfiv, came to have the lower meaning of benediction. Thus Apost. Const, viii. 28 : 6 trpeo-/3v- 1 The comparison of the presbyters to the Apostles is the regular comparison in Ignatius. The comparisons for the bishop and deacons are more variable; see Lightfoot on ad Trail. 3. The bishop represents indifferently Christ or the Father : see ad Magn. 6, ad Trail. 2, 3, (cf. (3), ad Smyrn. 8. There are also vaguer phrases according to which the bishop represents ' the grace of God,' and the presbyters ' the law of Jesus Christ ' (ad Magn. 2). The deacons in a sense represent Christ as ministering (ad Magn. 6, ad Trail. 3) ; cf. Lightfoot i. p. 382. Christian Ministry. [CHAP. the Apostles succeeded to Christ ; so those who were of Christ's family were supposed to represent him in Palestine as the King of the house of David ; so in the Clementines the bishop ordained by Peter is given not only the chair of the Apostle but also ' the chair of Christ,' 1 and this way of conceiving the succession appears later in the Apostolical Constitu- Reiationof tions? Thus, if the presbyters by this comparison apostolic 6 represent the Apostles, they represent them as they succession. , , /-/.> r. . were bejore Llinst s ascension, not after it as they were when Christ was among them. After that each one of the Apostles became in his turn a representa- tive of Christ, and that in a sense which gave him an authority far greater than Ignatius would dare to claim for himself or any of his contemporaries. 3 In a sense, then, the Apostles according to Ignatius have no successors ; in a sense, again, the presbyters in their relation to the bishop succeed to them in 1 Ep. Clem. 17, Horn. iii. 70 ; and twelve presbyters are instituted, i.e. the number of the Apostles (Recog. iii. 66, vi. 15, xi. 36). 2 Apost. Const, ii. 26, 28 : ' Let the presbyters be esteemed by you to represent us the Apostles ; let them be teachers of the knowledge of God, since our Lord also, when He sent us, said : " Go ye, etc." ' ' Let a double portion be set apart for the presbyters as for such as labour continually about the word of the doctrine in honour of the Apostles of our Lord, whose place also they sustain as counsellors of the bishop and the crown of the Church.' It will be remembered that in the Maronite office for the ordination of bishops and in a passage of Ephraem Syrus the succession is traced from God on Mount Sinai, through Moses and Aaron, to John the Baptist, and so through Christ to His Apostles and the bishops. In each generation there have been persons who (more or less) represented God and his authority. This is a some- what Judaistic way of conceiving the succession. It comes from emphasizing authority rather than grace ; Ignatius however cannot in general be accused of any Judaism in his mode of representing Christ's relation to His Church. See esp. ad Rom. 3 : ' For our God Jesus Christ, being in the Father, is the more plainly visible.' It is to be noticed that Dr. Hatch in describing this theocratic conception of the episcopal office says (B. L. p. 89) : ' Upon this theory of ecclesiastical organization the existence of a president was a necessity ; and the theory seems to go back to the very beginnings of the Christian societies." I do not know how this admission is worked in with his general theory of the origin of church organization. 3 ad Rom. 4 : ovx <>>s Herpes (tai IlaCAos 6iaTa(T<7ojAai v\t."\.v ' e/ceii/oi. airdoToAoi, cyw (caraitpiTos. Cf. ad Trail. 3, ad Philad. 5. See further, on this idea of succession to Christ, Dr. Liddon in A Father in Christ [2nd ed.] p. xxv f. VI.] The Ministry in the Subapostolic Age, 277 their relation to Christ when He was on earth ; but in yet another sense the bishops alone succeed to that office of representing Christ and speaking with the authority of God which had been the special preroga- tive of the Apostles. Thus, though the bishops are The author- J . * ityofthe represented by Ignatius as successors not of the episcopate never held Apostles but rather of Christ or God. they are clothed by the presbyters. with that monarchical authority, which had belonged to the Apostles, but never to the presbyters : only the bishops are limited in the exercise of their authority to one church, whereas the apostolic office had been more general. Once again the office of the bishop in Ignatius is distinguished from the pres- byterate, when he speaks of the 'youthful rank' of one who held it and bids his flock reverence him none the less, in words which recall St. Paul's exhor- tation to his apostolic legate to let no man despise his youth. 1 The office of presbyter, we know, was not yet divorced from the qualifications and associa- tions of age. 2 The bishops then in Ignatius succeed to an authority which had been apostolic and had never belonged to the presbyters. 3 1 ad Magn. 3. 2 The irpea/Surepoi are still put in contrast to i/ewrepoi or vtoi by Polycarp ad Phil. 5, as well as by Clement ad Cor. i. So in the Church Ordinances 16, 17. There is no requirement of age for the bishop, but there is for the presbyters, c. 18 ^i>j cexpoviKOTas eiri TCO xocrfxcu. 3 Dr. Lightfoot emphasizes the absence of sacerdotalism in Ignatius. See i. p. 381 : 'There is not throughout these letters the slightest tinge of sacerdotal lan- guage in reference to the Christian ministry.' I think I have said enough on this subject already. Ignatius' words ad Smyrn. 8 : ' Let that be held a valid eucharist which is under the bishop or one to whom he shall have committed it ' are hardly what is commonly called unsacerdotal. There is indeed a striking absence of the false sacerdotalism which identifies church office with spiritual nearness to God, see ad Smyrn. 6 '. TOJTOS /nrj5fVa <jtv<rtovTta' TO yap oAop i<rrlv TTCOTI? KOI aydmj, up ovSey jrpoicpiTai. A passage (ad Philad. 9), in which he contrasts the priests of the old covenant with 'the High-priest' of the new, may suggest a reason for his repudiating sacerdotal terms about the Christian ministry. The term had still associations too Judaic to be admissible. In regard to the unseen Christ there was no danger of mistake, and the recognition of His High-priesthood guaranteed the 278 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. summary of We are now in a position to sum up the results of results from . . . , , , _ A , . _,, , Palestine, our investigation with regard to the Judaic Churches and those of Syria and Asia. All the indications we have would lead to the belief that the chief authority of government, ministry, and ordination passed from the Apostles and those who ranked with them to the bishops of the period of Ignatius without ever having belonged to the presbyters. James, ' the first bishop,' is a man of apostolic rank and authority settled in Jerusalem, and his office devolved upon a line of bishops after him, who were in the Church of Jerusalem what he had been, except so far as his position had depended upon his personal character and relation to our Lord. The Didache presents us with a chief ministry in the Church not yet localized, the holders of this Christian ' high-priesthood ' being known as ' prophets ' and associated with other evangelists known as 'apostles' or 'teachers.' The authority, however, of the survivors of the twelve seems to have promoted a transition to a state of things in which we have a ruler-in-chief localized in each community, like Ignatius in Syria, Polycarp at Smyrna, and the other bishops whom Ignatius' letters present to us. These rulers, though they bear a name transferred from the presbyterate, hold that office of representing the supreme authority of Christ and of the Father, which had belonged to James and his successors at Jerusalem, to prophets and teachers, and to apostolic legates, but never to the presbyters. There was not indeed such a localized ruler in every Church in the age immediately after sacerdotal character of His Church in the general sense. We may notice that he speaks of the bishops, presbyters, and deacons at Philadelphia as appointed in accordance with the mind of Jesus Christ and established by Him with the Holy Spirit in confirmation of their office ; see ad Philad. inscr. I.] TJte Ministry in the Subapostolic Age. 279 the destruction of Jerusalem ; but there is no reason why we should not believe such a tradition as assigns to St. Peter the foundation of the episcopate at Antioch, i.e. there is no reason against believing that there was from the first a representative of apostolic authority localized at Antioch, or indeed at the other chief centres of Christian life. But, even if this and similar traditions present us with the facts somewhat idealized, as is the habit of tradition, at least they do not misrepresent the facts. It would certainly appear that the episcopal authority at Antioch and elsewhere was derived direct from that of ' apostles and prophets' and had never passed through the presbyterate. It was an authority which represents devolution from above and not delegation from below. It will not have been forgotten with what strength The west of conviction the western traditions of the later half t ion?n of the second century represent the authority of the ce episcopal successions then existing as derived from the Apostles. It is enough to recall the testimony of Irenaeus, corroborated as it is by that of the earlier Hegesippus, as to the list of bishops of Rome, running back through Clement to Linus who was entrusted with the episcopate by the Apostles Peter and Paul after they had founded the Church, and the assertion of Dionysius of Corinth (writing about A.D. 170) that his namesake the Areopagite had been the first to be entrusted with the episco- pate at Athens. 1 The confidence of these imme- morial traditions at this early date is at least very impressive. ' Episcopacy,' Dr. Lightfoot says, ' is so 1 Euseb. H.E. iv. 23: WJXOTO? rij? iv 'AOijycu? irapotKt'ac TT|I> <iri<ncoiri|v 280 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. inseparably interwoven with all the traditions and beliefs of men like Irenaeus and Tertullian, that they betray no knowledge of a time when it was not. . . . Their silence [as to any controversy about it] 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.' l Historical We have then now to enquire how far this ' con- fidence of boasting ' about the apostolic succession is justified by the indications which history gives us of the development of the ministry in the Churches of Europe between the period of apostolic presidency and the age of Irenaeus and Dionysius. The historical links are afforded by three docu- ments : the Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians, that of Polycarp to the Philippians, and the Shepherd of Hermas. IV. iv. Epistle Clement, who is the real writer of the Epistle which of Clement. . , otti i The writer, commonly bears his name, 2 though he merges his personality in his Church and writes as Jerome says 'ex persona ecclesiae Romanae,' is a very different man from the intense, abrupt, fervid Ignatius. But, though he writes in a very different tone, it is with the same general purpose as moved Ignatius it is to uphold the authority of the church ministry against schismatic aggression. Whatever may have been his 1 Dissert, p. 227. It should be noticed that the views of Ambrosiaster, Jerome, etc. as to the original government of the Churches by equal presbyter-bishops and the subsequent creation of the monarchical episcopate do not seem to rest on tradition, except perhaps at Alexandria, but to be based on exegetical grounds like the views of later scholars. 2 As Dionysius of Corinth first assures us. VI.] The Ministry in the Subapostolic Age. 281 origin, 1 Clement is a thorough Roman in his respect for the principle of order, and he insists upon it with a strong yet gentle reasonableness, or (to quote a phrase which occurs twice in his letter) with an 'intense moderation.' 2 There is not much of theological insistence in Clement's letter, for he has no pressing heresy to combat. 3 His mind's eye is constantly fixed in admiration on the divine order and harmony in things and on the duty which lies upon all men of respecting this principle in the several departments of life. For the order of civil government he has a Roman's veneration, and (though his Church was still passing through the fiery furnace of Domitian's persecution) he realizes with no difficulty at all the duty St. Paul insists upon of praying for kings and all who are in authority, and gives the Roman state the full support of his Church's intercessions. 4 He em- phasizes again how the strength of the army depends upon each man knowing, and submissively keeping, his place in the common order. 5 In the wider area he loves to think of order as ' heaven's first law,' as the life of the whole of nature and the joy of the angelic hosts. 6 His mind is akin to Richard Hooker's as he meditated when he lay a-dying ' the number and nature of angels and their blessed obedience and order, without which peace could not be in 1 Lightfoot thinks he was a Hellenist Jew. ~ See Lightfoot Clement \. pp. 96-7. 3 The contents of cc. 24-26, however, may indicate a renewed tendency among the Corinthians to disbelieve in the resurrection. In his theology Clement shows his true character as a harmonizer both by holding together the teaching of St. John, St. Paul, and St. James, and by emphasizing the motives which Christian theology suggests making for self-suppression, and peace (see c. 16). 4 cc. 60, 61. The date of the Epistle is about A.D. 95. On Domitian's persecution, see Ramsay, pp. 259 flf. 15 c. 37. 6 cc, 2O) 2^ ( 60. 282 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. heaven ; and oh that it might be so on earth ! ' Then finally in the kingdom of God's redemptive love there is order also. On this consideration are based the special exhortations to the suppression of selfish ambition and rivalry which Clement's Church addresses under his guidance to the Church at the?e s uer f Corinth. 1 For, led by one or two reckless and ambitious young men, 2 they had rebelled against their legitimate hierarchy, had causelessly deposed some of their presbyters, and whether or no they had other presbyters with them taking part in the rebellion had raised a schism against them and left their obedience. The evil had not been of short standing, but the Roman Church had not hitherto been able to bring pressure to bear upon them owing to the ' sudden and successive calamities and disasters' she was passing through under the per- secuting rule of Domitian. h l^" The Epistle runs to this effect. The Corinthians siiincc. A are bidden to bear in mind the shame it will be if a reputation such as their Church has borne is allowed to be overthrown by the ambitions of two or three, and the foolish party spirit of the rest. They used to be men walking after the ordinances of God, in due submission to their spiritual rulers, holding in abomination all sedition and schism. But now there is a reversal of all this. There is amongst them a renewed outbreak of the old danger of party-spirited adherence to particular leaders, 3 against which St. Paul had warned them. But the last evil is 1 He does not shrink from adducing examples of pagan self-sacrifice in the cause of unity : iroXAoi et;f\iopr)O'a.v iSuav 7ro\eiav 'iva. firj tTTatna^tafnv erri. irXeiov. 2 Their youth seems to follow from the emphasis Clement lays (c. 3.) on the reverence due from youth to age. 3 c. 47 n-poo-fcAtVei?. VI.] The Ministry in the Subapostolic Age. 283 worse than the first, for their proclivities are directed now not to apostolic men but to self-interested schismatics. They should recognise how in Scrip- ture and history, ancient and recent, all evils have come of jealousy or self-interest such as stir party leaders and their followers even as in their own generation such temper had caused St. Peter and St. Paul to be put to death while all good, on the other hand, had come of obedience and humility. They should recognise how the divine principle of order prevails in nature, in civil and military govern- ment, in the organism of the human body, in the very mission of Christ a divine principle which upon all men and things makes everywhere the claim of submission and obedience. Above all, this must be recognised in the Church. In the Jerusalem of the old covenant there is a divine law of service a divine prescription of times and places and persons and the principle has passed into the new covenant. Here too he that would serve God and offer his worship with acceptableness must submit to require- ments of time and place and the appropriation of special functions to special orders. High-priest, priest, Levite, and layman must observe the ap- pointed rule of His service. Specially of old there had been a divinely ordained ministry of Moses' appointment certificated by a special miracle of the budding rod, and the sanction of a miraculous punishment on those who invaded its peculiar privileges. So too under the Christian covenant the Apostles instituted in the churches which they founded a ministry of bishops dnd deacons, in continuation of their own mission from Christ and in fulfilment of 284 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. prophecy : and further, in view of the strife which they foresaw would arise over the episcopal office, they made provision for a succession in this ministry. Now it was men appointed in accordance with this apostolic provision by men of repute in the Church with the consent of the whole body, and who had fulfilled their ministry without reproach it was such men whom the Corinthians had now deposed from their sacred functions. What a sin was such deposi- tion ! What a judgment it must bring on those who are guilty of it ! So seriously and authoritatively does the Roman community bid the Corinthians hear God's will speak- ing by them, to consider their ways and be wise : and the letter passes into a prayer, the prayer of one who ' lifts up his hands without wrath or doubting ' in orderly and harmonious intercession intercession which seems to represent the form which, under Clement's auspices, was being given to the ' prayer of the oblation ' in the Roman Church. Passages We proceed to quote the passages which have an bearing on. . . , .., .- /- the ministry immediate bearing on the principle and form of the ministry. Formerly ' ye did all things without respect of persons, and ye walked after the laws of God, submitting to your rulers and rendering to the presbyters among you their appropriate honour a ; and upon your young men ye enjoined a modest and grave state of mind, and your * c. I '. viroTawo'djiiei'Oi rot? 7)yovftVois vfuav xal TtjUTji>;Tijv KaOrjKOV(rav aTrovt'/iOVTes rots irap' vfiiv 7rpe(r/3vTe'poi?. Lightfoot translates the last word ' the older men,' but the word is used of the church officers in cc. 47 and 57, and must be given the same meaning here (see Gebhardt and Harnack in loc.). The use of TI^T; is almost technical, see Didache xv. 2 : avroi yap [bishops and deacons] eio-iv ot TeTi^/aeVot vfjLiav fifTa. TUV irpo<l>r)T<av Kal SiSao'Ka.b.iav, and cf. i Tim. v. 17. It is no objection to this that the ' presbyters ' are opposed to the ' young men ' : the same antithesis appears in i Peter v. 1-5 and Polyc. ad Phil. 5, 6, where there can be no doubt of the reference to office. The word still retained the associations of age : very likely in the earliest Church, where clergy were not debarred from ordinary work, an elder man, where his reputation was satisfactory, commonly became a presbyter in office. Here the antithesis of elder and younger is partly due to the fact that the rebels VI.] Tfie Ministry in the Subapostolic Age. 285 women ye commanded to do all in a blameless and grave and pure conscience.' But now all is changed : ' men were stirred up, the mean against the honourable, the ill-reputed against the highly-reputed, the foolish against the wise, the young against the elders 51 (Is. iii. 5). ' Let us fear the Lord Jesus whose blood was given for us ; let us reverence our rulers, let us honour our presbyters, let us instruct our young men in the lesson of the fear of God, let us bring back our women to the standard of good behaviour.' 2 ' Let us enlist ourselves with all earnestness in His faultless ordin- ances. Let us consider those who are enlisted under our rulers, 3 with what order, with what submission, with what subordination they ac- complish what is enjoined. All are not prefects, nor rulers of thousands, nor rulers of hundreds, nor rulers of fifties, and so forth, but each one in his own order accomplishes what is enjoined by the king and the rulers. The great cannot exist without the small or the small without the great ; there is a certain mixture in all things and therein is utility. Let us take our body as an instance. The head is nothing without the feet, etc. . . . All parts conspire and accept one obedience for the preservation of the whole body. Therefore let our whole body be preserved in Christ Jesus, and let each man submit to his neighbour, even as he was appointed in the special grace given him.' 4 ' All this then being manifest to us, even as we have gazed into the depths of the divine knowledge, we ought to do all that the Lord commanded to be performed in order, at appointed times. The offer- ings and ministrations he commanded to be performed, and not at random or without order, but at definite times and hours. Where and by whom He wills that they should be performed, He Himself ordained by His supreme choice, so that all being done holily in well-pleasing might be acceptable to His will. Those then who accomplish their offerings at the appointed times are acceptable and blessed, for following the laws of the Master they fall into no sin. For to the high-priest his own proper ministrations have been assigned, and to the priests their proper place ordained, and their proper ministries enjoined upon the Levites ; the layman has been bound by seem to have been young men. Hermas exactly in the same way (as will be noticed) distinguishes jrpoTfyovjxei/ot from TrpioTOKcUMpirai ( = 7rpeo-0urpoi). This is, I think, enough to remove any doubt that may be felt as to Clement's language, which again recurs in c. 21. 1 TOVS 7rpe<r/3ure'povs, but the reference is to Isaiah. 2 c. 21 : TOUJ TrpOTj-yovfieVous j\^!av a.iSecrOii>iifv, TOW? jrp<r/?VT'povs Tinrjvuifiev (Lightfoot again ' elders '). Here again ' rulers ' are specified besides ' presbyters ' as the authorities in the Church. 3 TOIS TjyoufieVots rjjiwv, i.e. our secular rulers. 4 cc. 37, 38. The last words are Ka0u>? <coi T07j iv rep gapta-part avrou. 286 Christian Ministry, [CHAP. the layman's ordinances. 1 Let each of us, brethren, in his own order make his Eucharist to God in gravity, abiding in a good conscience, not transgressing the appointed rule of his ministration. Not everywhere, brethren, are offered the daily sacrifices or freewill-offerings or sin- and trespass-offerings, but in Jerusalem alone ; and there is offering made not in every place but before the holy place at the altar, after the offering has been inspected by the high-priest and the aforesaid ministers. They then who do anything contrary to what His will has thought fitting have death for their penalty. See, brethren, in as much as we have been thought worthy of more knowledge, to so much greater a peril are we subject. 2 1 c. 40 : TJpoSrjAcoi' ovv yfiuv ovriav rovriav, (cat eyice/tv<^dTes et? TO. fidOr) TJJS flet'as yvdxretas, iravra. Txet iroielv v4>ci\0fj.ev o<ra 6 Secnronjs em.re\elv e/ceAevcrei/ Kara Kaipoiis TcTayfit'i/ovs' Tas re irpo<7<opas (cat AetTOVpyi'a? e7TiTeAei<j-0ai, /cat OVK eixrj rj oraKTws eice'Aevo-ev ytVe<r(?ai, aAA* copiovxtVot? xacpoc; ical copais' nov re KOJ. Sid riviav ejriTeAetO'flai fle'Aet, aurbs <upto"ei/ 17) vneprarta avTOu /SovAvjo'ei, lv' oai'cos iratna. yivo/xefa ev evSoKijerci evwpoo~oeKTa, eir; T<i> 0eAij/u.aTt auToO. ot oJy rots Trpoo'TeroyfieVots Kacpoi; Troiouires TOS 7rpo<r<^opas avrStv evnp6(r&eKToi re (cat fio.Ka.pioi- TOIS yap I'Ofit/jioi? TOU SetTTroTOv aKoAoufloui'Tes ov fitajaapTavoucriv. T<j> yap dpx'epei ifitai Aeirovpyiai Se5o/u.Vai etirii' ai rots iepev<7n/ ifiios 6 TOTTOS Trpoo-TeVaKTai xac AeviVais iStai Siaxortai eiriVeii/Tai' 6 Aalfcbs avSpwiros TOIS AaiVcois Trpoorayjuao'ii' Scfierat. It will be apparent, as this and the following chapters are read, that the Church of the new covenant is spoken of under terms of the old, so instinctively alive is Clement to the continuity of principle between the two. ' Non negare possum,' says Lipsius, 'V.T. hierarchiam quae vocatur, hoc loco ad Christianorum societatem accommodari.' As the layman is the Christian layman, it is natural to suppose that there was a threefold ministry corresponding to the high-priest, priest, and Levite, but it must be observed that an analogy is claimed in respect of place and time, as well as of ministers, and, as it cannot be pressed in the former case, so also it can- not in the latter. But the language is certainly more natural if Clement had in view a threefold Christian ministry. 2 c. 41 : "EicaaTOS T)i*.!av, dSeA^oi, iv T<a iSico ray/nan ev^apio-reiVw flew ev ayaSjj <7Wei5)crei inr<ip\iav, JU.TJ trope tcfiaiviov TOV upifffievov rrjs Aeiroupyi'as avrou Kavova, lv crefX.i/OTT)Ti. oil ira.vra\ov, deA<j>ot, irpoa'(t>epovTat Bvaiai fv&f\ex i W>v ^ tv\S>v >j Trept dftaprcas Kal 7rAT)^jueAct'a9, dAA' ff iv ' ItpouiraAr)/x fidvr)' KCLKCI Se OVK ev iravri rorrta jrpo<r<^c'pTat, aAA' efjLirpocr6ev TOV j/aou jrpbs TO Ovtriao-rripiov, iLiaiwtTKOirriOev TO npo<T^>ep6iJievov Sia ToO ap\iepeios KO! T<OI> irpoeipij/^e'vcov AetTOUpywv ot oil/ Tropa TO KaBfixov Tiijs /3ouArj<recos avTOv TrotovvTe's TI, 9a.va.rov TO irp6<rri[jLOV ex ov<riv - opart, a5tA(f>or 6o"w wAetovos (canjf tw0i)|uiei' yv<oo"e<os, TOCTOVTW /xaAAor vOKeifj.e6a KivSvvta. I have translated evxapiOTeiTa> 'make his Eucharist.' Clement uses the word in a general sense for ' to give thanks ' in c. 38. But here he is describing that formal act of thanksgiving in which the whole Church approaches in due order before God, and that is the Eucharist in the technical sense. The verb^has its technical meaning in the Didache (ix. i, x. i, 7, xiv. i) in close connection with its general meaning (ix. 2, x. 2) and the substantive evxapiorta also occurs (ix. i) in its technical sense. It appears however that the author of the Church Ordinances read fvapea-reiria, and this is the reading of the Constantinople MS. and of the Syriac version. Thus Harnack prefers it (Textt u. Untersuck. Band ii. Heft 5, p. 27). On the other hand the alteration of evxapio-TeiYw into evapea-reiria is more probable than vice versA, and Lightfoot retains evxaptoreirw as 'doubtless the right reading.' VI.] TJu Ministry in the Subapostolic Age. 287 'The Apostles were sent to us with the Gospel from the Lord Jesus Christ, Jesus the Christ was sent forth from God. Christ then is from God and the Apostles from Christ ; it took place in both cases in due order by the will of God. They then having received commandments, and having been fully assured through the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ and confirmed in the word of God, with full assurance of the Holy Spirit went forth preaching the Gospel that the kingdom of God was about to come. Preaching then in country and town they appointed their firstfruits, when they had tested them in the Spirit, for bishops and deacons of those who were about to become believers. And this was no new thing, for of old it had been written about bishops and deacons. For thus says the Scripture : ' I will appoint their bishops in righteousness and their deacons in faith' (Is. Ix. I7). 1 And what wonder is it if those who were entrusted in Christ from God with so great a work appointed these aforesaid officers ? Since even the blessed Moses, the " faithful servant in all the house," indicated all that was enjoined upon him in the sacred books.' Here follows a description of Moses' conduct (Numb, xvii.) when ' envy arose as to the priesthood and the tribes made revolt because they were ambitious of that glorious title.' Moses knew be- forehand, he says, that Aaron's rod would bud. But he acted as he did to prevent disorder in Israel, and for Gods' glory. 2 So in the same way, he continues : ' Our Apostles also knew through our Lord Jesus Christ that there would be contention about the title of the episcopate. Therefore on this account, having received perfect fore-knowledge, they appointed the aforesaid [bishops and deacons], and subsequently gave an 1 C. 42 : Oi airooroAoi riiJ.iv vi)yyeAio-07)O-ai' irrb TOV Kvptov ' IT)<TOU Xpiorov, I. 6 X. curb TOV Oeov ecirc'fi4>0>>- Xpiorbs ovv airb TOV Oeov, icai 01 airooroAot airo TOU Xpiorov' fyevovTO ovv auiorepa evraxTcos ex fleATjfiaTOS Oeov. irapayycAta; ovv \aJ36vTfS xai irAi)po4>opT)0c'iTc; Sia TTJS ayaaTacreuj; TOV K. "I. X. icai iritrriaBfvref iv T<a Aoyw TOU Oeov, nera irAijpo^opux; JTVCV/A<ITOS efTJAflov rvayycAt^op.cvoi rifv jSaO'iAciap TOV Oeov fLcAAcip ep\ea-9ai. Kara, ^ojpa? ovv icai iro\6if KTjpvcrcrotres KoBCfrravov Tas aTrop^o; avruf, oxi/j.a<7arr$ TO? irvevfiaTi, is cirio-ic6irov$ xai Siajcovovs rial' /ieA^diTiui' irt<rrfvfiv. icai. TOVTO ov /caii'tos K.T.A.. 2 c. 43 : jAov efi>reo"6TOS >repi TTJ? itpoxruvTrfy icai oreuriafouawi' Toil' <f>v\Stv 6>roi'a avTwy eii) rai fvooif 6rd/j.oTi Kenoo~ii.iiii.fvri K.r.A. Moses is afterwards said to lay the rods eiri riji' Tpdm^av TOV 6eov, and then to explain that the rod of whichever tribe should bud, Tovnjv eA'\Tat 6 0eb? ets TO tepaTeveci' not AeiTovpyciv avrw. But Moses foreknew (n-pojjoti) the result. 288 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. additional injunction in order that, if they fell asleep, other approved men might succeed to their ministry. They, then, who were appointed by those [Apostles] or subsequently by other distinguished men with the consent of the whole Church, and who have exercised their ministry blamelessly to the flock of Christ with humility, quietly and without display, and have had good witness borne them by all again and again, these we do not think to be justly cast out of their ministry. For it will be no small sin to us if we cast out of the episcopate those who have blamelessly and holily offered the oblations. Blessed are those presbyters who passed on their journey before, for they made t their departure with good fruit and completeness ; for they have no cause for fear lest any one remove them from their determined place. For we perceive that you have removed some, though their conversation was honourable, out of the ministry which had been observed by them without reproach.' 1 1 c. 44 : Kai ot airoffToAoi T\\uav eyv<a<ra.v Sia TOV icupiov rj/nii 1 '1. X. OTI Ipis eorai eiri ToG opo/naTOS TTJS ejrio"KOjrij. fiia rauTrji' oZv TTJV alriav irpoyviaffiv eiAr)</>OTes TeAetai/ Ka.rea'Trja'av TOVS jrpoeiprjfie'covs, (tat jaerafu eiru'O/Arjf eSiaxav orrcos, fav KoijU.T)da><7if, fiiaSefwirai eVepoi SeSoKi/ixao-joiei/oi aVSpes Tr)v AeiToupyi'ai' avTaJi/. TOVS o5f (caraoTafleVTas tur' exeivoiv i) ftera^ir v<' erep<av eAAoyi'/aioi' ai'Spwi/ <ruveu8oCT)<ro(ri)s Trjs eKxArjo'ias ira<rijs, Kal AeiTOvpyjjo'afTas djae/j.7rro)? T<J> iroipviif TOV X. jtiera TaTreivo^poOTJinjs, r)(rux<as (cat a/SavavVios, /xe^-apTupTj/ncVous re woAAois ^po^O'S VTTO Trawioi', TOUTOUS ou Si/cai'tos yo/ou'fo/uei' airojSdAAecrSai ri}s AeirovpYtas. d^iapria yap ou jmiKpa ij/xti' ecrrai eav TOUS a/u.e/jnrT(os Kal oeriw? irpcxreveyKovTas ra'Siapa. n7S 7ri<7Kojr^s arro.SaAcu/xt-i'. fxaxaptoi ot TrpoSonrop^cravTe? Trpecr/Surepoi, oirtves eyicapirov xai reAeiav i&xov TTJV ai/aAvow ov yap eiAa/Soui'Tai /U.TJ TIS auroiis fieTaoTijcnj aTrb TOU iSpvft.evov avrois TOTTOU. opd)/xti/ yap on evtous Ujiteis jaerr/yayere KaAwr TroAirevaa- /xeVous e TIQS antefurrus avTOis TeTtju.r)jx.eV>)s AetTOupyias. () In spite of variations in MSS. and versions, the word given above, en-ipo/mii/, has been accepted as right since the discovery by Dom Morin of a primitive Latin version which reads ' legem dederunt.' ' Legem ' would render eTrii/Ojurji', ignoring the preposi- tion, as 'sciebat ' renders jrpojjSei just before, cc. xliii. 6. (See Anecdota Maredsolana \\. Parker's Oxford.) We may assume then that this word means 'an additional in- junction,' that the reference in TT\V Aetrovpyi'av avriov is to the ministry of the ' bishops ' (cf. the constant use of Aciroupyi'a and Aeirovpyeii' in this chapter), and that the words iav (coifAjjOwo-if refer also to them and not to the apostles. Thus the meaning of the passage is plain enough. The Apostles made some arrangement to secure an unquestionable succession to the office of the presbyter-bishops, if its first holders should pass away (before the end, and the Apostles also were no longer at hand to appoint new ones). The result of this arrangement had been that, in the interval since the appointment of the first presbyters by the Apostles, other presbyters had been duly appointed by certain ' distinguished men' in the Church. It seems to me certain that these cAAoyiftoi avSpcs, who in accordance with the apostolic arrange- ment had since their death appointed 'approved men,' are not the same as the ' approved men,' but different. The apostolic arrangement must have consisted in providing that there should be after their death this body of ' distinguished men ' in the Church to appoint presbyters and deacons. See Kuhl Gemeindeordnung, p. 135-8. [But I am still tempted to wonder whether en-ivo^c eSoiKav may not mean ' they instituted a jurisdiction ' or ' supervision ' ? Cf. the schol. on Pindar Pyth. xi. 7 (quoted in Stephanus Thesaurus Ling. Grace, s.v. eircpofxo;) irtVo/noi> TOV VI.] The Ministry in the Subapostolic Age. 289 ' It is shameful, dearly beloved, yes utterly shameful and unworthy of the life in Christ, that it should be reported that the very steadfast and ancient Church of the Corinthians, for the sake of one or two persons, is making sedition against its presbyters.' 1 'Who therefore [with reference to Moses' conduct, Exod. xxxiL 30 f.] is noble among you ? Who is compassionate ? Who is fulfilled with love ? Let him say : " If by reason of me there be faction and strife and schisms, I retire, I depart, whither ye will, and I do that which is ordered by the people : only let the flock of Christ be at peace with its duly-appointed presbyters. " ' 2 ' Ye therefore that laid the foundation of the sedition, submit your- selves unto the presbyters and receive chastisement unto repentance, bending the knees of your heart." 3 ' It is right for us to give heed to so great and so many examples and to submit the neck and, occupying the place of obedience, to take our side with them that are the leaders of our souls.' 4 <ravvoy.Qv Taij 8>jais TOP ejrl TOV OVTOV pofioC <cai TTJS aurijs cTrivo/irj;. Otherwise eTi-ipo/uiTJ is used (i) very frequently by Galen de fasciis to mean the revolutions or additional applications of a bandage. He describes first the original direction in which it is to be applied (eirive'/iijo-ts), and then directs that it should be rolled on in the same direction ai Se empojioi Ka.ro. rtav avn>v. See Kuhn Medici Graeci, vol. xviii. pp. 787. 16, 791. n, 791. i, 793. ii, 795. i, 12, etc. (2) By Plutarch for the advance of a fire, 'depastio ignis.' But whether or no emvo/mj can mean juris- diction or supervision, it does seem to me that the meaning of the apostolic arrange- ment is made manifest by its result, namely, that there had existed since the Apostles a body of ' distinguished men ' to appoint to the local church offices, with the consent of the whole Church]. (b) ov SIKO.UOS po/xi'<Jb^ep diro/3aAAe<r0at K.T.X. St. Clement uses somewhat minimizing language of the highest goods and the worst evils, cf. c. 19, where he speaks of the character of the saints having ' improved us.' In this moderation of tone he contrasts with Ignatius. (c) irpoo-<t>ip.v TO. Swpa. Cf. Apost. Const, viii. 12: oi SIO.KOVOI irpo<Ta.ytT<ao-a.v ra Saipa Tta cTrio-KoVc.). Knowing as we do that Irenaeus and Justin Martyr alike regarded the ' sacrifice ' of the Eucharist as centering round the oblations of the bread and wine, and having in view the fact that Clement is here speaking of the Church's ' liturgy ' as the spiritual counterpart of the sacrificial ' liturgy ' of the old covenant, it seems to me impossible to doubt that the words Swpa irpoa-ifrfpfiv here refer to the offering of the eucharistic gifts. Cf. Harnack Texte u. Untersuch. Band ii, Heft 5, p. 144, note 73 : ' Beyond a doubt the npo&Qepfiv Siopa. TO? flew, in the sense of offering sacrifices (Opferdarbringung), appears as the most important function of the episcopus.' (d) For TOU ifipujoteVov avrots TOJTOV cf. c. 40 TOIS Jepeutrip loios 6 TOITOS. 1 c. 47. 2 c. 54 ftera TUP Kafleorafie'pup Trpetr/Si/Te'puv. c. S7- * C. 63 : TOP TTJS vwaxorjs TOTTOP ap<nrXTjpui(TapTa?, irpo<TcAi07Jpai TOIS vjrop^ovo"ip apXijyois T(av ^iu\<av yfLiav. For Toiros see cc. 40, 44, and Lightfoot in loc. The layman too has his TOTTOS (c. 40 and cf. i Cor. xiv. 16). T 2go Christian Ministry. [CHAP. Results: It remains for us to sum up the evidence of Clement's Epistle so far as it affects the ministry. (i)Themin- (\\ St. Clement speaks of the ministry in the istry has r (a) authority Church from two points of view. It represents the in govern- ..... mem; authority of government, and so claims obedience; (*) a distinct but it also has its special function in relation to thT'HturgV.' worship. The 'liturgy' of the Christian Church is the perpetuation in principle of the ' liturgy ' of the Jews, and, like the Church of the old covenant, she approaches God as one body, differentiated in function, with grades of privilege and dignity by the appointment of God. 1 Thus it is the special function of the bishops to 'offer the gifts.' It is often said that Clement regards the distinction of offices in the Church as only matter of ' order,' not of exclusive power. He does however speak of each member of the Church as qualified for his special function by a special charisma; 2 and, though he speaks of mutual subordination as the principle of 'utility,' yet he illustrates it not only by the distinction of grades in the Roman army, but by the differentiation of limbs in the human body, and by the divinely-ordained hierarchy of the Jewish Church. There is no reason whatever to believe that the 'charisma' of any 'member of the body' who was not a presbyter- bishop would have qualified him to offer the gifts. ( 2 ) it is (2) Clement expresses very plainly the fundamental succession principle of the apostolic succession. The Church's Ap^stiel officers are appointed from above. The body of the Church indeed has the privilege of assent or dissent 1 It corresponds to the high value which Clement clearly sets upon the Church's worship that he should give us, as apparently he does, the eucharistic intercession, with which he was accustomed to lead the worship of his Church (cc. 59-61). His language seems in parts to have influenced the Liturgy of St. Mark ; see Lightfoot's notes. 2 c. 38 : *ca8u>s Kttl ereOjj ev r<a xapiV/utm avroO. VI.] The Ministry in the Subapostolic Age. 291 in their appointment, 1 and Clement may be held to imply that under circumstances of misconduct it could legitimately depose them, 2 but he clearly never conceives that it could appoint them. The ministers of the Church must derive their authority from that one mission by which Christ came forth from God and the Apostles from Christ : in virtue of which these same Apostles appointed bishops and deacons in the Churches which they first founded, and after- wards took measures to secure the perpetuation of their office in due succession. Clement then gives us the two principles which involve the ' doctrine of the apostolic succession ' : the principle that the Church is a differentiated body in which different individuals exercise different and clearly defined functions, and the principle that the right to exercise these functions, so far as they are ministerial, is derived by succession from the Apostles. (3) It is generally supposed 3 that in Clement's ( 3 ) There is Epistle we have only two orders of ministers, viz. mperfwto presbyter-bishops and deacons, recognised in the presbyter Church. But this supposition though there need be no objection to it on the ground of principle does not seem to account for all the phenomena which the Epistle presents. It is quite true that presbyters are also called bishops, and that there is no local authority in the Church at Corinth above the presbyters. Clement's language about submission to them postulates this. It may also be acknowledged 1 c. 44. 2 This is probably implied in the rebuke for having deposed blameless presbyters (c. 44) ; cf. also 54 : jrotw TO. n7>o<rra<rcrdjuei>a VJTO TOV jrAijflow, though here the supposed speaker is not necessarily a presbyter. But it would probably be the case that the Church could depose the presbyters only by an appeal to a higher authority, cf. i Tim. v. 19, 20. 8 As by Dr. Lightfoot Dissert, pp. 216, 218 ; and Dr. Langen Gesch. der rffm. Kirche i. p. 82. 292 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. that it is an unwarrantable hypothesis that the see of Corinth was vacant when Clement wrote. But it does not therefore follow that there is not in this Epistle, as in the Didacke, the recognition of a superior authority though it has yet no localized representa- tion in the particular Church addressed. On the contrary Clement's language seems to suggest, or even to require, some such supposition. Besides the presbyters whom the Corinthians are to 'honour/ there is mention on two occasions 1 of their rulers whom they are to reverence and obey. This repeated mention of ' rulers ' as distinct from ' presbyters,' more particu- larly as we find the same distinction in the Shepherd of Hermas, cannot be overlooked; and the title 'ruler' is already familiar to us as applied to men of the highest order in the Church, like the prophets Judas and Silas, and those who first brought the Gospel to ' the Hebrews,' and the members of the royal family of Christ who ' ruled ' in the Churches of Palestine. 2 Again there have been certain 'distinguished men,' who in accordance with the arrangement made by the Apostles have, since their death, appointed the pres- byters. It appears then that Clement does recognise a body of men who at least appointed the presbyters at Corinth, and whom it is natural to identify with the ' rulers ' mentioned elsewhere. ' Rulers ' is a general term and we cannot tell what further official 1 cc. i, ai. Hermas makes a similar distinction (Vis. iii. g). See Hilgenfeld in Zeitschr.furwiss. Theol., 1886, p. 23. 2 Acts xv. 22 ; Euseb. H.E. iii. 32 Trporjyoui'Tai Traorjs e/cKAT)<n'a? ; Heb. xiii. 7. Here the ^yov/ievot are those apostolic preachers who have passed away ; but in ver. 17 the present authorities amongst the Hebrews, ' who watch for their souls as men who shall give account,' and whom they are to greet (ver. 24), are also called TTyov/xevoi. These would more naturally be local ' presbyters ' but not necessarily, more especially as the Epistle is not written to any one community : see on these ' rulers ' Harnack Texte u. Untersuch Band ii, Heft i. pp. 95, 96. Later the expres- sion is generally used for bishops (Euseb. H.E, iii. 36 ; Apost. Const, ii. 46) but not always. VI.] The Ministry in the Subapostolic Age. 293 title they had, if any, but we must recollect that there is the same absence of a definite official title for the 'men of distinction' like Timothy and Titus, who probably filled exactly the same position during the lifetime of the Apostles. It is quite natural that they should have been known sufficiently well as indi- viduals and as men of quasi-apostolic authority to make an exact title a matter of indifference. Definite terminology is in the region of administration as of theology a gradual growth. It is enough that we should recognise that certain men in the Church were understood to have the apostolic authority to ordain elders and presumably the powers of control which always accompanied that authority. This is a class of men probably similar to the ' prophets ' and ' teachers ' of the Didache, whose authority, as we saw reason to believe, passed over to the local presidents who were known as ' bishops.' Some of them may have been already localized in other Churches of Greece, only (as it appears) there was not one on the spot at Corinth, though before the time of Hegesippus a regular succession of diocesan bishops was existing there as elsewhere. The fact that no one of this order was yet resident in Corinth may account for Clement's authoritative appeal to that Church. 1 (4) For, though Clement cannot have been called a U) which Clement represented 1 It becomes natural then, as the prophet is called the Christian high-priest in the in Rome. Didafhe, to see in Clement's analogical use of 'high-priest, priest, and Levite,' in speaking of the Christian ministry, a reference to the three orders, of whom the second and third are presbyter-bishops and deacons, but of whom the highest are these 'rulers' and 'distinguished men,' who correspond to the prophets of the Didache. I do not wish to imply that the term eAAdyifios avijp was at all a title reserved for these apostolic men. Clement uses it quite generally of the Corinthian Church (c. 62) : avSpa.cn. iriorois icol cAAoyifuuraToi? KOI eyKemx}>6<Ti.v it.T.A. So he uses t also of secular rulers (c. 37, 61). 294 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. ' bishop ' in the later sense, his position in the earliest tradition is so prominent that he must in fact have been what would have been designated in later times by that name. 1 He merges his own authority, as he writes, in the Church which he represents, but in the Church z not in the presbyterate, and the letter therefore affords no evidence at all as to Clement's relation to the other church officers. Thus, if we could get behind the scenes, we should probably find that the chief authority really belonged to him, and that he was one of those ' men of reputation,' one of those ' rulers,' who since the Apostles' death had exercised that part of their ministry which was to become permanent in the Church. One of this order must, we should suppose, always have existed in so eminent a Church as Rome. 1 The evidence "of the Clementines is enough to show us that Clement's per- sonality made a great impression on his own generation and those that succeeded, and it was as a church ruler and bishop that he impressed himself on the memory. It is Clement in the Shepherd who is to communicate the messages given to Hermas to the Churches of the other cities (eis TOS efco TrdAeis, exeiVcp yap eTriTeVpaTTTai). He appears in the third place in the succession of Roman bishops given by Irenaeus, and he doubtless held this place in the 'succession' which Hegesippus drew up. It does not seem to me that the absence of specific mention of the bishop in Ignatius' letter to the Church of Rome is any evidence at all against there having been one. See Lightfoot I gnat. i. p. 381, also Dissert, p. 221, where he remarks : ' the reason for supposing Clement to have been a bishop is as strong as the universal tradition of the next ages can make it." See also Clement \. p. 68. Clement cannot have been called a ' bishop ' in the later sense of the term, because in his epistle he clearly calls the presbyters bishops, and this must reflect the usage of the Roman Church. Perhaps, as suggested above, the distinction of men like him, who bore some measure of the apostolic authority, may have made a fixed title not yet indispensable. Clement of Alexandria (Strom, iv. 17, 105) quotes him as the 'apostle Clement.' His eucharistic prayer, as well as the teaching authority which breathes in his epistle, and which is probably his own, suggests the prerogative freedom of teaching and Eucharist which is assigned to the prophets in the Didache (x. 7, xi, xii). 2 Dr. Salmon, Introd. p. 565 n., calls attention to the fact 'how all through the first two centuries the importance of the bishop of Rome is merged in the importance of his Church ' ; for instance, how Dionysius of Corinth writes to the Church of Rome (Euseb. H.E. iv. 23), and how 'when Victor attempted to enforce uniformity of Easter observance, it was still in the name of his church that he wrote. . . . This is evidenced by the plural T) two-are in the reply of Polycrates ' (Euseb. v. 24). VI. The Ministry in the Subapostolic Age. 295 That this was the case is a good deal more than matter of surmise. Irenaeus records 1 how 'the blessed apostles, Peter and Paul, having founded and built up the Church (at Rome) committed to Linus the office of the Episcopate. This is the Linus of whom Paul makes mention in his letter to Timothy. To him succeeded Anencletus. After him, in the third place from the apostles, Clement was allotted the bishopric ; a man who had both seen the blessed apostles and had had intercourse with them, in whose ears their preaching was still echoing and their tradition was still before his eyes ; and not his alone ; for there were still many surviving who had been taught by the apostles.' This catalogue of the early Roman suc- cession, which rests probably on the investigations of Hegesippus as well as of Irenaeus, 2 cannot, as Dr. Lightfoot says, ' be treated otherwise than with the highest respect. We can trace it back to a few years later than the middle of the second century. It comes from Rome itself. It was diligently gathered there and deliberately recorded by two several writers from different parts of Christendom.' 3 It is only necessary to recognise that the Bishops of Rome down to Clement did not bear the episcopal name. 1 See above p. HI. 2 See above pp. 115-16. 3 Bishop Lightfoot's investigations into the early Roman succession have vindi- cated the Irenaean tradition as the only one which deserves the name. According to this tradition Linus, Anencletus, and Clement are plainly bishops in succession one to another. See, on the whole subject, his Clement i. pp. 66-8, and the discussion, pp. 201 ff. He practically treats this succession as certainly historical, pp. 76 ff. 296 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. V E'bUeof The letter of Polycarp to the Philippians was Poiycarp. written under the following circumstances. Ignatius, its occasion. i n company with others of the 'noble army of martyrs' bound with the 'sacred fetters,' had passed from Troas to Philippi on his way to Rome. There he had held intercourse with the Philippian Christians, and had bidden them, as he had bidden the other Churches, send a letter to the bereaved Church of Antioch. It was too far for them however to send a messenger ; so they wrote to Polycarp of Smyrna to request that his messenger might take their letter, and to request him further to let them have any of Ignatius' letters whether to his own Church or to others that he might have in his possession. It was in assent to this request that Polycarp wrote the letter which has been preserved to us. This Epistle is remarkable for its exhibition of the saint's character, but remarkable also because of the light it throws on the constitution of the Church of Philippi. Polycarp writes no doubt as a bishop ' Polycarp and the presbyters with him ' * but he speaks of no bishop at Philippi, only of elders and deacons, and bids the Philippians obey ' the elders and deacons as God and Christ,' as if there was no higher officer in question there. The elders moreover are exhorted in terms which imply that the exercise of discipline and the administration of alms belongs 1 Dr. Hatch (B. L. p. 88 n. 5 ) denies that Polycarp is here distinguishing himself from his presbyters, but whatever the ambiguities of the phrase, it is cleared up by the letters of Ignatius to Polycarp and to the Church of Smyrna. Polycarp was admittedly bishop of Smyrna. He writes moreover in the first person. VI.] The Ministry in the Subapostolic Age. 297 to them. 1 It is of course possible that amongst the presbyters may have been one who was their presi- dent and was known as 'bishop,' but Polycarp's language does not suggest it, 2 nor is it a very reason- able hypothesis that the see was vacant. 3 Are we then to conclude that the only church authorities recognised at Philippi were the presbyters and the deacons? There is one consideration which seems to make this view almost untenable. We have which must .be reconciled already seen that Ignatius when he wrote his epistles with igna- * tius 1 visit. from Smyrna certainly regarded episcopacy as ex- tended ' to the ends of the earth ' 4 : with equal cer- tainty he regarded it as an essential of church organization 'without these [the three orders],' he 1 The following passages are here referred to : c. 5 : EtSores ovv, on Ofbs ou /iVKrrjpifeToi cxieiAojxer afuus TTJS eiroATJs avrov tat 5o;s Trepi-areiv. 6/u.ouos Siaxopoi afjiffj-TTTOi xtntviairiov avroO TTJS iiicaiocrv'njs, u9 fleov Kal Xptorov Siaicoi'oi Kai ov<c dv^ptoiruf /XT; <5eaioAcH, HTJ Sc'Aoycu, di^iAapyvpoi, eyKparet? rrepi Traira, ev<7Ti'Aoyx'Oi KOTO TTJI/ oATjfleiov TOV icvpi'ov, os eyfifro StoKovot JTOITOJI'. Here follow some admonitions to young men to be blameless and pure, self-controlled in their lives, keeping free from sensual sin ; then he continues : Sib Siov aire'xecrflat afo iravriav rovriav, uTroTatro-OfieVovs TOIS jrpecr/SvTe'pot? KOI 5taxovo(; cus 8<j> cai Xptoru' TOS irapOeVovs ev afj.iafj.ta jcai ayvj/ <rv>'ei5^<7ei irsptirareo'. C. 6 : Kai oi irpea/Svrepoi 5e evcrirAayj; 1 ' 01 ! e 'S watTos eAeTJ/iOi/es, cffiorpe'^oiTes TO oiToire7rAon;/iVa, effio-KeTiTOftevoi WOITOS oo^ever?, ^ii) ofieAoviTj X^P* 15 *1 op^ofou ^ TreVrjTOS" aAAa TrporooGires del rov xaAov enoTrioi' dtov KOI d^0puiruv, dirc^d/iO'Oi TTOOTJS opyrjs, 7rpocr(oiroA7)</'Ut$ l KpiVew9 d5iKOi>, fiaxpav oi'res TraaTjs 0tAapyvpiaf, /XT) raxe'ws morevovres ICOTO rtvo?, /IT) atroTO/xot f (cpiVet K.T.A, Later on it is noticeable that the prophets who are mentioned after the Apostles are the Old Testament prophets who foretold Christ c. 9. They are exhorted ' to obey the word of righteousness and to practise all patience,' after the example of the blessed Ignatius and Zosimus and Rufus and others who had lived among them, as well as of the Apostles. Then (in c. n, where the Greek fails us) mention is made of the case of a presbyter Valens, ' qui presbyter factus est aliquando apud vos quod sic ignore! is locum qui datus est ei.' It appears that he had sinned through avarice and impurity and want of truth, and had shown himself quite unfit for an office of government. ' Valde ergo, fratres, contristor pro illo et pro coniuge eius, quibus det Dominus poenitentiam veram.' 2 Winterstein thinks that there must have been a 'bishop,' because only here are ' deacons ' associated with presbyters, but this argument has no force for those who admit that the titles presbyter and episcopus were at one time synonymous. Polycarp of course would not call the presbyters bishops as St. Paul did (Phil. i. i). The titles had become distinct. He speaks of presbyters and deacons only. 3 See Lightfoot Ignat. i. p. 578. * ad Eph. 3. 298 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. had written, ' no Church has a title to the name.' 1 He moved from Smyrna to Troas, and his tone is still the same ; there is the same insistence upon episcopacy. Can he have been ignorant of the con- dition of the Church at Philippi to which he was just going ? He came thither and enjoyed, as we gather, the same cordial intercourse which he had held in other Churches. 2 He left behind him when he passed on a venerated name. Had he rebuked them or remonstrated with them in any way, we must certainly have caught an echo of it through their correspondence with Polycarp. It is impossible, on the other hand, to believe that Ignatius suddenly dropped the urgent tone about episcopacy which had been one of the two main topics of all that he wrote in Asia. Can we then consistently with the phenomena of Polycarp's letter suppose a state of things at Philippi which would not have shocked Probable the mind of Ignatius ? The hypothesis of a superior solution. J r order in the Church, such as Clement's letter has been seen to imply, of which no representative was yet localized in the Church at Philippi, seems to meet the conditions of the problem. This would suggest a special reason why the 'apostolic and prophetic teacher and bishop ' Polycarp 3 should address his 1 ad Trail. 3. I cannot think that Dr. Lightfoot is justified (Ignat. i. 382) in say- ing that ' there is no indication that he is upholding the episcopal against any other form of church government, as for instance the presbyteral. ... If Ignatius had been writing to a Church which was under presbyteral government he would doubt- less have required its submission "to the presbyters and deacons." As it is, he is dealing with communities where episcopacy had been already matured and therefore he demands obedience to their bishops." It seems to me as clear as day that Ignatius regarded episcopacy as universal, and as the only legitimate form of church government. 2 This we gather from the tone in which Polycarp's letter implies that the Philippians had written about him ; see c. 13. Ignatius himself, we should notice, had written to Polycarp from Philippi (eypa^are /uoi ical ii/xeis K.OA Tyj/aTtos). 3 For Polycarp's prophetic character see his Martyrium cc. 5 and 16 : ev rots Ka6' ^/ias xpo'roif SiSao-a\os awo<rTO\i(cbs <cai. irpo$T)T<.*cbs yevoV^os, eiric iv 2/iVpKf) a-ya'as CKK\7)<7i'a?. VI.] The Ministry in the Subapostolic Age. 299 exhortations to them, as it suggested a reason for the similar appeal of Clement to the Corinthians. This would postulate a state of things at Philippi which Ignatius could at once have recognised as agreeable to his standard of apostolic requirements. It is not unlikely that Ignatius himself had been not merely the bishop of Antioch but the only representative of episcopal authority in Syria, 1 just as later in the century it is not impossible that there was only one bishop in the Churches of South Gaul. 2 What we would suggest is not exactly that Philippi was in the diocese of Thessalonica, 3 or of some other see, but that we have still to do with a state of things which is transitional between what is represented in the Didache and the localized episcopate which already existed probably in every town-church of Greece by the middle of the century. 1 On the position of Ignatius in Syria see ad Rom. 2 '. rov fnia-Kowov Svpi'as icaTT)f uocrei' 6 flebs evpeOiji'ai eis &v<rt.v, airb avaToAirjs /iTajre^n/(ajtevos. He also speaks of himself as representing 'the Church in Syria' (ad Eph. 21, ad Magn. i4 ad Rom. 9, ad Trail. 13) as well as the Church in Antioch of Syria (ad Philad. 10, ad Smyrn. n, ad Polyc. 7). Perhaps by ' Syria ' would be meant only what after Hadrian's division was called Syria Coele or Magna Syria : see Diet. Gr. and Rom. Geogr. s.v. SYRIA. Dr. Lightfoot says (i. p. 383) : ' Of a diocese, properly so called, there is no trace. . . . The bishops and presbyters are the ministry of a city, not of a diocese. What provision may have been made for the rural districts we are not told.' The suggestion above is that there was originally a ministry-in-chief un- localized, and that only gradually was a representative of this ministry localized in every Church with the name of ' bishop.' There is however no evidence against the bishop of a city having had from the first the supervision of the Christians in the surrounding district, until chorepiscopi were appointed. 2 See Eusebius' expression, H. E. v. 23 wapoiKuu. Kara raAAiav as Eiprjvaios eVeo-ico'irei. (The same expression however is used in the previous chapter of the different ' parishes ' of Alexandria in the more modern sense ; see App. Note B.) In the fourth century we know there was only one bishop in Scythia, and this was regarded as traditional ; see Sozomen H. E. vi. 21 : TOUTO TO eflvos jroAAas fikv x el KOI iroAeis al icw/xas icai (Jpov'pta' /njTpoTroAts Se' e<rrc To/oils, JroAis fieyaArj ai fvSaifJuav, wapaAios . . ei<re'Ti fie K<U vvv e0os TraAaibi' fvQaSe Kparet TOU iravros iOvovs iva ras efcxATjtn'as ejnaxoTreip . 3 Thessalonica is reported by Origen to have had Gaius (Rom. xvi. 27) for its first bishop. 300 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. VI vi. The It only remains for us to consider the evidence of of^Hermas. the Shepherd. This document is one of those in the its date. case of which the internal evidence of date is in con- flict with the external. For, on the one hand, all that Hermas says about the Christian ministry sug- gests such an early date as accords naturally with a mention of Clement presumably the well-known Clement as the person in the Roman Church whose duty it was to send to other cities the visions vouch- safed to Hermas. On the other hand, we have positive information from a contemporary that Hermas wrote the Shepherd at a period which cannot be earlier than A.D. I4O. 1 What then are the hints given us by Hermas as to the condition of the ministry ? its language 0) ^ e speaks of ' the presbyters who preside over mlnktry ^ Church,' and these must no doubt be identified with the occupants of the ' chief seat ' whom he 1 The Muratorian fragment asserts : ' Pastorem vero nuperrime temporibus nostris in urbe Roma Hermas conscripsit, sedente cathedra urbis Romae ecclesiae Pio episcopo fratre eius.' This is too definite a statement by a contemporary for us to reject. But, accepting it, what are we to make of the reference in the Shtpficrd to a Clement whose duty it is to send Hermas' visions to foreign Churches (Vis, ii. 4)? It is, I think (following Dr. Salmon), impossible that the brother of Pius (who acceded, according to Lipsius, not before A.D. 140), writing apparently during his episcopate, can refer, as he does, to Clement the bishop as his contemporary at a time when he was himself a married man with a family (Vis. \. 3, ii. 3). Salmon rejects the statement of the fragment, but this seems very arbitrary. There remain only two alternatives, either to suppose (what is improbable) that the Clement referred to is another Clement and his office not the bishopric, or to suppose that Hermas is (for some reason) using Clement's name as a symbol. So Origen treats the names here (Grapte, Clement, Hermas) as allegorical; see de Princip. iv. ii. But this again is improbable. The uncertainty as to date renders the use of this writing difficult. The matter is discussed by Lightfoot Dissert, p. 16, and Salmon Introd. p. 571 f. VI.] The Ministry in tfie Subapostolic Age. 301 mentions elsewhere. 1 The ' chief seat ' is elsewhere spoken of as an object of ambition to false prophets and others. 2 We also hear of deacons who abused their diaconate to make money, plundering widows and orphans. 3 So far then the government of the Church of Rome appears to be a government of presbyters, assisted by deacons in the administration of alms. (2) We have also mention of church ' rulers,' and these in another passage are unmistakably distin- guished, as in Clement's letter, from the occupants of the 'chief seat.' 4 So far the phenomena are exactly the same as those presented by Clement's letter. (3) Thirdly, we have mention of 'apostles and teachers who preached over the whole world and who taught with gravity and purity the word of the Lord.' Both are spoken of as having ' received the Holy Ghost,' and both belong to the past generation. 6 Here again there is no difficulty. (4) There is mention also of ' bishops ' who exer- in spite of ambiguities 1 Vis. ii. 4 : ypaifreis elf 6vo 0iAaptSia, ical ire/Ai^ets ev KATJ/wm KOJ. iv rpairrjj. nefj.\iiei ovv KAijpi); eis Tas efw iro'Aeis, exetVw yap eTriTeVpajrTaf Tpairnj ie youflenjcret ras x^P a S * a ' TOUS opfyavovs' <rv Se avayvtioT) eis Tatinjf TTJV m\iv jiera nil' jrpecrjSvTepaji' riav irpoi<rrafj.fviav TTJS jcAT)o*tas. (There is nothing to indicate Clement's relation to the presbyters.) Cf. Vis. iii. 9, 7 : vfuv Xe'yu TOIS Trpoijyov- fieVoi? r^s eticXi7<7ias icoi TOIS irpwroKafleSpiVous. 2 Mand. xi. 12 : 6 So/fiav jrvevjia x et> ' v^foi tavrov icat Se'Aet irpwroKajBeSpiav f\nv. Cf. Sim. viii. 7. 4. In the-SVk/A^rrfthe prophet has no official dignity in the Church, see App. Note I. 3 Sim. ix. 26. 2. In 15. 4 we read of irpo<>}Tai TOU Oeov KOU. Sidtcovoi. avrov. Here the word is probably used in a general sense. * Vis. ii. 2. 6 : epeis ovv TOIS Trporjyov/itVois TTJS e(CKX7)<rt'os. Cf. iii, 9. 7 : VJIM> Xeyw TOIS wporryovfitVois T^S eKAcArjo-i'as ical TOIS irpajTO<ca8e8piTcus. 5 ^:t . ix. 25. 2. The apostles are distinguished from the teachers (Sim. ix. 16. 5 oi airooToAot jcai 01 6toa<r<aAoi) and are mentioned alone (Sim. ix. 17. i : they were the preachers to ' the twelve tribes who inhabit the whole world,' and are therefore presumably reckoned as twelve). But both apostles and teachers belong to the past generation and were the -original proclaimers of the gospel (Sim. ix. 15. 4). Together they are symbolized under forty stones in the fabric of the tower which is the Church . 302 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. cised hospitality and protected the desolate and the widows, 1 and in another place a list is given of the worthies of the church ministry, past and present, as follows : ' Apostles and bishops and teachers and deacons, who walked according to the gravity of God and exercised their episcopate and taught and ministered with purity and gravity to the elect of God.' z Now if these visions were seen and written down in the days of Clement we should naturally identify the ' bishops ' with the ' presbyters who pre- side,' and suppose that the 'teachers' are inserted out of place or perhaps that the ' bishops ' are called 'teachers' also, like the 'pastors' (i.e. presbyter- bishops) of Eph. iv. ii. On the other hand, if, as we are almost forced to believe, the writing dates from the days of Pius, we can hardly do otherwise than interpret bishops in the later sense and suppose that the ' teachers ' are the presbyters here, to which again the passage of St. Paul just referred to would be a parallel. In this case we should naturally identify the ' bishops ' with the ' rulers,' and should suppose that in the interval since Clement's Epistle these rulers had become localized in the different churches as bishops and, though as such they would have sat among the presbyters on the ' chief seat ' and been reckoned among them, they still can be classed apart as a separate order and spoken of either by the title of ' bishop,' which belonged to their local presidency, or by their general name of ' rulers.' In any case it seems clear that this document adds considerably to the force of the argument derived from Clement's language, that even when the pres- 1 Sim. Ix. 27. 2 : 7riV<coiroi KOJ, $i\6evot, oirivet riSettt et? Toi>? OIKOU? cavrwf irairorc v7re5e'fai/TO TOVS SoiiAous TOU fleou arep vmucpiVsuf ot Se eiriVicojroi (c.T.X. 2 Vis. iii. 5. i. VI.] The Ministry in the Subapostolic Age. 303 byters were the chief local authorities they were still in subordination to 'rulers,' who represented, since the apostles and teachers had passed away, the chief authority in the Church. In summing up the results derived from a con- f h u sideration of the historical links which in the Western Church connect the age of the Apostles with that of Irenaeus, there are two theories which require notice besides the one which we have been led to adopt There is the view (which is undoubtedly supported ^jj by the Epistle of Polycarp, taken alone) that the ,^ ua Churches in the West were governed simply by a pr^byt tr J J bishops council of presbyters, who had no superiors over them, and who therefore must be supposed to have handed on their own ministry. There is no objection on ground of principle to this conclusion viewed in the light of the apostolic succession, as has been sufficiently explained already. These presbyter- bishops legitimately 'ordained' and fulfilled episcopal functions because those functions belonged to the equal commission they had all received. But later under the teachings of experience this full commis- sion was confined to one ' bishop,' and the rest received the reduced authority which belongs to the presby terate of later church history. Such a process would not represent the elevation of any new dignity from below but the limitation of an old dignity to one instead of its extension to many, and that in accordance with the precedent set by the Apostle St. John. ' Monepiscopacy ' takes the place of a diffused episcopacy. 1 It has however been pointed out that this supposition does not satisfy all the evidence of Clement's letter or of the Shepherd. It 1 So Dr. Langen states the principle GescA. der rffm, Kirche i. p. 95, and Light- foot (Jgnat. \. p. 376 n. 1 ) expresses agreement with him. 304 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. should also be added that it makes the strong tradition of the monepiscopal succession which meets us in the latter part of the second century, and the undisputed supremacy of the single bishop, almost unintelligible. (ii)the Secondly, there is a view based on the considera- hidden in tion tnat long after the existence of bishops in every terateT by ~ Church, as distinct from presbyters, the term presbyter could still be used for both orders, as it is occasionally by Irenaeus and Clement and Origen. Consequently it is maintainable that in the Church of Clement's day and of Polycarp's, at Corinth and at Philippi, there existed one amongst the presbyters who, though he held the unique powers which afterwards belonged to the episcopate, was still included under the common name. 1 While however this view can- not be disproved, it must be admitted that it is un- supported by the evidence of the documents we have been considering. (HO the The conclusion which on the whole we have been forali^tion led to form is that in the West no more than in the men-the hc East did the supreme power ever devolve upon the ported" view, presbyters. There was a time when they were in many places (as for instance at Corinth and Philippi) the chief local authorities the sole ordinary occu- pants of the chief seat. But over them, not yet localized, were men either of prophetic inspiration or of apostolic authority and known character 'prophets' or 'teachers' or 'evangelists' or 'rulers' who in the subapostolic age ordained to the sacred ministry and in certain cases would have exercised the chief teaching and governing authority. Gradually 1 Dr. Salmon writes (Introd. p. 568) : ' It has been thought that although Clement's letter exhibits the prominence of a single person as chief in the Church of Rome, it affords evidence that there was no such prominence in the Church of Corinth. . . . But this inference is not warranted.' VI.] The Ministry in the Subapostolic Age. 305 these men, after the pattern set by James in Jeru- salem or by John in the Churches of Asia, became themselves local presidents or instituted others in their place. Thus a transition was effected to a state of things in which every Church had its local president, who ranked amongst the presbytery a fellow-presbyter, like St. Peter sitting with them on the chief seat, but to whom was assigned exclusively the name of ' bishop.' This transference and limita- tion of a name can hardly be a difficulty when we remember the vague use of official titles which meets us in early church history. In the organization, as in the theology, of the Church nomenclature was only gradually fixed. 1 The view here expressed of the development of the ministry has one great ad- vantage, besides appearing to account for all the phenomena of the documents of the period : it accounts also for the strength of the tradition which gave authority to the episcopal successions when they first come into clear view, and for the unquestioned position which they held. 2 There is no trace of elevation in the records of the episcopate. 1 Cf. Theodoret on i Tim. iii. i : TOVS avrovs eKaAovv wore irpr/3vTe0ou *al iri<ricdrovs, TOUS Se vvv KaAovjuepout eirio-Ko'irous ajrooroAovs iivofta^ov row Se \povav irpo'iovTOS, TO /xev TTJS airooroAijs ovofia TOIS aATjffws airooroXois KO.Tf\iirov, Tr/v 6e nrj fjj-io-icojrijs irpo<n)yopuiv TOIS TraAai xaAovpcVoif aTrooroAois iire.Oe<Ta.v. The idea that bishops were at first called apostles is derived from Theodore Mops, on i Tim. iii. 8. There is no early evidence to support it, though there were ' apostles ' besides the twelve. In other respects, however, Theodore's account of the development of the ministry is very interesting. Timothy and Titus represent, he thinks, a class of subapostolic church rulers, who were put in charge of ' eparchies ' or large districts, and held the supreme control with the authority to ordain, while the local churches were ruled by presbyter-bishops : afterwards the increase in the number of the faithful led to the multiplication of the chief rulers, and their unwillingness to equal themselves to the Apostles, to their adoption of the name of bishops : in later days the episcopate, especially in the East, had come to be unduly multiplied. See Swete Theodore of Mops, on the Minor Epp. of St. Paul, ii. pp. 118-125. 2 We should still have to acknowledge a little idealizing in Tertullian's statement that the local episcopate at Corinth and Fhilippi was of apostolic institution. See de Praescr. 36. u CHAPTER VII CONCLUSIONS AND APPLICATIONS THE task which remains for us is that of endeavour- ing to sum up the conclusions of a long investigation. The verdict It appeared first of all that the record of history the church ; renders it practically indisputable that Jesus Christ founded a visible society or Church, to be the organ of His Spirit in the world, the depository of His truth, the covenanted sphere of His redemptive grace and discipline. Now such a society, as by its very nature it is to be universal and continuous, must have links of connection ; and in the uninterrupted history of the Church, as it is spread out before us from the latter part of the second century, one such link has always existed in the apostolic successions of the the apostolic ministry. 1 It appeared further that these successions succession: 111 i , , have been regarded by the church writers, with an unanimity and to an extent which hardly admit of being exaggerated, as an essential element of her sacerdotal- corporate life. Of course an essential ministry is a sacerdotal conception. Accordingly reasons have been given for believing that ideas now current as to 1 On the fundamental principle of the ministry I should like to take this last opportunity of referring to the Thcologia Naturalis of Raymund of Sabunde, a very interesting theologian of the fifteenth century ; cf. tit 303 : ' quia vita spiritualis consistit in charitate et unitate, ideo convenientissime debuit ordinari, ut homines vice Christi administrent sacramenta salutis hominibus, ut magis fierent unum inter se.' 306 ism VII.] Conclusions and Applications. 307 the growth of sacerdotalism in the early centuries are greatly exaggerated. Undoubtedly there has been a certain growth and development in this respect, and the causes of it are not far to seek. The ministry existed in order to govern, and the lawless- ness which made government necessary made the assertion of its authority more emphatic. Again, and this is a point on which it is worth while to lay a good deal of emphasis, the growing secularity of the Church, consequent upon the popular acceptance of the Christian religion becoming increasingly easy, led inevitably to stress being laid, where there was special need and opportunity to lay it, upon the sanctity requisite for the clergy in their ministerial relation to God. Thus, no doubt, the gulf broadened between the clergy and laity ; for, as that gulf is narrowest where the general level of Christian life and aspiration is highest, so the lowering of the average tone tends to the isolation of the priesthood of the ministry. Thus it would be impossible to deny a growth in the sacerdotal conceptions of the Church, but it is a growth which (as has been said) is very easily exaggerated. At least there antedated it the belief (which appears in the latter part of the second century with all the force of an immemorial tradition) that a ministry of bishops, priests, and deacons of apostolic descent and divine authorization is the centre of unity in each local Christian society, and is charged with the administration of that worship and discipline, and with the guardianship of that doctrine, which belong to the whole Church. The chief authority lay with the bishop, and accord- ingly episcopal ordination was regarded without a single exception which can be alleged on reasonable 308 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. grounds as essential to constitute a man a member of the clergy and give him ministerial commission. Thus what is commonly understood to be meant by the doctrine of the apostolic succession was a commonplace among Christian ideas, and was bound up with the whole fabric of the life of the catholic Church. Nor would this position be affected if we were to accept Jerome's testimony though grave reasons were shown against accepting it to the effect that in the early Church of Alexandria on the vacancy of the see, one of the presbyters succeeded to the episcopate after mere election by his fellows. This would only mean that the Alexandrian pres- byters were by the terms of their ordination bishops in posse, even though their exercise of episcopal powers without special election would have been irregular and would not therefore, according to current teaching, have been accepted as valid. It would not mean it was not understood by Jerome to mean that a presbyter, who had been ordained without any special conditions attached to his charge, could advance himself under any circumstances to episcopal functions. This supposed arrangement would not, therefore, have touched the principle of the succession, viz. that no ecclesiastical ministry can be validly exercised except such as is covered by a clearly understood commission, received in the regular devolution of ecclesiastical authority. Was, then, this position which the Church took up about her orders justified by the original intentions of her Founder and His Apostles? The witness 1 answer to this we were led to see that, however Gospels; much ambiguity might attach to the record of the four Gospels if they were isolated documents, they VII.] Conclusions and Applications. 309 certainly appear to warrant, if not to require, the position that Christ instituted in His Church a per- manent and official apostolate. Further the early records of the apostolic age the apostolic present us with a picture of the Church governed by such an apostolate, invested without any doubt with a supernatural authority. As the Church grows, a local ministry of presbyter-bishops and deacons is developed in the different Churches. These local officers appear as sharing the apostolic ministry, though in subordinate grades, and as instituted by apostolic authority. It is only by giving the evidence of the Didache an importance denied to that of the Pastoral Epistles, the Acts of the Apostles, and Clement's Epistle, that the idea of a ministry elected simply by the congregation can find any countenance, and though the Didache taken by itself would admit of this interpretation it does not require it. At the period then represented by the Pastoral Epistles when the Apostle St. Paul is writing especially about church organization and in view of the future the church ministry consisted of presbyter-bishops and deacons, controlled by the superior authority of apostles and apostolic men. Earlier the rich miraculous endowments of the Church endowments which witnessed to the reality of the Spirit's presence, which was ministered by apostolic hands had more or less thrown into the background the more normal and permanent ' gift of government ' : but at every stage the Church is pre- sented to us as an elaborate organization in which every member has his own position and function by divine appointment.' It is certain that miraculous indications of the divine will in regard to any 3io Christian Ministry. [CHAP. particular person would have rendered official ap- pointment in accordance with such indications a very subordinate matter ; but the force to be attributed to miraculous qualifications recognised by the com- munity is not a practical question in reference to the later church ministry, nor did it appear probable that even such qualifications were allowed (in the case for instance of those prophets and teachers who shared the apostolic authority) to dispense with an appointment to office received either directly from Christ or from His Apostles. The question then arose : What are the links of connection between the apostolic ministry as it is presented to us in the Pastoral Epistles and the ministry of bishops, priests, and deacons as it appears in church history ? In particular do the single bishops in each community represent simply a localization of the authority of apostles, prophets, and teachers, which had been catholic or general, while the title 'bishop' was transferred from the lower to the higher grade of office : or was it the case that such apostolic authority as was needed for the permanent government of the Church passed first to the local colleges of equal presbyter-bishops, and that after a time the general governing authority was confined to one only who was called ' bishop ' by a limitation of the term the rest receiving the reduced commission of presbyters ? In answer to this question it appeared that the latter hypothesis can indeed be defended in the case of certain parts of the Church, especially on the evidence of the Epistle of Polycarp and Jerome's statements about the Church of Alexandria, and that it is a hypothesis which in view of its common VII.] Conclusions and Applications. 311 reception in the West it would be impossible to con- demn as if it contradicted the principle of the apostolic succession : but it appeared also that the former alternative is by far the more probable. It has on its side the evidence of the history of the ministry in Palestine, Syria, and Asia ; and, on closer inspection, the evidence which the Epistle of Clement gives us as to the development of the Church at Rome and Corinth, while it is not incompatible with the witness of Polycarp's letter. Thus the presbyters seem never to have held the powers later known as episcopal ; but as Church after Church gained a local representative of apostolic authority, the title of bishop was very naturally confined in its use to distinguish this ' successor of the Apostles ' among the local ' presbyters/ with whom he was associated. It is, however, necessary to emphasize once again that there is considerable room for uncertainty as to the exact steps by which in this place or that the apostolic ministry passed into the ordinary ministry of the Church. But there are matters of much more importance as to which there is no such uncer- tainty : (1) The ministry advanced always upon the prin- ciple of succession, so that whatever functions a man held in the Church at any time were simply those that had been committed to him by some one among his predecessors who had held the authority to 'give orders' by regular devolution from the Apostles. (2) ' It was by a common instinct that this [the threefold or episcopal] organization was everywhere adopted. It was as it were a law of the being of the 312 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. The doctrine of apostolic succession alone satis-] fies all the evidence. Application of the principle Church that it should put on this form, which worked as surely as the growth of a particular kind of plant from a particular kind of seed. Everywhere there was a development which made unerringly for the same goal. This seems to speak of divine institu- tion almost as plainly as if our Lord had in so many words prescribed this form of church government. He, the founder, the creator of the Church, would seem to have impressed upon it this nature.' 1 Mr. Darwin, writing about his theory of the pro- cess of evolution in nature, uses these words : ' I fully admit that there are very many difficulties not satisfactorily explained by my theory of descent with modification, but I cannot possibly believe that a false theory would explain so many classes of facts as I think it certainly does explain. On these grounds I drop my anchor, and believe that the difficulties will slowly disappear.' 2 It is interesting to notice what grounds of evidence a great scientific teacher thinks adequate to support a far-reaching doctrine : and it is impossible not to perceive what infinitely higher grounds we have for our theory of the apostolic succession. It not only ' explains many classes of facts,' but it, and it only (though of course the cogency of the positive evidence for it is different at different stages), appears to explain all the pheno- mena of the Christian ministry from the beginning. We, then, have better cause to ' drop our anchor.' It is not proposed to carry very far the application of the principles which have been enunciated and 1 Stanton Christian Ministry Historically Considered in Lectures on Church Doctrine, series iii, pp. 16, 17, I have altered the tenses to adapt the quotation to the context, but with no change of sense. 2 Life and Letters of Charles Darwin ii. p. 217. Cf. p. 286 : ' it seems to me that an hypothesis is developed into a theory solely by explaining an ample lot of facts.' vii.] Conclusions and Applications. 313 defended in this book. It is not for instance proposed to discuss whether such and such Churches or reli- gious bodies which call themselves episcopal have really the historical succession, nor on the other hand to investigate the theories of ordination, more or less subversive, which have been current since the Reformation. But it will appear at once as a conse- quence of all this argument that the various presby- terian and congregationalist organizations, however mi venerable on many and different grounds, have, in dispensing with the episcopal successions, violated a fundamental law of the Church's life. It cannot be maintained that the acts of ordination, by which presbyters of the sixteenth or subsequent centuries originated the ministries of some of these societies, were covered by their commission or belonged to the office of presbyter which they had duly received. Beyond all question they ' took to themselves ' these powers of ordination, and consequently had them not. It is not proved nay, it is not perhaps even probable that any presbyter had in any age the power to ordain. But it is absolutely certain that for a large number of centuries it had been understood beyond all question that only bishops could ordain and that presbyters had not episcopal powers ; and no exceptional dignity, belonging to any presbyter- abbot had ever enabled him to transcend the limits of his office. It follows then not that God's grace has not worked, and worked largely, through many an irregular ministry where it was exercised or used in good faith but that a ministry not episcopally received is invalid, that is to say, falls outside the conditions of covenanted security and cannot justify its existence in terms of the covenant. 314 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. This conclusion once accepted has of course an immediate bearing on the obligations of individuals who may find themselves members of presbyterian or congregationalist bodies ; but it has also another and more general bearing on the relation of large com- munities of Christians to the properly constituted (the bearing Church. How can you suppose, they indignantly present ask, that we can accept conclusions which would falsify the prolonged experience we have had in our Churches of the systematic action of the grace of God ? The answer to such pleading is surely this. We do not ask you to deny any spiritual experience of the past or the present. The blame for separations lies, on any fair showing, quite sufficiently with the Church to make it intelligible that God should have let the action of His grace extend itself widely and freely beyond its covenanted channels. We ask you then to be false to no part of experience but rather to be more completely true to experience in all its aspects. For must you not admit that viewed on the whole the results of our divisions have been dis- astrous ; that the present state of Christendom is intolerable? Let me quote the very serious words of an eminent presbyterian theologian : l 1 If it be the duty of the Church to represent her Lord among men, and if she faithfully performs that duty, it follows by an absolutely irresistible necessity that the unity exhibited in His person must appear in her. She must not only be one, but visibly one in some distinct and appreciable sense in such a sense that men shall not need to be told of it, but shall themselves see and acknowledge that her unity is real. No doubt such unity may be, and is, consistent with great variety with variety in the dogmatic expression of Christian truth, in regulations for Christian government, in forms of Christian worship, and in the exhibition of Christian life. It is unnecessary to speak of these things now. Variety and the right to differ have many advocates. 1 Dr. Milligan Resurrection of our Lord pp. 199-202. VII.] Conclusions and Applications. 315 We have rather at present to think of unity and the obligation to agree. As regards these, it can hardly be denied that the Church of our time is flagrantly and disastrously at fault. The spectacle presented by her to the world is in direct and palpable contradiction to the unity of the person of her Lord ; and she would at once discover its sinfulness were she not too exclusively occupied with the thought of positive action on the world, instead of remembering that her primary and most important duty is to afford to the world a visible representation of her Exalted Head. In all her branches, indeed, the beauty of unity is enthusiastically talked of by her members, and not a few are never weary of describing the precious ointment in which the Psalmist beheld a symbol of the unity of Israel. Others, again, alive to the uselessness of talking where there is no corresponding reality, seek comfort in the thought that beneath all the divisions of the Church there is a unity which she did not make, and which she cannot unmake. Yet, surely, in the light of the truth now before us, we may well ask whether either the talking or the suggested comfort brings us nearer a solution of our difficulties. The one is so meaningless that the very lips which utter it might be expected to refuse their office. The other is true, although, according as it is used, it may either be a stimulus to amendment or a pious platitude ; and generally it is the latter. But neither words about the beauty of unity, nor the fact of an invisible unity, avail to help us. What the Church ought to possess is a unity which the eye can see. If she is to be a witness to her Risen Lord, she must do more than talk of unity, more than console herself with the hope that the world will not forget the invisible bond by which it is pled that all her members are bound together into one. Visible unity in one form or another is an essential mark of her faithfulness. . . . The world will never be converted by a disunited Church. Even Bible circulation and missionary exertion upon the largest scale will be powerless to convert it, unless they are accompanied by the strength which unity alone can give. Let the Church of Christ once feel, in any measure corresponding to its importance, that she is the representative of the Risen Lord, and she will no longer be satisfied with mere outward action. She will see that her first and most imperative duty is to heal herself, that she may be able to heal others also. ' This is strong pleading. And, if it be the case that we are bound to seek organic unity ; if it be the case that the results of our past divisions, of our past individualism, are such as to satisfy us that there has been something fundamentally wrong about current 3 16 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. conceptions of Christian liberty and Christian pro- gress ; if further it be the case that new moral and doctrinal perils, consequent upon the collapse of Christian discipline and accompanied with the ' shak- ing ' of established institutions in all directions, are constantly pressing upon us the obligation to consider afresh the basis of Christian life and order, all this coincides to give new force and meaning to the claims of the apostolic succession. For it alone, embodying as it does the principle of the historical continuity of the Church, affords a possible basis of union : it alone, while on the one hand it cannot possibly be abandoned, and while the Churches which possess it cannot be asked l (if there be anything in this argument) to regard it as simply one of many permissible forms of church govern- ment, on the other hand is not, when taken in its true breadth and in all its possibilities of application, open to objection as if it were itself inadequate or unsatisfactory. 2 Ip^opaf " Nor is it the case that in this matter the Anglican thd/true to Church is simply asking for a cause to be decided all principles. h er own wa y ; f or s he has herself to say nothing of other portions of the Church much to do to recall herself to her true principles. God's promise to Judah was that she should remember her ways and be ashamed, when she should receive her sisters Samaria and Sodom : and that He would give them her ' for daughters, but not by her covenant ' 3 : and certainly, if it were granted to the English Church to become 1 As Dr. Milligan would I suppose ask them. Some words imply this, in the context from which I have quoted. 2 I had occasion to point out before that episcopacy is a much wider principle than has sometimes been supposed by both its friends and its enemies, see p. 65 f. * Ezek. xvi. 61. VII.] Conclusions and Applications. 317 a centre for the reunion of separated communities on the basis of the apostolic succession, the words ' not by her covenant' would need to be brought to memory. To take only one example of this out of several which suggest themselves. The principle of the apostolic succession involves the truth that the bishops of the catholic Church are clothed with a spiritual authority, and a corresponding responsibility, as the guardians of Christian truth and worship and discip- line, an authority and a responsibility which they cannot alienate from themselves, or commit to the secular government, without treason to their great Head. God in fact has instituted two kinds of societies in the world coincident but distinct the ministers of each representing His authority in their own sphere : indeed in one aspect the record of Christian history is the record of the divine over- ruling of various attempts on the part of one of these two authorities to deny to the other its independent existence. The early Christian Church recognised without hesitation that 'the powers that be are ordained of God,' but on the other hand the secular power alarmed at the growth of the new spiritual society the imperium in imperio endeavoured to crush out the Church. At a later epoch, when the balance of powers had changed, the great writers of the middle age acknowledged side by side the Holy Church and the Holy Empire, but in the climax of its might the papacy would not be satisfied with less than the annihilation of the independence of the State. Once more and for the last time, an attempt was made which is specially identified with the his- tory of the English Church and race, so to emphasize 3i8 Christian Ministry. [CHAP. the idea of a Christianized nation, that Church and State could be regarded as only different aspects of the same society. On the basis of such a theory, if the State pledged itself to the Church's faith, the Church on her side might be content to merge her independent governmental authority in that of the State. The logic of events falsified in turn each of these attempts to fuse the distinct spheres of ' the two empires.' If circumstances have made it absurd in England now to speak of the nation as committed to the catholic faith or of her national courts as 'spiritual,' 1 then circumstances have taught us also how dangerous it was for the Church to go even as far as she did, in alienating her power of indepen- dent action. In the future she must be content to first of all act as part and parcel of the catholic Church, ruled by her laws, empowered by her Spirit. And, if the bishops are to make an intelligible claim, they must make it as the responsible guardians by Christ's appointment and apostolic succession of the doctrine and discipline and worship of the Church catholic, ready to maintain, at all cost, the inherent spiritual independence which belongs to their office. If then this be the case, the English Church has to learn as well as to teach to recover a principle as well as to maintain it. For it admits of no question that, for instance, the Established Church in Scot- land, though it is presbyterian, has maintained more successfully than the Church of England with her catholic succession the spiritual independence of 1 As Hooker pleaded (E. P. viii. 8. 9) : ' If the cause be spiritual, secular courts do not meddle with it : we need not excuse ourselves with Ambrose, but boldly and lawfully we may refuse to answer before any civil judge in a matter which is not civil, so that we do not mistake the nature either of the cause or of the court." VII.] Conclusions and Applications. 319 Christ's society. 1 We have to learn, then, as well as to teach. But the object of this book was only to maintain a principle ; and I should desire to have left before the minds of my readers the picture of a universal spiritual society, in which the apostolic succession of the bishops constitutes by divine appointment a visible link between different epochs, witnessing everywhere to that permanent element in human nature to which Christ's Gospel appeals, that funda- mental humanity, underlying all developments and variations, in virtue of which there becomes possible a real spiritual continuity between the generations, so that 'the heart of the fathers is turned to the children and the heart of the children to the fathers, lest God come and smite the earth with a curse.' 1 See the remarkable decisions of the Judges of the Court of Session quoted in the Report of the Royal Commission on Ecclesiastical Courts, 1883, vol. ii. p. 46. APPENDED NOTES. A. DR. LIGHTFOOT'S DISSERTATION ON 'THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY.' 1 THE Church at large owes Dr. Lightfoot a debt of gratitude so (in the strictest sense of the term) incalculable I do not say as Bishop of Durham, for that consideration would be out of place here, but as an historical critic of the very first order, as a defender of the faith, and as an interpreter of St. Paul and, more than this, any would-be vindicator of the Christian ministry owes so great a debt to the scholar who has again set almost beyond the reach of cavil the genuineness of the Ignatian Epistles, that, in venturing to say a word in criticism of what he has written and confirmed with his mature approval, 2 one runs a great risk of incurring the charge both of arrogance and of ingratitude. Yet there is no doubt that the Essay named above has caused a great deal of disquiet and confusion : it has been found an effective instrument in defence of 'Congregational principles' by their ablest advocate*: and, though all this may have been due in most part, as Dr. Lightfoot says, to its ' partial and qualifying statements ' being ' emphasized to the neglect of the general drift of the Essay,' 4 it does seem to justify such misinterpretations (if I may so speak) by the great ambiguity of the position which it takes up. This has recently been made all the more apparent by a statement of the author, that he recognises in Dr. Langen (the distinguished Old- Catholic divine) one who ' gives an account of the origin of episcopacy precisely similar to his own, as set forth in this Essay ' i. e. the Essay 1 See his Epistle to the PhUfppians pp. 181 f. 2 See the Preface to the Sixth Edition (1881). 3 R. W. Dale's Manual of Congregational Principles, appendix p. 216. * Pref. to Sixth Edition. X 322 Christian Ministry. now under discussion. 1 But Dr. Langen's account of the matter 2 is given in complete accordance with the principle of the apostolic succes- sion as contended for above. He never speaks as if the Church created her ministry originally, or created subsequently a new office of the episcopate by elevation from below. 8 He speaks of the episcopate as always handed down from the Apostles, and simply recognises, whether rightly or no, that, having been originally held by all the presbyters, at least in the West, it subsequently was limited to one. It is obvious that the same facts may admit of being expressed under either phrase- ology, though not with equal regard to their real significance. I am not now concerned with the facts. My point here is only this, that Dr. Lightfoot's expression of complete agreement with Dr. Langen indicates that he ignores what to many people seems the question of primary importance, viz., what principles regulated the devolution and development of the ministry. The question is not one of archaeology only, but of principle. The principles which find expression in church history are at least as important as the facts in which they are expressed. It is fatal to neglect either one or the other. Dr. Lightfoot's facts may be perfectly true, but he may still err by ignoring the spirit which was at work in them. I venture then to point out the main defects (as they seem to me) in this celebrated Dissertation. (i) First, then, the Dissertation seems to be misleading by giving countenance to a popular confusion of thought, of great importance in religious matters. Men confuse two quite different antitheses. There is the antithesis of what is essential and what is unessential ; there is the antithesis of means and ends. In religion the latter antithesis is of vital importance. There is only one end in religion. That is the actual restoration of man into the image of God, and therefore into unimpeded fellowship with God. To this end all else is a means all sacraments and means of grace, all spiritual discipline and effort ; amongst other instrumentalities the ministry. Dr. Lightfoot is there- fore perfectly right in warning us against ' exalting means into ends ' (P. 184). But he appears to countenance a misleading confusion between means and unessentials. ' It was against this false principle, ' he says, ' that [the Apostles] 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 1 ffnattus i. p. 376 note*. 2 Geschichte der rSmischen Kirche i. p. 95 f. 3 Dissert, p. 196 : ' The episcopate was formed . . . out of the presbyteral order by elevation.' Note A, 323 afford to hold lightly or neglect. But they were no part of the essence of God's message to man in the Gospel.' Here Dr. Lightfoot implies that in recognising anything to be a means, not an end, we are recognis- ing it, at the last resort, as not of the essence. He is not, of course, using essence in any metaphysical sense, but in such sense as that what is essential, is equivalent to what is necessary, to what is of primary authority and importance. Are there not then such things as essential means ? Do we say in the natural region that medicine and the ministry of healing are unessential because they are only means to an end beyond themselves namely, health ? No ; they are essential means. Now, what is Christianity in the supernatural region ? What did Christ send His Apostles to do ? To announce the true end of human life the true ideal on which our eyes must always be fixed ? Most certainly ; but not only perhaps not chiefly to do this. Their duty was at least as primarily to call people's attention to the means which God had devised ' that His banished should not be expelled from Him ' (2 Sam. xiv. 14). Christ had established a kingdom or Church ; and this, wilh its sacraments and its social obligations, was the divinely appointed the essential or necessary means to the great end. Christianity is as much the establishment of a visible system of means for realizing the end of human life, as it is the divine announcement of what that end is. There are in Christianity, therefore, essential means means, that is, not devised by men as the gradual outcome of their experienced needs, but ordained by Christ in anticipation of them. This, of course, Dr. Lightfoot would admit though his language at times would suggest the false notion, on which enough has been said, that Christianity came into the world as a bare ideal (see pp. 181, 182). But at least he would admit that Baptism and the Lord's Supper were divinely appointed means ' generally necessary to salvation. ' * Now these are social sacraments ; they are parts of a social system ; they involve the truth that Christ has instituted a ' kingdom of means,' a visible channel for His covenanted gifts of grace. Well then, if this be so, no new principle will be involved, supposing the evidence goes to show that Christ instituted a ministry of truth and grace in His kingdom, intended to be a permanent link of continuity and bond of unity in it. This ministry becomes one of the ' means which God devised. ' But, strangely enough, the question is never faced : did Christ institute a ministry in the persons of His Apostles, and did they perpetuate it ? 1 But, if this is so, then the proposition that ' Christianity has no special sanctuaries' is at least misleading. (p. 181). A Christian, to continue such, must participate in a sacramenta 'breaking of bread,' which must be a local act, and which constitutes the place where it is celebrated, without more ado, a local sanctuary. 324 Christian Ministry. Dr. Lightfoot says : ' it became necessary to appoint special officers ' ; ' it became necessary to provide for the emergency by definite officers ' (p. 184). Was the Church ever without special officers constituted by divine appointment in the Apostles ? Was not the household divinely planned so as to include commissioned stewards ? I cannot see how Dr. Lightfoot, accepting the Gospels, the Acts, and the Pastoral Epistles, can answer in the negative. But what I am calling attention to here is simply that he has not put the clear issue before us. He speaks in the earlier part of his Essay as if all the means for realizing the great ideal of humanity presented to us in Christ were left to man's devising, and were therefore matter only of spiritual expedience. But he is pledged to admit ' necessary means, 5 at the least in the two sacraments ; and these spoil his whole theory. They involve the institution by Christ of a kingdom of means. They force us to put another question to ourselves, and not that which he suggests to us, viz., Granted a kingdom of necessary means, is a ministry among them ? (2) Dr. Lightfoot repudiates strenuously and rightly certain falsely sacerdotal conceptions (pp. 181, 182). He also admits the existence in the Church of a priesthood rightly so called (pp. 182, 266, 627). Confessedly in this controversy a good deal is a matter of words ; something has been said on it above, and something on its historical aspect will be said further on. But here again the fundamental questions are, in the Dissertation, hardly put to us. Did Christ institute a ministry of sacred things call it a priesthood or not in such sense that the members of His Church were bound to avail them- selves of it, and by this very obligation were given a centre and bond of unity? Dr. Lightfoot is at liberty to call Ignatius and Irenaeus unsacerdotal (pp. 250, 252) ; he is at liberty to quote Ambrosiaster as ' giving a singularly appreciative account of the relation of the ministry to the congregation' (p. 185 note 1 ). But these writers would have answered this question with a most unhesitating affirmative ; they undoubtedly believed in the necessary subordination of every one who would be a Christian to the episcopal ministry which represented the divine authority in the Church by succession from the Apostles ; they would not have recognised as a brother any one who was separated from the Church of the bishops. We go back to the apostolic age. Here, again, any one is at liberty to note that the ministry is not called a priesthood ; but he must recognise that there was a ministry, and that it had special powers. For could any Christian receive the gift of the Holy Ghost except by the laying-on of apostolic hands? Could any zealous Cretan become a presbyter except by Titus' ordination ? The sort of 'unsacerdotalism,' which nevertheless makes an exclusive claim for an ordained ministry, is not what is wanted by anti-sacer- Note B. 325 dotalists of our day. Thus, as we read this portion of Dr. Lightfoot's Essay, we feel constantly drawn ' to move the previous question.' Was there ever a time in church history when men, who deserted the authoritative ministry and set up one of their own outside the due succession, would have been regarded as still within the covenant ? Was it ever a recognised principle in the Church that an unordained Christian at the last resort could celebrate the Eucharist? I shall endeavour to answer these questions in the ensuing chapters. My present object is not to discuss the facts so much as to point out where, I think, Dr. Lightfoot tends to ignore the primary questions at issue. B. THE EARLY HISTORY OF THE ALEXANDRIAN MINISTRY. (See pp. 124-130.) JEROME'S statement (Ep. cxlvi ad Evangelum) is as follows : ' Alexandriae a Marco evangelista usque ad Heraclam et Dionysium episcopos presbyteri semper unum ex se electum in excelsiori gradu collocatum episcopum nominabant, quomodo si exercitus imperatorem facial aut diaconi eligant de se quem industrium noverint et archidia- conum vocent. Quid enim facit excepta ordinatione episcopus, quod presbyter non facial ? ' These are his words. The parallel found in the military election might suggest a doubt as to his meaning, but the illustration from the election of an archdeacon seems plain. So at least thought the author of the de Divinis Officiis (wrongly attributed to Alcuin), who quotes Jerome's words and comments thus : ' Archidiaconus eandem conse- crationem habet quam ceteri diaconi, sed electione fratrum praeponitur ' (ap. Hittorp. p. 74) ; so also Amalarius, bishop of Treves, c. A.D. 820, de Eccles. Off. ii. 13 (ap. Hittorp. p. 166) : ' Archidiaconi consecratio nobis notissima est : archidiaconus eandem consecrationem habet quam ceteri diaconi, sed electione fratrum praeponitur.' They both treat this state of things at Alexandria as an instance of a substantial original identity in the office of bishops and priests, indicated by the same officers being called in the new Testament by either name. This comes to them from Jerome and Ambrosiaster, whom they quote. 1 In Greek writers we get 'no hint of what Jerome mentions. We leam indeed from Epiphanius that ' all the churches [or congregations] 1 See further App. Note F, and above, p. 159 f. 326 Christian Ministry. belonging to the catholic Church in Alexandria were under one arch- bishop, and presbyters were appointed over these separately to supply the ecclesiastical necessities of the inhabitants who lived in the neigh- bourhood of each church ' (Haer. Ixix. I ). Thus in his day the pres- byters at Alexandria had the relative independence of later parish priests. 1 Of anything beyond this in the past we get no hint. But an Arab historian is quoted to confirm Jerome. Sa'id Ibn Batrik, Melkite patriarch of Alexandria from A.D. 933-943 who took the Greek name of Eutychius (though he does not appear to have known Greek) and wrote annals in Arabic from the creation down to his own time makes the following statements : z 'Mark the evangelist appointed, with Hananias the patriarch, twelve presbyters to be with the patriarch, so that when he died they should choose one of the twelve presbyters, and the other eleven should lay their hands on his head and bless him, and make him patriarch. Afterwards they should elect another eminent man and make him presbyter with themselves in place of him who had been made patriarch, that they might always be twelve. And this custom of the twelve presbyters of Alexandria appointing the patriarch out of themselves continued till the time of the patriarch Alexander, who was of the 318 [i.e. Fathers of Nicaea]; he forbade the presbyters henceforth to appoint the patriarch. He also ordered that when the patriarch was dead the bishops should assemble and appoint a patriarch.' He also removed the restriction to elect from among the twelve presbyters. 'Thus ceased the ancient custom of appointing the patriarch from among the presbyters and the power of appointing the patriarch came to belong to the bishops.' ' From the time of Hananias to the time of Demetrius, the eleventh patriarch of Alexandria (A.D. 189 to A.D. 231-2), there was no bishop in the territory of Egypt. Nor had the patriarchs who were before him appointed a bishop. When Demetrius was made patriarch he appointed three bishops, and he was the first patriarch of Alexandria 1 This is all that Epiphanius says. Is it fairly represented by Dr. Bigg's ' Even accounts for Eusebius' language .. . , , r _, \tLTOvpyiav fyxeipi^frai Ai)/x>JTpios, and iv. 35 t riav KOLT' 'AA.efai'Speiav fKK\rjtriiav TT)v fnnTKOiri)v AtovvcTio? vjToAafi/Savei. But he uses the first phrase in a more doubtful sense of Irenaeus in v. 23. 2 A portion of the annals was edited first by Selden, under the title Eutychii Aegyptii Patriarchal Orthodoxorum Alexandrini Ecclesiae stiae Origines, in 1642, in the interests of presbyterianism. He was replied to by a Maronite Father, Abraham Echellensis, in his Eutychius Vindicates, 1661 ; also by Pearson in the Vittdiciae Ignatianae, 1672. The Annales, or Contextio Getitmarum, is published in a Latin translation in Migne's Patrol. Crate, cxi. p. 907 f. The passages quoted above are from p. 982. Note B. 327 who appointed bishops. When he was dead Heraclas was appointed in his place, who appointed twenty bishops.' It will be noticed that Eutychius 1 I ) supports Jerome's statement, but specifies twelve presbyters, and adds that the presbyters laid on hands, which Jerome does not say : (2) makes the arrangement last till Alexander's time, which again contradicts Jerome and is manifestly false : (3) speaks of ' the patriarch,' which is of course an anachronism : (4) adds information which, if true, would be very important, viz. , that there was only one bishop in Egypt up to the days of Demetrius, who added three, and Heraclas, who increased them to twenty. We cannot tell whence this writer derived his information. I think, however, that the following reasons are sufficient to prevent our attaching any weight to what he says : 1 i ) He is so ignorant of the period to which he assigns the ' ecclesi- astical revolution ' caused by the creation of the Egyptian episcopate, that he actually is unaware of the existence at that time of infinitely the most important man of the age Origen. When he comes to deal with the fifth Council he writes thus 1 : ' There was in the time of Justinian a bishop of Manbag (episcopus Manbagensis), by name Origen, who taught metempsychosis, denying a resurrection. There was also Ibas, bishop of Edessa (Rohensis), Thaddaeus, bishop of Massisa (Massisensis), and Theodoret, bishop of Ancyra, who asserted that the body of our Lord Christ was phantastic and nothing real.' This will suffice as a specimen of his historical knowledge. Pearson enlarges on his ignorance and blunders ( Vindic. Ignat. part I. p. 294 f.). (2) But it may be answered that however ignorant of the Greek church writers, and of church history generally, he may have had access to Alexandrian traditions. Have we reason then to think that his statements represent ancient Egyptian tradition ? I think not. Partly because Jerome, had he known what Eutychius relates, would not have kept silence about it. But also and this is more important because Severus, bishop of Asmonaei in Egypt, 2 who wrote a history of the Alexandrian patriarchs 3 in the same century as Eutychius (c. A.D. 978) and professes to have consulted Greek and Coptic remains in the monastery of St. Macarius, knows nothing of what Eutychius relates and gives a great many details about the election of early 1 ap. Migne I.e. p. 1073. - Fabricius Bibl. Grate, ix. p. 349 : ' Asmonaeorum episcopus' (? = Ashmuneim). 3 Condensed by Renaudot into a Latin version Historia Patriarckantm A lexandrinorvm. 328 Christian Ministry. patriarchs quite inconsistent with the supposed position of the twelve presbyters and involving the existence of other bishops. Kenaudot complains (Hist. p. 23) of Severus' ignorance and doubts his know- ledge of Greek, but at least he knows more of the period of Demetrius than Eutychius does. He abuses Origen out of all reason ; but he knows his period and his fame as a scholar and writer. Now Severus makes St. Mark consecrate a bishop, three presbyters, and seven deacons, and then proceed into Pentapolis and consecrate in many places bishops, priests, and deacons (Renaudot Hist. p. 4). He represents Cerdo (the third bishop), as having been elected by bishops and priests with the faithful laity and that too by lot (ib. p. 14), and Primus (the fourth) as chosen out of the ' orthodox people ' not from among the presbyters (p. 15), and Claudian (the eighth) as elected by the people with the bishops (p. I7). 1 Thus the complete disagreement of the more credible Severus with the statements of Eutychius seems to deprive them of the claim to represent a valid tradition. 2 (3) Eutychius' information about the absence of bishops in Egypt till the times of Demetrius and Heraclas seems inconsistent with what we know of the history of the period. Photius records, 3 on the authority of Pamphilus, the author of an Apology for Origen, the following facts : ' Demetrius' love is turned [by Origen's ordination] into hatred. . . . Moreover, a synod of bishops and some presbyters is gathered together against Origen. And they, as Pamphilus says, vote that Origen should be banished from Alexandria and neither live there nor teach, but that he should not be deposed from the honour of the presbyterate. But Demetrius, with some Egyptian bishops, removed him also from the priesthood, those who had formerly supported him subscribing this decree.' Now Pamphilus was an enthusiastic disciple of Origen, and if this synod of bishops who overrode the mixed synod of bishops and presbyters had been a new thing created simply by Demetrius and 1 Apparently he speaks of the election of Agrippinus the tenth patriarch in these words, as rendered by Renaudot in Latin (Coll. Lit. Orient, i. p. 381) : 'convenisse populum et manus imposuisse illi atque ilium ordinavisse patriarcham et in sede d. Marci collocavisse.' Renaudot thinks this phrase in Severus makes it possible that Eutychius only meant to imply that eleven presbyters 'got hands laid upon the new patriarch.' This, however, is improbable. a It may be said that still later historians, Georgius Homadius (El-Makin), an Arab Christian who died in 1273, and the Sheikh Taqi-ed-Din El-Maqrizi (fourteenth century translated by Rev. S. C. Malan in Original Documents of the Coptic Church), support Eutychius in different degrees. But the former is said to be made up out of Eutychius (this portion of El-Makin is not edited), and El-Maqrizi undoubtedly depends upon him. 'A gifted man,' he describes him, 'who wrote a useful history ' (Malan's translation p. 87). 8 Photius Bibliotheca. cod. cxviii. ap. Migne Patrol. Grace, ciii. p. 397. Pamphi- lus was martyred in A.D. 309. The book was completed by his friend Eusebius, bishop of Caesarea. Note B. 329 lacking altogether in constitutional authority, it is very unlikely that we should not have been told so. Nay more, we should surely have been able to catch in Origen's own language about bishops subsequently some tone of disparagement, some hint of novel claims made in the name of episcopal authority; but all his language quoted on pp. 140, 141, dates from the period after his expulsion and deposition. 1 Dr. Bigg speaks of the patriarchate of Demetrius as involving ' the bustle and excitement of a revolution,' and he alludes to ' a usurpation which lay heavy on the priests.' 2 Now Demetrius died in 231 ; this 'usurpa- tion ' was carried further, according to Jerome, in the episcopates of his successors by the abolition of the old method of appointing bishops. Yet Origen, writing about A.D. 249, speaks of the Alexandrian, among other Churches, as characterized by mildness and stability (Tpaeta icai ewrra#77s, c. Cels. iii. 30), and thinks apparently that the fault Celsus is most likely to find in bishops and clergy is a want of zeal. 3 (4) Eutychius' information seems inconsistent with a document which appears to let in light upon the very early days of Egyptian church history. The document known as the Apostolical Church Ordinances (which is to be distinguished both from the Apostolical Constitutions and from the Apostolical Canons) is the beginning of the canon law of the Egyptian Church. Its history indicates Egypt as its source, and Harnack, its last editor, rightly remarks that it has a provincial origin. 4 It is a composite document, and appears to contain fragments of very different epochs ; some chapters (16-21) on the elec- tion of bishops, on presbyters, readers, deacons, and widows, seem to come from very early days. 5 The chapter on the election of a bishop is very curious : ' If there be a paucity of men, and anywhere the number of those able to vote for a bishop be less than twelve, let them write to the neighbouring Churches, according to where it happens to be, that three chosen men having come from thence, and having put to the test him who is worthy namely if any one have a good report of the heathen, if he be sinless, if he be a lover of the poor, if he be temperate, not a drunkard, not a fornicator, not covetous, nor a railer, nor a respecter of persons, nor such like things : it is good that he 1 The Homilies date from A.D. 245 and after. 2 B. L. p. loo : ' the Stromateis were written during the patriarchate of Demet- rius amid the bustle and excitement of a revolution' ; and p. 119. 3 It should be remembered too that in Athanasius' day there were, as he tells us, about a hundred bishops (eyyvs tKarov) in Egypt, Libya, and Pentapolis (Apol. c. Ar. 71). The growth from four when Heraclas acceded (A.D. 232) to one hundred when Athanasius wrote (c. A.D. 350) would have been extremely rapid. 4 Texte und Untersuch. Band ii, Heft 2, p. 193 f. and Heft 5, p. 6. 5 At latest, Harnack says, 'the first third of the third century' (Heft 2, p. 212). The remarkable position of the ' reader ' above the deacon to which Harnack calls attention has also to be noticed. 330 Christian Ministry. should be unmarried, or if not, a husband of one wife, educated, able to interpret the Scriptures, or if unlearned, meek in character, and let him abound in love towards all, lest the bishop come to be convicted in any matter by the multitude.' 1 Here we have popular election, the possibility of illiterate bishops, heathen surroundings, and every thing that points to early days and out-of-the-way communities. This makes it all the more noticeable that there is to be a bishop elected even in communities where there are not twelve voters. This is better evidence than Eutychius can offer ! On the whole, then, I think it is absurd to take Eutychius as an authority in the way in which some modern writers notably Dr. Bigg have done. I believe the evidence would suggest (1) a widespread episcopacy in Egypt generally, as elsewhere, even in the smallest communities : (2) a large degree of popular influence in the election down to the Nicene age. But attention has recently been called 2 to a passage in the ' Apo- phthegmata,' ascribed to the Fathers of the Egyptian desert, as support- ing in some sense the statement of Jerome. ' Some heretics came to Pcemen [one of the Fathers who was visited by Rufinus about 375 A.D.] and began to speak against the archbishop of Alexandria, on the ground that he received his ordination from (irapd.) presbyters. But the old man maintained silence, and then calling his brother, said, "Lay the table and make them eat, and send them away in peace." ' This may well be an authentic memorial of an historical hermit. His meekness (which is the point of the story) unfortunately prevents us from knowing what reply he would have given to the insult. The statement of ' the heretics ' (presumably Arians) is certainly unhistorical at the date at which they made it. They must have referred to Athanasius (226-373), the facts about whose consecration are certainly known. See Athan. Apol. c. Arian. c. 6. And it is much more likely that they were simply uttering one of the innumerable Arian slanders about Athanasius' consecration all baseless than that their statement was based on any tradition of past Alexandrian history. nival ayuvoios, ei fie JITJ, awb fiiaj yvva ypa<f>as epjatji/euetf ei fie aypannaros, t\tyxOtif eiruTKOirof an-b riav rroAAcoi' yevrjfleii). 3 By Dom Butler ; see Texts and Studies (Cambridge) vol. vi. no. i. p. 213. Note C. 331 C. RITES AND PRAYERS OF ORDINATION. (See pp. 131 ff. and 163 ff.) A. GREEK RITES OF ORDINATION. I. The Ordination Prayers of Bishop Serapion (see above, p. 131) are as follows l : Laying-on of hands of the making (Ka.Tiurrdfft(as) of Deacons. Father of the Only- Begotten who didst send Thy Son and didst ordain the affairs (irpdyfjMra) on the earth, and hast given rules to Thy church and orders (rds) for the help and salvation of the flocks, who didst choose out bishops, presbyters, and deacons for the ministry of Thy catholic Church, who didst choose through Thine Only-Begotten the seven deacons, and didst freely give to them Holy Spirit, make also this man a deacon of Thy catholic Church, and give in him a spirit of knowledge and discernment, that he may be able purely and unblameably to do service in this ministry (\eirovpyia) in the midst of the holy people, through Thy Only- Begotten Jesus Christ, through whom to Thee (is) the glory and the strength in Holy Spirit both now and to all the ages of the ages. Amen. Laying-on of hands of the making of Presbyters. We stretch forth the hand, O Lord God of the Heavens, Father of Thy Only-Begotten, upon this man, and beseech Thee that the Spirit of Truth may dwell (eViS^/xiJo-j;) upon him. Give him the graces of prudence and knowledge and a good heart. Let a divine Spirit come to him that he may be able to be a steward over Thy people and an ambassador of Thy divine oracles, and to reconcile Thy people to Thee the uncreated God, Who didst give of the Spirit of Moses [and put] Holy Spirit upon the chosen ones. Give a portion of Holy Spirit also to this man, from the Spirit of Thy Only-Begotten, for the grace of wisdom and knowledge and right faith, that he may be able to serve Thee in a clean conscience, through Thy Only-Begotten Jesus Christ, through whom (is) to Thee' the glory and the strength in Holy Spirit both now and for all the ages of the ages. Amen. 1 See also Brightman in Journal 'of 'Tkeol. Studies (Macmillan) Oct. 1899 pp. 88 ff. 332 Christian Ministry. Laying-on of hands of the making of a Bishop. Thou who didst send the Lord Jesus for the gain of all the world (OI'/COU/^VT/S), Thou who didst through him choose the apostles, Thou who generation by generation dost ordain holy bishops, O God of truth, make also this bishop a living bishop, holy 1 of the succession of the holy apostles, and give to him grace and divine Spirit, that Thou didst freely give to all Thy own (yvyalois) servants and prophets and patriarchs : make him to be worthy to shepherd Thy flock and let him still continue unblameably and inoffensively in the bishopric through Thy Only-Begotten Jesus Christ, through whom to Thee (is) the glory and the strength in Holy Spirit both now and to all the ages ef the ages. Amen. II. A rite in a Ms. stated by Morinus to be of the ninth century (de Sacr. Ord. p. ii. p. 64 f.) is to the following effect : (a) For a bishop. The archbishop reads the declaration of his elec- tion : ' the Divine Grace . . . appoints such an one, the well-beloved presbyter, to be bishop.' 2 This he reads ' holding his hand upon the head of him who is being ordained.' Then, after the Kyrie Eleison, ' the archbishop lays the Gospel on his head and neck (while other bishops stand by and touch it), and, laying his hand on him, prays thus." In the prayer he invokes God as having ordained, through his 1 ayiof. Perhaps we should read a.^iov ' worthy.' 2 This is the ai/apprjcris iepa (Dionysius ap. Morinus de S. O. p. ii. p. 57). It was made in the case of each order, and means that the consecrator (ieporeAe'cm)?) is the interpreter of the divine election and does not act by the impulse of his own favour (ISiij xapm). This emphasis on the choice of divine grace is common to all (apparently) the oriental rites of ordination. These rites are given in Morinus de Sacr. Ord. pars ii. For the COPTIC, see pp. 507-8 (as in the Apostolical Constitutions and the Latin rites, the presbyters are compared to the seventy elders) ; for the JACOBITE, pp. 482 f. (it contains direc- tions for impressive solemnity of manner in the consecrating bishop 'manus deprimit tremulas . . . oculis desuper cum timore aspicientibus ' pp. 484, 487): for the MARONITE, pp. 404 f. In these last the idea of succession by laying-on of hands is strangely traced from God on Mount Sinai, through Moses and Aaron, to John the Baptist, from John the Baptist to Christ, from Christ to His Apostles ; cf. Ephraem Syr. Opp. Syr. ii. p. 448 [ed. Rom. 1740]. The hierarchy of earth is com- pared, as by Clement, to the grades of angelic glory. There are distinct rites for the ordination of chorepiscopus, bishop, and patriarch. The prayer for the chor- episcopus speaks of the ' imposition of the Divine Hand ' (p. 416), but the ritual direction for the laying-on of hands is only given in the case of the patriarch (p. 429). The NESTORIAN rites are on pp. 452 f. They contain prayers for the gifts of miraculous power to heal the sick, and generally (pp. 457-465). Throughout all these rites there is the same general conception of the sacerdotal offices the same conception of laying on apostolic hands, with accompanying prayer, with a view to the obtaining of the grace qualifying for the distinct orders of the ministry. Note C. 333 Apostle St. Paul, divers orders for the ministry of His holy mysteries at His altar apostles, prophets, teachers and prays Him that the person now elected to pass under the yoke of the Gospel and under the high-priestly dignity, through the laying-on of his and his assistants' hands, by the descent and power and grace of the Holy Spirit, may be strengthened with his holy unction, like prophets and kings and high- priests of old, and made a blameless high-priest and intercessor for his people. Afterwards, intercessions follow, during which the archbishop keeps his hand on the head of him who is being ordained (TOV \eiporovovfjAvov) and prays thus : ' O Lord God, who, because the nature of man cannot bear the essence of the Godhead, hast in Thy economy appointed us teachers of like passions with ourselves, occupying Thy seat, to offer Thee sacrifice and offering on behalf of all Thy people, do Thou, O Lord, make this man who has been appointed (avaftfixOevra.) a steward of the grace of the high-priesthood, an imitator of Thee, the true Pastor, laying down his life for the sheep, being a guide of the blind, a light of those in darkness, an instructor of the ignorant, a light of the world, that having prepared the souls committed to him in this life, he may stand without shame at Thy judgment seat.' Then the arch- bishop puts the book of the Gospels upon the altar, and the ' omo- phorion ' on him who has been ordained (T<$ xeipvrovTiOtvTi), and kisses him, and mounts with him to the common throne (avvdpovos). (6) For a presbyter. ' The archbishop makes three signs of the cross upon his head and, having his hand laid upon him, prays thus ' : he invokes 'the Ancient of days (6 wdvi}* Krkrewj TrpefffivTaros vTra.p-x.d3v) who has dignified with the name of presbyter those who are thought worthy in this grade (fiaO/jibs) to minister (lepovpyew) the word of His truth ' ; and prays Him to bestow on the present chosen person ' this great grace of His Holy Spirit,' that he may walk worthily of the holy priestly honour committed to him. Then intercessions follow, the archbishop holding his hand on the head of ' him who is being ordained ' and praying that God will fill him, whom He has thought worthy to undertake the office of presbyter, with His Holy Spirit, ' that he may stand blamelessly at His altar, and preach the Gospel of His salvation, and minister (iepovprfetv) the word of His truth, and offer Him gifts and spiritual sacrifices, and renew His people by the laver of regeneration. ' Then he gives him the appropriate dress and kiss, and later on associates him with himself in the service of the altar. In a later office (p. 112), the bishop gives the just ordained presby- ter the consecrated bread with the words : ' Receive this deposit, and guard it to the coming of our Lord.' In general, with some ritual additions, the rite is unchanged. In the rite of the ordination of a 334 Christian Ministry. bishop there is a long declaration of faith (p. 120 f.) and the giving of the pastoral staff, but no substantial change in the idea of the service or alteration in the rite and prayer. See Daniel Codex Litur- gicus iv. pp. 556-563. B. LATIN RITES OF ORDINATION. There is an excellent account of these rites s.v. ORDINAL in the Diet. Chr. Ant. by Dr. Hatch ; and they are described at length with elaborate references s.v. ORDINATION. The most recent and exact account of the MSS. of the sacramentaries is M. Delisle's Mimoire sur fanciens sacramentaires [Paris, 1886]. We have (1) Early accounts of the rite of ordination without prayers. Cf. Martene de Ant. Eccl. Rit. [Antwerp, 1736] ii. pp. 86 f. (Ordo i), 151 f. (Ordo ix given in part ap. Hittorp. de Div. Cath. Eccl. Off, p. 88) ; Muratori Lit. Rom. Vet. [Venice, 1748] i. p. 515 (the preface to the prayer of benediction). (2) Early prayers of benediction without accompanying rites. Cf. Muratori I.e. i. p. 421 f. (Leonine), ii. p. 358 f. (Gregorian), i. pp. 513 f. and 622 f. (Gelasian). (3) Early rites with benedictions. Cf. Muratori ii. pp. 406 f., 415 f. ; Morinus p. ii. pp. 261-341 (Missale Francorum, etc.). i. Ordination of presbyters. This begins with a presentation of the ordinand to the bishop : an address to the people, solemnly asking their assent : sometimes an examination of the ordinand : a declara- tion of election by the bishop, and a request for common prayer 'commune votum communis oratio prosequatur.' Then follows the ordination the presbyters with the bishop laying on hands. Of the following prayers the first is in all the forms : (a) A collect (Oratio) for the outpouring of the 'benediction of the Holy Spirit and the virtue of sacerdotal grace ' upon him who is 'offered for consecration.' (3) The Consecratio. God is invoked as the harmonious dispenser of all the distinctive grades and offices in the world, 'unde sacerdotalis gradus et officia Levitarum sacramentis mysticis instituta creverunt ' ; special commemoration is made of His having ordained to offices of assistance in His kingdom at every stage ' men of a second order and dignity' (sequentis ordinis, secundae dignitatis) : to assist Moses, the seventy elders : to supplement Aaron's priesthood, that of his sons: to accompany the Apostles, 'teachers of the faith,' so that they filled the whole world with these ' second preachers ' (that is, apparently, the seventy). So God is implored to give His bishops now as in their greater weakness they need it the more the supple- mentary ministry of the presbyters, and, in particular, to give 'to this His servant the dignity of the presbyterate, to renew in his heart the Spirit of holiness, that he may receive and hold from God the Note C. 335 gift of second worth (secundi meriti munus), and by the example of his conversation set the standard of conduct (censuram morum insinuet), so that he may be the worthy assistant of the bishop (probus, or, providus nostri ordinis cooperator).' These prayers are in the Leonine Sacramentary (which seems to be the earliest that remains, and the Verona MS. of which is assigned by Delisle, Memoire etc. p. 65, to the seventh century) and in the Gregorian. (c) In the Gelasian MS. (end of seventh or beginning of eighth cen- tury, Delisle I.e. p. 68), the Missale Francorum (end of seventh or beginning of eighth century, Delisle l.c. p. 72), and many later missals, we have after the Consecratio an invitation to prayer, entitled Consummatio Presbyteri, for the ' sacerdotal gifts of the Holy Spirit ' on the new presbyter. This is followed by the prayer, called Benedict, that he may be all an elder ought to be, in meditation of God's law, in faith, in teaching, in life : ' that he may keep pure and undefiled the gift of the mystery [? ministry], and in the service of His people may, by the body and blood of His Son by undefiled benediction, be transformed into inviolable love and into a perfect man.' 1 Then (in the Missale Francorum) there is a Consecratio Manus an unction of the presbyter's hands with a prayer, ' ut quae- cunque benedixerint benedicta sint, et quaecunque sanctificaverint, sanctificentur. ' In all this there is no mention of offering sacrifice, or of absolution. The presbyter is viewed as the assistant of the bishop. But gradual alterations in the ordination of priests tend to emphasize their special sacerdotal functions, and thus to give them a more independent priest- hood. Thus, as an accompaniment to the vesting in the chasuble, a benediction ' ut ofieras placabiles hostias pro peccatis atque ofFen- sionibus populi omnipotent! Deo' appears in the Codex S. Eligii 1 This is perhaps the earliest form of this prayer, the varieties of which are re- markable. This form is from an Anglo-Saxon missal in Morinns l.c. p. 282 f. ' ut purum atque immaculatum mysterii [? minister!!] donum custodial, et per obsequium plebis tuae corpore et sanguine filii tui immaculata benedictione transformetur ad inviolabilem charitatem et in virum perfectum, in mensuram aetatis plenitudinis Christi [? et] in die iusti et aeterni iudicii . . . Spiritu sancto plenus apparent." This MS. is dated by Delisle, p. 220, at the beginning of the eleventh century. In a Corbey MS. of the tenth century (Morinus p. 304, Delisle p. 189) we have the same form, but with an insertion which spoils the sense of vel corpus before corpore. This indicates an approximation to the form of the prayer as it occurs in the Gelasian and Prankish missals, in which it is a prayer for the transformation not of the priest but of the elements : 'ut per obsequium plebis tuae corpus et sanguinem filii tui immaculata benedictione transformet, et inviolabili charitate in virum perfectum, . : . S.s. plenus persolvat ' : or, still more clearly, (Morinus p. 319) ' et per obsequium plebis tuae panem et vinum in corpus et sanguinem filii tu . . . transformet. 1 336 Christian Ministry. (ninth or tenth century ; Morinus p. 270, Delisle p. 175). So in the Anglo-Saxon MS. of eleventh century (Morinus p. 282 f.), which also adds in the Consecratio Manus ' ad consecrandas hostias quae pro delictis atque negligentiis populi ofiferuntur'; cf. a Sens MS. (tenth century, ib. p. 294 f.) and the Codex Ratoldi (tenth century, ib. p. 298 f.). In a (?) twelfth century MS. (ib. p. 329 f.) appears the porrectio instrumentorum with ' Accipe potestatem offerre sacrificium Deo missamque celebrare et tarn pro vivis quam et pro defunctis.' Lastly in thirteenth century MSS. (Morinus pp. 338, 340) we have the ' Accipe Spiritum sanctum ; quorum remiseritis peccata etc.' On the newly ordained presbyters concelebrating with the bishop, see Morinus I.e. p. iii. ex. viii. 1. I f. ii. The ordination of a bishop. In Martene's Ordo i. (I.e. ii. p. 87) we have provisions for securing that the bishop has been duly elected 'a populo civitatis,' and for his examination in respect of morality, discipline, etc., both in private and in public, and for his due pre- sentation. All this precedes the ordination by the interval of a day. Commonly a public examination of him who was to be ordained, in respect of doctrine and morality, took place at the time of the ordination (see Morinus p. ii. p. 27 5 J. 1 This is followed by a declara- tion of election, and the ordination. 2 1 The examination in doctrine and morals is enjoined in the so-called Canons of the 4th Carthaginian Council in A.D. 398 (which really are 104 canons, collected from East and West some time before the sixth century, and described as ' secun- dum Gallorum institutiones ' in the Ordo Romanus ap. Hittorp. p. 97). In the Missale Francorum which gives one of the earliest rites, we find first an Exhortatio adpopulum to choose a worthy successor to the pastoral office : the election is to be 'testimonio presbyterorum et totius cleri et consilio civium ac consistentium,' and the elected is to be 'natalibus nobilis, moribus clarus, religione probus, fide stabilis, . . . tenax in cunctis quae sacerdoti elegenda sunt.' Then follow prayers for God's assistance and the effusion on those to be ordained of sacerdotal grace. After this the people are exhorted to pray God, who has established a propitiation for Himself and sacrifices and sacred rites (qui placa- tionem suam et sacrificia et sacra constituit), to fill the high-priest with the due plenitude of honour and grade, with spiritual gifts, and wealth of sanctification, and especially with humility, that as a ruler he may make himself low and be among his flock as one of themselves (quasi unus ex illis), trembling always for the account for souls which he must give ; also that he may be made fit for all sacred rites by the supreme benediction, the utmost that man can give (universis sacris sacrandisque idoneus fiat sub hac quae est homini per hominem postrema benedictio). 2 The Canons of the 4th Carthaginian Council may have introduced into the West the eastern custom at the ordination of a bishop, i.e. the holding the book o. the Gospels over his head. (See quotations in Bingham Antiq. ii. ii. 8 from Apost. Const., Chrysostom, pseudo-Dionysius.) In the western collection of canons it assumes this form (c. 2) : ' Episcopus cum ordinatur, duo episcopi ponant et teneant evangeliorum codicem super caput et cervicem eius et, uno super eum fundente benedictionem, reliqui omnes episcopi, qui adsunt, manibus suis caput eius tangant.' So it passed into western writers and missals ; cf. Amalarius de Eccl. Off. ii. 14 ap. Note C. 337 The most original and constant accompanying prayer seems to be (a) a collect, as in the ordination of a presbyter, for the infusion of ' sacerdotal grace, the virtue of the divine benediction,' followed by (3) the Consecratio. In this God is invoked as having instituted all the symbolism of the old priesthood ; because all that was there symbolized by outward decoration is to be realized in our priesthood by spiritual endowment ; it is no longer the ' honor vestium,' but the ' splendor animarum. ' Therefore He is implored to grant ' ut quicquid ilia velamina in fulgore auri, in nitore gemmarum et multimodi operis varietate signabant, hoc in horum moribus clarescat.' Then there is a prayer that ' the unction of the Spirit (accompanying, as other MSS. specify, the symbolic external unction) may flow down abundantly upon those who are being ordained, " ut tui Spiritus virtus et interiorum ora repleat et exteriora circumtegat " ; that they may be endowed with faith, love, peacefulness ; [that they may be true evangelists ; that they may have the ministry of reconciliation, in word and in the power of signs and wonders (signorum et prodigiorum) ; that their preaching may have power ; that God will give them the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and they may use them rightly, "to edification and not to destruction " ; that what they bind on ea.rth may be bound in heaven, etc. ; that whose sins they retain may be retained, and whose sins they remit may be remitted ; that whom they bless may be blessed, and whom they curse may be cursed ; that they may feed and perfect their flock ; that they may have all zeal and right judgment ;] that God may give them the episcopal see (cathedra) for ruling His Church, be to them authority and power and strength, and multiply His blessing upon them.' The part of the prayer enclosed in brackets [ ] is in the Gelasian Sacr. (Murat. I.e. i. p. 625) and in the Missale Francorum (Morinus I.e. p. 266), but not in the Leonine (Murat. I.e. i. p. 422) or Gregorian Sacr. (ib. ii. p. 358). Omitting this part of the prayer, we have in the whole rite no specification of the special function of sacrifice or of the power of the keys. Later on there are a number of additions to the rite, connected with the giving of the ring, pastoral staff, etc. The enthronization of the bishop would probably have formed part of the rite from the beginning ; see Martene's Ord. i. and ii. (I.e. ii. pp. 88, 90). Hittorp. p. 167 : ' Dicit libellus, secundum cuius ordinem celebratur ordinatio apud quosdam, ut duo episcopi teneant evangelium, etc.' It occurs in the Missale Fran- corum (Morinus I.e. p. 261), and in the Ordo Romanus (ap. Hittorp. p. 100). But it b omitted in one form given in the Ordo (ib. p. 96) ; and we find (pseudo) Albinus Flaccus, dt Div. Off. ap. Hittorp. p. 74, protesting thus : ' illud vero (here follows the canon) non reperitur in auctoritate veteri neque nova, sed neque in Romana traditione.' 338 Christian Ministry. D. I. CANON XIII OF ANCYRA. II. CHOREPISCOPI. (Seep. 141.) I. THIS canon has been commonly quoted (see Dr. Lightfoot Dissert, p. 232) in this form : x <a P eiriffK ^' irois /J.TJ O-eivai irpffffivrtpovs ?) diaKOvovs x el P OTO ' /e "' dXXd, fj.i]v pr/d^ irpeffpvrtpots ir6Xews xupls TOV tiriTpairijvai virb TOV tiriffKbwov /iera ypafj.fji.dTui> Iv e/cdor?; irapoudq. c It is not allowed to country bishops to ordain presbyters or deacons, nor even to city presbyters, except permission be given in each parish by the bishop in writing.' In this form it recognises implicitly the power of presbyters to ordain under certain circumstances. But is this the right reading ? The manuscripts and versions, Greek and Latin, of the Canons of Ancyra, and especially of the I3th canon, have recently been the subject of a very thorough examination by the Rev. R. B. Rackham in ti\zStudia+Biblica et Ecclesiastica, vol. iii. (Oxford, 1891), pp. 139, 194. There is appended a collation of the Syriac and Armenian versions. Mr. Rackham concludes in favour of the reading I have translated in the text : . . . dXXa V.T\V fj.f)8 irpeffftvrtpovs w6\eus . . . ev eT^pa irapoiKia. This conclusion is strengthened by the Syriac and Armenian versions for irptafivrtpovs. But the ^Syriac at least support iic&ffTjj instead of erf pa. The question of reading is, no doubt, an obscure one. Accepting Mr. Rackham's conclusion as to the reading, I should still venture to think that (at least in the case of such Greek as the Canons of Ancyra present to us) dXXct nty (j.i)5t may be translated ' no nor (town pres- byters) either,' rather than 'not even,' as Lightfoot insists, and Mr. Rackham assents, that it must be. In Constit. Apost. ii. 45 : Kal ^ ivl npiT-fjpiov fdvinttv. dXXct fj.7)v fj.t]d d.v^x eff ^ KOffftundi KO.TO, r&v rjueT^puv SiKafeiv (quoted by Routh), the phrase does not mean, I think, ' do not even,' but ' nay, do not. ' Cf. canon 13 of Neo Cesarea : irtx&pioi irpecr/Stfrepoi . . . irpofffapew oil Sdvavrai. . . . otfre fiyr (no nor) &PTOV SiS6vai. For ov . . . oi>5 and ov . . . otfre, see Winer, Gr. of N.T. Greek (ed. Moulton, 1882) p. 612. Mr. Rackham translates : ' Chorepiscopi may not ordain (any) presbyters or deacons (of town or country), but not even town presbyters (in their own parish) without the permission of their (town) bishops in writing in another parish ' dXXd nty to being an afterthought. Note D. 339 II. CHOREPISCOPI were country bishops ordained to supervise the scattered flock in rural districts 'vicarii episcoporum,' as Isidore of Seville calls them. We begin to hear of them in the East as established institutions early in the fourth century : first in the canon of Ancyra just discussed. Later they had a great development in the West also. The tenth canon of Antioch, A.D. 341, indicates (a) that they might be ordained by the one bishop alone, who presided over the adjacent town church ; (b) that they might ordain to the minor orders, but not to the diaconate or presbyterate without the leave of the bishop under whom they served. It limits their power thus : ei /ecu xfipoBeaLnv elei/ tiri- ffKbiruv eiXij^ores, i.e. as Dionysius Exiguus adds in his trans, 'ut episcopi consecrati sunt.' We find them present at councils voting and signing, presumably with the assent of their superior bishops; see Bingham Ant. ii. 14. 10 ; Morinus de Sacr. Ord. p. iii. ex. iv. I. 12. Athanasius classes them with bishops in Apol. c. Ar. 85 : ' Mareotis is a district of Alexandria, and there has never been in the district a bishop or chorepiscopusj but only presbyters subject to the bishop of Alexandria. An ordination by a chorepiscopus is recorded in Hist. Lausiac. cvi, ap. Migne Patrol. Lat. Ixxiii. p. 1193. Isidore, de Eccl. Off. ii. 6, describes them thus : ' Chorepiscopi, id est vicarii episcoporum, iuxta quod canones ipsi testantur, instituti sunt ad exemplum Ixx seniorum tanquam sacerdotes propter sollicitudinem pauperum. 1 Hi in vicis et villis instituti gubernant sibi conmissas ecclesias, habentes licentiam constituere lectores, subdiaconos, ex- orcistas. Presbyteros autem et diaconos ordinare non audeant praeter conscientiam episcopi in cuius regione praeesse noscuntur. Hi autem a solo episcopo civitatis cui adiacent ordinantur.' ' Later, in the awful collapse of discipline which characterized the Frankish kingdom, they were indefinitely multiplied : wandering bishops ordained wandering clergy, and neither bishops nor clergy were easily brought to acknowledge a superior.' 2 Isidore speaks bitterly of this state of things (de Eccl. Off. ii. 3) : ' Duo sunt genera clericorum: unum ecclesiasticorum sub regimine episcopali degentium : alterum acephalo- rum . . . quern sequantur ignorantium. Hos . . . solutos atque oberran- tes sola turpis vita complectitur et vaga . . . quorum quidem sordida atque infami numerositate, satis superque nostra pars occidua polluitur.' 3 1 Cf. Cone. Neo Caes. c. 14. Rabanus Maurus (de Inst. Cler. \. 5 ap. Hittorp. p. 315) adds : ' ne eis [sc. pauperibus qui in agris et villis consist unt] solatium con- firmationis deesset.' 2 Hatch Growth of Church Institutions p. 159. 3 Morinus (I.e. c. 5 4) finds in the circumstances of his own day a parallel to the ancient appointment of chorepiscppi in a way which led to their abuse : ' ut nunc, in Germania potissimum, ditissimi et principes illi episcopi titularibus episcopis [utuntur] . . . qui pauca mercede content! dioecesis onera ferunt, quamdiu veri episcopi Endymionis somnum dormiunt.' 34O Christian Ministry. Hence at the restoration of discipline, which marks the age of Charles the Great, 1 the chorepiscopi were the subjects of strong animad- version. Their usurpation of authority led to a disparagement of their original position. Papal decisions not however that of Pope Nicholas, A.D. 864 pronounced them mere presbyters. Hence later Roman Catholic writers, e.g. Morinus and others, 2 have argued in this sense. The papal authority constitutes their real argument ' efficacissimum argumentum,' as says Morinus. However, he also argues (i) That they are compared to the seventy elders, which is the comparison appropriated to presbyters* Yes: to presbyters as assistants. This is the point of the comparison, and it holds for chor- episcopi also. Further, it is well known that the Old Testament anologies are loosely applied, (ii) That ordinations of bishops by one bishop were not tolerated, while chorepiscopi were so ordained. Yes : this, however, was a matter of provincial discipline to secure the assent of the provincial bishops. But the chorepiscopi were an inferior sort of bishops with only a local, not a provincial or catholic, position. Morinus, however, does not hold them to have been presbyters pure and simple but a sort of middle order : ' non sunt presbyteri simplices, sed inter episcopatum, et presbyteratum media dignitas ' (I.e. c. 5 12). The view given above of the position of the chorepiscopi may be described as the ordinary view. It seems to be the only one supported by the evidence. Dr. Lightfoot, in his Dissert, p. 233, represents them as a survival of the original presbyter-bishops, but this theory has no evidence except such as is derived from the misread canon of Ancyra. The eastern chorepiscopi of later days were confessedly only presbyters. Further information (with reference to their privileges, uses, etc. , and their suppression) can be found in Bingham I.e. ; Morinus I.e. ; and Diet. Chr. Biog. s.v. E. SUPPOSED ORDINATIONS BY PRESBYTERS IN EAST AND WEST. (Seepp. 149, 151.) EASTERN CHURCH. THE only case of such an ordination alleged in the East is that of Paphnutius. Dr. Hatch (B. L. p. 108, n. 62 , ist edition only) spoke of this formerly as ' the clearest case . . . maintainable on the evidence.' But it will not at all bear examination. Cassian, writing his Memoirs l Hatch I.e. p. 28 f. 2 See Bingham I.e. 2, 3. :; See Morinus I.e. c. 2, 6-iz. Note E. 341 of Oriental hermits at Marseilles about A.D. 422, tells us that the presbyter-abbot Paphnutius, 'promoted' one of his companions on account of his conspicuous virtue, first to the diaconate, and then to the presbyterate (Collat. iv. i : 'a Paphnutio presbytero . . . [Danielis] ad diaconii est praelatus officium . . . eum presbyterii honore provexit [Paphnutius]'). This is taken to mean that he ordained him, and Cassian is supposed to mention it without surprise. But (i) it is most improbable that Cassian, writing when and where he did, should mention such an act as if it were nothing surprising. He himself was in intimate relations with bishops in the West and knew well the difference between a monk and an ecclesiastical officer. See xi. 2 and his dedication to bks i. and xi. (2) We have other evidence of the sense in which an abbot could promote to church offices. He could do it in the same sense as persons in power of any sort in the Church, as, for instance, a Prime Minister or patron of our day. He could get him ordained at his nomination. So we have a provision in the rule of St. Benedict (cap. 62) for abbots selecting worthy monks and getting them ordained. It should be noticed that this power of ' nominating ' seems to have been a special privilege of the Alexandrian clergy : see Socr. H. E. i. 9 (the synodal letter from the Council of Nicaea to the Church of Alexandria) T/>OX- ptffaOai rj inropd\\eiv ovo/j-ara. (3) The narrative of the abbot Ammonius, a friend of the older Athanasius (Hist. Laus. xii, ap. Migne Patrol. Lat. Ixxiii. pp. 1 103- 1104), shows how utterly distinct, in the minds of the Egyptian monks, was the conception of a bishop from that of an abbot ; an attempt was made to induce Ammonius to be ordained bishop and he resisted to death. The same broad distinction appears in Athanasius' letter to Dracontius. (4) We are then bound to interpret the words in the present passage in the sense of ' nomination,' if they will admit of it. And they will do so without any difficulty. Instances are frequent in which influential laymen are said even to ' ordain ' church officers, where there can be no doubt that what is meant is to appoint or get ordained ; the laity of Oxyrinchus in Arian days ' episcopum sibi per tune temporis episcopos catholicos ordinavit ' (Marcell. et Faust. Lib. Prec. ap. Migne Patrol. Lat. xiii. p. 101); again, without any explanation, Gregory of Tours Hist. Franc, viii. 22 : ' Rex pollicitus fuerat se nunquam ex laicis episcopum ordinaturum.' Otto in says 'Sylvestrum papam elegimus et , . . ordinavimus et creavimus' (Gieseler E. H. Eng. trans, ii. p. 358, n. 28 ). St. Cyprian, as will be seen, uses constituo and facio in the sense of procuring the appointment ; cf. Bright Early Eng. Ch. History p. 134, from whom most of these instances are taken. 342 Christian Ministry. (5) It must be borne in mind that supposing Paphnutius had at- tempted to ordain any one in the ecclesiastical sense, he would have done what, in the patriarchate of Alexandria, had been already (in Colluthus' case) pronounced null and void, and Daniel by the decision of the synod would have been regarded as a layman. But, as we have said, there is no reasonable case to be made out for his having done so. WESTERN CHURCH. 1. The presbyter Novatus is said to have ordained Felicissimus deacon, and it is contended (Hatch B. L. p. no, n 52 .) that St. Cyprian did not regard the act as invalid. What is the state of the case ? 'He appointed Felicissimus deacon (Felicissimum diaconum con- stituit),' St. Cyprian says (Ep. Hi. 2), and there is, it is urged, ' nothing in the context to support the view that he uses the word in the unusual sense of " procured the appointment." ' Is there nothing ? St. Cyprian goes on to say that the same Novatus, when he left Africa and got to Rome, made Novatian a bishop. He uses the same word in both cases: ' qui istic adversus ecclesiam diaconum fecerat illic episcopum fecit.' He made Felicissimus a deacon, we may presume, in exactly the same sense as that in which he made Novatian a bishop. And in what sense did he do that ? We know from the contemporary letter of Cornelius, the outraged bishop of Rome (ap. Euseb. H. E. vi. 43) : ' he [Novatian] compelled three bishops, boorish and most foolish men, ... to give him the episcopate by a shadowy and vain imposition of hands.' Cf. Cyprian Ep. xlix. i : ' ei manum quasi in episco- patum imponi.' Novatus then made Novatian a bishop and Felicis- simus a deacon in this sense, that he got them made such by people, who, however 'boorish' or 'foolish,' were none the less bishops (unless indeed Felicissimus was a deacon before, which is possible ; see s.v. Diet. Chr. Biog.\ 2. Dr. Hatch alleges in the same note that presbyter-missionaries in the Middle Ages ordained under exceptional circumstances of necessity, e.g. St. Willehad and St. Liudger, of the eighth century, are both in their lives said to have ' constituted Churches and ordained presbyters over them '; see Pertz Monumenta Hist. German, ii. pp. 381,411: ' ecclesias [Willehadus] coepit construere ac presbyteros super eas ordinare.' In both cases, however, a little investigation makes it plain that ordinare is used in the sense of 'appointing,' as it is used of secular persons (see just above). In the case of Willehad, his biographer tells us he remained a presbyter too long, because it was feared that the lawlessness of the Frisians would not tolerate the authority of a bishop. He therefore continued ' cuncta potestate praesidentis ordinans secundum quod poterat,' i.e. up to a Note E. 343 presbyter's power. Afterwards Charles the Great had him made bishop, 'consecrari fecit.' Then he redoubled his efforts and went about ' confirmans populum qui olim baptizatus fuerat. ' He could not therefore confirm till he was made bishop. Is it likely then that he could ordain ? In ruling Churches and appointing presbyters, however, he had only been doing what many ' ruling presbyters ' in the mission field had done since, and are doing. In the case of Liudger, we are told that he was kept from being consecrated bishop by a sense of unworthiness and tried to get some one else consecrated in his place. Here then was not even a case of necessity, if such could be admitted, for a presbyter ordaining. The word is clearly used in his case, as in Willehad's for 'appointing,' and both cases fall together. Both missionaries come in a close relation to the see of Rome and its strict discipline. 3. Dr. Hatch says further : ' Ordination by other than a bishop, with the permission of the pope, is allowed even by the schoolmen and canonists, although the question is discussed among them whether the pope's licence can extend to the conferring of all orders, or should be limited to orders below the presbyterate (I.e. p. no, n. 5s ). Now there need be noquestion here of orders below the presbyterate. What the matter comes to is this : a few mediaeval canonists (see opinions quoted in Morinus de Sacr. Ord. p. iii. ex. iii. 1-5 f. ) maintained the theory that the papal licence could enable a presbyter validly to confer his own order (and even a confirmed Christian his own confirmation). But (a) this was a mere abstract question ; there is no instance of a pope having attempted to give such a licence. And (b) Dr. Hatch's ' even ' is singularly out of place ; this was an instance of papalism overriding Catholicism. The men who made these claims on behalf of the pope were least of all maintainers of ancient discipline or liberty ; they would have made almost any claim on his behalf. St. Thomas Aquinas says, in Lib. TV. Sent. dist. 25. qu. I. art. i : 'Papa, qui habet plenitudinem potestatis pontificalis, potest committere non episcopo ea quae ad episcopalem dignitatem pertinent, dummodo ilia non habeant immediatam rela- tionem ad verum corpus Christi. Et ideo ex eius commissione aliquis sacerdos simpliciter potest conferre minores ordines et confirmare, non autem aliquis non sacerdos; nee iterum sacerdos maiores ordines, qui habent immediatam relationem ad corpus Christi, supra quod consecrandum papa non habet maiorem potestatem quam simplex sacerdos.' 344 Christian Ministry. F. THE THEORY OF THE MINISTRY HELD BY AMBROSIASTER, JEROME, ETC. THE position explained above (pp. 157-163) is to be here justified by quotations. I. AMBROSIASTER. (a) His theory of ordination and the priesthood. in I Tim. iv. 14 : ' Gratiam dari ordinationis significat [Paulus] per prophetiam et manuum impositionem. . . . manus vero impositiones verba sunt mystica quibus confirmatur ad hoc opus electus, accipiens auctoritatem teste conscientia sua ut audeat vice Domini sacrificium Deo offerre.' Cf. the reason why Christian 'levitae et sacerdotes ' should abstain from the indulgences of marriage (in i Tim. iii. 13) ; 'Dei antistes' (in I Tim. v. 19); * in huius persona totius populi salus consistit ' (in I Tim. vi. 16) ; ' vicarius Christi ' (in 2 Tim, i. 9) ; ' actores Dei ' (in I Tim. iii. 13). He holds, however, that the original arrangements in regard to the ministry were freer than those which prevailed subsequently. ' When Churches had been established in all places and officers appointed, arrangements were made different from those with which things had begun. At first all used to teach and all to baptize, on whatever days and at whatever time there was opportunity. ... So that the people might increase and be multi- plied, all at the beginning were allowed to preach the Gospel and baptize and explain the Scriptures in Church ; but when the Church embraced all places, places of meeting [conventicula] were estab- lished and rulers [rectores] and other offices in the Churches appointed, that none of the clergy who had not been ordained to it should venture to take to himself an office which he knows not to have been committed or granted to him. ' l There is thus a difference between modern and ancient arrangements. But even this very primi- tive practice of the earliest beginnings of the Church did not mean an indiscriminate condition of things. Even in the earliest days, we are told in the same passage, there were apostles, prophets, evan- gelists (who ' are deacons and not priests ') and so on. Nor does he include among the things permitted to all, even for a time, the sacerdotal functions of sacrifice or laying-on of hands. 2 1 in Eph. iv. u, 12. 2 He uses the general Christian priesthood only as a ground for the position that * all Christian people can become priests (i.e. in the ministry) : ' In lege nascebantur sacerdotes ex genere Aaron Levitae ; nunc autem omnes ex genere sunt sacerdotali . . . ideoque ex populo potest fieri sacerdos(/.c.). Note F. 345 (b) His recognition of the divine authority of the episcopate and of the principle of succession. ' In episcopo omnes ordines sunt, quia primus sacerdos est, hoc est, princeps est sacerdotum et propheta et evangelista et cetera adimplenda officia ecclesiae in ministerio fide- Hum' (in Eph. iv. n) ; 'in episcopo omnium ordinationum dignitas est' (in I Cor. i. 17) ; ' et quia ab uno Deo Patre sunt omnia, singulos episcopos singulis ecclesiis praeesse decrevit ' (in I Cor. xii. 28) ; 'Paulus et Timotheus utique episcopi erant' (in Phil. i. i) ; Archippus was a bishop (in Col. iv. 17) ; the Apostles were bishops (in Eph. iv. 1 1, in i Cor. xii. 28). St. Paul is so exact in his directions in the Pastoral Epistles not from anxiety for Timothy, but on account of his successors, that they might observe the ordination of the Church, and that they too, who in their turn hand on the form to their suc- cessors, might begin from themselves, Le. in spiritual discipline (in i Tim. vi. 1 6). Whatever changes were made were made under the authority of an (apostolic) council : ' immutata est ratio prospiciente concilio.' 1 (c) His theory of the original identity of bishops and presbyters. 1 Timotheum presbyterum a se creatum episcopum vocat [sc. Paulus], quia primi presbyteri [i.e. chief presbyters] episcopi appellabantur, ut recedente eo sequens ei succederet. Denique apud Aegyptum presbyteri consignant, si praesens non sit episcopus. Sed quia coe- perunt sequentes presbyteri indigni inveniri ad primatus retinendos, immutata est ratio prospiciente concilio, ut non ordo sed meritum crearet episcopum multorum sacerdotum iudicio constitutum, ne in- dignus temere usurparet et esset multis scandalum' (in Eph. iv. 12). Here it is implied that at one period the difference of presbyter and bishop was not one of ' order ' but only of selection. Again, when he has to account for St. Paul passing from the bishop to the deacon (i Tim. iii. 10), he writes thus: ' Quare, nisi quia episcopi et presbyteri una ordinatio est? Uterque enim sacerdos est, sed episcopus primus est, ut omnis episcopus presbyter sit, non tamen omnis presbyter episcopus ; hie enim episcopus est, qui inter presby- teros primus est. Denique Timotheum presbyterum ordinatum signi- ficat ; sed quia ante se alterum non habebat, episcopus erat. Unde et quemadmodum episcopum ordinet, ostendit ; neque enim fas erat aut licebat, ut inferior ordinaret maiorem ; nemo enim tribuit, quod non accepit.' A little further, on ver. 13: ' Nunc autem septem diaconos esse oportet et aliquantos presbyteros, ut bini sint per ecclesias, et unus in civitate episcopus.' Take this language altogether, and I think we shall draw the con- clusion that the commenta,tor did indeed minimize the distinction of grade within the sacerdotium. But I do not think we have any 1 Cf. Lightfoot Dissert, p. 203, n. s . 346 Christian Ministry. reason to suppose that he would have regarded the presbyters of his own day as possessing, under any circumstances, the power which the earliest presbyters possessed ; because the ordinations in his own day were distinct, and the presbyter who attempted to lay on hands would do what is, in his words (in Eph. iv. n), 'praesumere officium quod sciret non sibi creditum vel concessum.' II. The AUTHOR OF THE QUAESTIONES probably the same ' Ambrosiaster ' at any rate uses the same idea of the ministry (in Qu. ci) in order to castigate in the spirit of Jerome the Roman deacons. He says : ' in Alexandria et apud totam Aegyptum, si desit episcopus, consecrat presbyter.' There is another reading however consignat, as in the commentaries. Whichever word is used the reference is to confirmation ; cf. Isidor. Hispal. de Eccl. Off. ii. 25 ' unctione chrismatis consecrari' (of those who are con- firmed), and see s. v. in Ducange Gloss. Med. et Inf. Latin. Con- signo is the regular word for confirmation, but is never used for ordination. III. JEROME repeats the theory of the commentator, adding to it the remark discussed above about the Alexandrian election to the episcopate. (a) His sacerdotalism. Jerome is a great sacerdotalist. He believes indeed in the priesthood of the laity (adv. Lucifer. 4 : ' sacerdotium laici, id est baptisma'), but not in such sense as militates against even an extreme sacerdotalism (ib. 21). Twice in his works the idea occurs 'a priest can intercede for a layman, but, if a priest falls, who can intercede for him?' (ib. 5, Ep. xiv ad Heliodorum 9.) Again and again he dwells on the sacerdotal authority and sacrificial function. (b) His recognition of the apostolic aiithority of the episcopate. ' Ecclesia multis gradibus consistens ad extremum diaconis, presby- teris, episcopis finitur ' (adv. Lucifer. 22); 'quid facit excepta ordinatione episcopus quod presbyter non faciat? omnes [episcopi] . . . apostolorum successores sunt ' (Ep. cxlvi ad Evangelum). The present monepiscopal constitution is attributed to (apostolic) decree (on Titus i. S) : ' in toto orbe decretum est.' The Apostles are represented as ordaining bishops and priests : ' quod fecerunt et apostoli, per singulas provincias presbyteros et episcopos ordinantes' (in Matt. xxv. 26). (c) His theory of the original identity of bishops and presbyters. This he (Ep. cxlvi ad Evangelum) proves from the language of Scrip- ture, and continues : ' quod autem postea unus electus est qui ceteris praeponeretur, in schismatis remedium factum est ; ne unusquisque ad se trahens Christi ecclesiam rumperet.' Then follows the passage about Alexandria, and the conclusion just quoted, 'quid facit, excepta ordinatione etc.?' So to the same effect in Tit. i. 5: 'Idem est Note F. 347 presbyter qui episcopus. At first communi presbyterorum concilio ecclesiae gubernaban tur ; then factions arose, 'I am of Paul,' etc. On this account in toto orbe decretum est ut unus de presbyteris electus superponeretur ceteris. He would therefore have the bishops in his own day recognise that se magis consuetudine quam dispositionis dominicae veritate presbyteris esse maiores.' Of course this is strong language. St. Jerome does not measure words when his temper is up, as it was with bishops. But even so I do not think it can be fairly taken to mean that Jerome ever held a presbyter of his own day to be the same as a bishop, even in an extreme case. The conclusion he draws in the text is only that bishops should govern the Church 'in commune, i.e. with the co-operation of the presbyters, in imitation of Moses, who, when he had it in his power to rule the people alone, chose seventy elders to judge the people with him.' Once again he says, in the Dial. adv. Lucifer. 9 : ' Ecclesiae salus in summi sacerdotis dignitate pendet : cui si non exsors quaedam et ab omnibus eminens detur potestas, tot in ecclesiis eflficiuntur schismata quot sacerdotes.' He still makes the distinctive powers of the bishop to have had their origin in moral necessities, but those necessities were paramount, and the result of the change involved in the limitation of the episcopate is one that cannot be reversed. IV. LATER LATIN WRITERS. Certainly it was in the sense of an original, not of a present, identity of the episcopate and the presby- terate, that St. Jerome's influence and authority impressed his view on late Latin authors. 1 It is desirable to illustrate this by quotations. ISIDORE OF SEVILLE, c. A.D. 630, in his de Eccl. Off. ii. 7 (ap. Hittorp. p. 22) quotes St. Paul to show 'presbyterum etiam sub episcopi nomine taxari ' ; he says ' secundus et paene coniunctus gradus [sc. presbyterorum] est.' On the other hand he clearly dis- tinguishes the orders (ii. 26) : ' Presbyteri, licet sint sacerdotes, ponti- ficatus tamen apicem non habent. Hoc autem solis pontificibus deberi, ut vel consignent vel paracletum Spiritum tradant, quod non solum ecclesiastica consuetudo demonstrat, verum et superior ilia lectio apostolorum [i.e. Acts viii. 14 f.].' Cf. also ii. 5, which is quite clear, and makes only bishops in the later sense the successors of the Apostles. (Pseudo) ALBINUS FLACCUS, gth century, in the de Div. Off. (ap. Hittorp. p. 72) distinguishes the powers of bishop and presbyter. He goes on to say that formerly the names were used indiscriminately, i.e. 1 St. Augnstin admitted, at any rate by implication, the change of nomenclature, Ep. Ixxxii ad ffieron. 33 : ' Quamquam secundum honorum vocabula quae iam ecclesiae usus obtinuit episcopatus presbyterio maior sit, tamen in multis rebus Augustinus Hieronymo minor est.' 348 Christian Ministry. in the New Testament, ' sed postmodum utili satis provisione constitu- tum est, ut hoc nomen [i.e. episcopus] solis pontificibus tribuatur, quorum maioris gradus excellentia crescat et minor ordo mensurae suae limitem recognoscat, sitque differentia in vocabulis sicut praecelsior locus honoris. ' This means, I think, that there had always been a difference of grade which produced a distinction of name. He after- wards (p. 74) quotes Jerome's account of the early Alexandrian mode of electing a bishop. AMALARIUS, bishop of Treves, gth century, in his de Eccl. Off. ii. 13 (ap. Hittorp. p. 165), holds about the same language, i.e. he recognises community of names in New Testament, and quotes Jerome on the Epistle to Titus and on the Alexandrian election of bishops. But he also assumes an original distinction of office, and makes the successors of the Apostles take from the lower grade its name of ' bishop,' because they would not arrogate to themselves the title of apostles ; so that those were called bishops ' qui et ordinationis praediti potestate.' RABANUS MAURUS, Qth century, quotes Jerome and Isidore and recognises the original community of names in New Testament ' sub episcoporum nomine presbyteros complexus est f Paulus] ' but keeps the distinction of offices clear (de Inst. Cler. \. 4. 6, ap. Hittorp. pp. 313, 315). He makes eight gradus in the Church, the chief being bishop, priest, and deacon, and three ordines clergy, laity, and monks. Gieseler, Eccl. Hist. 30 [Eng. trans, i. p. 88], quotes a remark- able expression of Jerome's position from BERNALDUS OF CONSTANCE, c. A.D. 1088. He affirms that presbyters actually had 'antiquitus' [i.e. presumably in the apostolic age] episcopal powers, and this as a matter of certainty 'habuisse non dubitantur.' He goes on: ' Post- quam autem presbyteri ab episcopali excellentia cohibiti sunt, coepit eis non licere quod licuit, videlicet quod ecclesiastica auctoritas solis pontificibus exequendum delegavit. ' * Gieseler gives other mediseval references : but the effect of his whole note is to produce an erroneous impression. It is not the case that the ancient Church in general made little distinction between bishops and presbyters ; that this mode of thought survived more or less into the Middle Ages ; and that it was finally suppressed by the theology of Trent, while the Protestants returned to the ancient doctrine. I hope I have shown that this is not the case. The fact is that medkeval writers who minimized the distinction of bishops and presbyters did so either to exalt the dignity of the sacrificial priesthood which is common to both, or in simple deference to Jerome's authority, or with the intention of magnifying the papal prerogative (see App. Note E, p. 377). 1 Cf. also Morinus de S. Ord. p. iii. ex. iii. 2. 8 f. Note G. 349 G. THE LAYING-ON OF HANDS. IT is plain that the conclusions arrived at on pp. 168-180 depend mainly on the question whether we have evidence to justify the state- ment that the ministers of the Church were from the first solemnly ordained by laying-on of hands and that a special gift of the Holy Ghost was believed to accompany the ceremony. The following is a summary of the evidence on this point. Assuming the historical trustworthiness of the Acts and the Pastoral Epistles, we have evidence that the laying-on of apostolic hands was the method of imparting the gift of the Spirit. It was also, as a natural consequence, the method of ordination to church office. So the seven are ordained, Acts vi. 6 Tpoffevd/j.fvoi ftr^OriKav avrots ras Xps- So Paul and Barnabas have hands laid on them by the prophets of Antioch, Acts xiii. 3 this however to send them on a special mission, rather than appoint them to an office. So St. Paul, in company with the presbytery, ordained Timothy (i Tim. iv. 14; 2 Tim. i. 6), and he writes to him that he ' stir up the gift that is in him by the laying-on of hands.' He also implies that Timothy will use the same ceremony in ordaining other clergy (i Tim. v. 22). Thus, as in the case of baptism, the Church gave a new meaning, a new reality, to an old Jewish rite. 1 It was not likely that an apostolic practice would become disused. Ordination or appointment is, of course, constantly mentioned without any specification of the method, in the early Church as amongst our- selves. 2 But we have in each century evidence to assure us of what the method was. Thus in the second century the Ebionite Clementines represent St Peter as ordaining bishops, and by implication priests and deacons, by laying-on of hands (Horn. iii. 72, with the prayer that God would give the bishop the authority to bind and loose aright ; Recog. iii. 66 ; Ep. Clem. 2, 19). In the third century we have evidence that Origen was so ordained : tiri TTJV 'EXXdSa ffTftXAfJXVos rr\v dia Ha\aiffTii>i)s, irpfff^vrepiov Xfipo- 0e<rlaj> & Kaurapfiq. xpoj TUV rfjSe tiruriciiiruv dvaXa/z/fcu'a (ap. Euseb. 1 Cf. Loening Gemeindeverfassvng pp. 72 ff. 2 Thus, e.g., Theodoret, who had, as we shall see, very clear ideas as to the method and effect of ordination, speaks simply of a bishop bringing a man to the altar and ' enrolling him in the priesthood ' without his knowing it ; elsewhere, in a similar case, he describes how it was done (Kelig. Hist, xiii, xix). Christian Ministry. H. E. vi. 23) ; and he implies that this was the method by which bishops were consecrated in his day (see above, p. 127). Cyprian, as will be seen immediately, and the African author of de Aleatoribus, assure us that this was the method of episcopal ordination in Africa, and Novatian's schismatical ordination lets us see that it was so also at Rome. The canons of Hippolytus give us the same assurance in the case of all three orders. (See above, pp. 132 f.) We need not give many later instances. The witness of the Prayers of Bp. Serapion, of Gregory (in his account of Basil's death- bed), of Basil himself, and of Lucifer and others, in the West, has been quoted already (pp. 331, 146, 156, 159, 176 n. 1 ). When Chrysostom, still later, is explaining the expression titiQt\K.a.v oi)rots rots x e 'P a ' in Acts vi. 6 (Horn. xiv. 3), he says : ' This is the x ei P orov ^ a ' the hand of the man is laid upon the other ; but all the working is of God, and His hand it is which touches the head of him who is ordained, if he be ordained aright.' Jerome too interprets x et P OTOV ^ a in Latin as ' extentus digitus,' and explains it as ' ordinatio clericorum quae non solum ad imprecationem vocis sed ad impositionem impletur manus ' (in fsai. Iviii. 10). In none of these cases is there any controversial stress laid on the rite. It is simply assumed as the Church's method of ordination. It has been affirmed, however, by Dr. Hatch that the rite was not universal, and argued that ' it is impossible that, if it was not universal, it can have been regarded as essential ' (B. L. p. 134). Let us consider, then, the supposed cases in which it is absent. I. ' Nor is the rite mentioned in the enumeration which Cyprian gives of the elements which had combined to make the election of Cornelius valid : it was of importance to show that no essential par- ticular had been omitted, but he enumerates only the votes of the people, the testimony of the clergy, the consent of the bishops.' This is not the case. It is quite true that Cyprian is emphasizing the due election of Cornelius by the community to prove that his consecration was not ' done in a corner.' But while he says * : ' factus est Cornelius de Dei et Christi eius iudicio, de clericorum paene omnium testimonio, etc.,' he also says just before : ' factus est episcopus a plurimis collegis nostris qui tune in urbe Roma aderant.' Cornelius was made a bishop by other bishops on the basis of a due election. How then was he made? By laying-on of hands, no doubt. That this was the recognised method in the contemporary Roman Church we have indis- putable evidence, for Novatian, Cornelius' rival, had to get himself so consecrated. So Cornelius himself tells Fabian of Antioch : ' He com- pelled certain boorish and ignorant bishops to give him the episcopate with a laying-on of hands which was shadowy and vain ' (because it i Ep. lv. 8. Note G, 351 was uncanonical). 1 In a letter of Cyprian's too, where he is explain- ing why the presence and assent of the people and the bishops is necessary to a duly conducted episcopal consecration, he says : ' All this took place in the ordination among you of our colleague Sabinus, so that it was by the vote of the whole brotherhood, and the judgment of the bishops, that the episcopate was given him and hands laid upon him in Basilides" room.' 2 To 'lay on hands' is a synonym for to give the episcopate. 2. ' In entire harmony with this [omission of the laying-on of hands] is the account which Jerome gives of the admission to office of the bishop of Alexandria : after the election the presbyters conduct the elected bishop to his chair : he is thereupon bishop de facto. ' Quite so. This is Jerome's account of it. And because this is all that he thinks occurred, he and those who follow him would not describe it as a distinct ordination. There was, they say, originally only one ordina- tion to the priesthood, i.e. that which made a man a presbyter, after which he became a bishop by mere nomination. 3. In a similar way Synesius, Ep. 67, p. 210, by his use of the phrase etjroSetfa:' re /cat ivl TOU 0p6vov Kadlvai, appears to consider the announcement of election, followed by enthronization, as the con- stitutive elements of the ordination of a bishop' (I.e. p. 134 n. 46 . dtroSei^ai often means ' to constitute ' or ' to make ' ; and if Dr. Hatch had read the previous letter he would have seen that it means ' to make by laying-on of hands. ' See p. 206, where it is said that one inrb TU 4. Dr. Hatch quotes (pseudo) Albinus Flaccus as denying that the laying-on of hands was part of the traditional mode of making a bishop elsewhere or at Rome ; for the passage see p. 336 n. 2 . What the author must mean is to depreciate the authority in the West of the imposition of the book of the Gospels. And whatever he means, we can check him. Isidore of Seville, who is several centuries earlier, says : 4 Quod vero per manus impositionem a praecessoribus Dei sacerdotibus episcopi ordinantur, antiqua institutio est ' (de Eccl. Off. ii. 5) ; and refers the rite back to patriarchal and apostolic days. We have also the evidence of Lucifer and of the practice of the Roman Church in the third century. 5. ' There is the remarkable fact that the passage of the Apostolical Constitutions which describes with elaborate minuteness the other cere- monies with which a bishop was admitted to office, says nothing of this ' 1 ap. Euseb. H.E. vi. 43. See also Cornelius' letter to Cyprian (Ep. xlix. i) : the confessors said they had been deluded ' ut paterentur ei manum quasi in episcopatum imponi.' - Ep. Ixvii. 5. 352 Christian Ministry. (? r 33)- This is the only apparently strong point in Dr. Hatch's plea. The passage (referred to above, p. 137) describes a solemn rite by which a man is consecrated to a priestly office. Three bishops stand before the altar, others with the presbyters praying in silence, and ' while the deacons hold the divine Gospels open upon the head of him who is being ordained (xeiporovovidvov), the chief bishop offers a long prayer of consecration. At the end of which ' one of the bishops is to lift up the sacrifice (i.e. the oblation) upon the head of him who has been ordained (XfipoTovrjOtvros) and on the morrow he is to be enthroned.' Are we to conclude that there is here represented a consecration without laying- on of hands ? This is very improbable because ( I ) the ceremony is specified in the case of the bishop, as of the presbyter and deacon, in the canons of Hippolytus and in the Egyptian Church ordinances upon which the ordinal in the Constitutions is based. (2) it is specified in the Con- stitutions in the case of the deacon and presbyter. (3) In the same book of the Constitutions (viii. 46) a passage occurs sufficient to dis- prove the hypothesis : fore yap irdvrus eiruiKtnrovs trap' TJ/M^V ovo^a- KO.I Trpefffivrtpovs Kol diaicbvovs ei/xv Ka ' %etpw' eirtBtcrei, rij T&V 6i>ofj.aT(ai> Kal TTJV 5ia<popai> ruiv Trpayfj-aruv deiKvtiovras' ov yap 6 /Soi/Xd/uepoj Trap' i)fuv tTr^pov rijv x e ?P a [i-e. was consecrated] . .. . dXX' 6 Ka\6vfj.et>os VTT(> TOV Oeov ' bishops and presbyters and deacons were appointed by prayer and the laying-on of hands.' Presum- ably, therefore, in the rite as described the laying-on of hands is implied in the word -xeipoTovetv. The word was supposed, in the fourth century at least (see quotations from Chrysostom and Jerome p. 350), to have that implication. * Also, it should be noticed, ' manual acts ' are often omitted in early sacrament aries. Thus the directions for the manual act of laying on hands is omitted in some of the accounts of the rite of ordination in the Ordo Romanus ; e.g. ap. Hittorp. p. 31 we have simply ' consecrat illos,' although a late date is indicated by the mention of the incense being blessed, the introits, the litany, the vestments ; cf. ib. p. 107. On the other hand it is specified in an ' ordinal ' which Dr. Hatch (Diet. Chr. Ant. s.v.) thinks represents one of the earliest remaining western types (Hittorp. p. 88 ; Martene, Ordo ix, Ant. Eccl. Ritus ii. p. 151). It is not specified in Martene's Ordo i (I.e. p. 86 f.), nor in a very brief order in Muratori Lit. Rom. Vet. i. p. 512 f., nor in the Maronite rite (in Morinus de S. Ord. p. ii. p. 419 f.). It is only later that ' ritualia,' giving complete rubrical directions, are written. 1 Apost. Const, viii. 28 distinguishes x ei P ^ e ' re ^> i- e - to give certain benedictions of penitents, from x 'poToi/eii' = ' to ordain.' x 'P TOI/6 "' is a technical term for one special sort of laying-on of hands. Note G. 353 Now what was the significance attached to this laying-on of hands ? 1 It was conceived of as giving ministerial authority, and not only authority, but something which accompanied the authority a gift of special grace empowering a man for its exercise. Thus, in the fifth century, Theodoret, bishop of Cyrus, the literalist interpreter of a temper which Dr. Newman characterizes as ' English,' no less than the mystic writer who passes for Dionysius, believed that the laying-on of hands conveyed a specific grace of order. He believed this even when the rite was administered to a man without his know- ledge. He records (Relig. Hist, xix) how a bishop, wishing to ordain a recluse, got into his cell by surreptitious means and ' laid his hand on him and performed the prayer and then spoke at length to him and made plain to him the grace which had come upon him.' He regarded the grace as given by the laying-on of hands in virtue of the prayer which invoked the Spirit. 'We ought,' he says, commenting on i Tim. v. 22, ' first to examine the life of the man who is being ordained, and so to invoke upon him (KoiKeiv fir' abr6i>) the grace of the Spirit.' In the fourth century we have found St. Gregory of Nazianzus conceiving with great richness of thought of the effect of ordination ; and speaking of St. Basil on his deathbed as 'giving his hand and the Spirit- in ordination of the most genuine of his followers.' So St. Basil himself, speaking of those who had left the Church, says : ' they had no longer the grace of the Holy Spirit upon them ; its com- munication failed when the succession was broken off (ry SIO.KOKTJKU TT)v a.Ko\ov9iav). For those who first went into schism had their ordina- tions from the fathers, and through the laying-on of their hands they 1 Dr. Hatch has endeavoured to minimize it (B. L. p. 135 and Diet. Ckr. Ant. ii. p. 1508). Jerome no doubt says that the value of the outward rite lay, in one respect, in its preventing the possibility of people being ordained without their knowing it : ' ordinatio clericorum non solum ad imprecationem vocis sed ad imposi- tionem impletur manus, ne scilicet, ut in quibusdam risimus, vocis imprecatio clandestina clericos ordinet nescientes ' (in fsai. Iviii. x) a function which it fulfilled but imperfectly, as we know from some curious stories of Theodoret (Relig. Hist. xiii, xix). But it was much more than this to Jerome, as we have seen ; the whole rite made a man a priest, with sacerdotal powers and authority. St. Augustin also says (de Bapt. iii. 16. 21): 'Quid est aliud [manus impositio] nisi oratio super hominem ? ' But he is not speaking of ordination. The laying-on of hands in ordination did, according to Augustin, see p. 194, ' impose a sacrament ' which was indelible. The pseudo-Dionysius sees in the laying-on of hands more than ' fatherly sheltering and subjection to God': it en<j>a.ivei TTJV TeAerapx'*'?*' <r'inji, v^* fa . . . ci? Kai Svvafjuv iepariKi)!/ cSajpoufie'i'T)?, K.T.\. (ap. Morinus de S. Ord. p. ii. p. 58.) - The early Church did not use the imperative formula, ' Receive the Holy Ghost.' St. Augustin certainly* implies this (de Trin. xv. 26). But no more is implied in this formula than in saying, ' I baptize,' or (as St. Gregory in this case) ' he gives the Holy Spirit.' z 354 Christian Ministry. had the spiritual gift ; but those who broke off, having become laymen, had neither the authority to baptize nor to ordain, being no longer able to impart to others the grace of the Holy Spirit, from which they had themselves fallen.' 1 We have already heard St. Athanasius ex- plaining to the recalcitrant Dracontius, that in being ordained he had received a grace of the Spirit, which was in him whether he liked it or no, and for the exercise of which he was responsible. The prayer for the ordination of a bishop in the Apostolical Constitutions runs : ' Thyself [O God], now by the mediation of Thy Christ, pour out through us [theordaining bishops] the power of Thy ruling Spirit' (5t' T\V.UV lirlxte rr)v dtjvafuf rod ijye/j.ovi.Ko6 <rov irvujfjLaros, viii. 5). St Peter in the Clementine Homilies is represented as laying-on hands and invoking for him who is being made bishop the authority to bind and loose aright (Horn. iii. 72 ; cf. Ep. Clem. 2). When we turn to the West we find a similar set of conceptions attached to the ordination of the clergy. The author of the Quaes- t zones in Vet. et Nov. Test, speaks thus (Qu. xciii) : ' When the Lord is said to have breathed on the disciples a few days after his resur- rection and to have said ' Receive iy e the Holy Ghost,' He is under- stood to have been conveying ecclesiastical power (ecclesiastica potestas collata intelligitur esse) : and because it really belongs to ecclesiastical authority (ad ius ecclesiasticum), He adds ' Whose sins ye retain,' etc. This inbreathing of Christ is a certain grace, which by succession is infused into those who are ordained (per traditionem infunditur ordinatis), by which they are made more acceptable.' He then quotes St. Paul's words to Timothy ( I Tim. iv. 14) and explains that this outward act of Christ was enacted ' ut ex eo traditioni ecclesiasticae Spiritus sanctus infusus credatur.' The contemporary Ambrosiaster, writing also from Rome, speaks more definitely (see App. Note F) of the 'grace of ordination ' as attached to the laying-on of hands. ' He only,' says Lucifer (de S. Athan. i. 9), ' can be filled with the -virtue of the Holy Spirit for the governing of His people, whom God has chosen, and on whom hands have been laid by the catholic bishops, as Moses' hand was laid upon Joshua.' We have seen that St. Cyprian understood by ordination the laying-on of hands and that he regarded ordination, when rightly administered in the Church, as bestowing sacerdotal authority. His conception is illustrated by that of another African bishop, the author of the de Aleatoribus, 'Since we bishops have through the laying-on of hands received the same Holy Spirit within the shelter of our breast, let us cause no sadness to Him who dwells within us.' 2 Before Cyprian, the great theologian Hippolytus uses the 1 Ep. cbcxxviii. 2 De Aleut, c. 3, ' Quoniam episcopi idem [?eundem] Spiritum sanctum per im- positionem manus cordis excepimus hospitio, cohabitatori nostro nullam maestitiam Note H. 355 following language as to the relation of the Holy Ghost to the ministry (Ref. Omn. Haer. proem.): 'No other will refute these errors save the Holy Ghost given in the Church, which the Apostles first received and then imparted to right believers ; and forasmuch as we are their successors, sharing the same grace and high priesthood and teaching and accounted guardians of the Church, we shall not suffer our eyes to sleep.' The same idea prevails in the ' canons ' ascribed to him, p. 132. Irenaeus also regards church officers as endowed with special spiritual gifts ; he speaks of ' the presbyters who hold the succession from the Apostles, who with the succession of the episcopate have received the sure gift of truth (charisma veritatis) according to the good pleasure of the Father ' (iv. 26. 2). ' God, says St. Paul, hath put in the Church first apostles, secondly prophets, thirdly teachers ; where, then, the gifts of the Lord have been put, there we should learn the truth' (iv. 26. 5). Lastly, though Clement of Rome does not, any more than Irenaeus, allude to the ceremony of ordination, he connects the mission of the ministry with that one mission by which ' Christ is from God, and the Apostles from Christ ' (c. 42). Such, then, is the continuous conception of churchmen in respect of the grace of ordination and the right of laying-on of hands ; and it has its origin in the simple and decisive expressions of the New Testament. H. MONTANISM. (See pp. THE true nature of Montanism seems to emerge very clearly from an examination of the ancient writings bearing on it, which are not of very considerable bulk. They are mainly (i) the anti-Montanist writers of the second, or early third, century, quoted by Eusebius H. . v. 16-19 > (ii) Didymus de Trin. especially iii. 41 ; (iii) Epiphanius Haer. xlviii (both these writers drawing on more ancient sources) ; and (iv) the Montanist writings of Tertullian, its chief western advocate. There are also important references in Hippolytus Kef. Omn. Haer. viii. 19 ; and pseudo-Tertull. de Praescr. ad fin. Other references are collected, and all the sources analysed, in Bonwetsch's admirable Gesch. des Montanismus I ; cf. also Harnack Dogmengesch. i. pp. 318-330; and Diet. Chr. Biog. s.v. MONTANUS (Dr. Salmon). proponamus.' This tract has been edited by Harnack (Texte u. Untersuch. V. i), and by him assigned to Victor, bishop of Rom, c. A.D. 195, but it is more probably by an African bishop. 356 Christian Ministry. From these authorities it appears I. That the primary claim of Montanus and his followers was that of supernatural inspiration. Montanus claimed to be a passive organ through which Almighty God spoke apparently even to be Almighty God, in the sense that his voice was God's voice. A similar claim was made by his prophetesses, Prisca (Priscilla) and Maximilla. In this consisted the New Prophecy (Epiphan. Haer. xlviii. n, 12; Didymus de Trin. iii. 41 ; and the anonymous presbyter ap, Euseb. H. E. v. i6). x The inspired utterances of these first Montanist prophets were collected and reckoned by the Montanists as additional scriptures (ffwraTTtiv KCUPCIS 7/>a0ds, Euseb. H. E. vi. 20); Tertullian constantly quotes them as inspired oracles (see de Exh. Cast. 10 ; de Res. Cam. 1 1 ; de F^tga 9, II ; de Pud. 21 ; adv. Prax. 8, 30; adv. Marc. iii. 24). If the highest sort of inspiration was supposed to belong to these prophets only (and the Fathers taunt them with the cessation of the gift), yet ' revelations ' continued in the society. Tertullian quotes, to prove the materiality of the soul, the visions of a ' spiritual ' sister who ' had the gift of revelations ' (de An. 9). As claiming inspiration, the Montanists claimed to be in a prophetic succession. They claimed to succeed to the ancient prophets and to those of the new covenant (ap. Euseb. H. E. v. l8). 2 They argued that their inspiration was only a new instance of an old phenomenon (see the Montanist preface to the Passion of Perpetua and Felicitas, and note especially ' things of later date are to be esteemed of more account,' and the conclusion of the account). The Church judged them on their claim. She 'tried the spirits,' and decided that this was a case not of supernatural inspiration but of false prophecy, or even demoniacal possession. As thus judged and con- demned, they were excommunicated by the Asiatic Churches, and the orthodox held them in such horror that under persecution they would not even die with them (ap. Euseb. H. E. \. 16 ad fin.). They were afterwards excommunicated at Rome also (see esp. Diet. Chr. Biog. iii. pp. 936, 944). The arguments used against the Montanist claims seem to have been (a) that the prophetic gift failed with the death of the first claimants to it (ap. Euseb. H. E. v. 17) : (b} that their prophecies of wars and revolutions and the speedy end of the world did not come true (ap. Euseb. H. E. v. 16, and Epiphan. I.e. 2) : 1 The claim to speak with the voice of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost indiscriminately, carried with it, according to Didymus, a confusion of the Divine Persons (I.e. and elsewhere). Epiphanius, however (I.e. i), says the Montanists were orthodox. The pseudo-Tertullian draws a distinction in this respect between two sects. Tertullian makes their orthodoxy emphatic. 2 There is perhaps no reason to make this claim an afterthought, with Harnack Dogmengesch. i. p. 323. Note H. 357 (c) the earliest and most important argument that whereas prophecy in the Church was rational and the prophet intelligent and conscious, Montanist prophecy was, on their own showing, an irrational frenzy : cf. kv Karoxo TIVI Kal irapeKOTcurei ev6ov<nq.v . . . ws (wl fvtpyovfitvip Kal Siafj.ovwvTt . . . TO fi\a\//i<ppov irvev/ia . . . XoXeu' K<t>p6vws . . . a/j.eTpo<t>ui>ovs 7rpo0i}Toj (ap. Euseb. H. E. v. 16, 17) ; cf. the title of (?) Alcibiades' anti-Montanist work, roO JUTJ Sfiv vpo<^-ffri}v iv fKffTao-ft \a\eiv ; Epiphan. I.e. 3-7 ; and Tertullian's expressions 'ecstasis . . . excessus sensus et amentiae instar," 'amentia . . . spiritalis vis qua constat prophetia' (de. An. 45, 21, adv. Marc. iv. 22). It was, then, mainly on account of its irrational, ecstatic, and there- fore unchristian, pagan character that Montanism was rejected. 1 The point to observe is that the Church judged it on its claim. It claimed to be a new, special, supernatural inspiration, and the Church decided, not that such inspiration had ceased with the Apostles, but that these people were not divinely inspired. The Church had contained men and women recently whom it recognised as prophets, such as Quadratus and Ammia. It would not recognise Montanus and Maximilla on account of the character of their supposed 'gifts.' The Montanists acknowledged their novel character (see Epiphan. I.e. 8 oi>x o^iota TO. irpuTa xapt'o^tara TOIS ^o^dTotj a Montanist saying). No doubt this repudiation of Montanist prophecy inclined the Church to regard the prophetic gift as having altogether ceased. See Epiphan. I.e. 3. Irenaeus, like Justin, speaks of prophecy as continuing in the Church : ' we hear of many brethren in the Church having prophetic gifts ' (ii. 32, 4, v. 6. l); cf. Justin Dial. c. Tryph. 82: irapa yap TIIUV Kal fJ*XP l v v v Tfpo4>rjTLKO, xa.plffiui.Ta. fffTiv. The Muratorian fragment, on the other hand, speaks of the ' completus numerus ' of the prophets ; and Origen puts them almost wholly in the past, c. Cels. vii. 8 fx v7 l iarlv airroO [the prophetic spirit] irap 6\iyois. Alcibiades, against the Montanists (ap. Euseb. H. E. v. 17), speaks of prophecy 'as remaining in the whole Church until the second Coming,' but in what sense is not plain. In any case that supernatural prophecy had ceased was not a principle ; it was an experience. See on this the account Tertullian gives of the rejection at Rome of the Montanist prophecy (adv. Prax. l). If the Montanists taunted the Church with rejecting prophecy, the Church replied : ' we do not believe you are inspired.' 2. Their prophecy claimed to be ' new ' in a special sense. The Montanists claimed (says Didymus) ' that their leader had come, and 1 As a matter of fact Montanus probably brought his idea of inspiration from his Phrygian paganism. He had been a pagan priest (Didymus I.e. 3) ; Jerome seems to imply a priest of Cybele ' semivir ' (Ep. ad Marcell. xli). On the purely pagan character of ' ecstasy ' see Bonwetsch I.e. pp. 65, 66. 358 Christian Ministry. had the completeness of the Spirit.'' The Spirit promised by Christ had come in him. The age of the Spirit, through the Montanist revelations, had superseded the hitherto imperfect Church. Didymus is at pains to prove, as against them, that Montanus could not be greater than the Apostles : that the Apostles had had the Spirit in His completeness from Christ, and had imparted Him by laying-on of hands to the Church (I.e. a). 1 Their claim finds very complete expression in Tertullian (see above, pp. 191 ff. ). If he also claims that Montanism is a ' restitutio' (de Monog. 4), this is only in the sense that it restores a severity of discipline about second marriages, which the Apostles had allowed to remain relaxed, owing to human weakness : it restored, that is to say, th primeval severity of the divine intention, but it was even here an advance on apostolic Christianity. See, on this new character of Mon- tanist illumination, Harnack I.e. pp. 319-323, and Bonwetsch, esp. Die Prophetic in apost. u. nachapost. Zeitalter in Zeitschr.f. k. Wissenschaft u. k. Leben, Heft viii and ix, 1884. 3. However true it may be that some at least of the Montanist claimants to prophetic inspiration were self-seeking charlatans (see Apollonius ap. Euseb. H. E. v. 18), there is no reason to doubt that Montanism was really, even at first, a movement in the direction of ascetic puritanism. No doubt the establishment of the new Jeru- salem in the ' little Phrygian cities of Pepuza and Timius, ' where Montanus ' would have gathered together ' the children of the new dis- pensation ' from all sides,' was one of the many attempts which church history records to found a 'pure Church." There the elect expected to behold the ' Jerusalem which is above ' descend from heaven (Epiphan. I.e. 14). It was mainly the puritan rigorism of Mon- tanism, with its special fasts (vrjffreiwv i>o/ju>6effla is a feature noticed by Apollonius ap. Euseb. I.e.) and ascetic restrictions on marriage, that commended it to the impatient zeal of Tertullian. There was no doubt a tendency to worldliness, a ' Verweltlichung,' in the Church of the third and fourth centuries, just so far as she was allowed to live at ease, which accounts for, and in part excuses, if it cannot justify, the outbreaks of puritan fanaticism which the history of the Church in those centuries bears repeated witness to. 4. If men making a claim to inspiration would inevitably, in any case, have a tendency to look down upon church officers who made no such profession, much more were the repudiated and excommunicated Montanist claimants put into the most marked hostility to the Church. Their belief in the new dispensation of the Spirit tended to make them regard the Church as antiquated ; in their puritanism they would have regarded her as corrupt, perhaps as unchurched by corruption ; their 1 The Montanist claim is expressed otherwise thus : ' in apostolis Spiritum sanctum fuisse, Parade turn non fuisse ' (pseudo-Tertull. de Praescr. 52). Note I. 359 expectations of an immediate irapovaia, made them disparage her organization, which aimed at permanence. 1 Thus they would have every motive for setting ' the Church of the Spirit ' against ' the Church of the bishops,' for setting personal inspiration against official authority, and ascetic severity against sacerdotal claims. As a fact their ascription of the power of absolution to spiritual men in opposition to church officers is a feature hinted at by Apollonius : ' who forgives sins [amongst you Montanists] ? ' he asks in ridicule, ' does the prophet for- give the thefts of the martyr, or the martyr the covetousness of the prophet ? ' In Tertullian this feature appears more prominently ; see p. 209 f. I. PROPHECY IN THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. (See pp. 220, 244.) THE words of Jesus Christ, ' all the prophets and the law prophesied until John,' are clearly not to be understood as excluding prophecy from His kingdom. If His own language is not without ambiguity, 2 yet in the apostolic writings the evidence is abundant. There are prophets in the Church who rank only next to apostles : see Eph. iv. II, iii. 5, ii. 20, I Cor. xii. 28, Acts xiii. I, xiv. 4, and xv. 32. We should gather that not all persons who received at one moment or another the gift of prophecy, as in Acts xix. 6, would have ranked as prophets. The prophet would have been a person who habitually possessed the prophetic inspiration. 3 There was an abundance of the prophetic gift in the Corinthian Church ( i Cor. xiv. 29-36), but if the prophets appear here as members simply of the local community, speaking generally they belong to the general, as opposed to the local, 1 See especially Bonwetsch Montanismus p. 139 : ' Allem dem entgegenzutreten, wodurch die kirchlichen Verhaltnisse eine dauerndere Gestalt zum Zweck des Eingehens in eine langere geschichtliche Entwicklung erhalten sollten.' This was modified in later Montanism. a But see St. Matt. vii. 22, x. 41 : elsewhere He speaks of false prophets (vii. 15, xxiv. n) or Old Testament prophets (St. Luke xi. 49-51) or couples prophets with ' wise men and scribes ' so that the language becomes analogical (St. Matt. xxiiL 34, cf. x. 41). * So Meyer i Cor. xiv. 31, and Bonwetsch Die Prophttie in apost. u. nachapost. Zeitalter in Zeitschr. f. kircffl. Wissenschaft u. k. Leben, 1884, Heft viii, p. 413, and ix, on whom this note is largely based. It should also be noticed that the existence of these distinctive prophets is not inconsistent with the gift of prophecy being given to the whole Church, see Acts ii. 17, 18. 360 Christian Ministry. ministry and rank with apostles and evangelists and teachers (see esp. Eph. iv. II, iii. 5, ii. 20, and Acts xiii. I, where Barnabas and Saul rank amongst prophets and teachers). We get a clear idea of the characteristics of Christian prophecy. 1. In marked contrast to the idea of a prophet in Plato and in Philo, 1 St. Paul insists that the Christian prophet is no unconscious, passive instrument of the Spirit. Prophecy is rational and subject to the will of the prophet in a remarkable manner, see I Cor. xiv. and especially verse 32 : ' the spirits of the prophets (cf. Apoc. xxii. 6) are subject to the prophets,' also Rom. xii. 6, and Acts xxi. 4, n, where St. Paul seems to regard prophetic utterances as misdirected in intention though true in fact. St. Paul indeed on one occasion was the subject of something like an ecstasy. But it afforded no material for his public ministry ; it was a blessing only for his own spirit, and is not mentioned for fourteen years (2 Cor. xii. 2-4). St. John's Apocalypse is a special form of prophecy of most direct inspiration (cf. Apoc. i. 3, 10, iv. 2, xxii. 7, 10, 1 8, 19), but St. John clearly retains his consciousness and personality throughout the revelations made to him, and the function of prophecy is generally defined as ' the testimony of Jesus ' (xix. 10) and regarded as continuing into the new covenant (xi. 18, xviii. 20). 2. The Christian prophet is no individual oracle. He is one of a body, and his gift exists for the good of the whole body. Accordingly it is subordinated to the regulative authority in the body, in the interest of order: see I Cor. xii. and xiv. 4, 5, 12, 17, 29-33, 40. Our Lord had directed that prophets were to be known by their moral fruits (St. Matt. vii. 15, 16). St. John also directs that utterances claiming inspiration should be tested by the rule of faith (i John iv. 1-3, 2 John 7- 1 1, cf. i Thess. v. 19-21). 3. We should gather from the Acts that Christian prophets foretold, like Agabus ; see Acts xi. 28, xxi. n. So St. Peter exercises prophetic power (Acts v. 3-10) and the Spirit guides the Apostles on critical occasions by specially communicated directions or prohibitions (Acts x. 19, xiii. 2, xvi. 6, xx. 22, 23, xxiii. n, xxvii. 23). St. Paul (i Tim. i. 1 8, iv. 14) says that Timothy was pointed out for his office by prophecies, and that prophecy was the means by which he came to receive his ' gift. ' It is also the prophetic function to exhort and confirm and edify (Acts xv. 32 vapeK6.\ecra.v, lireffr^pi^av, cf. I Cor. xiv. 3 olKo5o/j.-f], 7ro/)d/cX?/(rts, irapa/j.v6ia). Further in Acts xiii. 1-3, prophets (and teachers) appear as ministers of the Church's worship, 1 See Bonwetsch I.e. p. 415. He gives excellent references showing how essential to the idea of prophecy in these writers is its ecstatic character : ovfiei? evvov<s ifya.Trrfra.1 fiavnifijs tvOiov (Plat. Tint. 723), efoneT<u iv ypuv o vovs Kara. TTJV roO Oeiov jjreu/uaTOS actti/ (Philo Quis Rerutn Divin. Haer. i. 511). It was because Montanist prophecy was of this irrational, ecstatic character that the Church rejected it. Note I. 361 and they are represented as laying their hands after fasting and prayer upon Saul and Barnabas. On this occasion, however, the laying-on of hands recognised, rather than gave, apostolic commission, l and a super- natural intimation led up to it ; so that it was an exceptional event. But it is probable that those who could enact the rite on this occasion could have done so under more ordinary circumstances, for ' ordination ' or 'confirmation.' Who but Barnabas one of these prophets (xiii. i) can have laid hands on the Antiochene Christians for the bestowal of the Spirit? See Acts xi. 22 and cf. viii. 14. It falls in with the * liturgical ' function of prophets, that St. Paul implies that there were such things as inspired prayers as well as inspired exhortations. There is a praying and praising which is by both the spirit and the reason, a ' eucharist ' to which the private Christian can say his Amen with an intelligent assent, and which is none the less ' in the Spirit ' ( I Cor. xiv. 15, 16). The gift of prophecy continued as a recognised endowment of the Church into the second or third centuries. Certain people were recog- nised as prophets, e.g. Ignatius, Polycarp, and Quadratus, already referred to (cf. Euseb. H. E. v. i. 49 on Alexander the Phrygian). As in the apostolic Church there had been prophetesses, so too they had their late representative in Ammia at Philadelphia (Euseb. H. E. v. 17). St. Irenaeus, besides denouncing false prophets (adv. Haer. iv. 33. 6), protests against those who would banish prophecy from the Church under pretence of exposing such pretenders (iii. II. 9: ' propheticam . . . gratiam repellunt ab ecclesia ') and witnesses like Justin Martyr to the continuance of prophetic gifts in his day (ii. 32, 4, v. 6. i ; Justin c. Tryph. 82). Even an opponent of the false prophets of Montanism recognises that prophecy must continue in the whole Church to the end (ap. Euseb. H. E. v. 17). The Montanist prophets were rejected by the Church specially on account of the ecstatic and irrational character of their supposed gifts. Their rejection involved no slight at all on the gift of prophecy and no denial of its claims. As a matter of fact, however, the genuine gift seems to have become exceedingly rare ; Origen speaks of slight traces of it remaining to his time (c. Cels. i. 46, vii. 8). The documents of the subapostolic age are of special interest for this subject the Didache and the Shepherd of Hermas. In the Didacke, the true prophet is distinguished from the false 'by his fruits,' i.e. by his genuine poverty and disinterestedness and by his orthodoxy. So far he is subject to the testing of the Church. But when once his true prophetic inspiration is accepted, it becomes a sin against the Holy 1 In the general sense ; it is to be regarded, however, as giving them the com- mission of the Church at Antioch for a particular work indicated supernaturally by the Spirit ' the work whereunto He had called them.' 362 Christian Ministry. Ghost to judge him ; see xi. i, 2, 7-13. The remarkable features in the prophets of this document is that, like those at Antioch in the Acts, they become, wherever they appear, the chief ministers of worship, no less than of teaching, and hold, with the less defined figures of apostle and teacher, the first rank in the church hierarchy. The Didache is, as was said, the last document in which prophets appear clothed with this higher dignity. Prophetic bishops take the place of episcopal prophets. There is not, however, as has been pointed out elsewhere (p. 259), sufficient reason to hold that the latter ever held their quasi- apostolic position in the Church on the mere ground of their prophetic gifts, without ordination. In the Shepherd, Hermas appears as the recipient of veritable visions which are to be communicated to the Church. If thus he is to, be considered as a true prophet, 1 he gives us also a vivid picture of the false prophet inspired of Satan (Mand. xi). His characteristic is self- seeking and ambition. He is represented sitting on a 'cathedra,' answering the questions of those who come to consult him. No spirit given from God, says Hermas, is thus questioned, but speaks of itself according to the divine power given. The spirit which is questioned and answers according to the lusts of men is earthly and devilish. Again, in order to secure reputation, the false prophet isolates himself and prophesies in a corner, whereas the true prophet only speaks (where the pretender is dumb) in the congregation of just men. Again, the false prophet is ambitious of ecclesiastical preferment, he desires the ' chief seat,' while the true prophet is humble and meek. Again, the false prophet requires to be paid before he will speak. Thus the true and false prophets are to be distinguished by their conduct. It is clear that at the time of the Shepherd the prophet did not hold anything like the position which he held in the Didache, No doubt the abundance of pretenders to inspiration made it plain that prophecy, even if an abiding endowment of the Church, was a rare one and not intended for the Church to depend upon for a supply of her chief ministers, In the Apostolical Constitzitions we have a clear intimation of the transitory character of the miraculous ' charismata ' of the early Church, and of prophecy among them. The Apostles are there repre- sented as declaring that in contrast to the fundamental spiritual gift which is the essence of Christian life miracles were only vouchsafed in view of the conversion of the world and would become superfluous when all were Christians : accordingly those who possess the exceptional gifts are warned not to exalt themselves on that account over the church rulers, and the exorcist, in spite of the gift of healings which marks him for his special office without any ordination, is yet required to be 1 See Salmon's Introd. p. 577 f. Note K. 363 ordained in the usual way, ' if there be need that he should become a presbyter or bishop.' See Apost. Const, viii. i and 26. The earlier functions of the prophet passed in a certain sense, as has been pointed out (p. 260), to bishops and readers. Ambrose, we may further note, regards interpreters of the Scriptures as their repre- sentatives in his day. K. THE ORIGIN OF THE TITLES 'BISHOP,' 'PRESBYTER,' 'DEACON,' WITH REFERENCE TO RECENT CRITICISM. I. The purpose of this note is, first, to offer evidence for what has already been advanced on this subject in the text (pp. 220, 231, 240). (a) The title PRESBYTER is derived confessedly from the organization of the Jews,' but in order to show that the Christian organization was not imitated from the Jewish as a whole, it is necessary to give some account of what the Jewish organization was, as far as we know it, both in Jerusalem and in ' the dispersion.' 3 It was fourfold, (i) There was the priestly organization for the purpose of the temple worship, with high-priests, priests, and Levites. This, however, did not of course exist anywhere except at Jerusalem. (2) Representing the traditional religious learning amongst the Jews, we find, both in Jerusalem and in the dispersion, the recognised order of the scribes, who may be said to have taken the place of the prophets. Their name occurs commonly in the Jewish inscriptions found at Rome. (3) For the purposes of the synagogue worship, both in Jerusalem and throughout the Jewish world, there was a apxurw&yufos, with his inniptTris or clerk, or several apxiavvdywyoi (see Acts xiii. 15 ; cf. St. Mark v. 22, where however the reference may be to the rulers of different synagogues ; for the turijpt'r^s see St. Luke iv. 20). The ' ruler of the synagogue ' selected and regulated the readers or preachers. (4) For judicial and disciplinary purposes there was a 1 See Cornelius a Lapide in Eph. iv. n. 2 However, as the reverence for age is universal, so we have not only the ancient Greek ytpovyia, but a later use of irpr/3vr<pot for members of a ytpovtria., at least in Asia Minor. See Hatch B. L. pp. 65, 66. 3 The following account is largely derived from Schurer Die Genteindeverfassung der Juden in Rom in der Kaiserzeit, Leipzig, 1879. His results have been verified by Kuhl in Die Geineindtordnung in den Pastoralbriefen, Berlin, 1885, p. 117. 364 Christian Ministry. or body of irpea-fiisrepoi, of whom we hear often in the New Testament (e.g. St. Luke xxii. 66, Acts xxii. 5) as constituting the sanhedrin. Apparently, however, this name was not much used except at Jerusalem : Schiirer does not find the name in his Roman inscriptions. 1 In the Jewish communities at Rome 2 we have Apxovres, or ' rulers ' (in St. Matt. ix. 18 however 3.pxw = dpxurwdyuyos, St. Luke viii. 41, St. Mark v. 22 ; and see Acts iv. 5, 8), presided over by a yepovffiapxw, who was primus inter pares. These presidents are called TrptoTetiovres rrjs yepov<rlas by Josephus Bell. lud. vii. IO. I ( = maiores o* primates). The apxovres seem to have been elected annually 3 ; cf. pseudo- Chrysostom Opp. [ed. Paris, 1588] ii. p. 1086. These four organizations were essentially distinct, though it might happen that the presbytery at Jerusalem might consist of ' high-priests and scribes, ' as in St. Luke xxii. 66 (but on the other hand see Acts xxii. 5), or that an &PXW at Rome might also be an dpxiffvvdyuyos (as in Schiirer's inscriptions 19, 42), or a priest an &px^" (inscr. 5). Besides these officers we hear also of the title of ' father ' or ' mother of the synagogue ' being given to persons of age or influence. This sketch of the Jewish fourfold organization will suffice to show within what limits the Christian Church can be described as having borrowed from it. The important points to notice are two. First, that the Christian Church borrowed none of the Jewish titles except that of 'presbyter.' Epiphanius indeed mentions (Haer. xxx. 1 8) that the Ebionites used the title dpxurvvdyuyos, but this is an instance of reversion, for there is no evidence for the use of the title in the Christian Church. Lucian again, the pagan, speaks of Peregrinus as irpo<j>riTr)s KO! 6ia<rdpxfis Kal vva.yuye)js of the Christians, but this last title, no more than the second, was recognised in the Church. The Christian place of meeting is called a irvvayuyil by St. James 1 These Roman inscriptions belong apparently to the third or fourth century A.D. The word rrpe<r/ivTepos occurs once among the Hebrew inscriptions found at Venosa, in South Italy, perhaps of the sixth century and later : see a paper of Ascoli in the Atti del IV Congresso dei Orientalisti, Florence. 1880, vol. i. pp. 239 f. ; esp. p. 281 note 2, 292 and 350. Kuhl, I.e. p. 117, discounts this on account of its date. Also the more frequent occurrence of the female form jrpecr/SvTe'pr) (sic) indicates that it has no longer its official meaning. Ascoli says, ' piuttosto dev' esser titolo d'onoranza, che non di vera dignita, poiche gli sta accanto la irpecrfivTepa.' There is, however, one instance of the use of the term out of Jerusalem in an inscription at Smyrna ; see C.f.G. 9897. 2 At Alexandria, it should be noticed, the Jews formed one community under one Gerusia. At Rome, on the contrary, they constituted a number of separate com- munities (or 'colleges' in the eye of the State); each had its own synagogue and officers. The Christians in Rome, before they were organized into a Church, seem to have formed a number of separate congregations (see Rom. xvi. 5, 14, 15). 3 It is said that they often held office for life, and that on this account an archon came to be known as Sia/Jtos (diabius), but Ascoli denies this latter assertion, and regards the word as an exclamation or condensed prayer, see I.e. p. 344. Note K. 365 (ii. 2). This, however, is the only case in which it is used in the Christian Church in the specific Jewish sense : see, for its use in the more general sense of a gathering, Ignatius ad Polyc. 4 and Lightfoot's note, Hermas Mand. xi. 9, Heb. x. 25. Epiphanius also (I.e.) mentions that the Ebionites used the term, and the author of the Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs endeavours to give his work a Jewish colouring by speaking of Christian Churches as ' synagogues of the Gentiles,' and their ministers as 'archons' (Benf. n). The Christian ' council ' is also called a avvtfyiov in Ignat. ad Philad. 8, ad Magn. 6, ad Trail, 3, but, as is noted below, in the way of metaphor. Secondly, that the Christian Church had only one gradually developed organization. It is true that this organization embodied various prin- ciples the principle of authority and rule, the veneration due to age, the power derived from inspiration or spiritual gifts, and the devolution of special tasks on special executive officers, owing to the natural exigencies of organization. 1 It is true also that amongst the Jews the same person might be at once a scribe, a ruler of the synagogue, and a presbyter that is, the distinct organizations might be represented by the same person. Still it remains the case that all our evidence goes to show that the Christian Church had only one organization, while the Jews, with their temple, schools, synagogue, and sanhedrin, had four. All the functions and powers of Ministry were, in fact, summed up at first in the Apostles with whom however must be reckoned other ' prophets ' in whom the Church recognised a supernatural inspiration and were gradually imparted under their authority and leading to different officers, who shared she same ministry in distinct grades. Thus, if the function of worship, which in the Christian Church formed the spiritual counterpart of the temple \firovpyta, was (as Harnack says 2 ) ' the primary function ' of the episcopate if it was the bishop's office to ' offer the gifts ' (Clem, ad Cor. 44), yet they are said to share the \eirovpyia of the prophets and teachers in this respect (Did. xv. i), and these prophets and teachers are in the Acts specially brought before us as fulfilling this function of worship (Acts xiii. 2). Then, again, with reference to this function of teaching. This ' ministry of the word ' or ' stewardship of the mysteries of God ' belongs primarily to apostles and prophets with teachers or evangelists, but it is shared also by the ' bishops ' (i Tim. iii. 2, v. 17, Tit. i. 9 ; the local ' pastors ' are called ' teachers' in Eph. iv. n). Once again, if the presbyterate as derived from Judaism held the judicial and ' pastoral ' function 1 See Hamack Te.rte tt. Untersvck. B. ii, H. 2, p. 146 f. He calls these principles the aristocratic, the patriarchal, \he spiritual, and the administrative. 2 Dogmengesch. i. p. 155 ; cf. Expositor, May 1887, pp. 340-342. He includes the deacon also. The matter is discussed below. 366 Christian Ministry. (Acts xx. 29-30 ; I Pet. v. 2), yet in the Christian Church the Apostles are the chief ministers of discipline (cf . I Cor. v. ; Acts xv. 2), and the presbyters, as will be shown, were also bishops, and, as such, teachers and leaders of worship ; they share, in fact, the whole apostolic pastorate (i Pet. v. I, 2), and in St. James's Epistle they perform a function which involves a spiritual ministration (James v. 14) ; later, when they are distinct from the bishop, they sometimes indeed appear as the special ministers of discipline, as in the Ebionite Clementines (Ep. Clem. 7-10 ; Horn. iii. 67, 68), but even so under the bishop Ep. Clem. 2, 3, 6 ; Ep. Petr. 4), and not to the exclusion of the deacons {Ep. Clem. 12 ; Apost. Const, ii. 44, 57 vu i- 2 8). Finally, if the administration of alms was in some special sense a function of the diaconate in its original idea, yet it does not cease to be part of the apostolic office to organize almsgiving (see Gal. ii. 10, 2 Cor. viii., etc.), nor should it surprise us to find it specially mentioned in connection with the pres- byterate (Acts xi. 30; Polycarp ad Phil. 6, n ; cf. Eg. Ch. Ord. c. 18), though when the presbyterate came to be the name for a distinct office from the episcopate, the function of the administration of alms came to belong generally to the bishop, with the assistance of the deacon (Canons of Hippolytus c. v.). (6) The title EPISCOPUS was common among the Greeks. In Attic it is used for a commissioner 'appointed to regulate a new colony or acquisition' whom the Spartans would have called a 'harmost.' Among writers of the period of the empire, it is used by Arrian for the inspectors employed by Indian kings ; by Appian for a commis- sioner appointed by Mithridates in Ephesus * ; by Dionysius of Hali- carnassus for the inspectors of agriculture whom Numa Pompilius is supposed to have instituted. 2 It is used also in inscriptions of the Hauran (a district of the ancient Bashan) for civic officers who seem to represent the 'agoranomi,' ' qui praesunt pani et ceteris venalibus rebus quae civitatum populis ad quotidianum victum usui sunt ' (so Charisius, a jurisconsult of Constantine's time, explains their office, Digest. 1. 4 18) ; and also for 'committees' appointed to superintend any work, see Le Bas et Waddington Inscriptions Grecques et Latines, 1990, 2330, 2308. This last commemorates the restoration of a con- duit and temple in Commodus' time at Soueida tTriffKowotiffris <J>V\T)S 2onai6t}vwt>. It seems also to be used for the officer of a guild, though his functions are not clear. 3 MM. Le Bas and Waddington remark 1 For refs. see Lightfoot Philippians p. 95. * Dion. Hal. Ant. Rom. ii. 76 : fitetAe ri\v \iapav aira<rav el? TOIIS (caXov/neVovs iro'yovs (cai Kare'cmjcrei' i<t>' exacrrou riav iroywi/ apxovra. cirtoxoirdi' re eai irfpCirokov TTJS ii'as ftotpa? . 8 Hatch B. L. pp. 37, 38, note. The matter is not of great importance. Dr. Lightfoot calls the evidence ' slight ' (Dissert, p. 194). So also Kiihl pp. 93-96. Sanday, Expositor, Feb. 1887, pp. 98-100: 'I confess that I cannot quite satisfy Note K. 367 (torn. iii. p. 474) : ' il est interessant de rencontrer si pres du berceau du christianisme le mot ewiffKowos applique a un fonctionnaire civil. C'est la, peut-etre, que les apotres 1'ont pris pour le donner aux premiers surveillants et directeurs des communautes chre"tiennes. ' So far then we have seen cause at least to recognise that there was a wide use of the term eTrtV/coTros in Greek of the imperial period, and especially in Syria, for an administrative officer, which must clearly have suggested or facilitated the Christian use of the term. On the other hand the word had a use in the Old Testament (LXX). ' In the LXX,' says Dr. Lightfoot, 1 'the word is common. In some places it signifies "inspectors, superintendents, taskmasters," as 2 Kings xi. 19, 2 Chron. xxxiv. 12, 17, Is. Ix. 17 ; in others it is a higher title, " cap- tains" or "presidents," Neh. xi. 9, 14, 22. Of Antiochus Epiphanes we are told that when he determined to overthrow the worship of the one true God, he "appointed commissioners (n07c6irous, bishops) over all the people," to see that his orders were obeyed (i Mace. i. 51, comp. Joseph. Ant. xii. 5. 4 : in 2 Mace. v. 22 the word is ^iriaTdras). The feminine iirurKOir^, which is not a classical word, occurs very frequently in the LXX, denoting sometimes the work, sometimes the office, of an ^TTiV/coiros. Hence it passed into the language of the New Testament and of the Christian Church.' Dr. Sanday quotes this passage, 2 and adds : ' If tirurKoinfi had its origin in the usage of the LXX, is it not reasonable to derive tirlfficoiros from the same source ? ' He argues in favour of this position with great force, and calls atten- tion to the fact that Clement of Rome refers back the institution of Christian bishops to the authority of Isaiah. 3 It should be added that St. Peter speaks of Judas' apostolate with reference to Ps. cix. 8, as an etriffKOTr-f] (Acts i. 20). On the whole, if contemporary secular usage had a good deal to do with the use of the term ' episcopus ' in the Christian Church, it is probable that Old Testament usage had at least as much influence. Obviously the two influences are very likely to have combined. The name has no more definite meaning than that of 'superintendence.' On being adopted by the Apostles, it would have gained from the first a new colour from the spiritual character of the supervision which the Christian communities required 4 : the Christian myself as to the evidence which has been adduced to show that this was a standing title for the financial officer of the clubs or guilds.' Salmon, Expositor, July 1887, p. 19 : 'The proof offered is extremely meagre.' 1 Philippians pp. 95, 96. 2 Expositor, Feb. 1887, p. 102. 3 Is. Ix. 17, quoted by Clem, ad Cor. 42 as Karaon/tru TOVS tiritricoirovs avruv iv SiKoLiotrvvr) KO.L TOVS SIOUCOPOUS avruv ev iri<rret. It is quoted also by Irenaeus with a similar purpose, but from the LXX, without alteration. 4 Dr. Sanday inclines to think the superintendence was of persons, and specially of deacons : the bishop, that is, was the superintendent of deacons, cf. Expositor, 368 Christian Ministry. presbyters were charged by St. Paul to 'take heed unto themselves, and to all the flock, in the which the Holy Ghost had made them bishops, to feed [rule] the Church of God, which He purchased with His own blood.' (c) The title DEACON (Phil. i. i)does not seem to have been derived from any Jewish or pagan source, but to have been a natural applica- tion of the more general idea of ministry to the wants of others, so specially characteristic of Christianity ; see St. Luke xxii. 26, 27. (d) The titles ' presbyter ' and ' episcopus ' were used interchange- ably for the same officers; see esp. Acts. xx. 17, 28, Titus i. 5, 7. 1 At the same time it is natural to suppose that the title ' presbyter ' would have seemed more natural in Jewish communities, and the title ' episcopus ' among Gentile Christians. Thus in fact St. James, and probably St. Peter (see I Pet. v. 2 R.v. marg. ), uses only the former title. But the distinction cannot be pressed. The Jewish Didache knows only the title tiriffKoiros (xv. i). On the other hand the officers at Ephesus are known as presbyters as well as ' episcopi ' (Acts xx. 17; I Tim. v. 17, 19; cf. Acts xiv. 23). It is natural also to suppose that the term tirlffKoiros was more definitely the title of an office, while irpefffivTepos, with its vaguer application to the dignity of age (cf. I Pet. v. 1-5 ; Clem, ad Cor. i. 3 ; Polycarp ad Phil. 5, 6 ; in all these cases in contrast to youth 2 ) represented rather a position of respect (see above p. 136). Thus Theodore of Mopsuestia, while he acknowledges that ' presbyter ' and ' episcopus ' are used interchange- ably, yet justifies the use of the 'presbytery' in i Tim. iv. 14 (as he thinks) for 6 ruv diroffTO\wi> cru\\oyos with these words : Trpeaftirrtpiov ainb 6voy.6.ffas dirb roO Ivrlfj-ov. This, he explains, was rather a title of respect as amongst the Jews, while presbyters were called bishops &,<p' oSirep /uerflWai' Kal Zpyov, T< /udXiora iraffLV tiriffKOirelv (in I Tim. iii. 3, Swete ii. p. 120). But this distinction again admits of being pressed very little way. All the evidence goes to show that the pres- byterate was a definite office to which the Apostles appointed men (Acts xiv. 23) and that the presbyter was also called a bishop. () The presbyter-episcopi exercised a pastorate of souls (i Peter v. 2, Acts xx. 28). They shared with the Apostles the stewardship of God (Titus i. 7). They took their share in teaching and admonishing (i Thess. v. 12, etc. ; though there may perhaps have been some who did not teach, I Tim. v. 17). They administered sacraments and sacramental rites (Clem, ad Cor. 44, Didache xv. I, James v. 14). Feb. 1887, p. 100. But see Acts xx. 28. He also suggests (with Kiihl), that, as the verb &ia.Kov(iv preceded the title SIO.KOVOI, so the verb finirKOTrfiv may have preceded the title ernVjcon-ot. But there is no evidence of this. 1 See Dr. Ligbtfoot's note, Philippians p. 95 f. 2 But the presbyters in all these cases are also definite officers ; cf. the term icArjpoi ( = ' allotted charges') in i Pet. v. 3. Note K. 369 They also administered discipline and, in part at least, charity. In fact they were, under the Apostles and apostolic men, the spiritual ' presidents ' of the Churches. II. In view of this positive position we have now to examine the recent speculations 1 especially connected with the names of Dr. Hatch and Professor Harnack. (a) Dr. Hatch lays stress upon the fact noticed above that the Jewish communities possessed distinct organizations from different points of view, the presbyterate constituting the organization for the purpose of discipline. He supposes the Christian Church to have derived from Judaism not only the title of the presbyterate, but also its functions, unchanged. ' It may be gathered,' he says (B. L. pp. 57-62), 'from the Talmud that out of the elders or chief men of every com- munity a certain number had come to be officially recognised, and that definite rules were laid down for their action. Side by side with the synagogue of a town, but distinct from it, was the vuvtSpiov or local court. The former was the general assembly, or " congregation " of the people: the latter was the "seat" of the elders.' So in the Christian Church ' there is a strong presumption that the officers who continued to bear the same names in the same community exercised functions closely analogous to those which they had exercised before ; in other words, that the elders of the Jewish communities which had become Christian were, like the elders of the Jewish communities which remained Jewish, officers of administration and of discipline." This derivation of functions from Judaism to Christianity was facili- tated in Dr. Hatch's view, as this quotation will have shown, by the very gradual transition which he supposes to have taken place from the older Jewish to the Christian religion. ' When the majority of the members of a Jewish community were convinced that Jesus was the Christ, there was nothing to interrupt the current of their former common life. There was no need for secession, for schism, for a change in the organization. The old form of worship and the old modes of government could still go on. The weekly commemoration of the Resurrection supplemented, but did not supersede, the ancient sabbath. The reading of the life of Christ and of the letters of the Apostles supplemented, but did not supersede, the ancient lessons from the prophets, and the ancient singing of the psalms. The community as a whole was known by the same name which had designated the purely Jewish community. It was still a irapoiida. a colony living as 1 The earlier speculations to which Baur gave the chief impulse have been noticed above, p. 229 note 1. They were connected primarily with the question of the authenticity of the Acts anti the Pastoral Epistles, and the general theory of the Tubingen school which is bound up with this question. They treated the development of the ministry' only secondarily. 2 A 3/O Christian Ministry. strangers and pilgrims in the midst of an alien society. . . . The same names were in use for the court of administration and for the mem- bers of that court : and even the weekly court-days remained the same.' 1 Thus the Jewish Christian communities derived from the Jewish a presbyterate of men of age and gravity, for purposes of 'administration and discipline.' The origin of the episcopate was different. ' The officers of administration and finance [in the contem- porary non- Christian associations] were chiefly known by one or other of two names' tiri/j.\rrrfy or tirlfficoiros. 2 This latter title then was borrowed to express the administrative officer of the Christian communities, and, as the primary administration is supposed by Dr. Hatch to have been financial, so the primary function of the primitive 'bishop' was financial administration. 3 On this point Dr. Hatch's theory was modified by Prof. Harnack in his Analecten to his German translation of Dr. Hatch's work, and Dr. Hatch himself now explains that he 'is wrongly supposed to lay any exclusive or even especial stress upon the financial character of the tirifficoiroi. ' 4 The presby- terate was, then, a disciplinary board derived from Judaism, the episcopus was an administrative officer, derived from the contemporary guilds. This theory of Dr. Hatch was developed by Prof. Harnack, and while the former in his Bampton Lectures had taken up no decisive position about the genuineness of the Pastoral Epistles and Acts, the latter boldly declares all these documents to belong to the second century (with the Epistle of St. James), and in developing his theory is at pains to explain that it is intimately bound up with the critical 1 The general idea of this paragraph will be criticised further on. Here a few details need notice, (i) There is no evidence quoted of a Jewish community of ' the dispersion ' calling itself a jrapot/ci'a. The Jewish instance of the word quoted p. 61 n.l* is from the LXX and refers to the captivity. All the other instances given are Christian. (2) The Christian presbyterate is compared to the (rvveSptov TO>I/ ano<n6\iav in ad Magn. 6 ; so in ad Trail. 3, ws ovviSpiov 0eov icai !>s <rvvSe<rnov an-oordAwi' ; in ad Philad. 8 it is called the ' synedrion of the bishop.' But in none of the cases is the presbyterate called the sanhedrin in the Jewish sense, officially, still less so by the 'Fathers of the fifth and sixth centuries.' (3) There is no reference given for the weekly court-days remaining the same. 2 B. L. p. 36 f. 3 B. L. p. 39 : ' in their special capacity as administrators of church funds they were known by a name which was in current use for such administrators.' * See Dr. Hatch's explanation in Expositor, Feb. 1887, p. 99, note *, and his com- munication to Dr. Harnack's Dogmengcsch. i. p. 155, note 1 . This latter may indicate that he would not (since the discovery of the Didache) differ from Harnack that the ' episcopi and diaconi were primarily officers of worship ' ; cf. Expositor, May 1887, pp. 339-342 ; Texte u.s.w. I.e., p. 144. This explanation of Dr. Hatch's renders unnecessary a good deal of criticism (as by Ki'ihl and others). It also makes it difficult to see the point of his arguments and references on pp. 47, 48. Note K. 371 position. Having thus given himself free scope for writing on the origines of the ministry by having abolished so much of the evidence, he supposes that the office of the episcopus was originally quite distinct from that of the presbyter, and that there was a partial fusion, followed again by a fresh separation in the monarchical episcopate of later days. 1 (b) Dr. Hatch, regarding the functions of presbyters as judicial or disciplinary and those of the episcopus as administrative in an almost secular sense, treats the local officers of the Christian Churches as originally hardly ' spiritual ' persons : ' the ministration of the word and sacraments' was a later conception of the presbyterate. a He also supposes that their office was only temporary. Here again, however, Prof. Harnack modifies the idea, maintaining that the episcopate and diaconate, as distinct from the presbyterate, ranked as charismatic, and were therefore 'almost free from control.' 3 It will be seen at once that this position as carried out by Prof. Harnack rests upon the repudiation of the Acts and the Pastoral Epistles as representing authentic history and the mind of St. Paul. Enough has been said earlier in this note on the identification of the presbyters and the bishops, and on the ' spiritual ' functions of the presbyter-bishops. It should however be pointed out further with reference to other parts of Dr. Hatch's theory, that : i. The title 'presbyter' was chiefly, if not exclusively, in use amongst the Jews of Jerusalem, and its use in the Churches would therefore indicate not the gradual organization of Christian communities side by side with the Jewish, and on their model, all over the empire 1 See Harnack, in Expositor, I.e. His theory is explained by Dr. Sanday, Expositor, Jan. 1887. Dr. Hatch on the other hand says that ' the weight of evidence has rendered practically indisputable' the identity of presbyters and episcopi in the N. T. (B. L. p. 39). Dr. Sanday calls this 'something that looks a little like a concession to the older view ' (I.e. p. 12). It seems to me inconsist- ent with the episcopi and presbyters representing different organizations. With reference to this view as carried out by Harnack with 'more uncompromising logic,' it would appear that the evidence of such passages as Acts xx. 28, Titus i. 5, 7 (whenever written), and of Clem, ad Car. 44, was enough to overthrow it. No passage can be produced in which there are signs of a distinction being drawn between presbyters and episcopi, existing together, till the later distinction of the monarchical episcopate. Nor, in view of Polycarp ad Phil. 5 -ora<r<rojtf VO\K TO irpecr/Surepois icai. SUKOKOIS, can the connection of the title diaconus with that of episcopus be pressed as if the deacons were in no relation to the presbyters. It is probably an accident that we do not hear more of presbyters and deacons in conjunction. Later no doubt the deacon was attached specially to the monarchical bishop, but still the clergy are often described as presbyters and deacons, as e.g. by Clem. Alex, in Strom, vi. 13. 2 B. L. pp. 72-82. Analecten z* Hatch p. 234, note 1 ; but in Expositor, May 1887, p. 333, he speaks of Clement as first maintaining the lifelong character of the episcopate. 372 Christian Ministry. in which case we should have had Christian archons but the derivation of the Christian communities from Jerusalem as a centre. z. Though the Christianity represented on one level by St. James and on a much lower level by the Didache may be described as a gradual transition from the old to the new covenant, this was not an ordinary position. Not only the Epistle to the Thessalonians and the Acts of the Apostles, but that most Jewish of New Testament docu- ments, the Apocalypse, witness to the marked hostility of the Jews to the Christians, and therefore to the marked separation of the Christian communities. 1 The Jews of Palestine 'expelled' the Christians, says St. Paul, and where this did not occur, the process is described by Dr. Lightfoot as a secession resulting in the establishment of a separate synagogue. There was no process of ' continuity without a break.' 3. The evidence for ' episcopus ' as an officer of contemporary guilds is exceedingly slight. For this statement I need not add to the refer- ences given above, except to mention that Harnack seems to agree as to the inadequacy of the evidence : 2 ' Inquiries about the place or character of such an office in civil constitutions do not afford any solution of the problem. No other meaning can be given to the word than that of "overseer"; but what sort of oversight such overseers exercised cannot be more precisely determined. ' 4. Dr. Hatch underrates strangely the intense consciousness of the Christians, especially of the Christian Apostles who organized the Churches, that 'all things had become new.' Whatever elements of organization or practice the Christian Church may have derived from external sources, Jewish or even pagan, they were fused at once by the 'one Spirit' into the 'one body,' and gained with immense rapidity a quite new set of associations. Christian institutions must be interpreted from within as the Christians understood them. It is by a simple application of this principle, in contrast to Dr. Hatch's method, that Harnack reaches the speedy conclusion that ' bishops were originally the directors of the worship, the offerers /car' e o~x.~i\v. They are called overseers insomuch as they direct or superintend the assembly met for worship. Out of this function all others have been necessarily 1 So even in the Didache (viii. i) we have the suggestive direction : 'Let your fasts be not with the hypocrites ; for they fast on the second and fifth days of the week, hut do ye fast on the fourth and the preparation day (Friday). Neither pray ye as the hypocrites.' The language of the Apocalypse is also very noticeable, see ii. 9 ; ' the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.' Cf. i Thess. ii. 15, on the hostility of the Jews of Judaea, ' who both killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets and drove out us.' See Dr. Lightfoot Philipp. p. 190, and a criticism of Dr. Hilgenfeld, in Zeitschr.f. -wissensch. Theol. 1886, p. 5 : 'solcher Uebertritt ganzer oder fast ganzer jiidischer Gemeinden zum Christus-Glauben wird sehr selten vorgekommen sein.' 2 Expositor I.e. p. 339. Note K. 373 developed.' 1 Probably if Prof. Harnack gave the weight he should to some documents of the New Testament, he could somewhat modify the decision, so far as to extend the original Oversight of the bishop to all the concerns of the flock. But at least it is a decision based primarily on an investigation of what Christians thought of their own institutions, and the result is therefore the exaltation to the first place of the spiritual function. Dr. Hatch, by his method of giving exag- gerated weight to external associations and connections and ignoring the primary evidence from within, as he dispiritualizes the episcopate, so he does the same for the Eucharist. He rightly deduces the con- nection of the bishop with the Eucharist from such passages as Justin Martyr Apol. i. 67, and Ignatius ad Smyrn. 8, 2 but the nature of the Eucharist may also be gathered from these passages, and how sub- ordinate a place does charitable relief hold in it by comparison to its great spiritual functions. How could it be otherwise when St. Paul wrote of it as in i Cor. xi. 17-34 ? Dr. Hatch's references, one may notice, do not always suggest the idea in the text. For example, in support of the secular idea of the eucharistic administration, he remarks that the offerings made by those who were present at that service at first seem to have been of various kinds ; but afterwards a rule was made limiting them to bread and wine or corn and grapes (Afost. Can. 3) ; and still later, those which were not consumed at the time were divided in fixed proportions among the clergy (Afost. Const, viii. 31). But the canon he refers to is suggestive of a view of the Eucharist very different from what he is emphasizing ; it runs thus : ' If any bishop or presbyter, otherwise than our Lord has ordained concerning the sacrifice, offer other things at the altar, as honey, milk, or strong beer instead of wine, any necessaries or birds or animals or pulse, otherwise than is ordained, let him be deprived ; excepting grains of new corn, or ears of wheat, or bunches of grapes in their season. For it is not lawful to offer anything besides these at the altar, and oil for the holy lamp, and incense in the time of the divine oblation. But let all other fruits be sent to the house of the bishops as first-fruits to him and the presbyters.' 3 1 Expositor I.e. p. 342. 2 B. L. p. 40 note '& and pp. 79, 80. See in criticism Hilgenfeld I.e. p. 16 f. 3 Prof. Ramsay has recently (Ch. in R. E. p. 367) again suggested that the ' episcopus ' did not originally hold a permanent office ; but that the name was given to any presbyter appointed to ' superintend ' a special work, particularly that of corresponding with foreign churches. But the ' episcopi ' of Phil. i. i, Acts xx. 28, Tit. i. 5-9, Didack. 15, are permanent officials, identical with presbyters; and the title ' episcopus ' is specially connected with the superintendence of the local Church, Acts xx. 28, i Tim. iii. 5. 374 Christian Ministry. THE TEACHING OF THE TWELVE APOSTLES. (Seep. 253.) THIS document was discovered in a MS. in Constantinople and given to the world in 1883 by Bryennius, the Patriarch of Nicomedia. 1 It may be conveniently divided into the following parts : 1. Rudimentary moral instructions about the two -ways of life and death, as an address to catechumens just about to be baptized (cc. i-vi); 2 2. Instructions to a community of Christians, addressed as a whole about the proper method of baptizing, the Christian fasts, the use of the Lord's Prayer, and the celebration of the Eucharist (cc. vii-xi). 3. Further instructions about 'apostles' and 'prophets,' in their relation to the local Church, about the Sunday service, and about the election and functions of the local ministry of bishops and deacons (cc. xi-xv). 4. A final section about the second coming of Christ (c. xvi). The first section is a primitive version of the Two Ways, a piece of moral instruction, perhaps originally Jewish, which appears in a great variety of early Christian writings, 3 and this is the only part of the 1 For further information about this discovery also see Dr. Schaff The Oldest Church Manual. 2 Of this portion, however, it may now be taken for proved that the passage from i. 3 evAoyeiTe to ii. i Ti}s SiSa^i)? is a later interpolation. The document in its in- terpolated form, or rather, perhaps, that on which the interpolation is based, is early enough to be known to Hermas, see Schaff I.e. p. 233. But the Latin frag- ment of the Didache (Schaff p. 219) and the Church Ordinances of Egypt (a docu- ment based on the early portion of the Didache, and showing acquaintance with the rest, see Schaff I.e. p. 237 f. and cf. c. 12 with Did. x. 3) show that this passage was wanting in its earliest form ; cf. Dr. Taylor The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles pp. 19-22 ; Dr. Warfield in the Bibliotheca Sacra, Jan. 1886, p. 115 f. That these earlier chapters are a baptismal address is shown by the first words of c. vii ravra Traira n'poenroi'Tes /SawTiVaTe , see Warfield l.c p. 151. 8 It is mentioned by Rufinus and Jerome under the titles of the Two Ways, or the Judgment of Peter. Dr. Krawutzcky of Breslau two years before Bryennius' publication had reconstructed this document from the uses of it by Christian writers almost in the words of the Didache. Harnack speaks of this as ' a critical master- piece, such as we can point to but few examples of in the history of literary criticism ' ( Texte u.s.w. B. ii. H. i, 2. p. 208). Barnabas reproduces this Two Ways. ' We are led to infer,' says Dr. Taylor (l.c. p. vii), ' that Barnabas in his Epistle surely drew, if not from our very Teaching of the Twelve Apostles, from a tradition or Note L. 375 Didache which was permanently popular in at all its present shape. 1 In the second and third portions we recognise a primitive manual of church directions, most probably drawn also in part from a Jewish source, which are worked up into book vii of the Apostolical Constitutions. There is a writing mentioned by Eusebius as TUV airo<rT6\ui> al \ey6/j.evai SiSax a ^ > there is also a diSax^j KaXovfj^vij ruv avo(rr6\d}v which Athanasius classes among ' the books not admitted into the canon, but appointed by the Fathers to be read to those who are just coming to us and desire to be instructed in the doctrine of godliness ' ; but it is difficult to feel certain whether these references are to the Didache as we have it. 2 The acquaintance with more than the earlier portion of our Didache^ displayed apparently both in Barnabas' Epistle and in the Church Ordinances? would be enough to guarantee for it a very early date. But, in fact, the internal evidence does not allow us to doubt this. It is the work plainly of a Jewish Christian. He is conscious enough of his alienation from the Jews proper, whom he calls ' the hypocrites,' 4 and there is no sign of any insistence upon circumcision ; but we must bear in mind that there was in the age preceding Christ's coming a widely spread school of liberalized Jews, who had come to regard their religion as ' the school of the knowledge of God and of the spiritual life for the whole world ' * and a Jew of this sort who had accepted Christ as the Messiah and become a member of His Church as being the way of life and learnt ardently to desire His second coming to establish His kingdom such a Christianized Jew, living or having lived under circumstances which made him acquainted with the vices of the Grseco- Roman civilization, 8 must have been the author of our Teaching. writing of which it has preserved the original form." Clement remarks ' that the gospel and the apostles, like all the prophets, suggest the idea of two ways' (Strom. v. 5. 31. quoted by Warfield I.e. p. 139). It of course resembles the Choice of Heracles. 1 For example the Church Ordinances shows acquaintance with, but does not use, the latter part, see Harnack I.e. ii. 230. - See on this Salmon Introd. pp. 608, 613 ; cf. also p. 603, where he notices that in Rufinus' list of the canonical and ecclesiastical books, based on Athanasius, where the latter mentions the Didache, Rufinus speaks of the Dua Via. It should also be mentioned that a legitimate doubt has been expressed, based on a calculation of the number of OTI'XOI, whether the Teaching mentioned by Nicephorus can be the whole of our manual, cf. Salmon Introd. p. 601 ; and on patristic refs. Schaff. I.e. p. 114 f. 3 For Barnabas, see Schaff I.e. p. 227, and for the Ch. Ord. p. 238. * viii. i, 2. , 5 This is Athanasius' account of Judaism (de Incarn. c. 12). On the liberal Judaism of the Roman empire, see Harnack Dogmengefch. i. p. 73 f. 8 See the list of vices which characterize the way of death, c. v. 376 Christian Ministry. The moral instruction is of an intensely Jewish character. It is indeed not wholly Christian not by any means on the level of the Sermon on the Mount, or of St. James who has so profound a grasp on the principles of the 'law of liberty.' It belongs rather to the enlightened synagogue than to the illuminated Church. ' Whatsoever thou wouldst not have dotie tothee, neither do thou to another.' 'Thou shall not hate any man, but some thou shalt rebuke, and for some thou shalt pray, and some thou shalt love above thine own soul.' ' If thou hast, thou shalt give with thine hands as a ransom for thy sins. ' ' Fast for those who persecute you. ' ' Let your fasts not be with the hypocrites : for they fast on the second day and the fifth, but do ye fast on the fourth day and the Preparation [Friday].' 'If thou canst bear the whole yoke of the Lord, thou shalt be perfect ; but if thou canst not, what thou art able to do, that do. As regards food, bear what thou canst. But from that which has been offered to an idol, be greatly on thy guard. For it is the service of dead gods.' 1 This im- pression of a Jewish tone about the moral teaching is deepened at every step of closer study. Once again, the regulations given about baptism are thoroughly Jewish in character. In what sense ? Not because they are minute regulations, but because baptism seems to be regarded, as a half- Christianized Jew might regard it, as a prescribed ordinance, not as a means of grace. He seems to have no grasp at all of the sacramental principle. Baptism and (as we shall see) the Eucharist are ordinances of the Gospel, like prayer and fasting and alms-giving nothing more. 8 1 This advice about ' bearing the yoke ' and ' bearing the burden ' of Jewish observance only up to a man's power, reveals the intensely Jewish atmosphere out of which it comes. It carries us back in its very language to the circumstances of the Apostolic Council (Acts xv. 10-28). Taylor has admirable remarks on the regulations about fasting (p. 58 f.), and on the whole passage about ' the two ways.' ' There remains (when the interpolated portion is removed) little or nothing dis- tinctively Christian in the first part of the Teaching.' It is also very noticeable that in place of our Lord's spiritualizing of the law, which makes the inward sin of inten- tion equivalent to the outward act of commission (St. Matt. v. 28), we have in c. iii a Jewish method of ' making a fence to the law,' which is a very different thing ; ' Be not lustful, for lust leads to fornication,' etc." See Taylor, p. 23. 2 The mention of the Wednesday and Friday fasts, and of the threefold repetition of the Lord's Prayer, with the doxology (which, however, took the place of the Amen, and no more belonged to the Lord's Prayer than to any other prayer ; see x. 5, and Taylor p. 67), is very interesting as carrying back these practices to such very primitive times. Indeed, the whole evidence of the Teaching goes to increase our belief in the early or Judaeo-Christian origin of the ritual regulations of the Christian Church. Further, the regulations about baptism have a very high interest (i) As emphasizing that baptism ' into the name of the Lord ' is baptism performed ' into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost ' ; see ix. 5, vii. i. (2) For the evidence of the use of 'trine affusion' in the earliest Church, vii. 3. (3) For the prescription of fasting for the baptizer and Note L. 377 The meagreness and inadequacy of the whole conception of the Eucharist strikes every one at once. It is fenced indeed by the pre- liminary requirement of baptism 1 and the injunction of previous public confession of sins 2 ; it is regarded as the Christian sacrifice 3 or thank- offering, 4 in which is fulfilled the prophecy of Malachi about the ' pure sacrifice' of the new covenant; (xiv. 3), and which, it is probably implied, our Lord alluded to when he spoke of 'bringing our gift to the altar ' 5 ; it is also called spiritual food and drink (unless indeed these words refer to the teaching of Christ), 6 and is celebrated in definite anticipation of His second coming (x. 6) : but the whole con- ception of it is more Jewish than Christian. 7 Sabatier says truly : the baptized. This practice in the case of the baptizer did not apparently die out, as the commentators seem to think : see St. Chrysostom's answer to his accusers, Ep. cxxv. p. 668 '. KaCeAfYoucrai' Kal rov HavAof 05 /xcra TO SeurvTJcrat 6XdicAi)poi' rbv olieov e0ajjT7ei'. He seems to mean that St. Paul baptized after eating, and that this would be an ecclesiastical offence. He is, however, forgetting the order of events in the original passage, Acts xvi. 33, 34 ; and the context possibly makes his meaning ambiguous. (4) For the bearing of these Judaic regulations on the history of infant baptism. The Christian Church would presumably have carried on the Jewish practice of infant baptism. See Taylor on the ' little proselytes,' pp. 55-58 (very suggestive on the theory of infant baptism) ; and Sabatier La Didachi pp. 84- 88 : ' L'Eglise, en donnant au bapteme une signification nouvelle, ne s'ecarta cepen- dant pas beaucoup dans le principe de la discipline du bapteme juif.' 1 ix. 5. 2 xiv. i : irpo[<r]ef oftoXoyrjirafievoi. ra n-apanTiujxara v(tMi>, cf. iv. 14 : 'In the Church thou shall confess thy transgressions,' i.e. before public prayer. This throws a strong light on the history of public confession in the Christian Church, see St. James v. 14-16, i St. John i. 9 (Westcott's note). This confession is still maintained in Canons of Hippolytus c. ii., but in the later Apostolical Constitutions (vii. 14), it is turned into ' Thou shall confess thy sins to the Lord thy God.' 3 xiv. i. 4 c. ix. ' Eucharist ' is clearly used technically. Thus the Didache throws back the date of the technical use of the word. 8 xiv. 2 : ' Let no man wjio has a dispule wilh his fellow come together with you until they be reconciled [6ta\\a.yia<riv, cf. St. Matt. v. 24], thai your sacrifice be not defiled,' seems to refer to the saying of our Lord. 8 x. 3. See Sabatier I.e. p. 104. 7 See Salmon Introd. p. 607. Thus the Prayer of Thanksgiving over the bread is reproduced as a sort of ' grace before meat ' in the pseudo-Athanasius de Virginitate 13 ; see Schaff I.e. p. 194. There is nothing in it to raise it above the level of such a use. There are, however, indications that these prayers in the Didache are really prayers for the Agape, and that the actual communion is meant to occur after x. 6. The word Eucharist may well include the Agape. Thus ihe cup in ix. 2 corresponds (cf. St. Luke xxii. 17) to the second paschal cup. The expression 'after being filled ' (x. i) refers to the preliminary eating, and Dr. Taylor quotes a most suggestive parallel from Jewish language about the passover, I.e. p. 130: ' The chagigah was eaten first that the passover might be eaten after being filled." Thus the occurrence of the Holy Communion after the Agape would rest upon a Jewish practice. Then the exclamations of Did. x. 6 : 'If any one is holy, let him come : if any one is not, let him repent,' refer, as they naturally should, to the subsequent ealing of the holy things. This again would explain the meaning of the rule of xi. 9, thai ihe prophet Christian Ministry. c Our document cannot but surprise those who read for the first time its liturgy of the Eucharist. We have here a form without analogy any- where. It separates itself much less from the Jewish ritual than from the Christian.' ' It is an ordinary repast just touched by a breath of religious mysticism, such as is the outcome of the importance which belongs, in Jewish and oriental idea, to repasts taken in common.' 1 There is, in fact, nothing to recall to our mind our Lord's words in the institution of the Eucharist, of which, we must remark, we have the form given us in St. Paul's Epistle to the Corinthians, nothing to recall to us St. Paul's language about the significance of the com- munion. It is a Jewish feast Christianized in a measure by the recognition of the Messiahship of Christ and the expectation of His second coming. It must not indeed be supposed that the mere absence of later ritual would mean the absence of sacramental idea. This view has been combated already (pp. 164, 165). We find in some cases an absence of elaborate ritual coinciding with the fullest appreciation of the spiritual efficacy of a sacrament. In the Teaching it is the idea that is absent. This falls in further with the absence of grasp on the principle of the Incarnation. Of course Trinitarian doctrine is implied in the use of the Trinitarian formula of baptism, 2 but the author seems to be quite uninfluenced by the teaching of St. Paul, St. Peter, and St. John on the Incarnation and the Atonement and the Holy Spirit. 3 The Christology indeed is barely as full who ' orders a table in the spirit ' is, as a test of his disinterestedness, not to eat of it: he is not to eat of the Agape, not to ' fill himself,' and is, of course, to com- municate at the subsequent Eucharist. This interpretation of the ' eucharistic ' prayers would seem the most natural, I think, but for the immense difficulty for suggesting a reason for the silence about the Holy Communion, unless we can in- troduce the idea of reserve about 'the mysteries': cf. Taylor I.e. p. v. Perhaps, however, the difficulty is less great if these benedictions are based on formulas in use amongst the Jews at religious meals, as seems very probable ; see Rendall Theol. of Hebr. Chr. p. 89 f. 1 Sabatier I.e. pp. 109, 112. 2 Schaff maintains that the author of the Didache in the phrase ' Hosanna to the God of David ' (x. 6) refers to Christ as God. If the reading is right, however, it more probably refers to the Father. Nor does the ' Lord ' of xiv. 3 seem to refer to Christ as the Messiah of the Old Testament. It is a simple reference to the words of the original. It is not that the author is heretical, but he is inadequate. 3 It is indeed well open to question whether he had any acquaintance with their writings : (a) His supposed references to St. Paul are not at all convincing. Did. iii. i : ' Flee from evil and all that is like it ' is a reference not to i Thess. v. 22, but to a Jewish saying (see Taylor, p. 24) ; v. 2 : ov KoXAujaecoi ayafcjT ovfie jcpiVei Siicaia does suggest Rom. xii. 9, but xoAAacrdat is a common word e.g. with St. Luke. IIvev/taTiicr) rpo<f( cal TTOTO? (x. 3) applied to the Gospel or the Eucharist does not necessarily depend upon i Cor. x. 3, 4. The connection of the Church's unity with Note L. 379 as that of the early speeches in the Acts. Perhaps, however, we can best characterize the tone of the Didache by saying that it would represent the beliefs of a Jewish Christianity yet unleavened by the deeper 'teaching of the Apostles,' which was to follow that first earnest emphasis on the Messiahship of Jesus, of which the early chapters of the Acts give us the record. 1 Of course there is teaching implied in the writing which is not given. the unity of the bread in Did. ix. 4 is strikingly different from that in i Cor. x. 17, and the account of Antichrist in c. xvi. shows great independence of St. Paul's treatment, though acquaintance with the idea that he is using. (J>) The reference in i. 4 to i Peter ii. n occurs in the interpolated portion (cf. also 4 Mace. i. 32). (f) The supposed references to St. John seem on examination to be very uncon- vincing. The Vine of David (ix. 2) is the Church, not Christ, and suggests there-, fore ignorance of St. John xv. The phrase (x. 2) evxopicrovn.e'i' <roi irdrep oyie, iurep rov ayiou ovofiaros <rov, oC Ka.re<Ticr)via<ra.s ev Tats xapSt'at; vfiiov [rn.<av] Kal virep rrjs yi/(iaea>9 KCU irt'oTeco? Kai adai'acri'ac >7? eyi'tipio'as >)/Jtii' 6ia 'Ii)crov roO iratSot <rov is in fact a reference to Jerem. vii. 12 caTeovoivoxra TO QVOJJ.O. f*ov, and further suggests familiarity with the language used in the early chapters of the Acts, ii. 28 eypcipio'ds fioi oSous UTJ;, iii. 13 o ayios irais "iTjcrov?, cf. iii. 26, iv. 27-30, language which again is in direct reference to the Old Testament. St. John never uses iOavavia or yvtacrts. Indeed ' Holy Father ' is the only phrase which recalls St. John in his report of our Lord's Prayer, and our author is fond of the word ayior. Altogether there is no reason to think he knew St. John's Gospel. (ft) Did the author of the Didache know either of the other Gospels ? The Lord's Prayer and the baptismal formula would be an element in any tradition. Beyond these we have only a record of those ' sententious ' sayings of our Lord, such as are most easily handed down in real tradition : oi Trpaeis jeATipovofujo-ovo-i TTJV yijv, /x>) Stare TO ayiov TOII (cueriV, af 105 6 epydnjs TTJ? Tpo<f>7J oirrou (iii. 7, ix. 5, xiii. 2). The acquaintance with our Lord's eschatological discourses, shown in c. xvi, is very independent of the Gospels. He refers to ' the gospel of the Lord ' (xv. 4), but it is doubtful whether it is a document. See, however, on the whole question, Taylor pp. 108-112. 1 Certainly the connection of the Didache with the language of St. Peter's first sermons, and the phraseology of these chapters, is very striking. It is more than a coincidence of mere language. (a) With ix. 2 'ITJO-OWS 6 jrait o-ov, cf. Acts iii. 13, 26, iv. 27, 30. See Clement's Epistle, c. 59. In Mart. Polyc. 74, as in the Apost. Const., it has a new meaning ; it is no longer servant as in the Didache (used alike of David and Jesus in the same clause), with reference to the ' servant of Jehovah ' in Isaiah ; it has got the meaning of ' Son ' ' My beloved Son.' See Lightfoot on Clement, in lac. (*) With x. 2 quoted above, and ix. 2, cf. Acts ii. 28., eyi/oipto-ds /ioi 6Sou? fw^f. (c) For the whole idea of the Acts, ii. 42 1\<rav Se jrpoo-<eoprpouvT<r TJJ SiSaxj) ri> airoa-Totaav. . . . 177 K\aL<rtL TOV aprov Kal TOIS irpo<Tfv\a.l<;, cf. ix. 3, xiv. I, Tb (cAa<r/ia, icXdo-OTe aprov. (d) With iv. 8 o-vy<coic(o^o-eis Se iravra rta ao(\<t><? o-ou Kal OVK epett Kia etyat, cf. Acts iv. 32 ovoe (l<; TI . . . eAeyev ISiov tlvai . . . airavra. icoti/a. () For the coupling of fasting and prayer, cf. Acts xiii. 3. (/) With vi. 1-3, on 'bearing the yoke,' and 'guarding oneself from that which is offered to an idol,' cf. Acts xv. 10-28. (g) ' The way ' of life suggests the use of ' the way ' in the Acts as a synonym fo r Christianity. 380 Christian Ministry. Why should Christians ' fast on Wednesday and Friday ' ? The answer to this question at, least implies a record of historical facts about our Lord, though not more. Why should God be glorified 'through Jesus Christ ' (ix. 4) ? Here is involved some doctrine of mediation. Why are Christians baptized into the name of the Son and the Spirit as well as of the Father ? This must carry with it some teaching about the Persons represented by these Divine names. Thus there is a teaching implied which is not given, and apparently, we must add, not realized. Our mind naturally goes back to those Jewish Christians to whom the Epistle to the Hebrews was written. Here were Christians who only half realized what their religion meant who knew its ' first principles,' those which a Jew could most easily realize 'repent- ance from dead works and faith toward God, the teaching of baptisms and of laying-on hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.' Is not the Christianity of this Teaching very much the sort of inadequate Christianity which the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews sought to lift into a complete realization of the divine majesty of Christ, of the mystery of His eternal high-priesthood and the Church's fellowship with Him and in Him? Not indeed that our document presents all the features of the Judaism which the author of that great Epistle had in view ; there is no sign here of falling away, no craving after the ' worldly ' ritual of the old covenant ; but the instruction given in the Didache embodies ' first principles ' closely resembling those which the Hebrews had made their own : the belief in God and the moral duties of obedience and repentance which follow from that belief; the due and careful performance of the ceremonial and religious duties of religion and the reverence due to its teachers ; the keen expectation of ' the end ' and the coming of the kingdom, with the judgment and the resurrection. 1 We have then to do with a Jewish Christian document of very early date. Sabatier would have us put it back as early as the middle of the first century, before St. Paul's Epistles, but it is perhaps more likely that its author escaped the influence of St. Paul by remoteness of situation rather than by priority in the date of his writing. In any case, we can with very great security date the Didache within the first century. Not only does its whole tone remind us of the Jewish cradle of Christianity, but other indications coincide with this. The Church's enemy is as yet simple imposture and self-seeking, and there are no traces of any prevalent heresy. Again, the state of the Christian 1 Sabatier calls attention to the entire absence of any mention of women, as emphasizing its Jewish origin and early date (p. 153): 'La plupart des documents d'origine juive ignorent la femme.' Note M. 381 ministry, which is discussed elsewhere, suggests a date long anterior to Ignatius. 1 Have we any grounds on which to fix the district in which the Didache was written ? Harnack's suggestion of Alexandria or Egypt seemed to some of us excluded by the physical features alluded to in the words ' the bread scattered upon the mountains and gathered together.' 2 On the other hand Dr. Taylor remarked (p. 116) : ' Sowing upon the mountains suits no place better than northern Palestine. ' (Or it seemed agreeable to Syria in general. ) Other indications were felt to point in the same direction. Thus, in vii. 2, there is a remarkable permission to baptize in warm water, where cold could not safely be used, and ' it stands recorded in the Gemara that a fruitless attempt was made in the days of R. Jehoshua ben Levi (cent, ii-iii) to obtain dispensation from the practice of purificatory immersion in certain cases, in the interest of the women of Galilee, who were said to be afflicted with barrenness by the cold. But it was permitted to warm the water for the use of the high-priest on the Day of Atonement, if he was aged or delicate' (Taylor, pp. 54 ) The Christian Judaism of Galilee would appear here as granting to all what Pharisaic Judaism refused. Again, before the publication of this document, Drs. Westcott and Hort had declared that there ' could be little doubt that the doxology [to the Lord's Prayer] originated in liturgical use in Syria,' 3 and that doxology appears in our manual as a substitute for the Amen in Jewish fashion at the end of the eucharistic thanksgiving, as well as the Lord's Prayer. 4 The present writer was therefore inclined to assign the document to Palestine or Syria, and to give the preference to an out-of-the-way district, such as that beyond the Jordan. But the basis of this argument has now been undermined in part by the appearance in the eucharistic prayer of Bishop Serapion (see Wordsworth's Serapion' s Prayer Book p. 17) of the phrase from the Didache ' as this bread has been scattered on the top of the mountains, and gathered together, came to be one.' This destroys the argument 1 See also Taylor, p. 118. 2 ix. 4 : this argument was fortified by the fact that the words etroVu nil/ bpi<av are omitted in the grace before meat for use in Egypt, which is referred to above as reproducing this prayer. 3 New Testament Notes on Select Readings p. 9. Harnack calls attention to the omission of i) /SeuriAcia before ^ 5vVaju.it icai ^ Sofa. This omission occurs also in the Sahidic (Egyptian) version. This he thinks is a ' subtle ' indication of Egyptian origin (I.e. p. 26). But the same reading appears in Gregory of Nyssa. It was probably the original Jewish form. 4 viii. 2, x. 5. It is hardly /air to quote the Aramaean Maranatha (x. 6) as an indication of Palestinian origin, in view of i Cor. xvi. 22. I suppose the produce of the land from which first-fruits are to be taken cattle, flocks, corn, wine, oil would suit most eastern countries. 382 Christian Ministry. from physical features (see p. 417 and note 3 ) and strengthens the claim of Egypt to be the place of its origin. Still the Egyptian Church, as it got the canons of Hippolytus from Rome, may have got the Didache from Syria. M DR. HORT'S VIEW OF THE APOSTOLATE. (See p. 202.) DR. HORT speaks of himself J as ' led to the conclusion that in its original sense the term Apostle was not intended to describe the habitual relation of the Twelve to our Lord during the days of His ministry, but strictly speaking only the mission among the villages,' of which the beginning is described in St. Mark vi. 12, and the end in St. Mark vi. 30. He admits that in St. Luke's Gospel ' the term is not throughout confined to this limited usage.' 2 In fact the word is used six times in St. Luke, and only once in connection with this special mission. St. John does not use the word at all as a designation for the Twelve. St. Matthew uses it once in the list of the Twelve (x. 2) in such a way as to suggest that it was an habitual name for them (' now the names of the twelve apostles are these '), and not as connected with any particular mission. Finally, in St. Mark the word is used (for certain) only once (vi. 30), and as it were accidentally, of the Twelve when they returned from the special mission alluded to. And its appearance of exclusive reference to that mission in St. Mark's narrative depends (i) on the doubtful reading of iii. 14, 'And He appointed twelve [whom also He named apostles] that they might be with him, and that he might send them forth to f reach and to have authority to cast out devils ' 3 ; and (2) also on the limitation of the words in italics to the mission subsequently described in similar terms in vi. 12, 13. But just before (ver. 7) the words occur, ' He began to send them forth.' This first mission was only a type of much that was to come. It was not the entire scope of their apostolate, but the first example of it. On the whole, I think it must be admitted that Dr. Hort's proposed limitation of the original meaning of the term ' apostle ' is very weakly supported by the evidence. But it is a more important matter that he denies (on the whole) that the apostolate was even finally an office of government constituted by our Lord in His Church. He does indeed use the word ' office ' (p. 19) 1 The Christian Ecclesia (Macmillan 1897), p. 28. " P. 26. 3 On the reading see Swete in lac. The words in brackets are in the margin of the R.V. There is a great deal to be said for attributing them to assimilation to St. Luke vi. 13. Note M. 383 of the Twelve, 1 and speaks of a ' distinctive function reserved for them throughout, over and above their function as the chiefest disciples ' (p. 29). But he says (p. 84), ' there is indeed, as we have seen, no trace in Scripture of a formal commission of authority for government from Christ Himself. Their commission was to be witnesses for Himself, and to bear that witness by preaching and by healing.' He thinks that the actual authority in matter of government and administra- tion which in the Acts they are found exercising was due to the ' spontaneous homage ' of the Christians of Judaea, and was a result of the moral authority involved in their personal qualification. He thinks it very doubtful how far their authority ' is likely to have been felt and acknowledged beyond the limits of the Holy Land.' In other words (p. 230), their definite function was simply to be witnesses and to make their witness known. ' Round this, their definite function, grew up in process of time an indefinite authority, the natural and right and necessary consequence of their unique position,' but 'it came to the apostles by the ordinary action of divine providence, not (as far as we can see) by any formal divine command.' ' The apostles were not in any proper sense officers of the ecclesia.' Now this is (for the argument of this book) an exceedingly important matter (see Preface, p. vii), and I would endeavour here to show how contrary to the evidence as a whole, in my judgment, Dr. Hort's theory is. I have in Chap, iv collected the evidence for saying that the Twelve were really (as has been almost universally supposed) trained and appointed to be officers of the Christian Church for the purposes of government. Of that evidence only a part is noticed by Dr. Hort. Thus he does not notice our Lord's answer to Peter about the 'stewardship' in the 'household of servants' (Luke xii. 41-43, see above p. 203). He does indeed very briefly discuss St. Matt. xvi. 19 (' I will give unto thee the keys,' etc.), but it is only for the purpose of determining the relation of ' the Church ' to ' the kingdom of heaven,' and even so the words are exceedingly disappointing and ambiguous. 2 ' The simplest inference from the language used would be that the office committed to St. Peter and the rest with respect to the ecclesia, would enable him and them to fulfil the office here described as committed to him with respect to the kingdom of heaven.' An office to be intrusted by Christ Himself to the apostles in relation to the Church (and surely a tremendous office to open and shut the kingdom of heaven) is here apparently incidentally admitted, but no further 1 See also p. 160 : ' The apostolate of the Twelve and St. Paul was in an important sense a definite and permanent office." (But by appointment from the ecclesia 7) 2 P. 19. We must remember the work is posthumous. Dr. Hort could hardly have left the sentence as it stands. 384 Christian Ministry. consideration is given to this (I cannot but think) really luminous and central passage (see above p. 204), and the admission for what it is worth is not alluded to further. 1 Once more, I have, like many others, argued that the commissions after the Resurrection (i) appear to be given distinctively to the Twelve, and (2) that they are commissions to an abiding apostolate. On point (l) Dr. Hort only says that 'doubt is possible ' (p. 33), and ' granting that it was probably to the eleven that our Lord directly and principally spoke on both these occasions (and even to them alone when He spoke the words at the end of St. Matthew's Gospel), yet it still has to be considered in what capacity they were addressed by Him.' I say that the words of the commissions themselves bear witness that they were addressed to them as envoys, apostles representatives no doubt of the missionary and judicial functions of the whole Church, but representatives because they were divinely commissioned officers ('apostles,' ' stewards,' ' pastors') in the society. Once more, I have argued that ' if the Acts is accepted as historical, undoubtedly the apostles must have received a commission distinct from the Church as a whole to account for their position ' (p. 210 n. 2 ). Dr. Hort surely greatly minimizes the position of the apostolate in the Acts. He does not notice that St. Peter at once alludes to the apostolate of Judas, as an office of administration which is vacant and should be filled up. He alludes to the words SiaKovia and aTrooToXiJ as used by St. Peter (i. 25), but not to the phrase quoted from the Psalm, ' his office (firiffKowfi) let another take ' (i. 20). Moreover it appears to most of us that it is plainly in virtue of their apostolate that the Twelve stand forth from the first as having authority in the community. There is no trace of their position growing from spontaneous homage. They assume the right to ' appoint ' the seven, whom the Church as a whole are to choose (vi. 3). In fact, if certain men have authority to impart the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying-on of their hands, whether for living or for governing (and only of apostles is such a phrase used 2 ), this gift of the Holy Ghost being the essential constituent of the Christian life, such men are rendered by this very power necessary and central authorities in the community. Again, Dr. Hort thinks Barnabas was sent to Antioch (xi. 22) in place of one of the Twelve to avoid ' putting forth even the semblance 1 Dr. Sanday similarly deals to my mind very inadequately with this passage (The Conception of Priesthood p. 48). He says, ' a similar promise ' is given to the whole body, i.e. in xviii. 18. But without the distinctive and definite words for stewardship , ' the keys of the kingdom of heaven. 1 These words connect themselves with the stewardship of St. Luke xii. 41. The legislative authority (' binding ' or ' loosing ') belongs in some sense to the Church as a whole. The stewardship is an office in the Church committed to the apostle. ' Acts viii. 18, xix. 1-7 ; Rom. i. 11 ; 2 Tim. i. 6. Note M. 385 of apostolic authority there ' (p. 60) ; but there is not a word in the narrative to suggest this : and when the great question was raised at Antioch about circumcising the Gentiles, certainly the Church there appears to recognise an authority at Jerusalem. That authority, after being appealed to and deliberating, sends them a decision by letter and messengers (xv. 2-31) 'it seemed good to the Holy Ghost and to us to lay upon you ' such and such necessary ' burdens ' and requirements and no more. And it is implied in the course of this letter that though they had in fact given no authorisation ' no commandment ' to those who had gone to Antioch previously and stirred up dissension, yet they might have done so. They had authority to ' give commandment. ' The letter goes out in the name of the ' apostles and elder brethren ' at Jerusalem. I have spoken of it as 'representing substantially' the authority of the apostles. Dr. Sanday complains this is not 'strict exegesis.' Does this mean that it does not inhere in the particular words (xv. 23) taken by themselves ? It certainly does not. But what gave the Church at Jerusalem authority to send a mission of this kind to another Church ? The whole Acts would assure us it was because the Church at Jerusalem contained the apostles and the apostles were the Church's authoritative teachers and centre of unity. Further, Dr. Hort, in restricting the authority of the apostles to Jerusalem, has not considered all the language which St. Paul uses (see above p. 215 ff. ) to describe the authority which he conceives to belong to him ' in all the Churches ' equally, ' for edification not destruction ' but with 'destructive' powers attached, simply because he is an apostle. He only notices where St. Paul does not (he says) assert it viz., in his letter to the Romans. The ' total absence (in this epistle) of any claim to authority illustrates how large a part of the authority which he exercised towards other ecclesiae was not official (so to speak) but personal' the authority of a founder (pp. 133, 197). Now no doubt it is in accordance with St. Paul's tact that he would not speak of authority to those who did not know him. But even here he justifies his ' boldness ' in addressing them by the fact of the universal and quasi- priestly mission divinely given him towards the whole Gentile world (xv. 15-17). Here is the ground of an authority which he must exercise according to his judgment of fitness whether at Rome or elsewhere. On the whole, Dr. Hort's argument against the existence of an apostolic office of government ordained by Christ Himself is singularly unconvincing. He does not deal at all satisfactorily either with the language of the Gospels, or with the position assigned to the apostles in the Acts, or with the claim which St. Paul plainly attached to the apostolic office or stewardship, and which he delegates to his repre- sentatives, Timothy and Titus, as, according to Dr. Hort's own phrase, ' a paramount authority ' (p. 197) at Ephesus and Crete. 2 B INDEX. AARON : see Levitical Priesthood. Absolutism 88. Achatius, Acts of bp. 194 n. Achelis(Dr.) 1320., 133 n., 13711. Acts of Apostles 4, 5 ; witness to visible Church 41, 42 ; to hierarchy 234, 242. Adamnan 151 n. Addaeus 119 n. Aerius 126 n., 147-8, 197. Africa 149. Age of ordinands 277 n. Albinus Flaccus 82 n. ; (pseudo-) 16711., 260 n., 325, 337 n., 347, 351. Alcibiades 357. Alexander Severus 92. Alexandria, Church of 93, 131, 135 n., 188 n., 253, 339, 341, 345-6, 351-2, 381 ; theology of 21-5, 54 ; succession at 122-4; episcopate and presbyterate 124-130, 308, 325-3; Jews at 364 n. Allen (Prof.) 51 n. Amalarius 26011., 325, 336 n., 348. Ambrose (St.) 87, 1460., 220 n., 363; (pseudo-) 186 n. Ambrosiaster : on orig. identity of bishop and presbyter 12611., 157-162, 251 n., aSon., 325 ; on the ministry 185, 344-6, 354- Ammia 357, 361. Ammonius (abbot) 341. Ananias 236 n. Andrew (St.) in Asia Minor 264. Andronicus 213 n., 254 n. Anencletus 112, 295. Angels (in Apocalypse) 128 n., 232-3. Anicetus 18, non., 112, 116. Anselm(St.) 150 n. Antioch 118, 279. Apocalypse, angels of the 233-3. Apollinaris (Claudius) 119. Apollonius 358-9. 886 Apollos 240. Apologists, the 25-7. Apophtheginata Patrum 330. Apostle, meaning of word 213 n. Apostles (Syrian) 259. Apost. Canons 174 n., 175 n., 176 n. ; 373. Apost. Constitutions, date of 131 ; rites n 137. 351-2, 354, 373, 377 n-! " the ministry 137-40 ; 148 n., 168 n., 184, 185 n., 260 n., 275 n., 276, 289 n., 362, 375- Apostolic commission 209 f., 242 f. Apostolic delegates 225. Apostolic functions 63 n.., 213 f. Apostolic ordinations 262 f . Apostolic succession 63 f., 104, 160, 290-1, 306, 311-2 ; bond of continuity 69 ; importance of principle 65 f. ; meeting moral needs of ministers 73-5 ; pledge of dependence 70-3 ; true to analogy 64-5 ; witness of history to 102 f. Apostolic successors 275-7. Archippus 225 n., 345. Arethas 233 n. Aristides 25, Son. Aristion 264. Aristotle 46, 72-3. Asia, Church of 106, 112, 119, 263-4. Athanasius (St.) 54, 123 n., 126, 129 n., 13', 157, i?7 n., 181, 197, 329-30, 339, 341, 354, 375 n. ; on the episcopate 144; (pseudo-) i6n., i88n., 377 n. Athenagoras 182. Athens 121. Augustin (St.): on the Church 12 n., 15 n., 17 n., 24 n., 39, 53 n., 153 n. ; on lay-priesthood 82 n.; on ordination 86, 168 n., 175 n., 177-8, 347 n., 353n. ; on councils 155 n., 163 n. ; on Peter's see 156 n., 157 n., 158 n. Authority 88-98 ; Roman idea of 53-6. Index 387 ojTo<rroAo 213 n., 234 n. a.p\i.<nivd.yiay<K 363-4. BACCHYLLUS 121. Baptism, 72, 169 ; Jewish 36 n. ; infant 377 n.; lay 183. Barnabas (St.) 235-7, 239, 361. Barnabas, Ep. ofj2n., 375. Basil (St.) 103, 146 n., i63n., 175, 179 n., 353- Baur(C. F.)224n., 229 n., 3690. Bede(Ven.)47n. Bernaldus Constantiensis 348. Bernard (St.) 89 n., 150 n. Bigg (Dr.) 23 n., 24 n., 71 n., 81 n., 123 n. 144 n., i88n., 326 n., 329-30. Bilson (Bp.) 66 n. Bingham 92 n., 94 n., 950., 169 n., 176 n., 336 n., 339-46. Bishops, election of 329 ; exclusive powers 159, 167 n., 307-8; indepen- dence of 155 ; ordination of 132-3, I 37-8, 332-3, 336-7 ; travelling 299 ; use of the term 231 ; an ordo 105 n. , 164 n. (See iri<r<e<nrot.) Boissier (M.) 27-31. Bonwetsch (Prof.) 189 n., 194 n., 355-9 n., 360 n. Brightman(F. E. B.)i3i n., 1320., 2o8n., 33 in - Butler (Bp.) ion., 101. Butler (Dom) 330. CAESAREA, succession at 117. Callistus 173. Canonical orders 176 f. Cassian 340-1. Catholicism 51-3. Celtic Church 66, 102-3, I 5- Chances of valid succession 98-9. Character 105, 162 n., 172 f. Chilling-worth 98. Chorepiscopi 339-40. Christian, meaning of 42 n. Chrysostom (St.) 377 n. ; on ordination 95, 146-7, 350; on the orders 136, 161 n., 220, 242 n. ; (pseudo-) 364. Church (Dean) 8-9, 33 n., 39 n. Church, beginning in a ministry 213-18 conceptions of 11-27, 63 n., 152-4; exclusiveness of 14-17, 22, 24', 40-1, 44-7 ; prerogative of 41 n. ; unity of 152-6; visible 8-53, 17 n., 380., 44 n.; width of 16-7, 25 n., 40-1, 46-7. Church Ordinances. See Egyptian Ch Ord. Civil customs, influence of 169-72. (See Terminology.) Clement of Alexandria : on the Church i8n., 22-3, 2 S n M Eucharist 71 n., i88n.; ministry 122-3, M3, 3?m. ; traditions in 92 n., 214 n., 228 n., 238 n., 239 n., 25011., 262, 294 n. ; 375 n. Clement of Rome 280; bp. 112, 114, 294, 299, 300 n. ; his letter 280 f. ; on the Church 20, 39 n. ; Eucharist 207 n. ; priesthood 180, i83n., 186-7; ministry 28o-95> 355 1 9 1 . "on., 173, 213 n., 241 n., 257 n., 286 n., 365, 367-8. Clement (pseudo-) 19 n., 260 n. Clementines ; The: date 117 n. ; St. Peter appoints bps. 117; St. James in n8n., 2son., 251 n.; on the ministry n6n., u8n., 172 n., 175, iSsn., 201 n., 260 n., 276, 294 n., 349, 354, 366. Collegia 27-32, 47-8. Colluthus 126, 147, 197. Confession 132, 1430., 167^, 232 n., 3770. Confessors 134-7. Confirmation 160, 163 n., 167 n., 185 n., 235-6, 243. Congregationalism 313. Corinth 114, 115, 120, 216-8, 282 f., 304. Cornelius (of Rome) 342, 350. Correspondence (with grace) 73-4. Council, second apostolic 251 n. Councils 140-1 : Alexandria [A.D. 324] 126, 141, 147. Ancyra 140-1, 338. Antioch 176 n., 339. Aries [A.D. 314] 163, 177. Capua [A.D. 391] i74n. Carthage [A.D. 256] 162 ; [A.D. 390] 163 n. Canons of iv Carthagt 16411., 171 n., 336 n. Chalcedon i;6n. Constantinople i76n. Elvira 103, 163, 185 n. Florence 61 n. Neo-Caesarea 141 n., 339 n. Nicaea 141-2, 174 n., 177 n., 185-6, 341. Orleans [A.D. 511] 177 n. Saragossa [A.D. 592] 177 n. Sardica 175 n., 176 n. Seville [A.D. 619] 167 n. Toledo [A.D. 400] 163 n.; [A.D. 633] 175 n. 388 Index Councils, authority of, over bishops iSS- Crete, succession at 122. Cunningham (Dr.) 12 n. Cyprian (St.) 136, 185 n., 205 n. : on the Church 14-5, 48, 50, 53 n. ; tradition 61-3; ministry 92, 95, 143 n., 151-6, 162-3, I 7S n -> '83; ordination 341, 342, 350-i 354. Xa'picr/xa 218, 226 n., 228-9, 2 9- Xi.p60e<ri, \tipoTovia. 148 n., 235 n., 275 n. , 35. 352- DALE (R. W.) 321. D.alman 37 n. Damasus 157. Darwin (C.) 312. De aleatorifrus 350, 354. Deacons, 242, 245, 368 ; functions of 133, 141-2, 161, 163 n., 220-1, 224-5, 3 2 9 n -> 366, 371 n. Deaconesses 218 n., 23on., 245. Delisle 334-7. Demetrius 122, 128, 326-9. Denton 64 n., 85 n., loon. Deposition 172-80, 291. Didache i88n., 21411.: date, etc. 253, 374-82; on the Church 26 n., 39 n. ; Eucharist 72 n., 207 n., 286 n. ; ministry 92 n., 2oin., 239 n., 241 n., 253-61, 278, 284 n., 293, 309, 368, 372 ; priesthood i8in., 183 n. ; confession 132 n., 232 n. ; prophets 220 n., 361-2. Didymus 22, 54, 126 n., 210 n., 355-8. Dio Cassius 171 n. Dioceses, extent of 94. Diognttum Ej>. ad. 25 n., 69 n., Son., 254 n. Dionysius (of Alexandria) 125, 127 n. Dionysius the Areopagite 121, 225 n. ; (pseudo-) 131, 138 n., 279, 332 n., 353". Dionysius of Corinth 120 n., 121, 122, 225 n., 279, 280 n. Dionysius Exiguus 339. Dionysius of Halicarnassus 366. Diotrephes 233. Discipline, decay of 163 n. Donatists 176 n., 177-8. Dracontius 144, 354. Duchesne (L.) 132 n. SioKovia 147 n., 221 n., 225 n., 227 n., 234 n. &MKOVOI 220, 367-8 n., 371 n. EAST, witness of 148-9. Ecce Homo 33. Edersheim 36 n., 205 n. Egyptian C/t. Ordinances 92 n., 95 n., 131, 137 n., 257 n., a6on., 27711., 286 n., 329-30, 352, 375. ' Elders, The ' 107. Election of ministers 91-94, 103-4, 129 n., 137 n., 257 n., 308, 329, 332, 336 n. Eleutherus 107, 112, 116. End of religion 322. Enoch, Book ofign. Epaphroditus 213 n. Ephesians 44 n., 230 n. Ephraem Syrus sn., 148 n., 276 n., 332 n. Epiphanius (St.): on Alexandria 125, 152 n., 325 ; the episcopate 147-8, 355-7, 364-5- Episcopate, development of 304-5. Epistles of St. Paul, genuineness 2-4, 213 n., 229 n., 370-3. Erastianism 96-8, 103, 317. Essentials 322-4. Estcourt 62 n., 99. Eucharist, The 37, 64-5, 70-72, 77-80, 84, 133, 137-40, 141, 169, 171, 182, 185, 197, 207, 255, 267, 286, 289 n., 335, 373, 377-8 ; sacrifice 207 n. Eugenius iv 61 n. Eusebius 107 n., 115, 116, 118, 119 n., 120 n., 121, 122, 149 n., 196 n., 221 n., 223 n., 252 n., 292 n., 299 n., 326 n., 356, 361 ; on apost. council 251 n. ; evangelists 259. Eutychius 326-9. Evangelists 244, 254-6, 259. Evidence, deficiency in Scriptural 246-7. Evolution in religion 6-8 ; in state- ment, 196-7, 312. cKKAT)crt'a 31 n., 32 n., 169. ejri'tr/coffos 147 n., 220, 232 n., 234 n., 274 n., 305 n., 366-7, 368, 370, 373 n. ^youjuei/oi 231 n., 252 n., 292 n., 301 n. FABIAN OF ANTIOCH 350. Faith, universal faculty 45. Felicissimus 342. Feudalism and the Church 61, 88-9, 96-8. Field (Dr. F.) 37 n. Finality of the Incarnation 6; of the Church 58. Firmilian (St.) 109 n., 143 n., 153 n. Inaex 389 Foncart (M.) 29 n., 31 n. GAIUS OF THESSALONICA in n., 225 n., 299 n. Gaul 106-7, M9i 2 99- Genuineness of N. T. records 2-6. Gieseler 341, 348. Gifts (charismata) 186, 218, *a6 n., 228-9, 2 3! n., 290, 371. Gladstone (W. E.) 66 n., 70 n., 73, 99, 105-6, 212 n. Godet (Prof.) 5 n., 6, 201 n., 203 n., 210 n. Gospels and the Ministry 201-12 ; wit- ness to visible Church, 32-41. Government 290, 307-9. Greece, succession in, 120-1. Gregory of Cappadocia 93. Gregory the Great 146 n. Gregory Nazianzen 129 n., 145-6, 353. Gregory of Nyssa 103, 146 n., 381 n. Gregory of Tours 103, 341. Guilds (Roman, etc.) 27-32, 47-8. HADDAN 94 n. Hadrian 25 n., 121, 124. Harnack (Prof.) 329, 355-6, 358, 365, 366, 370, 372, 374 n., 381 n.: on N. T. documents 3 n., 5 n., 213 n. ; the Church 25, 50, 51 n. ; ministry 80 n., 152 n., 171 n., 173 n., 250 n., 260 n., 292 n., 369-73 ; Eucharist 207 n., 286 n., 289 n. ; Ignatius 265 n., 273 n. Hatch (Dr.) 6 n., 32 n., 95 n., 96 n. ; on the Church 8 n., 12, 28, 44 n., 47-9 ; ministry 58-9, 152 n., 200 n. ; ordination 169, 170, 174 n., 175 n., 334, 339, 340-3, 350-3, 369-73 I bap- tism 8 n., 36 n. ; Montanism 190 n. Headlam (A. C.) 4 n., 132 n., 135, 174 n. Healing powers in priesthood 133. Hebrews, Ep. to the, witness as to church rulers 230-1, 292. Hefele 140, 174 n., 175 n. Hegesippus 115-17, 238 n. ; 250-2, 260 n., 279, 295. Heraclas 125, 127-8, 325, 328. Heretical sacraments 178. Hennas, The Shepherd of : its date 300 ; on the Church 14 n., 18-20, 49, 52 n. ; ministry 280, 285 n., '292 n., 294 n., 300-2 ; prophecy 72 n., 260, 361-2. Hilary the deacon 157 n., 185. Hippolytusi52n. ,183,1910., 260 n., 354-5. Jfifpolytus, Canons of 92 n. ; 131-8, 161 n., 171 n., 181 n., 350, 352, 377 n., 382. Hoadley (Bp.) 44 n. Holland (H. S.) 33 n., 35 n., 40 n., 204. Holtzmann (Dr.) 224 n., 229 n., 235 n. Hooker 10 n., 281, 318 n. Hort (F. J. A.) 31 n., 32 n., 35 n., 44 n., 225 n., 226 n., 381, 382-5. Hugh of St. Victor 78 n. Hymenaeus and Alexander 216. Hypothesis, value of 59-60, 312. IDEAS, embodiment of 9-10. Ignatius (St.) 118-9, '64-7, 297-9 ' * prophet 257, 260, 273 n. ; his letters 265 n. ; on the Church 21, 49, 52 ; Eucharist 71 n., 186-7, 268 n. ; priest- hood 183-4, 186-7 > ministry and epis- copate 135, 251 n., 263, 264-77, 297, 365 n., 370 n., 373. Imperialism in the Church 96-7. Incarnation 6, 58, 268. Innocent 166 n. Inscriptions 174 n., 364, 366. Instruments, tradition of 61-2, 171 n. ' Invisible Church ' 17 n., 38 n., 44 n. Irenaeus (St.) 106-7, J 49 i on tne Church 14 n., 15-16, 18, 48, 50, 53 n., 69 ; Eucha- rist 65, 71 n., 207 n. ; priesthood 80-1, 82 n., 1 80 ; episcopal successions 106-13, 260, 263, 2 79> 295 ministry 223 n., 242 n., 251 n., 260 n., 355 ; prophecy 260, 357, 361. Irish Episcopacy 103, 150, 261 n. Ischyras 126. Isidore of Pelusium 88. Isidore of Seville 103 ; on priesthood 82 n. ; bishops and presbyters, 166 n., 347 ; chorepiscopi 339 ; other orders 142 n., 164 n., 260 n. ; ordination 351. Ivo of Carnot 142 n. JAMBS (ST.) bp. of Jerusalem 116, 117 n., 238, 244, 250-2, 278; in the Clementines 118 n., 251 ; on 'presby- ters' 231-2. Jerome(St )s7 a , 158, 280 ; on the Church J 7 n -> '53 n - ' priesthood 76, 82 n., 185 ; episcopate 156 n ; and presby- terate 201 n., 136; ordination 177, 35O-3 > episcopate at Alexandria 124-9, 308, 325-8 ; original identity of bishops 390 Index and presbyters 158-62, 251 n., 280 n., 346-7- < Jerusalem, Church of 116. Jevons (F. B.) 29 n., 31 n. Jewish Church, continuity with 286 n. John (St.) 106 ; 'presbyter' 223 n., 262 n.; priest 260 n., 262 ; prophet 360; insti- tutes episcopacy 114, 228 n., 232-3, 261-3. John the presbyter 264. Josephus 30 n., 250 n., 364. Joshua 79, 127 n., 157, 172 n. Judas Barsabbas 239 n., 292. Jude (St.) his epistle 231 n. ; his descen- dants, 252, 292. Julius (Pope) 93. Junias 213 n., 254 n. Justin Martyr : on the Church 16, 26 ; Eucharist 71 n., 169, 182, 207 n., 373 ; priesthood 79-80, 260 n. ; prophecy 357, 3 fil - KUEHL, 224 n., 225 n., 229 n., 257 n., 273 n., 288 n., 364 n. LAITY 95, 97-8, 129 n., 341 ; priesthood of 76-85 ; the Eucharist 188-9 \ bap- tizing and teaching 185. Langen(Dr.) 112 n., 158 n., 291 n., 303, 321-2. Laurentius Mellifluus 83. Lausiaca, Historia 339-341. Law (W.) 17 n., 33 n., 38 n., 44 n., 90 n. Laying -on of hands 170-2, 257-8, 349-55- Legislation, gift of 237. Leo (St.) 54, 146 n. ; on lay-priesthood 8 1 n. : ordination 93-4, 179. Levitical priesthood 65, 79 n., 81, 143, I 45, J 54 "., I 65i 172 n-i 182, 283, 344 n., 363. Liberatus 129 n. Liberty and sacerdotalism 88-98. Liddon (Dr.) 74 n., 75 n., 76, 276 n. Lightfoot (Dr.) 4 n., 21 n., 30 n., 71 n., 117 n., 119 n., 281 n., 365 ; deacons 242 n. ; Ignatian letters 265 ; can. xiii of Ancyra 338 ; sacerdotalism 65 n., 76, 81, 181 n., 277 n. ; the ministry 321-5: history of episcopate 116, 122, 126 n., 152 n., 225 n., 226 n., 233 n., *So n., 251 n., 262 n., 263-5, 2 ^7 n., 2 73> 279-80, 284 n., 291 n., 294 n., 295 n., 299 n., 340. Linus 279, 295. Liudger (St.) 342-3. Lucian 32 n., 364. Lucifer of Cagliari 156-7, 178 n., 351, 354- Lux Mundi 87 n. MACAULAY (Lord) 98. Macedonia, succession in 121. Mahommed 58 n. Makrizi (El) 119 n., 328 n. Marcion 120 n., 122. Mark (St.) 122, 125, 325-6, 328. Martyrium Polycarpi 14 n., 379 n. Mason (Dr. A. J.) 53 n., 82 n., 92 n., 177 n., 185 n. Matthias (St.) 13, 123 n. Maurice (F. D.) (33 n., 70 n., 76 n., 202. Mazzini 90. Means and ends 101 n., 322-4. Meletian schismatic bishops 152 n. Meletius 152 n., 177 n. Melito 25 n., 120. Messiahship, witness to visible Church 37- Middle Ages 51, 61, 77, 81, 88, 90, 102-3, I2 9, 34 2 - Milligan (Prof.) 41 n., 47 n., 233 n., 3I4-5- Ministry, conceptions of 166 ; Clem. Alex. 122 n. ; Clementines 118 n. ; Origen 127 n. ; constitutional 95, 155 ; elective 64, 91-4 ; exclusive 184 f. ; mediatorial 78 n. ; not vicarious 76-8 ; permanent elements of 104-5 P er - verted ideas of 60-1 ; representative ^4-5) 77-8, 91-4 ; variable 102-4 > ministerial 84-5, 184 n. Minor Orders 171 n. Minucius Felix 27. Moberly (Dr.) 184 n. Mohler 63 n. Monepiscopacy 66, 129-30, 161-2, 303. Montanism 107, 123 n., 188-196, 199, 355-9, 361. Montefiore (Mr.) 79 n. Morin (Dom) 158 n., 288 n. Morinus : de Sacr. Ord. 61 n. ; ' tra- ditio instrumentorum ' 62 n., 171 n. ; on orders 105 n. ; St. Jerome 158 n., 161 n., 162 n. ; valid ordination 175 n., Index 391 176, 179-80; rites 332-7; chorepiscopi 339-40. Moses 138, 287. Muratorian Canon 263, 264 n., 300 n., 357- NARCISSUS 117. Necessitas medii 101 n. Newman (J. H.) 101 n., 353. Non-episcopal bodies 100-1, 313-6. Novation schism 50 n., 96 n., 152 n., i77n., 197, 342, 350. Novatus 342. OECUMENIUS 242 n. Optatus of Milevis 156 n. Orders, indelible 105, 187 f. : number of 105 n., 348 : official 223 ; sacra- mental 105, 168-70. Ordination 236 ; idea of 228-9, 2 45-6 : matter of 61-2 n., 105, 349-52 ; rites of 131-8, 163-6, 331-7. Ordo Romattus 146 n., 167 n., 336. Origen 122, 205 n., 226 n., 227 n., 232 n., 2 33 n -i 327-9, 349 ! on the Church 17 n., 22 n., 24-5, 26 n. ; ministry 127-9 i priesthood 82 n., 143, 180, 183; pro- phecy 357, 361 ; Shephtrd of Hermas 300 n. ; traditions in 121 n., 225 n., 251 n., 266 n., 299 n. PACIAN 225 n. Palestine, succession in 116-8. Pamphilus 328. Paphnutius 340-2, Papias 107 n., 119, 223 n. Paschal controversy 107, 117, 120-1. Paschasius Radbert 82 n., 87 n. Pastoral epistles 221-9. ; genuineness 3-4, 229 n. Patristic sacramentalism 71 n. Paul (St.) 235, 236 n., 239 : witness of his epp. as to the Church 42-6 ; ministry 313-30; ordination 245-6; a prophet 220 n., 360. Paulianist clergy 177 n. Pearson (Bp.) 63 n., 265 n., 327. People, relation of, to ministry 64-5. Peter (St.) 114, 175 ; commission to 5 n., 193, 204-7, 2II > 'presbyter' 274 n., 305 ; prophet 360 ; at Antioch 279 ; in Clementines 117 ; his primacy 154, 156, 205-7 evidence of his ep! on the ministry 231 n., 232. Pfleiderer (Prof.) 4 n., 20 n., 44 n., 45. Philip (St.) in Asia Minor, 264. Philip the Evangelist 220 n., 242. Philo 360 n. Phoebe 219 n., 230 n. Photius 328. Pirqe Abotk 206 n. Pius 300 n., 302. Plato 360 n. Pliny 30. Polycarp, bp. of Smyrna 18, 106, no n., 114, 119, 278, 296; prophet 257, 260, 298 ; his letter 296-9, 277 n., 284 n., 303, 368, 371 n. Polycrates 120, 181 n., 260 n., 262, 264 n. Pontus 120. Potter (Abp.) 99-100. Prayer, freedom of 256, 260 n., 294 n. Preaching 161 n. Presbyterate 223, 231-2, 240-1, 244, 276-7, 296-7, 300, 304, 363-6, 360-71 ; asserted powers of ordination 340-3 ; in church councils 155; functions of 163 n., 166 n., 232 ; growth of indepen- dent power 166 ; ordination to 134-8, 331-5 ; subordination of 135, 161. Presbyter-bishops 220-1, 223-4, ^'i 244-5, 291-3, 304, 305 n., 308, 310, 325-9. 344-8- Presidents (trpourraittpot) 217, 221, 231. Priesthood of Christ 84 n., 139, 143 ; of all churchmen 76-85 (and notes). Primus 115, 120. Priscillian 15 n., 93. Prophetic appointment 228, 240. Prophets 220 n., 238-9, 244, 254-8, 356-7, Puller (Fr.) 156 n. Puritanism 358. Pusey (Dr.) 40 n. iropoiKtai 107 n., 135 n., 299 n., 326 n., 370 n. TroifitVet 22O, 241 n., 245. jrpe<rjSvTtpo 147 n., 223-4, 262 n., 274 n., 277 n., 284-5 n., 305 n., 363-6, 368. 217 n., 221 n. QUADRATUS 121, 357, 361. Quaestioncs in N. et V. Test. 158-62, 174 n., 346, 354 ; their author 158. RABANUS MAURUS : on priesthood 82 n. ; sacraments 168 n. ; orders of the minis- 392 Index try 14211., 16411., 16711., i68n., 26011., 339 n., 348. Rackhara (R. B.) 94, 338. Ramsay (Prof.) 4 n., 28 n., 30 n., 230 n., 281 n., 373 n. Raymund of Sabunde 306 n. Readers 260 n., 329 n. Reeves on Irish episcopate 150 n. Reformation 313. Renan (M.) 51 n., 234, 242 n. Renaudot 327-8. Reordination 174-80. Robertson (F. W.) 72 n. Romanism 51, 53-6, 91, 96-7, 343. Rome, Church of 18-21, 106-7, IJ 6> 132, 157-8, 218, 266, 274, 280-1, 284, 294, 300, 342; Epistle to 218-19; succession at ii2, 114, 116, 149, 279, 294; bishop of 94, 96, 103, 152 n., 156, 191-2, 205 n., 294 n., 343 ; Jews at 364. Rosmini 96 n. Rothe 16 n., 17 n., 19 n., 23 n., 251. Rufinus 15 n., 374-5 n. SABATIER (M.) 36 n., 234 n., 377 n., 380. Sacerdotalism 75-86, 145-6, 159, 180-5, 277 n., 306-7, 324-5. Sacraments, principle of 64-5, 70-73, 84-5 ; Fathers on 71 n. ; witness to visible Church 36-7. Salmon (Dr.) 117 n., 152 n., 194 n., 199, 253 n., 294 n., 300 n., 304 n., 367 n., 375 " Sanday (Dr.) 5 n., 7 n., 47 n., 184 n., 194 n., 366 n., 367 n., 371 n., 384 n. Schism, moral idea of 68, 113, 153; responsibility for 100, 152 n., 153 n., 314-6 ; witness of 49. Scythia 299 n. Serapion (of Antioch) 118, 119 n. Serapion (of Thmuis) 131, 138, 331-2, 350, 381-2. Seven, the 241-2. Seventy, the 119 n., 201, 214 n., 259. Severus of Asmonaei 327. Shirley (Prof.) 226 n. Silas 239 n., 292. Simcox(W. H.)42n., 130 n., 182, 225 n., 233 n., 250 n., 262 n. Society, principle of 46-7. Socrates 96, 177 n., 341. Soter 112, 1 1 6. Sozomen 299 n. Stanley (A. P.) 104 n. Stanton (Prof. V. H.) 17 n., 33 n., 37 n., 38 n., 49, 312. Stephanas 219 n. Stephen I. (Pope) 55, 86, 143 n., 1531. Sub-apostolic office 260 f., 266. Successions, evidence of 112-22, 149, 250-2, 262-4, 278-80, 290, 295 ; see Apostolic succession. Supernaturalism 8. Symeon, bp. of Jerusalem 116, 252-3. Symeon of Thessalonica 131, 138 n. Synesius 351. Syria 299. Syrian church 118, 259. TARASIS 174 n. Tatian 5 n. Taylor (Jeremy) 74. Taylor (Dr.) 36 n., 206 n., 255 n., 374, 375 n., 381. Teaching of the Apostles (Syriac) 119 n., 201 n. Terminology of orders 363-73, 147 n., 181-2, 274, 305 n. Tertullian : on the Church 12-4, 18 n., 26 n., 31 n., 53 n., 120 n. ; sacraments 71 n., 164-5, '69 > episcopal successions 108, 113-15, 121, 149, 263; priesthood Son., 180, 185 n., 186 n., 188-90; his Montanist views 189-95, 355-9- Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs 365- Thaddaeus 119 n. Theodore of Mopsuestia 148 n., 305 n., 368. Theodoret 174 n., 214 n., 305 n., 349 n., 353- Theophilus of Antioch 26, 118. Theophylact 206 n., 220 n. Thomas Aquinas (St.) 82 n., 343. Thrace, succession in 121-2. Timothy (and Titus) 225-7, Z 39> Z44i 263 n., 293, 349, 360. Tixeront (M.) 107 n., 119 n. Todd on Irish bps. 150 n., 151. Tradition, fallibility of 107. Trent, Catechism ofio$ n. Two Ways, The 374. 'UNCHURCHING' 100-1, 313-4. Uncovenanted grace 101, 313. Unction 167 n., 232 n. Index 393 Unity, claims of 314-5. Unworthiness of minister 86-8, 144 n. VALENS (of Philippi) 297 n. Validity 76-80, 186. Vicarious priesthood 76-8. Victor i. (Pope) 18, 54-5, 107, no n. 294 n., 3ss n. 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Preached April 22, 1894, by the Rev. R. S. DE C LAFFAN, M. A., Head Master of King Edward VI. School, Stratford-on-Avon ; now Rector of St. Mary Woolnoth, London. SERMON II. ( >. Preached April , 1895, by the Rev. G. F. BROWNE, D.D., Canon of St. Paul's; now Lord Bishop of Bristol. SERMON III. (Num. xxii. 38). Preached April 26, 1896, by the Rev. ALFRED AJNGER M. A. , Master of the Temple, and Canon of Bristol. - SERMON [continued. A SELECTION OF WORKS Arbuthnot. SHAKESPEARE SERMONS continued. IV. (St. James, i. 17). Preached April 25, 1897, by the Rev. A. NICHOLSON, D.D., Vicar of St. Alban's, Leamington. SERMON V. (i Thess. iii. 9). Preached April 23, 1899, by the Very Rev. C. W. STUBBS, D.D., Dean of Ely. SEKMON VI. (Num. xxiii. 16). Preached April 23, 1899, by the Rev. GEORGE ARBUTHNOT, M.A., Vicar of Stratford-on-Avon. SERMON VII. (Eccles. xliv. 14). Preached April 29, 1900, by the Very Rev. F. W. FARRAR, D.D., Dean of Canterbury. SERMON VIII. (Rev. xv. 3). 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