disappointed ambition, or the cunning of false professors.* At such a time, deep, heartfelt, and pervading piety, united to the highest degree of wisdom and skill, and accompanied by bold, decisive, and energetic action, were indispensable requisites in the character of those who were to be the defenders of the Church-who were to bear the ark of GOD with safety through the difficulties and dangers which so thickly beset it on every side. And such was the character of Ignatius, as every one can see, who reads his epistles; and such, save the boldness and energy of character, was Polycarp, whose praise is in all the Churches, and such, no doubt, were many others, whose names are only recorded in the Lamb's book of life. We shall make a few extracts, that our readers may see in what light these things were viewed by the Christians of this period. The Church at Philadelphia is saluted by Ignatius : "Especially if at unity with the Bishop, and the Presbyters, and Deacons with him, appointed according to the will of JESUS CHRIST, whom he hath settled according to his own will, in all firmness by the Holy Spirit." From the Epistle to the Ephesians, we learn that Onesimus was Bishop of the Church in that city,‡ having under him Presbyters and Deacons, and that that Church "had always agreed with the Apostles."|| At the same time, Damas was Bishop of the Church at Magnesia, ¶ having Presbyters and Deacons under him.** We learn from the same source, that Polybius was Bishop of the Church at Tralles,ff and that there were many Presbyters and Deacons in that Church at the same time.‡‡ At this time, also, Polycarp was Bishop of the Church at Smyrna,§§ having many Presbyters and Deacons subject to * See a remarkable passage on this subject from Hegessipus, A. D. 150, in Euseb. iii. 32. † Intd. Ep. Phil. C. 10. tt Ign. Ep. Trall. c. 1. Ep. Eph. c. 1. § Cc. 2, 4, 20. §§ Ign. Ep. Pol. Intd. Ep. Mag.c.15. Martyr. Ign.c.3. Martyr. Pol. c.16. him.* And to the Philadelphians, Ignatius says: "Give ear to the Bishop, and to the Presbytery, and to the Deacons."t To the Trallians: "He that doeth any thing without the Bishop and Presbyters, and Deacons, is not pure in his conscience;" and in another place he says: "without these, there is no Church." It is certain, therefore, that at this time there were three orders of ministers in the Church; and that the distinction between Bishop and Presbyter was well understood. But we are not obliged to rely on the authority of Ignatius alone, for evidence that this distinction was well understood when he wrote. The account given of the martyrdom of Ignatius, and the epistle written by the Church of Smyrna on the martyrdom of Polycarp,¶ as well as Irenæus, who was the disciple of Polycarp,** all agree in calling Polycarp Bishop of Smyrna. This Polycarp, in the epistle he wrote to the Church at Philippi, says: "The epistles which Ignatius wrote to us, i. e. that to Polycarp, and that to the Church of Smyrna, and others, as many as we have we send to you, according to your order;" when he adds, "they treat of faith and of patience, and of all things pertaining to edification in the Lord." Now we have seen that Polycarp was expressly called Bishop in one of these same epistles, and that the distinction between Bishop and Presbyter was made in the other, and hence, as he has endorsed these same epistles without exception, he has adopted the distinction in question. The testimony of Polycarp on this subject is, therefore, precisely that of Ignatius. 4. The peculiar characteristic of the fourth period, was the introduction of technical terms of ecclesiastical jurispru * Ign. Ep. Smyr. cc. 8, 12. Ep. Pol. 6. Pol. Ep. Phil. Intd. cc. 5, 6, 11. † Ep. Phil. c. 7. Ep. Trall. c. 8. § Ib. c. 3. || C. 3. T C. 16. ** Ep. Ad. Flor. Euseb. iv. 14, v. 19. tt C. 13. dence and theological science, from the Greek into the Latin tongue, accompanied by an enlargement of the ecclesiastical phraseology, both in the Greek and Latin Churches. Thus we find almost at the commencement of it, Hegessippus in Palestine, A. D. 160,* and Dionysius, Bishop of Corinth,† speaking of the office of Bishop as "the Episcopate and the Episcopal seat." The same language was also used by the Churches of Lyons and Vienna, about the middle of this period, in a Circular Epistle which they addressed to the other Churches, immediately after the martyrdom of their Bishop, Pothinus, and from this time to the year 200, it is of frequent occurrence. But what proves more conclusively than any thing else the general use of such words, is the fact, that they had, before the middle of this period, become technical terms in ecclesiastical history, and though Greek words, were in common use among those who spoke the Latin language, and are used by the Latin writers without any intimation of their having been borrowed from another tongue, which could not have been done, had they not been common words. This usage is frequent in Tertullian, the oldest of the Latin Fathers, who writes the Greek Episcopos, “Bishop," Presbuteros, Presbyter," and Diaconos, "Deacon," with Roman letters, only changing their terminations to accommodate them to the genius of that language, as Episcopus, Presbyter, and Diaconus. So also he copied the word Eucharistia, "the LORD's Supper," Ecclesia, "the Church," Exomologesis, "confession," baptisma, "baptism," and some other words. We conceive that this fact alone, is ample proof that long before the days of Tertullian, the distinction between Bishop and Presbyter was perfectly understood and definitely settled, as 66 Euseb. iv. 23. *Euseb. ii. 23, iv. 22. De Pœnit. c. 9. well also as Episcopate and Episcopal seat, which are not unfrequent in his writings; that they had become, as it were, naturalized in that language, and must, therefore, have been long familiar to Christians of different nations. The leading characteristics of these different periods in reference to the organization of the Church, was, therefore, in the first, there were three orders of ministers, called Apostles, Presbyters, and Deacons; in the second, there were also three orders of ministers, called High-Priests, Priests, and Levites, and the word layman was introduced to designate, as it ever since has, the members of the Church; in the third, there were also three orders, then denominated, as they ever since have been, by the name of Bishop, Presbyter, and Deacon; and in the fourth period, the ecclesiastical phraseology was enlarged in the Greek, and transplanted into the Latin tongue,* each of which should be borne in mind when we have occasion to consult the writings of the primitive Christians, in reference to the organization of the primitive Church. CHAPTER XX. ONE BISHOP IN A CHURCH, BUT MANY INFERIOR CLERGY. THAT there was to be one and only one Bishop in a Church, may fairly be inferred from what we have already proved; for if, in every Apostolic Church there was one Apostle or Apostolic Bishop, having under him a plurality of Presbyterbishops and Deacons, then it is reasonable to conclude, that * Some terms of ecclesiastical technology were also mude in the Latin language. Thus Tertullian seems to have made, from the adjective JusTIFICUS, the verb justifico, from whence our verb to justify, and its deriva tives. there was but one Apostle, or Apostolic Bishop in a Church. That this was the case at Jerusalem, Crete, Ephesus, Philippi, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, Laodicea, Rome, Athens, Antioch, Alexandria, Magnesia, Trallia, Collosse, and elsewhere, we have already shown; consequently, the admitted uniformity of the Apostolic Churches authorizes us to infer a similar organization in all other Churches. But this is not the whole amount of the evidence we have on the subject. The language of Ignatius is clearly to the same purpose. Thus he says to the Smyrneans:* "Let no one do any thing which belongs to the Church, separately from the Bishop. Let that Eucharist be looked upon as well established, which is either offered by the Bishop or one whom the Bishop has approved." And to the Magnesians he says:† "Wherefore come ye all together as unto one temple of GoD, as unto one altar, as unto one JESUS CHRIST." So also the Apostolical Canons go upon the supposition, that all ecclesiastical authority within certain limits was vested solely in one Bishop. And so rigidly was this rule enforced, that any Bishop who should presume to perform ordination, or any other Episcopal function, in any place not within his jurisdiction, without the consent of the Bishop, or if no Bishop, of those who had the direction of ecclesiastical matters, he was to be deposed.§ And this rule was subsequently recognized and adopted by several general Councils. That this principle was a law of the Church before 250, is evident from the epistle of Cornelius, Bishop of Rome, addressed to Fabius, Bishop of Antioch, concerning Novatian and his schism.¶ + C. 7. * C. 8. Can. 28, 29, 31, 33, 34, 66. § Can. 28. § Nice, Can. 15. Antioch, Can. 13. 3 Constantinople, Can. 1. 1 Carthage, Can. 5, 10. 3 Carthage, Can. 20, and in England, Coun. Hereford, A. D. 673, Can. 2, 6, 8. || Ep. Cor. ad Fab. in Euseb. vi. 43. |