not content till they had added some neighbouring parishes to their own, and so their churches became very large, till they extended themselves over whole provinces. But even this was complained of by some, as an abuse; which occasioned Chrysostom so frequently to insist on the inconvenience of bishops having churches too large for them to take the oversight of, and not so much regarding the qualifications as the number of those over whom they presided; and he signifies his earnest desire, that those under his care might rather excel in piety, than in number, as it would be an expedient for his better discharging the work committed to him *.

Thus concerning the character and distinction of the pastors of churches, together with the form of the church in the first ages of Christianity; and what is observed, by many, concerning the agreement and difference which there was between bishops and presbyters: but this has been so largely insisted on, by many who have written on both sides the question, and the controversy turning very much on critical remarks made on some occasional passages, taken out of the writings of the Fathers, without recourse to scripture; it is therefore less necessary, or agreeable to our present design, to enlarge on that head: however, we may observe, that some of those who have written in defence of Diocesan Episcopacy, have been forced to acknowledge, that Jerom, Augustin, Ambrose, Chrysostom, in the Fourth Century; and, in some following ages, Sedulius, Primatius, Theodoret, and Theophylact, have all held the identity of both name and order of bishops and presbyters in the primitive church t. Jerom, in particular, is more express on this subject than any of them, and proves it from some arguments taken from scripture, which speak of the distinction that there was between them, as being the result of those divisions, by which the peace and order of the church was broken, and that it was no other than an human constitution. (a) This opinion of Jerom is largely defended by a

* See Clarkson's Primitive Episcopacy, chap. 8. in which he refers to several places, in the writings of that excellent Father, to the same purpose, † See Stilling fleet Iren. Page 276.

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(a)" More than fourteen hundred years ago the superiority of the Prelates to Presbyters was attacked, in the most direct and open manner, as having no authority from our Lord Jesus Christ. The banner of opposition was raised not by a mean and obscure declaimer; but by a most consummate Theologian. By one "who, in the judgment of Erasmus, was, without controversy by far the most "learned and most, eloquent of all the Christians; and the prince of Christian "Divines."-By the illustrious Jerome.†

We note the words of one who was assuredly no friend to our cause. vid. Cave, His. Litt. Script: Eccles. p. 171. Ed 1720. Fol.

+Prosper, who was nearly his cotemporary, calls him magister mundi : i. e. the teacher of the world. Jb.

learned writer, who shews that it is agreeable to the sentiments of other Fathers, who lived before and after him. Thus * Vid. Blondel. Apol. pro Sent. Hieron.

Thus he lays down both doctrine and fuct relative to the government of the church, in his commentary on Titus i. 5.

That thou shouldest ordain Presbyters in every city, as I had appointed thee.* "What sort of Presbyters ought to be ordained he shows afterwards,-If any be "blameless, the husband of one wife, &c. and then adds, for a bishop must be blame"less as the steward of God, &c. A Presbyter, therefore, is the same as a Bishop: and before there were, by the instigation of the devil, parties in religion; and it "was said among different people, I am of Paul, and I of Apollos, and I of Ce"phas, the churches were governed by the joint counsel of the Presbyters. But "afterwards, when every one accounted those whom he baptized as belonging "to himself and not to Christ, it was decreed throughout the whole world, that one, "chosen from among the Presbyters, should be put over the rest, and that the "whole care of the church should be committed to him, and the seeds of schisms * taken away.

"Should any one think that this is my private opinion, and not the doctrine of "the scriptures, let him read the words of the apostles in his epistle to the Phi"lippians; Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints "in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons,' &c. Phi"lippi, is a single city of Macedonia; and certainly in one city there could not " be several bishops as they are now styled; but as they, at that time, called the very same persons bishops whom they called Presbyters, the Apostle has spo"ken without distinction of bishops as Presbyters.

"Should this matter yet appear doubtful to any one, unless it be proved by an "additional testimony; it is written in the acts of the Apostles, that when Paul "had come to Miletum, he sent to Ephesus and called the Presbyters of that "church, and among other things said to them, take heed to yourselves and to all the flock in which the Holy Spirit hath made you Bishops.' 'T'ake particu"lar notice, that calling the PRESBYTERS of the single city of Ephesus, he after"wards names the same persons BISHOPS." After further quotations from the epistle to the Hebrews, and from Peter, he proceeds: "Our intention in these "remarks is to show that, among the ancients, Presbyters and Bishops were THE "VERY SAME. But that BY LITTLE AND LITTLE, that the plants of dissensions "might be plucked up, the whole concern was devolved upon an individual. As "the Presbyters, therefore, KNow that they are subjected, BY THE CUSTOM OF THE CHURCH, to him who is set over them; so let the Bishops know, that they are greater than Presbyters MORE BY CUSTOM, than by ANT REAL APPOINTMENT of "CHRIST."

.

"

• "Qui qualis Presbyter debeat ordinari, in consequentibus disserens hoc ait: Si quis est sine crimine, unius uxoris vir," et cætera: postea intulit," Oportet, n. Episcopum sine crimine esse, tanquam Dei dispensatorem." Idem est ergo Presbyter, qui et Episcopus, et antequam diaboli instinctu, studia in religione fierent..et diceretur in populis: Ego sum Pauli. ego Apollo, ego autem Cephe :" communi Presbyterorum consilio ecclesiæ gubernabantur. Postquam vero unusquisque eos, quos baptizaverat, suos putabat esse, non Christi: in toto orbe decretum est, ut unus de Presbyteris electus super peneretur cæteris, ad quem omnis ecclesiæ cura pertineret et schismatum semina tollerentur. Putet aliquis non scripturarum, sed nostram, esse sententiam Episcopum et Presbyterum unum esse; et aliud ætatis, aliud esse nomen officii: relegat Apostoli ad Philipgonses verba dicentis: Paulus et Timotheus servi Jesu Christi, omnibus sanctis in Christo Jesu, qui sunt Philippis, cum Episcopis et Diaconis, gratia vobis et pax, et reliqua. Philippi una est urbs Macedonia et certe in una civitate plures ut nuncupantur, Episcopi esse non poterant. Sed quia eosdem Episcopos illo tempore quos et Presbyteros appellabant, propterea indifferenter de Episcopis quasi de Presbyteris est locutus. Adhuc hoc alicui videatur ambiguum, nisi altero testimonio comprobetur. In Actibus Apostolorum scriptum est, quod cum venisset Apostolus Miletum, miserit Ephesum, et vocaverit Presbyteros eccslesiæ ejusdem, quibus postea inter cætera sit locutus: attendite vobis. et omni gregi in quo vos Spiritus sanctus posuit Episcopos, pascere ecclesiam Domini quam acquisivit per sănguinem suum. Et hoc diligentius observate, quo modo unius civitatis Ephesi Presbyteros vocans postea epsdem Episcopos dixerit--Hæc propterea, ut ostenderemus apud veteres eosdem fuisse Presbyteros quos et Episcopos. Paulatim vero, ut dissensionum plantaria evellerentur, ad unum omnem solicitudinem esse delatam.-Sicut ergo Presbyteri sciunt se ex ecclesia consuetudine ei, qui sibi propositus fuerit, esse subjectos. ita Episcopi noverint se magis consuetudine quam dispositionis dominica veritate, Presbyteris esse majores. Hieronymi Com : in Tit: 1. 1. Opp, Tom. VI. p. 168, ed. Victorii, Paris, 1823. Fol.

concerning a pastor, as styled a bishop or presbyter; we shall now consider him as invested in his office, whereby he becomes related to a particular church of Christ. That no one is pas

He pursues the same argument, with great point, in his famous Epistle to Evagrius, asserting and proving from the Scriptures, that in the beginning and during the Apostles' days, a Bishop and a Presbyter were the same thing. He then goes on: "As to the fact, that AFTERWARDS, one was ELECTED to preside "over the rest, this was done as a remedy against schism; lest every one draw"ing his proselytes to himself, should rend the church of Christ. For even at "Alexandria, from the Evangelist Mark to the Bishops Heraclas and Dionysius, "the Presbyters always chose one of their number, placed him in a superior sta"tion, and gave him the title of Bishop: in the same manner as if an army should "MAKE an emperor; or the deacons should choose from among themselves, one "whom they knew to be particularly active, and should call him ARCH-DEACON. "For, excepting ordination, what is done by a Bishop, which may not be done by "a Presbyter? Nor is it to be supposed, that the church should be one thing at "Rome, and another in all the world besides. Both France and Britain, and Africa, and Persia, and the East, and India, and all the barbarous nations wor"ship one Christ, observe one rule of truth. If you demand authority, the globe "is greater than a city. Wherever a Bishop shall be found, whether at Rome, or "Eugubium, or Constantinople, or Rhegium, or Alexandria, or Tanis, he has "the same pretensions, the same priesthood."*

Here is an account of the origin and progress of Episcopacy, by a Father whom the Episcopalians themselves admit to have been the most able and learned man of his age; and how contradictory it is to their own account, the reader will be at no loss to perceive, when he shall have followed us through an analysis of its several parts.

1. JEROME expressly denies the superiority of Bishops to Presbyters, by divine right. To prove his assertion on this head, he goes directly to the scriptures; and argues, as the advocates of parity do, from the interchangeable titles of Bishop and Presbyters; from the directions given to them without the least intimation of difference in their authority; and from the powers of Presbyters, undisputed in his day.

2. JEROME states it as an historical fact, that, in the original constitution of the church, before the devil had as much influence as he acquired afterwards, the churches were governed by the joint counsels of the Presbyters.

3. JEROME states it as an historical fact, that this government of the churches, by Presbyters alone, continued until, for the avoiding of scandalous quarrels and schisms, it was thought expedient to alter it. "Afterwards," says he," when "every one accounted those whom he baptized as belonging to himself, and not "to Christ, it was decreed throughout the whole world, that one, chosen from among "the Presbyters, should be put over the rest, and that the whole care of the "church should be committed to him."

4. JEROME states it as an historical fact, that this change in the government of the church-this creation of a superior order of ministers, took place, not at once, but by degrees-" Paulatim," says he, " by little and little." The precise date on which this innovation upon primitive order commenced, he does not mention; but he says positively, that it did not take place till the factious spirit of the Corinthians had spread itself in different countries, to an alarming extent. "In populis,” is his expression. Assuredly, this was not the work of a day. It had not been ac• Quod autem postea unus electus est, qui cæteris præponeretur, in schismatis remedium factum est: ne unusquisque ad se trahens Christi Ecclesiam rumperet. Nam et Alexandriæ a Marco Evangelista usque ad Heraclam & Dionysium Episcopos, presbyteri semper unum ex se electum, in excelsiori gradu collocatum Episcopum nominabant: quo modosi exercitus imperatorem faciat; aut diaconi eligant de se, quem industrium noverint, & archidiaconum vocent. Quid enim facit. excepta ordinatione, Episcopus, quod presbyter non faciat? Nec altera Romanæ urbis Ecclesia, altera totius orbis existimanda est Et Galliæ, & Brittaniæ, & Africa, & Persis, & Oriens, & India, & omnes barbara nationes unum Christum adorant, unam observant regulam veritatis. Si auctoritas quæritur, orbis major est urbe. Ubicumque fuerit Episcopus, sive Rome, sive Eugubii. sive Constantinopoli, sive Rhegii sive Alexandria, sive Tanis; ejusdem meriti, ejusdem & sacerdotii, Hieron, Opp. T. II. p. 62%.

tor of the catholic church, has been observed, under a foregoing head*, wherein we shewed, that the church, when styled catholic, is not to be reckoned the seat of government; and therefore we must consider a pastor as presiding over a particular church; and, in order hereunto, it is necessary that he should be called, or chosen, to take the oversight of it, on their part, and comply with the invitation on his own, and, after that be solemnly invested in, or set apart, to this office.

(1.) We are to consider what more especially respects the church, who have a right to choose, or call those, who are qualified for the work, to engage in this service, and to per

See Page 522, ante. Some, indeed, choose to say, that persons that stand more immediately related to their respective churches, are pastors in the catholic church, though not of it; which, if the words be rightly understood, does not militate against what we assert. O v di o malenv solar exes as apoßala anchovdels. Ignat. epist. ad Philad. p. 42.

complished when the apostolic epistles were written, because Jerome appeals to these for proof that the churches were then governed by the joint counsels of Presbyters; and it is incredible that such ruinous dissensions, had they existed, should not have been noticed in letters to others beside the Corinthians. The disease indeed, was of a nature to spread rapidly; but still it must have time to travel. With all the zeal of Satan himself, and of a parcel of wicked or foolish clergymen to help him, it could not march from people to people, and clime to clime, but in a course of years. If Episcopacy was the apostolic cure for schism, the contagion must have smitten the nations like a flash of lightning. This would have been quite as extraordinary as an instantaneous change of government :No: the progress of the mischief was gradual, and so, according to Jerome, was the progress of the remedy which the wisdom of the times devised. We agree with them, who think that the experiment introduced more evil than it banished.

5. JEROME states as historical facts, that the elevation of one Presbyter over the others, was a human contrivance; was not imposed by authority, but crept in by custom-and that the Presbyters of his day, knew this very well. As, therefore, says he, the Presbyters KNOW that they are subjected to their superior by CUSTOM; so let the bishops know that they are above the Presbyters, rather by the CUSTOM OF THE CHURCH, than by the Lord's appointment.

6. JEROME states it as an historical fact, that the first bishops were made by the Presbyters themselves; and consequently they could neither have, nor communicate any authority above that of Presbyters. Afterwards," says he, "to "prevent schism, one was elected to preside over the rest." Elected and commissioned by whom? By the Presbyters: for he immediately gives you a broad fact which it is impossible to explain away. "At Alexandria," he tells you, “from "the evangelist Mark to the Bishops Heraclas and Dionysius," i. e. till about the middle of the third century," the Presbyters always chose one of their number, "placed him in a superior station, and gave him the title of Bishop."

CHRISTIAN'S MAGAZINE,

Our opponents, who contend that nothing can be concluded from the promiscuous use of the scriptural titles of office, are yet compelled to acknowledge that Bishop and Presbyter were af teraards separated and restricted, the former to the superior, and the latter to the inferior order of ministers. We would ask them when and why this was done? If it was not necessary to distinguish these officers by specific titles in the apostles' day, what necessity was there for such a distinction afterwards? The chur.h night have gone on, as she be, an, to this very hour; and what would have been the harm? Nay, there was a necessity for the distinction; and Jerome has blown the secret. When one of the Presbyters was set over the heads of the others, there was a new officer and he wanted a name. So they appropriated the term Bishop to him; and thus avoided the odium of inventing a title unknown to the scripture. The people, no doubt, were told that there was no material alteration in the scriptural order: and hearing nothing but a name to which they had always been accustomed, they were the less startled,

form the two branches of the pastoral office, namely, instructing and governing. This is not only agreeable to the laws of society, but is plainly contained in scripture, and appears to have been the sentiment and practice of the church, in the three first centuries thereof. The church's power of choosing their own officers, is sufficiently evident from scripture. If there were any exception hereunto, it must be in those instances in which there was an extraordinary hand of providence in the appointment of officers over them; but, even then, God sometimes referred the matter to their own choice: thus, when Moses made several persons rulers over Israel, to bear a part of the burden, which before was wholly laid on him, he refers this to their own election, when he says, Take ye wise men, and understanding, and known among your tribes, and I will make them rulers over you, Deut. i. 13. And in the gospelchurch, which, at first, consisted of about an hundred and twenty members, Acts i. 15. when an apostle was to be chosen to succeed Judas, they appointed two out of their number, and prayed, that God would signify which of them he had chosen; and, when they had given forth their lots, the lot fell upon Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles, ver. 23. so we render the words: but if they had been rendered, he was numbered among the eleven apostles, by common suffrage or vote, it would have been more expressive of the sense thereof*. Soon after this, we read of the choice of other officers, to wit, deacons in the church, chap. vi. 3. and the apostles say to them, Look ye out among you seven men, whom ye may appoint over this business. And afterwards, in their appointing elders, or pastors, over particular churches, we read of their choosing them by vote or suffrage: thus it is said, in Acts xiv. 23. When they had ordained them elders in every church; so we translate the words ; but they might be better rendered, When they had chosen elders in every church by lifting up of the hand. This was, and is, at this day, a common mode of electing persons, either to civil or religious offices. (a) And

• Συγκατεψηφίσθη μετά των ένδεκα αποςόλων, which Beza renders, Communibus oalculis allectus est cum undecem Apostolis.

+ Χειροτονησ ανίες αυτοίς πρεσβύτερος κατ εκκλησίαν, Cum ipsi per suffragia creassent per singulas ecclesias Presbyteros. The learned Dr. Owen, in his True Nature of a Gospel-church, &c. Page 68-71. proves that the word sporovim, in several Greek writers, is used to signify the choice of a person to office by suffrage, or vote, which was done by lifting up the hand. And he observes, that all our old English translations render the words, in this text, ordaining or creating elders by the suffrage of the disciples. And he farther observes, that the word is but once more used in the New Testament, viz. in 2 Cor. viii. 19. where it is rendered, he was chosen, &c. See more to this purpose in the place but now mentioned.

(a) Xugoro signifies, to hold out the hand. It is compounded of Xug, the hand, and Ture, to extend. The action, holding out the hand, is expressive of