to their qualifications and positions. Some presided over large churches, others over small ones. Some preached, and others only presided over church affairs, without preaching, but officiated in reading the Scriptures, in offering public prayer, administering the church sacraments, and the general care of souls. In this they were assisted by the membership.—1 Cor. 14: 16.

All the considerable churches had a plurality of ministers, called bishops and presbyters indifferently. In the course of the second century, a presiding minister became distinguished: from the rest, under the title of Eлσxoлos, bishop, and the rest were called presbyters. - Murdock's Mosheim, vol. 1., p. 71.

Each city and village had its bishop. Even down to the fourth century, the bishop of Antioch was the pastor of a single congregation. His presbyters assisted him by preaching at different hours in the day to the same congregation to which he preached. Chrysostom assisted him in this capacity previous to his becoming bishop of Constantinople. He was made deacon at Antioch, A. D. 381, and presbyter, 385. His elevation to the patriarchate of Constantinople was in 398. At this time the bishop of Antioch was patriarch or metropolitan bishop of Syria, calling and moderating provincial councils in that portion of the church. -Presbyterian Quarterly Review, vol. III., No. 1, 1854.

Bingham furnishes a list of some fifteen hundred episcopal sees in the fourth century, many of which were small, obscure places. Palestina Prima, the southern half of Palestine, of which Jerusalem was the metropolis, had twenty-nine dioceses, among which were the little villages of Majuma Lydda and Emmaus. Dora and Cesarea were five miles apart; Lydda and Joppa, six; Gaza, Majuma and Anthedon, three. Other bishops lived from four to ten miles apart. Italy was divided into seventeen provinces, each of which contained numerous episcopal charges, with their bishops. The province of Fuscia and Umbria, between the Tiber and the Tuscan sea, contained thirty-five episcopal charges, of which Portus, Sylva, Candida, Nepi, Aqua

Viva, Phalaris, Ferentinum, and Civita Vecchia, are examples. There was a bishop of Ostia, at the mouth of the Tiber, sixteen miles from Rome; less than two miles from this village, at Portus Romanus, was another; and two miles in the opposite direction, was the bishop of Sylva Candida. The bishops of Phalaris and Hortinum were nine miles apart, with the bishop of Nepi between them. Subaugusta, Tusculum, Velitræ and Signia, each had their bishops as neighboring parish ministers. So had Suessa, Calenum, and other small villages.

The province of Valeria had twelve episcopal charges, among which were Fidena, Nomentum, Tiber and Præneste. Fidenæ was five miles from Rome, and the rest usually but a few miles apart. The church of Tiber was four miles from that of Præneste; that of Sabinum, three miles from that of Reate. Those of Petinum, Amiternum and Furconium, were still nearer together. Yet the presiding ministers in all these churches were bishops.

The apostolical constitution of Alexandria, containing the early polity of that church, A. D. 200, informs us that, whenever twelve men demand a bishop, and appropriate means for his support, they may have one; clearly proving that the bishop of that time and country was a parish minister.

When Gregory Thaumaturgus became bishop of Cesarea, in Pontus, A. D. 239, his church numbered seventeen persons. These constituted his episcopal diocese. In the first origin of bishops, that order was elevated but a little above the presbyters. In churches which had several co-pastors, with equal powers, the bishops were the presiding pastors. But in the large cities, where the churches became divided into different congregations, having their separate places of worship, and these congregations became numerous, instead of organizing each congregation into an independent church, with its bishop, they retained the whole under a single superintendency; and this superintendency naturally devolving on the presiding minister, led to his ultimately

becoming exalted far above his co-pastors. - Presbyterian Quarterly Review, vol. III., No. 1, 1854.

So far were the pastors, at the close of the first century, from having usurped all power and authority in religious matters, that baptism was allowed to be administered by the laity. Whoever made converts baptized them, or were at liberty to do so. - Murdock's Mosheim, vol. 1., p. 87, P. 8.

The exaltation of the ministry to be lords over God's heritage, in the place of its servants, began gradually and almost imperceptibly, and was undertaken and carried forward, in the majority of cases, no doubt, without any intention of wounding the purity of religion, or obscuring its glories. It was thought to be an improvement required by the circumstances of the cases in which it occurred, and was adoped and acquiesced in as such. The Jewish economy, with its priesthood, was thought to afford hints for the improvement of the Christian ministry; and Jewish precedent was allowed to have great weight in questions of expediency respecting Christian church polity.

The bishops took the position of high-priests, and assigned the presbyters that of the common priests among the Jews. This is the origin of the Christian priesthood in the persons and office of the Christian ministry, an idea foreign to the New Testament, and inconsistent with primitive Christianity.— Murdock's Mosheim, vol. 1., p. 17, P. 4; and page 118, note 3.

The separation of bishops from presbyters was, at first, slight. In the large city churches, the bishops were the presiding presbyters or moderators of the ministerial colleges, having a slight precedence in rank and office, and nothing more. Each church came to have one bishop, and the large churches several collegiate and slightly subordinate ministers. Soon the bishops of the greater city churches, however, began to take precedence of others.

At first, no bishop claimed jurisdiction beyond his own city. 9*

CHAPTER II.

THE PROVINCIAL COUNCILS: THEIR ORIGIN AND EFFECT.

THE ancient provincial councils were conventions of bishops for ecclesiastical purposes. These judicatories among the Greeks were called synods, and among the Romans councils. The Greeks had been accustomed, from an early period, to the political confederation of cities. This usage had been found highly useful in respect to political affairs, and probably suggested to them a similar confederation of churches. Accordingly, we find that the provincial councils, and a confederation of churches, belonging to the same province, through their bishops, first arose among the Greeks, and was introduced from Greece into Syria, Palestine and the rest of the Christian world. At this time, each church had its bishop. — Murdock's Mosheim, vol. 1., pp. 116, 117; P. 1–3.

The earliest provincial councils of which we have any authentic information were those which deliberated concerning the Montanists, A. D. 170. The next were those which deliberated concerning the proper time for observing the annual festival since denominated Easter, which is the festival of the Epiphany, observed in commemoration of Christ's resurrection. All these councils are placed by Eusebius under the reign of Commodus, A. D. 180-192, near the close of the second century.

In the third century, councils became frequent, and were extended throughout a large part of the Christian world. Murdock's Mosheim, vol. 1., p. 116, note 2.

The provincial councils were convened in the principal city of the province. They were attended by all the bishops, and the bishop of the city where the council was held, was moderator. In

some provinces, councils were held annually; in others, twice a year. In process of time, the presiding bishop came to be a metropolitan, or archbishop, having a general superintendence over the rest; and the place of his residence became the spiritual metropolis of his province. At first, the provincial councils did not interfere with the private matters of single churches, but deliberated on matters of general interest, and the attending bishops were considered as representatives of their churches. At first, they had no jurisdiction, but were a kind of general conference, to consider, and, as far as possible, agree on matters of general interest. But they soon claimed power from Christ to bind and control their churches, and enacted laws for that purpose. Their laws were denominated canons, and in course of time were greatly multiplied.

Out of the provincial council grew, in process of time, the so-called general council.

No sooner had the bishops obtained an entire supremacy, and proportionably depressed the presbyters, than the metropolitan bishops raised themselves above the other bishops, and those of Rome, Antioch and Alexandria, above all the rest, in consequence of the commanding position and influence of their churches. Rome, as the mistress of the world, gave its bishop the primacy in the church. This primacy was not derived from Peter, nor from any institution of Christ, or the apostles; but from the distinguished position of its bishop as pastor of the ruling city of the world, and perhaps of its largest, ablest and most influential church.

Bishops now began to be considered the especial successors of the apostles, and to claim much more than apostolic power and authority. They made large encroachments both on the rights of the presbyters and of the laity. - Murdock's Mosheim, vol. 1., pp. 163–165.

Under Constantine, the first Christian emperor, the church assumed a new aspect. It was before persecuted, it was now favored, by the state. Constantine was by birth a Dacian.