Читать книгу The Ancient Church - W. D. Killen - Страница 42

Statement of Justin Martyr, 499

Great obscurity resting on the subject, 500

Illustrated by the Epistles of Clement and Polycarp, ib.

Circumstances which led to the writing of Clement's Epistle, 501

Churches of Corinth and Borne then governed by presbyters, 503

Churches of Smyrna and Philippi governed by presbyters, 504

The presbyters had a chairman or president, ib.

Traces of this in the apostolic age, 505

Early catalogues of bishops—their origin and contradictions, ib.

The senior presbyter the ancient president, 506

Testimony of Hilary confirmed by various proofs, 507

Ancient names of the president of the presbytery, 508

Great age of ancient bishops, 509

Great number of ancient bishops in a given period, ib.

Remarkable case of the Church of Jerusalem, 510

No parallel to it in more recent times, 511

Argument against heretics from the episcopal succession illustrated, 513

The claims of seniority long respected in various ways, 515

The power of the presiding presbyter limited, for the Church was

still governed by the common council of the presbyters, 516

Change of the law of seniority, 518

Change made about the end of the second century, ib.

Singular that many episcopal lists stop at the end of the second

century, 519

Before that date only one bishop in Egypt, 520

In some places another system set up earlier, 521