Chapter V

THE CONSTITUTION OF THE CHURCH IN THE SECOND CENTURY.

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

CHAPTER VI.

THE RISE OF THE HIERARCHY CONNECTED WITH THE SPREAD OF HERESIES.

Eusebius. The defects of his Ecclesiastical History, 522 Superior erudition of Jerome, 523 His account of the origin of Prelacy, 524 Prelacy originated after the apostolic age, 527 Suggested by the distractions of the Church, 529 Formidable and vexatious character of the early heresies, 530 Mode of appointing the president of the eldership changed. Popular election of bishops, how introduced, 532 The various statements of Jerome consistent, 533 The primitive moderator and the bishop contrasted, 535 How the decree relative to a change in the ecclesiastical constitution adopted throughout the whole world, ib.