Asia Minor.

So much for the Church of Palestine and the Greek Church of Syria. Of the early 'Syrian Church, strictly so-called '-the Syriac-speaking Church—we have no authentic history. It is, however, worth while noticing that the early traditions of that Church represent the ordination to the priesthood' as the means of the propagation of the Gospel, venerate the threefold ministry as of apostolic institution, and lay great stress on the episcopal succession derived in each church from an apostle through the laying on of hands.1

We pass from Syria to Asia' to find the episcopal succession a very old established institution. A.D. 110-115. It is enough to say that Ignatius had impressed upon the churches of Ephesus, Magnesia, Tralles, Philadelphia, and Smyrna, that the bishop, with the presbyters and deacons, represents the authority of God, and we are not allowed to doubt that at least

་

1 See The Teaching of Addaeus the Apostle and The Teaching of the Apostlesancient Syriac documents, trans. in Clark's Ante-Nicene Library, vol. xx.-esp. pp. 32, 48: cf. Tixeront Origines de l'église d'Edesse pp. 114 ff.: Duval Anciennes Littératures chrétiennes: La Littérature syriaque pp. 102 ff. The Teaching of Addai is a retouched version, dating apparently from about 400 A.D., of the document quoted by Eusebius (H. E. i. 13), which existed in the archives of Edessa, at that time a royal city.' The Teaching of the Apostles is a Syriac version of a Greek Didascalia produced in Syria in the course of the third century, which underlies the first six books of the Apostolic Constitutions (see p. 131); but the version itself must be early, since it uses an old pre-Peshitta Syriac reading. As to their ecclesiastical ideas, it may be noted that the bishop is called by a word translated 'guide and ruler.' Addaeus, the apostle, ordains Aggaeus, and he made priests and guides in the whole country of Mesopotamia.' The authority of the guide is limited: it is not lawful for him to transact the affairs of the Church apart from those who minister with him' (Teaching of the Apostles p. 41). Cf. Lightfoot Dissertation p. 211 n.6.

·

It should be noticed that the apostles who originate ordination to the priesthood' (Teaching of the Apostles p. 48) are reckoned at seventy-two, and amongst them are Luke and Addaeus, whom Eusebius calls Thaddaeus and describes as 'one of the seventy disciples of Christ' (H. E. i. 13. 4). The number seventy-two represents the older Syriac reading of St. Luke x. 1; the Peshitta has seventy.' (On the relations of the Old Syr. to the Pesh. see Westcott and Hort Introd. to N. T. pp. 84, 85; and Prof. Burkitt's works S. Ephraim's quotations from the Gospel [Texts and Studies vii. 2] 1901, Evangelion da-Mepharreshe vol. ii. 1904). Seventy-two is also the number given in the Syriac Acts of Thomas, in the Syriac History of John the Son of Zebedee (Wright Apocryphal Acts ii. 23, 151), and in the Commentary of Ephraem Syrus in the Diatessaron-an Armenian version of a Syriac original. But it is also common in the West, and is the reading both of the Old Latin and the Vulgate. Lastly it is read in the Codex Vaticanus (B). It is therefore not unlikely that the Old Syriac witnesses represent the original Greek text.

they learned the lesson. Besides Polycarp of Smyrna, Onesimus of Ephesus, Damas of Magnesia, and Polybius of Tralles, whom Ignatius mentions, we hear during the second century of two bishops of Hierapolis, Papias, an elder contemporary of Polycarp, and Claudius Apollinaris; of Thraseas, bishop of Eumenia; Sagaris, bishop of Laodicea; and Melito, bishop of Sardis.1 Polycrates, bishop of Ephesus at the end of the second century, speaks of himself as having had seven of his own family before him in the episcopate, whose traditions he followed.2 About the same date we hear of bishops at Apamea and at the village of Comana or Coumana.3 If we pass from the proconsular province to Asia Minor in the wider sense of the term, we have not much evidence bearing on the subject; but we hear of bishops in the second century at Sinope and at Amastris; 5 and there is no indication such as would lead us to doubt the universal extension of the episcopate in the churches of that country. Towards the end of the century episcopal synods become common; at the time of the Paschal controversy there were a number of bishops in Pontus; and Polycrates speaks of 'great

1 Claudius was dead when Serapion (ap. Euseb. H. E. v. 19. 2) wrote, c. 200 A.D. Thraseas, Sagaris, and Melito were dead when Polycrates (ib. v. 24. 4, 5) wrote, c. 195 A.D.; Sagaris according to Melito (ib. iv. 26. 3) was martyred in the proconsulship of 'Servilius Paullus'-probably Sergius Paullus, proconsul of Asia c. 165 A.D. Papias presumably called himself bishop of Hierapolis in his book on the Explanation of the Oracles of the Lord: Eusebius regularly speaks of him as 'the bishop of Hierapolis' (H. E. ii. 15. 2, iii. 36. 2; Chron. Olympiad 219.4).

Euseb. H. E. v. 24. 6.

⚫ Zoticos of Comana and Julianus of Apamea are mentioned by the anonymous contemporary adversary of the Montanists (ap. Euseb. H. E. v. 16. 17) in a treatise addressed to one Avircius Marcellus: this Avircius is probably identical with Abercius bishop of Hieropolis in Phrygia, whose epitaph was rediscovered by Sir W. M. Ramsay see Lightfoot Ignatius i. 477-483.

• Marcion of Sinope is described as 'episcopi filius' in [adv. Omn. Haer. appended to] Tertull. de Praescr. 51. Marcion propagated his system before the middle of the second century. He was himself recognised as bishop by his sect and organized it on the Church's model; 'faciunt favos et vespae, faciunt ecclesias et Marcionitae ' (Tertull. adv. Marc. iv. 5).

* Palmas of Amastris is mentioned by Dionysius of Corinth writing to the churches of Pontus (Euseb. H. E. iv. 23. 6).

H

Greece.

165.

crowds' of bishops whom he had summoned to conference on that subject.1

4

If there is less evidence of the diffusion of episcopacy in Greece in the latter half of the second century, this probably does not mean more than that the Church there was less prominent than the Church in Asia. Where we hear of church government it is episcopal. Tertullian speaks of councils,' in which representatives from all the churches met at fixed centres for the common discussion of matters of importance, as characteristic of the Greek provinces.3 At Corinth, when Hegesippus visited it, there was C. A.D. 160. not only a bishop, Primus, but a succession; after him we hear of Dionysius, and at the time of the Paschal controversy of Bacchyllus.5 In the mention which Eusebius makes of a letter of Dionysius 'to the Athenians' (about A.D. 170), we hear of at least two bishops in the succession of Athens prior to that date-Publius, who was martyred, and Quadratus, who had recalled their church from something like 'apostasy from the word,' into which they had fallen." It is doubtful whether this bishop can be identified with that Quadratus whom Eusebius records to have presented his Apology to Hadrian at Athens." But if Dionysius did, as Eusebius says he did, describe his namesake the Areopagite as the first bishop of Athens, he must have believed the episcopate there to go back to the apostolic age.8

Macedonia.

We have the names of no bishops on contemporary evidence during the second century in Macedonia,

1 Euseb. H. E. v. 23. 3, 24. 8.

The problems presented by the Epistles of Clement and Polycarp will be considered below, pp. 284, 288. They do not fall within this period.

Tert. de leiuniis 13.

Euseb. H. E. iv. 22. 2.

After speaking specially of the Corinthian and Roman churches, Hegesippus proceeds with the phrase in each succession and in each city...

5 Euseb. H. E. iv. 23. I; v. 22, 23. 4.

Euseb. H. E. iv. 23. 3. Publius is called ὁ προεστὼς αὐτῶν.

'The question is discussed in Texts and Studies vol. i. No. 1 pp. 10 ff.

Euseb. H. E. iii. 4. 10; iv. 23. 3.

but when Tertullian is rhetorically bidding the heretical teachers to take counsel of the apostolic churches, where the very chairs of the Apostles still preside,' he goes on, 'Is Achaia nearest to you? you have Corinth; if you are not far from Macedonia, you have Philippi, you have Thessalonica,'-showing that at the end of the century Macedonia had episcopal successions which were believed to be derived from apostolic ordination.1

If we pass from Macedonia to Thrace we pass to Thrace. a district almost without Christian record, but towards the end of the century we find a bishop of Develtum signing an encyclical letter directed against the Montanists,2 and 'the existence of a see at a place so unimportant implies the wide spread of episcopacy in these regions.' 3

'3

On our passage from Greece to Egypt we may Crete. take Crete by the way. There we know that at least two episcopal sees existed about A.D. 170, for Dionysius of Corinth wrote a letter 'to the Cnossians,' with words of advice to Pinytus their bishop, and another 'to the church at Gortyna, with the other parishes [i.e. dioceses] in Crete,' specially commending Philip, the bishop of Gortyna, who is also known as the author of a work against Marcion.4

On arriving at Alexandria we shall undoubtedly Alexandria. find ourselves in a church of the three orders. It is true that we cannot trace to its source or verify the complete and dated list of Alexandrian bishops, which Eusebius gives us, reaching back to St. Mark as founder of the church.5 We do not in fact know

1 Tertull. de Praescr. 36. Cf. Origen on Rom. xvi. 23: 'fertur sane traditione maiorum quod hic Gaius [St. Paul's host] primus episcopus fuerit Thessalonicensis ecclesiae.'

Euseb. H. E. v. 19. 3.

• Lightfoot Dissertation p. 217.

Euseb. H. E. iv. 23. 5, 7, 25.

'Euseb. H. E. ii. 24 (Mark, Annianus); iii. 14 (Abilius), 21 (Cerdo) ; iv. 1 (Primus), etc. The list may well have come from the chronicler Julius Africanus; see above P. III n.3.

the name of any Alexandrian bishop on indisputable evidence till we get to Demetrius, Origen's contemporary; for the Alexandrian succession, in which history is hitherto most interested, is not the succession of the bishops but of the heads of the catechetical school.' But Clement's evidence gives us all that we want. He was born about the middle of the second century, and not only had the Church which he knew bishops, presbyters, and deacons,2 but it

1 Lightfoot Disseration p. 226.

'The grades in the Church here of bishops, presbyters, deacons, I believe to be imitations of the angelic glory' (Strom. vi. 13. 107; ai évtavba karà tηv èkkλŋoiav προκοπαὶ ἐπισκόπων, πρεσβυτερων, διακόνων, μιμήματα οἶμαι ἀγγελικής δόξης). The whole chapter runs thus:-The perfect Christian gnostic is even here equal to the angels: he may be made equal to the Apostles: not that they became apostles because they were elect for some special peculiarity of nature, for Judas was chosen with them; but they were capable of becoming apostles on being chosen by Him who foresaw even how they would end. For Matthias, who was not chosen with them, on showing himself fit (agios) to become an apostle, is substituted for Judas. So now too, those who have exercised themselves in the Lord's command. ments and have lived perfectly and with knowledge (yvwσtikŵs), according to the Gospel, may be included (èyypadñva) in the election of the Apostles. Such an one is in reality a presbyter of the Church and a true deacon of the will of God, if he do and teach the things of the Lord, not being ordained (xeɩpoтovoúμevos) by man, nor reckoned just because he is a presbyter, but counted (karadeyóμevos) in the presbyterate because he is just. And even if here upon earth he be not honoured with the chief seat (πрwтоxa@edpía), he will sit on the four and twenty thrones judging the people, as John says in the Apocalypse.' The four and twenty elders, he continues, are the chosen of the chosen, equally from Jews or Greeks. For I think the grades in the Church here of bishops, presbyters, deacons are imitations of the angelic glory and of that dispensation (oikovouías) which the Scriptures say awaits those who, following the footsteps of the Apostles, have lived in perfection of righteousness according to the Gospel. For these, the Apostle writes, "lifted up in the clouds" will serve their diaconate first (diakovýσelv), then be enrolled in the presbyterate in a higher grade of glory, for glory differeth from glory, until they grow up into a perfect man.' Clement's meaning is apparently that moral excellence and gnostic enlightenment were qualifications for the apostolate of old and make a man a true priest now (cf. the exclamation of the people in demanding Athanasius' election ́àλŋ@ŵs èπíσkoños,' Athan. Apol. c. Ar. 6); not, however, in the sense that they can enable a man to dispense with ordination or justify him in assuming ministerial functions without it, but only in the sense that, if he be not admitted to the clergy here, he will be hereafter raised to those grades of glory which the present distinctive offices in the Church adumbrate here below; they are titles for a place in the hierarchy in heaven, if not here. It will be noticed that though Clement divides the hierarchy into three orders, he can still (like Origen and many others) speak of the presbyterate as the chief seat' (§ 106): the main distinction with him, as with Irenaeus and many after them, is between presbyters and deacons. Thus in another passage (Strom. vii. 1. 3), contrasting the two sorts of ministry to men-the more menial service (umηperɩký) and the higher ministry of improvement (BeλtiwtikỲ Depareía)-he finds the former exemplified in the Church's diaconate, the latter in the presbyterate, thus dividing the church ministry into two sorts (ὁμοίως κατὰ τὴν ἐκκλησίαν τὴν μὲν βελτιωτικὴν οἱ πρεσβύτεροι σώζουσιν εἰκόνα, τὴν ὑπηρετικὴν δὲ οἱ διάκονοι); here the presbyterate must include the bishop.