1) What means did Jesus establish for the conveyance of the Christian faith?
2) How was the early Church organized and governed?
I started with some Biblical evidence, but conceded I could have been twisting things out of context. So today we look at testimonies from the people who were there.
Clement Lays Down the Law:
The first reference is Clement of Rome. He was the third bishop of Rome after Peter – (which should clue you in on where this is going).
When the people of the Corinthian church deposed their bishop in 90AD, a letter was sent to Clement asking him to sort out the matter. His letter explained to them why they couldn’t just depose Bishops they didn’t like. It further explained the nature and origin of their authority:
“Our apostles also knew, through our Lord Jesus Christ, and there would be strife on account of the office of the episcopate. For this reason, they appointed those ministers already mentioned, and afterwards gave instructions, that when these should fall asleep, other approved men should succeed them in their ministry." - Epistle to Corinthians, 42, 95AD. *1
Ignatius Pens Some Advice:
Next we return to our old friend, Ignatius of Antioch – a student of John the Apostle. While on his way to Rome for his execution in 110AD, he wrote a letter to the Smyrnian church. He pleads with them to obey their bishop and he even uses a very particular name for referring to the broader Church:
“See that you all follow the bishop, even as Jesus Christ does the Father, and the presbytery as you would the apostles; and reverence the deacons, as being the institution of God. Let no man do anything connected with the Church without the bishop. Wherever the bishop shall appear, there let the multitude also be. Even as, wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church.” – Letter to the Smyrnians, Ignatius of Antioch, 110AD *2
Irenaeus Refutes All Heresies:
Irenaeus was the Bishop of Lyons, France at the close of the second century. His lone surviving work is a massive tome called “Against All Heresies”. In it, he lays out the way Jesus ordained for the passing along of Christian truth through the Apostolic lineage:
"True knowledge is that which consists in the doctrine of the apostles, and the ancient constitution of the Church throughout all the world, and the distinctive manifestation of the body of Christ according to the successions of the bishops, by which they have handed down that Church which exists in every place, and has come even unto us." - Against Heresies, Book 4:33:8 , 180AD. *3
Tertullian Issues a Challenge:
Tertullian was an early Christian philosopher who lived and wrote in ancient Carthage. He wrote many, many volumes in defense of the Christian faith. Unfortunately, he wound up joining the Montanist movement around the year 210. But a decade prior to that, he wrote about how to definitively challenge people who propose heretical doctrines:
“Let them produce the original records of their churches; let them unfold the roll of their bishops, running down in due succession from the beginning in such a manner that that first bishop of theirs bishop shall be able to show for his ordainer and predecessor some one of the apostles or of apostolic men, - a man, moreover, who continued steadfast with the apostles." - Prescription against the Heretics, 32, 200AD *4
Eusebius Records the History:
Lastly, Eusebius was a famous Christian historian and also the bishop of Caesarea in the fourth century. He began his greatest work, “Ecclesiastical History”, by stating his intention was to record the apostolic succession in important churches:
"It is my purpose to write an account of the successions of the holy apostles, as well as of the times which have elapsed from the days of our Saviour to our own; and to relate the many important events which are said to have occurred in the history of the Church; and to mention those who have governed and presided over the Church in the most prominent parishes, and those who in each generation have proclaimed the divine word either orally or in writing.” - Ecclesiastical History 1:1, 325AD *5
Putting it Together:
Taken together, all of these witnesses point to a single picture of the early Christian church. The early Christians received Christian the faith first from the preaching and writing of the Apostles, but then afterward through the men they appointed. Those men were tasked with governing the church they were given, handing on the revelation they received, and then selecting a successor of their own.
This system continued onward through a succession of bishops so that future generations could know they were receiving the true Apostolic tradition. No matter where you looked, this structure of transmitting the faith was taken as a constitutive element of the Christian faith.
But one question remains. There is still one important missing cog in the machine.
This institution may be a divine institution, but it is still staffed by sinful men. Men can try to change the revelation, they forget parts of it, or twist it someplace it ought not go. This leaves at least two problems:
- How does the ordinary layman know his Bishop is correct?
- Even when the Bishops gather in council, what happens when they cannot agree?
We’ll leave that question for another time. Thanks for joining me.
[LINK!]
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1) http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/1010.htm
2) http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0109.htm
3) http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0103433.htm
4) http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0311.htm
5) http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/250101.htm
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