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addressed, in like manner, to a single church-to the church at Corinth, at Philippi, at Ephesus, at Smyrna, &c. Neither is the word church ever used by the early fathers in a generic sense, for a national or provincial church, as we speak of the church of England, or of Scotland. The fact is so indisputable, that no time need be wasted in proof of it. But it is worthy of particular attention, as illustrative of the nature of a bishop's office. It presents his duties and his office in total contrast with those which prelacy assigns to bishops. It reveals the primitive bishop to us merely as a parish minister.

"Now as one bishop is invariably considered, in the most ancient usage, as having only one exzhŋoia, it is manifest that his inspection at first was only over one parish. Indeed, the words congregation and parish are, if not synonymous, predicable of each other. The former term relates more properly to the people as actually congregated, the other relates to the extent of ground which the dwelling houses of the members of one congregation occupy. Accordingly, the territory to which the bishop's charge extended, was always named, in the period I am speaking of, in Greek nagoızla, in Latin parochia, or rather paræcia, which answers to the English word parish, and means properly a neighborhood." 107

In the sense above stated, the word in question is said to be used at least six hundred times in the writings of Eusebius alone. Such continued to be the bishop's charge down to the fourth century.

(b) It is admitted by Episcopalians themselves, that the diocese of a primitive bishop comprised only a single church.

On this point the authority of the late Dr. Burton,

107 Campbell's Lectures, pp. 106, 107.

regius professor at Oxford, is equally explicit and unexceptionable. In his history of the church at the beginning of the second century, he says: -"The term diocese was not then known; though there may have been instances where the care of more than one congregation was committed to a single bishop, of which we have a very early example in all the Cretan churches being entrusted by Paul to Titus. The name which was generally applied to the flock of a single pastor, was one from which our present word parish is derived, which signified his superintendence over the inhabitants of a particular place." 108

Again, at the commencement of the third century, "The term diocese, as has been observed in a former chapter, was of later introduction, and was borrowed by the church from the civil constitution of the empire. At the period which we are now considering, a bishop's diocese was more analogous to a modern parish, and such was the name which it bore. Each parish had, therefore, its own bishop, with a varying number of presbyters, or priests and deacons." 109

"As for the word diocese, by which the bishop's flock is now expressed, I do not remember that ever I found it used in this sense by any of the ancients. But there is another word still retained by us, by which they frequently denominated the bishop's cure; and that is parish,"110 Every bishop had but one congregation or church. This is a remark which deserves your particular notice; as it regards an essential point in the constitution of the primitive church, a point which is generally admitted by those who can make any pretensions to the knowledge of Christian antiquities.... Now as one bishop is invariably considered

108 History of the Christian Church, p. 179. 109 Ibid., pp. 263, 264. 110 King's Primitive Church, p. 15.

in the most ancient usage as having only one εκκλησία, church, it is manifest that his inspection, at first, was only one parish."111 Instead, therefore, of presiding over myriads of his fellow-men with authority, which even princes might envy, this your ancient bishop was nothing more than a humble parish minister, having the charge of some little flock over whom he had been duly appointed an overseer in the service of the chief Shepherd.

(c) The Christians, under the charge of these ancient bishops, all were accustomed to meet in one place, like the people of a modern parish or congregation.

This is incontrovertibly evident from the fathers of the second, and even of the third century, such as the writings of Ignatius,112 Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Tertullian and Cyprian. "Now, from the writings of those fathers, it is evident that the whole flock assembled in the same place. ên tò autò, with their bishop and presbyters, as on other occasions, so in particular, every Lord's-day, or every Sunday, as it was commonly called, for the purposes of public worship, hearing the Scriptures read, and receiving spiritual exhortations. The perseverance in this practice is warmly recommended by the ancients, and urged on all the Christian brethren, from the consideration of the propriety there is, that those of the same church and parish, and under the same bishop, should all join in one prayer and one supplication, as people who have one mind and one hope. For, it is argued, 'if the prayer of one or two have great efficacy, how much more efficacious must that be which is made by the bishop and the whole church. He, therefore, who doth not assemble with him is denomi

111 Campbell's Lectures, pp. 105, 106.

112 For a purpose like the present, we may safely appeal to Ignatius; for though the work may be reasonably suspected to have been interpolated to aggrandize the Episcopal order, it was never suspected of any interpolation with a view to lessen it.

nated proud and self-condemned.'113 Again, as there was but one place of meeting, so there was but one communion table or altar, as they sometimes metaphorically called it. 'There is but one altar,' said Ignatius, 'for there is but one bishop;'114 and accordingly, one place of worship. To this may be added the authority of Stillingfleet. "For although when the churches increased, the occasional meetings were frequent in several places, yet still there was but one church, and one altar, and one baptistry, and one bishop, with many presbyters assisting him; and this is so very plain in antiquity, as to the churches planted by the apostles themselves in several parts, that none but a stranger to the history of the church can ever call it in question.” 115

We have here another illustration of the parochial Episcopacy, which, in the ancient church, restricted the labors of the minister of Christ to a single church and congregation.

(d) All under his charge were, in some instances, as familiarly known unto their bishop himself, as are the people of a parish to their pastor.

Polycarp, for example, bishop of Smyrna, is exhorted by Ignatius to know all of his church by name, even the menservants and maid-servants; to take care of the widows within his diocese; to take cognizance personally of all marriages; and to suffer nothing to escape his notice.116

113 Εἰ γὰρ ἑνὸς καὶ δευτέρω προσευχὴ τοσαύτην ἰσχὺν ἔχει, πόσῳ μᾶλλον ἥ τε τῇ ἐπισκόπε καὶ πάσης ἐκκλησίας; Ο εν μὴ ἐρχόμενος ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτὸ, καὶ ἑαυτὸν διέκρινεν.—Εp. ad Eph., c. 5. 114 Εν θυσιαςήριον ὡς ἕῖς ἐπίςκοπος. Εp. ad Phil., c. 8. Campbell's Lectures, p. 109.

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115 Stillingfleet, Serm. against Separat., p. 27, cited by Clarkson, p. 17. 116 Εξ ονόματος πάντας ζήτει. Δύλες καὶ δέλας μὴ ὑπερη φάνει· Χῆναι μὴ ἀμελείσθωσαν. Πρέπει δὲ τοῖς γαμῦσι καὶ ταῖς γαμημέναις, μετὰ γνώμης τῇ ἐπισκόπε τὴν ἕνωσιν ποιεῖσθαι. Μηδὲν ἄνευ γνωμης σε γινέσθω. Ignatius ad Polycarp, c. 4, 5.

All this evidently requires of the bishop a personal acquaintance with the people of his charge, even more familiar, and a personal supervision over them more minute, than that of the pastor of a single parish in any of our cities. Even the bishop of Tyre had a diocese so small that he had a personal knowledge of the Christians within it.117 Carthage, again, was one of the largest cities in the world; and yet Cyprian, the bishop of that city, made it a duty to have a familiar acquaintance with all his people, and to provide for the needy and destitute among them.118 To such primitive Episcopacy as this who can object?

(e) So many bishops are found in a single territory of limited extent, that no one could have exercised jurisdiction beyond the bounds of a single parish.

Take, for example, a single province, that of Africa; and in doing this, I am happy to avail myself of the inquiries of another. "The testimony of Du Pin on this point, himself a prelatist, is invaluable. He describes, in the first place, the ancient province of Africa, as nearly commensurate with the modern Barbary States, and then proceeds to remark as follows:

"All this tract, both before and after the subjection of the Romans, contained an almost countless number of people. There were found cities, towns, boroughs, military stations (castellis), and villages, both of natives and colonists, in great number; and, by the fertility of the soil, and abundance of its produce, as well as by mercantile trade, it became very wealthy. Hence we find so great a

117 Schoene, Geschichtsforschungen, III, p. 336.

118 Cumque ego vos pro me vicarios miserim ut expungeretis necessitates fratrum nostrorum sumptibus, si qui vellent suas artes exercere, additamento quantum satis esset desideria eorum juvaretis, simul etiam et aetates eorum et conditiones et merita discerneretis; ut etiam nunc ego, cui cura incumbit omnes optimè nosse et dignos quosque, et humiles et mites ad ecclesiasticae administrationis officia promoverem.-Ep. 38, p. 5F.

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