minate times, and hours. And therefore he has ordained, by his supreme will and authority, both where and by what persons, they are to be performed; that so all things being piously done unto all well-pleasing, they may be acceptable unto him."* Again: "The APOSTLES have preached to us from our Lord Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ from God. Christ therefore was sent from God; the apostles by Jesus Christ; so both were orderly sent, according to the will of God. For having received their command, and being thoroughly assured by the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ; and convinced by the word of God, with the full assurance of the Holy Spirit, they went abroad, publishing that the kingdom of God was at hand. And thus preaching through countries and cities, they appointed the first fruits of their conversions, to be BISHOPS and DEACONS over such as should afterwards believe, having first proved them by the spirit." This extract proves, that a ministry was established through divine influence in the church, and that there were two orders resident at Corinth, under the control of the apostles,t-some of whom were then living'; St. John and Clement, according to Dr. Cave, both dying in the same year. In less than fifty years after the writing of this Epistle, Hegesippus, travelling to Rome, was accompanied by Primus, then vested with the government of the church at Corinth as apostolic bishop.

Another witness to the fact of the apostolic establishment of three orders in the ministry, is Ignatius, who

* S. Clem. ad Cor. Epist. i. sec. xl.

† Ibid. sec. xlii. Cotel. pat. Apost. vol. i. p. 170-171. See also Slater's Draught, p. 213.-Skinner's Primitive Truth, p. 164. Quoted by Eusebius, L. 4. c. 22.

was appointed by the apostles themselves, apostolic Bishop of Antioch in Syria. He was martyred at Rome, in the early part of the second century. Great efforts have been made to destroy the credibility of his writings; apparently, because he is the first of the fathers who uses the names of bishop, presbyter, and deacon, as designating three distinct offices. His Epistles are, however, quoted by Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna, by Irenæus, Bishop of Lyons, by Eusebius, the father of Ecclesiastical History, and by Origen. Full testimony is borne to them by Eusebius, Chrysostom, Jerome, Theodoret, and Gelasius, fathers of the fourth century. The great body of the learned of all denominations, says Dr. Bowden,-acknowledge the shorter epistles, published by Archbishop Usher, and Vossius, to be genuine, and entirely free from those corruptions which are universally admitted to belong to the larger epistles.*

Two or three extracts, only, will be made from these epistles, and they are conclusive. "He that is within

* Unitarians also object to these Epistles that they savour too strong of the doctrine of the Trinity. There are, then, two cogent reasons why they should endeavour their destruction. But they have been advocated as genuine by Abp. Usher, Abp. Wake, Bp. Bull, Bp. Pearson, Dr. Cave, Cotelerius, Vossius, Grotius, Dupin, Petavius, Tillemont, Leclerc, Bochart, Fabricius, Dr. Hammond, and many others. See Horseley's Letters to Priestly, p. 34. Even Dr. Lardner says, "I do not affirm that there are in them any considerable corruptions, or alterations." Credibility of Gospel History, vol. 2. p. 69. Blondel, Daillé, Salmasius, and Albertinus acknowledge that we have the epistles which Eusebius had. Eusebius, L. 3. c. 32. Bowden, vol. 1. p. 174. Bp. White's Lectures, p. 457. Skinner, p. 166.

the altar is pure, but he that is without, that is, that does any thing without the bishop, and presbyters, and deacons, is not pure in his conscience." Ep. to Trallians, sect. 7. "See that ye all follow your bishop, as Jesus Christ, the father, and the presbytery, as the apostles, and reverence the deacons as the command of God. Let no man do any thing of what belongs to the church separately from the bishop." Ep. to Smyrnæans, sect. 8. "I salute your very worthy bishop, and your venerable presbytery, and your deacons, my fellow servants." Ibid. sect. 12.

The only remaining father of this early period, whose writings can be adduced in this controversy, is Polycarp; and all that is now extant of his writings, is an epistle to the church at Philippi, in which he does not himself speak of three distinct orders, yet he recommends to the Philippians, the above mentioned epistles of Ignatius, which, we have seen, are unequivocal on the subject.

Here then are two, if not three, witnesses testifying to the existence of Episcopacy in the early part of the second century. These men lived almost within the apostolic age; the last of them, indeed, is said to have conversed with the apostles; and Jerome says, he was consecrated bishop of Smyrna by St. John. There are no other christian writings of this period extant, except a few fragments preserved by other, and later fathers, which, however, contain no evidence on this subject.

Thus we have the testimony of scripture, to the apostolic establishment of Episcopacy, and the concurrence of all the christian writers of the first century,

who mention the subject, to its continuance to their time.

Irenæus, Bishop of Lyons in France, lived about seventy years after the last of the apostles. The Reviewer quotes Mr. Sparks as asserting that he was ordained by presbyters, but there is no evidence, that we have yet seen, by which this assertion can be supported. When but a presbyter he was sent with an account of the sufferings of the churches at Lyons and Vienne, to Eleutherus, Bishop of Rome. Pothinus, Bishop of Lyons, had just received martyrdom. Irenæus, either at Rome, or on his return, was consecrated his successor. He states, that the church of Rome was founded by the apostles, names the first twelve bishops, and then asserts,-"By this succession, that tradition in the church, and publication of the truth, which is from the apostles, is come to us.”—Book against Heresies, lib. iii. c. 3. Again-"The apostolic tradition is present in every church. We can enumerate those who were constituted bishops by the apostles, in the churches, and their successors, who taught no such thing. By showing the tradition, and declared faith of the most ancient church of Rome, which she received from the apostles and which is even come to us through the succession of bishops, we confound all who conclude otherwise than as they ought."-Ibid. Again We can reckon up to you those who were instituted bishops by the apostles themselves, to whom they committed the churches,left them their successors, delivering up to them their own proper place of mastership."-Ibid. Now let these passages be viewed in connection with what has been already stated from scripture and the early fathers.

Clement of Alexandria flourished about twenty years later than Irenæus. Having pointed out some texts of scripture as applicable to Christians in general, he says, "There are other precepts without number, some which relate to presbyters, others which belong to bishops, and others respecting deacons." Pædagog. L. iii. c. 12. Clement was a presbyter under Demetrius bishop of Alexandria.

Tertullian flourished about A. D. 200. He says"The chief or highest priest, who is the bishop, has the right of giving baptism, and after him the presbyters, and deacons, but not without the bishop's authority." (De Baptismo. c. 17.) The following extracts from the same father will illustrate the quotations above from Irenæus appealing to the rulers of the Roman Empire in favor of the persecuted Christians, he says, “We are but of yesterday, and we have filled your cities, islands, towns, and boroughs, the camp, the senate, and the forum. Our adversaries lament that every age, sex, and condition are converts to the name of Christ." (Apol. c. 37.) Again: speaking of many countries in which Christianity prevailed, he says, "In almost every city we form the greater part." (Ad Scap. c. 2.) "I do allow," says Paley,*" that these expressions are loose, and may be called declamatory. But even declamation hath its bounds; this public boasting, upon a subject which must be known to every reader, was not only useless but unnatural, unless the truth of the case, in a considerable degree, correspond with the descrip

* Works.--Boston Ed. Vol. ii. (Evidences) p. 330. See also Bowden, vol. iii. pp. 140--3.