CONTENTS.

SECTION I.

The ordinary officers at the demise of the apostles.

spurious. The Pastor of Hermas a forgery. The testimony

of Clement of Rome,

1

SECTION II.

The evidence furnished by Polycarp. The fragment of Papias,

7

SECTION III.

The disinterested representations of Justin Martyr. The letter of

the church of Smyrna. The fragment of Hegesippus,

SECTION IV.

Tatian. The letter of the churches of Vienne and Lyons. The

fragment of Melito. The writings of Athenagoras. The tract

of Hermias. The books of Theophilus of Antioch. The works

of Irenæus,

SECTION V.

The facts appearing in Clement of Alexandria.

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25

Novatian's writ-

ings in Tertullian and Cyprian. The testimony of Tertullian,

SECTION VI.

The letters ascribed to Ignatius are evidence of the third century.

A reply to Philo-Ignatius,

SECTION VII.

The dialogue of Minucius Felix. The writings of Hippolytus.

The testimony of Origen,

SECTION VIII.

The character and evidence of Cyprian,

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61

69

SECTION IX.

The epistle of Firmilian. The writings of Gregory Thaumaturgus.

The fragments of Methodius. The seven books of Arnobius.

The writings of Lactantius,

The origin and history of councils prior to A.D. 787,

The important writings of Athanasius. The six books of Optatus.

The testimony and sufferings of Aerius,

SECTION XIV.

The writings of Basil the Great. The life and writings of Gregory

of Nazianzum. The works of Gregory of Nyssa, the brother of

Basil,

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127

The works of Epiphanius the imbecile Metropolitan of Cyprus.

His testimony of the Apostolical Constitutions,

SECTION XVII.

The supposititious writings of Dionysius the Areopagite. The vol-

uminous writings of John, since called Chrysostom. The frag-

ments of letters of Isidore of Pelusium,

SECTION XVIII.

The works of the learned Jerom,

SECTION XIX.

The ten tomes and supplement of Augustine of Numidia. The

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153

162

remaining writings of Synesius of Ptolemais. The history, epis-

tles, dialogues, &c. of Sulpicius Severus.

SECTION XX.

The writings of John Cassian of Marseilles.

The history of So-

crates of Constantinople. The nine books of Sozomen of Pal-

estine. The writings of Theodoret of Antioch,

SECTION XXI.

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188

The writings and ambitious efforts of Pope Leo the first,

198

SECTION XXII.

SEPARATISTS OF THE EIGHTH AND TWELFTH CENTURIES.

The Piedmontese a part of the Latin church, A. D. 817. They

were episcopal at the death of Claude. The history of the ori-

gin and progress of the Bohemians.

sprang from the followers of Claude,

The Waldenses of France

SECTION XXIII.

THE HISTORY OF ORDINATIONS.

The extraordinary offices of Apostle and evangelist were not by

ordination. There were no ordinations but of presbyters and

deacons. The first diocesan bishops were not constituted by im-

position of hands. Canonical ordinations arose after the second

century,

SECTION XXIV.

LAY ELDERS EXCLUDED BY EPISCOPACY.

The Syrian churches, Waldenses and Culdees were all episcopal.
Lay elders were introduced at Geneva, by a compromise. Af-
terwards adopted by other cantons; also in France, Nether-
lands, Scotland, England, and America,

SECTION XXV.

The primitive state of the church having been sought from credible

witnesses of the facts, without regard to their opinions, or hear-

says; and the changes marked from the commencement of the

second to the termination of the fifth century, and having seen

the successive introduction of parochial and diocesan episco-

pacy, the canonical ordination and human authority of the latter,

and the creation of quasi presbyters by Calvin, we are prepared

better to understand the New Testament by the rejection of these

novelties. But bishops are by some supposed to be the succes-

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ment.

sors of the evangelists, and Timothy is made bishop of Ephesus.

-How Timothy received authority and for what purpose. An

evangelist before he came to Ephesus. He was left by Paul at

Ephesus, the last time Paul was there, Timothy having returned

thither after Paul's first letter to the Corinthians. Timothy left

Ephesus after ordaining presbyters there, and came to Paul in

Macedonia, before his return to Jerusalem and first imprison-

The first letter to Timothy was before he left Ephesus to

go to Paul in Macedonia, and instructed him in choosing and or-

daining the presbyters. He accompanied Paul to Jerusalem and

Rome, where he was during the Apostle's first imprisonment.

The second letter to Timothy was written during the second im-

prisonment, and discovers that Timothy was not then at Ephe-

sus; it calls him to Rome; and it no where appears that Timothy

ever returned to Ephesus after ordaining the elders there,

SECTION XXVI.

TITUS WAS ALSO AN EXTRAORDINARY OFFICER, AND NOT A

BISHOP OF CRETE.

He was Paul's attendant or evangelist, before the Gospel was

carried to Crete.-Apollos is named in the epistle to Titus, but

as they first saw Apollos on Paul's last visit to Ephesus, it was.

written after that visit. Every movement of Paul, from the riot

at Ephesus unto his first imprisonment, is given, and events show

he did not leave him in Crete before he went to Rome.-His let-

ters from Rome discover that Titus was not with him during his

first imprisonment, and of course he could not have left him in

Crete on his return from Rome.-Titus had been with Paul at Je-

rusalem, but after separating from Barnabas, he was no more

with Paul till his second visit to Ephesus; probably he was sent

with the letter to the Galatians,and met Paul at Ephesus on his last

visit there, from whence Paul sent him to Corinth, and he came

to Paul in Macedonia, and was sent back to Corinth.-At some

period after his first imprisonment, they may have gone to Crete;

and Titus being left there, received this letter as a discharge from

thence, when a substitute arrived. He was at Nicopolis one win-

ter with Paul; and the Scriptures leave him in Dalmatia,

SECTION XXVII.

THE FIXED STATE, AND ORDINARY OFFICERS OF THE PRIMI-

TIVE CHURCHES.

Under the spiritual dispensation of the gospel, the extraordinary

officers were the apostles, to confer gifts and teach by means of

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the inspiration of suggestion; the evangelists, to plant and water

churches; prophets, with occasional inspiration to explain the

Scriptures.-The gifts are described, 1 Cor. xii. 28; Rom. xii.

6-8; Ephes. iv. 11, 12.-Officers qualified to administer ordi-

nances, succeeded the extraordinary gifts, and churches, which

were Christian societies, were substituted for the synagogues. But

two orders or kinds were adopted-presbyters, who were called

also pastors, to teach, ordain, administer baptism and the euchar-

ist, and to govern, and deacons to serve.-Among the presbyters,

a bench of which was at first in every church, and but one pres-

bytery in a society or city, there was one who presided, denomi-

nated pools, angel, and by other names; yet the ordination

was not different from that of the rest.-The first change was by

a gradual transition into pastoral or parochial episcopacy, after-

wards into diocesan.-This was established by the Council of

Nice, and at length produced papacy,

LITURGICAL CONSIDERATIONS,

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