HIERARCHY
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HIERARCHY
supply all that is wanting. The Divine institution of
the threefold hierarchy cannot of course be derived
from our texts ; in fact it cannot in any way be proved
directly from the New Testament; it is Catholic dogma
l>y virtue of dogmatic tradition, i. e. in a later period
of ecclesiastical liistory the general belief in the Divine
institution of the episcopate, presbyterate, and dia-
conate can be verified and thence be followed on
through the later centuries. But this dogmatic truth
cannot be traced back to Christ Himself by analysis of
strictly historical testimony.
(S) Position of the Superiors. — When a person of his own free choice offers himself for an office, it does not immediately follow that his acknowledgment by the commimity is entirely free; this latter point has to be positively proved. For the offer may simply be the occasion or a necessary condition that enables some one exercising authority over the community to accept this proposal, to appoint the applicant and to communicate to him the necessary faculties. The approbation by the community may be a further con- dition, or a privilege to be respected or disregarded, or finally it may be altogether wanting. Nor is it true that every "ethical" office lia.sed on a free offer and free approbation lacks by its very nature all juridical validity; on the contrary, the offer and the acknowl- edgment produce of themselves a peculiar legal status. If one wants to assert the contrary — of course, a purely personal authority unsupported by any legal power is possible — he has to prove this theory just as he must prove each of the above-mentioned juridi- cal elements, by a positive argumentation from the sources. After these introductory remarks, we pro- ceed to the examination of all the texts. Acts, xiv, 22, mentions the appointment of presbyters in Lyca- onia by Paul and Barnabas. The truth of this state- ment cannot, of course, be shaken by simply remark- ing that Paul did not appoint superiors in other places. It is likely that, on his very first Apostolic journey, Paul placed superiors at the head of his newly- founded Churches, who assumed the title then in use among the Jews; to this measure he was probably led by the example of the Jewish communities of the Dia- spora or perhaps of the Christian circles in Palestine.
It was looked upon as a natural and obvious step by the inhabitants of Asia Minor who, Jews and Gentiles alike, were accustomed to a religious authority. In some cases unfortunate experiences may have moved St. Paul to desist from this measure. However, the fourteenth chapter of the Acts does not allow any fur- ther conclusion than this: Paul at his departure from southern Asia Minor left there for special reasons a governing body of some kind or other, endowed with certain administrative rights over the communities. The two facts that in the early Christian literature the elders (Tvpea^vTipoi) are frequently contrasted with the younger members (nedrepoi) and that, as late as the third century. Christians who have suffered for the Faith are given the honorary title of presbyter (cf. Duchesne, "Bulletin crit.", 1891, 43 sq.), make it probable that in the earliest times the presbyterate was frequently, though not perhaps exclusively, an honorary title and not the name of an office. The name may have been borrowed from the Jewish pres- byters, or perhaps from the Gentile presbyters — offi- cials of Asia Minor. It is of course understood that from this we cannot conclude that their sphere of activity was the same. Such an analogy if made would only suggest new riddles. For the Jewish pres- byters in Palestine had a position quite different from those of the Diaspora. Now which of the two was the model for the Christians? Since therefore the name elder (presbyter) is altogether of a general nature, since our sources remain silent, since furthermore con- clusions based on what we know of later times are un- reliable in this particular case and the analogies drawn from the environment furnish no definite result, we
may say that the Christian presbyters of the earliest
period cannot be accurately defined. In some places
they were certainly the forerunners of the later pres-
byters; in others, of the bishops, or of the bishops and
deacons; in others still, they formed but a provisional
government for the regulation and administration of
affairs, or they were the representatives of the com-
munity in its external relations. Those who pretend
to know more cannot appeal to the sources. Nor is it
admissible sini|)ly to generalize from the institution in
Asia Minor and make it a type, as Ramsay has done
("St. Paul the Traveller and' the Roman Citizen," 7th
ed., London, 1903, 121 sq.). If, therefore, we take
this governing body of the presbyters in the wider
sense mentioned above, then there is not the slightest
reason to iloulit that this appointment of presbyters
by Paul about a. d. 50 did actually take place. We
do not deny that all the.se "elders" were presbyters
or bishops in the later sense of these words; but from
the sources nothing certain can be derived.
The Texts of the Epistles of St. Paul. — ICor.,xvi, 1.5, 16. Steplianas and his household being the "first- fruits of Achaia " have dedicated themselves (iraiav favTois) to the ministrj' of the community. Paul bids the Corinthians to subject themselves to them (JjiToTaaff-qaBe), as also to everyone who offers his service and co-operation. The whole character of the text depicts mutual relations that are an outcome more of free-will and kindness than of strictly juridical condi- tions. The Epistle to the Romans (xii, 8) mentions among the prominent memljers of the liody of Christ him that ruleth (6 irpoXaTdfupos) and adds furthermore that he ought to rule with carefulness. Of course, the singular is here no criterion; it has the same force as in the two phrases " he that giveth " and "he that shew- eth mercy". The text has a meaning only if Paul suppo.ses the existence of one or more rulers in Rome. In chap, v of the First Epistle to the Thessalonians (12, 13), the faithful are asked to know {eloiyat, ac- knowledge), to love and to have peace with those who labour among them (KOTriu^Tas iv vp-'iv), who are over them in the Lonl {ir poinTaiiivovi) , and who admonish them (vovdiTovvra^). Here we see that acknowledg- ment does not create the prerogatives of superiors. There were therefore at Corinth heads of families who, partly because they had been the first to accept the Gospel, offered themselves for the service of the com- munity. How they were appointed to office we are not told. The proistamenoi at Thessalonica and Rome pos.sess, according to all appearances, a more official character. One must not forget that some of these results are merely negative. They do not justify us in denying that there were other institutions of which nothing is said. The name proistamenos is not an offi- cial title: Paul speaks of them as we speak of heads, directors, or superiors. Whether they had an official name from the beginning we do not know. The name presbyter is certainly more definite. As to the ques- tion whether all these superiors were inducted into office by imposition of hands with prayer, see the re- mark made by us concerning the presljyters of Pales- tine. The prayer accompanying the imposition of hands expressed of course in only the most general terms the kind of activity they were to exercise. The persons thus "consecrated" were according to the Catholic idea ipso facto presbyters or bishops in the later sense of the words.
(9) Position of the .\postolic Fellow-Labourers. — In the first group of texts the following persons are mentioned: Andronicus and Junias (the latter is probably also a man, not a woman): Rom., xvi, 7. Apollo coadjutor: I Cor., iii, 4, 9, cf. v. 6 and i, 12 etc.; together with Paul, Apollo is minister of Christ and dispenser of the mysteries of God, I Cor., iv, i (cf. Acts, xviii, 24 sq.; xix, 1). Aquila and Prisca (Pris- cilla) : the Church which is in their house is mentioned, Rom., xvi, 5, and I Cor., xvi, 19 (cf. Acts, xviii, 1-3;
