Category: episkopate
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Gospel Reading for 2024-11-23
Luke 10:19-20 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven. This is set…
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The Seven Great Ecumenical Councils
It’s really the beauty of the Seven Ecumenical Councils. They took the Fathers and the Scriptures and reached the conclusions we have today in the Church. The Trinity, the Deity of Christ, the selection of the canon, rejection of iconoclasts, and many others. It was all based on the pattern from the first council in…
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Lists of Apostles
Similarities and Differences in the lists of the names of the Apostles Matthew and Mark have the same names, in a different order to each other, and with some different details. The Synoptic Gospels match for the most part, but Luke has a different name for one of the apostles compared to Matthew and Mark. Matthew and…
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Philip the Evangelist was one of the Seven Deacons
The Apostles in Jerusalem Selected Seven Deacons There are two Philips in the Book of Acts. One of them is Philip who is one of the 12 apostles. The other Philip was selected as one of the seven Deacons in Acts 6. Act 6:5 And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen,…
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The Epistle of Ignatius to the Trallians – Early Church Structure
In Ignatius Chapter 8: He that is within the altar is pure, but he that is without is not pure; that is, he who does anything apart from the bishop, and presbytery, and deacons, such a man is not pure in his conscience. The Letters of Ignatius are very early. Hisg seven epistles preserved under…
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Elder = Bishop (Titus 1:5-7)
This passage equates the two Greek words, presbuterous (elders) and episkopon (bishop). Tit 1:5-7 For this reason I left you in Crete, that you would set in order what remains and appoint elders (πρεσβυτέρους) in every city as I directed you, namely, if any man is above reproach, the husband of one wife, having children…
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Ignatius and the bishop
Ignatius shows quite a different view but claims to be contemporaneous to the other texts. He presents a single bishop and multiple presbuteros (pastors/priests). In The Epistle of Ignatius to the Philadelphians Chapter 2, v 12, he writes: …attend to the bishop, and to the presbytery, and to the deacons…. There is some discussion of…
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Polycarp and the Presbuteros
Polycarp (in the Epistle of Polycarp to the Philippians) describes the duties of the presbuteros (bishops) in Chapter 6. Once again, the focus is not on a monarchical bishop, but on a local pastor: And let the presbyters be compassionate and merciful to all, bringing back those that wander, visiting all the sick, and not…
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Pastor, Priest, Bishop, Elder
Hard to believe but the four terms Pastor, Priest, Bishop, and Elder are all used interchangeably in the NT to describe the same function/office. PastorThe English word Pastor is only used once in the KJV: Eph 4:11 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and…
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Apostolic Succession in general
As someone examining the claims of the Eastern Orthodox church (EOC), the claim to apostolic succession (AS) by the EOC is an interesting subject. Wikipedia defines AS as: Apostolic succession is the doctrine in some of the more ancient Christian communions that the succession of bishops, in uninterrupted lines, is historically traceable back to the…
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Apostolic Succession in Sweden
It seems to me that the case of Sweden in this regard is interesting. In 1524, Pope Clement VII, in Rome, consecrated Petrus Magni bishop. Petrus Magni returned to Sweden as bishop of Västerås. In his turn, Petrus Magni, who was one of the last Catholic bishops in Sweden, consecrated Laurentius Petri bishop in 1531…