ORIGINAL BISHOPS
Office and Order in the
First Christian Communities
Alistair C. Stewart
a division of Baker Publishing Group
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Published by Baker Academic
a division of Baker Publishing Group
P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC.
All translations of Scripture and other ancient writings are the author’s own unless otherwise indicated.
For the churchwardens and parishioners
of The Bridge Parishes
who were not deceived
who refreshed me often
Introduction: Defining the Field of Inquiry and the Terminology Employed
1. On Episkopoi and Presbyteroi
The Alleged Synonymy of Episkopos and Presbyteros
The Evidence for Synonymy Explained in Terms of Federation
2. The Economic Functions of Episkopoi and Diakonoi
The Economic Functions of Episkopoi
Alternative Jewish Sources for the Office of Episkopos
The Economic Functions of Diakonoi
3. Presbyters in Early Christian Communities
The Hypothesis of the Jewish Origin of Presbyters
A Non-Jewish Origin for Christian Presbyters
Presbyters and Episkopoi in Early Christian Communities
Patronal Groups Not Designated as Presbyters
4. Presbyters and Episkopoi in Emerging Christian Communities
Christian Leadership in Egypt beyond Alexandria
Presbyteral Church Order in Jerusalem?
The Asian Communities Addressed by Ignatius
5. The Causes of Monepiscopacy
Monepiscopacy as Centralization
Verschmelzung as an Explanation of Monepiscopacy
Institutionalization as an Explanation of Monepiscopacy
Scholasticization as an Explanation of Monepiscopacy
External Pressure as a Cause of Centralization
A Concluding Unscientific Postscript
What follows is an account of the rise of the monepiscopate. As a historian, I seek simply to present the evidence on the basis of which a story may be told, from which readers may draw their own conclusions. I may clarify now, however, that throughout the work “monepiscopate” is defined not as a system of ecclesiastical governance in which there is one episkopos, but as a system in which an episkopos has responsibility for more than one congregation and has subordinate ministers in those congregations. The reason for the distinction will become clear as the argument unfolds.
I was not always so modest as simply to present a narrative. ...
|
About The Original Bishops: Office and Order in the First Christian CommunitiesThis work provides a new starting point for studying the origins of church offices. Alistair Stewart, a leading authority on early Christianity and a meticulous scholar, provides essential groundwork for historical and theological discussions. Stewart refutes a long-held consensus that church offices emerged from collective leadership at the end of the first century. He argues that governance by elders was unknown in the early centuries and that bishops emerged at the beginning of the church; however, they were nothing like bishops of a later period. The church offices as presently known emerged in the late second century. Stewart debunks widespread assumptions and misunderstandings, offers carefully nuanced readings of the ancient evidence, and fully interacts with pertinent secondary scholarship. |
| Support Info | originalbishops |