Vindication of the Government of New England Churches 2, Chapter 3
CHAP. III.
I SHALL proceed to diſtribute and enumerate the operations and immunities of the churches.
1. With relation to the peculiar acts of the officers.
2. The peculiar acts of the laity, or fraternity.
3. The joint acts of them both; as performing the work and buſineſs of an organic church, or compleat corporation. And,
4. I ſhall laſtly make ſome obſervations upon the union of diſtinct churches, by acts of ſiſterly fellowſhip or communion. And hereby I ſhall compleat the parallel, in the eſſentials of order, between the primitive churches, and thoſe of this country.
1. The peculiar acts of the officers or clergy. Under this head might be conſidered the functions of every particular order, and degree of the clergy; which we may ſay were according to the pureſt antiquity, but three, viz. biſhops, prieſts or preſbyters, and deacons. I ſhall principally conſider the biſhop as the chief officer in truſt and dignity, in the primitive church. And in order to it,
1. In general obſerve, that though there were ſome diſtinctions in point of a tetular dignity and degree between a biſhop and preſbyter; yet they were really equal in order, and in the nature of their truſt. For that in an eccleſiaſtical ſenſe, biſhop and preſbyters are ſynonimous terms, ſetting forth the ſame office; and ſignify no more but an elder, a paſtor, ruler, or overſeer of a church. Ignatius calls the apoſtles themſelves the preſbyters of the church; and Theodoret renders the reaſon of the appellation, for ſaith he, The holy ſcriptures called the chief men of Iſrael, the ſenate or elderſhip. Wilſ. Dict. And indeed according to the apoſtle himſelf, preſbyters, or elders, and biſhop…, are plainly terms of office; and of equal ſignification. As in Tit. i. 5, 7. For this cauſe left I thee in Crete, that thou ſhouldeſt—ordain elders—For a biſhop muſt be blameleſs, as the ſteward of God, &c.
In this diſ…ourſe I ſhall repreſent the biſhop in the ſenſe of the primitive chur…hes, as head and chief officer of the church; for according to Cyprian, there was but one biſhop, ſtrickly ſo called, in a church at a time, though at the ſame time there were many elders or preſbyters in the ſame church; and the biſhop in a peculiar manner was related to his flock, as a paſtor to his ſheep and a parent to his children. Cyp. Epiſt. 38. § 1. p. 90. And the titles of this ſupreme church officer, are moſt of them reckoned up in one place, in Cyp. Epiſt. 96. viz. Biſhop, paſtor, preſident, governor, ſuperintendant or prieſt. And this officer is he, which in the Revelation, is called, The angel of the church, as Origen thinks.
2. We may conſider more diſtinctly, the object of his care, or the dimenſions of the boſhops dioceſs. Its very obvious, that this great and ſuperior officer, as has been ſaid; had but one church under his paſtoral care. The dioceſſes government or dominion of theſe reverend prelates, are never (according to antiquity) ſaid to contain churches, in the plural, but only a church, in the ſingular number. And the biſhop was uſually called the biſhop of this or that church. As Tertullian ſaith, Polycarp was ordained biſhop of the church of Smyrna, &c. And moreever it is accurately to be obſerved, that the moſt frequent word uſed to denominate the extent of the biſhops care, or to ſet out the limits of his dioceſs, was that of a pariſh. So in the ſynodical epiſtle of Irenaeus to Victor. The biſhopricks of Aſia are called pariſhes: and in the hiſtory of Euſebius, the word is ſo applied in ſeveral hundred pla…es. It's very uſual there to read of biſhops of this and that pariſh. As the biſhop of the pariſh in Alexandria, the biſhop of the pariſh in Epheſus, and in Corinth, …c. For that the word Paroikia, which we render pariſh, ſignifies houſing, or living together. And in ordinary and civil uſe, it notes a village, ſmall town, or part of a town, of people or perſons dwelling together. And in a church ſenſe it ſignifies a competent number of chriſtians dwelling near together, and having one biſhop, paſtor or miniſter, or more ſet over them; with whom they meet at one time or place, to worſhip and ſerve God. So that pariſh in this ſenſe, is the ſame with a particular church or congregation. And this is plainly agreable with the ſenſe, cuſtom and platform of New-England churches.
3. That the biſhops dioceſs exceeded not the bounds of a pariſh, or a ſmall town, or part of a town, is very evident from the following demonſtrations, according to antiquity.
Demonſt. 1. For that all the people of a dioceſs did every Sunday, meet together in one place, to celebrate divine ſervice. Thus ſaith Juſtin Martyr, (Apol. 2. p. 98.) All aſſemble together in one place, where the biſhop preaches, and prays.
Demonſt. 2. The biſhop had but one alter, or communion-table in his dioceſs, at which his whole flock received the ſacrament from him. There is but one alter ſays Ignatius (Epiſt. ad Phila. p. 41.) as there is but one biſhop. So ſays Cyprian, we celebrate the ſacrament; the whole brotherhood being preſent. And thus it was in Juſtin Martyr's days. The biſhops whole dioceſs met together on Sunday, when the biſhop gave them the euchariſt.
Demonſt. 3. All the people of a dioceſs were preſent at church cenſures; as Origen deſcribes an offender, as appearing before the whole church. In Mat. T…m. 13▪ Page 133. vol. 1. So Clemens Romanus calls the cenſures of the church, the things commanded by the multitude.
Demonſt. 4. No offenders were reſtored again to the churches peace, without the knowledge and conſent of the whole dioceſs; they were to plead their cauſe before the whole people, &c.
Demonſt. 5. When the biſhop of a church was dead, all the people of that church met together in one place to chuſe a new biſhop. So Sabinus was choſen biſhop of Emetria, by the ſuffrage of all the brotherhood. The whole dioceſs of the biſhops did meet together to manage church affairs. Thus when the ſchiſm of Feliciſſimus, in the biſhoprick of Carthage was to be debated, it was to be done according to the will of the people, and by the conſent of the laity. And when there were ſome hot diſputes about the reſtitution of the lapſed, Cyprian promiſed his whole dioceſs, that all thoſe things ſhould be examined before them, and judged by them. So that from the premiſes, it is very evident, that that dioceſs cannot poſſibly be more than one ſingle congregation; nor that church more than a congregational church, where all the people and members of that church meet together at one time, and in one place to pray together, to receive the ſacrament together; aſſiſt at church-cenſures together, and diſpatch church affairs together. And it is very apparent, that this was the method and way of the primitive churches, according to the preceeding obſervations. And New-England churches harmonize exactly in their common practice, as tho' they had taken their directions from them.
4. The biſhops duty, or the ſeveral particular operations of his honourable office, were ſuch as theſe, viz. preaching of the word, praying with his people, adminiſtring the ſacraments, taking care of the poor, ordaining of miniſters, governing his flock, excommunicating of offenders, and abſolving of penitents. In a word, whatever can be comprized under thoſe three general heads of preaching, worſhip and government, were parts of the biſhops function and office. And this alſo is very agreable with our platform: Cap. 10. Sex. 8. The power which Chriſt hath committed to the elders, is to feed and rule the church of God, &c.