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be, and certainly were from the beginning, many Presbyters. Therefore, the Presbyters ordained in every Church must be different persons from the Bishop, of whom Ignatius is speaking; otherwise his authority militates against that of St. Luke: consequently, the high authority of which the Professor seems here desirous of availing himself, does not apply to the point which that authority is brought to prove.

But the Professor, with the view of establishing the ground on which the whole strength of his congregational system is built, proceeds to amuse his pupils with an imaginary description of the Primitive Church, during the three first centuries; I call it imaginary, because the plain evidence of facts, if produced, would be found at complete variance with it. After having observed to his pupils, that previous to the building magnificent edifices for the reception of Christian assemblies, the best accommodation, for more than a century, was the private houses of the wealthiest disciples, on which account the congregations, for more than a cen

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tury, could not be numerous: the Professor proceeds to calculate the number of Christians in the places where the Apostles planted Churches, to amount to one thirtieth of the people: and on the ground of this calculation, (the offspring of the Professor's own imagination,) he concludes, that "one of the primitive Bishoprics, in order to afford a congregation equal to that of a middling parish, ought to have been equal in extent to thirty parishes in this island."

Had the Professor wished to enable his pupils to form a decided judgement on the actual state of the Primitive Church, the Bible would have furnished him with authentic testimony on the subject; and it seems somewhat singular that a Professor, reading Lectures on Ecclesiastical History, should unnecessarily lead his pupils into the field of imaginary conjecture, or should prefer the authority of Bingham and Tillemont, whose testimony at best does not bear directly on the point in question, to that of St. Luke. But when the reader shall have placed St. Luke's testimony be

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fore him, he may perhaps be at no loss for the reason of its having been passed over in silence.

The Church of Jerusalem was the first founded by the Apostles; in conformity with the express direction of our Saviour before he left the world. Luke xxiv. 47.— Of this Church, according to the testimony of Hegesippus and other early writers, St. James was appointed Bishop by the Apos tles themselves. The number of Disciples first assembled together at Jerusalem, (mentioned in Acts i. 15.) amounted to one hundred and twenty. To these were soon added three thousand souls. Acts ii. 41. And to this number we read (v. 47.) "the Lord daily added." Proceeding with the History of this Mother Church, we find Acts iv. 4. the number of its members increased to five thousand. And believers, both of men and women, were still adding to the Church. Acts v. 14. "Still the word of God (we read Acts vi. 7.) increased; and the number of Disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly;" insomuch, that in a few years we find, on St. Paul's return from his commission to the Gentiles, these thousands

sands of converted Jews were described by the multiplied number of myriads.

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pupiades εioiv." Acts xxi. 21. These myriads of Christian converts could not assemble together; for if such a thing had been ` practicable, there was no building for the purpose; their best accommodation, for more than a century, being, according to the Professor's admission, private houses. From whence it follows, that the Bishop of Jerusalem must have had many congregations of Christians under his superintendance at a time, and consequently many Presbyters officiating under him for the discharge of ministerial purposes. And St. Luke's History confirms this representation; for when St. Paul went in unto James, the Bishop of Jerusalem, for the purpose of making his report relative to the success of his Mission to the Gentiles, "all the Presbyters (we read) were present." Acts xxi. 18. ...

To this testimony of the inspired Penman may be added that of Tertullian, who lived most of his time in the second century; who in his Apology to the Roman Magistrates, which was written about the

year

year 200, glories in the multitude of Christian Professors. "We (says he) are

of yesterday; * yet every place is filled with us; your cities, the islands, the forts, your corporations, the councils, the armies, the tribes and companies: yea, the palace, senate, and courts of justice; your temples only have we left free. Should we go off and separate from you, you would stand amazed at your own desolation, be affrighted at the stop and deadness of affairs amongst you: and you would have more enemies than subjects left you." And in his Treatise addressed to the persecuting Scapula, he fairly tells him, which he would not have ventured to have done, had not the fact been true, that so great was the multitude of Christians, that they constituted "almost the greatest part of every City:" Pars pane

* "Hesterni sumus, et vestra omnia implevimus; urbes, insulas, castella, municipia, conciliabula, castra ipsa, tribus, decurias, palatium, senatum, forum: sola vobis reliquimus templa." Tertull. Apol. p. 33. cap. 37. Si tanta vis hominum in aliquem orbis remoti sinum abrupissemus a vobis,-procul dubio expavissetis ad solitudinem vestram, ad silentium verum, et stuporem queudam quasi mortui orbis." Ib. ib.

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