From charism to office: church government in the Apostolic Fathers, Irenaeus, Tertullian and Cyprian

Overview

Cyprian's central statement about the bishop and the church and cyprian's teaching that the episcopate is one.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   What does 1 Clement argue about the deposed presbyters at Corinth?

   Model answer

   1 Clement argues that the apostles appointed bishops and deacons and laid down that on their death other approved men should succeed to their ministry. Removing such men from office when they have served blamelessly is therefore not a local matter of preference but an offence against an order that goes back to the apostles.

2. 2

   Why is 1 Clement important evidence for the state of church order around AD 96?

   Model answer

   The letter still uses bishop and presbyter interchangeably, so it does not know a single ruling bishop even at Corinth. It nevertheless argues for succession in office, which shows that the idea of an authorised line predates the emergence of the one bishop.

3. 3

   What stage of development does the Didache reflect?

   Model answer

   The Didache tells its readers to appoint for themselves bishops and deacons who are worthy, and not to despise them since they perform the ministry of the prophets and teachers. The instruction shows a church whose itinerant charismatic ministers are giving way to settled local officers, with some reluctance.

4. 4

   What does Polycarp's letter to the Philippians suggest about church order in his time?

   Model answer

   Polycarp addresses the presbyters and deacons of Philippi and mentions no bishop there, although he was himself bishop of Smyrna. The letter therefore shows that the single bishop had not spread uniformly, even between neighbouring provinces.

5. 5

   What did Ignatius contribute to the theory of the bishop's authority?

   Model answer

   Ignatius argued that the bishop presides in the place of God, with the presbyters as the council of the apostles and the deacons entrusted with the ministry of Christ, and that nothing should be done in the church apart from him. Church order is thus given a theological rather than a merely practical justification.

6. 6

   How does Irenaeus use the bishops in his argument against heresy?

   Model answer

   Irenaeus argues that the churches founded by the apostles can name the men who have held their teaching chairs in unbroken order, and that this public line guarantees that what they teach is what the apostles taught. Bishops are therefore valuable to him primarily as witnesses to a tradition open to inspection, not as rulers.

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