Paganism; and the same distinction has always prevailed in the worship of the one true God. In the patriarchal ages the heads of families, and afterwards kings, acted as priests (b); and under the Mosaic dispensation a particular tribe was set apart for the service of the temple, by the express command of God himself, and the Jews were directed to use certain ceremonies in appointing the priests to their sacred office (c). Our Saviour selected from his followers the twelve Apostles, and afterwards the seventy disciples, whom he sent during his ministry to preach in Judæa; and after his resurrection he gave this commission and assurance to the Apostles: "Go and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you alway even unto the end of the ye, world." (b) Melchisedek was king of Salem, and likewise priest of the Most High God, Gen. c. 14. v. 18. In imitation of which antient usage, Virgil makes Anius both king and priest: Rex Anius, rex idem hominum Phœbique sacerdos. And Aristotle, speaking of the heroical ages, says, Στρατηγος ἦν και δικαστης, ὁ Βασιλευς και των προς τους Θεούς κύριος. (c) Ex. c. 28. v. 41. c. 29. v. 1 & 4. Lev. c. 8. v. 6. world (c)." Immediately after the ascension of our Saviour, St. Peter stated, upon the authority of prophecy, the necessity of appointing an Apostle in the room of Judas Iscariot; and the disciples, after praying to their Lord and Master for his assistance and direction, elected Matthias by lot (d); and their conduct in this proceeding was justified by the sanction of the Holy Ghost, who descended upon all the twelve Apostles, and enabled them to enter upon the great work of establishing the religion of Jesus. In tracing the rise and progress of the ministerial office, we may observe that the twelve Apostles, who, except Matthias, had received their commission from Christ himself, were at first the only preachers of the Gospel; and that their preaching was for some short time confined to the city of Jerusalem. Their success in making converts caused the concerns of the church so to increase, that they found it necessary to take from the disciples seven persons, to whom they gave the name of deacons (e), and assigned certain specific duties; and this was done by a regular choice and subsequent ordination from the Apostles themselves by the imposition of hands. About ten years after, we are told incidentally, that 1 (c) Matt. c. 28. v. 19 & 20. (d) Acts, c. 1, that there were elders or presbyters in the church at Jerusalem; but the time or occasion of their being appointed is not recorded, nor have we in the Acts any account of the peculiar duties of their office. It was not a new name; Elders are frequently mentioned, both in the Old and in the New Testament, as belonging to the Jewish conomy; and the elders, of whom we read in the Gospels, were probably members of the Sanhedrim or great council of the Jews; the Apostles, therefore, adopted this term, and applied it to those whom they appointed public preachers of the Gospel, and who were to form a sort of council for the management of the affairs of the Christian church. Both priests and deacons were of course subject to the Apostles while they remained at Jerusalem; and when the other Apostles left it, James the Less continued there for the purpose of superintending the general concerns of the Christians. He appears to have been the only one of the twelve Apostles who was stationary at any place: and it is evident that the constant residence of an Apostle at Jerusalem might be useful in many respects. The Acts give no account of the travels of the eleven Apostles; but they inform us that Paul and Barnabas ordained elders in every church (a), which implies a regular and formal (a) Acts, c. 14. v. 23. appoint appointment; and in the case of Timothy, before Paul took him to be his companion and assistant in propagating the Gospel, not only he himself, but the presbytery also, laid their hands upon him (b). When Christianity had made farther progress, different persons were appointed to preside over different churches, as Timothy over that at Ephesus, and Titus over those in Crete; and St. Paul gives both Timothy and Titus particular directions concerning the ordination of Bishops and Elders within their respective jurisdictions. He commands Timothy to "lay hands suddenly on no man (c)," that is, not to ordain any person till he was fully convinced of his fitness for the ministerial office; and he gives him this farther precept, which proves it was intended there should be a succession of ministers in the church; "The things which thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also (d)." And as authority and obedience must ever be reciprocal, we find the strictest injunctions in Scripture to Christians to obey their spiritual guides: "Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, (b) 1 Tim. c. 4. v. 14. (c) Tim. c. 5. v. 22. considering 2 Tim. c. 1. v. 6. (d) 2 Tim. c. 2. V. 2. considering the end of their conversation (e).""Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves; for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account (f)."—It is evident that these passages relate to the ministers of religion, and not to civil magistrates. If from Scripture we go to the writings of the apostolical fathers, we shall find the clearest proof of the continuance of the office and authority of ministers in their times. Polycarp mentions the dismissal of Valens from the presbytery: Clement of Rome speaks of the distinction between laity and clergy; and both he and Ignatius, in their Epistles, give frequent advice to the ministers on the one hand, to be diligent and discreet in the discharge of their sacred office, and to the congregations on the other, to be attentive and obedient to their pastors. There was, therefore, an order of clergy, in the days immediately after the Apostles; and of its existence in following ages no doubt has ever been entertained; it is fully proved, not only by Christian writers themselves, but by a variety of imperial laws made at different periods concerning the clergy. And thus we trace a regular and continued establishment of persons, to whom were committed the oracles of God, who were invested with authority to instruct the congregations intrusted (e) Heb. c. 13. v. 7. (f) Heb. c. 13. v. 17. to |