metis
aged ecumenical anthropologist
No, the Apostles appointed bishops to succeed them in the various churches that they founded. Hence the qualifications for electing bishops that St. Paul gives to Timothy in 1 Timothy 3.
This is a good argument against the Roman Papacy. However, it fails to account that the people in the churches eventually organized themselves along regional lines, so as to more efficiently keep the house clean, as it were. The only reason the Pope of Rome is as powerful as he is, is because he was the only major bishop in the West after about the 300's, so he was able to develop his power and jurisdiction over the Christian West in a vacuum. This peculiarity only became more solidified after the fall of the Western half of the Roman Empire.
Really? The Apostles sure considered themselves the spiritual fathers of their children.
Taking this from 1 Corinthians 4:14-15, 14 I do not write these things to shame you, but as my beloved children I warn you. For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.
Galatians 4:19, My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you,
In 1 John 2:1, St. John says this: My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. St. John constantly calls them his children throughout the epistle. And further in that same chapter:
12 I write to you, little children,
Because your sins are forgiven you for His names sake.
13 I write to you, fathers,
Because you have known Him who is from the beginning.
I write to you, young men,
Because you have overcome the wicked one.
I write to you, little children,
Because you have known the Father.
14I have written to you, fathers,
Because you have known Him who is from the beginning.
The Apostles most certainly did consider themselves teachers and fathers of their flocks, but this was not in contradiction to Christ's commands. Christ's commands refer to taking mortal men as teachers and fathers over and above God.
LOL! Are you seriously saying that the words we have in 1 Timothy 3, 1 Timothy 5, and Acts 6 didn't exist back in the 1st century?
After being ordained, yes--the Apostles didn't just take volunteers. They ordained them by laying hands on them. See Acts 6:1-6:
Now in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplying, there arose a complaint against the Hebrews by the Hellenists,[a] because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution. 2 Then the twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples and said, It is not desirable that we should leave the word of God and serve tables. 3 Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business; 4 but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word. 5 And the saying pleased the whole multitude. And they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch, 6 whom they set before the apostles; and when they had prayed, they laid hands on them.
What? Do you know even rudimentary Greek?
Philippians 1:1:
Παῦλος καὶ Τιμόθεος δοῦλοι Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ πᾶσιν τοῖς ἁγίοις ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ τοῖς οὖσιν ἐν Φιλίπποις σὺν ἐπισκόποις καὶ διακόνοις:
Or in English:
Paul and Timothy, bondservants of Jesus Christ,To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops[a] (lit. overseers) and deacons:
And in 1 Timothy 3:
1Πιστὸς ὁ λόγος: εἴ τις ἐπισκοπῆς ὀρέγεται, καλοῦ ἔργου ἐπιθυμεῖ. 2δεῖ οὖν τὸν ἐπίσκοπον ἀνεπίλημπτον εἶναι, μιᾶς γυναικὸς ἄνδρα, νηφάλιον, σώφρονα, κόσμιον, φιλόξενον, διδακτικόν, . . . 8Διακόνους ὡσαύτως σεμνούς, μὴ διλόγους, μὴ οἴνῳ πολλῷ προσέχοντας, μὴ αἰσχροκερδεῖς, . . . 12διάκονοι ἔστωσαν μιᾶς γυναικὸς ἄνδρες, τέκνων καλῶς προϊστάμενοι καὶ τῶν ἰδίων οἴκων:
And in 1 Timothy 5:
1Πρεσβυτέρῳ μὴ ἐπιπλήξῃς, ἀλλὰ παρακάλει ὡς πατέρα, νεωτέρους ὡς ἀδελφούς, 2πρεσβυτέρας ὡς μητέρας, νεωτέρας ὡς ἀδελφὰς ἐν πάσῃ ἁγνείᾳ.
You might want to look at your Bible again. I've already posted the English for these verses. You can't argue with the Greek.
And in 1 Peter 5:1-3, St. Peter says the following:
1Πρεσβυτέρους οὖν ἐν ὑμῖν παρακαλῶ ὁ συμπρεσβύτερος καὶ μάρτυς τῶν τοῦ Χριστοῦ παθημάτων, ὁ καὶ τῆς μελλούσης ἀποκαλύπτεσθαι δόξης κοινωνός: 2ποιμάνατε τὸ ἐν ὑμῖν ποίμνιον τοῦ θεοῦ [,ἐπισκοποῦντες] μὴ ἀναγκαστῶς ἀλλὰ ἑκουσίως κατὰ θεόν, μηδὲ αἰσχροκερδῶς ἀλλὰ προθύμως,
In English: The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: 2 Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly,[a] not for dishonest gain but eagerly; 3 nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock;
In the Apostolic Churches, "episkopos" means "bishop/overseer", meaning, one who has authority in the congregation. "diakonos" is transliterated into English as "deacon". "Presbyter" in Greek ended up in the contracted form of "priest" in English.
But continuing to teach and pass on what was taught by St. John does.
St. Ignatius wasn't trying to establish his own power. He willingly gave up his life for Christ, being thrown to the lions in the Coliseum in Rome. When the Christians at Ephesus offered to bail St. Ignatius out, he refused. He was an honest man who gave his life for Christ, and defended the faith vigorously; one of the heresies cropping up in the day was Docetism, which denied the humanity of Christ. Ignatius exhorted the various churches extensively to rebuff the heresy, disproving it as well. He wasn't pulling stuff out of his head.
Then why does Christ Himself call Nicodemus "teacher"? John 3:9-10
9 Nicodemus answered and said to Him, How can these things be?
10 Jesus answered and said to him, Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?
St. Paul says more in 1 Timothy 2:7, I am speaking the truth in Christ and not lyinga teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.
St. James says this: My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment.
Thanks for going into the details-- nice job above.