The Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1822-1829, 1822-10-25

Rome,n which succession, " he brings
down io Elm hcrius, who wa the ! 9Th from
The apostles" aud filled The Episeoial
rhair at the time lrcncus wrote tins uea-
iise.
we shall now offer few extracts from
The nposiolcal canons which ARE Of ear
ly date aud may With propfiety be brought
IN" nj tins period.
Canon l. 4" Let bishop be censecrated
by Two ar three bishops. Canon ,. Let
prcsbst ter and deacon be ordained by one
bisllop.n Canary thing be palmer than that,
of the exclusive power Of ordination bcins
vested IN the bishop aud not IN the presby-
tee. Agnin--Cauou -. F." lfany prcsbytrf
or deacon shall leave his own parish and 20
To another. without the bishops leave, he
shall ofIiriate no longer, especially. If he o.
hey moi the bishop " hen he "xhofts him to
Eeturn, pcrslstlng IN ms Iusolenee aud dlaor-
dcrly behaviour"
l. II necessary To have la.5uage fuller
aud more explicit than this Z is not this
canon placing Episcopal regimen beyond
dspdiation Here VT have diocesan Epls-
eopacy-hrrc we have parish churches,
with bishops presiding over ihem-hcre NJ
have rules aud regulaiions prescribed for The
government ofpresbyters aud dcaeons and
which are constituted oa almost the precise
principles as thDse, on which the American
church is.
t'urlIier---Iu the beginning Of the I'd cen
fury 81 lgnatius, Who was consented BIZ
shop Of Antioch by the aposlIes, says, IN
his cpistles To The hasnrsians, that they
ought not 10 dcsplse their bishops, but 10
pay him al manner of reverence, according
~ the commandments VI God the Father
and as know yonr holy prcsbyters do.
Therefore rs Christ did nothing without
the Father, 80 neither do you, whether
presbyters, deacons Or lair, any thmg
without the bishop exhori you 10 do
all thing N the same mud oG God, The hi
shop presiding in the place of God,' that
i, as Ia the temporal government and nj.
fans OF the churches, I" aud the presbytcrs
Ia the room OF the college of the apostles,
and the dcacons most beloved IN me, who
are imtrtsted with the ministry of Jesus
Christ. is mol this language strongly aud
explicitly in favor Of Episeopac5 # not,
what can be Here the presb' ,ers are said
Ia be placed IN the room Of the apostles,
who were subjected 10 the commands of
Christ -hr beng, while on earth, their head
and bishop-here they are rYhortcd to 90
nothing, unless the bishop he present
\ brse quotations from this graf and good
Father IN the church, teach lls ihat he knew
that Eplseupacy Yas the 1#gmcn IN lis
day" that 1t WA agpUiattd 10y God
that after the ascrnsiou ai all I, HE HpOs-
ties aud their Successors, ~, bishops, took
the place of Christ, US 10 visible power aad
office, and that the preshN iers took the
place Which the apostles held in Christi
days" for saith he " the bishop presiding
in the place Of God. "-Ignatius knew how
the matter stood---he must have been per-
fectly acquainted with the apostolic precti-
ces-he must have been well Informed on
the apostolic Institutions was well ac-
quaiDted with the history Of the priesthood,
from the commencement, and could have
had no indncement to misrcpresent IT.
Ignaius again--ln his cpistle to the Phi
ladclphia ehurch--he exhorts them To
give heed TO the bishops, and to the presby-
terry, aud TO the deaCons-wlihout the bl-
shop do nothing. On his way to martyr
dom he wrote his six eplstles, IN which he
explicitly avows Ills belief, oftIie derivation
of the Episcopal order being from the apoa-
ties. Aud IN his cpistlcs To thc Trallans,
he exclaims -" WHIT is the bishops, bat he
who hath all authority aud power What
is the presbytrry, but q SACRED consultation
of councillors and assessors to the bishop
What are the deacons, but imliators of
Christ z" What could have induced this
illustrious Father of the church thus to write
had mol Episcopal regimen existed? Gould
he have heen inlluenc"dby thirst Tor pow
er Could he haze been influenced by a
desire 10 obtain riches and splcudor ?
What would these have been 10 him, who
was just leaving this wofld-iust about to
bid adieu To every thing terrestrial ard
wing his light 10 his Father in Heaven,
there to give silct account of his minis
toy ? What, though he had obtained all
these, could they have staid the flames OF
marlyrdom, or smoothcd the pillow OF
death Could he have taken his depar-
ture with the utmost serenity, with a lie on
his lips Z To suppose that he could is 10
suppose that which few have consumma-
ted.
VI ti'l- uilhl'la1, tiiahcnRPS lnt Ilc-
relics 10 produce the original of their chur-
chcs, ia show the Succession of their hi.
shops from the beginning, SO as TO make il
appear that the first OF lhcir bishops had an
apostle, or some apostolic person for his
author, or ordainer, or prelecessor.-For
thus apostolic churches produced their re-
gisters or records of their extraction as the
church ofthe Smyrnians, their Polycarp set
tied by ST. john, the Romans, their Clemens
ordained by st. Peter ,answerah.g to what o.
ther churches do, VITO prove their apostolic
original, or that they ara ,he pustcrty IN,
apostles, by exhibiting hrm who were con.
stituted their bishops by the apostles"
The same author farther says" The
high priesi, who is the bishop, hath tn,
power OF giving baptism and after him
for in Snhnrdi 1atiou IN iily,A nrYsbvtars ora