'670 he HISTORY of the PURITANS. Chap. VIII. K. 'hhaoe, L not about the name, which lignifies in the greek no more than an OvRR- tv, SEER bist about the office and charaéter; the SmeEiymnuan divines con- tended, that a primitive bifhop was no other than a parochial paftor, or a preaching prefbyter, without pre- minence or any proper rule over his brethren. His lordhip on the other hand affirms, that bops were originally a dz/1int orderfrom prefbyters, infituted by the apßles them- fIves, and inveejledwith thefoiepower ofordination and ecclefajlical jeerif_ didlion ; that in this fenfe they are of divine inflitution, and have conti- nued in the church by an uninterrupted fucceffion to the prefent time. The bithop enters upon this argument with unufual afìurance, bearing down his adverfaries with a torrent of bold and unguarded expreflions. 32emon., His words are thefe, " This holy calling (meaning the order of bithops p, za. " as diftinít from prefbyters), fetches its pedigree from no lefs than apof- " tolical, and therefore divine inítitution -- Except all hiftories, all " authors fail us, nothing can be more plain than this; out of them we " can and do thew on whom the apoftles of Chrift laid their hands, " with an acknowledgment and conveyance of IMPARITY and JuRIs- " DICTION. We (hew what bithops fo ordained lived in the times of " the apoftles, and fucceeded each other in their fevers! charges under " the eyes and hands of the then living apoftles. We thew who im- " mediately fucceeded thofe immediate fucceffors in their feveral fees, " throughout all the regions of the chriftian church, and deduce their un- " interrupted line through all the following ages to this prefent day; and if there can be better evidence under heaven for anymatter of fad, " ° (and in this caufe matter of fad fo derived, evinceth matter of right) " let epifcopacy be for ever abandoned out of God's church Again, if we do not Phew out of the genuine and undeniable writings of " thofe holy men who lived both in the times of the apoftles and Tome years after them, and converfed with them as their blefhed fellow la- " bourers, a clear and received diftindion both of the names and offices " of bithops, prefbyters, and deacons, as three dIlini/ fubordinate " callings in God's church, with an evident fpecìfication of the duty and " charge belonging to each of them; let this claimed hierarchy be for " ever hooted out of the church." Defence, The bifhop admits, that in the language of fcripture biJhops and pr f P. 47' byters are the fame; that there is a plain identity in their denomination, and that we never find thefe three orders mentionedtogether,bi/hopsp e ters, and deacons ; but though therebe no diftinétion of names, his lord fhip apprehends there is a real diftinition and fpecification of powers; which are, .i,- The
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