viour; such as were
S. Matthew and S. John Apostles, and S. Marke and S. Luke Disciples, and
whosoever else wrote of that subject, (as S. Thomas, and S. Barnabas are
said to have done, though the Church have not received the Books
that have gone under their names:) and as Prophets, by the gift of
interpreting the Old Testament; and sometimes by declaring their
speciall Revelations to the Church. For neither these gifts, nor the
gifts of Languages, nor the gift of Casting out Devils, or of Curing
other diseases, nor any thing else did make an Officer in the Church,
save onely the due calling and election to the charge of Teaching.

Ordination Of Teachers

As the Apostles, Matthias, Paul, and Barnabas, were not made by our
Saviour himself, but were elected by the Church, that is, by the
Assembly of Christians; namely, Matthias by the Church of Jerusalem,
and Paul, and Barnabas by the Church of Antioch; so were also the
Presbyters, and Pastors in other Cities, elected by the Churches of
those Cities. For proof whereof, let us consider, first, how S. Paul
proceeded in the Ordination of Presbyters, in the Cities where he had
converted men to the Christian Faith, immediately after he and Barnabas
had received their Apostleship. We read (Acts 14.23.) that "they
ordained Elders in every Church;" which at first sight may be taken for
an Argument, that they themselves chose, and gave them their authority:
But if we consider the Originall text, it will be manifest, that they
were authorized, and chosen by the Assembly of the Christians of each
City. For the words there are, "cheirotonesantes autoispresbuterous kat
ekklesian," that is, "When they had Ordained them Elders by the Holding
up of Hands in every Congregation." Now it is well enough known, that in
all those Cities, the manner of choosing Magistrates, and Officers,
was by plurality of suffrages; and (because the ordinary way of
distinguishing the Affirmative Votes from the Negatives, was by Holding
up of Hands) to ordain an Officer in any of the Cities, was no more
but to bring the people together, to elect them by plurality of Votes,
whether it were by plurality of elevated hands, or by plurality of
voices, or plurality of balls, or beans, or small stones, of which every
man cast in one, into a vessell marked for the Affirmative, or Negative;
for divers Cities had divers customes in that point. It was therefore
the Assembly that elected their own Elders: the Apostl