iving in common with the
Catholics, and as we think erroneously, that the institutions of Church
government established in the apostolic age are a part of Christianity,
and therefore destined to be permanent. Her Church government is, it is
true, not the same, because it cannot, by possibility, be so, the lapse
of ages having wrought unavoidable changes; but this mutability, which
ought to prove to her the temporary nature of the institution, only
makes her cling the more eagerly to the points of resemblance which she
conceives to have been preserved between her own constitution and that
of the primitive Church; forgetting that such supposed resemblance is
immediately derived from that very Catholic Church whose superstitions
inspired her with so much horror at the Reformation. Whatever
resemblance the two Churches bear to the primitive Church in its
external offices, they bear in common.

This resemblance, however, is but slight. In the primitive Christian
Church, regulated by elders chosen from the people, and in no way
distinguished from them in rank or learning, and served by deacons,
whose office was to distribute the funds held by all in common, we can
scarcely recognize the original of the pompous establishments in which
religion is now believed to be preserved in its purity, till, on
examining the history, we trace the degrees by which spiritual
domination was secured. The most distinguished of the elders served the
office of moderator in the assemblies which met for the transaction of
business. In time, the office became permanent, and the 'constant
president' was allowed to appropriate the title of 'bishop,' which had
before been common to all the elders. When numbers increased so that
smaller congregations were separated from one larger, each colony had an
elder at its head, and the chief of the parent Church became a diocesan
bishop. Large country congregations were, however, empowered to choose
a complete set of officers for themselves, consisting of bishops,
elders, and deacons, and were independent of the city Churches, till the
Council held at Antioch A. D. 341 forbade country bishops to ordain
priests or deacons, and allowed them the power of choosing only the
inferior officers of the Church. The next step was to abolish the order
of country bishops; _country deans_ and _arch priests_ being
substituted. At length, synods were held, at which the bishops met as
deputies of the people, to communicate conce