Another (Philip) becomes a wandering preacher and miracleworker (8: 4–40). The foundation of many local churches by apostles and others brought a shift in leadership, when pastors (called ‘overseers’, ‘elders (presbuteroi)’, and ‘helpers’ or ‘deacons’) took over from the missionary apostles, the other ‘evangelists’, and the founders, among whom had been the ‘pillars’ of Galatians 2: 9. A range of New Testament sources reflects this movement from missionary to settled pastoral leaders (e.g. along with Phil. 1: 1; Acts 20: 17, 28; 1 Pet. 5: 1–4; the Pastoral Letters to Timothy and Titus). Nevertheless, many details about the appointment of these pastors, their leadership functions, and their relationship to the travelling missionaries remain obscure. The Pastoral Letters, when recording a more developed organization of ministries, speak of ‘overseers’ or ‘bishops’ and their qualifications (1 Tim. 3: 1–7; see Titus 1: 7–9), of ‘the elders’ or ‘presbyters’ to be appointed by Titus in ‘every town’ of Crete (Titus 1: 5–6; see 1 Tim. 5: 17–20), and of the qualities of ‘deacons’ (1 Tim. 3: 8–10, 12–13), and apparently also of deaconesses (1 Tim. 3: 14). At least in Titus 1: 5–7, ‘overseers’ and ‘elders’ seem to be overlapping and almost synonymous categories. Luke also seems to take ‘presbyters’ and ‘overseers’ as equivalent (Acts 20: 17, 28). There is some indication of succession in teaching authority (2 Tim. 2: 2). Much is conveyed about the teaching, preaching, defence of sound doctrine, administration, and family behaviour expected from leaders. But apart from some passing regulations concerning worship (1 Tim. 2: 1–2, 8) and several references to the ‘laying on of hands’ (1 Tim. 5: 22; see 4: 14; 2 Tim. 1: 6), nothing further is said about the liturgical life of the community and, for instance, about the roles taken by these leaders (or others) in baptizing, celebrating the Eucharist, and instituting others as their successors in leadership functions.9
9 On various officials in the early Church, see Fitzmyer, The Acts of the Apostles: on ‘apostles’ (pp. 196 7), ‘bishops/overseers’ (pp. 678 9), ‘deacons’ (p. 345), ‘elders/ presbyters’ (pp. 482 3, 535), ‘prophets’ (p. 481), and ‘teachers’ (p. 496).
All in all, the New Testament, while witnessing to some organized ministry and structured leadership, yields no standard terminology for ministerial leaders and no fully clear pattern about how they functioned. To the extent that we can glimpse something about their appointment, commissioning, or ‘ordination’ (to speak somewhat anachronistically), it seems to have occurred through the ‘imposition’ of hands and an invocation of the Holy Spirit (e.g. Acts 13: 3; 14: 23; 1 Tim. 4: 14; 2 Tim. 1: 6). The threefold ministry of leadership in the Pastoral Letters (‘overseers/bishops’, ‘elders/presbyters’, and ‘deacons’) offers an early intimation of the threefold leadership (‘bishop’, ‘presbyters’, and ‘deacons’) that emerged in the second century—a ministry for which they would be ordained through invoking the Holy Spirit and imposing hands.10
10 On all this see BEM 21 5 (‘Ministry’, 7 25); G. O’Collins and D. Kendall, ‘Leadership and the Church’s Origins’, in The Bible for Theology (Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 1997), 101 16.
During the first centuries, as we saw, the application of ‘priest’ (hiereus in Greek and sacerdos in Latin) was not uniform. Origen attached the term to those whom Ignatius of Antioch called ‘presbyters’, whereas Cyprian of Carthage usually applied sacerdos only to bishops. Augustine, as we noted, applied sacerdos occasionally to bishops and merely now and then to ‘simple’ priests. Normally he used the term only of Christ himself. We return below to this phenomenon of ‘reticence’ in the use of the term ‘priest’ for both ordained ministers and Christ himself.
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