Now our apostles, thanks to our Lord Jesus Christ, knew
that there was going to be strife over the title of bishop. It was for this
reason and because they had been given an accurate knowledge of the future,
that they appointed the officers we have mentioned. Furthermore, they later
added a codicil to the effect that, should these die, other approved men should
succeed to their ministry. (1 Clement 44:1-2, in Early Christian Fathers [trans.
Cyril R. Richardson; New York: Collier Books, 1970], 63)
In this sentence and the one following there are a number
of ambiguities in the Greek, which have given rise to three possible
interpretations. (a) The apostles provide that, if they themselves should die, other
approved men should succeed to the apostolic prerogatives. These men would take
over the right to appoint the local presbyteries, and are the ones referred to
by the phrase, “Others of the proper standing (b) The apostles provided that should
their first converts (i.e., the first local presbyters) die, others should succeed
them. This succession would be in the hands of the apostles and, later on, of “others
of the proper standing,” i.e., men like Timothy and Titus with apostolic rank.
(c) The apostles provided that should their first converts (.e., the first
local presbyters) die, others should succeed them. This succession, begun by
the apostles, would be continued by self-perpetuating presbyteries. In this
view, the phrase, “Others of the proper standing,” would refer to the same
class of persons as does the phrase, “The officers we have mentioned,” in the
preceding sentence, i.e., the presbyters. The reader will observe that, while
the titles “presbyter” and “bishop” appear to be synonymous in Clement, the
first two interpretations favor the “episcopal” view of the early ministry,
while the third favors the “presbyterian.” (Ibid., 63-64 n. 2)
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