Book 4 - Chapter 4 (Parts 1-2)
THE CONDITION OF THE ANCIENT CHURCH, AND THE KIND OF GOVERNMENT IN USE BEFORE THE PAPACY
|
In this chapter, Calvin offers a brief history of church government prior to the rise of the Papacy. The role of the Papacy (the Bishop of Rome) and the organization of the government of the Roman Church as it was in Calvin’s age and now in ours, is very different from the organization of church government for the first several hundred years of the early church.
Summary: Calvin’s view of the early church was that they tried their best to adhere to the Apostle Paul’s teachings about church leadership. The early church did so by having the same three orders of ministers as Paul directed. These were presbyters (pastors and teachers), elders who oversaw the government of the church and deacons who were to care for the poor. Calvin also notes that Jerome (347-420), who was a priest, confessor, theologian and church historian, listed five church orders, “…bishops, presbyters, deacons, believers and catechumens (those preparing for making a profession of faith)” (pg. 1069). Calvin examines the first three of those categories, bishops, presbyters and deacons. He begins with a lengthy discussion of bishops. Bishops (who were presbyters) were first appointed, Calvin argues, to help settle disputes among the presbyters. They were given the “title…in order that dissentions might not arise (as commonly happens) from equality of rank (all presbyters being equal). Still the bishop was not so much higher in honor and dignity as to have lordship over his colleagues” (pg. 1069). The bishop was in fact not only to “carry out what was decreed by common decision” (pg. 1069) of the presbyters and the people but to “co-operate with them” (pg. 1070). Calvin asserts that while bishops surpassed others in dignity, they were subject to the assembly of their peers. (pg. 1070). In the early church “…both bishops and presbyters had to devote themselves to the dispensing of Word and sacrament” (pg. 107) and “…it would have been considered a monstrous thing for anyone to claims to be a bishop who had not in fact shown himself not to be a true bishop” (pg. 1071). What this means is that all bishops were to be drawn from the ranks of presbyters (pastors) who had learned to be good preachers and teachers (which was not the practice in Calvin’s time in the Roman Church). Archbishop was a position created, again, for the purpose of helping to settle disputes over larger areas. The position was not created for “…lordship as far as the government of the church was concerned” (pg. 1072). Deacons, were given the power of overseeing the income of the church. They were “…to distribute some to feed the minister, some to feed the poor” and were to “…render an account annually of their distribution” (pg. 1072). While bishops were to oversee the work of the deacons, they were not allowed to direct the use of the funds without agreement from the deacons. Archdeacons were created when the wealth of the church became so great that it needed an additional layer of administration. Later archdeacons were entrusted with reading scripture, exhorting others to pray and assisting in communion. These duties were added to help them focus on the spiritual dimensions of their other work. Reflections: One of the great secrets of the Roman Church is that the church hierarchy as we see it today, as well as the way Calvin saw it, was not always in place. The church, for its first 500-600 years was one in which pastors, deacons and bishops, even if they were nominated by other pastors and bishops, were elected by the people. There was no sense that those on the top (Pope, Cardinals, etc.) had the right to appoint those below them. In fact, it was considered anathema (out of bounds) for any bishop to do so. Questions:
Part 2
In this chapter, Calvin offers a brief history of church government prior to the rise of the Papacy. The role of the Papacy (the Bishop of Rome) and the organization of the government of the Roman Church as it was in Calvin’s age and now in ours, is very different from the organization of church government for the first several hundred years of the early church.
Summary: One of the central questions that Calvin needed to deal with was, how ought the church spend the money it receives. He begins by noting that “You will frequently find both in the decrees of the synods and in ancient writers that all that the church possesses, either in lands or in money, is the patrimony of the poor” (pg. 1074). And those who handle it “…should remember that they are not handling their own goods but those appointed for the needs of the poor” (pg. 1074). Even so he writes, “It is fair and sanctioned also by the law of the Lord, that those who work for the church be supported at public expense…consequently the distribution was then such that the ministers did not lack food and the poor were not neglected…having only enough for their needs” (pg. 1074). Meaning, that ministers and other church workers ought to be cared for by the church. With that in mind Calvin offers his fourfold division of church income; “one for clergy, another for the poor, a third for repair of churches and other buildings, a fourth for the poor, both foreign and indigenous” (pg. 1075). The second mention of money for the poor was money that went to the bishops to be dispersed in areas not ordinarily reached by individual churches. Calvin makes it clear that “the bishop was not allowed to take anything for his own use, except what was sufficient for moderate and frugal food and clothing. If anyone began to go to excess…he was deprived of office” (pg. 1075). Calvin next addresses money spent on sacred things. He admired the early church leaders because “At first they spent very little on the embellishment of sacred things; afterward, although the church became gradually richer, they still kept moderation in this respect” (pg. 1075). Calvin also tells stories of bishops melting down their golden vessels in order to give the money to the poor for food. At this point Calvin shifts to the preparation of persons for ministry. He states that the early church spent years preparing men for the ministry. This preparation began with taking on small tasks (opening and closing the church) and only slowly allowed them to take on the tasks of sub-deacon and then presbyter (Minister). Once these individuals had been through their apprenticeship they would have to be approved by the clergy and the people before they could be ordained. “The freedom of the people to choose their own bishops was long preserved; no one was to be thrust into office who was not acceptable to all” (pg. 1079). This was even the case with the Bishop of Rome (Pope) and was confirmed by Pope Leo (440-461) in multiple statements. Nonetheless, the church did not simply hold elections for which people ran for presbyter or bishop. Instead the larger church would train and then recommend clergy for the people to approve or reject them. If a candidate was rejected, the larger church would have to make another recommendation. Finally, all ordinations were accomplished by the laying on of hands. Reflections: In many ways, the church today still follows these practices. Money is used to support pastors, care for the poor and is used to maintain church property. In the PCUSA, the people have final say over who their pastors are and how much they get paid. In addition, pastors are vetted by the larger church before the people can accept or reject them. Questions:
|