Chapter I

      The Church's History

      In the course of history there have been many and various forms of religion, some of which no longer exist and a large part of which never obtained more than local or temporary importance. Today there are eleven living world religions, among which is Christianity. Much of its teaching and isolated beliefs may be found in these other religions, but in one thing it is unique—it alone among all the revealed religions claims that God Himself made the revelation of Himself in the Person of His Son Jesus Christ, and thereby showed us what God was like and what God wanted us to be like; and that He imparts to us today the strength necessary to fulfil this purpose, if we seek it according to His will. The other religions claim that the divine revelation came through a prophet, as in Islam, or else through some lesser god, as in the ancient Hermetic cults, but never through the Supreme God Himself.

      Jesus Christ, in order to perpetuate the revelation which God had made in Him, gathered about Himself a group of disciples from whom He chose an inner circle which were known as the Twelve, and later as the Apostles. At the time of His death on the cross they all deserted Him, but after His resurrection He inspired them with new hope and they went forth to carry to the world the Gospel, the good news about the salvation to be obtained through faith in Him.

      For the first hundred years or so of Christian history the early disciples expected the imminent return of Christ from heaven in glory to judge the world. Consequently, they made no provision for the future or the carrying on of their message beyond their own generation. The early development of the Church came as a result of its adjustment to the fact of the delayed return of Christ.

      The first Jerusalem disciples continued to worship in the Temple, forming a synagogue of the Nazarene, which differed from the other synagogues only in their belief that Jesus Christ was the Messiah predicted by the Scriptures, and that He was about to return to judge the world and to inaugurate His Kingdom. After the persecution and death of St. Stephen, the first Christian martyr, the cleavage between Judaism and the followers of Jesus Christ became apparent, and they were scattered to other cities. Small groups of Christians became organized in various places into assemblies or churches, meeting in private houses. They were sometimes founded by the informal methods of traders, friends, or neighbors; sometimes by the direct preaching of traveling disciples.

      The earliest churches were ruled by the apostles themselves. But as they were not always present, a share in the government fell to the older men in the assembly, just as it did in the Jewish synagogues. The word for elder in Greek is one which has been anglicized as “presbyter,” and in course of time shortened to priest. From this council of older men sprang the second order of the Christian ministry, the priesthood. As time went on the need of someone to take the place of the apostles and to oversee the other elders was felt, and one among their number was chosen for this office of overseer. From the Greek word meaning overseer came episcopus in Latin, which in the course of