"Brilliant and breathtaking! With a commanding and encyclopedic knowledge of all the primary sources--Christian, Jewish, and pagan alike--and centuries of scholarship at his fingertips, Alistair Stewart has turned the kaleidoscope of evidence in such a way that the pieces fall into a coherent, comprehensive, and compelling picture. Stewart, coalescing the best of contemporary scholarship into an epochal new consensus, shows how the role of the bishop (and presbyters and deacons) developed as Christian communities moved from the house church, through association, into federation with the appearance of the monepiskopos."  
\--__John Behr__, University of Aberdeen  
  
"Building on a number of new trends in scholarship and grounded in impressive mastery of the sources, this study drives a coach and horses through the long-standing consensus that presbyters and bishops were once the same and early church governance was collegial. Its challenge to anachronistic reading of the sources should finally undermine contemporary claims to historical precedent in debates about ministry, whether those claims be denominational, ecumenical, or feminist, highlighting as it does the 'otherness' of the socio-cultural order within which the emerging church developed an organization suited to its own needs yet indebted in terminology and practice to its historical context. The Original Bishops is a tour de force, creating a coherent yet complex narrative that, despite its frequent acknowledgement of ignorance given the scrappy nature of the evidence, is sure to be contested. Future discussion of the issues, however, will be unable to ignore this book."  
\--__Frances Young__, University of Birmingham (emeritus)  
  
"Stewart shines fresh light on a pivotal theme in late Christian antiquity--the emergence of ecclesiastical offices under the rubrics of presbyter and bishop. He explains with vigor the rise of each category within the framework of individual churches throughout the Roman Empire, from the advent of the apostle Paul to the turn of the third century, challenging age-old views offered by Lightfoot and others of his generation. This book is carefully written and demands vigilant reading. Its clear and resourceful analysis of the maze of data from ancient authors--ever a focus of intrigue among contemporary scholars--will engage readers at every level, from the introductory student to the polished specialist!"  
\--__Clayton N. Jefford__, Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology

__Alistair C. Stewart__ (PhD, University of Birmingham) is team vicar of Upton-cum-Chalvey, Slough, England, and visiting scholar of Sarum College in Salisbury, England. Recognized as a leading expert on early Christian liturgy and polity, he is the author or editor of a dozen books.

"Alistair Stewart applies his considerable distinction in the literature of early liturgy and church order to produce an outstanding, scholarly tour de force. Since the work of Ussher and subsequently Stillingfleet, the problem has persisted unresolved of why the two terms episkopos and presbyteros appear to be used of an identical ecclesiastical office. What form did an allegedly collective government of leaders take both in liturgy and in church organization? Stewart sifts judiciously and persuasively between the complexities of the five-hundred-year-old discussion and material that has more recently come to light. He has produced a major contribution to the study of church order in early Christianity that will form part of the foundation for future research."  
\--__Allen Brent__, King's College, London  
  
"This book is a master work. With massive erudition, Alistair Stewart elaborates here a bracing hypothesis revising several standard views about the origin of bishops, presbyters, and deacons in the first Christian centuries. Future histories of early Christian ministry will have to take into account the impressively wide scope of Stewart's evidence as well as the arguments he builds on that evidence. The book is valuable for the vast amount of modern scholarship that it gathers on this question as well as for the fresh proposals it brings to the interpretation of numerous ancient Christian sources."  
\--__Joseph G. Mueller, SJ__, Marquette University  
  
"The Original Bishops is a must-read for those interested in the debate over the church order of the early centuries. While there have been numerous studies on the topic in recent decades, Alistair Stewart challenges preconceived notions that view episkopoi and presbyteroi as synonymous terms as well as the idea that bishops arose out of the presbytery. While the challenge is not new, the meticulous reengagement with the historical facts sets the stage for a new approach to understanding the role of bishop in the early church as the primary office from the very beginning. Whether you agree or disagree, Stewart's thorough historical approach will enrich your understanding of the early church orders and inform the church's continuing discussions on ecumenism and ecclesiology."  
\--__Joel C. Elowsky__, Concordia University Wisconsin

__A Jesus Creed 2015 Book of the Year__   
This work provides a new starting point for studying the origins of church offices. Alistair Stewart, a leading authority on early Christianity and a meticulous scholar, provides essential groundwork for historical and theological discussions. Stewart refutes a long-held consensus that church offices emerged from collective leadership at the end of the first century. He argues that governance by elders was unknown in the first centuries and that bishops emerged at the beginning of the church; however, they were nothing like bishops of a later period. The church offices as presently known emerged in the late second century. Stewart debunks widespread assumptions and misunderstandings, offers carefully nuanced readings of the ancient evidence, and fully interacts with pertinent secondary scholarship.

A leading authority on early Christianity provides a new starting point for studying the origins of church offices, offering careful readings of the ancient evidence.

__Contents__ Introduction: Defining the Field of Inquiry and the Terminology Employed  
__1. On Episkopoi and Presbyteroi__  The Alleged Synonymy of Episkopos and Presbyteros  The Evidence for Synonymy Explained in Terms of Federation  
 Conclusion  
__2. The Economic Functions of Episkopoi and Diakonoi__  The Economic Functions of Episkopoi  Alternative Jewish Sources for the Office of Episkopos  The Economic Functions of Diakonoi  Conclusion  
__3. Presbyters in Early Christian Communities__  The Hypothesis of the Jewish Origin of Presbyters  
 A Non-Jewish Origin for Christian Presbyters  
 An Interim Conclusion  
 Presbyters and Episkopoi in Early Christian Communities  
 Patronal Groups Not Designated as Presbyters  
 Conclusion  
__4. Presbyters and Episkopoi in Emerging Christian Communities__  The Alexandrian Community  
 Christian Leadership in Egypt beyond Alexandria  
 Bithynia  
 Smyrna  
 Philippi  
 Presbyteral Church Order in Jerusalem?  
 Antioch  
 The Asian Communities Addressed by Ignatius  
 Some Fragmentary Evidence  
 Conclusion  
__5. The Causes of Monepiscopacy__  Monepiscopacy as Centralization  
 Verschmelzung as an Explanation of Monepiscopacy  
 Institutionalization as an Explanation of Monepiscopacy  
 Scholasticization as an Explanation of Monepiscopacy  
 External Pressure as a Cause of Centralization  
 Some Loose Threads  
 Overall Conclusion  
A Concluding Unscientific Postscript  
Indexes

\["For scholars studying early church leadership structures", "Challenges misconceptions about church office origins", "You will gain a deeper understanding of church history"\]

The Original Bishops eBook offers fresh insights into early church governance.

Stewart, Alistair C.

Cover

Title Page

Copyright Page

Dedication

Preface

Abbreviations

Introduction

1. On Episkopoi and Presbyteroi

2. The Economic Functions of Episkopoi and Diakonoi

3. Presbyters in Early Christian Communities

4. Presbyters and Episkopoi in Emerging Christian Communities

5. The Causes of Monepiscopacy

A Concluding Unscientific Postscript

Notes

Bibliography

Ancient Writings Index

Author Index

Subject Index

Back Cover

This work provides a new starting point for studying the origins of church offices. Alistair Stewart, a leading authority on early Christianity and a meticulous scholar, provides essential groundwork for historical and theological discussions. Stewart refutes a long-held consensus that church offices emerged from collective leadership at the end of the first century. He argues that governance by elders was unknown in the first centuries and that bishops emerged at the beginning of the church; however, they were nothing like bishops of a later period. The church offices as presently known emerged in the late second century. Stewart debunks widespread assumptions and misunderstandings, offers carefully nuanced readings of the ancient evidence, and fully interacts with pertinent secondary scholarship.

The Original Bishops [eBook]

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