PRESBYTER

(See Bishop , Deacon , Priest , Orders , Clergy .) The name πρεσβύτερος ( elder ) is a word borrowed from the Greek translation of the Old Testament, which commonly signifies a ruler or governor, being, as St. Jerome observes, a name of office, not a mere indication of a man’s age; for elders were chosen, not by their age, but by their merits and wisdom. So that, as a senator among the Romans, and an alderman in our own language, signifies a person of such an order and station without any regard to age, in like manner a presbyter or elder in the Christian Church is one who is ordained to a certain office, and authorized by his quality, not his age, to discharge the several duties of that office and station in which he is placed. In this large and extensive sense, bishops were sometimes called presbyters in the New Testament, for the apostles themselves did not refuse that title. On the other hand, it is the opinion of many learned men, both ancient and modern, that presbyters were sometimes called bishops , while bishops who were properly such were distinguished by other titles, as that of chief priests , apostles , . Bingham shows, however, that those who maintained the identity of the names, did not thence infer identity of offices, but always esteemed bishops and presbyters to be distinct officers. We know not the exact period at which the apostles first ordained presbyters. We do not read of their existence before A. D. 43, when the disciples at Antioch sent their collections to the presbyters of Judea. About A. D. 56, St. Paul sent for “the presbyters of the church” of Ephesus; and we afterwards read of bishops or presbyters at Philippi: and the directions to Timothy and Titus for their ordination in every city; the exhortation of St. Peter to “the presbyters;” and of St. James, “is any one sick among you, let him send for the presbyters of the church;” suffice to prove the general ordination of presbyters by the apostles. The office of presbyters, like that of bishops, consisted in “feeding the Church of God ,” and overseeing it; exhorting and convincing the gainsayers by sound doctrine. Being invested with the power of teaching, they also po e ed authority in controversies. The Church of Antioch sent to Jerusalem to consult the apostles and “presbyters” on the question of circumcision; and we find afterwards that heretics were sometimes condemned by the judgment of presbyters, as well as by bishops in councils. They po e ed in their degree the power of remitting or retaining sins by absolution, and by spiritual censures. They must, even at the beginning, have had the power of baptizing and celebrating the eucharist, of performing other rites, and offering up public prayers in the absence of the apostles, or by their permi ion; and the institution of bishops in every Church by the apostles only restrained the ordinary exercise of these powers. We know in particular from St. James, that presbyters had authority to visit the sick and offer prayers, anointing them with oil for the recovery of their health. From the time of the apostles, the office of public teaching in the Church, and of administering the sacraments, was always performed by the bishop, unle in cases of great nece ity. The power of spiritual jurisdiction in each Church, of regulating its affairs generally, and especially its discipline, was shared by the bishop with the presbyters, who also instructed and admonished the people in private. The presbyters sat on seats or thrones at the east end of the church, and the bishop on a higher throne in the midst of them. In some churches they laid their hands with the bishops on the head of those who were ordained presbyters, and in others administered confirmation. The wealth and temporal power of bishops during the middle ages may have induced some of the ignorant to suppose that presbyters were exceedingly inferior to bishops; but the Catholic Church, which sees with the eye of faith, as she acknowledges the same sacred dignity of the priesthood in every bishop, whether oppre ed with extreme poverty, or whether invested with princely dignity and wealth, also views the greatne and the sanctity of the office of presbyter as little inferior to those even of the chief pastors who succeeded the apostles; and the Church has never flourished more, nor has the episcopate ever been held in truer reverence, than under the guidance of those apostolical prelates who, like St. Cyprian, resolved to do nothing without the consent of the clergy, and who have sedulously avoided even the appearance of “being lords over God’s heritage.” The spirit of a genuine Christianity will lead the presbyters to reverence and obey the bishops as their fathers; and will induce bishops to esteem the presbyters as fellow-workers together with them, and brethren in Jesus Christ .— Bingham. Palmer. August i. The word presbyter is substituted for priest in the Scotch liturgy, compiled in the reign of King Charles I.