tabletalk
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- Feb 6, 2017
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Hello Renniks,
OK....What is important is that you show me writings of Christian men from the early Church that were teaching against Mary's perpetual virginity!!
Of course what Jerome said has bearing. It appears he was privy to writings from those men that didn't survive. Silence on the matter doesn't negate the possibility those men wrote about. As we have seen there was no silence on the matter. Jerome suggested they DID write about it and believed it. Once again: Do you think Jerome was lying?
I look forward to your evidence....Patient Mary
Was Jerome lying when he said this:
"The presbyter is the same as the bishop, and before parties had been raised up in religion by the provocations of Satan, the churches were governed by the Senate of the presbyters. But as each one sought to appropriate to himself those whom he had baptized, instead of leading them to Christ, it was appointed that one of the presbyters, elected by his colleagues, should be set over all the others, and have chief supervision over the general well-being of the community. . . Without doubt it is the duty of the presbyters to bear in mind that by the discipline of the Church they are subordinated to him who has been given them as their head, but it is fitting that the bishops, on their side, do not forget that if they are set over the presbyters, it is the result of tradition, and not by the fact of a particular institution by the Lord."
So the separate office of Bishop is not a command of the Scriptures, but only survives due to tradition and practical concerns.
There are two offices: Presbyters/Bishops and Deacons.