Chapter 4

THE TESTIMONY OF IRENAEUS AND THE GENESIS OF PRELACY.

The testimony of Irenaeus quite misunderstood--Refers to the dying words of one of the martyrs of Lyons--The internal evidence against the genuineness of the Ignatian Epistles--The contrast between the Epistle of Polycarp and the Ignatian Epistles as exhibited by Dr. Lightfoot himself--Additional points of contrast--Dr. Lightfoot quite mistaken as to the origin of Prelacy--It did not originate in the East, or Asia Minor, but in Rome--The argument from the cases of Timothy and Titus untenable--Jerome's account of the origin of Prelacy--James not the first bishop of Jerusalem--In the early part of the second century the Churches of Rome, Corinth, and Smyrna were Presbyterian--Irenaeus conceals the origin of Prelacy--Coins the doctrine of the apostolical succession--The succession cannot be determined even in Rome--Testimony of Stillingfleet--In what sense Polycarp may have been constituted a bishop by the apostles.