Albion Revisited

A series of articles on Ancient British Christianity

July 14^th 2007

No.10. An important extract from the “Apostolic Constitutions.”

SECTION IV.--ENUMERATION ORDAINED BY APOSTLES.

WHO WERE THEY THAT THE HOLY APOSTLES SENT AND ORDAINED?

XLVI. Now concerning those bishops which have been ordained in our lifetime, we let you know that they are these:--

James the bishop of Jerusalem, the brother of our Lord; upon whose death the second was Simeon the son of Cleopas; after whom the third was Judas the son of James.

Of Caesarea of Palestine, the first was Zacchaeus, who was once a publican; after whom was Cornelius, and the third Theophilus.

Of Antioch, Euodius, ordained by me Peter; and Ignatius by Paul.

Of Alexandria, Annianus was the first, ordained by Mark the evangelist; the second Avilius by Luke, who was also an evangelist.

Of the church of Rome, Linus the son of Claudia was the first, ordained by Paul; and Clemens, after Linus' death, the second, ordained by me Peter.

Of Ephesus, Timotheus, ordained by Paul; and John, by me John.

Of Smyrna, Aristo the first; after whom Strataeas the son of Lois; and the third Aristo.

Of Pergamus, Gains.

Of Philadelphia, Demetrius, by me.

Of Cenchrea, Lucius, by Paul.

Of Crete, Titus.

Of Athens, Dionysius.

Of Tripoli in Phoenicia, Marathones.

Of Laodicea in Phrygia, Archippus.

Of Colossae, Philemon.

Of Borea in Macedonia, Onesimus, once the servant of Philemon.

Of the churches of Galatia, Crescens.

Of the parishes of Asia, Aquila and Nicetas.

Of the church of Æginae, Crispus.

These are the bishops who are entrusted by us with the parishes in the Lord; whose doctrine keep ye always in mind, and observe our words. And may the Lord be with you now, and to endless ages, as Himself said to us when He was about to be taken up to His own God and Father. For says He, "Lo, I am with you all the days, until the end of the world. Amen."

A great deal may be learned from this compilation, but perhaps the most important statement was that concerning “the church at Rome.” Linus the son of Claudia was the first bishop of Rome, ordained by Paul. Later, after the death of Linus, Peter ordained Clemens. In other words, Paul was in the position to ordain bishops in Rome in the first instance, and only later did Peter arrive on the scene, and then only to ordain Clemens, rather than to be the “first bishop of Rome” as maintained by the Catholics. It is absurd to suppose that a roving minister, an apostle like Peter or Paul, should be shackled to a local church ministry, when the Lord specifically ordained them to travel the world and make disciples of all nations.

In effect this completely destroys the evidence and pronouncement of the Pope of recent days, saying that the Catholic Church is the only church, and that salvation is only obtained through that church, because of the primacy of Peter as the founding Bishop of Rome. The whole fabric of their teaching is fraudulent, and a terrible imprisonment to the souls of all those who subscribe to it.