Mondays are for Church History
7/22/24
Schaff, Philip. (2014). "Chapter V. The Hierarchy and Polity of the Church." In History of the Christian Church. (The Complete Eight Volumes in One). Volume 3, Nicene and Post-Nicene Christianity A.D. 311-600, from Constantine the Great to Gregory the Great. (pp. 1993-2106). (Original work published 1889). Amazon Kindle Edition. (Personal Library). (sections 48-67).
"§48. Schools of the Clergy." (pp. 1993-1997).
Schaff notes that his narrative of church history is now moving into a third phase, "the rise of the patriarchal constitution and of the system of ecumenical councils closely connected with it" (Schaff 2014, p. 1993). The system by its nature would involve an ongoing work of particular training of clergy who could deal with care of churches as well as intricate doctrinal and polity issues. By 397, the Council of Carthage instituted testing for clergy candidates, while a similar process was instituted in the East by 541 (Schaff 2014, p. 1994). However, Schaff notes there were multiple reasons such evaluations would be met with resistance. Some was based on prior education in other scholarly fields, some on political experience, and some arose from a perception of identifying fervent spirituality.
Theological training was available, for instance, in the Alexandrian catechetical school, which was prominent from the mid second to late fourth centuries, before it fell into theological confusion (Schaff 2014, p. 1995). Schaff further identifies a Palestinian Caesarean school, founded by Origen, and one in Antioch, founded about 290, which self-consciously rejected the allegorical methods of the Alexandrians in favor of grammatical and historical exegesis (Schaff 2014, p. 1996). There was also a seminary at Edessa, which spun off from the school at Antioch.
In the West, most training for clergy took place in cloisters or schools run by bishops (Schaff 2014, p. 1996). Schaff considers Augustine's training of presbyters and bishops from his location in Hippo to be a good example of this educational effort. It was also relatively common for those training in classics and rhetoric to then take up study and exposition of Scripture (Schaff 2014, p. 1997).
"§49. Clergy and Laity. Elections." (pp. 1997-2000).
Ordained clergy were normally recognized with a formal laying on of hands and prayers (Schaff 2014, p. 1997). The understanding came to be that, in a way similar to baptism marking people as Christians, the laying on of hands separated clergy with an "indelible character" (Schaff 2014, p. 1998). Over time, clergy tended to take on additional marks, such as celibacy, a tonsure, and priestly vestments. Rights of appointing bishops and clergy came to be largely held by bishops, though generally the laity maintained some responsibility to confirm or reject the decisions. Schaff notes that in some instances there were sharp disagreements between the will of the laity and that of the bishops (Schaff 2014, p. 1999). The decisions could become highly political in nature. Eventually emperors also became involved in appointing clergy (Schaff 2014, p. 2000). Secular authorities remained involved in such decisions for a very long time.