P R E F A C E , oo BORN in Syria, spending his early manh d in nd in Galilee, his maturer life a near Jeru o b or salem , and his declining years in c untries o o dering the Black Sea, the Ap stle Peter sh uld be known in history only by the title of AP OST L E AS IA o TO . Tradition has cast such a glam ur o our ver his ministry, that his name in day is associated mainly with Rome a nd the Romans . By reason of this strange transplanting of facts o t o t fr m the East the West, great diversi ies o o have arisen am ng christian c mmunities, and o of the future will be a repetiti n the past, unless coming generations are willing t o turn the search - lights of truth squarely upon the impor tant events that transpired between the years A . D 88 . 1 . 50 . and A D . Once disclose the 3 PREFACE . fact that actually n o foundation exists for a t o e ou o o claim pre minence, and y rem ve fr m among Christians one of t hem ost potent causes of a m o dis greement, and thus in large easure pen f r the way o true fellowship . o o May the light, which c mes fr m the dawn of of the christian era, dispel the twilight Tradition and prove effectual in leading many t o recognize a common Brotherhood in the one Lord and Master . E C O N T N T S . Frontispiece Preface o o I . Ap stles and Pr phets Early Reco rds o II . Primitive W rship B ooks and Libraries True Meaning of Words o f III . Changes Titles Clement t o the Co rinthians Letter o f Diognet us Epistle of Barnabas Ignatian Epistles Polycarp t o the Philippians Bo oks o f Papias The Didache Justin Martyr Shepherd o f Hermas o u t o f o IV . Cast the Synag gue o o V . F rbidden by the Emper r 5 CONTENTS . The Great Departure Hidden Mysteries The Twelve Thr ones The East and the West Saint Peter at Ro me Peter the R ock " Apo st olic Successio n Encro achment Unity in Diversity — Traditi on Revelation R E F E R E N C E S IMPORTAN T DATES ’ SAINT PETER S AG E ’ SA I NT PAUL S AG E . D B C AN A . D . INDEX AP STLE r ASIA ST. PETER O o . , A P O S T L E S A N D P R O P H E T S . o ou r o t o ou t IT is far fr m purp se, single any one of th e organizatio ns existing am ong chris o o tians, and h ld it up as the luminary, ar und o o o or o which all thers sh uld rev lve, int which o o we all thers sh ould be merged . Rather w uld o dem nstrate the fact, that from the very begin of o ur n o o o ning era, such fell wship was c ntem f v plated . That the outlines o Divine W orship pro vided for a broad and generous indepen t o of m o dence, suited every phase hu an devel p a ment and taught with unmist kable plainness , o o o o wa s that such superi r c ntr l am ng disciples, o t o of f reign the spirit christianity . ST . PETER , APOSTLE OF ASIA . Let us j o urney backward over the pa ges of history a nd search out the gro up of influences that laid a fo undation for the earliest claim t o e pre minence . Abo ut seventeen centuries a go the life- work o f the Ap ostle Peter was for the fi rst time pu t o f f rward as the basis o this claim . Since these o t o cycles bel ng the superstructure, we shall l ook for the foundation facts among the Writ f fi n ings o the rst and second ce turies . The o of 1 700 o testim ny the years, p ssesses all the weakness which characterizes a mass of hearsay o o evidence, after it has w rked its way thr ugh I t unknown and doubtful channels . is there o o o o f re with ut weight, in c mparis n with the evidence furnished by the New Testa ment and by the Writings of the first and second u o o cent ries, and sh uld be rejected as w rth less . O ur first duty will be t o ascertain what recog n ition sho uld be given to the Prophets . The 8 APOSTLES AND PROPHETS . t o o o next step, disc ver what were the f rms of primitive wo rship and when came the radical n departure . We shall the inquire particularly t ’ f o . o as St Peter s field o lab r . few o Very realize the great truth that, fr m t h e t o ou r beginning the end of his ministry, Lord was engaged in gathering and training a la rge body of APOSTLES AND PROPHETS w h o sho uld go forth and make disciples of all Nations . Altho ugh this fact is distinctly stated in the n o o New Testament, a arr w and contracted noti n , E leven A ostles w ere the onl dis viz . , that the p y ci les o a n im orta nce o o of p f y p , t ok p ssession the popular mind at an early date and crowded ou t i the V iew set forth n the gospel . This perver si on of the truth was b oth unjust toward the maj ority and baleful in its influence . It was o f stered, however, by interested parties and persistently maintained , in spite of the fact that very little was known ab out the individual his 9 ST . PETER , APOSTLE OF ASIA tory of the Apostles and only three of. their number ever contributed anything t o christian t m o literature . Notwithstanding his s all sh w n m n ing, the a es of the Eleve have been given t o t on all sorts of places, societies and insti uti s, beside which they have been idealized on ca n m con vas, in arble and in stained glass . This sta nt laudation in everyday life has made their ou r names so familiar, that some believers in o w o in or day accept any f rm of orship, d ctr e, — creed labelled with on e or all of their names — o of o as having c nclusive evidence auth rity, o n t o wh o did the la b ellin with ut seeki g discover g , or making inquiry as t o whether the original Eleven had anything to do w ith its inception . Hence it is very important to learn a s much o o of o as p ssible, ab ut that large body men wh se presence was indicated by such passages as the following “THEY that were about him with the TWELVE . 10 APOSTLES AND PROPHETS . THE M that were with them . The Eleven and all the REST . THESE M EN which have coni pa niecl with u s a ll the time that the Lo rd Jesus wen t ou t o b e innin o in and am ng us , g g fr m the of u nto tha t sa me da h baptism John , y t at ” 1 u he was taken up from s . With the above and kindred passages in no for sight, surely there is excuse thrust ing these trained disciples into the back ground ; for did n ot our L ord give them per 2 o o o n s nal instructi n , assure them y ur ames are ” t written in heaven , and send hem forth as " laborers into his harvest Beside the group o o ow v c ntained men of Apost lic p er and fer or, w h o were facto rs of equ a l imp orta nce in the of o t spread the g spel , consequently entitled o o equal pr minence with the Eleven . We therefore pass beyond the narrow and o w o c ntracted vie , which clam rs for things o o o Ap st lic nly , and rest upon the broader 11 ST . PETER, APOSTLE OF ASIA . platform of the New Testament which em 3 braces both APOSTL ES AND PRO PHETS . EARLY RECORDS . Intense interest will always cluster around f b e the early records o christianity . These o o l ng to a transiti n period, when the Temple service and the Sinai law were replaced b v Simple forms of Christian worship and by the “ ” o oo . g spel of Peace, g d will to men If the change had been characterized, by the same “ completeness of detail as t h e pattern showed ” o in the Mount, the f rms of church service and church government would n ow be a s rigid as a o or . plaster mould, with ut flexibility elasticity Happily for the cause of unity and fellowship ou r on in day , no stress was laid such details, but the largest freedom was given by the a n “ n ou ncemen t : , God is a Spirit and they that worship h im must worship him in spirit and in truth .