The general view is, that it is an ancient form of government having apostolic sanction, and that it is agreeable to Holy Scripture. The main argument by which this view is supported is in brief this: The office of elder was estab lished in the Old Testament Church in the earliest time. The elders were a distinct class of office bearers in the Hebrew commonwealth, and ruled in the synagogue or local church. In biblical history they are mentioned as rep resentatives of the people (Exodus iii, 16 and iv, 24; 1 Samuel viii, 4; 2 Samuel v, 3; 1 Kings viii, 1). They were especially prominent in the synagogue worship, familiar to the Jews from the time of the return from the Babylonian captivity. Each synagogue had a bench of elders, with a presiding officer known as the "chief ruler," to which was entrusted the over sight of the congregation. The "rulers* of the synagogue, mentioned in the gospel narrative, were these elders. The government of the synagogue, with its system of appellate courts terminating in the Sanhedrin, was Presbyterian (Edersheim, (Life of Christ,' Vol. II, p. 552). Jesus Christ and His chosen apostles, the found ers of the Christian Church, had been trained in the synagogue and were accustomed to no other form of church government. They knew that it had been previously sanctioned by prophets, priests and kings, all through the history of the chosen people. It was but natural that the same form of government should be adopted in the new church or "Ecclesia," the body of those °called out" from the synagogue.
That the synagogue furnished the model for the government of the Christian Church is con firmed by the statements of the apostles. Acts xiv, 23 and xx, 17-18; 1 Peter v, 1; 1 Timothy iv, 14 and v, 17. It is further claimed that the terms episcopos and presbyteros, signifying re spectively bishop and elder, are equivalent terms designating the same office. Elders and deacons constituted the office bearers of the early Church. In course of time the "chief ruler° came to be known as episcopos, the bishop of the church; but each church had its own bishop or overseer. They were what the Presbyterian pastor is at the present time. Such in general are the grounds upon which Presbyterians claim that their form of govern ment is both primitive, apostolic and conformed to the New Testament Church order. What ever may have been the primitive form of church government in the Christian Church, it is a historical fact that from the 3d century what is known as prelacy became the pre vailing order, culminating in the papacy. At the time of the Reformation (1692-1700) all the reformers desired to restore to the people their primitive rights, but there was consider able diversity of opinion as to methods. John
Calvin, in Geneva, was the first to organize a representative government in a practical form, by restoring the eldership to the church.
His conception of the eldership was adopted in the Reformed churches of Scotland, France, Holland and practically in Germany. It was through the struggle to maintain a representa tive form of government, as against the claims of prelacy, that the term was applied to the churches holding that form of government. The Church of Scotland and the Reformed churches of France and Holland are Presbyterian as to their form of government. Most of the Reformed churches have adopted, with slight modifications, the Presbyterian polity. The Methodist Episcopal Church in America, the largest of the Protestant bodies, while Episcopal in name, has become Presby terian in fact, so far as polity is concerned. In the Protestant Episcopal Church there is now representation from the laity, and the powers of the presbyters have been greatly en larged. The Lutheran Church in the United States is also presbyterian in policy.
The Doctrines of the Presbyterian Church. — While the term °Presbyterian° defines, pri marily, a polity or form of church government, it is also definitive of a system of doctrine, known as the Calvinistic or Reformed. So far as doctrine is concerned, Presbyterianism and Calvinism are synonymous. It is a popular mis take to suppose that Presbyterians accept all the teachings of the great Genevan reformer, John Calvin; but his statement of the Pauline or Augustinian system of theology is generally accepted by all branches of the Presbyterian famrly, and is embodied substantially in their Confessions. The five distinguishing features of the Calvinistic doctrine are: the absolute sovereignty of God in creation, providence and redemption; the fall of man and his utter inability to save himself from the consequences of his transgression; the election from this fallen race by the sovereign grace of God of a certain number unto eternal life; the provision made for their salvation in Jesus Christ; their effectual calling by the Holy Spirit; and their perseverance in divine grace, assured by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
The accepted symbols of the Presbyterian faith are, the Canons of the Synod of Dort, 1619 A.D., the Westminster Confession of Faith with the Catechisms, Larger and Shorter, 1648 A.D., and the Heidelberg Catechism, 1563 A.D. (See