It's Friday, and that means fish, the idea being to take a break from reading the Ante-Nicene Fathers on the nature of the episcopate and go out and catch some dinner. But as you await that exciting installment in the varied life of LSPland, here's an excerpt from St. Ignatius of Antioch:
See that you all follow the bishop, even as Jesus Christ does the Father, and the presbytery as you would the apostles; and reverence the deacons, as being the institution of God. Let no man do anything connected with the Church without the bishop. Let that be deemed a proper Eucharist, which is[administered] either by the bishop, or by one to whom he has entrusted it. Wherever the bishop shall appear, there let the multitude[of the people] also be; even as, wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church. (Letter to Smyrna)
Note that, for Ignatius, bishops are seen as the successors of Christ and the presbyters or priests, as successors of the apostles. The bishop, surrounded by his priests, is the image of Christ in the midst of the apostles.
We can only wonder what the martyr bishop, who was a disciple of the Apostle John, would say about his, ahem, successors in the episcopal college today.
Fish on,
LSP
There's something fishy about those bishops. They certainly stink enough.
ReplyDeleteI know what John-the-Baptist had to say about the woman who danced for Herod. No, she was apparently not a lesbian engaging in liturgical dance, armed with pagan symbols and the symbols of the priests of Baal, but I think that I can predict that his reaction to Katharine Jefferts-Schori and it would not be gentle.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure that The right honorable bishop Jefferts-Schori would pound nails in Jesus on the cross if there was thirty pieces of silver in it for her. As it is, she settles for her executive jet, flown on the backs of widows who contribute their mite.
Is that a member of the clergy in that picture taking a picture with his smart phone? Good grief!
ReplyDeleteThe wacky priest at Gonzaga's St. Al's likes to use a big whole branch for the asperges. It looks stupid.
It like watching Cabaret, but with out the jokes.
ReplyDeleteIt's weird, Euripides. I spotted that too. What a crew of mountebanks.
ReplyDeleteLL, KJS is in a special class all of its own. She's probably missing her 5th Ave penthouse apartment.
ReplyDeleteWhy do they do that, Adrienne? I think they think it's "popular." Very stupid.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, I agree. With Gotterdammerung thrown in for good measure.
ReplyDelete