ed, at the extreme
age of one hundred and twenty, he probably left behind him a
considerable staff of very aged elders. These may have become presidents
in the order of their seniority; and as they would pass rapidly away, we
may thus account for the extraordinary number of the early chief pastors
of the ancient capital of Palestine. [510:4]

At this time, or about A.D. 135, the original Christian Church of
Jerusalem was virtually dissolved. The Jews had grievously provoked
Hadrian by their revolt under the impostor Barchochebas; and the
Emperor, in consequence, resolved to exclude the entire race from the
precincts of the holy city. The faithful Hebrews, who had hitherto
worshipped there under the ministry of Simeon and his successors, still
observed the Mosaic law, and were consequently treated as Jews, so that
they were now obliged to break up their association, and remove to other
districts. A Christian Church, composed chiefly of Gentile converts, was
soon afterwards established in the same place; and the new society
elected an individual, named Marcus, as their bishop, or presiding
elder. Marcus was, probably, in the decline of life when he was placed
at the head of the community; and on his demise, [511:1] as well as long
afterwards, the old rule of succession seems to have been observed.
During the sixty years immediately after his appointment, there were
_fifteen_ bishops at Jerusalem [511:2]--a fact which apparently
indicates that, on the occurrence of a vacancy, the senior elder still
continued to be advanced to the episcopal chair. This conclusion is
remarkably corroborated by the circumstance that Narcissus, who was
bishop of the ancient capital of Judea at the end of these sixty years,
was, as has been already mentioned, upwards of fourscore and ten when he
obtained his ecclesiastical promotion.

The episcopal roll of Jerusalem has no recorded parallel in the annals
of the Christian ministry, for there were no less than _twenty-eight_
bishops in the holy city in a period of eighty years. Even the Popes
have never followed each other with such rapidity. The Roman Prelate,
when elevated to St. Peter's chair, has almost invariably been far
advanced in years, and the instances are not a few in which Pontiffs
have fallen victims to poison or to open violence; and yet their
history, even in the worst of times, exhibits nothing equal to the
frequency of the successions indicated by this ancient episcopal
regist