. 70) wrote a treatise _de sacerdote_ and another _de
ordinatione_. The notable and momentous change of conception expressed
in the idea can be traced by us through its preparatory stages almost as
little as the theory of the apostolic succession of the bishops. Irenaeus
(IV. 8. 3, 17. 5, 18. 1) and Tertullian, when compared with Cyprian,
appear here as representatives of primitive Christianity. They firmly
assert the priesthood of the whole congregation. That the laity had as
great a share as the leaders of the Churches in the transformation of
the latter into Priests is moreover shown by the bitter saying of
Tertullian (de monog. 12): "Sed cum extollimur et inflamur adversus
clerum, tunc unum omnes sumus, tunc omnes sacerdotes, quia 'sacerdotes
nos deo et patri fecit'. Cum ad peraequationem disciplinae sacerdotalis
provocamur, deponimus infulas."]

[Footnote 261: See Sohm, I. p. 207.]

[Footnote 262: The "deservire altari et sacrificia divina celebrare"
(Cypr. ep. 67. 1) is the distinctive function of the _sacerdos dei_. It
may further be said, however, that _all_ ceremonies of public worship
properly belong to him, and Cyprian has moreover contrived to show that
this function of the bishop as leader of the Church follows from his
priestly attributes; for as priest the bishop is _antistes Christi_
(dei); see epp. 59. 18: 61. 2: 63. 14: 66. 5, and this is the basis of
his right and duty to preserve the _lex evangelica_ and the _traditio
dominica_ in every respect. As _antistes dei_ however, an attribute
bestowed on the bishop by the apostolic succession and the laying on of
hands, he has also received the power of the keys, which confers the
right to judge in Christ's stead and to grant or refuse the divine
grace. In Cyprian's conception of the episcopal office the _successio
apostolica_ and the position of vicegerent of Christ (of God)
counterbalance each other; he also tried to amalgamate both elements
(ep. 55. 8: "cathedra sacerdotalis"). It is evident that as far as the
inner life of each church was concerned, the latter and newer
necessarily proved the more important feature. In the East, where the
thought of the apostolical succession of the bishops never received such
pronounced expression as in Rome it was just this latter element that
was almost exclusively emphasised from the end of the 3rd century.
Ignatius led the way when he compared the bishop, in his position
towards the individual community, with God a