resented to the church. The external dignity
of the ministers of religion was accompanied by a still greater change in
its discipline. The simple rules prescribed by the apostles for the
preservation of good order in the church branched out into so many
luxuriant shoots that it was difficult to recognize the parent stem."--p.
53.

"A regular form of discipline began to take place during the third century
in every matter which fell within the cognizance of the church." p. 51.

Following this, Ruter gives an account of the penitents seeking salvation
who had to proceed step by step. The first degree was to prostrate
themselves in the avenues of the church building. Here they were called
_flentes_. In the second degree they were allowed to enter the building
and hear the sermon. Here they were called _audientes_. In the third
degree they were allowed to unite in prayers offered in their own behalf.
Here they were called _genuflectentes_. In the fourth degree they were
allowed to approach the altar and were called _consistentes_. In the
taking of these degrees the penitents were compelled to appear in
sackcloth and ashes, and in some places the men were obliged to shave
their heads and the women to wear veils. The duration of their penitence
was regulated by the bishop. He could make the time of taking these
degrees short, or extend it to any length. This was called an indulgence.

This is shocking in the extreme. Where in the humble acts of Jesus and his
apostles do you hear of such an order of things? Truly at this time the
sun was darkened, and the moon did not give her light, and the stars had
fallen. How true now appears the prophecy of Isaiah: "The people of thy
holiness have possessed it but a little while: our adversaries have
trodden down thy sanctuary." Isa. 63:18. Jesus says, "Lay not up for
yourselves treasures upon the earth," and Paul says to the bishop to be
"not greedy of filthy lucre"; and Peter says, "Taking the oversight not
for filthy lucre's sake"--and here before the close of the third century we
find the bishops coming into possession of large estates through the
revenues of the church, and as Cyprian has said of the bishops of this
time, "Our principal study is to get money and estates."

We have before us Mosheim's Church History. In speaking of the internal
history of the church in the third century he says that "the bishops of
Rome, Antioch and Alexandria had a kind of preeminence over all other