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Jumpstarter 9 of 10

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The Claims of Rome and Eastern Orthodoxy  /  Apostolic Succession – Part 2  /  Discussion Questions
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Question 9
The lesson describes third-century shifts—bishops called “Father,” bishops/presbyters treated as priests, “divine sacrifices,” and language of “vicarious ordination”—which Bercot calls an alteration/apostasy; what do these developments reveal about how quickly sincere Christians can drift, and what present-day practices might we be tempted to excuse as “just an analogy” that later becomes something else?
Another way to ask: If, in the third century, leaders started being called “Father,” acting more like priests, and using “sacrifice” language, what does that show about how fast sincere Christians can drift? What practices today might we excuse as “just a word picture” that could later turn into something bigger?

Direct Answer Bercot presents these third-century changes as evidence that drift can happen within a couple of centuries: what begins as harmless language or analogy can harden into a new priestly system. He warns that Christians may excuse early shifts as minor, only to find they become structural departures from Jesus’s commands and New Testament simplicity.

Support from Transcript:

  • He observes “a definite change as you get into the third century.”
  • Example: bishops addressed as “Father” (letters to Cyprian), which he calls “very disturbing” because Jesus said, “Do not call anyone on earth your Father.”
  • He notes a shift around 200: from analogy with OT priests/Levites (which he says he doesn’t mind) to “suddenly now the bishops and presbyters are priests.”
  • He quotes Hippolytus: bishop alone lays hands for deacon because deacon is “not ordained for a priesthood.”
  • He quotes Cyprian on “celebrate divine sacrifices with God’s priest,” showing sacrificial/clerical framing.
  • He cites “vicarious ordination” language (Fermilian) and says these are “dangerous developments,” an “alteration and apostatizing from the true New Testament faith.”
Discussion Follow-ups What current church habits (titles, rituals, power structures) might seem like “just words” but could reshape theology over time? How can we test whether an analogy is staying an analogy?

Jumpstarter 9 of 10
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