St. Ignatius of Antioch, Letter to the Trallians 7, 2 (c. 110 AD)
“He that is within the sanctuary is pure; but he that is outside the sanctuary
is not pure. In other words, anyone who acts without the bishop and the
presbytery and the deacons does not have a clean conscience.”
St. Ignatius of Antioch, Letter to the Smyrnaeans 8, 1 (c. 110 AD)
“You must all follow the bishop as Jesus Christ follows the Father, and the
presbytery as you would the Apostles. Reverence the deacons as you would
the command of God. Let no one do anything of concern to the Church
without the bishop. Let that be considered a valid Eucharist which is
celebrated by the bishop, or by one whom he appoints. Wherever the
bishop appears, let the people be there…Nor is it permitted without the
bishop either to baptize or to celebrate the agape; but whatever he approve,
this too is pleasing to God, so that whatever is done will be secure and
valid.”
Tertullian, The Demurrer Against the Heretics 2 (c. 200 AD)
[Criticizing heretical bodies]: “Their ordinations are casual, capricious,
and changeable. Now they put neophytes in office, and again, men who are
attached to the world … So it is that today one man is bishop, tomorrow
another; today, a deacon, and tomorrow he is a lector; today, a priest, who
is tomorrow a layman. For even on laymen do they enjoin the functions of
the priesthood.”
Tertullian, An Exhortation to Chastity 7, 3 & 5 (inter 208-212 AD)
“The authority of the Church and the dignity which pertains to those
sanctified by God in the assembly of order has established a difference
between those in orders and the laity … So true is this, that unless the laity
also observe the rules which pertain to those who are chosen as priests, how
will there be any priests, since they are chosen from among laymen?”
St. Gregory of Nyssa, Sermon on the Baptism of Christ (c. 383 AD)
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