[Sidenote:  Innovation becomes general]

The superior office of the bishop as distinguished from the local presbytery was, therefore, an innovation, but in process of time its recognition became general.  It is probable that in the local presbytery of the primitive church some one minister excelled in special gifts and qualifications and consequently became a natural leader of his brethren. Such leadership was of God, comes general because it was based on the authority proceeding from the Spirit of God.  Such was the leadership which Paul held in a sphere of activity wider than a local congregation.  But such was not positional authority or authority proceeding from a humanly created superior office and appointment thereto.  It was of divine order.  But this fact of distinguished leadership at first, doubtless furnished an excuse for the creation of a distinct office with carefully defined functions and limits of authority.  The power of the bishop thus constituted advanced steadily.  The churches of the cities where they were located extended their influences over smaller towns in the surrounding territory, and thus the city bishop came to rule over the elders of the lesser churches of a district.

[Sidenote:  Development of hierarchy]

When the first step toward ecclesiasticism was definitely taken, by the recognition of official position authority, and government proceeding from human appointment alone, the way was prepared for rapid progress toward a highly organized system of man-rule.  When the bishops met in provincial councils, special deference was given those bishops from cities of great political importance, and they were exalted to the presidency of these councils, and this in time led to the recognition of a new order of church officials—­metropolitans.  Later the metropolitans seemed too numerous for general utility in governmental functions; therefore general leadership gradually became centralized more and more in the bishops or metropolitans of certain of the most important cities, until they were finally given recognition as an order superior to that of metropolitans and were styled patriarchs.  The first Council of Nice recognized this superior authority possessed by the patriarchates of Alexandria, Rome, and Antioch.  The General Council of Constantinople placed the bishop of Constantinople in the same rank with the other three patriarchs, and the General Council of Chalcedon exalted the see of Jerusalem to a similar dignity.  The race for leadership between the patriarchates then began.  On account of the Moslem invasion in the seventh century, Jerusalem, Alexandria, and Antioch fell away from their former positions of greatness; therefore the rivalry for leadership was henceforth between the see of Rome and the bishop of Constantinople.  Rome possessed many natural advantages, and consequently the bishop of Rome gained the greater prestige.  The full-fledged papacy was the result.