predecessor of Hyginus, as a martyr, was, indeed, calculated to abate an anxiety to secure the chair; for the whole Church was thus painfully reminded that it was a post of danger, as well as of dignity; but still, when, on the occurrence of the first vacancy, Pius was promoted over the heads of older men, he may, on this ground, have felt, to some extent, embarrassed by his elevation.  We may infer, however, from this letter, that the few senior presbyters, with whose advancement the late arrangement interfered, did not long survive this crisis in the history of the Church; for the bishop of Rome here informs his Gallic brother of their demise.  “Those presbyters,” says he, “who were taught by the apostles, [549:1] and who have survived to our own days, with whom we have united in dispensing the word of faith, have now, in obedience to the call of the Lord, gone to their eternal rest.” [550:1] Such a notice of the decease of these venerable colleagues is precisely what might have been expected, under the circumstances, in a letter from Pius to Justus.

IX.  The use of the word bishop, as denoting the president of the presbytery, marks an era in the history of ecclesiastical polity.  New terms are not coined without necessity; neither, without an adequate cause, is a new meaning annexed to an ancient designation.  When the name bishop was first used as descriptive of the chief pastor, there must have been some special reason for such an application of the title; and the rise of the hierarchy furnishes the only satisfactory explanation.[550:2] If then we can ascertain when this new nomenclature first made its appearance, we can also fix the date of the origin of prelacy.  Though the documentary proof available for the illustration of this subject is comparatively scanty, it is sufficient for our purpose; and it clearly shews that the presiding elder did not begin to be known by the title of bishop until about the middle of the second century.  Polycarp, who seems to have written about that time,[550:3] still uses the terminology employed by the apostles.  Justin Martyr, the earliest father who has left behind him memorials amounting in extent to anything like a volume, often speaks of the chief minister of the Church, and designates him, not the bishop, but the president. [551:1] His phraseology is all the more important as he lived for some time in Rome, and as he undoubtedly adopted the style of expression once current in the great city.  But another writer, who was his contemporary, and who also resided in the capital, incidentally supplies evidence that the new title was then just coming into use.  The author of the book called “Pastor,” when referring to those who were at the head of the presbyteries, describes them as “THE BISHOPS, that is, THE PRESIDENTS OF THE CHURCHES.” [551:2] The reason why he here deems it necessary to explain what he means by bishops cannot well be mistaken.  The name, in its new application, was not yet familiar