[d) Nor is there any trace in the Apostolic Age of the emergence of a ministerial theory to which the sacerdotal factor was integral. (1) The apostles proper never claimed either to be or to appoint priestly officers. Their specific work was to bear the witness of their senses to the historical Christ (Ac P', 1 Jn 1'"*) ; and while they were shrewd enough to take steps for the effective organization of the little groups of disciples they attracted, they never pretended to link on to the new Church any fragments of a sacrificial system that was in their opinion outworn and spent. (2) Or, if it be assumed that the ministerial office soon began to be conceived as the result of a fusion of apostolic and presbyteral functions, as there was no priestly element in either of the original constituents, there conld be none in their con- flation. If, consequently, such an element sub- sequently appeared, its introduction must have been surreptitious, and a legitimate descent from Scriptural teaching cannot be claimed. The minis- ter was regarded as a priest in no other sense than was every disciple. Every disciple had ac- cess through Christ to God, and was charged with the priestly function of evangelism or the estab- lishment of real contact between man and God. When the communities became organized, suitable disciples were appointed to the various offices ;
and the appointment to at least the presbyterate involved three concurrent actions — the commission of God (llo KP, 1 Co y" ; cf. Jn 17"), and selection by church leaders or ' men of repute,' with the consent of the church (Ac 14« 15^, I Ti 2', Tit 1=, 1 Clem. 44). But wliile such appointment carried the right to preside at the Euchaiist and other church meetings, it added no priestly quality or prerogative to those which the minister already as a disciple possessed.
LlTKRATURB. — Comm. on the passages cited, especially B. F. Westcott, Uetmii's, 1889; Sanday-Headlam, liiimans<' {ICC, WWl) ; J. B. Lightfoot, Philippiang*, 1878, with aitpended dissertation on 'Tiie Christian Ministry.' The principal Patris- tic literature is Epistle of Barnabas (a.d. 75(?]), in which, how- ever, there is no description of ministerial qualifications or functions, and no mention of the Eucharist, but all Christians have personal access to saving knowledge ; and Clement o( Rome's Ei>. to CorinthiaTis (a.d. 96 or 97), for which see J. B. Lightfoot, Apostuiic Fathers, pt. i. (IS'JU). See also W. MiUigan, AsC'^nsion and Htiavenly Priesthood of O^'r L'inl, 1892 ; E. Hatch, Organization of the Early Christian Ch7tri'/n'>>; 1881 ; F. J. A. Hort, The Christian Ecdesia, 1S97 ; W. Lefroy. Th^ Christian Ministry/, 1890 ; T. Powell, Essay on Apostolical Succession-, 1840 ; C. Gore, The Ministry of the Christian Church-, 1889, and Orders and Unity, 1909 ; T. M. Lindsay, The Chtirch and the Ministry in the Early Ccnttirirs, 19U2 ; R. C. Moberly, Ministerial Priesthood?, 1907 ; A. E. J. Rawlinson, in Foundations, 1912, pp. 362-422; and C. H. Turner, Studies in Early Church History, 1912, pp. 1-70.
R. W. Moss.
PRINCE. — This is the rendering of two Gr. words in the NT, viz. dpxvyd^ and fipx"". Tlie translation ' prince ' is assigned to apxvy^^ '■> two passages in Acts, viz. 3"'-, ' desired a murderer to be granted unto you ; and killed the Prince of life ' (AVm and RVm 'Author'); and 5", 'Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour.' In the latter passage the title evidently denotes the royal dignity to which Jesus has been raised by the Resurrection ; but in the other quotation dpxvy^^ ''^s f'*'')' rather refers to His work as Saviour, and thus the marginal trans- lation is preferable. He is the Author of life in the sense that He is the Mediator to others of eternal life (cf. He 2'", a.pxvyl"' ''^s ffuirriplas aurwi' [AV and RVm ' captain of their salvation,' RV 'author'], and 5', aiVios aurriplas aluiviov [AV and RV 'author of eternal salvation,' RVm 'cause']). The title 'author of life' is specially suggestive in the passage in Acts in virtue of the contrast it presents to the ' murderer ' whom they desired instead.
The title ' Prince ' {S.pxtop)is applied to Jesus Christ in Rev P, ' firstbegotten (R'V 'firstborn') of the dead, and the prince (RV 'ruler') of the kings of the earth ' (cf. Ps 89-''). In virtue of the Resurrec- tion Jesus has been exalted to Divine Lordship (cf. Mt 28'^ Ph 2^). The title ' prince of the kings of the earth ' corresponds to the ' King of kings and Lord of lords ' of Rev IV* 19'". It is characteristic of Rev., with its transference to the Christ of the attributes of the theocratic king, to emphasize the sovereignty of the Exalted Christ over all earthly potentates.
There are two other passages in the apostolic writings in which S.pxw is translated 'prince.' In one, Eph 2-, 'the prince of the power of the air' (6 dpxw TTji i^ooaias roO dipos), the reference is plainly to Satan. d^ov<rla is here used collectively to denote the whole array of the hosts of evil. These are conceived as having their dwelling in the air, i.e. midway between heaven and earth (cf. 6'-, TO, TTvevp.aTiKa tt)^ irofiriplas iv rots iirovpavloi.%). The other passage is 1 Co 2"- '. There is ditl'erence of opinion as to \f\\o are ' the princes of this world ' (RV 'rulers of this world,' RVm 'age') here re- ferred to. There are some who see merely a refer- ence to those who through birth, culture, and power hold a high place in the esteem of their fellows. But others find in the passage an allusion to the evil spirits to which there was a tendency in later