In the early church (the fiery church, in which everything burned with the fire of the Holy Spirit), everyone was illuminated by the Taboric light (the uncreated grace of the Holy Spirit), there was great grace, and there were neither pastors nor flock, neither superiors nor small, but one heart and one soul. But in this church appeared the black sin. The strong began to oppress the weak: when distributing the daily necessary things, food, and help, the Hellenist widows were wronged and destitute.
The apostles summoned the multitude of disciples (council) and proposed to choose among them seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom. The apostles explained their proposal thus: it is not right (not good!) for us to leave the word of God to serve tables. Choose seven men for this service, and we will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.
It is necessary to delve into the question of why these people were chosen? It would be naive to think, relying on the brief words of the apostles: “it is not right for us to serve tables,” that they were chosen to distribute food. After all, a lot of time had already passed and not only were necessary things, food distributed, but entire estates were brought to the apostles’ feet and somehow distributed among the needy. And until that time, there was no need for the service of the seven, especially chosen by the whole people, men. But complaints against the Jews began, grievances arose, and in connection with this, there appeared representatives of the people – naturally, for no other purpose than to restore order, as a precaution against violators of elementary justice. This is the birth of the future church hierarchy (bishop, presbyter, deacon), and we see that its primary task (the function of this ministry, entrusted to it by the church) is to maintain order (which was violated and will not be corrected until the end of the age!), so that in the church community of sinners who repent (catechumens and formally baptized, who do not even think of repenting), everything is according to the rite. It is not Christ who chooses and sends faithful witnesses of the coming Kingdom of God to the church that violated brotherly love, but the church community itself is given the opportunity to choose overseers (bishops, elders – presbyters) of elementary justice. The apostles propose to choose those filled with the Holy Spirit (that is, Christians), however, the people are free to choose whoever they want (pagans, or even satanists, heretics, god-fighters – history is full of examples).
Thus, we can say: weakness in the church (violation of brotherly love) created the need for a new institute, human. The members of this institute (hierarchy) are chosen by the people from among the people. Although the apostles lay hands on them, blessing them for ministry, this cannot protect (preserve) the new institute (hierarchy) from unworthy persons, because the people have complete freedom to appoint over themselves whoever they want. Very rarely are those chosen by the people for church ministry also chosen by God (anointed by the Holy Spirit). But even those rare guests of the hierarchical rank were (and are), in the overwhelming majority, persecuted. Or not long-lived in the world (look at the lives of the saints – how few in the past long-lived (who lived long in the second phase – V.A.) saint bishops there are).
The institute of those chosen by the people in the apostolic period exists everywhere, although still very weakly expressed. The apostle Paul everywhere appoints presbyters – elders (that is, as it is customary among the apostles: lays hands on those chosen by the people). In apostolic times, the terminology was ambiguous: a bishop was called both a presbyter and a deacon. It is also impossible to establish what was the essence of the ministry of those chosen by the people (the hierarchy of deaconry: the ministry of bishop, presbyter).
That the presbyters, deacons, and bishops did not have any particularly important significance in the church is evidenced by the low requirements that the apostle Paul (see in more detail in the third chapter of the first epistle to Timothy; by the way, the apostle Paul is not the author of this epistle) places before candidates for bishops and presbyters: a man of one wife, not a murderer, not an alcoholic, not an adulterer, not greedy, etc. (qualities are listed that Christians would be ashamed to even mention, let alone talk about them!). Of course, they did not look for people with such qualities among the spiritual (filled with the Holy Spirit), because it would be strange to speak of the spiritual that they should not be alcoholics. As people not of a spiritual state, the people were inclined to treat their chosen ones (whom they chose for the ministry of custodian) without special respect and honor. Therefore, in the teaching of the Twelve
Apostles (chapter 15) it is said: “Do not despise them, for they are to be honored along with the prophets and teachers.” The apostle Paul says (1 Tim. 5:17 and further): “The elders who rule well are to be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching…” All this indicates the emergence of some new officials in the church, whose status is only beginning to form, they do not yet have a defined purpose (ministry with clearly outlined tasks, service functions), more precisely, a spiritual purpose, and they perform all sorts of organizational and economic work, but some of them, although it does not belong to their duties, work hard at preaching and teaching, similar to the first martyr Stephen, who was chosen to serve tables, but as one chosen by God, was filled with wisdom, faith, and the Holy Spirit and performed great signs among the people. The church in apostolic times breathed with the fire of the Holy Spirit, shone with the grace of Taboric light. This light was represented by the saints (Christians – chosen by God, that is, filled with the Holy Spirit), they were not chosen by the people, they existed as a miracle, a gift (grace): apostles, prophets, teachers. The highest authority in the church – the assembly of the people of God in the Mystery of the Eucharist, belongs to the ekklesia, the council – the assembly of the entire community-parish (diocese), of which all parishioners were members (see in Part II about the principle of the conciliarity of the Church). The head of the church is Christ. He is invisibly present at the assembly of the community-parish and through it realizes His will. Therefore, the Ekklesia (Church) acts in His name.