Any official authority standing above the assembly of God’s people, the royal priesthood, is unacceptable. The Word of God reigns in the church and resolves all matters of parish life. It clarifies its will through charisma. To have charisma means to have the Holy Spirit. Essentially, everyone in the community-parish could have the Holy Spirit (this does not refer to the catechumens—they are still preparing for baptism with the Holy Spirit, thus not belonging to the parish). Therefore, anyone could declare what the Holy Spirit was saying to them. However, if the assembly was dealing with practical matters, such as issues of parish life: choosing someone for a specific church service, church discipline, etc., the assembly listened to those who had revelations about the matter (charisma), and then expressed their agreement or refusal (this is the principle of reception of prophetic revelation or entire conciliar decisions: ecumenical or local councils concerning dogmatic, canonical, and other church-Eucharistic matters); the apostle Paul says (see 1 Thess. 5): “Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast to what is good” (for many false prophets have entered the church, and many false councils, robber councils, heretical councils, will gather and speak in the name of the church, the fullness of Truth, presenting heresies and satanic deceit as Truth, therefore test everything and hold fast to what is good, True, Eucharistic, Catholic).
So, when in the perfect Church (the Church in which all its members were burning with the Fire of Pentecost (the Holy Spirit), the Church announced and prepared for baptism with the Holy Spirit by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself (the period of catechesis: three years before Golgotha and 40 days after the Resurrection (see Acts 1:3)); each member of which has their unique (hypostatic) place as a member of the Body of the Church, whose head is Christ, each manifesting themselves as a creative spirit of a unique hypostasis, in a unique, personal way, not repeating anyone and not dependent on anyone (in the sense of being in the freedom of the Holy Spirit, in the freedom of personal uniqueness and absolute hypostatic otherness); all members of this Fiery Church were in absolute harmony (Christ’s love)—they had one heart and one soul (the Church is a single Divine-Human nature in many unique—Divine (Logos) and created, deified by the Holy Spirit—Hypostases. – see Part II in detail)), the unannounced (those incapable of receiving the Holy Spirit), who considered themselves Christians (baptized with the Holy Spirit), began to enter (be baptized with water) – love began to grow cold, complaints began (and a few decades later we see that there are already alcoholics, fornicators, heretics, egoists in the church (when the apostles advised whom not to choose as a bishop (deacon), it meant that people with such negative qualities (passions) were members of the church (Christians!??), since they were not recommended to be chosen, and were chosen from Christians!?)). In a less perfect church (in which there are many pagans who call themselves Christians, but in their spirit are anti-Christians), two special types of church ministers begin to stand out: one as chosen by Christ, the others as chosen by the church people. The first appear in the church without any knowledge of the other church members, as the apostle Paul appeared (e.g., see Gal. 1:11 and further; Acts 9 and others) and as the apostolic men, prophets, teachers, and all who receive spiritual gifts appeared. Ministers of another kind, on the contrary, are openly chosen by the entire church people. They are entrusted with various functions from the church people, similar to how the first seven men were chosen for the service of distributing food, clothing, and other things for daily needs.
Over time, there were fewer and fewer spiritual people in the church, those who alone know the Lord’s will, see deviations in the church. Difficult times came when the mystery of lawlessness began to gain momentum, causing the voice of the Holy Spirit in the church to become unclear, indistinct, or even completely inaudible. The church became so earthly, materialized (secularized), that people stopped feeling the need for the spiritual and believed that those chosen by the people could replace God’s people (hence the wrong notion: bishops are successors of the apostles).
So, with the reduction of the spiritual, the community of trusting catechumens, like any other human community (organization), began to feel the need for those who would maintain order, discipline, manage, supervise, organize. By choosing the necessary people, the people themselves bear the responsibility for the virtues (goodness) of their authorized representatives, bearing all the consequences of the correctness (or fallacy) of the choice. These chosen from the people were blessed for service by the Apostles (and after the apostles by those who serve as bishops) by laying hands on them. The elections themselves must necessarily take place with the participation of the entire people. Such are the apostolic tradition and patristic instructions. The people have the authority to choose presbyters (bishops) and to depose (forbid serving) the unworthy!