Joseph Smith, Ignatius, and Ordinances Overseen by the Bishops

 

Joseph baptizes Oliver Cowdery, by Del Parson

Recently, I shared a brief note regarding how the church described in Ignatius’s epistles and Joseph Smith’s revelations align. I would like to share one more.

In Ignatius’s epistle to the Smyrnaeans, he teaches, “It is not permissible either to baptize or to hold a love feast without the bishop.”[1] The “love feast” Ignatius here refers to was an ancient practice mentioned by Paul in 1 Corinthians 11 and is also typically referred to in English as an “agape feast.” Essentially, when early Saints partook of the Sacrament, they would typically accompany it with a sort-of potluck, allowing them to renew covenants and fellowship and be reconciled with one another. This was also probably done to mirror the Last Supper more precisely.[2] (Keep that in mind the next time you are invited to a linger longer after Church!)

Thus, it is possible to read this passage in terms of the sacramental ordinance — it is not permissible to either baptize or bless and partake of the sacrament without the bishop.

This is similar to modern Church practice restored through Joseph Smith. IN a revelation to Joseph Smith in Spring 1835, the Lord declared that “The bishopric is the presidency of [the Aaronic] priesthood, and holds the keys or authority of the same. … The power and authority of the lesser, or Aaronic Priesthood, is to hold the keys of the ministering of angels, and to administer in outward ordinances, the letter of the gospel, the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, agreeable to the covenants and commandments” (Doctrine and Covenants 107:15, 20).

One of those outward ordinances that would be included is the partaking of the sacrament, in which members of the Church renew their covenants with God. For this reason, the Bishop presides over the sacrament and authorizes it to be passed to members of the congregation.

Here, again, appears to be a real, tangible connection between the ancient organization and structure of the Church and that revealed to Joseph Smith.

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[1] Translation taken from Michael W. Holmes, The Apostolic Fathers: Greek Texts and English Translations, 3rd ed. (Baker Academic, 2007).

[2] See Richard D. Draper and Michael D. Rhodes, Paul’s First Epistle to the Corinthians (BYU Studies, 2017), 550–52