In Reformed theology the doctrine of the ministry is an essential part of the doctrine of the church. The ministry is never a matter of indifference to theology. Its character, authority, forms and functions are prescribed and described in doctrinal statements of the churches, and the subject has been doctrinally and historically expounded by many theologians. While these writers differ in detail in their teaching on the ministry, they agree in main outline and together present a body of doctrine that is both consistent and explicit.

Nearly twenty-five hundred years ago an ugly old man sat in the market place of ancient Athens trying to teach his fellow citizens how to think. If we may believe Plato, his pupil, the wise old Socrates once observed that human beings were far too prone to assume that the mastery of one field of learning qualified them to speak with equal authority in all others. It was some similar modern rash generalizations in two recent publications which led to the present inquiry. With a natural aversion for polemics we shall, however, refrain from dealing with this controversial material but shall rather investigate our theme on the basis of the best available evidence from the sources and recent European scholarship.

A small book appeared in Geneva in 1629 under the title, Confessio Fidei Reverendissimi Domini Cyrilli, Patriarchae Constantinopolitani. French, English, and German translations circulated during the same year. Two years later a Greek edition of the same book turned up in Constantinople under a more elaborate title,—“Eastern Confession of the Christian Faith. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. For the benefit of those asking and inquiring about the faith and the religion of the Greeks, i. e. of the Eastern Church, as to how they think of their Orthodox faith, Cyril, Patriarch of Constantinople, publishes in the name of all the Christians this brief Confession as a testimony to God and to men, in a clear conscience and without any reservations.” Below this were the words, “I, Cyril, Patriarch of Constantinople, wrote it in my own hand. Given in Constantinople, in the month of January, 1631.”