Colin J. Bulley

The Priesthood of Some Believers: Developments from the General to the Special Priesthood in the Christian Literature of the First Three Centuries (Studies in Christian History and Thought) Colin J. Bulley

The author examines the Christian literature of the first three centuries for evidence of the development both of the special priesthood of the ordained and the general priesthood of all believers. He demonstrates that the development of the special priesthood was closely linked to the emerging division between the clergy and the laity, and that these developments harmed the expression of the general priesthood. 'The Priesthood of Some Believers' is the only detailed and comprehensive study of the way the development of the special priesthood affected that of the general priesthood.