Folia Theologica et Canonica 9. 31/23 (2020)
Ius canonicum
76 PÉTER ERDŐ celebrate the Eucharist, reconcile penitents, assist the poor, and pray in common. Between the end of the second century and the middle of the third, communities’ organisational structures underwent a period of intensive development.12 That is not to say, however, that before the end of the second century the offices of bishop, presbyter, and deacon were not of central importance. It was the bishop who saw to the organisation of the community and led its liturgical life - especially the celebration of the Eucharist. It was also his task to direct the teaching of the faith. Indeed, in his letter to the community at Smyrna, St Ignatius of Antioch says, ‘Let no one do anything touching the Church, apart from the bishop. Let that celebration of the Eucharist be considered valid which is held under the bishop or anyone to whom he has committed it.’13 Thus bishops already had a role of leadership in the celebration of the liturgy and the government of the local Church at the time of the first generations of Christians. There was an intrinsic connection between the mission of the bishop and the most sacred act of the Church, the Eucharist. It was the bishop’s duty to gather the community for the common celebration of the sacrament. Eusebius relates in his Ecclesiastical History that during the persecution, the authorities forbade Dionysius, the bishop of Alexandria, from assembling Christians for the Eucharist, and that the bishop understood this ban to constitute a prohibition on the very existence of the Church.14 III. The growth of communities of the faithful AFTER 313 AND ESPECIALLY AFTER 380 After the Peace of Constantine (313) the Church saw a large influx of new members. Earlier, in the third century, Christians had had many buildings set up as places of worship,15 but during the persecution under Diocletian these A Commentary, ed. Attridge, J. W. Minneapolis, MN, 2002. 178. Stewart-Sykes, A., Hippolytus: On the Apostolic Tradition (Popular Patristics Series 54), Yonkers, NY, 2015,2 191. 12 Cf. e.g., Faivre, A., Ordonner la fraternité. Pouvoir d’innover et retour á l'ordre dans l ’Eglise ancienne, Paris 1992. 220-222. 13 Smyrn. VIII, 1. 14 Hist. eccl. VII, 11,4.7. 15 According to some authors, almost from the very beginning Christians preferred the edges of cities, where they had their places of worship close to the tombs of the martyrs. Others, while recognising the importance of these places, affirm that bishops preferred residential areas of the city for their common celebrations surrounded by their presbyterate; Pietri, Ch., Recherches sur les domus ecclesiae, in Revue des Études Augustiniennes 24 (1978) 3-21. Basdevant- Gaudemet, B., Les lieux de culte, approche historico-juridique, in Basdevant-Gaudemet, B. (ed.), Église et Autorités. Études d’histoire de droit canonique médiával (Cahiers de l’Institut d’Anthropologie Juridique 14), Limoge 2006. 299-325, 300-302. Cf. e.g., Conc. Illiberit. (ca. 306) cc. 36.52. The age of these last canons depends on the still controversial redaction history of the “canons of Elvira”.
