From Synagogue to Church Public Services and Offices in the Earliest Christian Communities

This important work engages with a long historical debate: were the earliest Christians under the direction of ordained ministers, or under the influence of inspired laypeople? Who was in charge: bishops, elders and deacons, or apostles, prophets and teachers? Burtchaell examines the contemporary Jewish communities and finds evidence that Christians simply continued the offices of the synagogue. The author advances the provocative view that in the first century it was not the officers who spoke with most authority. They presided, but did not lead, and deferred to more charismatic laypeople.Burtchaell, James Tunstead is the author of 'From Synagogue to Church Public Services and Offices in the Earliest Christian Communities', published 1992 under ISBN 9780521418928 and ISBN 0521418925.