That form of Church polity, in which the ministry is divided into the three orders of Bishops, Priests, and Deacons, each having powers and duties, distinct from the others, the Bishops being superior to the Priests and Deacons, and the immediate source of all their authority, is called EPISCOPACY, and those who adhere to this polity, are called EPISCOPALIANS. It is believed, by Episcopalians, that the Savior, when upon earth, established a Church, or Society, of which He was the Ruler and Head, and with which He promised to be, till the end of the world. They believe, that, during the forty days in which He remained upon earth, after His resurrection, “speaking” to His disciples “of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God,” He gave them such directions for the government and management of this Society, or Church, as were necessary; which directions, they implicitly followed: and that, from their subsequent practice, these directions of the Savior, whatever they may have been, are to be ascertained. “That it was the design of our blessed Redeemer to continue a ministry in the Church, after His ascension, is a truth, for which we ask no better proof, than that furnished by the narratives of the Evangelists, and the practice of the Apostles. If, then, a ministry, divinely authorized, was to exist, it is equally evident, that it would assume some definite form. It would consist, either of a single grade of office, in which every person ordained would have an equal share in its functions and prerogatives; or, of two, three, or more grades, distinguished from each other by degrees of authority and peculiarities of duty.” There must, also, exist, _somewhere_, the power of transmitting the ministry, by ordination. Among those, who suppose there is but one grade of office, this power is lodged in every minister. By Episcopalians, the power is confined to the highest order of the ministry,—the Bishops. It is evident, that the Savior could not have established both these different modes; and therefore both cannot possibly be correct. “To suppose, that He, who is the Fountain of all wisdom, could have been the Author of such inevitable disorder,—a kind of disorder which must ever keep the axe at the root of that _unity_ for which He prayed,—is not only an absurdity, but an opinion equally repudiated by all parties.” “It is manifest,” therefore, “that whatever may prove itself to be THE form of ministry, established and authorized by Jesus Christ, every other must be altogether void of such authority, and based simply on human appointment.”