Page:A short account of the rise and progress of the African Methodist Episcopal Church in America.djvu/109

 Having thus given our views of primitive Bishops from the first three hundred years succeeding the Apostles, we will here briefly show the difference between their manner of government and ours. The primitive church formed no connection of several societies as we do, for every Pastor of a congregation was a Bishop and had the control of his own society; but with us it is essentially necessary to form a connexion of our several societies, and they being located in different parts of the United States, it becomes needful to have one central point where our ministers may have interview from time to time; hence our Yearly Conference is formed for that purpose, and, therefore, our Bishop or Superintendent must travel and oversee the whole, that every branch of our church may harmonize. The next to be noticed is an Elder and his duty; but, as we find him so nearly like our present mode, we judge it needless to say much on that point, only that he was the same in order, or ordination, but not in degree with a Bishop, because he is not so advanced to that office by