The first testimony of the emergence of a clear distinction between the office of bishop and that of presbyter is found in the letters of Ignatius, who staunchly affirms the authority of bishops. However, Ignatius has no conception of apostolic succession: He nowhere speaks of bishops as successors of the apostles, but instead identifies the presbyters as “in the place of assembly of the apostles.”19 He also characterizes bishops as having a congregational rather than diocesan jurisdiction.
