Excerpt from The Claims of "Episcopal Bishops," Examined in a Series of Letters: Addressed to the Rev. S. A. McCoskry, D.D., Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church of Michigan The question is now fairly presented, to whom was this power transferred? To none other than the Apostles. They were selected by the Saviour to be with him, as his constant attendants and ministers to preach the gospel. They had also power to baptize, for it is said by St. John, that Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples. This was their first commission. Afterwards they received authority to commemorate our Lord's sacrifice on the cross, when he directed them at his last supper, to do as he had done; that is, to bless the elements of bread and wine in remem brance of him. This was their second commission. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.