[zeek]

Well, as it's often said, God's ways are mysterious. His relation to Christianity is no exception. Let's trace what happened in terms of the concept of authority.

Jesus envisioned a fully egalitarian society where people acknowledge no authority except that of God. During Paul's time authority was conferred by particular gifts bestowed on people by the Holy Spirit including preaching, teaching, prophecy and healing.

But a few individuals including Paul himself claimed special authority for themselves that was justified in terms of their direct contact with the risen Lord. Egalitarian, Spirit-lead forms of Christian community were challenged by those who believed that order and unity could only be achieved by means of hierarchical leadership.

Formal leadership roles developed that were reserved for men who claims some direct association with Jesus. When the original followers of Jesus died off, the idea of apostolic succession developed according to which authority was passed down a male line that could be traced back to Jesus and the apostles who had known him directly.

The process became formalized into a rite of priestly ordination. Leaders were considered to be ordained by God and set apart from the rest of humanity.

So power was concentrated in the hands of a few. Apostolic succession helped to secure uniformity of belief. The authority structure claimed apostolic succession and determinded what orthodoxy was and who were the heretics.

Like Judaism, Hellenism had a tradition of priesthood. The priests stood between humans and the god or gods to whom they sacrificed. The Eucharist was the Christian version of sacrificial practice. It was seen as a repetition of Jesus's once-for-all sacrifice. It could be conducted only by ordained priests who stood in a special relationship to Christ which was conferred on them by the hierarchical system of authority in the apostolic line.