I attended a class on the Sacraments last night and the presenter was talking about how Bishops, priests and deacons were specifically mentioned in the NT. It made me wonder, how did Christians get their start putting constant and unchanging liturgical elements into their worship? Most of all, how did early Christian presbyters learn to sacrifice.
I'm not asking so much how did newly minted Christians go from believers to those called to act "In persona Christi" as that's the work of the Holy Spirit and a direct reaction to Jesus' commands, but how did ordinary folks adopt the standards and practices for worship that were common only to the Levitical Priesthood?
Did they do it in imitation or were there actual Jewish Priests who converted and instructed the first Christian priests?