How important is apostolic succession as the mark of the true Church?

Question

Here are my comments:

http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-S6YMuFYyaa9ESBoW5DFwEjL_HhqA

Steve Amato,

I know that you must know that everything you have said against Christ's Church is not true. I will pray for you repentance for the sin against His Church. God bless and may He have mercy on us.

Answer 1

Very!

Apostolicity is the Mark by which the Church of today is recognized as identical with the Church founded by Jesus Christ upon the Apostles. It is of great importance because it is the surest indication of the true Church of Christ. It is most easily examined, and it virtually contains the other three marks, namely, Unity, Sanctity, and Catholicity.

The term “Apostolic” is preferred because it indicates a correlation between Christ and the Apostles, showing the relation of the Church both to Christ, the founder, and to the Apostles, upon whom He founded it. “Apostle” is one sent, sent by authority of Jesus Christ to continue His Mission upon earth, especially a member of the original band of teachers known as the Twelve Apostles. Therefore the Church is called Apostolic, because it was founded by Jesus Christ upon the Apostles. Apostolicity of doctrine and mission is necessary. Apostolicity of doctrine requires that the deposit of faith committed to the Apostles shall remain unchanged.

Apostolicity of mission means that the Church is one moral body, possessing the mission entrusted by Jesus Christ to the Apostles, and transmitted through them and their lawful successors in an unbroken chain to the present representatives of Christ upon earth. This authoritative transmission of power in the Church constitutes Apostolic succession. This Apostolic succession must be both material and formal; the material consisting in the actual succession in the Church, through a series of persons from the Apostolic age to the present; the formal adding the element of authority in the transmission of power. It consists in the legitimate transmission of the ministerial power conferred by Christ upon His Apostles. No one can give a power which he does not possess. Hence in tracing the mission of the Church back to the Apostles, no lacuna can be allowed, no new mission can arise; but the mission conferred by Christ must pass from generation to generation through an uninterrupted lawful succession. The Apostles received it from Christ and gave it in turn to those legitimately appointed by them, and these again selected others to continue the work of the ministry. Any break in this succession destroys Apostolicity, because the break means the beginning of a new series which is not apostolic. “How shall they preach unless they be sent?” (Rom., 10, 15). An authoritative mission to teach is absolutely necessary, a man-given mission is not authoritative. Hence any concept of Apostolicity that excludes authoritative union with the Apostolic mission robs the ministry of its Divine character. Apostolicity, or Apostolic succession, then, means that the mission conferred by Jesus Christ upon the Apostles must pass from them to their legitimate successors, in an unbroken line, until the end of the world. This notion of Apostolicity is evolved from the words of Christ Himself, the practice of the Apostles, and the teaching of the Fathers and theologians of the Church.

Answer 2

The 5 fold ministry is essential to the proper functioning of the Church. The church has erred through the centuries because they have placed the emphasis of authority in the reverse. Teachers and Pastors have went to the forefront and virtually eliminating Evangelist, Prophets and Apostles. The Holy Spirit is sweeping through the Church even in this hour and bringing proper alignment once again to the appropriate functioning of this ministry. All the gifts of authority are still in the Church and God is now bringing order. The Church will be the most beautiful sight to see before the Lord returns for it. Blessings to you in Jesus name.

Answer 3

Crucial
In Acts 6:6 the apostles laid hands on or ordained with prayer andin Acts13:3 ordained bishops /presbyters and sent them off(apostled or missioned them).
AS is an important aspect of the mark of the apostolicity of the Church and there is an interesting discussion on this in the Lutheran/Catholic Diologue document Apostolicity,
recently published.
AS is a showing of the One Priesthood of Jesus Christ sent through time until He comes again
The Early Church insisted on it and the"Alexandrian Anomoly" in which presbyters ordained a bishop in one instance during persecution was the exception that proves the rule( and it was episcopally corrected in AS later.)
For churches that claim a real pastoral office order(bishop/presbyter/deacon) not to obtain AS strikes me as just pride and disobedience from a Catholic point of view.



ntly published

Answer 4

Nice blog, Father.
Only the Catholic Church can claim it is the true Church founded by Jesus by virtue of apostolic succession.

Answer 5

I don't see where it matters at all because our God is the living not the Dead. The Apostles are every bit as alive as, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob... They will always be the foundation of the Church..

Matt 22:32
I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.

IHS Jim

Answer 6

It is very important. That is how the sacred tradition of Christ was handed down, thru direct apostolic sucession. Catholics know that everything that Jesus spoke and taught was NOT written down, and that Peter and the rest of the Apostles taught by oral tradition

Answer 7

It's bogus considering how far those who claim such have deviated from Biblical Christiantity, remaking Christianity in their own image, worshipping idols, recrucifying Christ on a weekly basis, excluding the brethren.

Answer 8

You assume that there actually is a 'true church'.
You assume that there is only one 'true church'.
You assume that there is no possibility that there is NO 'true church.

Answer 9

Very!

Answer 10

No such thing