Apostolic succession?

Question

I know apostolic succession is a big thing in the Catholic church. How exactly does it work? Does anyone called to preach by an apostle have apostolic succession? For instance if I lived during the times of the apostles and say Paul taught me and told me to go forth preaching the gospel. Would that give me apostolic succession? Is the important part of apostolic succesion being called by an apostle or one of the successors? What if a priest with the succession conferred it on a non-Catholic priest?

Answer 1

All authority was given to the apostles from Christ and at least some of that special authority is recorded in Scripture and is certainly attested to by the ante Nicene fathers.

There is no doubt that the apostles knew that their ministry would survive their death as it was needed to be a permanent living presence until the Parousia.

(Mat 28:20 DRB) Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. And behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world.

Knowing their responsibility in preserving the teaching of Christ they ordained successors giving them the gift of the Spirit with Episcopal consecration:

(Act 1:8 DRB) But you shall receive the power of the Holy Ghost coming upon you, and you shall be witnesses unto me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and even to the uttermost part of the earth.

(Act 2:4 DRB) And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost: and they began to speak with divers tongues, according as the Holy Ghost gave them to speak.

(Joh 20:22 DRB) When he had said this, he breathed on them; and he said to them: Receive ye the Holy Ghost.

(Joh 20:23 DRB) Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them: and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained.

(1Ti 4:14 DRB) Neglect not the grace that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with imposition of the hands of the priesthood.

(2Ti 1:6 DRB) For which cause I admonish thee that thou stir up the grace of God which is in thee by the imposition of my hands.

(2Ti 1:7 DRB) For God hath not given us the spirit of fear: but of power and of love and of sobriety.

There is no doubt that “Apostolic Succession” is a historical fact. Scriptures, as well show clearly that Christ chose these apostles and commissioned them to establish and continue his work with his authority and they ordained successors. It is Apostolic Succession that is the link connecting the Church to Christ. It is the authority from Christ of the Episcopacy that brings so many knowledgeable people to return to the Catholic faith as I am a witness.

We see those who were ordained in apostolic succession fulfilling their ministry:

(Act 20:28 DRB) Take heed to yourselves and to the whole flock, wherein the Holy Ghost hath placed you bishops, to rule the Church of God which he hath purchased with his own blood.

(1Th 1:1 DRB) Paul and Sylvanus and Timothy to the church of the Thessalonians: in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ.

(1Th 1:2 DRB) Grace be to you and peace. We give thanks to God always for you all: making a remembrance of you in our prayers without ceasing,

(1Th 1:3 DRB) Being mindful of the work of your faith and labour and charity: and of the enduring of the hope of our Lord Jesus Christ before God and our Father.

(1Th 1:4 DRB) Knowing, brethren, beloved of God, your election:

(1Th 1:5 DRB) For our gospel hath not been unto you in word only, but in power also: and in the Holy Ghost and in much fulness, as you know what manner of men we have been among you for your sakes.

(1Th 1:6 DRB) And you became followers of us and of the Lord: receiving the word in much tribulation, with joy of the Holy Ghost:

(1Th 1:7 DRB) So that you were made a pattern to all that believe in Macedonia and in Achaia.

(1Th 1:8 DRB) For from you was spread abroad the word of the Lord not only in Macedonia and in Achaia but also in every place: your faith which is towards God, is gone forth, so that we need not to speak any thing.

(1Th 1:9 DRB) For they themselves relate of us, what manner of entering in we had unto you: and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God.

(1Th 1:10 DRB) And to wait for his Son from heaven (whom he raised up from the dead), Jesus, who hath delivered us from the wrath to come.

(2Ti 1:6 DRB) For which cause I admonish thee that thou stir up the grace of God which is in thee by the imposition of my hands.

(Tit 1:5 DRB) For this cause I left thee in Crete: that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting and shouldest ordain priests in every city, as I also appointed thee:

(Tit 1:6 DRB) If any be without crime, the husband of one wife. having faithful children, not accused of riot or unruly.

(Tit 1:7 DRB) For a bishop must be without crime, as the steward of God: not proud, not subject to anger, nor given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre:

(Tit 1:8 DRB) But given to hospitality, gentle, sober, just, holy, continent:

(Tit 1:9 DRB) Embracing that faithful word which is according to doctrine, that he may be able to exhort in sound doctrine and to convince the gainsayers.

(1Ti 4:14 DRB) Neglect not the grace that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with imposition of the hands of the priesthood.

(2Ti 1:6 DRB) For which cause I admonish thee that thou stir up the grace of God which is in thee by the imposition of my hands.

St. Paul goes on to instruct St. Timothy as to who is a qualified candidate for ordination:

(1Ti 3:1 DRB) A faithful saying: If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth good work.

(1Ti 3:2 DRB) It behoveth therefore a bishop to be blameless, the husband of one wife, sober, prudent, of good behaviour, chaste, given to hospitality, a teacher,

(1Ti 3:3 DRB) Not given to wine, no striker, but modest, not quarrelsome, not covetous, but

(1Ti 3:4 DRB) One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all chastity.

(1Ti 3:5 DRB) But if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?

(1Ti 3:6 DRB) Not a neophyte: lest, being puffed up with pride, he fall into the judgment of the devil.

(1Ti 3:7 DRB) Moreover, he must have a good testimony of them who are without: lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.

(1Ti 5:22 DRB) Impose not hands lightly upon any man, neither be partaker of other men's sins. Keep thyself chaste.

We also find in the Scriptures that those in Apostolic Succession had particular and varied duties:

(1Co 12:27 DRB) Now you are the body of Christ and members of member.

(1Co 12:28 DRB) And God indeed hath set some in the church; first apostles, secondly prophets, thirdly doctors: after that miracles: then the graces of healings, helps, governments, kinds of tongues, interpretations of speeches.

(1Co 12:29 DRB) Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all doctors?

(Eph 4:11 DRB) And he gave some apostles, and some prophets, and other some evangelists, and other some pastors and doctors:

(Eph 4:12 DRB) For the perfecting of the saints, for the word of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

We are further reminded of the foundation of the Church:

(Eph 2:19 DRB) Now therefore you are no more strangers and foreigners: but you are fellow citizens with the saints and the domestics of God,

(Eph 2:20 DRB) Built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone:

This is only some of the Scriptures speaking of apostolic succession and the duties, need and authority of the office.

In Christ
Fr. Joseph

One of the most bazaar doctrines of Protestants is that Jesus left his Church without leadership after the apostles died. That does not sound like a very good plan for a Church that will last till the Parousia. The truth is that almost the entire book of Acts records apostolic succession and the history of the Church confirms without any possible doubt that the Church continued in leadership through the successors of the apostles. To deny this is to ignore Scripture.

Answer 2

Ephesians 4: 11 - 13

And He gave some, apostles ; and some prophets; and some evangelists; and some pastors and teachers.

You will notice that Apostle came forth first, and must have all the below mentioned qualities ! How, otherwise could he fill his mission : Start churches. To pull together believers, into a uniting, in Truth, is the calling and DRIVE of an Apostle ...

What would give that to you ? You would be called and prepared through the Holy Ghost, to accomplish your mission.

Answer 3

The Roman Catholic Church teaches that the pope is the supreme head of the church on earth, that the Apostle Peter was the first pope, and that all popes are direct successors of Peter.

At the Council of Jerusalem Peter participated, but the Apostle James not Peter presided and pronounced the Council’s decision: “And after they had held their peace, James answered, saying, ‘Men, brethren, hear me.... For which cause I judge...’” (Ac. 15:13, 19). Peter calls himself an elder and not a pope: “Now I have something to tell your elders: I am an elder myself” (1 Pet. 5:1 JB). The other apostles did not recognize Peter as their chief; in fact, they sent him to preach in Samaria (not the other way around - see Ac. 8:14).

Paul did not believe Peter was chief; in fact:

(a) Paul mentioned Peter more than once but he never mentioned him with any special title of honor, such as vicar or pope, or gave any indication that he held him above any of the other apostles.

(b) Paul taught that those who attached themselves to Peter (or to any other apostle or person) as a distinct group were guilty of schism, because Christ is the head (1 Cor. 1:12-13; 3:22).

(c) Paul did not mention the papacy when referring to the officers of the church (1 Cor. 12:28, Eph. 4:11).

(d) Paul as an apostle claimed authority over the Roman church itself (Rom. 1:5-6; 16:17).

(e) Paul was “behind the very chiefest apostle in nothing” (2 Cor. 12:11-12).

(f) Paul expressly denied that Peter was the pope and further maintained that whatever Peter was to the Jews, he, Paul, was to the Gentiles. This certainly is incompatible with any idea of a pope in Paul’s day (Gal. 2:7,8).

(g) Paul rebuked Peter without any mention of Peter’s supremacy (Gal. 2:11).

If Peter was chief, it was the duty of Paul and of the apostles to recognize him as such, respect him as chief and teach in their writings that he was the chief; but neither the gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, the epistles nor the Revelation ever mention it.

It can be demonstrated that; that Peter did not have a unique authority over the other apostles; that the apostolic office ceased when the apostles died and therefore their unique authority and abilities do not continue throughout history, then the supernatural mystical claims made by the Catholic Church for the pope and bishops is overthrown. They are mere men who must look to the Bible alone for divine truth just like everyone else.

Answer 4

Apostolic succession is the line of bishops stretching back to the apostles.

To make sure that the apostles’ teachings would be passed down after the deaths of the apostles, Paul told Timothy, "[W]hat you have heard from me before many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also" (2 Tim. 2:2). In this passage he refers to the first three generations of apostolic succession—his own generation, Timothy’s generation, and the generation Timothy will teach.

The Church Fathers, who were links in that chain of succession, regularly appealed to apostolic succession as a test for whether Catholics or heretics had correct doctrine. This was necessary because heretics simply put their own interpretations, even bizarre ones, on Scripture. Clearly, something other than Scripture had to be used as an ultimate test of doctrine in these cases.

Thus the early Church historian J. N. D. Kelly, a Protestant, writes, "[W]here in practice was [the] apostolic testimony or tradition to be found? . . . The most obvious answer was that the apostles had committed it orally to the Church, where it had been handed down from generation to generation. . . . Unlike the alleged secret tradition of the Gnostics, it was entirely public and open, having been entrusted by the apostles to their successors, and by these in turn to those who followed them, and was visible in the Church for all who cared to look for it" (Early Christian Doctrines, 37).



BTW, good question! Merry Christmas, Edge!

Answer 5

The doctrine that the 12 apostles have successors to whom authority has been passed by divine appointment. In the Roman Catholic Church, the bishops as a group are said to be successors of the apostles, and the pope is claimed to be the successor of Peter. It is maintained that the Roman pontiffs come immediately after, occupy the position and perform the functions of Peter, to whom Christ is said to have given primacy of authority over the whole Church. Not a Bible teaching.

In support of their claim that Roman Catholicism is the one true church, Catholic leaders say that their bishops have “a life-giving contact with the original apostles by a current of succession which goes back to the beginning.” In truth, this claim of apostolic succession has no historical or Scriptural basis. There is no credible evidence that the church system that arose following the death of Jesus’ apostles was ever directed by God’s holy spirit.—Romans 8:9; Galatians 5:19-21.

Answer 6

There is no biblical precedent nor support for this doctrine. Once again another man-made tradition fabricated by the catholic church. The bible clearly teaches the exact opposite. Apostles could bestow spiritual gifts on individuals but the individuals themselves could not return the favor. The catholic church likes to claim authority and what better way than to teach that their priesthood has apostolic secession. Christ himself stated that there would be no one that he would allow to lord over the church. The church only needs and has one Lord and that is God's only son, Jesus the Christ.

Answer 7

It doesn't really refer to a one-to-one succession. Instead, it's a belief that the Catholic church today is "the spiritual successor to the original body of believers in Christ."

Answer 8

Actually there is no Apostolic Succession. Thats a complete fabrication of the catholic church. And, whats worse-Peter had nothing to do with the catholic church. There is a theological term for this succession-its called "bologna".

Answer 9

Edge. If Paul told you to go and preach, no it would not.

You need to be ordained in order to have the authority of Christ. Not "Go you are an apostle" you have to do the laying on of hands and all that stuff.
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Sorry, I just saw your other question. A priest does not have the authority to ordain another priest. The bishop has to do that, or the Archbishop, etc. working all the way up to the pope.

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I didn't want to mention it because of al lthe thumbs down (proven by idahomike) but it's true. Just google it.

Answer 10

It would not mean anything, in order to have apolistic succession, you would have to preach in communion with the Catholic Church.

That is what is handed down.

You might ask at:

www.Catholic.com

There are people there than know much more than I and this is a really good question!

Peace be with you.

Answer 11

The last Apostle died long before the Roman cult got started... no such thing as Apostolic succession.