carter8:
P.S.- I am really perplexed about Apostolic authority, because I just don’t see it historically occuring. We have a lot of conjecture, (especially for the time immediately after Peter and Pauls death)but no real substance.
Hello carter8,
Wow! I could not disagree more with your assertion that we don’t have much historically concerning Apostolic Succession! In my view we have far more than conjecture and much substance.
Have you read “The Faith of the Early Fathers” by William A. Jurgens? It is a compilation of the known writings of the the early Church Fathers, a few of which walked with Apostles.
The Volumes contain the letters of St Clement of Rome AD 80 and St. Ignatius of Antioch AD 110 both of whom walked with Apostles among others. The last “Patristic” writings are those of St John Damascene around AD 749.
It is impossible to read St Ignatius AD 110 and conclude the Baptist Church, for example, was remotely similar to the early Christian Church. The letters are full of exclusively Catholic beliefs concerning the heirarchy of the Church, the beginning of which is recorded in Acts and the Apostolic Letters of Peter and Paul. This is precisely Apostolic Succession in action.
My good brother, they are not subtle, they pretty much wack you over the head with the Church basically just as we know it today. Apostolic Succession, if not totally apparent to you in Matthew and Acts, was certainly clear to the earliest Church Fathers who were directly taught by the Apostles. I am sure you will agree if you read them yourself.
The story of the formation of the Canon of the Bible itself witnesses to the Catholic Church and Apostolic Succession. These writings are ripe with snipets of the actual debate that formed our New Testament.
Consider that the letters held in Scripture today were written to a particular city or group of cities. There is evidense that the Bishops of the various cities shared and excahnged hand written copies of these treasured letters with Bishops of other cities. These letters, we know from the writings, were read aloud at gatherings, the earliest from of the Mass, along with the Old Testament Scriptures.
Overtime, the authenticity of certain letters became clouded. The evidense of this is the debate concerning which of the letters were suitable for reading during gatherin gs. In fact, this was a hotly debated subject for 400 years and even beyond among Bishops. Some letters were widely accepted while others were rejected by certain Bishops.
Contrary to many Protestant views, the Pope does not dictatorially intercede to establish unity among the Bishops or force them into some dogmatic belief. This has never happened and is contrary to the Office and Infallibility.
In the case of the New Testament Canon, the Bishops through the early ages argued the matter for centuries before agreeing to some great degree at the Council of Hippo in AD 393 and Carthage in AD 397.
So you see; Apostolic Succession was alive at the earliest stages of the Church. It had it’s hand in the establishment of the Canon of the New Testament which all Christians hold as Truth.
We have more than just conjecture in my view. These “patristic” writings have been scientifically examined and held to modern standards of historic authenticity. They are widely used by Catholic, non-Catholic, and secular researchers. I encourage you to fill in that gap you perceive. I think reading the “Faith of the Early Fathers” may do just that.
I hope my words encourage your personal journey. This was part of my journey from the Lutheran to the Catholic Church. It was not without anguish.
Above all, pray, my brother! Let the Spirit lead you. Open your heart and mind to the calling of Christ.
