Eastern Orthodox: Is the Ecumencial Patriarch the successor of Peter?

[mardukm]

The consecration is the rising to the position of Bishop. It is pretty rare for a man to be made a Bishop and immediatly assigned to the highest see of his Church, the only example I can think of, Metropolitan Jonah, was not consecrated by his predecessor.

It’s rare, but it has happened in the history of the Church. Patriarch St. Photius is one. I think there were two or three Roman Popes who acceded to the throne of St. Peter in such wise.

Blessings,
Marduk

 

[mardukm]

Essentially, what it seems you’re arguing, is that Bishops don’t have apostolic succession, only Patriarchs, and even though multiple Patriarchs claim official succession from St. Peter, for some reason only the Patriarch of Rome is the Monarch of the Church entire?

Now that sounds absolutely wrong, yet it seems to be what you are saying.

It probably seems that way because we are speaking here of the succession of a Patriarch, of the holder of an Apostolic See, not the succession of bishops in general. The holder of an Apostolic See (the term as understood by the early Church) must be able to trace their pedigree explicitly to an Apostle/disciple of Christ.

Blessings,
Marduk

 

[Nine_Two]

It probably seems that way because we are speaking here of the succession of a Patriarch, of the holder of an Apostolic See, not the succession of bishops in general. The holder of an Apostolic See (the term as understood by the early Church) must be able to trace their pedigree explicitly to an Apostle/disciple of Christ.

Blessings,
Marduk

I absolutely agree. But your arguement is that trace is specifically to St. Andrew. Now it is easily argued that Apostolic Succession has been so defused that any given bishop will inevitably be able to trace his succession back to St. Andrew, this has not always been the case. The Patriarchs of Constantinople therefore are successors to the Office of St. Andrew, but successors to the Apostles in general (with a specific lineage leading back to the Apostles, and most likely to all 12).