E
erikd
Guest
I believe that history does not agree. Clement I, for instance, who was ordained by St. John the Apostle himself, says this:
The Church of God which sojourns at Rome, to the Church of God sojourning at Corinth, to those who are called and sanctified by the will of God, through our Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you, and peace, from Almighty God through Jesus Christ, be multiplied.
St. Clement I, 27-97 AD, First Epitsle to the Corinthians.
St. Irenaeus, one of the first widely publicized Bishops of the Church whose episcopacy was in the late 2nd century, says this:
2. Since, however, it would be very tedious, in such a volume as this, to reckon up the successions of all the Churches, we do put to confusion all those who, in whatever manner, whether by an evil self-pleasing, by vainglory, or by blindness and perverse opinion, assemble in unauthorized meetings; [we do this, I say,] by indicating that tradition derived from the apostles, of the very great, the very ancient, and universally known Church founded and organized at Rome by the two most glorious apostles, Peter and Paul; as also means of the successions of the bishops. For it is a matter of necessity that every Church should agree with this Church, on account of its preeminent authority – that is, the faithful everywhere – inasmuch as the Apostolic Tradition has been preserved continuously by those who are everywhere. potentiorem principalitatem necesse est omnem convenire ecclesiam, hoc est eos qui sunt undique fideles, in qua semper ab his qui sunt undique, conservata est ea quâ est ab apostolis traditio].
Irenaeus of Lyons [120-180 AD] Adversus Haereses (Book III, Chapter 3)
I would think these two examples, of which there are many more, would be sufficiently early enough to show what the early Christians thought of this matter.
As far as the protestants being validly ordained Priests, one has to remember that just as Jesus Himself appointed the Apostles, the Apostles themselves ordained Bishops. Those Bishops ordained Priests and Deacons. Only a Bishop can ordain a Priest, and therefore the succession stops with the Priest. In the case of Martin Luther, for instance, he would have been considered a Priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek. He would not, however, have the authority to ordain anyone else, and therefore all faculties he posessed as a Priest would have died with him. If you are interested in hearing more about this, I can certainly go into greater detail.
Of course not! Doesn’t it say in my profile that I’m an Evengelical Christian? I am not a member of that cult, the INC, which is a newer version of Arianism. They deny the deity of Christ despite their continuous practice of worshipping Him.