Why I believe in Apostolic Succession

[neophyte]

(Sorry for the obnoxious length of this)

Authority is central to all other issues.

Even when we, as reasonable men with our wills fully desiring to know God’s truth and who have turned our lives over to Jesus’ care, study scripture as well as we are able, we come to mutually exclusive conclusions about what it means.

Because of the effects of original sin, our wills are weakened and our intellects are darkened. We are easily deceived by ourselves and by others. By definition, we are incapable of knowing whether or not we are self-deceived.

Thus, when we disagree on the meaning of Scripture, we cannot determine who is correct unless we have recourse to an authority who can tell us.

Scripture cannot tell us what it means because it cannot express itself in any words other than the ones written.

“Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and said, ‘Do you understand what you are reading?’ He replied, ‘How can I, unless someone instructs me?’ So he invited Philip to get in and sit with him.” (Acts 8:30-31)​

Catholics believe that the task of interpreting the Word of God has been entrusted solely to the Magesterium of the Church (that is, to the college of Bishops in union with the sucessor of St. Peter), infalliblly guided by the Holy Spirit.

“The Roman Pontiff and the bishops are “authentic teachers, that is, teachers endowed with the authority of Christ, who preach the faith to the people entrusted to them, the faith to be believed and put into practice… The supreme degree of participation in the authority of Christ is ensured by the charism of infallibility. This infallibility extends as far as does the deposit of divine Revelation; it also extends to all those elements of doctrine, including morals, without which the saving truths of the faith cannot be preserved, explained, or observed.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC), pp. 2034-2035)​

Jesus gave teaching authority to the Magesterium.

The Church is a divine institution: the Bride and Body of Christ.

“And he put all things beneath his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of the one who fills all things in every way.” (Eph. 1:22-23)​

The Church is the foundation and pillar of truth, perfect and holy.

“But if I should be delayed, you should know how to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of truth.” (1 Tim. 3:15)

“…Christ loved the church and handed himself over for her to sanctify her, cleansing her by the bath of water with the word, that he might present to himself the church in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.” (Eph 5:25b-27)

​

The Church is forever visible, not hidden.

“All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be. What came to be through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race; the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (John 1:3-5)

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all in the house” (Matt. 5:14-15; see also Luke 8:16,11:33).

“If he refuses to listen even to the Church, then treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector” (Matt. 18:17). Christ speaks of a visible Church when he recommends recourse to it for settling disputes among his followers.

​

The Church will proclaim the true gospel continuously, forever.

“This is the covenant with them which I myself have made, says the LORD: My spirit which is upon you and my words that I have put into your mouth Shall never leave your mouth, nor the mouths of your children, nor the mouths of your children’s children from now on and forever, says the LORD.” (Is. 59:21)

“I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.” (Matt. 16:18b)

“And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” (Matt. 28:20b)

“…but the word of the Lord remains forever.’ This is the word that has been proclaimed to you.” (1 Pet 1:25)

​

(continued)

 

[neophyte]

The Church is built on the foundation of the Apostles

“He came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near, for through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone. Through him the whole structure is held together and grows into a temple sacred in the Lord; in him you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. (Ephesians 2:17-22)

“When you read this you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to human beings in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit,…” (Ephesians 3:4-5)

​

Jesus will always be with the Apostles.

“And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age." (Matt 28:20)​

The Holy Spirit will guide the Apostles into all truth, and will be with them always.

“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of truth, which the world cannot accept, because it neither sees nor knows it. But you know it, because it remains with you, and will be in you.”…"When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth that proceeds from the Father, he will testify to me.”…“But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth. He will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears, and will declare to you the things that are coming. (John 14:16-17; 15:26; 16:13)

"I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now.” (John 16:12 )

Jesus explicitly says that there is truth that they have not yet been taught and are not yet ready for.

​

The Apostles speak with the authority of God.

“For it will not be you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.” (Matthew 10:20)

“After this the Lord appointed seventy (-two) others whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit.” (Luke 10:1)

“Whoever listens to you listens to me. Whoever rejects you rejects me. And whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me." (Luke 10:16)

​

The Apostles will remember everything Jesus taught them.

“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of truth, which the world cannot accept, because it neither sees nor knows it. But you know it, because it remains with you, and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.” (John 14:16-18, 26)

“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” (Luke 21:33)

​

The Apostles will never teach erroneous doctrine.

“As you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world.”(John 17:17-19)​

The Apostles will be one in the doctrine they teach.

"I pray not only for them, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me. And I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may be brought to perfection as one, that the world may know that you sent me, and that you loved them even as you loved me.” (John 17:20-23)​

The Apostles have to power to forgive sin.

”(Jesus) said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.” (John 20:21-23)​

God will give the Apostles whatever they ask for in Christ’s name, and the fruit they bear will remain.

“It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you.”(John 15:16, 16:23)

“I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that I often planned to come to you, though I was prevented until now, that I might harvest some fruit among you, too, as among the rest of the Gentiles.” (Romans 1:13)

​

(continued)

 

[neophyte]

St. Peter has a pre-eminent place among the Apostles.

“Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 16:17-19).

The Keys of the Kingdom

​

On that day I will summon my servant Eliakim, son of Hilkiah; I will clothe him with your robe, and gird him with your sash, and give over to him your authority. He shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah. I will place the key of the House of David on his shoulder; when he opens, no one shall shut, when he shuts, no one shall open. I will fix him like a peg in a sure spot, to be a place of honor for his family; On him shall hang all the glory of his family: descendants and offspring, all the little dishes, from bowls to jugs. (Isaiah 22:20-25)

The Old Testament Davidic kingdom had a body of Stewards, analogous to the Cabinet of Ministers, to whom the King delegated authority to enact binding law in his name but with no authority to do anything inconsistent with the king’s will. The office of Steward was one of dynastic succession: when the office was vacated a new person was appointed to it.
The holder of the office of Chief Steward (the Prime Minister) had additional authority to override the binding decisions made by any of the other Stewards. The symbol of that office was the Keys to the Kingdom.

Thus, when Jesus gave the keys of the kingdom to Simon, he was promoting him to the Office of Chief Steward.

​

The Renaming​

In ancient Israel, names were held to have a metaphysical significance, indicating the character of the individual.

Every instance of God changing someone’s name was associated with the institution of a special covenant with that person.

Avram (“Father”) was on the fast track to being the last of his line. God renamed him Avraham (“Father of many”) and his heir lives from the beginning to the end, forever.

Jacob (“Supplanter”) was a userper of authority. God renamed him Israel (“Contended with God)” and his descendants were chosen as the vehicle through which the whole world would bow once again to the King of Kings.

Simon (“He heard”, named after Jacob’s son) was on the fast track to obscurity. God renamed him “Rock” and made him Chief Steward of the Kingdom.

Shaul (named after Israel’s first king), as the chief student of the great Rabbi Gamaliel, was on the fast track to fame and honor. God DID NOT rename him, rather Shaul himself took the name Paul (“Humble” or “Shorty”).

​

(continued)

 

[neophyte]

The Apostles, and not the believers at large, had the authority to interpret Scripture and teach binding doctrine.

“Let every person be subordinate to the higher authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been established by God. Therefore, whoever resists authority opposes what God has appointed, and those who oppose it will bring judgment upon themselves.” (Rom 13:1-2)

“Obey your leaders and defer to them, for they keep watch over you and will have to give an account, that they may fulfill their task with joy and not with sorrow, for that would be of no advantage to you.” (Heb. 13:17)

“I repeat the request I made of you when I was on my way to Macedonia, that you stay in Ephesus to instruct certain people not to teach false doctrines” (1 Tim 1:3)

“We did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we had been eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received honor and glory from God the Father when that unique declaration came to him from the majestic glory, “This is my Son, my beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” We ourselves heard this voice come from heaven while we were with him on the holy mountain. Moreover, we possess the prophetic message that is altogether reliable. You will do well to be attentive to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. Know this first of all, that there is no prophecy of scripture that is a matter of personal interpretation, for no prophecy ever came through human will; but rather human beings moved by the holy Spirit spoke under the influence of God.” (2 Pet. 1:16–21, 3:2)

This is now, beloved, the second letter I am writing to you; through them by way of reminder I am trying to stir up your sincere disposition, to recall the words previously spoken by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and savior through your apostles. (2 Pet. 3:2)

“In them (Paul’s letters) there are some things hard to understand that the ignrant and unstable distort to their destruction, just as they do the other scriptures.” (2 Pet. 3:16)

The promises outlined above were given to the disciples themselves, and most of them were given in private to the 12 during the Last Supper. No one else was in the room, and Jesus did not say that some of the promises also conferred authority on anyone not present. Any conclusion that some of these promises referred to believers not present requires an appeal to extra-biblical sources.

​

The scriptural record shows that the Magesterium exercised that authority to make binding decisions on matters of faith.

The Council of Jerusalem met to resolve the first significant doctrinal debate: do Gentiles need to be circumcised before they can become Christians?

The very Apostles who were comissioned by Jesus could not readily agree on the answer. How then can we, who are not Apostles, expect to readily come to correct doctrine without guidance from an authority?

After much debate, Peter made a decision, James agreed, and all debate was silenced. Whether or not you believe the passage shows Peter or James to be the acknowledged leader, there can be no doubt that the body of Apostles (the Magesterium) presumed to make decisions that were binding on all believers and that the Magesterium indeed had a leader to whom the other Apostles deferred.

​

The authority Jesus gave to the Apostles did extend to the Apostles’ sucessors.

“For it is written…”may another take his office”…and the lot fell uopn Matthias, and he was counted with the eleven Apostles” (Acts 1:20,26)

“And what you heard from me through many witnesses entrust to faithful people who will have the ability to teach others as well.” (2 Tim 2:2)

“For we are God’s co-workers; you are God’s field, God’s building. According to the grace of God given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building upon it. But each one must be careful how he builds upon it, for no one can lay a foundation other than the one that is there, namely, Jesus Christ.” (1 Cor 3:9-11)

/indent​

 

[neophyte]

The extrabiblical historical record shows that the early Church believed in the sucession of Apostolic authority.

Clement of Rome, 3rd Bishop of Rome, probable hearer of the Apostle Peter.​

“Christ, therefore, is from God, and the Apostles are from Christ…Throught the countryside they preached; and they appointed their earliest converts, testing them by the spirit, to be the bishops and deacons of future believers…Our Apostles knew through our Lord Jesus Christ that there would be strife for the office of bishop. For this reason, therefore, having received perfect knowledge, they appointed those who have already been mentioned, and afterward added the provision that, if they should die, other approved men should succeed to their ministry…Shameful, beloved, extremely shameful and unworthy of your training in Christ, is the report that on account of one or two persons the well-established and ancient Church of the Corinthians is in revolt against the presbyters. And this report has come not only to us, but even to those professing other faiths than ours, so that by your folly you heap blasphemies on the name of the Lord, and create a danger to yourselves…If anyone disobey the things which have been said by Him through us, let them know that they will involve themselves in transgression and in no small danger. We, however, shall be innocent of this sin…” Letter to the Corinthians (AD 80)​

Ignatius, 3rd Bishop of Antioch, hearer of the Apostle John.​

“It is necessary, therefore, -and such is your practice, -that you do nothing without the bishop, and that you be subject also to the presbytery, as to the Apostles of Jesus Christ our hope…In like manner let everyone respect the deacons as they would respect Jesus Christ, and just as they respect the bishop as a type of the Father, and the presbyters as the council of God and the college of Apostles. Without these, it cannot be called a Church…anyone who acts without the bishop and the presbytery and the deacons does not have a clean conscience.” Ignatius of Antioch, student of the Apostle John, Letter to the Trallians (AD 110)

“For Jesus Christ, our inseparable life, is the will of the Father, just as the Bishops, who have been appointed throughout the world, are the will of Jesus Christ. It is fitting, therefore, that you should live in harmony with the will of the Bishop - as indeed you do…Let us be careful, then, if we would be submissive to God, not to oppose the Bishop. Furthermore, the more anyone observes that a Bishop remains silent, the more he should stand in fear of him. For anyone whom the master of the house sends to manage his business ought to be received by us as we would receive him by whom he was sent. It is clear, then, that we must look upon the Bishop as the Lord Himself…” Ignatius of Antioch, Letter to the Ephesians (AD 110)

“You must all follow the bishop as Jesus Christ follows the Father, and the presbytery as you would the Apostles. Reverence the deacons as you would the command of God. Let no one do anything of concern to the church without the bishop.” Ignatius of Antioch, Letter to the Smyrneans (AD 100)
​

 

[neophyte]

Ignatius, 3rd Bishop of Antioch, hearer of the Apostle John.​

“I exhort you to be careful to do all things in the unity of God, since the bishop sits in the place of God, and the presbyters in the place of the synod of the Apostles, and the deacons, who are most dear to me, have been entrusted with the ministry of Jesus Christ, who was with the Father before the world began, and was manifested in the end…Be diligent, therefore, to be confirmed in the doctrine of the Lord and of his Apostles, that ye may be prosperous in all things, whatsoever ye do, both in flesh and spirit, in faith and love, in the Son and the Father and the Spirit, in the beginning and the end, together with your most worthily-distinguished bishop, and the nobly woven spiritual crown of your presbytery, and of your deacons, who walk according to God. Submit yourselves to your bishop and to each other, as Jesus Christ to his Father according to the flesh, and the Apostles to Christ, and to the Father, and to the Spirit; that there may be a union both fleshly and spiritual.” Ignatius of Antioch, Letter to the Magnesians (AD 110)

“Abstain from evil herbage, which Jesus Christ doth not cultivate, because it is not the planting of the Father. Not that I have found division among you, but thorough purity.I cried while I was among you, and spake with a loud voice, saying, Give heed unto the bishop, and to the presbyters, and to the deacons. But they suspected that I spake these things because I knew beforehand the division of certain of them; but he, for whose name I am in bonds, is witness unto me that I knew not these things through the flesh of man. But the spirit preached, saying these things: Do nothing apart from the bishop; keep your flesh as the temple of God; love unity, avoid divisions; be imitators of Jesus Christ, even as he is of his Father.” Ignatius of Antioch, Letter to the Philadelphians (AD 100)
​

(continued)

 

[neophyte]

Irenaeus, 2nd Bishop of Lyons​

“It is possiblem then, for everyone in every Church, who may wish to know the truth, to contemplate the tradition of the Apostles whcih has been known throughout the whole world. And we are in a position to enumerate those who were instituted bishops by the Apostles, and their successors to our own times: men who neither knew nor taught anything like these heretics rave about. For if the Apostles had known hidden mysteries which they taught to the elite secretly and apart from the rest, they would have handed them down especially to those very ones to whom they were committing the self-same Churches. For surely they wished all those and their successors to be perfect and without reproach, to whom they handed on their authority…It is necessary to obey those who are the presbyters of the Church, those who, as we have shown, have succession from the Apostles; those who have received, with the succession of the epicopate, the sure charism of truth according to the good pleasure of the Father. But the rest, who have no part in the primitive succession and assemble wheresoever they will, must be held in suspicion…For all of these [heretics] are of much later date than are the bishops to whom the Apostles handed over the Churches…” Againt Heresies (inter AD 180/199)

“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; 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 the faith preached to men, which comes down to our time by 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 pre- eminent authority, that is, the faithful everywhere, inasmuch as the apostolical tradition has been preserved continuously by those who exist everywhere. The blessed apostles, then, having founded and built up the Church, committed into the hands of Linus the office of the episcopate. Of this Linus, Paul makes mention in the Epistles to Timothy. To him succeeded Anacletus; and after him, in the third place from the apostles, Clement was allotted the bishopric. This man, as he had seen the blessed apostles, and had been conversant with them, might be said to have the preaching of the apostles still echoing [in his ears], and their traditions before his eyes. Nor was he alone [in this], for there were many still remaining who had received instructions from the apostles. In the time of this Clement, no small dissension having occurred among the brethren at Corinth, the Church in Rome despatched a most powerful letter to the Corinthians, exhorting them to peace, renewing their faith, and declaring the tradition which it had lately received from the apostles, proclaiming the one God, omnipotent, the Maker of heaven and earth, the Creator of man, who brought on the deluge, and called Abraham, who led the people from the land of Egypt, spake with Moses, set forth the law, sent the prophets, and who has prepared fire for the devil and his angels. From this document, whosoever chooses to do so, may learn that He, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, was preached by the Churches, and may also understand the apostolical tradition of the Church,” Againt Heresies (inter AD 180/199)​

St. Cyprian of Carthage​

“Our Lord, whose commands we ought to fear and observe, says in the Gospel, by way of assigning the episcopal dignity and settling the plan of His Church: “I say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell will not overcome it. And to you I will give the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatever things you bind on earth will be bound also in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth, they will be loosed also in heaven…From that time the ordination of bishops and the plan of the Church flows on through the changes of times an succesions; for the Church is founded on the bishops, and every act of the Church is controlled by these same rulers. ” Letter to the Lapsed (AD 250)​

(continued)

 

[neophyte]

Eusebius​

“That both Peter and Paul suffered martyrdom at the same time is affirmed as follows, by Dionysius, Bishop of Corinth, when writing to the Romands: You have also, by your very admonition, brought together the planting that was made by Peter and Paul at Rome and at Corinth; for both of them alike planted in our Corinth and taught us; and both alike, teaching similarly in Italy, suffered martyrdom at the same time.” St. Dionysius, Bishop of Corinth, Letter to Soter of Rome (fragment in Eusebius, History of the Church, Bk. 2, Ch. 25) (A.D. 166/174)

“It is recorded that Paul was beheaded in Rome itself, and Peter likewise, was crucified, during the reighn of Nero. The account is confirmed by the names of Peter and Paul over the cemetaries there, which remain to the present time.And it is confirmed also by a stalwart man of the Church, Gaius by name, who lived in the time of Zephyrinus, Bishop of Rome. This gaius, in a written disputation with Proculus, the leader of the sect of Cataphyrygians, says this of the places in which the remains of the aforementioned Apostles were deposited: “ I can point out the trophies of the Apostles. For if you are willing to go to the Vatican or to the Ostian Way, you will find the trophies of those who founded this Church.”Caius, Presbyter of Rome, Disputation with Proclus (fragment in Eusebius, History of the Church, Bk. 2, Ch. 25) (A.D. 198/217)​

The overwhelming evidence from Sacred Scripture and from extra-biblical historical doumentation is that Jesus founded a Church with a visible, hierarchical teaching authority vested in the sucessor to St. Peter and the Bishops in union with him: the Magesterium of the Catholic Church.

END! (whew!!)