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Holy Orders

Apostolic Succession
For at least the last 500 years of the history of the Christian Church, "apostolic succession" has been a topic of heated discussion, especially when bishops either neglect or abuse their office. Such questioning of the threefold ministry taught in the New Testament is understandable as abuses of those offices occurred in history when the state, kings and emperors obtained control of appointing church offices and “livings” were bought and sold. At times church offices were given to people who were not baptized, and were given to children. The counterfeit however does not invalidate the true.

Some critics of ancient order have gone so far as to suggest that the whole idea of a succession of apostolic ministers is either flawed or unnecessary. They point to honorable and faithful pastors serving under non-catholic polities, and with much justice they compare them favorably to rogue bishops that have appeared at various times in history, and in our own day.

As a starting point in considering these matters, it might be helpful to begin with the Preface to the Ordinal (Book of Common Prayer 1928, p. 529), which is for Anglicans neither optional nor merely advisory, but an obligatory statement of doctrine and discipline. The Preface opens with this key passage: It is evident unto all men, diligently reading Holy Scripture and ancient Authors, that from the Apostles' time there have been these Orders of Ministers in Christ's Church,- Bishops, Priests, and Deacons. Which Offices were evermore had in such reverend estimation, that no man might presume to execute any of them, except he were first called, tried, examined, and known to have such qualities as are requisite for the same; and also by public Prayer, with Imposition of Hands, were approved and admitted thereunto by lawful Authority.

The central claim of the Preface is the three-fold ministry has existed in Christ's Church since Apostolic times. This existence may be objectively demonstrated from the Scriptures and the Fathers. The three-fold ministry of bishops, priests (presbyters/elders), and deacons is the authoritative pastoral and teaching ministry of the Apostolic Church.

Jesus said to the Apostles on the evening of Easter Day, ". . .Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you" (John 20:21). Our Lord sent forth his Apostles with the same authority to complete his Father's will of on earth as the Father had first given him. This includes the Apostles' authority to make provision for the continuation of their ministry through others, just as Jesus Christ had taken authority to continue his ministry through them. The ministerial authority from Christ to Apostles was publicly demonstrated on Pentecost Day when the Holy Spirit descended on the apostles. The book of Acts and the Epistles contain detail of how the succession of teaching authority was passed on. The Church is the Body of Christ today with authority to teach, baptize and teach all nations

The Apostles, in their turn, transmitted that particular ministerial authority to their own chosen successors, bishops, priests, and deacons, which orders taken together are the continuation of the Apostolic ministry, in the variety of its duties, still today. That transmission by the Apostles to their successors, in the communion of the one Church, included the authority to call, try, examine, approve, and admit by public prayer and the imposition of hands (as the outward sign of the gift of the Holy Ghost) their own chosen successors in ministry until the Second Coming of Christ.

It must be very clear. There are other ministries; some of these are described in the writings of the Apostle Paul. But nothing else is the Apostolic pastoral and teaching ministry of the Christian Church, entrusted by Christ himself to the Apostles, except the Apostles' own continuation of their ministry through bishops, priests, and deacons. Saying this, we do not deny the priesthood of believers or that the Church as a whole is the Body of Christ today working for the reconciliation of all men to God. We are affirming that within this Body there are, as taught in the New Testament certain offices to carry out functions among them, “tending and feeding the sheep. (John 21:15-17)”

When we say in the Nicene Creed that we believe in the "apostolic" Church, we claim that the identity of the Body of Christ is known by two objective realities: the apostolic Faith and the apostolic ministry. This idea was not invented by the Fathers at Nicaea, but given by the Holy Ghost on Pentecost. "And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers" (Acts 2: 42).

While the fact of the apostolic succession appears in the Scripture, the first surviving use of the technical term "succession" comes from Hegesippus, c. 175 AD who described the succession of “right doctrine” taught by the bishops in Corinth. He said, “ In every succession and in every City things are ordered according to the preaching of the Law, the Prophets and the Lord.” Apostolic succession from the earliest days was marked by a succession of both the faith and in the order of the Apostles.

There is confusion about the meaning of "apostolic succession" partly because of a 19th century effort (on the part of many Roman and Anglo Catholics) to redefine the term "mechanically." The machine was the controlling metaphor in much of 19th century. The succession was thought of as "a machine for making bishops." While we should reject this simplistic understanding of apostolic succession it is wrong to reject the truth that there is an objective succession for the purpose of preserving the truth of Christian faith and to maintain order in the church.

Again when a bishop fails to teach the faith, or when church and state become so entwined that holy offices are bought and sold and occupied by persons totally unfit to be guardians of the faith, the counterfeit does not invalidate the true penny any more than it did in the days of the apostles who were also confronted with false teachers. Remember, Jesus said to his disciples, “ The hand of him who betrays me is on the table.” It seems in every age among those called by our Lord there are some who “turn traitor.” Luke 6:13-16.

The order of the apostolic succession is a visible means for the preservation, teaching, defense, and transmission of the apostolic faith. The succession has no meaning apart from the fullness of the faith, else Judas would be still considered a true apostle. The succession is the Church's God-given means for the orderly transmission, within the communion of the whole Church and by the whole Church through her previously admitted ministers, of apostolic ministerial authority.

While some in the past and at present hold a temporal office in the Church and are called "bishop," that does not automatically make them a "bishop" in terms of the apostolic succession. Such authority, by manifest lack of apostolic faith is limited to that granted by the faithful Church so as not to deprive the innocently ignorant. For example, as part of the Church's discipline, a heretic may baptize validly if the dominical words and the outward sign of water are used.

The apostolic ministers of the ancient Church did not tolerate a situation where holy offices were bought and sold and people who taught heresy remained indefinitely in control. There have always been reformations and counter- reformations in the Church both before and after the 15th and 16th centuries. The corrections come in two ways. The faithful attempt to remove a false bishop. If that fails, the faithful are advised to place themselves under a true bishop until such time as their diocese could be supplied with a bishop who represented both apostolic faith and apostolic order.

Again, this problem is not new. John wrote at the end of his Gospel that Jesus said many things not contained in his book. Obviously, the sayings that John saved he thought important for the faithful Church in his time. Consider the sayings of Jesus in John 10:7-16. The Good Shepherd said, “I am the good shepherd . . . The hired man, when he sees the wolf coming, abandons the sheep and runs away because he is not the shepherd and the sheep are not his. . .there are other sheep of mine, not of this fold; I must lead them as well, and they too will listen to my voice. There will be one flock, one shepherd.”

Apparently in Ephesus, or wherever this Gospel was finally written, there were wolves and hired men claiming to be the true shepherd. But the sheep know the true Shepherd’s voice. This same John wrote “My dear friends, do not trust every spirit, but test the spirits, to see whether they are from God; for there are many false prophets about in the world. . . . . We belong to God and whoever knows God listens to us, while whoever does not belong to God refuses to listen to us.” (I John 4:1) Quite apparently, from the days of Peter and his confrontation with false teachers recorded in Acts to the present day, the sheep must listen for the authentic voice of the Good Shepherd.

The above is not to discredit faithful pastors outside of the apostolic order of the Church. There are pastors, teachers and evangelists who hold the complete apostolic faith and are a blessing to the people of God.

To call a man a "bishop" is not to express approval of his doctrine or of his manner of life. It is to say that he has publicly and consistently maintained the apostolic faith and that he has been publicly tested, approved, and consecrated a bishop by the ministers of apostolic order within the communion of the apostolic church. Both objective elements (faith and order) are necessary. . No merit is attached to the Church's maintenance of the apostolic succession, since to do so is merely to obey Christ, the Scriptures and the Apostles. What the Church does receive through her obedience is an objective assurance of a valid faith and a valid ministry. The authority exercised by apostolic ministers is not in them, as a personal possession. It is the authority of the Father, given through the Son, and by the Holy Ghost to the Apostles. It resides in the communion of the Catholic Church, and it makes that communion visible through the continuation of the Apostles' Faith and Ministry by the three orders of ministers they appointed.

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