Apostolic Succession

Apostolic Succession

APOSTOLIC SUCCESSION

BASIC R.C. BELIEF “Christ gave His Spirit to the Apostles; they, in turn laid their hands on those who should succeed them and these again on others, and so the sacred gift has been handed down to our present bishops” (Cardinal Newman).

Scripture “proofs”: Matthew 28:20; John 20:22,23; Acts 1:8, 2:4, 6:2-6, 14:23, 20:17,28; Philipians 1:1; Colossians 4:11; I Thessalonians 5:12,13; I Timothy 4:14, 5:22; II Timothy 1:6

POST VATICAN II From Vatican II document CONSTITUTION ON DIVINE REVELATION, Ch II, 7, para. 2: “But in order to keep the gospel forever whole and alive in the church, the apostles left bishops as their successors, handing over to them the authority to teach in their place.”

A recent meeting of Roman Catholic theologians claimed that the statement from the Vatican II document LUMEN GENTIUM, “Because their divine mission was destined to last until the end of time, the apostles were careful to appoint successors to this hierachically constituted society” is “a simplistic notion that should be dropped for the sake of church unity.” Cardinal William Baum (Washington, D.C.) strongly objected and said that Apostolic Succession was necessary for church unity. The theologians claimed that there is no New Testament evidence that the original Apostles ordained a single bishop to be a church leader in a given geographical location.

CHRISTIAN COMMENT The basis for ordination has always been Divine selection (Acts 13:2). Apostolic Succession was not instituted in scripture, and is a false foundation for Roman Catholic claims of Divine Sanction for a hierarchical system condemned by Jesus (Mark 10:42,43).

In the cases where Roman Catholics claim that the Apostles were singled out to receive a special enduement which they would pass on to others (John 20:22,23; Acts 2:4), in one case, only ten were present; in the other 120 were there!