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75-530: Apostolic succession is the method whereby the ministry of the Christian Church is considered by some Christian denominations to be derived from the apostles by a continuous succession, which has usually been associated with a claim that the succession is through a series of bishops . Those of the Catholic , Eastern Orthodox , Scandinavian Lutheran , Anglican , Oriental Orthodox , Church of

150-476: A church but are not organized primarily by its members and do not contain religious overtones, the activity would better be classified as church reordering , rather than ministry. Theologians differentiate between religious ministry and Apostolates . Ministry, for Catholics, pertains to the administration of the Sacraments , and their appropriate ministers are as follows: A final, and most proper, use of

225-665: A local and global scale, usually grouped under the heading of missions . There are many organizations which perform missions on a fully funded and organized level, such as the North American Mission Board , operated by the Southern Baptist Convention and the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC). However, some Christian churches and ministries have evolved to take on a larger role in

300-400: A mere transmission of powers. It is succession in a church which witnesses to the apostolic faith, in communion with the other churches, witnesses of the same apostolic faith. The "see ( cathedra ) plays an important role in inserting the bishop into the heart of ecclesial apostolicity", but once ordained, the bishop becomes in his church the guarantor of apostolicity and becomes a successor of

375-399: A result, some churches have changed their liturgical practices, and some have entered into discussions, which in turn led to further agreements and steps towards unity. For instance, Protestant churches began to mutually recognize the validity of each other's ministers. Similar agreements in sacramental theology have affected Catholic-Orthodox relations and Catholic-Protestant relations, notably

450-544: A source and an intrinsic reason for that unity.... If someone [today] does not hold fast to this unity of Peter, can he imagine that he still holds the faith? If he [should] desert the chair of Peter upon whom the Church was built, can he still be confident that he is in the Church?" Catholicism holds that Christ entrusted the Apostles with the leadership of the community of believers, and the obligation to transmit and preserve

525-486: A unique leadership role for the Apostle Peter , believed to have been named by Jesus as head of the Apostles and as a focus of their unity, who became the first Bishop of Rome , and whose successors inherited the role and accordingly became the leaders of the worldwide Church as well. Even so, Catholicism acknowledges the papacy is built on apostolic succession, not the other way around. As such, apostolic succession

600-518: A whole and specifically his exclusive right to administer discipline to the lapsed rather than on the content of what is taught. Cyprian also laid great emphasis on the fact that any minister who broke with the Church lost ipso facto the gift of the Spirit which had validated his orders. This meant that the minister would have no power or authority to celebrate an efficacious sacrament. For the adherents of this understanding of apostolic succession, grace

675-554: Is a foundational doctrine of authority in the Catholic Church. If the very order of episcopal succession is to be considered, how much more surely, truly, and safely do we number them from Peter himself, to whom, as to one representing the whole Church, the Lord said, 'Upon this rock I will build my Church'.... Peter was succeeded by Linus, Linus by Clement, Clement by Anacletus, Anacletus by Evaristus..." The Catholic position

750-559: Is necessary for the celebration of the Eucharist. But, according to him, there is "certainly no evidence for this view in the New Testament" and in the case of Clement of Rome and Ignatius of Antioch the implication is not that it cannot be celebrated by anyone else, but that it ought not. Harvey says in the third century this "concern for propriety" begins to be displaced by the concept of 'power' to do so which means that in

825-562: Is not clearly found in the writings of the Fathers before Augustine in the fourth century and there were attempts to read it back as implicit in earlier writers. For example, C. K. Barrett points out that the Pastoral Epistles are concerned that ministers of the generation of Timothy and Titus should pass on the doctrine they had received to the third generation. According to Barrett, teaching and preaching are "the main, almost

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900-414: Is summarised this way: "The Lord says to Peter: 'I say to you,' he says, 'that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell will not overcome it ....' On him [Peter] he builds the Church, and to him he gives the command to feed the sheep, and although he assigns a like power to all the apostles, yet he founded a single chair [cathedra], and he established by his own authority

975-399: Is the first bishop of Alexandria ( Pope of Alexandria ); then he ordained Annianus as his successor bishop (2nd Pope) as told by Eusebius . James F. Puglisi, director of Centro Pro Unione , made a conclusion about Irenaeus' writings: "the terms episkopos and presbyteros are interchangeable, but the term episkopos [bishop] is applied to the person who is established in every Church by

1050-509: Is the first known source to state that only bishops have the authority to ordain; and normally at least three bishops were required to ordain another bishop. Cyprian also asserts that "if any one is not with the bishop, he is not in the church". This position was stated by John Henry Newman , before his conversion from Anglicanism to Roman Catholicism, in Tracts for the Times : We [priests of

1125-498: Is transmitted during episcopal consecrations (the ordination of bishops) by the laying on of hands of bishops previously consecrated within the apostolic succession. They hold that this lineage of ordination derives from the Twelve Apostles , thus making the Church the continuation of the early Apostolic Christian community . They see it as one of four elements that define the true Church of Jesus Christ, and legitimize

1200-467: The Archbishop of Canterbury (1961–1974), described three meanings of "apostolic succession": He adds that this last has been controversial in that it has been claimed that this aspect of the doctrine is not found before the time of Augustine of Hippo , while others allege that it is implicit in the Church of the second and third centuries. In its 1982 statement on Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry ,

1275-680: The Catholic Church , Church of the East , Oriental Orthodox , and the Eastern Orthodox Church teach apostolic succession. Among the previously mentioned churches opinions vary as to the validity of succession within Old Catholic , Anglican , Moravian , and Lutheran communities. Wherefore we must obey the priests of the Church who have succession from the Apostles, as we have shown, who, together with succession in

1350-571: The Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches stated that "the primary manifestation of apostolic succession is to be found in the apostolic tradition of the Church as a whole. ... Under the particular historical circumstances of the growing Church in the early centuries, the succession of bishops became one of the ways, together with the transmission of the Gospel and the life of

1425-521: The Twelve Apostles , "Do this in remembrance of me," Brown presumes that the Twelve were remembered as presiding at the Eucharist. But they could scarcely have been present at all the Eucharists of the first century, and no information in New Testament whether a person was regularly assigned to do this task and, if so, who that person was. After all the Church regulated and regularized the celebration of

1500-519: The World Council of Churches in Lima in January 1982. The document attempted to express the convergences that had been found over the years. It was sent to all member churches and six volumes of responses compiled. The approach used in the document has been called ecclesiology of communion by ecumenical theologians, in that the sacraments are presented as a means to achieve greater Church unity. As

1575-499: The "deposit of faith". The experience of Christ and his teachings contained in the doctrinal tradition handed down from the time of the apostles and the written portion, which is Scripture. The apostles then passed on this office and authority by ordaining bishops to follow after them. Catholic theology holds that the apostolic succession affects the power and authority to administer the sacraments except for baptism and matrimony . Baptism may be administered by anyone and matrimony by

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1650-695: The Baptist , conferring the Aaronic priesthood , followed by Jesus' Apostles, Peter, James, and John, conferring the Melchizedek priesthood . After its establishment, each subsequent prophet and leader of the church have received the authority passed down by the laying on of hands , or through apostolic succession. An early understanding of apostolic succession is represented by the traditional beliefs of various churches, as organised around important episcopal sees , to have been founded by specific apostles. On

1725-864: The British Isles and most of the Lutheran churches of Scandinavia and the Baltic, echoed the Munich (1982) and Finland (1988) statements of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church by stating that "the continuity signified in the consecration of a bishop to episcopal ministry cannot be divorced from the continuity of life and witness of

1800-410: The Catholic Church, Pope Leo XIII stated in his 1896 bull Apostolicae curae that the Catholic Church believes specifically that Anglican orders were to be considered "absolutely null and utterly void". His argument was as follows. First, the ordination rite of Edward VI had removed the language of a sacrificial priesthood. Ordinations using this new rite occurred for over a century and, because

1875-513: The Christian sacrifice is the offering of one's body. Moving on to Ignatius of Antioch , Barrett states that a sharp distinction is found between 'presbyter' and 'bishop': the latter now stands out as "an isolated figure" who is to be obeyed and without whom it is not lawful to baptise or hold a love-feast. He points out that when Ignatius writes to the Romans, there is no mention of a bishop of

1950-656: The Church of England] have been born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. The Lord Jesus Christ gave His Spirit to His 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, who have appointed us as their assistants, and in some sense representatives. ... we must necessarily consider none to be really ordained who have not thus been ordained. Ferguson, in Encyclopedia of Early Christianity , says that example of James and

2025-581: The Church were not to be removed without cause and not in this way. Further, proponents of the necessity of the personal apostolic succession of bishops within the Church point to the universal practice of the undivided early Church, up to AD 431, before it was divided into the Church of the East , Oriental Orthodoxy , the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church . Some Christians, including certain nonconformist Protestants , deny

2100-506: The Church without the bishop. Ramsey says that the doctrine was formulated in the second century in the first of the three senses given by him , originally as a response to Gnostic claims of having received secret teaching from Christ or the apostles; it emphasised the public manner in which the apostles had passed on authentic teaching to those whom they entrusted with the care of the churches they founded and that these in turn had passed it on to their successors. Ramsey argues that only later

2175-400: The East , Hussite , Moravian , and Old Catholic traditions maintain that "a bishop cannot have regular or valid orders unless he has been consecrated in this apostolic succession". These traditions do not always consider the episcopal consecrations of all of the other traditions as valid. This series was seen originally as that of the bishops of a particular see founded by one or more of

2250-480: The Eucharist, as that was an inevitable establishment if communities were to be provided regularly with the 'bread of life', since it could not rely on gratuitous provision. According to William Griffith Thomas , some Protestants have objected that this theory is not explicitly found in Scripture, and the New Testament uses 'bishop' and 'presbyter' as alternative names for the same office. Michael Ramsey argued it

2325-580: The Holy Spirit in founding and building up the Church". Anglican theologian E. A. Litton argues that the Church is "built upon 'the foundation of the Prophets and Apostles', but a foundation does not repeat itself"; therefore he says that when the apostles died, they were replaced by their writings. To share with the apostles the same faith, to believe their word as found in the Scriptures, to receive

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2400-422: The Holy Spirit to the apostles&;...". [These were] "enriched by Christ the Lord with a special outpouring of the Holy Spirit ... This spiritual gift has been transmitted down to us by episcopal consecration". According to International Theological Commission (ITC), conflicts could not always be avoided between individuals among the New Testament communities; Paul appealed to his apostolic authority when there

2475-539: The Roman Church, "which we may suppose had not yet adopted the monarchical episcopate". Jalland comes to a similar conclusion and locates the change from the "polyepiscopacy" of the house church model in Rome, to monepiscopacy as occurring before the middle of the second century. Similar objections are voiced by Harvey A.E. who comments that there is a "strong and ancient tradition" that the presence of an ordained man

2550-422: The absence of such a man it is "literally impossible" for a Eucharist to be celebrated. Some Protestant denominations, not including Scandinavian Lutherans, Anglicans and Moravians, deny the need of maintaining episcopal continuity with the early Church, holding that the role of the apostles was that, having been chosen directly by Jesus as witnesses of his resurrection, they were to be the "special instruments of

2625-523: The apostles . According to historian Justo L. González , apostolic succession is generally understood today as meaning a series of bishops, regardless of see, each consecrated by other bishops, themselves consecrated similarly in a succession going back to the apostles. According to the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue Between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church , "apostolic succession" means more than

2700-442: The apostles and their successors". According to Eric G. Jay, Irenaeus also refers to a succession of presbyters who preserve the tradition "which originates from the apostles" and later goes on to speak of their having "an infallible gift of truth" [ charisma veritatis certum ]. Jay comments that this is sometimes seen as an early reference to the idea of the transmission of grace through the apostolic succession which in later centuries

2775-435: The apostles or to leaders from the apostolic era, include: The Anglican Communion ( see below ) and those Lutheran churches which claim apostolic succession do not specifically teach this but exclusively practice episcopal ordination. While some Anglicans claim it for their communion, their views are often nuanced and there is widespread reluctance to 'unchurch' Christian bodies which lack it. Roman Catholics recognize

2850-660: The apostles. Those who hold for the importance of apostolic succession via episcopal laying on of hands appeal to the New Testament which, they say, implies a personal apostolic succession, from Paul to Timothy and Titus , for example. They appeal as well to other documents of the early Church , especially the Epistle of Clement . In this context, Clement explicitly states that the apostles appointed bishops as successors and directed that these bishops should in turn appoint their own successors; given this, such leaders of

2925-426: The apostolic communion). Apostolic tradition deals with the community, not only an ordained bishop as an isolated person. Since the bishop, once ordained, becomes the guarantor of apostolicity and successor of the apostles; he joins all the bishops, thus maintaining episkope of the local churches derived from the college of the apostles. Churches that claim some form of episcopal apostolic succession , dating back to

3000-464: The basis of these traditions, the churches hold they have inherited specific authority, doctrines or practices on the authority of their founding apostle(s), which is understood to be continued by the bishops of the apostolic throne of the church that each founded and whose original leader he was. Thus: Teachings on the nature of apostolic succession vary depending on the ecclesiastic body, especially within various Protestant denominations. Christians of

3075-533: The canonical borders of the Eastern Orthodox Church, extending the term only to bishops who have maintained communion, received ordination from a line of apostolic bishops, and preserved the catholic faith once delivered through the apostles and handed down as holy tradition . The lack of apostolic succession through bishops is the primary basis on which Protestant denominations (barring some like Lutherans and Anglicans) are not called churches , in

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3150-413: The church, Reformed tradition, following authentic Catholic tradition, distinguishes four realities which make up the true apostolic succession, symbolized, but not absolutely guaranteed, by ministerial succession." At the same time Thurian argued that the realities form a "composite faithfulness" and are (i) "perseverance in the apostolic doctrine"; (ii) "the will to proclaim God's word"; (iii) "communion in

3225-521: The community service and global outreach programs. Community service ministries may include a "soup kitchen", homeless ministry , crisis center, food pantry, unplanned pregnancy center, senior visitation program, new parent support, Animal Chaplains , or a number of other specialized ministries. These specialized ministries can include formal or informal approaches to intentionally interacting with others, encouraging, counseling, and providing relational care to them. If activities such as these are held at

3300-476: The community, in which the apostolic tradition of the Church was expressed." It spoke of episcopal succession as something that churches that do not have bishops can see "as a sign, though not a guarantee, of the continuity and unity of the Church" and that all churches can see "as a sign of the apostolicity of the life of the whole church". The Porvoo Common Statement (1996), agreed to by the Anglican churches of

3375-520: The concept of age-specific ministries. Age-specific ministry does have certain disadvantages, mostly stemming from the separation of children from the primary church functions. Nearly all churches feature some form of worship music, whether from a choir , orchestra , or worship band , whether accompanied or a cappella . Religious organizations also incorporate other forms of creative and performance arts into their services or programs. Many churches sponsor ministries designed to reach out others on

3450-412: The couple to each other. Authority to so administer such sacraments is passed on only through the sacrament of Holy Orders , a rite by which a priest is ordained. Ordination can be conferred only by bishop. The bishop must be from an unbroken line of bishops stemming from the original apostles selected by Jesus Christ. Thus, apostolic succession is necessary for the valid celebration of the sacraments. In

3525-475: The dialogue states that apostolic succession "consists at least in continuity of apostolic doctrine, but this is not in opposition to succession through continuity of ordained ministry". While the Lutheran-Catholic dialogue distinguished between apostolic succession in faith (in substantive meaning) and apostolic succession as ministerial succession of bishops, it agreed that "succession in the sense of

3600-491: The diocese to which he is called". Some Anglicans, in addition to other Protestants, held that apostolic succession "may also be understood as a continuity in doctrinal teaching from the time of the apostles to the present". For example, the British Methodist Conference locates the "true continuity" with the Church of past ages in "the continuity of Christian experience, the fellowship in the gift of

3675-489: The elders (presbyters) of the Jerusalem Church (Acts 21:18) may have provided a model for the development of 'monepiscopacy', in which James' position has figured conspicuously in modern theories about the rise of the monepiscopacy. Raymond E. Brown says that in the earlier stage (before the third century and perhaps earlier) there were plural bishops or overseers ("presbyter-bishops") in an individual community; in

3750-468: The episcopate, have received the mark of truth according to the will of the Father; all others, however, are to be suspected, who separated themselves from the principal succession. In Catholic theology, the doctrine of apostolic succession is that the apostolic tradition – including apostolic teaching, preaching, and authority – is handed down from the college of apostles to the college of bishops through

3825-569: The fact of ordination to a vacant see and the status of those who administered the ordination is seldom commented on. Woollcombe also states that no one questioned the apostolicity of the See of Alexandria despite the fact that its popes were consecrated by the college of presbyters up till the time of the Council of Nicaea in 325. On the contrary, other sources clearly state that Mark the Evangelist

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3900-504: The figure of a single bishop, as the head of the communities, appears explicitly in the letters of Ignatius of Antioch ( c. 35-107). In the Epistle to the Smyrnaeans , Ignatius wrote about three degrees ministry: See that you all follow the bishop , even as Jesus Christ does the Father, and the presbytery as you would the apostles; and reverence the deacons , as being the institution of God. Let no man do anything connected with

3975-549: The fundamental continuity of the Church, the Body of Christ, the faithful celebration of Baptism and the Eucharist"; (iv) "succession in the laying on of hands, the sign of ministerial continuity". According to Walter Kasper , the Reformed-Catholic dialogue came to belief that there is an apostolic succession which is important to the life of the Church, though both sides distinguish the meaning of that succession. Besides,

4050-628: The hierarchical succession." As a result, the pope's final judgment was that Anglican ordinations going forward were to be considered "absolutely null and utterly void". Anglican clergy were from then on to be ordained as Catholic priests upon entry into the Catholic Church. Christian ministry As churches attempt to meet the needs of their congregations, they often separate their members into groups according to age categories. Age-specific groups meet for religious study including Sunday school programs, fellowship , and other activities. These age divisions may include: There are several advantages to

4125-491: The interpretation of his writing is disputed, but it is clear that he supports some sort of approved continuation of the ministry exercised by the apostles which in its turn was derived from Christ. Hegesippus (180?) and Irenaeus (180) introduce explicitly the idea of the bishop's succession in office as a guarantee of the truth of what he preached in that it could be traced back to the apostles, and they produced succession lists to back this up. That this succession depended on

4200-419: The later stage changed to only one bishop per community. Little is known about how the early bishops were formally chosen or appointed; afterwards the Church developed a regularized pattern of selection and ordination of bishops, and from the third century on that was universally applied. Brown asserts that the ministry was not ordained by the Church to act on its own authority, but as an important part to continue

4275-514: The laying on of hands, as a permanent office in the Church. Historically, this has been understood as a succession in office, a succession of valid ordinations, or a succession of the entire college. It is understood as a sign and guarantee that the Church, both local and universal, is in diachronic continuity with the apostles; a necessary but insufficient guarantor thereof. Papal primacy is different though related to apostolic succession as described here. The Catholic Church has traditionally claimed

4350-521: The ministry of Jesus Christ and helps to make the Church what it is. Raymond E. Brown also states that by the early second century, as written in the letters of Ignatius of Antioch , in the threefold structure of the single bishop, plural presbyters, and plural deacons, the celebration of the Eucharist is assigned to the bishop alone; the bishop may delegate others when he goes away. At the Last Supper , Jesus says to those present, who were or included

4425-564: The ministry of its clergy, since only a bishop within the succession can perform valid ordinations and only bishops and presbyters (priests) ordained by bishops in the apostolic succession can validly celebrate (or "confect") several of the other sacraments , including the Eucharist , reconciliation of penitents , confirmation and anointing of the sick . Everett Ferguson argued that Hippolytus , in Apostolic Tradition 9 ,

4500-498: The need for this type of continuity, and the historical claims involved have been severely questioned by them; Anglican academic Eric G. Jay comments that the account given of the emergence of the episcopate in Chapter III of the dogmatic constitution Lumen gentium (1964) "is very sketchy, and many ambiguities in the early history of the Christian ministry are passed over". Michael Ramsey , an English Anglican bishop and

4575-516: The one Spirit; in the continuity in the allegiance to one Lord, the continued proclamation of the message; the continued acceptance of the mission". The teaching of the Second Vatican Council on apostolic succession has been summed up as follows: Bishops have succeeded the apostles, not only because they come after them, but also because they have inherited apostolic power. ... "To fulfil this apostolic mission, Christ ... promised

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4650-481: The only, activities of ministry". He argues that in Clement of Rome ministerial activity is liturgical: the undifferentiated 'presbyter-bishops' are to "make offerings to the Lord at the right time and in the right places" something which is simply not defined by the evangelists. He mentions the change in the use of sacrificial language as a more significant still: for Paul the Eucharist is a receiving of gifts from God,

4725-540: The original records of their churches; let them unfold the roll of their bishops, running down in due succession from the beginning in such a manner that [that first bishop of theirs] bishop shall be able to show for his ordainer and predecessor some one of the apostles or of apostolic men Writing a little later, Tertullian makes the same main point but adds expressly that recently founded churches (such as his own in Carthage) could be considered apostolic if they had "derived

4800-504: The people but from the pastors; a scriptural ordinance provides for this ministry being renewed by the ordination of a presbyter by presbyters; this ordinance originates with the apostles, who were themselves presbyters, and through them it goes back to Christ as its source.". Then he continued: "it does not guarantee the continuity and faithfulness of the Church. A purely historical or mechanical succession of ministers, bishops or pastors would not mean ipso facto true apostolic succession in

4875-465: The proper sense, by the Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches, the latter referring to them as "ecclesial communities" in the official documents of the Second Vatican Council . The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints also claims apostolic succession. According to Latter-day Saint tradition, in 1829, Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery received the priesthood from a visit from heaven of John

4950-581: The restoration of the language of "priesthood" a century later in the ordination rite "was introduced too late, as a century had already elapsed since the adoption of the Edwardine Ordinal ... the Hierarchy had become extinct, there remained no power of ordaining." With this extinction of validly ordained bishops in England, "the true Sacrament of Order as instituted by Christ lapsed, and with it

5025-404: The same Holy Spirit, is to many Protestants the only meaningful "continuity". The most meaningful apostolic succession for them, then, is a "faithful succession" of apostolic teaching. Max Thurian , before his conversion to Roman Catholicism in 1988, described the classic Reformed / Presbyterian concept of apostolic succession in the following terms. "The Christian ministry is not derived from

5100-484: The same because they foresaw the risk of discord: "Our Apostles, too, by the instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ, knew that strife would arise concerning the dignity of a bishop; and on this account, having received perfect foreknowledge, they appointed the above-mentioned as bishops and deacons: and then gave a rule of succession, in order that, when they had fallen asleep, other men, who had been approved, might succeed to their ministry." According to Anglican Eric G. Jay ,

5175-436: The succession of ministers must be seen within the succession of the whole church in the apostolic faith". The Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue Between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church asserts that apostolic succession means something more than just a transmission of authorities; it witnesses to the apostolic faith from the same apostolic faith, and in communion with other churches (attached to

5250-496: The term "ministries" pertains to those instituted by the bishop: Ordained ministers are those who have received Holy Orders: deacons, priests, and bishops. Note that a bishop can do anything a priest can do, and a priest can do anything a deacon can do. Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry ( BEM ), also known as the Lima Document , is a Christian ecumenical document adopted by members of

5325-546: The tradition of faith and the seeds of doctrine" from an apostolic church. His disciple, Cyprian ( Bishop of Carthage 248–58) appeals to the same fundamental principle of election to a vacant see in the aftermath of the Decian Persecution when denying the legitimacy of his rigorist rival in Carthage and that of the anti-pope Novatian in Rome. The emphasis is now on legitimating Cyprian's episcopal ministry as

5400-487: The validity of the apostolic successions of the bishops, and therefore the rest of the clergy, of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Church of the East, Old Catholics (except the ordination of women), and Polish National Catholic Church . The Orthodox generally recognize Roman Catholic clerical orders as being of apostolic lineage, but have a different concept of the apostolic succession as it exists outside

5475-413: Was a disagreement about the Gospel or principles of Christian life. How the development of apostolic government proceeded is difficult to say accurately because of the paucity of relevant documents. ITC says that the apostles or their closest assistants or their successors directed the local colleges of episkopoi and presbyteroi by the end of the first century; while by the beginning of the second century

5550-402: Was it given a different meaning, a process in which Augustine (Bishop of Hippo Regis, 395–430) played a part by emphasising the idea of "the link from consecrator to consecrated whereby the grace of order was handed on". Writing in about AD 94, Clement of Rome states that the apostles appointed successors to continue their work where they had planted churches and for these in their turn to do

5625-421: Was understood as being specifically transmitted through the laying on of hands by a bishop within the apostolic succession (the "pipeline theory"). He warns that this is open to the grave objection that it makes grace a (quasi)material commodity and represents an almost mechanical method of imparting what is by definition a free gift. He adds that the idea cannot be squeezed out of Irenaeus' words. Let them produce

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