Salvation through Apostolic Succession?
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| The Tree of Life Icon of Christ’s Life Flowing Through the Apostles and Into the Rest of the Church Through Apostolic Succession |
Introduction
The root of much of the dysfunction and abuse of the "Apostolic System" lies in the fact that many are trusting in the succession, not Christ, for the salvation of the world, and in so doing, they reduce the need for humility and obedience and also create a situation in which they hold man higher than they ought. They believe that in the service of the Church, man cannot sin, and the Church is kept both infallible and uninvolved in moral questions and the quagmire of an evil conscience. God reportedly makes it so the Church cannot err, so that the Body of Christ remains pure and undefiled, regardless of individual actions, rather than realizing that the Church is holy because God is sanctifying it in an eternal process of repentance and transformation by the Holy Spirit.
A Historical Contradiction
The obvious problem with this theory of static perfection is the schism with Rome. If the Roman Church went apostate, it is possible that this system cannot insure or guard against heresy. It, in fact, disproves the Orthodox claims to infallibility and divinely imparted immutability. Then, the argument must devolve into an unprovable and indisputable claim that "God is pleased to reveal His fullness in the Orthodox Church." Why? Because! It is obvious that God loves the Greeks and would not suffer them to fall into error! The stinking, barbarian Latins and Germans are obviously, by merit of their unacceptable culture, more prone to heresy. Romanides definitely thinks so - the heresy of papalism was due to the heretical spirit of the Germans! It boils down to, in the end, a cultural grudge and a historical bias that leaves the thoughtful English-speaker unmoved and questioning the validity of these over-confident ethnic imperialists!
The Need for Repentance
Man is a vessel of the Holy Spirit in obedience. Only when we obey, in simplicity and love, can we say that God is truly able to use us to save others. What, then, should be the qualities that mark a "God-bearing" capacity for those in the Church - conformity to our model, Jesus Christ. Christ is the goal, and we measure the hierarchs of history, not against themselves or in the light of their cultures and traditions, but against Christ. In this, we are all found horribly lacking. Thus, we must not believe that the priesthood or the succession is what saves us - while they are important, they are not a substitute for Christ Himself and His mercy, upon which we depend for any salvation. Succession is not the way in which God comes to us and saves us, since He is already here, already revealed, and already "Pantocrator" (sovereign and the ruler of all). Apostolic Succession is often used to try to eliminate the need for individual experience, to conform the Church to law instead of grace, to instate human power as the only vehicle for God's blessing, and the ability to repress and control charismatic and political elements that were deemed threatening or out of control. While all these tendencies are clear and predictable, none of them are an expression of God's ultimate and universal truth.
A Better Understanding
Apostolic Succession occurs, not because we believe that it will save us up and against Christ’s sovereignty and omnipresence, but because we are obeying Christ’s commands. He breathed on His Apostles (John 20:22) and gave them the Holy Spirit. He commanded that they lay hands on others for baptism the impartation of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:18-20). The Book of Acts chronicles this unfolding narrative with crystal clarity, story by story, as the Apostles went out into the world and led both Jews and Gentiles into the Church. The Apostles did to their disciples as Christ did to them, teaching faithfully whatever was taught to them by Christ, and also demanding that Christ’s incarnation, His physical, bodily, corporeal touch, be passed on through our bodies (Acts 8:17-18, 19:6), not just a Gnostic secret knowledge or an abstract doctrine. No! Christ came as a man, bringing us God, and sent us the Holy Spirit, which fell by His will in fullness on the Apostles at Pentecost in “one accord,” gathered in synodality, mutual submission and love in the upper room in Acts 2.
The Apostle Paul also received this laying on of hands, when he went to Jerusalem and answered the questions of the Apostles and received the “right hand of fellowship” (Galatians 2:9). This was not a handshake. This was communion through submission to Apostolic authority, verification of right doctrine, and reception into communion by the laying on of hands. Then St. Paul did the same, laying hands on Timothy and Titus (I Timothy 4:14), instructing them to do the same with worthy men (2 Timothy 2:2), and giving the standards by which “presbyters” (from whence comes the English word “prest” or “priest”) and “overseers,” which is the literal interpretation of the Greek word “Episcopos” or “Bishop” (I Timothy 3:1-13, Titus 1:4-9).
As each generation afterward submitted to “the Apostles Teaching, Fellowship, the Breaking of Bread and the Prayers” (Acts 2:42), they were established in the ministry by the laying on of hands and the stirring up of spiritual gifts, both as an impartation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit and also as a blessing to take authority within God’s Covenant Community (Hebrews 6:1-3, 2 Timothy 1:6). This unbroken chain formed in dynamic tension, with each generation striving to preserve the Gospel that was “once and for all delivered to the saints,” (Jude 1:3) “holding fast to the traditions that were brought” to them (I Corinthians 11:2, 2 Thessalonians 2:15), and also repent and reject their own sins, interpretations, and personal foibles that define “heresy” (“personal opinion” in Greek, illustrated in Galatians 5:20, 1 Corinthians 11:19, Titus 3:10, 2 Peter 2:1).
Summary
By faithfully passing down the unchanging truth of God’s Word and its proper interpretation by the witness of the Early Church, not adding or subtracting anything to the words of the Lord (Jeremiah 14:13-15, 27:16, Ezekiel 13:6, 22:28, Revelation 22:18), authority is given, assurance of right doctrine (“orthodoxy”) is maintained, and the Church is free to continue the Apostolic mission on earth, functioning as the “Pillar and Ground of Truth” (1 Timothy 3:15) with each generation functioning as the First Century Church did in the Book of Acts! In this, Apostolic Succession is the most faithful proclamation of the Gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ, the assurance of rightful authority by submission to the historic and unchanging teachings of the Faith, not a substitute for that same Good News!
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| Christ and the Twelve |
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