Definition of Terms:
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Apostolic Succession: Origins, Scriptural Foundations, and Early Christian Practice
Apostolic Succession refers to the practice by which ecclesial authority in the early Church was transmitted through the appointment of successors—commonly bishops—by means of the laying on of hands. This practice was understood as a continuation of the mission and authority of the Apostles, who were chosen and commissioned directly by Jesus Christ. The succession was not merely institutional, but sacramental and spiritual, ensuring the faithful transmission of apostolic teaching, the valid administration of the sacraments, and the pastoral oversight of Christian communities. It was considered vital to the Church’s identity, unity, and doctrinal integrity.
Biblical Foundations and Early Christian Understanding
The theological foundations of Apostolic Succession are deeply rooted in Scripture. In the Gospels, Jesus confers authority on His Apostles (cf. Matthew 10:1; John 20:21–23), commissioning them to proclaim the Gospel, forgive sins, and govern His Church. In the Acts of the Apostles, this authority begins to be exercised and transmitted. One of the first acts of the Apostolic community after the Ascension was the selection of a successor to Judas Iscariot. Referring to Psalm 109:8, Peter declares, “His office let another take” (Acts 1:20). The Greek word translated as “office” is episkopē, the root of the English word bishop. After communal prayer, Matthias is chosen and is incorporated into the apostolic circle through the laying on of hands.
The motif of laying on of hands as a means of transmitting spiritual authority has strong biblical precedent. In the Old Testament, Moses commissions Joshua through this ritual act (cf. Numbers 27:22–23; Deuteronomy 34:9). In the New Testament, the Apostle Paul both receives and bestows this gift. He appoints elders in various churches (cf. Acts 14:23), and reminds Timothy not to neglect the gift conferred on him “through the laying on of hands” (1 Timothy 4:14; 2 Timothy 1:6). Paul entrusts Timothy and Titus with significant pastoral authority: to teach, correct, ordain, and safeguard the transmission of sound doctrine (cf. Titus 1:5; 1 Timothy 3:1–13; 2 Timothy 2:2). These passages collectively reflect an early Christian understanding of a chain of teaching and leadership that was to be perpetuated from generation to generation.
Paul’s exhortation in 2 Timothy 2:2—“What you have heard from me before many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also”—highlights the deliberate continuity of doctrine and oversight. Likewise, 1 Corinthians 11:2 and 11:23 emphasize that what Paul “received from the Lord” he also “handed on,” a phrase that encapsulates the very meaning of traditio—the root of “Tradition.”
Patristic Testimony and Ecclesial Structure
The idea and necessity of Apostolic Succession were articulated clearly by several early Christian writers, especially in response to emerging doctrinal disputes and challenges to ecclesiastical authority. Clement of Rome, writing near the end of the first century, provides one of the earliest attestations of apostolic continuity:
“The Apostles knew, through our Lord Jesus Christ, that there would be strife concerning the bishop’s office. For this cause… they appointed their firstfruits [i.e., bishops], and afterward gave instructions, that when these should fall asleep, other approved men should succeed them.” (1 Clement 42–44)
Ignatius of Antioch, a contemporary of Clement and a disciple of the Apostle John, emphasized the central role of the bishop in maintaining doctrinal unity and Eucharistic communion. In his letters to various churches, he repeatedly underscores the connection between the bishop and the unity of the Church:
“Follow the bishop as Jesus Christ followed the Father… Let no one do anything pertaining to the Church without the bishop.” (Letter to the Smyrnaeans 8)
Irenaeus of Lyons, writing in the late second century, defended the apostolic tradition against Gnostic interpretations by appealing to the unbroken succession of bishops from the Apostles. In Against Heresies, he argues that authentic doctrine can be known through the churches founded by the Apostles, whose successors preserve the true teaching:
“It is within the power of all… to contemplate clearly the tradition of the Apostles manifested throughout the whole world; and we are in a position to enumerate those who were instituted bishops by the Apostles, and their successors down to our own times.” (Against Heresies 3.3.1)
Irenaeus especially highlights the Roman Church as a key witness to apostolic tradition due to its foundational link to both Peter and Paul. His argument presumes that ecclesial legitimacy derives not merely from doctrinal agreement but from historical continuity with apostolic origins.
Apostolic Succession in the Eastern Christian Traditions
The principle of Apostolic Succession is not unique to the Latin (Roman Catholic) Church but is also foundational to the ecclesiology of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Assyrian Churches. These traditions, while distinct in liturgical and theological expression, share a belief in an unbroken line of episcopal ordination tracing back to the Apostles.
- The Eastern Orthodox Church, for example, sees the bishop as the preserver of both right belief (orthodoxy) and right worship (orthopraxis), and Apostolic Succession is essential to the validity of sacraments and the preservation of Holy Tradition.
- The Coptic Orthodox Church, which traces its origins to the apostolic ministry of St. Mark in Alexandria, affirms that sacramental and pastoral authority is maintained through an uninterrupted line of bishops.
- Similarly, the Assyrian Church of the East, which claims apostolic roots in the missions of St. Thomas and others in Mesopotamia and beyond, views episcopal succession as integral to the Church’s faithfulness to Christ’s original commission.
Though terminology and ecclesiastical structures may differ across these traditions, the underlying conviction is shared: that apostolic authority was not meant to cease with the death of the Apostles, but to be transmitted as a living reality within the Church.
Apostolic Succession and Ecclesial Identity
In Christian theology, Apostolic Succession serves not merely as a matter of institutional continuity but as a theological affirmation of the Church’s rootedness in the mission and person of Christ. By transmitting both authority and teaching through successive generations of bishops, the Church seeks to preserve fidelity to the Gospel in both form and content. The visible structure of the Church—bishops, presbyters (priests), and deacons—derives from this principle, ensuring that pastoral care, sacramental life, and doctrinal teaching are exercised in communion with the apostolic foundation.
While not all Christian traditions affirm Apostolic Succession in the same manner, its development in early Christianity reflects a deep concern for preserving unity, resisting heterodoxy, and safeguarding the sacramental and doctrinal integrity of the faith. In the words of St. Paul, “God is not a God of confusion but of peace” (1 Cor. 14:33), and for the early Church, Apostolic Succession was one of the means by which this divine order was maintained.
Bible Verses:
The Gospel of John 20:21
“As the Father has sent me, even so I send you”
The Gospel of Matthew 10:1
“He called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every infirmity.”
Acts 1:20-26
20 “For it is written in the book of Psalms. . . ‘Let another take his position of overseer.’ . . . Then they prayed and said, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which one of these two you have chosen 25 to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.” 26 And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias; and he was added to the eleven apostles.
1 Corinthians 11:2
“I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions just as I handed them on to you.
1 Corinthians 12:27-29
“Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. 28 And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers; then deeds of power, then gifts of healing, forms of assistance, forms of leadership, various kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles?
2 Thessalonians 2:15
“So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by our letter.
1 Timothy 4:14
“Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you through prophecy with the laying on of hands by the council of elders.
1 Timothy 5:22
“Do not ordain anyone hastily, and do not participate in the sins of others; keep yourself pure.
Titus 1:5
“I left you behind in Crete for this reason, so that you should put in order what remained to be done, and should appoint elders in every town, as I directed you.”
2 Timothy 2:2
“What you have heard from me before many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.”
Church Father Quotes:
Clement I of Rome (martyred 96 A.D.)
“(The Apostles) preached through town and countryside, appointing the earliest converts, testing them by the Spirit, to be the bishops and deacons of future believers. Nor was this a novelty, for bishops and deacons had been written about a long time earlier.” – Letter of Clement to the Corinthians 42:4-5 (Written 96 A.D.)
“The Apostles knew through our Lord lesus Christ that there would be strife for the office of bishop. For this reason, therefore… they appointed the aforesaid persons and afterwards added the further provision that, if they should die, other approved men should succeed to their ministry. –First Letter of Clement to the Corinthians 44:1-3
Polycarp of Smyrna (69-155 A.D.)
“And of the elect, he is one indeed, the wonderful martyr Polycarp, who in our days was an apostolic and prophetic teacher, Bishop of the Catholic Church in Smyrna. For every word which came forth from his mouth was fulfilled and will be fulfilled.” – The Martyrdom of St Polycarp 16:2 (Written 155 A.D.)
Hegesippus “the Chronicler” (110-180 A.D.)
“When I had come to Rome, I [visited] Anicetus, whose deacon was Eleutherus. And after Anicetus [died], Soter succeeded, and after him Eleutherus. In each succession and in each city there is a continuance of that which is proclaimed by the law, the prophets, and the Lord” (Memoirs, cited in Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 4:22 [A.D. 180]).
Irenaeus of Lyons (130-202 A.D.)
“It is possible, then, for everyone in every church, who may wish to know the truth, to contemplate the tradition of the apostles which has been made known to us throughout the whole world. And we are in a position to enumerate those who were instituted bishops by the apostles and their successors down to our own times, men who neither knew nor taught anything like what these heretics rave about” (Against Heresies 3:3:1 [A.D. 189]).
“But since it would be too long to enumerate in such a volume as this the successions of all the churches, we shall confound all those who, in whatever manner, whether through self-satisfaction or vainglory, or through blindness and wicked opinion, assemble other than where it is proper, by pointing out here the successions of the bishops of the greatest and most ancient church known to all, founded and organized at Rome by the two most glorious apostles, Peter and Paul—that church which has the tradition and the faith with which comes down to us after having been announced to men by the apostles. For with this Church, because of its superior origin, all churches must agree, that is, all the faithful in the whole world. And it is in her that the faithful everywhere have maintained the apostolic tradition” (ibid., 3:3:2).
“Polycarp also was not only instructed by apostles, and conversed with many who had seen Christ, but was also, by apostles in Asia, appointed bishop of the church in Smyrna, whom I also saw in my early youth, for he tarried [on earth] a very long time, and, when a very old man, gloriously and most nobly suffering martyrdom, departed this life, having always taught the things which he had learned from the apostles, and which the Church has handed down, and which alone are true. To these things all the Asiatic churches testify, as do also those men who have succeeded Polycarp down to the present time” (ibid., 3:3:4).
“[I]t is incumbent to obey the presbyters who are in the Church—those who, as I have shown, possess the succession from the apostles; those who, together with the succession of the episcopate, have received the infallible charism of truth, according to the good pleasure of the Father. But [it is also incumbent] to hold in suspicion others who depart from the primitive succession, and assemble themselves together in any place whatsoever, either as heretics of perverse minds, or as schismatics puffed up and self-pleasing, or again as hypocrites, acting thus for the sake of lucre and vainglory. For all these have fallen from the truth” (ibid., 4:26:2).
“The true knowledge is the doctrine of the apostles, and the ancient organization of the Church throughout the whole world, and the manifestation of the body of Christ according to the succession of bishops, by which succession the bishops have handed down the Church which is found everywhere” (ibid., 4:33:8).
Tertullian of Carthage (155-240 A.D.)
“[The apostles] founded churches in every city, from which all the other churches, one after another, derived the tradition of the faith, and the seeds of doctrine, and are every day deriving them, that they may become churches. Indeed, it is on this account only that they will be able to deem themselves apostolic, as being the offspring of apostolic churches. Every sort of thing must necessarily revert to its original for its classification. Therefore the churches, although they are so many and so great, comprise but the one primitive Church, [founded] by the apostles, from which they all [spring]. In this way, all are primitive, and all are apostolic, while they are all proved to be one in unity” (Demurrer Against the Heretics 20 [A.D. 200]).
“[W]hat it was which Christ revealed to them [the apostles] can, as I must here likewise prescribe, properly be proved in no other way than by those very churches which the apostles founded in person, by declaring the gospel to them directly themselves . . . If then these things are so, it is in the same degree manifest that all doctrine which agrees with the apostolic churches—those molds and original sources of the faith must be reckoned for truth, as undoubtedly containing that which the churches received from the apostles, the apostles from Christ, [and] Christ from God. Whereas all doctrine must be prejudged as false which savors of contrariety to the truth of the churches and apostles of Christ and God. It remains, then, that we demonstrate whether this doctrine of ours, of which we have now given the rule, has its origin in the tradition of the apostles, and whether all other doctrines do not ipso facto proceed from falsehood” (ibid., 21).
“But if there be any [heresies] which are bold enough to plant [their origin] in the midst of the apostolic age, that they may thereby seem to have been handed down by the apostles, because they existed in the time of the apostles, we can say: Let them produce 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 [their first] bishop shall be able to show for his ordainer and predecessor some one of the apostles or of apostolic men—a man, moreover, who continued steadfast with the apostles. For this is the manner in which the apostolic churches transmit their registers: as the church of Smyrna, which records that Polycarp was placed therein by John; as also the church of Rome, which makes Clement to have been ordained in like manner by Peter” (ibid., 32).
“But should they even effect the contrivance [of composing a succession list for themselves], they will not advance a step. For their very doctrine, after comparison with that of the apostles [as contained in other churches], will declare, by its own diversity and contrariety, that it had for its author neither an apostle nor an apostolic man; because, as the apostles would never have taught things which were self-contradictory” (ibid.).
“Then let all the heresies, when challenged to these two tests by our apostolic Church, offer their proof of how they deem themselves to be apostolic. But in truth they neither are so, nor are they able to prove themselves to be what they are not. Nor are they admitted to peaceful relations and communion by such churches as are in any way connected with apostles, inasmuch as they are in no sense themselves apostolic because of their diversity as to the mysteries of the faith” (ibid.).
Cyprian of Carthage (200-258 A.D.)
“[T]he Church is one, and as she is one, cannot be both within and without. For if she is with [the heretic] Novatian, she was not with [Pope] Cornelius. But if she was with Cornelius, who succeeded the bishop [of Rome], Fabian, by lawful ordination, and whom, beside the honor of the priesthood the Lord glorified also with martyrdom, Novatian is not in the Church; nor can he be reckoned as a bishop, who, succeeding to no one, and despising the evangelical and apostolic tradition, sprang from himself. For he who has not been ordained in the Church can neither have nor hold to the Church in any way” (Letters 69[75]:3 [A.D. 253]).
Firmilian of Caesarea (Died 269 A.D.)
“And other heretics as well, if they have parted themselves from the Church, can have nothing to do with power and grace, since all power and grace is settled in the Church, where preside presbyters, who possess the power of both baptizing and imposing of hands, and of ordaining.” – Letter to Cyprian (Written in 255 A.D.)
“But what his error is… who says that the remission of sins can be given in the synagogues of heretics, who do not remain on the foundation of the one Church founded upon the Rock by Christ…. can be learned from this, which Christ said to Peter alone:
‘Whatever things you shall bind on earth shall be bound also in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth, they shall be loosed in heaven’ and… “if you forgive the sins of any, they shall be forgiven; and if you retain the sins of any, they shall be retained.’ Therefore, the power of forgiving sins was given to the Apostles and the Churches they founded and the Bishops who succeeded them.” – Letter to Cyprian (Written in 255 A.D.)
Eusebius of Caesaria (260-340 A.D.)
“When Vespasian had ruled for ten years, his son Titus succeeded him as emperor. In the second year of Titus reign, Linus, Bishop of Rome, having held the office for twelve years, handed it on to Anicletus. . .(Pope) Clement of Rome succeeded Anicletus.” – Eusebius Ecclesiastical History’ 3:13 (Written in 312 A.D.)
“After the martyrdom of Paul and Peter, Linus was the first appointed to the episcopacy of the Church at Rome. Paul, writing from Rome to Timothy, mentions Linus in the salutation at the end of the Epistle (2Tim 4:21.)” –Ecclesiastical History 3:2 (Written in 312 A.D.)
“Paul testifies that Crescens was sent to Gaul (2 Tim. 4:10), but Linus, whom he mentions in the Second Epistle to Timothy as his companion at Rome, (2 Tim. 4:21) was Peter’s successor in the episcopate of the church there, as has already been shown. Clement also, who was appointed third bishop of the church at Rome, was, as Paul testifies, his co-laborer and fellow-soldier (Phil. 4:3).” –Church History 3:4:9-10 (Written 312 A.D.)
Epiphanius of Salamis (310-403 A.D.)
“At Rome the first apostles and bishops were Peter and Paul, then Linus, then Cletus, then Clement, the contemporary of Peter and Paul, whom Paul remembers in his Epistle to the Philippians (Phil 43)…” –Medicine Chest Against All Heresies 27:6 [A.D. 375]
Rufinus of Aquileia (344-411 A.D.)
“Linus and Cletus were Bishops of the city of Rome before Clement. How then, some men ask, can Clement in his letter to James say that Peter passed over to him his position as a church-teacher. The explanation of this point, as I understand, is as follows. Linus and Cletus were, no doubt, Bishops in the city of Rome before Clement, but this was in Peter’s life-time; that is, they took charge of the episcopal work, while he discharged the duties of the apostolate. He is known to have done the same thing at Cæsarea; for there, he had at his side Zacchæus whom he had ordained as Bishop.” –To Bishop Gaudentius: Preface to the Books of Recognitions of St. Clement (Written ca 405)
Augustine of Hippo (354-430 A.D.)
“[T]here are many other things which most properly can keep me in [the Catholic Church’s] bosom. The unanimity of peoples and nations keeps me here. Her authority, inaugurated in miracles, nourished by hope, augmented by love, and confirmed by her age, keeps me here. The succession of priests, from the very see of the apostle Peter, to whom the Lord, after his resurrection, gave the charge of feeding his sheep [John 21:15–17], up to the present episcopate, keeps me here” (Against the Letter of Mani Called “The Foundation” 4:5 [A.D. 397]).
Pope Celestine I (376-432 A.D.)
“Never was the Master, whom they had received to preach, lacking to this, but ever was present as Lord and Master; and never were those who taught deserted by their teacher. For he that had sent them was their teacher; he who had commanded what was to be taught, was their teacher; he who affirms that he himself is heard in his Apostles, was their teacher. This duty of preaching has been entrusted to all the Lord’s priests in common, for by right of inheritance we are bound to undertake this solicitude, whoever of us preach the name of the Lord in various lands in their stead for he said to them, Go, teach all nations. You, dear brethren, should observe that we have received a general command: for he wills that all of us should perform that office, which he thus entrusted in common to all the Apostles. We must needs follow our predecessors. Let us all, then, undertake their labors, since we are the successors in their honor. And we show forth our diligence in preaching the same doctrines that they taught, beside which, according to the admonition of the Apostle, we are forbidden to add anything. For the office of keeping what is committed to our trust is no less dignified than that of handing it down.” –The Letter of Pope Cœlestine to the Synod of Ephesus 17, May 8th, 431 A.D.
“We must strive therefore in common to keep the faith which has come down to us today, through the Apostolic Succession. For we are expected to walk according to the Apostle… Now the Blessed Apostle Paul admonishes that all should remain in that place in which he bid Timothy remain. The same place therefore, the same cause, lays upon us the same duty. Let us now also do and study that which he then commanded him to do. And let no one think otherwise, and let no one pay heed to over strange fables, as he himself ordered. Let us be unanimous, thinking the same thing, for this is expedient: let us do nothing out of contention, nothing out of vain glory: let us be in all things of one mind, of one heart, when the faith which is one, is attacked. Let the whole body grieve and mourn in common with us.” –The Letter of Pope Cœlestine to the Synod of Ephesus 17, May 8th, 431 A.D.
Pope Gregory I “the Great” (540-604 A.D.)
“Your most sweet holiness, [Bishop Eulogius of Alexandria], has spoken much in your letter to me about the chair of Saint Peter, prince of the apostles, saying that he himself now sits on it in the persons of his successors. . . And, though special honor to myself in no wise delights me . . . who can be ignorant that holy Church has been made firm in the solidity of the prince of the apostles, who derived his name from the firmness of his mind, so as to be called Peter from petra.” –Letters 40 [A.D. 597]
Pope Agatho (Died 681 A.D.)
“Let your tranquil Clemency therefore consider, since it is the Lord and Saviour of all, whose faith it is, that promised that Peter’s faith should not fail and exhorted him to strengthen his brethren, how it is known to all that the Apostolic pontiffs, the predecessors of my littleness, have always confidently done this very thing: of whom also our littleness, since I have received this ministry by divine designation, wishes to be the follower, although unequal to them and the least of all.” –The Letter of Agatho, Pope of Old Rome, to the Emperor Constantine IV, and the Letter of Agatho and of 125 Bishops of the Roman Synod, Addressed to the Sixth Council
Theodore Abū Qurrah (750-825 A.D.)
“As for Christ’s words, ‘I have prayed for you, that you not lose your faith; but you, have compassion on your brethren, at that time, and strengthen them’, we do not think that he meant Saint Peter himself. Rather, he meant nothing more than the holders of the seat of Saint Peter, that is, Rome. Just as when he said to the apostles, ‘I am with you always, until the end of the age’, he did not mean just the apostles themselves, but also those who would be in charge of their seats and their flocks; in the same way, when he spoke his last words to Saint Peter, ‘Have compassion, at that time, and strengthen your brethren; and your faith will not be lost’, he meant by this nothing other than the holders of his seat.” -On the Councils by Theodore Abu Qurrah, Bishop of Haran, Syria. John C. Lamoreaux, translator. (Provo: Brigham Young University Press, 2005), pp. 68-69; 128.
“Indeed, everyone knows that the heretics attacked the Church only after the death of the Apostles – Paul of Samosata, Arius, Macedonius, Eunomius, Sabelllius, Apollinaris, Origen, and others. If he meant by these words in the Gospel only Saint Peter, the Church would have been deprived of comfort and would have had no one to deliver her from those heretics, whose heresies are truly ‘the gates of hell’, which Christ said would not overcome the Church. Accordingly, there is no doubt that he meant by these words nothing other than the holders of the seat of Saint Peter, who have continually strengthened their brethren and will not cease to do so as long as this present age lasts.” -On the Councils by Theodore Abu Qurrah, Bishop of Haran, Syria. John C. Lamoreaux, translator. (Provo: Brigham Young University Press, 2005), pp. 68-69; 128.
Non-Catholic Quotes:
Artemon (a heretical 2nd century teacher in Rome, who held Adoptionist non-Trinitarian views.)
Eusebius of Caesarea states that Artemon and his followers claimed their views were held by the early Church in Rome and the Bishops who succeeded Peter:
“For they say that all the early teachers and the apostles received and taught what they now declare, and that the truth of the Gospel was preserved until the times of Victor, who was the thirteenth bishop of Rome from Peter, but that from his successor, Zephyrinus, the truth had been corrupted. And what they say might be plausible, if first of all the Divine Scriptures did not contradict them. And there are writings of certain brethren older than the times of Victor, which they wrote in behalf of the truth against the heathen, and against the heresies which existed in their day. I refer to Justin (Martyr), and Miltiades, and Tatian and Clement (of Alexandria) and many others, in all of whose works Christ is spoken of as God. For who does not know the works of Irenaeus and of Melito (of Sardis) and of others which teach that Christ is God and man? And how many psalms and hymns, written by the faithful brethren from the beginning, celebrate Christ the Word of God, speaking of Him as Divine. How then since the opinion held by the Church has been preached for so many years, can its preaching have deen delayed as they affirm, until the times of Victor?” -Eusebius in “Ecclesiastical History” Book V, Chapter XXVIII
J. N. D. Kelly (1909-1997, A Protestant and an early Church historian)
“[W]here in practice was [the] apostolic testimony or tradition to be found? . . . The most obvious answer was that the apostles had committed it orally to the Church, where it had been handed down from generation to generation. . . . Unlike the alleged secret tradition of the Gnostics, it was entirely public and open, having been entrusted by the apostles to their successors, and by these in turn to those who followed them, and was visible in the Church for all who cared to look for it” (Early Christian Doctrines, 37).
For the early Fathers, “the identity of the oral tradition with the original revelation is guaranteed by the unbroken succession of bishops in the great sees going back lineally to the apostles. . . . [A]n additional safeguard is supplied by the Holy Spirit, for the message committed was to the Church, and the Church is the home of the Spirit. Indeed, the Church’s bishops are . . . Spirit-endowed men who have been vouchsafed ‘an infallible charism of truth’” (ibid.).