The Role of the Bishop and Apostolic Succession: Let me begin with apostolic succession. Old Catholics understand apostolic succession as belonging to the church. Bishops are servants of the church, elected by the church, for ordained office in the church. Apostolic succession refers to the passing on of the faith of the apostles in and through the church under the leadership and oversight of the bishop of the local church, ordained for his office of bishop through the laying on of hands and prayer. This means that apostolic succession is not the personal possession of a bishop that can be passed on to others in separation from the office of bishop in the local church. Just as there cannot be a church without bishop, conversely there cannot be a bishop without church. Here the expression “church” does not refer to a legal corporation, but to a community of faith that can best be described as a diocese, which in turn consists of a communion of parishes and missions. The Union of Utrecht of Old Catholic Churches considers bishops without churches to be outside of the apostolic succession, even though they may have been ordained with the proper ritual and the proper intention… ~ Father Bjorn Marcussen
Posted on: Sun, 02 Feb 2014 08:35:59 +0000
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