Apostolic Succession by Gregory Rogers

Apostolic Succession

This is a REPRINT of an exceedingly difficult book to find. 

Please allow two weeks for the book to be delivered.

Note: This book is a reproduction of the historical text for academic, historical, or collector purposes.

1994 edition printed in 2026.

5.5" 8.5" / 40 pages

Book description

In Apostolic Succession, Fr. Rogers has written a brief but excellent catechetical booklet giving an overview of the episcopal office in the Church. The booklet is divided into three sections on the Biblical foundations, the historic witness, and the twenty-first century context. Throughout, there is a consistent theme on the organic unity of the Church and the episcopacy as a sign of that unity.

Beginning with the biblical witness, Rogers demonstrates how the unity of the Church was maintained under the authority granted to the Apostles and how important converts such as St. Paul submitted their ministry to be part of this overall unity. Disputes that arose such as the mission to the gentiles was an issue decided by the Church and not individuals.

The unity under the authority and structure created by the Apostles was maintained by later Christians and was used to differentiate themselves from the gnostic sects that did not have any Apostolic authority. Rogers traces this development in the work of key figures in the patristic period. In so doing, Rogers points out some key differences that developed in the question of valid orders between the East and West.

The Roman Church, following St. Augustine, came to view the validity of the episcopal ministry to be centered primarily upon having someone already validly ordained performing the ordination. The Orthodox follow that the validity is carried by the Church and not the individual. A bishop is still necessary for the ordination but a call by the Church is also required. The Augustinian theory, formulated in the midst of the Donatist schism, allows the proliferation of groups claiming to be in Apostolic succession by merely finding someone who was ordained to ordain a member of the group. The Orthodox theory eliminates this since it also requires the group itself to be in Apostolic Succession.

In the last section dealing with Christian unity, Rogers emphasizes the importance of the Apostolic Succession as a sign of God's love. In acknowledging the Orthodox acceptance of varying degrees of Apostolic succession in groups outside Orthodoxy, he quotes Fr. Georges Florovsky is stating that such validity is the "mysterious guarantee of their return to catholic plentitude and unity."