Ukrainian Orthodoxy		Orthodoxie ukrainienne

Apostolic Succession

Question:

Can you please address the matter of Apostolic Succession with regard to the history of the Orthodox Church (including what the Church Fathers may have written about it) and secondly can you address Succession from a Scriptural perpective (including any Old and New Testament references to it!)  and what about the matter of the Catholic Roman Church claiming exclusivity with respect to the Petrine confession "thou art Peter and upon this rock I shall build my Church."

Answer:

Very Reverend Ihor Kutash kutash@unicorne.org

The Church preserves unity in diversity. In the Orthodox Church there is no hierarch with universal jurisdiction since its One True Shepherd, our Lord Jesus, has never left His Church (Matthew 28:20). The Apostle Peter does not replace or substitute for Him. The Scriptures do indeed indicate that Peter exercises an important role as leader among the Apostles but his primacy is exercised in equality or collegiality ("primus inter pares") as the Book of Acts clearly shows. The Rock upon which the Church is built is our Lord Himself as we proclaim during Matins: "The Stone which the builders rejected has become the Cornerstone; this is the Lord's doing and it is marvelous in our eyes" (from Psalm 118:2 - also the most often repeated phrase from the Old in the New Testament: Matthew 21:42, Mark 12:10, Luke 20:17, Acts 4:11 and 1 Peter 2:7). Peter, a leader among the Apostles, was first to proclaim the Church's faith in our Lord upon Whom it is built: "You are the the Christ (i.e. the Messiah, God's Chosen and Annointed One - igk), the Son of the Living God" (Matthew 16:15). He did not see himself as that Rock.  Such, at any rate, is the conviction of the Orthodox Church.

The Orthodox also concur that the office of Peter is held by the Bishop of Rome, the Pope (incidentally, the Patriarch of Alexandria also holds the title of Pope) in a pre-eminent way - and if there were Communion between our Churches he would be considered first among equals. We pray, hope and believe that the Lord will one day bring this about in the fulness of time but there are still important doctrinal issues upon which there is a lack of unanimity among the Orthodox and the Catholics. We also believe that the office of Peter is also shared by the other Patriarchs and Bishops (Patriarchs, Metropolitans and Archbishops are equally bishops albeit having different titles and responsibilities) and these commemorate each other and as often as possible con-celebrate the Liturgy as a sign and celebration of this unity in diversity. It is during the Liturgy that the laying on of hands takes place by at least two Bishops, and sometimes the various local Churches send their Hierarchs to their sister Churches to assist in this most important sacramental act.

St. Ignatius of Antioch underscored the importance of the office of Bishop especially in his Letter to the Smyrnaeans: "Wherever the bishop appears, there let the people be; as wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church". Accordingly, the Orthodox see the Church thus: wherever the Eucharist is celebrated by a Priest and/or Bishop who is in communion with all the other Orthodox Bishops - we find the there the fulness of the Church.

The unbroken line of Bishops passing on their office and charisms by the laying on of hands is accepted by the Orthodox as a matter of faith. There are, of course, Bishops and groups of Bishops who profess Orthodoxy but are not in communion with the other Orthodox bishops.  Many Orthodox teachers would say that these are therefore not truly Bishops because this office and charism are granted by the Lord to His Church for the preservation and nurture of order and harmony and not disorder and division, and certainly not simply to provide an earthly kingdom in which to exercise the negative passions to which all humans are prone as a result of the fall.

There are various circumstances and situations caused by individual and collective sins which have sometimes led Church communities in Orthodoxy to split from each other and such separation has sometimes lasted a long time.  Yet where people have striven to humbly seek and serve the Lord eventually Communion has often been restored. Sometimes - but certainly not always - this has meant that men who exercised the office of Bishop and Priest in such communities received the laying on of hands again to assure that the apostolic succession was intact.

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