Subject: Biblically waht is the difference? |
Bible Note: Dear Ed, Sorry... I should have been more clear... By "Apostolic Fathers" the RCC and EO mean a succession of men of equal authority with the Apostles of the New Testament (see the Roman Catholic Catechism part 1 section 2 paragraph 815 and elsewhere; cf Orthodox Dogmatic Theology by Father Michael Pomazansky). They differ, though, as to who those fellows were, are, and ought to be etc. Although they do agree that this succession must be maintained in a hierarchical manner by their individual lines of authority. This doctrine is called Apostolic Succession (AS). Yes, any Historically Reformed believers do not agree with AS. However, this is not a doctrine simply shared by Protestants as a whole. Others who DO believe in AS include the Anglican Communion, the Porvoo Communion, the Church of Finland, the Church of Sweden, the Independent Catholic Churches, High Church Lutherans of Germany, Polish National Catholic Church, Ecumenical Catholic Communion, Palmarian Catholic Church, etc. Each of these hold with Apostolic Succession, but deny the authority of the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church or the Bishopric of the Eastern Orthodox Churches. Indeed, a document of particular authority in your own denomination is the position paper on Apostles and Prophets. It was published in August of 2001 by the General Presbytery of the Assemblies of God. You can read it here (it is a PDF document): http://ag.org/top/beliefs/Position_Papers/pp_downloads/pp_4195_apostles_prophets.pdf They also seem discourage a what they deem as a non-Biblical doctrine of AS. By the way, I highly recommend reading this document by anyone. It gives a very cogent Biblical discussion concerning apostleship; particularly in the first eight pages. Very well done! Thank you for helping me clarify. In Him, Doc |