Celtic Anabaptist Ministries
Apostolic Succession Lines
I list these lines of apostolic succession
here for historical purposes, not to establish a
doctrinal position which would deny the validity of
the ministerial orders of those who have not been
ordained into the "traditional" apostolic
succession/historic episcopate. My position on
succession remains as I have explained it elsewhere on this website. However, I feel the following needs to be added here: The lines of succession purporting to be extended back to the apostles and naming individual bishops, are based solely on tradition and not on theological or historical fact. There were no monarchical bishops in the New Testament; this was a later development: mid- to late-second century. In the NT, the words "presbyter", "pastor", "bishop", "elder", "overseer" were used interchangeably; they were synonyms for one and the same office. Thus, a New Testament bishop was simply the pastor of a local church. This is a scholarly and historical fact.
I have included here those lines which relate in some way to our Celtic and Anabaptist heritage.
My spiritual ancestors also include the Anabaptists, Quakers, General Baptists, and their spiritual kin from the most ancient churches all down through the centuries who were almost persecuted out of existence. They are martyrs and heroes of the faith, and I proudly include them in these lines of apostolic succession -- true apostolic succession being an adherence to the apostolic faith as taught by Jesus Christ and the apostles and found in sacred scripture.
__________________________________________________________________
FIRST LINE OF APOSTOLIC SUCCESSION
Anabaptists, Quakers, General Baptists
SECOND LINE OF APOSTOLIC SUCCESSION
Anglican Succession
St. Peter the Apostle -- to 64 A.D.
St. Linus -- 67 to 76
St. Anacletus -- 76 to 91
St. Clement I -- 91 to 101
St. Evaristus -- 100 to 109
St. Alexander I -- 109 to 116
St. Sixtus I -- 116 to 125
St. Telesphorus -- 125 to 136
St. Hyginus -- 138 to 140
St. Pius
St. Anicetus -- 155 to 166
St. Soter -- 166 to 174
St. Eleutherius -- 174 to 189
St. Victor I -- 189 to 198
St. Zephyrinus -- 198 to 217
St. Callistus I -- 217 to 222
St. Urban I -- 222 to 230
St. Pontian -- July 21, 230 to Sept. 28, 235
St. Anterus -- Nov. 21, 235 to Jan. 20, 236
St. Fabian -- Jan. 10, 236 to Jan. 20, 250
St. Cornelius -- Mar. 251 to June 253
St. Lucius I -- June 25, 253 to March 5, 254
St. Stephen I -- May 12, 254 to Aug. 2, 257
St. Sixtus II -- Aug. 30, 257 to Aug. 6, 258
St. Dionysius -- July 22, 259 to Dec. 26, 268
St. Felix I -- Jan. 5, 269 to Dec. 30, 274
St. Eutychian -- Jan. 4, 275 to Dec. 7, 283
St. Caius -- Dec. 17, 283 to Apr. 25, 296
St. Marcellinus -- June 30, 296 to Oct.25, 304
St. Marcellus I -- May 27, 306 to Jan. 16, 308
St. Eusebius -- Apr. 18, 310 to Aug. 17, 310
St. Miltiades -- July 2, 311 to Jan. 11, 314
St. Silvester -- Jan. 31, 314 to Dec. 31, 335
St. Mark -- Jan. 18, 336 to Oct. 7, 336
St. Julius I -- Feb. 6, 337 to Apr. 12, 352
St. Liberius -- May 17, 352 to Sept. 24, 366
St. Damasus -- Oct. 1, 366 to Dec. 11, 384
St. Siricius -- Dec. 384 to Nov. 26, 399
St. Anastasius I -- Nov. 27, 399 to Dec. 19,401
St. Innocent I -- Dec. 22, 401 to Mar. 12, 417
St. Zosimus -- Mar. 18, 417 to Dec. 26, 418
St. Boniface I -- Dec. 28, 418 to Sep. 4, 422
St. Celestine I -- Sept. 10, 422 to July 27, 432
St. Sixtus III -- July 31,432 to Aug. 19, 440
St. Leo I "The Great" -- Sept. 29, 440 to Nov. 10, 461
St. Hilarus -- Nov. 19, 461 to Feb. 29, 468
St. Simplicius -- Mar. 3, 468 to Mar. 10, 483
St. Felix III -- Mar. 13, 483 to Mar. 1, 492
St. Gelasius I -- Mar. 1, 492 to Nov. 21, 496
Anastasius II -- Nov. 24, 496 to Nov. 19, 498
St. Symmachus -- Nov. 22, 498 to July 19, 514
St. Hormisdas -- July 20, 514 to Aug. 6, 523
St. John I -- Aug. 13, 523 to May 18, 526
St. Felix IV -- July 12, 526 to Sept. 22, 530
Boniface II -- Sept. 22, 530 to Oct. 17, 532
St. John II -- Jan. 2, 533 to May 8, 535
St. Agapitus I -- May 13, 535 to Apr. 22, 536
St. Silverius -- June 1, 536 to Nov. 11, 537
Vigilius -- Mar. 29, 537 to June 7, 555
Pelagius I -- Apr. 16, 556 to Mar. 4, 561
John III -- July 17, 561 to July 13, 574
Benedict I -- June 2, 575 to July 30, 579
Pelagius II -- Nov. 26, 579 to Feb. 7, 590
St. Gregory I "The Great" -- Sept. 3, 590 to Mar. 12, 604
Sabinianus -- Sept. 13, 604 to Feb. 22, 606
Boniface III -- Feb. 19 to Nov. 12, 607
St. Boniface IV -- Aug. 25, 608 to May 8, 615
St. Adeodatus I (Deusdedit) -- Oct. 19, 615 to Nov. 8, 618
Boniface V -- Dec. 23, 619 to Oct. 25, 625
Honorius I -- Oct. 27, 625 to Oct. 12, 638
Severinus -- May 28 to Aug. 2, 640
John IV -- Dec. 24, 640 to Oct. 12, 642
Theodore I -- Nov. 24, 642 to Sept. 16, 649
St. Martin I -- July 649 to May 14, 653
St. Eugenius I -- Aug. 10, 654 to June 2, 657
St. Vitalian -- July 30, 657 to Jan. 27, 672
Adeodatus II -- Apr. 11, 672 to June 17, 676
Donus -- Nov. 2, 676 to Apr. 11, 678
St. Agatho -- June 27, 678 to Jan. 10, 681
St. Leo II -- Aug. 17, 682 to July 3, 683
St. Benedict II -- June 26, 684 to May 8, 685
John V -- July 23, 685 to Aug. 2, 686
Conon -- Oct. 21, 686 to Sept. 21, 687
St. Sergius I -- Dec. 15, 687 to Sept. 8, 701
John VI -- Oct. 30, 701 to Jan. 11, 705
John VII -- Mar. 1, 705 to Oct. 18, 707
Sissinius -- Jan. 15 to Feb. 4, 708
Constantine -- Mar. 25, 708 to Apr. 9, 715
St. Gregory II -- May 19, 715 to Feb. 11, 731
St. Gregory III -- Mar. 18, 731 to Nov. 741
St. Zacharias -- Dec. 3, 741 to Mar. 15, 752
Stephen II -- Mar. 26, 752 to Apr. 26, 757
St. Paul I -- 29 May 757 to June 28, 767
Stephen III -- Aug. 1, 768 to Jan. 24, 772
Adrian I -- Feb. 1, 772 to Dec. 25, 795
St. Leo III -- Dec. 26, 795 to June 12, 816
Stephen IV -- June 22, 816 to Jan. 24, 817
St. Paschal I -- Jan. 25, 817 to Feb. 11, 824
Eugenius II -- Feb. 824 to Aug. 827
Valentine -- Aug. 827 to Sept. 827
Gregory IV -- 827 to Jan. 844
Sergius II -- Jan. 844 to Jan. 27, 847
St. Leo IV --Jan. 847 to July 17, 855
Benedict III -- July 855 to Apr. 17, 858
St. Nicholas I -- Apr. 24, 858 to Nov. 13, 867
Formosus - 864
St. Plegmund - 891
Althelm - 909
Wulfhelm - 914
Odo - 927
St. Dunstan - 957
St. Aelphege - 984
Elfric - 990
Wulfstan - 1003
Eadsige - 1035
Stigand - April 3, 1043
Siward - 1058
Bl. Lanfranc - September 29, 1070
Thomas - 1070
St. Anselm - December 4, 1094
Richard De Delmeis - July 26, 1108
William of Corbeuil - February 18, 1123
Henry of Blois - November 17, 1129
St. Thomas Becket - June 3, 1162
Roger of Gloucester - August 23, 1164
Peter De Leia - November 7, 1176
Gilbert Glanville - September 29, 1185
William of S. Mere L’Eglise - May 23, 1199
Walter De Gray - October 5, 1214
Walter Kirkham - December 5, 1249
Henry - February 7, 1255
Anthony Beck - January 9, 1284
John of Halton - September 14, 1292
Roger Northborough - June 27, 1322
Robert Wyvil - July 15, 1330
Ralph Stratford - March 12, 1340
William Edendon - May 15, 1346
Simon Sudbury - March 20, 1362
Thomas Brentingham - May 12, 1370
Robert Braybrooke - January 5, 1382
Roger Walden - February 3, 1398
Henry Beaufort - July 14, 1398
Thomas Bourchier - May 15, 1435
John Morton - January 31, 1479
Richard Fitzjames - May 21, 1497
William Warham - September 25, 1502
John Longlands - May 15, 1521
Thomas Cranmer - March 30, 1533
William Barlow - June 1536
Matthew Parker - December 17, 1559
Edmund Grindal - December 21, 1559
John Whitgift - April 21, 1577
Richard Bancroft - May 8, 1597
George Abbot - December 3, 1609
George Montaigne - December 14, 1617
Bl. William Laud - November 18, 1621
Brian Duppa - June 17, 1638
Gilbert Sheldon - October 28, 1660
Henry Compton - December 6, 1674
William Sancroft - January 27, 1678
Thomas White - October 25, 1685
George Hickes - February 24, 1693
James Gadderar - February 24, 1712
Thomas Rattray - June 4, 1727
William Falconar - 1741
Robert Kilgour - September 21, 1768
Samuel Seabury - November 14, 1784
T.J. Claggett - September 17, 1792
Edward Bass - May 7, 1797
Abraham Jarvis - October 18, 1797
A.V. Griswold - May 29, 1811
J.H. Hopkins - October 31, 1832
G.D. Cummins - November 15, 1866
Charles E. Cheney - December 14, 1873
W.R. Nicholson - February 24, 1876
A.S. Richardson - June 22, 1879
Leon Chechemian - 1890
Andrew Charles Albert McLagen - November 2, 1897
James Heard - June 4, 1922
William Bernard Crow - June 13, 1943
Hugh George De Willmott Newman - April 10, 1944
Wallace David De Ortega Maxey - June 6, 1946
Lowell Paul Wadle - April 7, 1957
Herman Adrian Spruit - June 22, 1957
Paul Michael Clemens - 1988
Joseph Philip Sousa - July 14, 1991
Willibrord Van Campent - Oct. 10, 1993
Carl Thomas Swaringim - Nov. 14, 1993
Maurice M. McCormick - Feb. 3, 1996
Rodney P. Rickard - April 26, 1997
Michael Wrenn - May 10, 2003
OTHER LINES OF APOSTOLIC SUCCESSION
Anglican, including Celtic origin: Moore - White - Hopkins - Chechemian - Crow -
Newman - Maxey - Wadle - Spruit - Clemens - Sousa - Campent - Swaringim -
McCormick - Rickard - Wrenn.
ADDITIONAL LINES
________________________________________________________________
By including these apostolic lines here and explaining my position on apostolic succession,
I hope to foster a better understanding and closer unity among the different branches of Christians professing to hold the apostolic faith. Apostolicity should be measured by
scripture and how closely a person or group seeks to live as Jesus Christ lived, for we
should be doers of the word as well as hearers of the word. To be doers of the word,
we must love our Christian brothers and sisters and also our enemies. Being an apostolic Christian demands that we love like this.
Too often in the past, this love was not demonstrated. I have already mentioned the fate
of Anabaptists and other Dissenters. Anyone who was engaged in or supportive of systematic persecution, torture, and murder was certainly not following the Gospel of Jesus Christ!
The doctrine of apostolic succession has very often been used to deny the validity of the ministerial orders of those not having the "traditional" apostolic succession/historic episcopate; the effect of this is to deny such Christian ministers equality in the Body of
Christ. It will not be so in the Celtic Anabaptist Communion; all are considered to have apostolic succession who follow the faith of the apostles as revealed in scripture.
On the other hand, Protestants and others who do not have the "traditional" apostolic succession/historic episcopate should not disparage or deny the validity of the ministerial orders of those who have been consecrated into this historic episcopate/"traditional"
apostolic succession. It is an ancient form of ministry; evidence for monarchical bishops as
a third order of ministry can be found in the late-second century. Still, there were always independent churches and dissenters from Catholicism or the "established" order.
Being an apostolic Christian thus also should mean that no church, ordained minister,
or layperson is treated unequally based on anyone's definition of apostolic succession.
Truly, each member of the Body of Christ possesses apostolic succession. This gift from
Jesus Christ to His Church is one mark of the fullness of historic Christianity.
These are the beliefs and policies of the Celtic Anabaptist Communion.
I list these lines of apostolic succession
here for historical purposes, not to establish a
doctrinal position which would deny the validity of
the ministerial orders of those who have not been
ordained into the "traditional" apostolic
succession/historic episcopate. My position on
succession remains as I have explained it elsewhere on this website. However, I feel the following needs to be added here: The lines of succession purporting to be extended back to the apostles and naming individual bishops, are based solely on tradition and not on theological or historical fact. There were no monarchical bishops in the New Testament; this was a later development: mid- to late-second century. In the NT, the words "presbyter", "pastor", "bishop", "elder", "overseer" were used interchangeably; they were synonyms for one and the same office. Thus, a New Testament bishop was simply the pastor of a local church. This is a scholarly and historical fact.
I have included here those lines which relate in some way to our Celtic and Anabaptist heritage.
My spiritual ancestors also include the Anabaptists, Quakers, General Baptists, and their spiritual kin from the most ancient churches all down through the centuries who were almost persecuted out of existence. They are martyrs and heroes of the faith, and I proudly include them in these lines of apostolic succession -- true apostolic succession being an adherence to the apostolic faith as taught by Jesus Christ and the apostles and found in sacred scripture.
__________________________________________________________________
FIRST LINE OF APOSTOLIC SUCCESSION
Anabaptists, Quakers, General Baptists
SECOND LINE OF APOSTOLIC SUCCESSION
Anglican Succession
St. Peter the Apostle -- to 64 A.D.
St. Linus -- 67 to 76
St. Anacletus -- 76 to 91
St. Clement I -- 91 to 101
St. Evaristus -- 100 to 109
St. Alexander I -- 109 to 116
St. Sixtus I -- 116 to 125
St. Telesphorus -- 125 to 136
St. Hyginus -- 138 to 140
St. Pius
St. Anicetus -- 155 to 166
St. Soter -- 166 to 174
St. Eleutherius -- 174 to 189
St. Victor I -- 189 to 198
St. Zephyrinus -- 198 to 217
St. Callistus I -- 217 to 222
St. Urban I -- 222 to 230
St. Pontian -- July 21, 230 to Sept. 28, 235
St. Anterus -- Nov. 21, 235 to Jan. 20, 236
St. Fabian -- Jan. 10, 236 to Jan. 20, 250
St. Cornelius -- Mar. 251 to June 253
St. Lucius I -- June 25, 253 to March 5, 254
St. Stephen I -- May 12, 254 to Aug. 2, 257
St. Sixtus II -- Aug. 30, 257 to Aug. 6, 258
St. Dionysius -- July 22, 259 to Dec. 26, 268
St. Felix I -- Jan. 5, 269 to Dec. 30, 274
St. Eutychian -- Jan. 4, 275 to Dec. 7, 283
St. Caius -- Dec. 17, 283 to Apr. 25, 296
St. Marcellinus -- June 30, 296 to Oct.25, 304
St. Marcellus I -- May 27, 306 to Jan. 16, 308
St. Eusebius -- Apr. 18, 310 to Aug. 17, 310
St. Miltiades -- July 2, 311 to Jan. 11, 314
St. Silvester -- Jan. 31, 314 to Dec. 31, 335
St. Mark -- Jan. 18, 336 to Oct. 7, 336
St. Julius I -- Feb. 6, 337 to Apr. 12, 352
St. Liberius -- May 17, 352 to Sept. 24, 366
St. Damasus -- Oct. 1, 366 to Dec. 11, 384
St. Siricius -- Dec. 384 to Nov. 26, 399
St. Anastasius I -- Nov. 27, 399 to Dec. 19,401
St. Innocent I -- Dec. 22, 401 to Mar. 12, 417
St. Zosimus -- Mar. 18, 417 to Dec. 26, 418
St. Boniface I -- Dec. 28, 418 to Sep. 4, 422
St. Celestine I -- Sept. 10, 422 to July 27, 432
St. Sixtus III -- July 31,432 to Aug. 19, 440
St. Leo I "The Great" -- Sept. 29, 440 to Nov. 10, 461
St. Hilarus -- Nov. 19, 461 to Feb. 29, 468
St. Simplicius -- Mar. 3, 468 to Mar. 10, 483
St. Felix III -- Mar. 13, 483 to Mar. 1, 492
St. Gelasius I -- Mar. 1, 492 to Nov. 21, 496
Anastasius II -- Nov. 24, 496 to Nov. 19, 498
St. Symmachus -- Nov. 22, 498 to July 19, 514
St. Hormisdas -- July 20, 514 to Aug. 6, 523
St. John I -- Aug. 13, 523 to May 18, 526
St. Felix IV -- July 12, 526 to Sept. 22, 530
Boniface II -- Sept. 22, 530 to Oct. 17, 532
St. John II -- Jan. 2, 533 to May 8, 535
St. Agapitus I -- May 13, 535 to Apr. 22, 536
St. Silverius -- June 1, 536 to Nov. 11, 537
Vigilius -- Mar. 29, 537 to June 7, 555
Pelagius I -- Apr. 16, 556 to Mar. 4, 561
John III -- July 17, 561 to July 13, 574
Benedict I -- June 2, 575 to July 30, 579
Pelagius II -- Nov. 26, 579 to Feb. 7, 590
St. Gregory I "The Great" -- Sept. 3, 590 to Mar. 12, 604
Sabinianus -- Sept. 13, 604 to Feb. 22, 606
Boniface III -- Feb. 19 to Nov. 12, 607
St. Boniface IV -- Aug. 25, 608 to May 8, 615
St. Adeodatus I (Deusdedit) -- Oct. 19, 615 to Nov. 8, 618
Boniface V -- Dec. 23, 619 to Oct. 25, 625
Honorius I -- Oct. 27, 625 to Oct. 12, 638
Severinus -- May 28 to Aug. 2, 640
John IV -- Dec. 24, 640 to Oct. 12, 642
Theodore I -- Nov. 24, 642 to Sept. 16, 649
St. Martin I -- July 649 to May 14, 653
St. Eugenius I -- Aug. 10, 654 to June 2, 657
St. Vitalian -- July 30, 657 to Jan. 27, 672
Adeodatus II -- Apr. 11, 672 to June 17, 676
Donus -- Nov. 2, 676 to Apr. 11, 678
St. Agatho -- June 27, 678 to Jan. 10, 681
St. Leo II -- Aug. 17, 682 to July 3, 683
St. Benedict II -- June 26, 684 to May 8, 685
John V -- July 23, 685 to Aug. 2, 686
Conon -- Oct. 21, 686 to Sept. 21, 687
St. Sergius I -- Dec. 15, 687 to Sept. 8, 701
John VI -- Oct. 30, 701 to Jan. 11, 705
John VII -- Mar. 1, 705 to Oct. 18, 707
Sissinius -- Jan. 15 to Feb. 4, 708
Constantine -- Mar. 25, 708 to Apr. 9, 715
St. Gregory II -- May 19, 715 to Feb. 11, 731
St. Gregory III -- Mar. 18, 731 to Nov. 741
St. Zacharias -- Dec. 3, 741 to Mar. 15, 752
Stephen II -- Mar. 26, 752 to Apr. 26, 757
St. Paul I -- 29 May 757 to June 28, 767
Stephen III -- Aug. 1, 768 to Jan. 24, 772
Adrian I -- Feb. 1, 772 to Dec. 25, 795
St. Leo III -- Dec. 26, 795 to June 12, 816
Stephen IV -- June 22, 816 to Jan. 24, 817
St. Paschal I -- Jan. 25, 817 to Feb. 11, 824
Eugenius II -- Feb. 824 to Aug. 827
Valentine -- Aug. 827 to Sept. 827
Gregory IV -- 827 to Jan. 844
Sergius II -- Jan. 844 to Jan. 27, 847
St. Leo IV --Jan. 847 to July 17, 855
Benedict III -- July 855 to Apr. 17, 858
St. Nicholas I -- Apr. 24, 858 to Nov. 13, 867
Formosus - 864
St. Plegmund - 891
Althelm - 909
Wulfhelm - 914
Odo - 927
St. Dunstan - 957
St. Aelphege - 984
Elfric - 990
Wulfstan - 1003
Eadsige - 1035
Stigand - April 3, 1043
Siward - 1058
Bl. Lanfranc - September 29, 1070
Thomas - 1070
St. Anselm - December 4, 1094
Richard De Delmeis - July 26, 1108
William of Corbeuil - February 18, 1123
Henry of Blois - November 17, 1129
St. Thomas Becket - June 3, 1162
Roger of Gloucester - August 23, 1164
Peter De Leia - November 7, 1176
Gilbert Glanville - September 29, 1185
William of S. Mere L’Eglise - May 23, 1199
Walter De Gray - October 5, 1214
Walter Kirkham - December 5, 1249
Henry - February 7, 1255
Anthony Beck - January 9, 1284
John of Halton - September 14, 1292
Roger Northborough - June 27, 1322
Robert Wyvil - July 15, 1330
Ralph Stratford - March 12, 1340
William Edendon - May 15, 1346
Simon Sudbury - March 20, 1362
Thomas Brentingham - May 12, 1370
Robert Braybrooke - January 5, 1382
Roger Walden - February 3, 1398
Henry Beaufort - July 14, 1398
Thomas Bourchier - May 15, 1435
John Morton - January 31, 1479
Richard Fitzjames - May 21, 1497
William Warham - September 25, 1502
John Longlands - May 15, 1521
Thomas Cranmer - March 30, 1533
William Barlow - June 1536
Matthew Parker - December 17, 1559
Edmund Grindal - December 21, 1559
John Whitgift - April 21, 1577
Richard Bancroft - May 8, 1597
George Abbot - December 3, 1609
George Montaigne - December 14, 1617
Bl. William Laud - November 18, 1621
Brian Duppa - June 17, 1638
Gilbert Sheldon - October 28, 1660
Henry Compton - December 6, 1674
William Sancroft - January 27, 1678
Thomas White - October 25, 1685
George Hickes - February 24, 1693
James Gadderar - February 24, 1712
Thomas Rattray - June 4, 1727
William Falconar - 1741
Robert Kilgour - September 21, 1768
Samuel Seabury - November 14, 1784
T.J. Claggett - September 17, 1792
Edward Bass - May 7, 1797
Abraham Jarvis - October 18, 1797
A.V. Griswold - May 29, 1811
J.H. Hopkins - October 31, 1832
G.D. Cummins - November 15, 1866
Charles E. Cheney - December 14, 1873
W.R. Nicholson - February 24, 1876
A.S. Richardson - June 22, 1879
Leon Chechemian - 1890
Andrew Charles Albert McLagen - November 2, 1897
James Heard - June 4, 1922
William Bernard Crow - June 13, 1943
Hugh George De Willmott Newman - April 10, 1944
Wallace David De Ortega Maxey - June 6, 1946
Lowell Paul Wadle - April 7, 1957
Herman Adrian Spruit - June 22, 1957
Paul Michael Clemens - 1988
Joseph Philip Sousa - July 14, 1991
Willibrord Van Campent - Oct. 10, 1993
Carl Thomas Swaringim - Nov. 14, 1993
Maurice M. McCormick - Feb. 3, 1996
Rodney P. Rickard - April 26, 1997
Michael Wrenn - May 10, 2003
OTHER LINES OF APOSTOLIC SUCCESSION
Anglican, including Celtic origin: Moore - White - Hopkins - Chechemian - Crow -
Newman - Maxey - Wadle - Spruit - Clemens - Sousa - Campent - Swaringim -
McCormick - Rickard - Wrenn.
ADDITIONAL LINES
________________________________________________________________
By including these apostolic lines here and explaining my position on apostolic succession,
I hope to foster a better understanding and closer unity among the different branches of Christians professing to hold the apostolic faith. Apostolicity should be measured by
scripture and how closely a person or group seeks to live as Jesus Christ lived, for we
should be doers of the word as well as hearers of the word. To be doers of the word,
we must love our Christian brothers and sisters and also our enemies. Being an apostolic Christian demands that we love like this.
Too often in the past, this love was not demonstrated. I have already mentioned the fate
of Anabaptists and other Dissenters. Anyone who was engaged in or supportive of systematic persecution, torture, and murder was certainly not following the Gospel of Jesus Christ!
The doctrine of apostolic succession has very often been used to deny the validity of the ministerial orders of those not having the "traditional" apostolic succession/historic episcopate; the effect of this is to deny such Christian ministers equality in the Body of
Christ. It will not be so in the Celtic Anabaptist Communion; all are considered to have apostolic succession who follow the faith of the apostles as revealed in scripture.
On the other hand, Protestants and others who do not have the "traditional" apostolic succession/historic episcopate should not disparage or deny the validity of the ministerial orders of those who have been consecrated into this historic episcopate/"traditional"
apostolic succession. It is an ancient form of ministry; evidence for monarchical bishops as
a third order of ministry can be found in the late-second century. Still, there were always independent churches and dissenters from Catholicism or the "established" order.
Being an apostolic Christian thus also should mean that no church, ordained minister,
or layperson is treated unequally based on anyone's definition of apostolic succession.
Truly, each member of the Body of Christ possesses apostolic succession. This gift from
Jesus Christ to His Church is one mark of the fullness of historic Christianity.
These are the beliefs and policies of the Celtic Anabaptist Communion.
