Apostolic succession is the method whereby the ministry of the Christian Church is held to be derived from the apostles by a continuous succession, which has usually been associated with a claim that the succession is through a series of bishops. This series was seen originally as that of the bishops of a particular see founded by one or more of the apostles, but it is generally understood today as meaning a series of bishops, regardless of see, each consecrated by other bishops themselves consecrated similarly in a succession going back to the apostles.
Apostolic succession "may also be understood as a continuity in doctrinal teaching from the time of the apostles to the present"
Read more about Apostolic Succession: Meanings, In The Early Fathers, As Transmission of Grace, Basis, Apostolicity As Doctrinal and Related Continuity, Churches Claiming Apostolic Succession, Apostolic Founders, Protestant Denominations That Reject Apostolic Succession
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