God-centered resources from the ministry of John Piper

Read a helpful article by John Behr, an Eastern Orthodox professor, on how second century church leaders understood apostolic authority. Here’s an excerpt:

Today we tend to think of apostolic succession in terms of the laying on of hands: The church confers an office on a consecrated bishop, who can thereby trace his authority back to the apostles. Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Anglican churches each claim their own unbroken line of ordained leaders. Most Protestants deny the importance of a continuous succession of bishops altogether.

But in the second century, apostolic succession meant something more simple. Two main concerns were at stake: What is the true faith? And how has it been passed on from the apostles to us?

The gist: fidelity to the apostles’ teaching, not holding a position that claimed an apostolic succession, was the gauge of authority. The conviction that was termed “Sola Scriptura” during the Reformation is as old as the church and functions as her rudder.