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Handout #50 |
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The church transmits the tradition of the apostles in the succession of bishops |
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| The tradition of the apostles, manifested throughout the world, can be clearly seen in every church by those who wish to behold the truth. We can enumerate those who were established by the apostles as bishops in the churches, and their successors down to our time ... They certainly wished those who were leaving as their successors, handing over to them their own teaching position, to be perfect and irreproachable, since their sound conduct would be a great benefit ... But since it would be very long in such a volume as this to enumerate the successions of all the churches, I can by pointing out the tradition which that very great, oldest, and well-known church, founded and established at Rome by those two most glorious apostles Peter and Paul, received from the apostles, and its faith known among men, which comes down to us through the successions of bishops, put to shame all of those who in any way, either through wicked self-conceit, or through vainglory, or through blind and evil opinion, gather as they should not. For every church must be in harmony with this church because of its outstanding preeminence, that is, the faithful from everywhere, since the apostolic tradition is preserved in it by those from everywhere. Irenaeus of Lyons, Against the Heresies, 111, 3,1-2.. | ||||
