Historical episcopate

For the Anglican views on the subject, see Historic episcopate (Anglican views).

The historic or historical episcopate comprises all episcopates, that is, it is the collective body of all the bishops of a group who are in valid apostolic succession. This succession is transmitted from each bishop to their successors by the rite of holy orders. It is sometimes subject of episcopal genealogy.

Line of succession

See also: Apostolic succession

In the churches that have well-documented ties to the history of Christianity as a whole, it is held that only a person in apostolic succession, a line of succession of bishops dating back to the apostles, can be a valid bishop; can validly ordain priests (presbyters), deacons and bishops; and can validly celebrate the sacraments of the Christian Church.[1] Historical denominations include the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, the Nordic Evangelical-Lutheran churches (including those founded as a result of Swedish-Lutheran missionary activity, such as the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Zimbabwe, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania and Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya), the Moravian Church, the Old Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion, and the Assyrian Church of the East.[2][3]

The definition of the historical episcopate is to some extent an open question. Bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, for example, lay claim to the apostolic succession through the laying on of hands by Lutheran bishops in the historic episcopate, with bishops from the Moravian Church and Episcopal Church being present too as the full communion agreement came into fruition at that time.[4][5] Some theologians, such as R.J. Cooke, have argued that the Methodist Church is also within the historic episcopate, being "in direct succession to the apostles through the bishops and patriarchs of the Eastern Church."[6] An Anglican-Methodist Covenant states that:

Anglicans and Methodists are aware of the substantial ecumenical consensus that recognises that ministry within the historic episcopate should be a feature of united churches (as it already is of several in South Asia with whom Methodists and Anglicans are in communion).[7]

Eastern Orthodoxy

The Eastern Orthodox Church's view has been summarised as: "While accepting the canonical possibility of recognising the existence (υποστατόν) of sacraments performed outside herself, (the Eastern Orthodox Church) questions their validity (έγκυρον) and certainly rejects their efficacy (ενεργόν)"; and it sees "the canonical recognition (αναγνώρισις) of the validity of sacraments performed outside the Orthodox Church (as referring) to the validity of the sacraments only of those who join the Orthodox Church (individually or as a body)."[8]

In 1922 the Eastern Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople recognised Anglican orders as valid, holding that they carry "the same validity as the Roman, Old Catholic and Armenian Churches possess".[9][10] In the encyclical "From the Oecumenical Patriarch to the Presidents of the Particular Eastern Orthodox Churches", Meletius IV of Constantinople, the Ecumenical Patriarch, wrote: "That the Orthodox theologians who have scientifically examined the question have almost unanimously come to the same conclusions and have declared themselves as accepting the validity of Anglican Orders."[11] Following this declaration, in 1923, the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, as well as the Greek Orthodox Church of Cyprus agreed by "provisionally acceding that Anglican priests should not be re-ordained if they became Orthodox";[9][10] in 1936, the Romanian Orthodox Church "endorsed Anglican Orders".[10][12][13] Historically, some Eastern Orthodox bishops have assisted in the consecration of Anglican bishops; for example, in 1870, the Most Reverend Alexander Lycurgus, the Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Syra and Tinos, was one of the bishops who consecrated Henry MacKenzie as the Suffragan Bishop of Nottingham.[14]

Roman Catholicism

Because of changes in the ordinal (the rites of holy orders) under King Edward VI, the Roman Catholic Church does not recognize all Anglican holy orders as valid.[15]

Evangelical-Lutheranism

Evangelical-Lutherans universally believe that "no one should publicly teach in the Church or administer the Sacraments unless he be regularly called".[16] The Lutheran churches in northern Europe, and those established in other parts of the world as a result of Nordic Lutheran missionary activity (such as the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya), practice episcopal succession in which the bishop whose holy orders can be traced back for centuries performs ordinations.[17][18][3]

In the Nordic-Baltic region, Lutheran churches participating in the Porvoo Communion (those of Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Faroes, Estonia, and Lithuania), as well as non-Porvoo membership Lutheran churches in the region (including the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Central Asia), and the confessional Communion of Nordic Lutheran Dioceses, believe that they ordain their bishops in apostolic succession in lines stemming from the original apostles.[19][20] The New Westminster Dictionary of Church History states: "In Sweden the apostolic succession was preserved because the Catholic bishops were allowed to stay in office, but they had to approve changes in the ceremonies".[21]

What made the Church of Sweden an evangelical-catholic church was to Archbishop Söderblom the fact that the Reformation in Sweden was a 'church improvement' and a 'process of purification' which did not create a new church. As a national church, the Church of Sweden succeeded in bringing together medieval Swedish tradition with the rediscovery of the gospel which the Reformation brought with it. Archbishop Söderblom included the historic episcopate in the tradition-transmitting elements. The Church of Sweden was, according to Söderblom, in an even higher degree than the Anglican Church a via media. —Together in Mission and Ministry: The Porvoo Common Statement[22]

The Lutheran Church of Finland was at that time one with the Church of Sweden and so holds the same view regarding the see of Åbo/Turku.[23][24]

Included in the historic episcopate are Evangelical-Lutheran Churches that were formed through Nordic missionary activity. Ernst Heuman, who served as the first presiding bishop of the Tamil Evangelical Lutheran Church in India, was ordained a priest in 1896 by Knut Henning Gezelius von Schéele (the Bishop of Visby) and consecrated as a bishop on 7 March 1921 by Hjalmar Danell (the Bishop of Skara) at New Jerusalem Church in the Indian city of Tranquebar (authorized by Archbishop of Uppsala Nathan Söderblom); Hjalmar Danell was confirmed as the Bishop of Tranquebar. The Swedish Line of apostolic succession was thus given to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in India.[25][26]

Bengt Sundkler was ordained a priest by Erik Berggrav in 1936 and then consecrated as a bishop in the Church of Sweden by Gunnar Hultgren at Uppsala Cathedral on 2 April 1961; he was elected as the Bishop of Bukoba in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Buhaya in June 1960. Bengt Sundkler, on 16 December 1984, consecrated Josiah Kibira as bishop at Bukoba Evangelical-Lutheran Cathedral and Josiah Kibira reigned as the bishop of the North-Western Diocese of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania (ELCT) until 2000, later becoming the president of the Lutheran World Federation. It is through the consecration of Josiah Kibira by Bengt G. M. Sundkler that apostolic succession from the Church of Sweden (in the line of Peder Månsson) was transmitted to what is now the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania.[2][27] In 1979, Josiah Kibira and Bengt Sundkler consecrated Paulo Mukuta a bishop, who served as the Bishop of Karagwe in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Tanzania.[28] In 1984, Paulo Mukuta and Tore Furberg consecrated Samson Mushemba, who served as Bishop of the North Western Diocese in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Tanzania.[28] In 2002, Samson Mushemba, as Archbishop of Arusha, and Olavi Rimpiläinen consecrated Walter Obare, who became the presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya.[28]

The last Church of Sweden missionary bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Southern Rhodesia (now known as the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Zimbabwe) was Sigfrid Strandvik, who consecrated on 18 May 1975, Jonas Chiwariro Shiri in the Swedish Line (Uppsala Line) of apostolic succession.[29]

On 19 September 1971, the first bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa, Paulus Ben Mhlungu, was consecrated a bishop by Swedish bishop Helge Fosseus, bringing the Uppsala Line of apostolic succession into the nascent body.[30]

Anglicanism

Main article: Historic episcopate (Anglican views)

In the sixteenth century a solid body of Anglican opinion emerged which saw the theological importance of the historic episcopate[a] but refused to 'unchurch' those churches which did not retain it.[31] The preface to the Ordinal limits itself to stating historical reasons why episcopal orders are to 'be continued and reverently used in the Church of England'.[32] Before 1662 it was assumed that the foreign Reformed (Presbyterian) Churches were genuine ones with an authentic ministry of Word and Sacrament. The 1662 Act of Uniformity formally excluded from pastoral office in England any who lacked episcopal ordination but this was a reaction against the abolition of episcopacy in the Commonwealth period.[33] The majority of Anglicans, including those of low church, broad church and high churchmanship, have "followed the major continental Reformers in their doctrine of the true church, identifiable by the authentic ministry of word and sacrament, in their rejection of the jurisdiction of the pope, and in their alliance with the civil authority ('the magistrate')".[34] The Church of England historically considered itself "Protestant and Reformed" and recognized as true churches the Continental Reformed Churches, participating in the Synod of Dort in 1618-1619.[34]

As the divergences between the theory of 'the godly prince' and the practices of monarchs like James II, William III and the early Georges became more obvious, Pearson[b] and Beveridge[c] saw the "Apostolical Office" of the bishop as a guarantee of the Church's identity and this formed the background to the vital emphasis placed on it by Newman and the other Tractarians,[35] through whom it passed into Anglo-Catholic thought.

The modern debate divides three ways: between those who see the "historic episcopate" to be constitutive of the Church (of the esse); those who hold it is a question of its "well-being" (bene esse); and those who consider that it is necessary for the Church to be fully itself (plene esse).[36] The Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral includes the "historic episcopate" as "essential to the visible unity of the church", but allows for its being adapted locally in its working to the varying needs of those who God calls into the unity of the Church.[37] However, this has not meant a general commitment to the idea that in its absence there is no church.[36]

See also

Notes and references

Notes

  1. ^ The phrase "historic episcopate" is far more common in Anglican writings than "historical episcopate"
  2. ^ Bishop of Chester (1674-83) and "probably the most erudite and profound divine of a learned and theological age." (Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church)
  3. ^ Bishop of St. Asaph, Wales (1704-08), author of an Exposition of the Thirty-Nine Articles (Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church)

References

  1. ^ Alan Richardson; John Bowden John (1 January 1983). The Westminster Dictionary of Christian Theology. Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN 0664227481. Retrieved 11 November 2012. The churches of Sweden and Finland retained bishops and the conviction of being continuity with the apostolic succession, while in Denmark the title bishop was retained without the doctrine of apostolic succession.
  2. ^ a b Gassmann, Günther; Oldenburg, Mark W. (10 October 2011). Historical Dictionary of Lutheranism. Bloomsbury Publishing PLC. p. 218. ISBN 978-0-8108-7482-4.
  3. ^ a b Omwanza, Walter Obare (2005). "Choose Life!" (PDF). Concordia Theological Quarterly. 69 (3–4): 309-326.
  4. ^ Veliko, Lydia; Gros, Jeffrey (2005). Growing Consensus II: Church Dialogues in the United States, 1992-2004. USCCB Publishing. ISBN 978-1-57455-557-8. In order to receive the historic episcopate, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America pledges that, following the adoption of this Concordat and in keeping with the collegiality and continuity of ordained ministry attested as early as canon 4 of the First Ecumenical Council (Nicea I, AD 325), at least three bishops already sharing in the sign of episcopal succession will be invited to participate in the installation of its next Presiding Bishop through prayer for the gift of the Holy Spirit and with the laying-on of hands. These participating bishops will be invited from churches of the Lutheran communion which share in the historic episcopate.
  5. ^ "ELCA Presiding Bishop-Elect Hanson Installed in Chicago Ceremony". Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. 8 October 2010. Retrieved 23 May 2021. Lutheran bishops came from four other continents to participate in the laying on of hands: the Rev. Medardo Gomez Soto, bishop of the Salvadoran Lutheran Synod, San Salvador, El Salvador; the Rev. Maria Jepsen, bishop of the Hamburg Diocese, North Elbian Evangelical Lutheran Church, Hamburg, Germany; the Rt. Rev. Owdenburg M. Mdegella, bishop of the Iringa Diocese, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania; the Rev. Ambrose Moyo, bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Zimbabwe, Bulawayo; and the Rev. Julius Paul, bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur.
  6. ^ Cooke 1896, p. 139.
  7. ^ Anon 2001, p. 53.
  8. ^ Professor Dr. Vlassios Pheidas: The limits of the church in an orthodox perspective
  9. ^ a b Wright, John Robert; Dutton, Marsha L.; Gray, Patrick Terrell (2006). One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism: Studies in Christian Ecclesiality and Ecumenism. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. p. 273. ISBN 9780802829405. Constantinople declared, cautiously, in 1922 that Anglican orders "have the same validity as those of the Roman, Old Catholic and Armenian Churches", an opinion echoed by the churches of Jerusalem, Cyprus, Alexandria, and Romania. Heartened, Labeth bishops broadened the dialogue, sponsored the translation of "books and documents setting forth the relative positions" of the two churches, and asked the English church to consult "personally or by correspondence" with the eastern churches "with a view to ... securing a clearer understanding and ... establishing closer relations between the Churches of the East and the Anglican Communion."
  10. ^ a b c Franklin, R. William (1 June 1996). Anglican Orders: Essays on the Centenary of Apostolicae Curae 1896-1996. Church Publishing, Inc. p. 117. ISBN 9780819224880. In 1922 the Ecumenical Patriarch and Holy Synod of Constantinople were persuaded to speak of Anglican orders. They did so in Delphic terms by declaring that Anglican orders possessed "the same validity as the Roman, Old Catholic and Armenian Churches possess". Jerusalem and Cyprus followed in 1923 by provisionally acceding that Anglican priests should not be reordained if they became Orthodox. Romania endorsed Anglican orders in 1936. Greece was not so sure, arguing that the whole of Orthodoxy must come to a decision, but it spoke of Anglican orders in the same somewhat detached un-Orthodox language.
  11. ^ "Encyclical on Anglican Orders from the Oecumenical Patriarch to the Presidents of the Particular Eastern Orthodox Churches, 1922". University College London. 1998. Archived from the original on 25 January 2002. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
  12. ^ Parry, Ken (10 May 2010). The Blackwell Companion to Eastern Christianity. John Wiley & Sons. p. 202. ISBN 9781444333619. The Orthodox Church resumed its former links with other Christian Churches. Delegates from Romania participated in the pan-Orthodox conferences in Constantinople (1923), Mount Athos (1930), the first Conference of the Professors of Theology in the Balkans (Sinaia, 1924) and the first Congress of Theology Professors in Athens (1936). It also took part in the incipient ecumenical movement. Professors and hierarchs participated in several conferences of the three main inter-war branches: 'Practical Christianity' held in Stockholm (1925) and Berne (1926), 'Faith and Organization' in Lausanne (1927), and 'World Alliance for the Union of Peoples through the Church' in Prague (1928) and Norway (1938), with subsequent regional conferences held in Romania (1924, 1933, 1936). The links with the Anglican Church were consolidated soon after the Anglican orders had been acknowledged by the Holy Synod, and subsequent to Patriarch Miron's visit to Britain in 1936.
  13. ^ Kallistos Ware (1977). Anglican-Orthodox dialogue: the Moscow statement agreed by the Anglican-Orthodox Joint Doctrinal Commission, 1976. Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. Retrieved 3 March 2016. As a result of the Conference, the Romanian Commission decided unanimously to recommend the Romanian Holy Synod to accept the validity of Anglican Orders, and this the Synod proceeded to do in March 1936.
  14. ^ Redmile, Robert David (1 September 2006). The Apostolic Succession and the Catholic Episcopate in the Christian Episcopal Church of Canada. p. 239. ISBN 978-1-60034-517-3. In 1870, the Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Syra and Tinos, the Most Reverend Alexander Lycurgus, paid a visit to the British Isles. During his time in England, Archbishop Lycurgus was invited by the Lord Bishop of London, John Jackson, to join with him in consecrating Henry MacKenzie as the Suffragan Bishop of Nottingham. Archbishop Lycurgus agreed to assist, and on 2 February 1870, he joined in the laying on of hands with the Bishop of London at the consecration of Bishop MacKenzie. Thus the Apostolic Succession in the Greek Orthodox Church was passed on to the Bishops of the Anglican Communion, and through them to the Christian Episcopal Churches in the United States of America and the Dominion of Canada.
  15. ^ Pope Leo XIII (15 September 1896). "On the Nullity of Anglican Orders". Papal Encyclicals. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
  16. ^ Augsburg Confession, Ecclesiastical Order
  17. ^ Melton, J. Gordon (2005). Encyclopedia of Protestantism. Infobase Publishing. p. 91. ISBN 9780816069835. Martin Luther seemed personally indifferent to apostolic succession, but branches of the Lutheran Church most notably the Church of Sweden, preserve episcopal leadership and apostolic succession.
  18. ^ "The Catholic Movement in the Swedish Church". anglicanhistory.org. Retrieved 2023-04-05.
  19. ^ König, Andrea (2010). Mission, Dialog und friedliche Koexistenz: Zusammenleben in einer multireligiösen und säkularen Gesellschaft : Situation, Initiativen und Perspektiven für die Zukunft. Peter Lang. p. 205. ISBN 9783631609453. Having said that, Lutheran bishops in Sweden or Finland, which retained apostolic succession, or other parts of the world, such as Africa or Asia, which gained it from Scandinavia, could easily be engaged to do something similar in Australia, as has been done in the United States, without reliance on Anglicans.
  20. ^ Walter Obare. "Choose Life!". Concordia Theological Seminary. Archived from the original on 7 May 2021. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  21. ^ Benedetto, Robert; Duke, James O. (13 August 2008). The New Westminster Dictionary of Church History: The Early, Medieval, and Reformation Eras. Westminster John Knox Press. p. 594. ISBN 978-0664224165. In Sweden the apostolic succession was preserved because the Catholic bishops were allowed to stay in office, but they had to approve changes in the ceremonies.
  22. ^ Together in Mission and Ministry: The Porvoo Common Statement, With, Essays on Church and Ministry in Northern Europe: Conversations Between the British and Irish Anglican Churches and the Nordic and Baltic Lutheran Churches. Church House Publishing. 1993. ISBN 0715157507. What made the Church of Sweden an evangelical-catholic church was to Archbishop Söderblom the fact that the Reformation in Sweden was a 'church improvement' and a 'process of purification' which did not create a new church. As a national church, the Church of Sweden succeeded in bringing together medieval Swedish tradition with the rediscovery of the gospel which the Reformation brought with it. Archbishop Söderblom included the historic episcopate in the tradition-transmitting elements. The Church of Sweden was, according to Söderblom, in an even higher degree than the Anglican Church a via media.
  23. ^ Gassmann, Günther; Larson, Duane Howard; Oldenburg, Mark W. (2001). Historical Dictionary of Lutheranism. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0810839458. In addition to the primary understanding of succession, the Lutheran confessions do express openness, however, to the continuation of the succession of bishops. This is a narrower understanding of apostolic succession, to be affirmed under the condition that the bishops support the Gospel and are ready to ordain evangelical preachers. This form of succession, for example, was continued by the Church of Sweden (which included Finland) at the time of the Reformation.
  24. ^ Alan Richardson; John Bowden John (1983). The Westminster Dictionary of Christian Theology. Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN 0664227481. The churches of Sweden and Finland retained bishops and the conviction of being continuity with the apostolic succession, while in Denmark the title bishop was retained without the doctrine of apostolic succession.
  25. ^ Sundkler, Bengt G. M. (23 February 2023). Nathan Soderblom: His Life and Work. Lutterworth Press. p. 313. ISBN 978-0-227-17865-2.
  26. ^ "Redaktionens notering" (PDF). Skara Stiftshistoriska Sällskap. 2024. Retrieved 18 March 2026. Hjalmar Danell fi ck en kräkla d.v.s. en biskopsstav i samband med att ha varit i Indien och den 7 mars 1921 (på uppdrag av ärkebiskop Nathan Söderblom, 1866-1931) i Jerusalemkyrkan i Tranquebar biskopsvigt Ernst Heuman (1858- 1926). Kräklan var av indiskt rosenträd och kom att användas för första gången vid Varnhems klosterkyrkas återöppnande den 10 maj 1923. Kräklan brukades i Skara stift ända till dess att biskop Karl Gunnar Grape (1922-2005) kunde inviga en ny som var skänkt av Rörstrandsdirektören Fredrik Wehtje (1904-1993) i Lidköping som skänkte sina samlade idrottspriVardagsherdestaven och ljusstaken 22 Vid prästmötet i Skara den 13–15 augusti 1889 framlade kyrkoherden i Vinköl , kontraktsprosten John Stenquist (1837– 1924), sin avhandling Om kyrkotukt.
  27. ^ Hincks, Craig W. (2009). Quest for Peace: An Ecumenical History of the Church in Lesotho. Heads of the Churches in Lesotho. p. 575. ISBN 978-99911-08-01-8.
  28. ^ a b c "Apostolisk succession". Missionsprovinsen. 2014. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
  29. ^ Söderström, Hugo. God Gave Growth: The History of the Lutheran Church in Zimbabwe 1903–1980. Mambo Press, 1984.
  30. ^ Sorenson, Morris A.; Sorenson, Dorothy A. (1996). Beyond Expectation: The Story of a Family in Mission. Kirk House. p. 227. ISBN 978-1-886513-06-8. On September 19, 1971, Lowell Hesterman and I, as part of a congregation of some 4,000 persons, witnessed the consecration service of Paulus Mhlungu as the first African bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of South Africa--South East Region. The service was held in a large tent at Umpumulo with the retiring bishop, Helge Foesseus of Sweden officiating and ALC missionary Carl Otte preaching.
  31. ^ Carey 1954, p. 129.
  32. ^ Montefiore 1954, p. 109.
  33. ^ Norris 1988, p. 304.
  34. ^ a b Avis, Paul (2018). The Oxford Handbook of Ecclesiology. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-108138-5.
  35. ^ Norris 1988, p. 305.
  36. ^ a b Norris 1988, p. 306.
  37. ^ Evans & Wright 1991, p. 346.

Bibliography

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