Apostolic Succession

Who/What: the principle by which Christian bishops traced their authority back to Jesus’ apostles (p. 201); bishops thus had the powers Jesus originally gave to the Apostles

When: early Christian era; time of the Roman Empire, (emerging in the 1^stcentury?)

Where: Christian churches, usually in cities; Roman Empire

Significance: the concept of apostolic succession made the early bishops a religious authority that could decide questions of orthodoxy as well as appoint priests; the idea of apostolic succession also would play into the Papal (the bishop of Rome) rise to dominance in the Middle Ages, as it was believed the bishop of Rome (later called the Pope) was the heir to St. Peter