What Apostolic Succession Means
Every Catholic bishop alive today can trace his ordination back through a chain of hands.
Bishop to bishop.
Century after century.
All the way back to the Apostles.
It is the longest relay race in history.
And nobody has dropped the baton yet.
Wait… Do Bishops Really Come From the Apostles?
A lot of Christians think:
“The Apostles were a one-time thing. When they died, their office died with them. Now we just have the Bible.”
And at first that sounds right.
There were only twelve Apostles.
They saw the risen Jesus with their own eyes.
Nobody today can say that.
But then you start reading a few passages and you have to stop for a second.
Because the very first thing the Apostles did after Jesus ascended was fill an empty seat.
The First Thing They Did
Judas was gone.
That left eleven Apostles.
And Peter stood up and said the office had to be filled.
He quoted the Psalms:
“And his bishopric let another take.”
— Acts 1:20
Wait.
His bishopric.
His office.
The man was gone, but the office remained.
So they prayed, cast lots, and Matthias was chosen.
“And they gave them lots, and the lot fell upon Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.”
— Acts 1:26
The very first act of the Church after the Ascension was apostolic succession.
The Laying On of Hands
As the Church grew, the Apostles did not try to do everything themselves.
They chose men and laid hands on them.
When the first deacons were chosen, the Apostles prayed and “imposed hands upon them” (Acts 6:6).
Paul and Barnabas went from town to town, and “when they had ordained to them priests in every church,” they prayed and moved on (Acts 14:22).
Paul reminded Timothy of the gift he received “by the imposition of my hands” (2 Timothy 1:6).
It was not a sign-up sheet.
It was not a vote of the congregation.
Authority was handed on, hand to head, by those who already had it.
Four Generations in One Verse
Then Paul writes this to Timothy:
“And the things which thou hast heard of me by many witnesses, the same commend to faithful men, who shall be fit to teach others also.”
— 2 Timothy 2:2
Count them.
Paul.
Timothy.
Faithful men.
Others also.
Four generations of teachers in a single sentence.
Paul did not expect the line to stop with him.
Titus Was Told to Do the Same
Paul gave the same job to Titus:
“For this cause I left thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and shouldest ordain priests in every city, as I also appointed thee:”
— Titus 1:5
Paul appointed Titus.
Titus appoints others.
That is apostolic succession in a nutshell.
(We explain what ordination actually does in What Holy Orders Actually Is.)
Then You Read the First Christians
Around A.D. 96, Pope St. Clement of Rome wrote to the church in Corinth, which had kicked out its leaders.
He told them the Apostles knew there would be strife over the office of bishop.
So they appointed men, and then gave instructions that when those men died, other approved men should succeed to their ministry.
Wait.
That letter was written while St. John the Apostle was probably still alive.
Around A.D. 180, St. Irenaeus was fighting false teachers who claimed to have secret knowledge from the Apostles.
His answer was simple.
If the Apostles had secret teachings, they would have given them to the men they put in charge of the churches.
And we know who those men were.
Then he listed the bishops of Rome, one after another, from Peter and Paul down to his own day.
Irenaeus did not have to guess.
He could name names.
Why It Matters
Apostolic succession is not about a fancy pedigree.
It answers a very practical question:
Who gets to say what Jesus taught?
Anyone can pick up a Bible and start a church.
Plenty of people have.
But Jesus did not say to the Apostles, “Write a book and let everyone figure it out.”
He said:
“He that heareth you, heareth me;”
— Luke 10:16
The bishops are the men who carry that same commission today.
Not because they are smarter than everyone else.
Some of them clearly are not.
But because the office was handed to them by those who had it.
Isn’t Teaching What Matters, Not Hands?
Some people say: “Real succession is just teaching what the Apostles taught.”
Catholics agree that teaching matters.
A bishop who abandons the faith of the Apostles betrays his office.
But the early Church never separated the two.
Irenaeus pointed to the teaching and the list of bishops together.
The true teaching was found in the churches the Apostles founded, guarded by the men they appointed.
You need both.
The right message and the right messengers.
So What Is the Catholic Claim?
Here it is in simple terms.
The Apostles filled Judas’ office as their first act.
They laid hands on men and ordained leaders in every church.
Paul told Timothy and Titus to pass on what they received to others who would teach others also.
Clement and Irenaeus describe bishops succeeding the Apostles, and Irenaeus could list them by name.
The Catholic Church teaches that the bishops are the successors of the Apostles, and that the pope is the successor of Peter (CCC 861–862, 880–881).
So the real question is not:
“Where does the Bible say bishops replace the Apostles?”
The better question is:
“If the Apostles handed on their office, who has it now?”
Because the relay race did not end in the first century.
It is still running.
Keep reading: What “Binding and Loosing” Means in the Bible, or browse more questions in Catholicism Explained.
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Catholic Sources
Scripture (Douay-Rheims): Luke 10:16; Acts 1:15–26; Acts 6:6; Acts 14:22; 1 Timothy 4:14; 2 Timothy 1:6; 2 Timothy 2:2; Titus 1:5.
Catechism of the Catholic Church: CCC 77 (the Apostles left bishops as their successors); CCC 861–862 (apostolic succession); CCC 880–881 (the college of bishops and the pope).
Early Christian writers: Pope St. Clement of Rome, Letter to the Corinthians 42–44 (c. A.D. 96); St. Irenaeus, Against Heresies 3.3 (c. A.D. 180).
Church documents: Second Vatican Council, Lumen Gentium 20.
