Apostolic succession is the transmission by means of the sacrament of Holy Orders of the mission and power of the Apostles to their successors, the bishops. Thanks to this transmission the Church remains in communion of faith and life with her origin, while through the centuries she carries on her apostolate for the spread of the Kingdom of Christ on earth.
The Faithful: hierarchy, laity, consecrated life
Veja este tema no Catecismo
Paragraph 861
861. "In order that the mission entrusted to them might be continued after their death, [the apostles] consigned, by will and testament, as it were, to their immediate collaborators the duty of completing and consolidating the work they had begun, urging them to tend to the whole flock, in which the Holy Spirit had appointed them to shepherd the Church of God. They accordingly designated such men and then made the ruling that likewise on their death other proven men should take over their ministry."374
Paragraph 862
862. "Just as the office which the Lord confided to Peter alone, as first of the apostles, destined to be transmitted to his successors, is a permanent one, so also endures the office, which the apostles received, of shepherding the Church, a charge destined to be exercised without interruption by the sacred order of bishops."375Hence the Church teaches that "the bishops have by divine institution taken the place of the apostles as pastors of the Church, in such wise that whoever listens to them is listening to Christ and whoever despises them despises Christ and him who sent Christ."376
Paragraph 863
863. The whole Church is apostolic, in that she remains, through the successors of St. Peter and the other apostles, in communion of faith and life with her origin: and in that she is "sent out" into the whole world. All members of the Church share in this mission, though in various ways. "The Christian vocation is, of its nature, a vocation to the apostolate as well." Indeed, we call an apostolate "every activity of the Mystical Body" that aims "to spread the Kingdom of Christ over all the earth."377
Paragraph 864
864. "Christ, sent by the Father, is the source of the Church's whole apostolate"; thus the fruitfulness of apostolate for ordained ministers as well as for lay people clearly depends on their vital union with Christ.378In keeping with their vocations, the demands of the times and the various gifts of the Holy Spirit, the apostolate assumes the most varied forms. But charity, drawn from the Eucharist above all, is always "as it were, the soul of the whole apostolate."379
Paragraph 865
865. The Church is ultimately one, holy, catholic, and apostolic in her deepest and ultimate identity, because it is in her that "the Kingdom of heaven," the "Reign of God,"380already exists and will be fulfilled at the end of time. the kingdom has come in the person of Christ and grows mysteriously in the hearts of those incorporated into him, until its full eschatological manifestation. Then all those he has redeemed and made "holy and blameless before him in love,"381 will be gathered together as the one People of God, the "Bride of the Lamb,"382"the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God."383For "the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb."384
Acesse nossos estudos biblicos:
How is God’s justice manifested in the midst of suffering, according to Job 34:10-12?
What can we learn about the growth of the early church in Jerusalem from Acts 2:41-47?
The Creation of the Universe and Man: What Does the Book of Genesis Teach Us? (Genesis 1:1-31)
What does the Bible teach us about asserting personal identity within a loving relationship?
The Fall of Mankind: How Did Adam and Eve’s Disobedience Affect the World? (Genesis 3:1-24)
What is the meaning of Christ’s death and how does it bring justification to sinners?
God’s Covenant with David: An Eternal Commitment (2 Samuel 7)
