The Apostolic Church

The Apostolic Church

The Orthodox Church stands as the unbroken continuation of the Church founded by Jesus Christ, preserving the Apostolic faith through historical continuity, authoritative succession, and a conciliar structure that mirrors the biblical model. To understand this, let's presuppose Christ as the true Messiah who rose from the dead; a historical claim supported by early accounts and Old Testament prophecy. From this foundation, we can trace why the Orthodox Church embodies the Apostolic tradition without relying on circular reasoning.

Christ Himself established a visible Church, as recorded in Matthew 16, where He declares to Peter, “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” This Church was not meant to fracture or fade but to endure as a unified body. In John 20, Christ grants the Apostles divinely appointed authority, breathing on them and saying, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.” This authority was not temporary; the Apostles passed it on through successors.

The method of succession (laying on of hands) echoes the Old Testament pattern. Just as Moses transferred his authority to Joshua (Numbers 27:18–23), and subsequent priests were ordained by three others, with at least one tracing succession back to Joshua, the Apostles adopted the same practice. We see this in Acts 13:3, where Paul and Barnabas are set apart by laying on of hands, and in 1 Timothy 4:14 and 2 Timothy 1:6, where Timothy receives authority through this rite. This unbroken chain of Apostolic succession ensures that bishops and priests in the Orthodox Church today can trace their ordination directly back to the Apostles, maintaining the integrity of the faith.

Furthermore, the structure of Church governance reflects the Old Testament Sanhedrin, which included regional courts and a universal one for resolving disputes. In the post-Apostolic age, this manifested as local (regional) councils and ecumenical (universal) councils. Rather than splintering into factions during disagreements, early Christians convened councils, as exemplified in Acts 15, where the Apostles and elders gathered to settle the circumcision debate, and all submitted to the decision. This conciliar approach prevented schisms and preserved unity, a hallmark of the Orthodox Church, which has held seven Ecumenical Councils recognized as binding.

Consider this logical progression: No church can avoid schism without a Supreme Court to arbitrate disputes authoritatively. Such a court must be infallible; otherwise, dissenting parties would appeal beyond it to some higher, infallible source, leading to endless fragmentation. God intended His Church not to schism but to remain one, as Christ prayed in John 17:21 for believers to be “one, even as we are one.” Therefore, an infallible court must exist within the Church. In Orthodoxy, this is realized through the consensus of bishops in ecumenical councils, guided by the Holy Spirit, ensuring doctrinal fidelity without a single infallible leader prone to error.

In contrast, other Christian traditions have experienced repeated divisions (Protestantism's thousands of denominations or the Roman Catholic Church's post-Schism developments) highlighting the absence of this enduring, conciliar infallibility. The Orthodox Church, by faithfully upholding Apostolic succession, scriptural continuity, and conciliar authority, remains the Apostolic Church: the one against which the gates of hell have not prevailed.