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Here are Orthodox Answers related to "apostolic succession":

Question # 3: Are bishops successors to the Apostles?  Are they still successors?
Question # 6: Does the Orthodox Church believe in Apostolic Succession? Are Anglican orders recognized as valid?
Question # 26: Did not St. Irenaeus teach that all Churches must agree with the Roman Church? Why do the Orthodox not follow this precept from the early Church?
Question # 72: Does the Orthodox Church have a unified understanding of the validity of Anglican Orders? I know that Pope Leo XIII declared Anglican Orders invalid, but this is questioned and doubted by many theologians, Roman and Anglican alike. What is the Orthodox view? Thank you.
Question # 92: Hello, I was wondering if I could find an answer to a charge from Roman Catholics. They say that the Orthodox Church lost her apostolic succession when the four great Sees of the Eastern Church had their bishoprics interrupted by Islamic conquerers who installed puppet bishops - therefore only leaving Rome as the sole unblemished see. They also seem to think that we believe that all Church authority is centered on the Pentarchy, rather than the conciliarity of all the canonical bishops. But I'm not sure how to answer their other charges. Here are some quotes from them: "When barbarians controlled Italy, they for the most part did not interfere with the Church, except in the cases of when the Church was trying to thwart them somehow. The Ottoman Empire, on the other hand, took the initiative in appointing puppet bishops and directly giving orders to others. The Pentarchy has basically failed, if you think about it. Rome is not part of the EO church, and the other patriarchates have either been wiped out, puppeteered by the Islamic empires, or fallen to heresy. It's like having a monarchy with no dynasty." "The Eastern Patriarchates don't "still" exist. They were restored, after a huge vacancy during the middle ages." "If the Eastern Orthodox are correct to assert that all authority in the Church is centered on the Pentarchy, then that would mean that the only legitimacy left in their apostolic succession lies in Rome, as the other four posts were interrupted during the Islamic conquests. Correct?" In Christ, Tom.
Question # 438: Could you elaborate on why it's important to become Orthodox? Let's put forward a hypothetical situation, where a body of Christian believers believe everything an Orthodox believer believes, but they feel out of place in an Orthodox church, with the vestments, and the incense, etc. So they continue to gather by themselves, practicing the Divine Liturgy, participating in the Sacraments, but do not identify as an Orthodox church. What is it about identifying as an Orthodox church, or having their priest be ordained by a Bishop, that makes it any different? Are the Sacraments empty of God's grace if not prepared and served by a priest with Apostolic succession? Is there a scriptural basis for that concept, if so?
Question # 498: Could you please elaborate (or direct me to a good source) on the concept of ordination and sacramental authority? Is there biblical support for this? I know the Apostles were given Christ's authority to baptize and forgive sins, etc., but what I'm mainly interested in, is the scriptural foundation and/or patristic logic/explanation behind this transferal, if that makes any sense. For example, how would we explain and confirm this to a Protestant who does not believe their "sacraments" (or versions of them anyway) need ordinational validity? If they ask, "Why would my pastor need to be ordained by someone with apostolic succession for our sacraments to be valid"?
Question # 762: Glory to Jesus Christ, I have come across information that is disputing the Apostolic Succession of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. The other original Patriarchates, Jerusalem, Antioch, Alexandria and Rome were all founded by an Apostle. Was there an Apostle who started the Church in Constantinople? Does the Roman (Latin) Church predate the Orthodox Church? With Love and Faith in Jesus Christ, Vasily
Question # 1058: Why does the canonical Eastern Orthodox Church regard ordinations (following apostolic succession, of course) performed in other denominations as invalid or somehow less valuable than ones performed in the Orthodox Church? Isn't apostolic succession the single determining factor in validity? If it isn't, what are the others?
Question # 1340: What is the difference between Orthodox and Catholic understandings of apostolic succession?

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