In this scholarly and controversial work, Richard Tydings challenges the traditional Anglican doctrine of apostolic succession, which holds that the authority of the Church derives from an unbroken chain of bishops going back to the apostles. The author argues that this doctrine has no basis in Scripture or history, and refutes the claims made by some Anglicans that John Wesley and Thomas Coke were validly consecrated bishops. A thought-provoking study of a contentious theological issue. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

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Excerpt from A Refutation of the Doctrine of Uninterrupted Apostolic Succession: With a Correction of Errors Concerning Rev. John Wesley and Dr. Coke; In Answer to the Rev. G. T. Chapman, and Others Sometime about the year 1829, when stationed in the city of Lexington, my attention was called to a recent publication, entitled "Sermons upon the Ministry, Worship, and Doctrines of the Protestant Episcopal Church, and other subjects; by the Rev. G. T. Chapman, D. D. Rector of Christ, Church," in that city. In this work, the Author claims for himself, and his beloved "Zion," exceedingly high and imposing titles; such as the "Primitive Apostolic Church;" "the only true Church, or 'Bride' of Christ;" the only Church that has a true, and properly authorized ministry; the Roman Catholic Church excepted. These high claims, it would appear, are set up on the obsolete, and long since exploded doctrine, of uninterrupted Apostolic Succession; which succession, the author supposes, belongs to his church. In other words, that her ministers have received holy orders from the Apostles, through a long line of Popes, Archbishops, and Diocesan, Bishops; which places them in possession of divine authority to minister in holy things. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

This book is the first in generations to examine writers in the early church in order to ascertain the original Christian intent as to how early Christian clergy were chosen, their powers and responsibilities, and the methods of placing people in church office and displacing them. This book demonstrates what the first writers meant when they advocated apostolic succession, the scope of authority particular church officers would possess, and how their authority would be transmitted. Besides concentrating on writings in the first to third centuries AD, this book draws on later material to question the assertions made today for bishops claiming apostolic succession. It reveals they are contrary to early church thought, that the doctrine or theory of apostolic succession cannot be proved, and does not work in practice even in our own day. This publication is rare in the field of Christian scholarship in that it challenges the fundamental claims that diocesan bishops do or can trace their lines of ordinations back to the apostles. This unusual book will comfort many, and disquiet many, and surprise all, because it investigates what many assume, without solid proof, to be the bedrock of church authority.