In my last three posts, I have been going through three of the “notes” of the Church in the creeds: the Church is one, holy, catholic. The last note is the question of apostolicity, and it is central to the challenge not only of the ecumenical movement, but to humanity’s future.
Is a church apostolic because it has bishops in the succession, as opposed to those that do not? Following John Flett, that is not enough.[1] The first apostles ranged far and wide, and established churches across the Roman Empire. These were more than the Twelve, and they included women.[2] What they launched was a tradition of crossing boundaries to bring the Good News to people. “You shall be my witnesses,” Jesus said as he ascended, “in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria, and away to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1: 8)
The word “apostle” means someone “sent with a message.”
Ebb and flow
There was then and still remains a “tidal” movement: apostles go out to new lands, and then they or their successors “return” to consolidate the gains made. Collecting letters from them and then the gospels, developing common ways of worship, creating short resumés of beliefs to accompany baptisms, and fixating on an ordinary way of organizing a church, all reflect the incoming (or homecoming) tide. As these developments reinforce a church, they…
