.png)
Introduction
This article deals with the transmission of genuine "first-century faith" throughout church history until now. Therefore, we must evaluate what it means to be "paleo-orthodox" and to succeed Jesus' apostles. Most churchgoers assume progressive revelation in that God gradually reveals new or more in-depth information over time as the church increases in numbers and influence. In business terms, we call this "progress." Adherents of progressive revelation often cite this verse: "I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear" (John 16:12). However, Jesus did not mean he would later teach the church ideas that contradict the Old Testament or his previous lessons. When the gospel reaches various cultures, it advances in the arts, humanities, literature, politics, etc. While this may keep the church safe from persecution and allow it to exercise power, the good news becomes diluted, and fewer people know the authentic Jesus. Both paleo-orthodoxy and apostolic succession are essential doctrines that help shield the transmission of the Christian faith as it expands from Jerusalem throughout the world. Both scripture and the development of the church began with Jesus' twelve apostles. So, this is now where we turn.
Apostolic Succession
Apostolic succession means "to succeed the apostles." Throughout church history, many theologians have debated whether this doctrine applies to leaders who appointed the apostles, the teaching of justification by faith, or the continuation of spiritual gifts. In its original sense, given first by Irenaeus of Lyon (c. AD 130–202) in his Against Heresies [Bk. 3, Chs. 1, 2, 3, 4), the standard of apostolic succession referred to the apostles choosing leaders to continue their public ministry (Acts 14:23; Titus 1:5). He saw the need to teach this because the Gnostics, a dissident group of itinerant preachers, claimed to have hidden knowledge of Jesus from the apostles (see "Narcissism & False Teachers"). Given that this was the mid-second century and the church had existed for over 100 years, Irenaeus was right to call out the Gnostics for their false teaching. The question of the gospel's transmission was not yet posed until then but assumed and trusted by all Christians. Before dealing with textual criticism, Irenaeus knew he had to defend the church leaders who curated the New Testament after the apostles. In other words, we must have confidence that the Bible comes from trustworthy men who knew the apostles or met eyewitnesses who did.
However, it is pointless to list successors to Jesus' apostles if we fail to teach and preach the gospel ourselves accurately. We must understand the good news in its first-century context and what makes it so "good." The resurrection was the gospel the apostles preached, that Jesus of Nazareth rose from the dead in his physical body, appeared to more than 500 people, ascended into heaven, and will return for a general resurrection of all humankind (1 Cor. 15). This was the reason each of the apostles was willing to risk persecution and death: they saw the resurrected Jesus with their own eyes and were transformed by the experience. We Christians often defend these statements in our apologetic defenses with skeptics, but we would do better to take in the grandeur of Jesus' resurrection for ourselves. The one true God himself did not come down to us in flesh and blood, preach and teach for three years, suffer on the cross, rise from the dead, and ascend into heaven just so we could sit in comfy pews, gaze at stained-glass windows, sip our morning coffee, have our ears tickled with the newest worship and ministry trends, but then leave unchanged by all of it.
Jesus came to launch a revolution, not to make us religious. To succeed the apostles means for our churches to be apostolic and have a surefire mission to evangelize our neighbors at home and abroad, even if that means persecution and death. We must be doers and not just hearers of the good news (Matt. 7:24; Rom. 2:13; James 1:22-25).
Paleo-Orthodoxy
The Methodist theologian Thomas C. Oden (1931–2016) first coined paleo-orthodoxy. He combined three Greek words: palaio (G3820, "old" or "ancient"), orthos (G3717, "straight" or "correct"), and doxa (G1391, "valuable opinion"). Therefore, paleo-orthodoxy refers to correct teaching with ancient Christian origins. We may also expand the concept to include all "straight and valuable" doctrines shared by Christians worldwide throughout church history, especially starting with the Council of Nicaea (AD 325), the Council of Constantinople (AD 381), and the Council of Chalcedon (AD 451). Paul of Tarsus said the church is "the pillar and foundation of the truth" (1 Tim. 3:15); not so much a union of conflicting traditions and beliefs, but a unity of disciples who worship God "in the Spirit and in truth" (John 4:23). Incidentally, Vincent of Lérins (d. c. AD 450) wrote:
Moreover, in the universal church, all possible care must be taken that we hold that faith which has been believed everywhere, always, by all. That is indeed and, in the strictest sense, "universal," which, as the name itself and the reason of the thing declare, comprehends all universally. We shall observe this rule if we follow universality, antiquity, and consent. We shall follow universality if we confess that one faith to be accurate, which the whole church throughout the world confesses; antiquity, if we in no wise depart from those interpretations which it is manifest were notoriously held by our holy ancestors and fathers; consent, in like manner, if in antiquity itself we adhere to the consentient definitions and determinations of all, or at the least of almost all pastors and theologians (adapt. Rea, p. 40).
What is this consensus of all genuine Christianity? Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906–1945), a Lutheran pastor martyred by Nazi Germany, best described it this way:
Cheap grace is preaching forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, communion without confession, and absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.
Costly grace is the treasure hidden in the field; for the sake of it, a man will go and sell all that he has. It is the pearl of great price to buy, which the merchant will sell all his goods. It is the kingly rule of Christ, for whose sake a man will pluck out the eye that causes him to stumble; it is the call of Jesus Christ at which the disciple leaves his nets and follows him.
Costly grace is the gospel that must be sought repeatedly, the gift that must be asked for, and the door at which a man must knock.
Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life. It is costly because it condemns sin, and grace because it justifies the sinner. Above all, it is costly because it cost God the life of his Son: "You were bought with a price" [1 Cor. 6:20], and what has cost God much cannot be cheap for us. Above all, it is grace because God did not reckon his Son too dear a price to pay for our life but delivered him up for us. Costly grace is the incarnation of God (pp. 44–45).
Yes, the faithful Christian must have a personal, existential transformation with the living God to be "born again" or "born from above" (John 3:3, 7; Titus 3:5). We must believe that Jesus' resurrection is both historical and physical, and that same resurrection will happen to all people on the last day. While most churches agree to these things, the one that most Christians fail to take seriously is the doctrine of apostolic poverty: living within one's means to meet basic needs, yet with the heartfelt responsibility to share their abundance with others as they have need (Acts 2:42-47). Hence why, Jesus told the rich ruler that he must sell everything he owns and distribute the money to the poor (Luke 18:22). Apostolic poverty also encompasses Jesus' most fiery words about the netherworld in Matthew 25:31-46 when he talks about giving to the poor, visiting prisoners, and feeding the hungry. In modern Christendom, we teach this as optional or put it off on the wealthy. This teaching does not rule out having personal property, but it is a call to be good stewards of what God puts in our charge (see "Money, Mammon & Tithe" and "Christian Case for Capitalism & Populism").
Paleo-Orthodox View of Succession
The following apostolic succession of churches and Christian traditions may have differences in teaching or emphasis. However, they generally agree on these essential doctrines:
Scripture by the historical-grammatical method (John 20:31; 2 Tim 3:16; 2 Pet. 1:20).
The validity of miracles, signs, and the supernatural (John 10:38).
The virgin birth and incarnation of Christ (Matt. 1:18-25; Luke 1:26-37; John 1:1-14).
The bodily resurrection and the physical return of Jesus (1 Cor. 15).
The atonement of our sins on the cross (Matt. 26:39; Mark 14:36; Luke 22:42).
Meeting for worship and one another's needs (Acts 2:43-47; Heb. 10:25).
Freedom of the church from politics (Matt. 5–7; 22:21; John 18:36; Rom. 13:1-7).
Emphasis on baptism and a personal confession of faith (Rom. 6:4; 10:9).
Reciprocity of justification and sanctification (Eph. 2:8-10; James 2:24).
Good relations with Jews without the error of Judaizing (Rom. 11:11-32; Gal. 2:15-21).
The Greek word that "church" translates is ekklēsia (G1577), which means "called out" (ek; G1537, "out" + kaleō; G2564, "to call"). God sets his church apart from the world to be his sacred instrument of realizing the kingdom of heaven, which culminates with Jesus' return (see "Church: Called-Out by Christ" and "Kingdom of God & Heaven").
Succession List of Paleo-Orthodox Christianity
Jerusalem Church (30–135)
The Way/Nazarenes (30–100)
Kerala Christians (52–present)
Ante-Nicene Church (100–325)
Desert ascetics/hermits (270–435)
Benedictines (529–present)
Cistercians (1098–present)
Modern Devotion ascetics (1374–1815)
Petrobrusians (1117–1151)
Henricians (1135–1145)
Arnoldists (1144–1155)
Waldensians (1173–present)
Franciscans (1209–present)
Lollards (1381–1559)
Hussites (1398–present)
United Brethren—"Moravians" (1457–present)
Radical Reformation (1525–1632)
Anabaptists (1529–present)
Pietists (1675–present)
Methodists/Wesleyans (1729–present)
Restoration Movement (1801–present)
Hebrew Christians (1813–1975)
Confessing Church (1934–1945)
Messianic Jews (1970–present)
Paleo-Christian Ministries (2013–present)
Prayer
Blessed are you, LORD our God, King of the universe; we pray for your holy Christian church. Fill it with all truth, in all truth, with all peace. Where it is corrupt, purify it; where it is in error, direct it; where in anything it is amiss, reform it; where it is correct, strengthen it; where it is in want, provide for it; where it is divided, reunite it; for the sake of Jesus Christ, your Son, our Savior. Amen.
Bibliography
Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. The Cost of Discipleship. New York: Touchstone, 1995.
Book of Common Prayer. Huntington Beach, CA: Anglican Liturgy Press, 2019. p. 646.
Britannica, eds. "Apostolic Succession." Encyclopædia Britannica. Chicago: Britannica, 2010–present. Last updated May 26, 2022. (link).
González, Justo L. A History of Christian Thought, Vol. 1: From the Beginnings to the Council of Chalcedon. Nashville: Abingdon, 1987.
⸻. Essential Theological Terms. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2005.
⸻. The Story of Christianity, Vol. 1: The Early Church to the Dawn of the Reformation. Second ed. San Francisco: HarperOne, 2010.
Irenaeus of Lyon. "Irenæus—Against Heresies: Book III." Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 1: The Apostolic Fathers, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus. Eds. Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1885. pp. 414–17. Christian Classics Ethereal Library, Calvin University. (link).
Juster, Daniel C. That They May Be One: A Brief Review of Church Restoration Movements and Their Connection to the Jewish People. Clarksville, MD: Messianic Jewish Publications, 2009.
Koperski, Andrew. "Irenaeus and Apostolic Succession." Ad Fontes. November 3, 2022. (link).
MacCulloch, Diarmaid. Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years. New York: Penguin, 2011.
Oden, Thomas C. Classic Christianity: A Systematic Theology. San Francisco: HarperOne, 2009.
Rea, Robert F. Why Church History Matters: An Invitation to Love and Learn from Our Past. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2014.
Shelley, Bruce L. Church History in Plain Language. Fifth ed. Ed. Marshall Shelley. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Academic, 2020.
Tanner, Kenneth, and Christopher A. Hall, eds. Ancient & Postmodern Christianity: Paleo-Orthodoxy in the 21st Century—Essays In Honor of Thomas C. Oden. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2002.
Tate, Dan. "After Modernity . . . What?! The Paleo-Orthodox Agenda for Theology 40 Years Later." Christ & Cosmos (blog). May 17, 2019. (link).
⸻. "After Modernity . . . What?! Part 2: Are We Really Postmodern—or Are We Ultramodern?" Christ & Cosmos (blog). May 26, 2019. (link).
⸻. "After Modernity . . . What?! Part 3: What Does Thomas C. Oden Miss in His Book? On the Spirit of the Fathers and the Importance of Philosophy." Christ & Cosmos (blog). June 3, 2019. (link).
"Thomas C. Oden." InterVarsity Press. (link).
Thompson, Andrew C. "The Wesleyan Doctrine of Apostolic Succession." Firebrand. September 3, 2024. (link).
Trueman, Carl R. "Paleo-Orthodoxy: A Review of A Change of Heart." First Things. February 2015. (link).
Wright, N. T. How God Became King: The Forgotten Story of the Gospels. San Francisco: HarperOne, 2016.
⸻. Simply Good News: Why the Gospel Is News and What Makes It Good. San Francisco: HarperOne, 2017.
Wright, N. T., and Michael F. Bird. The New Testament in Its World: An Introduction to the History, Literature, and Theology of the First Christians. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2019.