From Baptist to Anglican: On Apostolic Succession and the Real Presence of Christ
I am an alum of a Baptist university, a graduate student at a Southern Baptist seminary, an active volunteer in Young Life, and a youth minister in an Anglican Church. You might be thinking, “One of these things is not like the others, what gives?”
I was a cradle Baptist. I grew up around Reformed theology and could defend the congregational church structure as well as anyone. To put it plainly, I knew what I believed. However, my convictions of Scripture and Church history led me through a four-year discernment period out of Baptist life and into the Anglican Church. So, how did that happen?
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Of the many reasons that I left the evangelical Baptist world for the Anglican Church, two truly pushed me over the edge: a deep conviction of apostolic succession and the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist.
Apostolic Succession
Apostolic succession refers to the “unbroken line of succession to the first Apostles, namely to Peter and finally, to Jesus Christ”. There is nuance to this teaching, depending on who you ask. However, the primary idea is that when Christ established his Church with the Apostles, he established a tangible line of succession, in which the succeeding bishops would inherit the visible representation of “the faith once for all delivered” (Jude 1:3).
Apostolic succession is a visible representation of the invisible church. In the first century, figures such as Clement I taught the necessity of the “succession of bishops”(Letter to the Corinthians, 80 AD). Irenaeus, another example, points to the succession of bishops as the “tradition of the apostles” that protects the Church against heretical teachings (Against Heresies, 189 AD).
This was the understood rule of faith as the Church began the early ecumenical councils to clarify the doctrine of the Trinity, the deity of Christ, and other related matters. I would argue that even Paul himself sets this precedent in Acts 15, where he holds the first-ever ecumenical council of Jerusalem in the first century AD. I could go on, as this teaching was pivotal for me, but I will conclude by saying apostolic succession became such an apparent teaching from Scripture and the early Church to me that I could no longer ignore it.
The Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist
The next domino to fall for me was the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. I never thought I would embrace this belief. Clearly, Jesus was using a metaphor when he said, “This is my body,” right? However, all that changed when I approached John 6 with an open mind. There is a lot packed into that chapter, so I encourage you to read it yourself. But the climactic moment comes as the large crowd accuses Jesus of teaching cannibalism. Instead of clarifying his point as a mere metaphor, he doubles down and says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you” (John 6:53).
If you read on, you will see that Jesus clarifies this point five times, a point that will become clear to the Apostles at the Last Supper when Jesus institutes the Eucharist. As I read this, along with other supporting passages, I found myself in complete agreement with the historic teaching of the church regarding Christ’s real presence in the Eucharist. This learning remained unchallenged from the time of the apostles until the Reformation and is reflected in the ACNA Catechism.
Both Reformed and Catholic
My intention in writing this article is not to convert everyone to Anglicanism (well, maybe a little) but rather to tell my story. A story that seems to be a variation of one that many Christians in our culture, especially younger seminarians, share. Why did I choose Anglicanism and not Roman Catholicism or Eastern Orthodoxy? The Anglican church has a posture of reformation that is appreciative of our catholic history, a posture that yearns for unity in the midst of schism.
Anglicanism not only provides a tangible connection to the global church throughout its history but also a public accountability to the teachings of the church throughout time. The Anglican Church has a deep and theologically rich tradition that values the tenets of the Reformation but does not plant its theological flag solely in the 16th century.
My Hope for Anglican Compass
So, how does the Anglican Compass fit into this? Well, it’s primarily because of Anglican Compass that I was able to discover all of this! I hardly knew any Anglicans when I was discerning these convictions, and articles like those linked above were incredibly helpful in providing explanations and answers to questions I had about church structure and historic Christian theology. My decision wasn’t made in a vacuum with myself and my computer. However, Anglican Compass did provide me with concise, easy-to-understand explanations of key theological distinctives of Anglicanism and how it is connected to the ancient Church in a way other Protestant groups are not.
Anglican Compass had four different articles addressing every question I had. My hope is that as Anglican Compass continues to grow, it incorporates more young and aspiring leaders in the Anglican Church, especially those who come from other Protestant denominations. It was reassuring to know that I was not alone in my convictions about the tradition of the Early Church, and that many like me are discovering how that tradition is preserved within Anglicanism. That discovery has since led me to a wonderful church, where I serve, making me a real-life “Rookie Anglican” on the field.
My suggestion to anyone who has made it to the end of this article, especially one curious about the Anglican Church’s traditions and practices, is to do the same thing that I did four years ago: Scroll up to the top of this page, start at the New to Anglicanism page, and get to reading!
Image by PaoloGaetano from Getty Images Signature, courtesy of Canva.
Published on
What is Apostolic Succession, Anyway?
What does it mean be in a church that had an unbroken line of succession to the first Apostles, namely to Peter and finally, to Jesus Christ?
United in Christ: The Reformation Renewal of an Ancient Faith
Anglicanism’s ties to the Reformation are a necessary reorientation towards the catholic and apostolic faith.
