The question of Apostolic Succession is one which we have encountered frequently, and which we felt required special attention, particularly relating to our Gnostic Ecclesia. The issue of Apostolic Succession varies greatly depending upon one's beliefs and interpretations. Essentially, from a catholic perspective, the belief is that Jesus gave certain authorities to the Apostles, and those same authorities are said to be passed on to their "successors" (i.e. bishops) through the practice of cheirotonia (the laying-on of hands). This perspective implies that there is not only a temporal authority, but a supernatural essence or ability transmitted in the process - such that would allow those who receive it legitimately to fulfull their charges of « binding, loosing, ordaining », etc. The idea is that the Apostolic Succession is an unbroken chain of succession, or chain of transmission of the position, responsibility, authority and power of the Apostles.

A different perspective views Apostolic Succession as a chain of teacher-student transmissions of teachings and/or initiations. This transmission may or may not be accompanied by some sort of supernatural transmission in addition to the teachings and ideas. In this sense, virtually all religions could be said to bear some sort of "succession" albeit not "apostolic" since the source was not the Apostles. The two that come to mind immediately are Hinduism and Buddhism with their distinct lineages and transmissions of teachings which are passed one through inititiation and "shaktipat", being the supernatural component, and which can be traced back to whomever started the line after attaining "liberation."

So, then, what is our Gnostic understanding of the Apostolic Succession? First of all, it must be stated that we adhere to and work within a specific tradition and firmly hold that this is what allows us to dig deep and uncover what may not be obvious. It is this this which can allow us to come to a deeper understanding of the nuances of our tradition, and also to understand and appreciate similar places or practices or understandings in other traditions that are not our own. It is from working within a specific tradition that we can return to the idea of Apostolic Succession.

Most traditions that are considered "religions" work onthe model of a lineage, be it Buddhist or Hindu or Muslim or Christian, etc. Within Christianity, including our own Gnostic Christian, pre-Nicene, traditions, there is no exception - our lineage was what later became referred to as "Apostolic Succession". Our ecclesia began within the gnostic movements inside Christianity and the early church where the concept of apostolic succession was perfectly normal and generally a universally-held operating principle for the first 1500 years of Christianity. It was only after the Protestant Reformation within the mainstream that the lineage model was taken out of the picture for those Protestant sects. (It should be noted, however, that while there may be little evidence in most cases, some Protestant sects still believe in the lineage model - for example, the Baptists.). And so, coming out of the original church, it is only natural for us, as a Gnostic Church, to follow the model that has been there all along.

Succession, or even community, are not required of anyone to teach about Gnosis, or to have an individual experience of gnosis, but it has always been that there are certain spiritual practices that require an orderly transmission of spiritual power. Within Christianity, those practices are the mysteries, or the sacraments. It is this « handing over of spiritual power » that is important for us as a Gnostic Christian ecclesia, working within a specific tradition and continuing those successions, those lineages, those teachings, which have been transmitted to us, along with that specific spiritual component which is the « empowering instrument of the sacraments ».

« The Chrism is superior to baptism, for it is from the word "Chrism" that we have been called "Christians," certainly not because of the word "baptism". And it is because of the chrism that "The Christ" has His name. For the Father anointed the Son, and the Son anointed the Apostles, and the Apostles anointed Us. He who has been anointed possessess everything. » -The Gospel of Philip

T. Vincent II, in ecclesia
Eglise Gnostique