Skip to content

Add your phone number?

Optional. Nothing is sent unless you choose it.
The Historic Faith
Sign in

Jumpstarter 10 of 10

Ideas to help restart your discussion
The Claims of Rome and Eastern Orthodoxy  /  Apostolic Succession – Part 2  /  Discussion Questions
All Questions
Question 10
Near the end, Bercot says it was possible in AD 180 to follow Irenaeus’s advice to stick with the historic church *and* the apostles’ doctrine, but “we can’t do both today,” and he appeals to Jesus’s promise about “two or three gathered”; what specific loyalties, comforts, or identities would you have to surrender if faithfulness to apostolic teaching meant being outside prestigious continuity, and what concrete safeguards would keep that “two or three” from becoming self-willed isolation or a personality-driven micro-church?
Another way to ask: If Bercot says you can’t both follow the historic church and stay fully loyal to the apostles’ teaching today, what comforts or identity would you have to give up to follow the teaching even outside “prestigious” continuity? What clear safeguards would keep a small “two or three gathered” group from turning into a self-led, personality-based mini-church?

Direct Answer Bercot suggests faithfulness today may require surrendering the comfort of institutional prestige and “definite continuity” claims, choosing instead to “adhere to those… who hold the doctrine of the apostles,” even if that means small, unimpressive gatherings. He also cautions that separation should not be “lightly” done and should still include submission to real congregational authority.

Support from Transcript:

  • He notes people read Irenaeus and conclude they must join Rome/Orthodoxy/Anglicanism; he says he “fell into that camp” and chose Anglicanism partly for safety (“nothing… required… that cannot be approved from Scripture”).
  • He says today “we have no choice but to choose one type of system or another,” because the church split into branches that excommunicated each other.
  • His key claim: today the institutional churches with continuity “do not hold to the doctrine of the apostles,” so “our choice is… stick with the institutional church” or “adhere to… the doctrine of the apostles. We can’t do both today.”
  • He contrasts fallible counsel (Irenaeus) with Jesus’s always-valid promise: “Where two or three are gathered together in my name, I am there.”
  • He clarifies he is not advocating easy separation: Christians should not “lightly separate” and should still “submit ourselves to congregational authority.”
  • He implies the identity surrendered includes being tied to historic prestige, and the safeguard includes real accountability and commitment to Jesus’s teachings.
Discussion Follow-ups What would “submission to congregational authority” look like in a small group setting (shared decisions, discipline, transparency)? What practices would keep a small gathering anchored to apostolic teaching rather than a strong personality?

Jumpstarter 10 of 10
Back Questions Done