“There is ‘bishopric succession’,”
I must have missed this in my limited study. Where do you find this in the scripture? I see in 1 Timothy and Titus where they are appointed in churches but there is no reference to succession. It looks like the method we use to elect Deacons/Elders in the churches.
It isn’t that a bishop passes his authority, his authority is passed by the choosing of others. The Bishop of Rome is chosen by a gathering seeking the leadership of God’s Spirit. John Paul didn’t choose the current Bishop of Rome. Apostolic Authority ‘chose’ but when the last Apostle died, that choosing ended. There are no successive Apostles in that sense ... there are to be only twelve seats for Apostles.