Thank you for that comment. I almost remained silent on this.
To Orthodox Christians, Apostolic Succession has NOTHING to do with power to control individuals. It represents a notary’s stamp on our birth certificate in that we can trace the lineage of our Bishop’s seats, uninterrupted, back to the time of the Apostles. Which means that the Orthodox Church has heeded St. Paul’s admonishment to the Church at Thessalonica in his 2nd Epistle to the Thessalonians, at chapter 2, verse 15. So that we can say, with absolute honesty and conviction, in answer to the question: “Who founded the Orthodox Church?” “Jesus Christ did. Not Martin Luther. Not Ulrich Zwingli. Not John Calvin, or the Wesley Brothers. Or Rick Warren. Jesus Christ did.”
Christ’s Church existed before the Bible. Indeed, the Bible was assembled by the Fathers of the early Church under the guidance of the Holy Spirit at and around the earliest Ecumenical Councils (in fact the first known instance of the New Testament in its current form was listed in a letter by St. Athanasius shortly prior to the first Council of Constantinople).
As for those who knock Creeds - you mean THIS Creed? With all these references to and bases in Scripture?
I believe in (Romans 10: 8-10; 1 John 4: 15)
One God (Deuteronomy 6: 4, Ephesians 4: 6)
The Father (Matthew 6: 9)
Almighty, (Exodus 6: 3)
Creator of heaven and earth, (Genesis 1: 1)
and of all things visible and invisible; (Colossians 1: 15-16)
And I believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, (Acts 11: 17)
the Son of God (Matthew 14: 33; 16: 16)
the only-begotten (John 1: 18; 3: 16)
begotten of the Father before all worlds; (John 1: 2)
Light of Light (Psalm 27: I; John 8: 12; Matthew 17: 2,5)
very God of very God, (John 17: 1-5)
of one essence with the Father, (John 10: 30)
through Whom all things were made; (Hebrews 1: 1-2)
Who for us men and for our salvation (I Timothy 2: 4-5)
came down from heaven ((John 6: 33,35)
was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, (Luke 1: 35)
and became man. (John 1: 14)
Who was crucified also for us (Mark 15: 25; I Corinthians 15: 3)
under Pontius Pilate, (John 1: 14)
and suffered, (Mark 8: 31)
and was buried; (Luke 23: 53; I Corinthians 15: 4)
On the third day he rose again according to the Scriptures, (Luke 24: 1; 1 Cor. 15: 4)
And ascended into heaven, (Luke 24: 51; Acts 1: 10)
And is seated at the right hand of the Father; (Mark 16: 19; Acts 7: 55)
And He will come again in glory (Matthew 24: 27)
to judge the living and dead, (Acts 10: 42; 2 I Timothy 4: 1)
Whose kingodom shall have no end; (2 Peter 1: 11)
And I believe in the holy Spirit, (John 14: 26)
The Lord (Acts 5: 3-4)
and Giver of life, (Genesis 1: 2)
Who proceeds from the Father, (John 15: 26)
Who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified, (Matthew 3: 16-17)
Who spoke through prophets; (I Samuel 19: 20; Ezekiel 11: 5, 13)
And I believe in one, (Matthew 16: 18)
holy, (I Peter 2: 5, 9)
catholic (Mark 16: 15)
and apostolic Church; (Acts 2: 42; Ephesians 2: 19-22)
I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; (Ephesians 4: 5)
I look for the resurrection of the dead; (John 11: 24; I Cor. 15: 12-49)
And the life of the world to come. (Mark 10: 29-30)
Amen. (Psalm 106:48)
Forgive me, all of you, my Protestant friends and brothers, if I fail to see what’s wrong with these things.
Yours was a beautiful acknowledgement of the Scriptural basis of the ecumenical Creeds.
But please remember that not all Protestants reject Apostolic Succession, or claim a specific figure as the ‘founder’ of their temporal denomination. The Anglican Communion, of which I am a quasi-member (confirmed PC-USA, but slightly unhappy with my denomination), claims an historical lineage dating back to A.D. 597, rather than the 16thC. The Reformation was crucial in solidifying its unique via-media Protestant identity, to be sure, but the Anglican knows that visible, temporal unity is necessary for the transmission of the Gospel across generations. It is both protestant and catholic, reformed and traditional. A splendid mix.