Chain of authority? You can list a series of people who sat in a chair. Where's the promise? Why put your faith in men?
And what of the times the chair was empty or had 2 or even 3 people who claimed the chair?
And what of the early times where they didn't keep track of who was in the chair? They had to go back and reconstruct the record and all of the accounts didn't agree.
Besides, the chain of authority doesn't even make sense. We're not talking about master and student. It's not like the current pope teaches the next pope. It's a series of people who puts their butt on a chair.