Who Gave the Catholic Church Its Authority? Understanding Apostolic Succession and the Church Jesus Founded

Divinely Catholic | Episode 7: Authority, Apostolic Succession & Why It MattersTwo Roads. One Church.

What if Jesus never intended Christianity to be a collection of independent churches interpreting Scripture differently? What if He established a visible Church, entrusted it with His authority, and provided a way for His teachings to be preserved throughout history?

For many Christians, especially those raised in Protestant or Evangelical traditions, the idea of Church authority raises difficult questions.

Why do Catholics believe the Church has authority to interpret Scripture? Where did bishops and priests come from? What exactly is apostolic succession? And perhaps the most challenging question of all: If Jesus Christ is the head of the Church, why do Catholics need a pope?

These questions aren't new. But for me, as a former Evangelical who eventually entered the Catholic Church, they became some of the most important questions of my spiritual journey.

I'm Jackie, and together with my husband, a cradle Catholic, we explore these questions on Divinely Catholic: Two Roads, One Church.

Our journeys into understanding Catholicism began from very different perspectives. Yet our study of Scripture, Christian history, and the early Church ultimately brought us to the same remarkable realization:

Jesus didn't simply leave behind a collection of teachings. He established a Church, chose apostles, and entrusted them with authority that would continue through the generations.

And understanding that changed everything.

When Loving the Bible Leads to Difficult Questions

Growing up Evangelical, I was taught something that shaped my entire understanding of Christianity:

If it's in the Bible, I believe it.

I loved Scripture. I believed the Bible was God's inspired Word, and I was grateful for the strong biblical foundation I received.

But eventually, I began noticing something that troubled me. Christians who sincerely loved Jesus and believed in the authority of Scripture were arriving at dramatically different conclusions about essential Christian doctrines.

Some churches taught that baptism was primarily symbolic. Others believed baptism actually communicated God's grace. Some taught that Communion was simply a memorial. Others believed Christ was truly present. Some believed salvation could never be lost. Others taught that believers could turn away from grace. And each group confidently defended its position using Scripture. I began asking myself a question I couldn't easily dismiss:

If the Bible alone is supposed to settle every doctrinal disagreement, why are sincere, Bible-believing Christians divided over so many essential teachings?

This wasn't about questioning whether Protestants loved Jesus. I knew many faithful Christians whose devotion to Christ was genuine and inspiring.

It was about something deeper.

If two interpretations directly contradict one another, how do we determine which one faithfully represents what Christ and His apostles actually taught?

Jesus prayed for the unity of His followers:

"That they may all be one." — John 17:21

Yet Christianity seemed increasingly fragmented.

The more I studied, the more I wondered whether Christ had provided something beyond individual interpretation to preserve the unity and truth of His Church.

A Cradle Catholic's Different Perspective

For my husband, the question initially seemed unusual. Growing up Catholic, he had never viewed Scripture and the Church as competing authorities. The Bible was part of the Church's life. The Mass, the sacraments, the priesthood, and the bishops were all part of the faith he had inherited.

Christianity wasn't something each generation needed to reinvent. It was something received.

As we began studying together, something unexpected happened. My questions challenged his assumptions, too.

What he had always accepted as part of Catholic life became something he wanted to understand more deeply. And the more we explored Scripture and early Christian history, the more we both began appreciating the extraordinary continuity of the Catholic faith.

Did Jesus Establish a Church or Simply Give Us the Bible?

One of the most significant turning points in my conversion came when I considered a simple historical reality.

The Church existed before the New Testament was fully compiled.

The apostles preached the Gospel for decades before Christians possessed a complete New Testament canon. The earliest Christians didn't have personal study Bibles or a bound collection of the 27 New Testament books.

Instead, Christianity spread through apostolic preaching, teaching, worship, the sacraments, and the communities established by the apostles. This realization challenged the way I had always imagined the earliest Christians practicing their faith. I had unconsciously pictured first-century Christianity functioning much like modern Protestant Christianity, with individual believers studying Scripture and interpreting its meaning. But the New Testament itself revealed something different.

It revealed a visible community with recognized leaders, established teachings, and authority.

Jesus Said, "I Will Build My Church" In Matthew 16:18, Jesus tells Peter: "You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church."

Those words became increasingly important to me. Jesus didn't describe Christianity as a loose association of independent communities. He spoke about building His Church.

And immediately afterward, He connected that Church with authority. In Matthew 16:19, Jesus tells Peter that He will give him the keys of the kingdom of heaven, along with the authority to bind and loose.

For years, I had interpreted passages like these primarily in spiritual or symbolic terms. But studying their Jewish background opened an entirely new understanding. The language of keys, binding, and loosing wasn't accidental. It was language associated with authority. And it pointed toward something I had never seriously considered before:

Christ intended His Church to possess an enduring structure capable of preserving and transmitting His teachings.

What Is Apostolic Succession?

Apostolic succession can sound like a complicated theological concept, particularly if you didn't grow up Catholic. But its basic meaning is straightforward.

Apostolic succession is the continuation of the apostles' ministry through bishops who succeed them, preserving the Church's connection to the authority and mission Christ originally entrusted to His apostles.

Catholics believe this succession has continued through the laying on of hands in episcopal ordination.The Church's authority isn't something each generation creates for itself.

It is received and faithfully handed down.

Is Apostolic Succession Biblical?

During my conversion, I initially assumed apostolic succession was a medieval Catholic development. But when my husband and I began examining Scripture, I discovered passages that challenged that assumption.

Acts 1:20–26 — Matthias Replaces Judas

After Judas' death, the apostles chose Matthias to take his place.

They didn't simply accept that the apostolic group had permanently lost one of its members.

Instead, they recognized that Judas had held an office that needed to be filled.

Acts 1:20 states: "Let another take his office."

For me, this was an important clue that apostolic leadership involved an office and responsibility that could continue beyond an individual.

Titus 1:5 — Paul Appoints Church Leaders

Paul instructs Titus to appoint elders in the towns of Crete.

This reveals that the early Church wasn't functioning without recognized leadership.

The apostles were establishing communities with appointed ministers responsible for their care.

2 Timothy 2:2 — Teaching Is Passed Through Generations

Paul instructs Timothy to entrust what he has learned to faithful people who will be able to teach others. Notice the pattern:

Paul → Timothy → Faithful Teachers → Future Generations

The Christian faith was meant to be transmitted. Not reinvented. Not reshaped according to each generation's preferences. But faithfully preserved.

1 Timothy 4:14 and 2 Timothy 1:6 — The Laying on of Hands

Paul also refers to the spiritual gift Timothy received through the laying on of hands.

These passages helped me understand why Catholics view ordained ministry as something more than simply feeling called to preach.

Within Catholic teaching, ordination is sacramental and connects the ministry of bishops to the apostolic mission.

The Catechism explains that the bishops have succeeded the apostles as shepherds of the Church and that apostolic ministry continues through their successors.

Catechism references: CCC 77, 861–862, 874–896.

What Did the Earliest Christians Believe About Church Authority?

For me, studying the early Church Fathers became one of the most surprising parts of my conversion. I had assumed that if I went far enough back into Christian history, I would find something resembling modern Evangelical Christianity. Instead, I encountered Christians who spoke about bishops, apostolic authority, sacramental worship, the Eucharist, and Church unity.

And these weren't medieval writers. They were Christians living remarkably close to the time of the apostles.

St. Clement of Rome: Apostolic Leadership Continues

Around AD 96, Clement of Rome wrote to the Christian community in Corinth.

In his letter, commonly known as 1 Clement, he described how the apostles appointed ministers and made provisions for others to succeed them.

This was significant. Only a few generations after Christ's earthly ministry, Christians were already discussing the continuity of appointed Church leadership. The concept of succession wasn't something that suddenly appeared centuries later. It was present in the earliest surviving Christian writings outside the New Testament.

St. Ignatius of Antioch: Unity Around the Bishop

Another important figure was St. Ignatius of Antioch.

Writing around AD 107, Ignatius emphasized the importance of unity between the Christian community and its bishop.

In his Letter to the Smyrnaeans, he wrote:

"Wherever the bishop appears, there let the people be; as wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church."

Reading those words was remarkable. Here was a Christian bishop writing in the early second century, describing a visible Church organized around bishops and referring to the Catholic Church.

Ignatius also wrote about the Eucharist as the flesh of Jesus Christ. This challenged several assumptions I had carried about early Christian worship. The Christianity described by Ignatius was sacramental, structured, and deeply concerned with unity.

St. Irenaeus: Look to the Churches Founded by the Apostles

Around AD 180, St. Irenaeus argued against false teachings by appealing to the traditions preserved in churches founded by the apostles. In Against Heresies, Book III, Chapter 3, he pointed to the succession of bishops as evidence of continuity with apostolic teaching.

His approach was revealing.

When confronting competing interpretations of Christianity, Irenaeus didn't suggest that every believer independently determine authentic doctrine. He directed Christians toward the teaching preserved through the apostolic churches and their successors.

For someone who had spent much of her life believing that authentic Christianity depended primarily on individual biblical interpretation, this was a profound discovery.

The early Church understood Christian truth as something received from the apostles and faithfully preserved within the Church.

Does Church Authority Replace a Personal Relationship With Jesus?

This was perhaps my greatest emotional concern during conversion.

I loved Jesus.

I loved Scripture.

I loved prayer.

And I was afraid that becoming Catholic might somehow diminish the personal relationship with Christ that had shaped my life.

In some Evangelical environments, institutional religion is viewed with suspicion.

Words such as hierarchy, tradition, and religious authority can carry negative associations.

And those concerns aren't always without reason.

Church leaders are human beings. Priests can fail. Bishops can fail. Religious institutions can experience corruption and abuse. Catholics should never dismiss the genuine suffering caused by failures of spiritual leadership. But as we studied Scripture, we began recognizing an important distinction.

The failures of human leaders do not mean that Christ never intended His Church to have leadership.

Even the apostles were imperfect.

Peter denied Jesus.

The apostles argued among themselves.

Judas betrayed Christ.

Yet Jesus still entrusted His mission to human beings.

The question wasn't whether Church leaders would always be perfect.

The question was whether Christ had established an enduring Church through which He would continue shepherding His people.

Authority as Protection, Not Competition

One of the most beautiful changes in my understanding came when I stopped viewing authority primarily as control. Instead, I began understanding its purpose as protection.

Protection of doctrine.

Protection of unity.

Protection of the truth entrusted to the apostles.

Jesus frequently used the imagery of shepherds to describe spiritual leadership.

In John 21:17, the risen Christ tells Peter: "Feed my sheep."

A shepherd is responsible for caring for and protecting the flock. Properly exercised, spiritual authority is meant to serve God's people and guide them toward Christ. It isn't meant to replace Him.

And as I continued my journey into Catholicism, something unexpected happened. Rather than feeling farther away from Jesus, I found myself drawing closer to Him. The sacraments pointed me toward Christ. The Eucharist deepened my understanding of His presence. The Church's teachings helped me see the richness and continuity of the Christian faith. What I had feared would become a barrier to my relationship with Jesus became, instead, a means of growing in that relationship.

Why Do Catholics Have a Pope?

Of all the Catholic teachings I wrestled with, the papacy was one of the most difficult.

Growing up Evangelical, I had heard many objections to the pope.

Why would Christians need a pope when Jesus is the head of the Church?

Does the pope replace Christ?

Can the pope simply invent new doctrines?

These questions deserve thoughtful answers.

The first thing to understand is that Catholics believe Jesus Christ is the head of the Church.

The pope does not replace Jesus.

He serves under Christ as the Bishop of Rome and successor of St. Peter.

Catholics understand the papacy as a ministry intended to preserve the Church's unity and continuity in apostolic faith.

Peter and the Keys of the Kingdom

The biblical passage that most significantly changed my understanding was Matthew 16:18–19.

Jesus tells Peter that He will build His Church upon the rock and entrust him with the keys of the kingdom of heaven.

For years, I had heard different explanations of this passage. But when we began exploring its Old Testament background, I encountered something fascinating.

The Connection Between Isaiah 22 and Matthew 16

In Isaiah 22:20–22, we read about Eliakim, who receives authority as a steward within the kingdom of David.

God declares:

"I will place the key of the House of David on his shoulder." — Isaiah 22:22

In the Davidic kingdom, the royal steward exercised delegated authority under the king.

The steward didn't replace the king. He served the king. And the position could continue even when the individual holding it changed.

When Catholics interpret Matthew 16 in light of Isaiah 22, they see a meaningful parallel.

Jesus is the King.

Peter receives the keys.

Peter's authority is delegated, not independent.

And the office of leadership is understood as continuing through his successors.

This biblical connection was eye-opening for me.

The keys weren't merely an attractive religious symbol.

Within the Catholic interpretation, they represented real responsibility and authority within Christ's kingdom.

What Does Binding and Loosing Mean?

In Matthew 16:19, Jesus also tells Peter:

"Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

Within the Jewish religious context, binding and loosing were associated with authoritative decisions concerning teaching and discipline.

For Catholics, these words help explain the teaching and governing authority Christ entrusted to His Church.

That authority must always remain in service to Christ and the Gospel. It is not permission for Church leaders to invent a different Christianity.

Catechism references: CCC 552–553, 880–882, 891.

Scripture, Tradition, and the Teaching Authority of the Church

Another important realization during our studies was that Catholics don't understand Scripture and Sacred Tradition as competing sources of Christian truth. Both are connected to the one deposit of faith entrusted to the Church. Sacred Scripture is the inspired Word of God.

Sacred Tradition refers to the transmission of apostolic teaching within the life of the Church.

The Magisterium, the Church's teaching authority, serves that deposit of faith by authentically interpreting God's Word.

The Catechism explains that the Magisterium is not above the Word of God but serves it.

That distinction matters. Catholicism isn't asking Christians to choose between Jesus and the Church.

It teaches that Christ entrusted His Gospel to the apostles and established His Church to faithfully proclaim and preserve that Gospel.

For me, understanding this relationship brought a sense of peace I hadn't expected.

I no longer felt that every question of Christian doctrine rested entirely on my ability to interpret Scripture independently.

I could study Scripture deeply while remaining connected to the historic Christian community that had preserved and transmitted the faith.

Catechism references: CCC 74–95, particularly 80–87.

Why Apostolic Succession Still Matters Today

Apostolic succession isn't simply an interesting historical concept.

It has profound implications for the way Catholics understand the Church today.

It connects Catholic bishops to the apostolic ministry established by Christ.

It provides continuity in the Church's sacramental life.

It helps preserve the teaching entrusted to the apostles.

And it reminds Christians that the faith we profess is not something we invented.

We received it.

The Church existed long before any of us were born. It has survived persecution, cultural upheaval, political conflict, and the failures of its own members. Through all of this, Catholics believe Christ has remained faithful to His promise to be with His Church. For my husband, this understanding brought a renewed appreciation for the Catholic faith he had inherited.

For me, it transformed my understanding of Christianity itself. I began seeing the Church not merely as an institution, but as a spiritual family extending across centuries. A family connected to the apostles, the martyrs, the saints, and generations of believers who had faithfully handed down the Gospel. That historical continuity became one of the most compelling aspects of my journey into Catholicism.

From Questioning Authority to Discovering the Church Christ Founded

Looking back, I realize that my questions about authority were never really about rejecting Christianity. They came from a desire to understand it more completely.

• I wanted to know what Jesus actually established.

• I wanted to understand what the apostles taught.

• I wanted to discover how the earliest Christians practiced their faith.

And I wanted to know whether the Catholic Church's claims about its historical continuity could withstand serious examination. What surprised me was where those questions eventually led.

The deeper I studied Scripture and Church history, the more I began recognizing a pattern of authority, continuity, and apostolic teaching.

Christianity wasn't meant to be reinvented with every new generation. It was meant to be faithfully handed down. And for my husband, watching my journey became an opportunity to rediscover the depth of his own Catholic faith. What he had inherited through family and tradition became something he understood with renewed conviction. Our two roads were different.

But both led us toward a deeper appreciation of the same historic Church.

A Final Thought

If you're Protestant, Evangelical, exploring Catholicism, or simply trying to understand why Catholics believe what they believe, I encourage you to ask these questions for yourself.

--> Read Matthew 16.

-->Study Acts 1 and 2 Timothy 2.

--> Explore the writings of Clement of Rome, Ignatius of Antioch, and Irenaeus.

And consider this question:

If Jesus established a Church and entrusted His apostles with authority, how did He intend that authority and teaching to continue after their deaths?

For me, that question became one of the most important discoveries of my Christian life.

I once believed Church authority might threaten my relationship with Jesus. Instead, I discovered that rightly understood, it was intended to preserve the faith and lead God's people toward Him.

And through apostolic succession, Catholics believe that the Church Christ established continues its mission today.

One Lord. One Faith. One Church.

Watch or Listen to Episode 7 of Divinely Catholic

Authority, Apostolic Succession & Why It Matters

Join me, a former Evangelical who found my way into the Catholic Church, and husband, a lifelong Catholic who rediscovered the depth of his faith, as we explore the biblical and historical foundations of Church authority.

In this episode, we discuss the questions that shaped my conversion, the discoveries that strengthened my husband's faith, and why understanding apostolic succession matters for Christians today.

Watch on YouTube: Divinely Catholic Show

Divinely Catholic — Two Roads. One Church.

Real Questions. Authentic Answers. Beautifully Animated.

Scripture References

Matthew 16:18–19; Matthew 18:18; John 17:21; John 21:15–17; Luke 10:16; Acts 1:20–26; Titus 1:5; 1 Timothy 4:14; 2 Timothy 1:6; 2 Timothy 2:2; Isaiah 22:20–22.

Catechism of the Catholic Church

• CCC 74–95: The transmission of Divine Revelation, Sacred Tradition, Sacred Scripture, and the Magisterium.

• CCC 552–553: Peter's role and the keys of the kingdom.

• CCC 77, 861–862: Apostolic succession and the continuation of apostolic ministry.

• CCC 874–896: The hierarchical constitution of the Church and the ministry of bishops.

• CCC 880–882: The pope and the college of bishops.

• CCC 891: The Church's teaching authority and infallibility.

Early Christian Writings

• St. Clement of Rome: First Letter to the Corinthians, chapters 42–44.

• St. Ignatius of Antioch: Letter to the Smyrnaeans, chapters 6–8.

• St. Irenaeus of Lyons: Against Heresies, Book III, Chapter 3.