Acts, Apostolic Succession, and the Living Church: Why Tradition Matters
When we read the Book of Acts, it’s impossible to miss the clear picture of a church in action: apostles teaching, councils forming, leaders appointed, and communities organized. For Catholics, this is not just history — it is the blueprint for how Christ intended His Church to operate.
Yet many Christians outside the Catholic Church read Acts and see something very different. They admire the early Church but reject the idea that any authority could continue beyond Scripture. They may even call the Catholic understanding of Tradition “man-made,” assuming that if it’s not in the Bible, it cannot be authoritative.
Let’s explore how Catholic teaching reconciles the structure we see in Acts with the faith we profess today — and why rejecting Tradition misses the full logic of what Christ established.
1. The Church in Acts: A Living Authority
From Acts 6, where the apostles appoint deacons, to Acts 15, where the Jerusalem Council settles a doctrinal dispute, we see:
Organization: Leaders were appointed to serve the faithful.
Teaching: Apostles instructed communities in the faith.
Decision-making: Councils made binding judgments for the Church.
These are not incidental details; they show that Christ did not leave His followers as unstructured groups interpreting Scripture individually. He founded a visible, hierarchical Church capable of guiding His people through changing circumstances.
2. Apostolic Succession: Beyond Genealogy, Into Truth
Non-Catholic Christians often reinterpret “apostolic succession” as merely succession of teaching. Their argument: as long as a church teaches the apostles’ doctrine, it is valid, regardless of whether there is an unbroken line of ordination.
Catholics, however, see apostolic succession as both historical and spiritual continuity:
Historical: Bishops are ordained by other bishops in an unbroken chain tracing back to the apostles.
Spiritual: This succession ensures that the Church continues to teach and administer the sacraments with Christ’s authority.
Without this continuity, the Church risks fragmenting into conflicting interpretations — a problem we see historically wherever authority is left purely to individuals or isolated communities.
3. Sacred Tradition: The Necessary Companion to Scripture
Some non-Catholic Christians claim that everything essential is in the Bible, making Tradition unnecessary. But consider this:
The Bible itself never claims to be the sole rule of faith. Instead, it repeatedly points to the Church as the “pillar and foundation of truth” (1 Tim 3:15).
The canon of Scripture was itself discerned by the Church through apostolic guidance. Scripture presupposes Tradition.
Acts shows oral teaching being passed from the apostles to the faithful — a form of Tradition that existed long before the New Testament was written.
In other words, to reject Tradition is to separate Scripture from the very Church that safeguarded and transmitted it.
4. Councils and Authority: Discernment or Dictation?
Non-Catholics may admire the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15 but see it as a model of mutual discussion, not binding authority. Catholics, however, recognize that the council demonstrates:
The Church guided by the Holy Spirit, making decisions that shape doctrine.
Apostolic authority exercised collectively, not just individually.
A precedent for the Church’s ongoing teaching office, which continues today in the Magisterium.
This is why Catholics do not “add” Tradition to Scripture — Tradition and Scripture are two streams of the same divine revelation.
5. Common Protestant Objections and Catholic Responses
Objection 1: “The Church can teach whatever, but Scripture alone is infallible.”
Response: The early Church is shown in Acts to exercise teaching authority under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Scripture itself does not claim to be the sole source of truth; instead, it points to the Church as the living custodian of God’s revelation (1 Tim 3:15). Without this living authority, Scripture alone cannot explain how the canon was recognized or how correct interpretation is safeguarded.
Objection 2: “Apostolic succession is unnecessary; teaching continuity is enough.”
Response: Succession is not just historical formality. It ensures that the Church preserves both the truth of the gospel and the sacraments, preventing doctrinal fragmentation. Acts 6 shows that apostles appointed leaders; 2 Tim 2:2 shows Paul passing teaching to faithful men, who would continue the mission. Catholic succession maintains this continuity to this day.
Objection 3: “Tradition adds human invention to Scripture.”
Response: Tradition is not human invention but the faithful transmission of apostolic teaching, often orally, before the New Testament was compiled. Acts demonstrates this practice — believers received instruction directly from apostles. Without Tradition, we cannot account for how the early Church understood or preserved teachings that were later recorded in Scripture.
Objection 4: “Councils like Jerusalem were local, not universal authorities.”
Response: Even the Jerusalem Council, while addressing a particular issue, set binding precedent for all churches (Acts 16:4). Decisions guided by the Spirit demonstrate that the Church acts collectively in matters of doctrine, forming the basis for the Catholic understanding of magisterial authority. Authority is not optional; it is integral to unity.
6. The Deeper Logic
The Catholic position flows naturally from the facts in Acts:
Christ founded a visible Church with authority, not a loose fellowship of believers.
The apostles taught, governed, and appointed successors.
Sacred Tradition carried apostolic teaching, ensuring continuity.
Scripture emerged from this Tradition, not independently.
To abandon Tradition is to abandon the very mechanism Christ provided to preserve truth.
Put simply, rejecting Tradition leads to a faith defined by interpretation alone, while Catholicism grounds faith in the living authority of the Church Christ established.
Conclusion
Reading Acts as a Catholic is a transformative experience. The early Church is not just a story of the past — it is a blueprint for a living, authoritative Church. Apostolic succession, Tradition, and the Church’s teaching authority are not optional add-ons; they are the logical continuation of Christ’s plan.
For those outside the Church, the question remains: can Scripture alone guide humanity without the very structure Christ put in place? For Catholics, the answer is clear: Christ did not leave us to interpret His Word alone. He gave us a Church, living and guided by the Spirit, to shepherd His people in truth.