Thursday, November 7, 2024

Heschmeyer on the Luther Myth


8 Myths about Martin Luther and The Reformation
Shameless Popery Podcast | 30 May 2024
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbBJCvbFRbk


46:37 Could one consider that on Church polity there are four groups of Protestant denominations, so different that Catholics and Orthodox are with Oriental Churches a fifth "group of Protestantism"?

Least to most hierarchic:
  • 1) Quakers and similar — each to his own conscience and seeking of God, not even any definite duty to agree with the Bible
  • 2) Congregationalist — each to his local Church, submitting to the Church, but that one organised in a non-monarchic form, a general assembly and a smaller assembly
  • 3) Presbyterian — each Church headed by a kind of parish Church, but no or at least no sacred hierarchy above this level
  • 4) Semi-Episcopal, of which the most Ecumenic expression these days is the Porvoo Communion:

    • a) English Anglicans in CoE
    • b) Scandinavian and German Lutherans
    • c) Moravians
    • d) Methodists


    It was some kind of semi-episcopal guy who tried me on papacy, pretending the papacy lacks apostolic succession, since NOT all popes have been, on election, "ordained" by the bishops of the surrounding sees.

  • And, 5) Fully Episcopal, as in Catholics, Orthodox, Copts, Armenians, Assyrians.


The difference between semi-episcopal and fully episcopal is, fully episcopal Churches (usually) insist bishops only can ordain priests and also insist priests (usually) need to function under bishops, typically but not exclusively ordinaries. Semi-episcopal ones think this is great, but not strictly necessary.

Anyway my point is, on this point at least, Protestants are at least as divided between them as from Catholics.

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