Why Matthew Barrett Became an Anglican - An Interview

very early on in the apostolic period, the very healthy instinct where there is an external accountability.

And then I started to look at some of the early fathers and realized that Why is it with Irenaeus, if you read his, and I've actually got a quote here, you read his Against Heresies, why is it that when Gnosticism is such a threat, his instinct at that point is to demonstrate that there are bishops that are connected in a very organic way to the apostles i was so i just delivered a homily at saint aiden's anglican church this past sunday on we're going through the nice and creed and we got to that point one holy catholic and apostolic church

yeah

So I delivered this homily.

It was so much fun.

And, uh, those, those listening can, they, you can go listen to it.

It's up on like SoundCloud.

And, um, one of the things I said to them is, you know, it's, it's really, uh, at this part in Irenaeus's book, it's really boring because, um, he just starts listing them.

He just starts listing, okay, by name, right? This bishop came from this bishop, came from this bishop.

And I reminded the people, don't forget how close Irenaeus is to the apostles.

I mean, we're talking about, you know, it'd be like you or me knowing our grandparent or great-grandparent.

I mean, the time gap is that close.

Yeah.

to which the people would have known, oh yeah, I remember so-and-so.

He came from so-and-so.

And Irenaeus does just that, and he goes all the way back to Paul and Timothy by name.

It's actually a very remarkable genealogy, if we can call it that.

But one of the things that really caught my attention is he calls this a succession of bishops, And he says at one point here, it is a matter of necessity that every church should agree with this church on account of its preeminent authority.

And then elsewhere, this is right after he lists just all these names of these bishops listed.

he uses a phrase like, you know, putting tradition before their eyes, right? The church can see, oh yeah, these Gnostics are posers.

They're claiming to have the secret apostolic message and they're not legit and they can't pull out of their pocket their line of bishops going back to the apostles.

Well, Irenaeus at the end, he says this, in this order and by this succession, the ecclesiastical tradition from the apostles and the preaching of the truth have come down to us, and this is most abundant proof that there is one and the same vivifying faith, and it goes on from there.

I got to the point where I realized, okay, this is so early and it's not an anomaly and, uh, it sticks so that the church Catholic, the church universal episcopacy becomes the, the polity of the church.

And I just thought, you know, am I, if I'm, I've written books on Catholicity, um, I think I'm being inconsistent to stay at this point.

Yeah.