Apostolic succession

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The apostolic succession or apostolic succession describes the continuous transmission of the mission of the apostles and their successors up to the present day and legitimizes the traditio apostolica , loyalty to the early Christian tradition and the unadulterated transmission of the contents of faith. In order to fulfill this continuity , especially in the pre-Reformation churches, a constant series of episcopal ordinations is seen as constitutive for the office of bishop .

In the New Testament , the apostles were sent out through Jesus Christ and given authority to lead the Church . These passed on their mission, from which, according to the tradition of the early Church, the episcopate developed. Through an uninterrupted chain of laying on of hands , the bishops in the pre-Reformation churches are considered to be the successors of the apostles to this day.

While the apostolic succession in the first Christian centuries cannot be proven from the perspective of historical science, it is considered historically secure from the 12th century .

In Protestantism , succession is not primarily related to the passing on of authority, but to loyalty to faith ( successio fidei ).

Emergence

The concept of apostolic succession probably originated in the second half of the second century, around a hundred years after the apostles' death. During this time, the growing Christian communities of the Mediterranean metropolises became better acquainted with each other and the differences in local traditions ( rite (tradition) ) such as in the liturgy came to light. The fact that one confirmed to one another that they were the founding of the apostles was a possibility in the thought categories of late antiquity to accept these differences and still feel that they belonged to the one Church of Jesus Christ . With the Gnosis , special esoteric doctrines arose that referred to an apostolic origin. In order to counter these heresies , the church fathers Hegesippus and Irenaeus of Lyons invoked the tradition of their successors in the apostleship as a guarantee for the continuous, unadulterated reproduction of the apostles' teaching.

Biblical reference

The laying on of hands in the sense of putting employees in their duties is attested in the New Testament primarily as a practice of the Apostle Paul (( Acts 14.23  EU ), ( Acts 20.28  EU ), ( Acts 14.23  EU ), ( 2 Tim 1.6  EU )). But the laying on of hands at the inauguration of office is also described in the New Testament as the practice of all apostles ( Acts 6,6  EU ).

An express command from Jesus Christ to the apostles to name successors in their office is not found in the Gospels . In the case of the by-election of the apostle Matthias ( Acts 1.15  EU ) described in the Acts of the Apostles, the apostle Peter does not refer to a command from Jesus, but to verses from the book of the Psalms .

Evidence from the church fathers

The first letter of Klemens is the main witness for the conditions in urban Roman Christianity in the 1st century and paints the following picture:
“1. Our apostles also knew through our Lord Jesus Christ that controversy would arise over the episcopal dignity.
2. For this reason, since they had received precise knowledge of this in advance, they set up the above-mentioned and instructed them that, when they had fallen asleep, other tried and tested men would take over their service.
3. So those appointed by those or afterwards by other distinguished men (bishops) with the consent of the whole community, who humbly, calmly, unselfishly administered the pastoral office of Christ, who for a long time received good testimony from everyone, these of To depose her holy office is, in our opinion, an injustice.
4. For it will not be a small sin for us if we drive men who have perfectly and holy sacrificed their sacrifices out of their episcopal office. ”That in the community of Clemens First an institution through a chain of laying on of hands that goes back to the apostles The conditio sine qua non in order to be able to exercise the office of bishop is stated in 1 Klem. not said. In any case, the affirmative acclamation “of the whole congregation” belongs to the appointment of a bishop.

Hegesippus reports that he met many bishops on his travels and heard the same gospel from all of them, which proves an independent continuity of the faith tradition in different communities and thus contradicts the alleged apostolic teachings of the Gnostics. He is also said to have created a list of bishops from Simon Petrus to Anicetus , which is considered the earliest such list and could have been adopted by other church fathers such as Eusebius of Caesarea and Irenaeus of Lyon.

Irenaeus of Lyon from the 2nd century is often used as a source of information for the apostolic succession. He is in dispute with the Gnosis , which claimed to have the secret teachings of Christ, and on the other hand affirmed that the entire teaching of Christ was communicated to the apostles and transmitted by them to the contemporary Christian communities through reliable sources. With this in mind, Irenäus assembles a list of bishops from the names known to him, the historical value of which does not correspond to modern standards. The patrologist Brox said that the list of names in Irenaeus was based "on theological ideas, not on historical research".

Irenaeus writes:

“The tradition proclaimed by the apostles around the world can be found in any church by anyone who wants to see the truth, and we can enumerate the bishops appointed by the apostles in each church and their successors to our day. These have taught nothing and heard nothing of the delusions of those. For if the apostles had known hidden secrets that they taught only the perfect in special, secret instruction, then they would most likely have given the secrets to those to whom they even entrusted the churches. That is to say, completely and in everything irreproachable, they wished those to whom they handed over their chair and whom they left behind as their successors, on whose good or bad behavior for the welfare and woe of their own depended so much. But because it would be too extensive to enumerate the apostolic succession of all churches in a work like this one, we will only refer to the apostolic tradition and sermon of faith of the largest and oldest and well-known church that was founded by the two glorious apostles Peter and Paul in Rome and how it came to our day through the succession of its bishops. In this way we refute all those who, out of self-love or lust for fame or blindness or misunderstanding, found conventicles. Because of its special priority, every church must agree with the Roman Church, that is to say, the believers from all over the world, for in it the apostolic tradition is always preserved by those who come from all sides. So after the blessed apostles had founded and established the church, they gave Linus the episcopate to administer the church. Paul mentions this Linus in his letter to Timothy . Anacletus follows him . After him, in third place is the episcopate of Clement , who still saw the apostles and associated with them. So he still heard their sermon and teaching with his own ears, just as there were still many people who were informed by the apostles. When a not insignificant dispute broke out among the brothers in Corinth under his government, the Roman Church sent a very emphatic letter to the Corinthians, urging them to make peace and refreshing their faith and proclaiming the tradition they had recently received from the apostles would have. There is an almighty God who created heaven and earth and formed man and sent the flood and called Abraham ; who brought the people out of the land of Egypt, spoke to Moses , given the law, sent the prophets, but prepared eternal fire for the devil and his angels. That he is proclaimed by the churches as the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and that this is to be understood as an apostolic tradition can be seen by all who wish from that letter; for the letter is older than the new false teachers who lie to another god about the world creator and demiurge . After Klemens, Evaristus followed , after Evaristus Alexander , Sixtus was established as the sixth of the apostles , after this came Telesphorus , the glorious martyr, then Hyginus , then Pius , then Anicetus . After Soter had followed Anicetus , Eleutherus is the twelfth of the apostles to hold the episcopate . The ecclesiastical apostolic tradition came upon us in this order and sequence, and the proof is completely conclusive that it is the same life-giving faith that the Church received from the apostles, has preserved up to now and has in truth handed down to us. "

- Irenaeus, Against Heresies , Book 3, chap. 3, No. 1–3, Library of the Church Fathers, Kempten & Munich, 1912

In the course of the 3rd century the successio apostolica became "the most important source of legitimation of the episcopate".

Succession of men and women in the episcopal office

According to the teaching and tradition of the ancient Church, the sacrament of Orders can only be validly received by a man. This is represented by all pre-Reformation churches, the Orthodox , Ancient Near Eastern and Roman Catholic churches , as well as by some Anglican and Old Catholic churches. According to this understanding, women cannot be part of a valid succession line.

In most churches of the Protestant tradition, which know the apostolic succession in the ordination office, there is also an ordination of women, for example in many particular churches of the Anglican Church Fellowship , in the Moravian Brethren Congregation , the Swedish Church , some Old Catholic churches and several smaller churches. However, not all of these churches know the episcopate of women, in some the ordination of women is limited to the priesthood and thus the episcopal, apostolic succession is only passed on through men. While some churches with purely male lines of succession question apostolic succession in the churches where women are admitted to the office of bishop, the churches that also admit women do not question the succession in churches with purely male lines. The members of the Porvoo community mutually recognize their apostolic succession.

Mutual recognition and debates

While in the old church the mutual recognition of apostolicity was a possibility for the local churches to maintain the common ground in faith ( communio ) in spite of visible differences , today the recognition and denial of apostolic succession provides a difficult set of instruments for approaching and delimiting the denominations .

The following picture emerges in detail:

  • The apostolic succession of the bishops in the pre-Reformation churches (Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Orthodox churches) is largely recognized by one another. In principle, the Old Catholic bishops who are in the Catholic tradition are also included, but not in the case of episcopal ordinations, which are carried out by or on women in some Old Catholic churches.
  • The apostolic succession of the Anglican Church is now recognized by many churches, but not in the Roman Catholic Church: Pope Leo XIII. declared in his bull Apostolicae curae 1896 the Anglican ordination because of formal changes to the rite under Edward VI. for invalid. On the other hand, the Utrecht Union of Old Catholic Churches has recognized the apostolic succession and validity of ordinations in the Anglican Church since 1925 .
  • The Eastern Orthodox churches usually recognize ordination by Roman Catholic and Anglican bishops as deacons or priests, as well as that of a bishop who has converted to Orthodoxy. However, there are also voices in these churches for whom correct doctrine is the most important element of succession, which is why they do not recognize the ordinations of unorthodox churches associated with what they consider to be incorrect doctrine.
  • The Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Orthodox churches now generally recognize the respective other ecclesiastical offices , in some places they also maintain mutual communion ; Priests can represent one another.
  • Those Lutheran churches that have received or regained apostolic succession have mutually recognized their offices in the 1993 Porvoo Declaration . In the heartland of Lutheranism, however, the world's largest Lutheran church, the United Evangelical Lutheran Church of Germany , did not follow this development, since according to its interpretation of the Reformation view, the priesthood applies to all believers ; It is therefore not a matter of consecration and thus the question of a succession becomes obsolete.

Theological interpretations

In addition to the Orthodox Church, the following churches represented in the World Council of Churches invoke the apostolic succession in the teaching authority of their offices:

Pre-Reformation churches

Roman Catholic Church

The theology of the Second Vatican Council placed the principle of collegiality alongside the principle of succession . The authority of the individual bishop is based not only on the historical connection, but also on the current integration into the unity of the episcopate (see also Vagantenbishop ). The reason for this is the weakness of the so-called “pipeline principle” in succession: it is morally indifferent. Unworthy officials who are consecrated in succession could handle the power of attorney at their discretion.

Heads of some churches in apostolic succession

Heads of some churches in apostolic succession
Church (church family) title Seat First chief according to tradition Current head number
Roman Catholic Church Pope Rome Simon Peter Francis 266
Byzantine Orthodox Churches patriarch Constantinople Apostle Andrew Bartholomew I. 273
Coptic Orthodox Church Pope Alexandria ( Cairo ) Mark the Evangelist Tawadros II. 116
Syrian Orthodox Church patriarch Antioch ( Damascus ) Simon Peter Ignatius Ephrem II Karim 123
Armenian Apostolic Church Catholicos Etchmiadzin Apostle Jude Thaddaeus Karekin II 152
Apostolic Church of the East Catholicos Patriarch Seleukia Ctesiphon ( Chicago ) Apostle Thomas Gewargis III. 120
Anglican Church Fellowship primate Canterbury Augustine , "Apostle of the Anglo-Saxons" Justin Welby 105
Union of the Old Catholic Churches in Utrecht archbishop Utrecht Willibrord , "Apostle of the Frisians" Joris Vercammen 83

Protestant churches

In the Reformation, which the Church defined as a creation of the word ( creatura verbi ), apostolic succession was not primarily attached to persons or even officials, but to the fidelity of the entire people of God to the Gospel ( Martin Luther : “Evangelium sol successio be"). This view has largely prevailed in the Protestant churches.

“The Reformation perception of apostolic succession is the constant return to apostolic witness. It obliges the church to bear witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ in an authentic and missionary way in fidelity to the apostolic message (cf. 1 Cor 15: 1-3) to which it owes its existence. Where the Spirit of God makes this apostolic message truth for people (cf. Jn 16:13), the apostolicity of the Church is realized as a successio fidelium over the generations. "

- Community of Protestant Churches in Europe : The Church of Jesus Christ

But since the " successio fidelium [...] does not exclude the successio ordinis (succession in the orderly office), but rather conditions it", the question arises in some Protestant denominations as to how the apostolicity of the church is related to the historical continuity of episcopal succession Office of the Church behaves.

Lutheran churches

Since Martin Luther originally did not want to found a new church, the question of succession did not initially arise. Only when the split in the church seemed inevitable, no old-believing bishop in Germany had gone over to the Reformation and a sufficiently large influx of converting ordained priests could not be expected in the long term to supply the congregations, after a few individual cases in previous years, Wittenberg took place in 1535 an orderly ordination procedure with prayer and the laying on of hands was introduced.

In 1537, the parish priest Johannes Bugenhagen, who was responsible for ordinations in Wittenberg, introduced the bishops destined for the Danish national church into their office; In 1542 Luther consecrated Nikolaus von Amsdorf as Lutheran Bishop of Naumburg. In the opinion of the Roman Catholic Church, this interrupted the apostolic succession. In the more recent discussion, however, the following aspects are emphasized:

Ordination in the Lutheran Church of Sweden.
  1. In Norway and Sweden, Roman Catholic bishops converted to the Lutheran Church. While in Norway the continuity of the episcopal laying on of hands was nevertheless interrupted (because Bishop Hans Rev did not ordain bishops), in Sweden - with a certain uncertainty factor - it can be assumed that the line of succession was not interrupted from a purely technical point of view. Since the 19th century, and increasingly so in the 20th century, the Swedish Church has therefore pleaded that the apostolic succession according to the Roman Catholic understanding continues to exist in it. The Roman Catholic Church does not recognize this, however, since according to the more recent view, the apostolic succession presupposes the full connection with the Pope.
  2. Since the beginning of the 21st century, ecumenical talks have brought up the possibility of churches that consider apostolic succession to be constitutive to recognize the exceptional case of the passing on of priestly ordination by a priest. It is emphasized that in the Middle Ages the presbyterate and episcopate were not viewed as different degrees of consecration and that up to the 18th century there were numerous transfers of office that were not carried out by bishops. This is how the Roman Catholic dogmatist Peter Walter judges : “When the reformers decided to ordain to the pastorate in 'presbyterial succession', they did something that was not allowed in canonical terminology because, according to the opinion of the time, they should have obtained papal permission, but at that time their ordinations did not have to be regarded as fundamentally invalid. ”This argument gains weight because the Roman Catholic lines of succession“ only ”can be traced back to the 12th century and the assumption of a chain of ordinations valid under canonical law from the apostles to the earliest identifiable consecrators cannot be proven. The Ecumenical Working Group of Protestant and Catholic Theologians therefore announced in 2008 an investigation whose "objective [...] it [will] be [...] to establish [...] the conviction that the Apostolic Succession exists in the Roman Catholic Church and in the Reformation churches." is. ”Similar considerations are made in the document The Apostolicity of the Church , prepared in 2007 on behalf of the Lutheran World Federation and the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity .
High church movement

At the beginning of the 20th century, the " High Church Movement " arose in the German Protestant region . The leaders of the various high church brotherhoods have usually received episcopal ordination in apostolic succession. Their "line of consecration" is usually traced back to the apostles via so-called vagante bishops . Because high church ordinations were usually carried out without the knowledge of the leadership of the Protestant regional churches, these are rarely observed or confirmed. In December 2010, the leadership conference of the VELKD / EKD decided that the episcopal apostolic ordinations were “a positive sign within the EKD”. However, the leadership of the brotherhoods would like to forego the title of bishop in order to avoid confusion.

Independent Evangelical Lutheran Church

The independent Evangelical Lutheran Church and denominational Lutheran churches, such as the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod from the United States, Lutheran churches in the Baltic States and parts of Africa, see a historical continuity in their Lutheran concept of consecration up to the early church. The basic functions of the apostolic ministry, such as the preaching of the word and the administration of the sacraments , are performed today by the validly ordained pastors. In the exercise of their service they stand in persona Christi (in the place of Christ) and thus face the community. The passing on of the one office of the preaching of the word and the dispensation of the sacraments founded by Christ takes place from generation to generation through the ancient church rite of the laying on of hands by the bishop, provost or superintendent , i.e. a minister in the church-leading office. In passing on, this church is therefore not concerned with the completeness of historical succession lines, but rather with the commitment to the historical continuity of the one, holy Catholic and Apostolic Church in its confession, in its teaching and in its expressions of life. Therefore the succession of the office has a personal character, so that this Lutheran Church understands the doctrinal and personal succession as belonging together. The spiritual office is not, as in the regional churches in Germany, derived from the priesthood of all believers, but with the Evangelical Lutheran Confessions from the apostolate.

Mormon

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - commonly known as Mormons - believes that the passing on of apostolic authority was no longer possible through a "great apostasy" from the true faith after the death of the early apostles. Therefore it does not recognize any other church as authorized by Jesus Christ. But she herself claims this authority, which was transferred from the risen apostles and original church leaders Peter, John and James to their founder Joseph Smith in 1829. With this a new line of apostolic succession had begun, which continues in the ordination line of every priesthood holder , that is, most adult male church members.

Succession lines in the Roman Catholic Church

There are four lines of succession in the Roman Catholic Church; Most of the bishops currently come from the line of Cardinal Scipione Rebiba . The lines are named after the earliest known consecrators that stand at the beginning of the line.

In addition, there are some bishops within the Roman Catholic Church who have their succession roots in the lines of the Eastern Churches. These bishops can be found predominantly in the episcopates of the churches united with Rome . Some examples:

The reason why only these lines still exist is as follows: Usually a bishop working at the curia received his ordination from a curia cardinal or from the Pope himself. He himself was then often consecrator of missionary bishops, who in turn consecrated new bishops in the mission. This explains the succession for Africa, Asia and America. In Europe it was considered a special privilege to be ordained by the Pope, who, however, was usually a curial himself before his pontificate and had received his ordination from a curial cardinal or a predecessor pope. From these bishops the line spread further. An example: The Archbishop of Cologne, Clemens August I of Bavaria , had himself ordained bishop by the Pope. All of the bishops consecrated by him were automatically placed in the Rebibal line. Other lines died out in the course of the Reformation or the secularization , as there were hardly any episcopal ordinations in those years . But the bishops who have since been ordained mainly had consecrators of the Rebibaline line .

Henry Benedict Stuart, Cardinal York

Succession lines that go back to Cardinal Rebiba via Henry Benedict Mary Clement Cardinal Stuart of York (such as the line from John Paul II listed below) are the most frequently verifiable ones in the Roman Catholic Church.

However, the Rebiba Line still has a few branches. The oldest, which was formerly known as the Uchański or Rangoni line, can be found mainly in Poland. Its most famous representative was Pope Pius XI. Today one of them is Józef Cardinal Glemp (1929–2013). It is now known that Jakub Uchański never belonged to her. For a short time this line of succession was called the Rangoni line after the last known bishop ( Claudio Rangoni ). Meanwhile, Rangoni has proven to be a member of the Rebibal line (Cardinal Bernerio was the consecrator of Bishop Claudio Rangoni). This line is no longer viewed as an independent succession line.

The next split took place after Cardinal Paluzzi Altieri degli Albertoni. From today's perspective, the main line is the Rebiba-Orsini de Gravina line. The second line is Rebiba-Carpegna, which today includes the retired Archbishop of Los Angeles, Roger Cardinal Mahony . The Rebiba-Orsini line is later divided again into the two Orsini-Enriquez lines, the most important representative of which is Pope Pius IX. is, and Orsini-Rezzonico, of which the latter is the main line today (to which the last three popes also belong). This is partly due to the fact that Carlo della Torre Rezzonico (Pope Clement XIII) is the consecrator of Henry Benedict Mary Clement Cardinal Stuart of York.

The Von Bodman lineage is very rare now, as many of the bishops belonging to it never consecrated as main consecrators. It was mainly represented in the Netherlands and the Asian missions. Today this line is still widespread in Indonesia , where you include the Archbishop of Merauke , Nicolaus Adi Seputra (* 1959).

Today, the d'Estouteville line is mainly found in France. Its most important contemporary representative was Jean Marcel Cardinal Honoré , the retired Archbishop of Tours (1920–2013). Other well-known representatives were Cardinal Raffaele Riario (1460-1521) and Pope Leo X. Until recently, the consecrator of Giuliano della Rovere was not known. For this reason the line was called the della Rovere line .

The De Bovet Lineage was mainly found in the China Mission. It may already be completed there if it does not continue to live in the underground church there. Among their remaining representatives are the Archbishops of Samarinda (Indonesia), Florentinus Sului Hajang Hau (1948–2013) and Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Murphy Pakiam (* 1938).

Rebibaline using the example of John Paul II, Benedict XVI. and Francis

The following lists show the consecration of the last three Popes, all of which arise from the rebibial line.

The years indicate the year of episcopal ordination.

John Paul II

Benedict XVI.

Francis

Common succession root in Cardinal Rebiba

d'Estoutevillelinie using the example of Bishop Jean-Marie Le Vert

literature

  • Norbert Brox : Church history of antiquity. Düsseldorf 1998.
  • Günther Gaßmann, Harding Meyer (ed.): The church-leading office. Documents on interdenominational dialogue on the episcopate and papacy . Frankfurt 1980.
  • Jörg Winter: On the understanding of ministry of the Roman Catholic and Protestant Church . In: Stefan Muckel (ed.): Church and religion in the social constitutional state . Berlin 2003, pp. 975-985.
  • Axel Freiherr von Campenhausen: Evangelical episcopate and apostolic succession . In: Zeitschrift für Evangelisches Kirchenrecht 45, 2000, pp. 37–52.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Peter Kistner: The divine law and the church constitution . tape 1 . LIT Verlag Münster, 2009, ISBN 978-3-8258-1746-6 , pp. 179 f . ( limited preview in Google Book search).
  2. ↑ Cf. Norbert Brox, Church history of antiquity , Düsseldorf 1998.
  3. ^ 1. Clem. 44, 1-5, cit. n .: The Apostolic Fathers. Translated from the Greek by Franz Zeller. Library of the Church Fathers, 1st row, Volume 35
  4. ↑ Pedro Barceló : The Roman Empire in the Religious Change of Late Antiquity. Emperor and bishops in conflict . Verlag Friedrich Pustet, Regensburg 2013, ISBN 978-3-7917-2529-1 , p. 54.
  5. ↑ WA 39 / II, p. 177; quoted from the Ecumenical Working Group of Protestant and Catholic Theologians : The Church Office in Apostolic Succession . In: Dorothea Sattler , Gunther Wenz (ed.): The church office in apostolic succession. Volume 3: Understandings and Differences . Herder / Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Freiburg i. Br./ Göttingen 2008. ISBN 3-451-29943-7 , pp. 167-267, here p. 218.
  6. ↑ a b Michael Bünker , Martin Friedrich (Ed.): Die Kirche Jesu Christi / The Church of Jesus Christ . Evangelische Verlagsanstalt, Leipzig, 4th edition 2012, p. 38.
  7. ↑ See Martin Krarup: Ordination in Wittenberg. The installation in the ecclesiastical office in Electoral Saxony at the time of the Reformation . Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen 2007. ISBN 978-3-16-149256-3 .
  8. ↑ Cf. Theodor van Haag: The Apostolic Succession in Sweden . In: Kyrkohistorisk Årsskrift 44 (1944), pp. 1-168; Sven Kjöllerström: Kräkla och mitra: En undersökning om biskopsvigningar i Sverige under reformationstidevarvet . Lund 1965; Bengt Stolt: Svenska biskopsvigningar: Från reformationen till våra dagar . Solna 1972.
  9. ↑ See Biskopsämbetet: Report från den officiella samtalsgruppen mellan Svenska kyrkan och Stockholms katolska stift . Stockholm 1988, p. 81f.
  10. ↑ The relationship between episcopate and presbyterate from the early church to the Reformation century . In: Dorothea Sattler, Gunther Wenz (Hrsg.): The church office in apostolic succession II. Origins and changes . Herder, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Freiburg im Breisgau, Göttingen 2006, pp. 39–96, here p. 95.
  11. ↑ The ecclesiastical office in apostolic succession . In: Dorothea Sattler, Gunther Wenz (ed.): The church office in apostolic succession. Volume 3: Understandings and Differences . Herder / Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Freiburg i. Br./ Göttingen 2008. ISBN 3-451-29943-7 , pp. 167-267, here p. 266.
  12. ↑ The Apostolicity of the Church , Bonifatius, Lembeck, Paderborn, Frankfurt am Main 2009, esp. No. 291–293
  13. ^ Theological Commission of the SELK The Office of the Church ( Memento from May 31, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 122 kB)
  14. ^ Prokop, Krzysztof Rafał: Sukcesja święceń biskupich pasterzy Kościoła Legnickiego. Szkice Legnickie , XXVIII (2007), 317-328
  15. ↑ http://www.issrarezzo.com/NOTIZIESULVESCOVORANGONI.pdf