Page "Apostolic succession" Paragraph 13

Writing a little later, Tertullian makes the same main point but adds expressly that recently founded churches ( such as his own in Carthage ) could be considered apostolic if they had " derived the tradition of faith and the seeds of doctrine " from an apostolic church.

His disciple, Cyprian ( Bishop of Carthage 248-58 ) appeals to the same fundamental principle of election to a vacant see in the aftermath of the Decian Persecution when denying the legitimacy of his rigorist rival in Carthage and that of the anti-pope Novatian in Rome ; however, the emphasis is now on legitimating his episcopal ministry as a whole and specifically his exclusive right to administer discipline to the lapsed rather than on the content of what is taught.

Cyprian also laid great emphasis on the fact that any minister who broke with the Church lost ipso facto the gift of the Spirit which had validated his orders.

This meant that he had no power or authority to celebrate an efficacious sacrament.