Apostolic Succession and Sacramental Grace

Do those outside Apostolic Succession receive grace in their sacraments?

The question of whether or not those outside of Apostolic succession receive grace in their sacraments is an often heated discussion, and one that many are cautious to come down dogmatically on for various reasons. Some are willing to brush over the necessity of Apostolic succession and say that their sacraments do contain grace; while others are readily equipped to denounce all those outside of Apostolic Succession as being completely devoid of grace. Compromises abound in either extreme, and I believe we can avoid them both. In the former, the necessity of being in communion with a Bishop that possesses Apostolic succession is diminished, largely on account of the appearance of grace in the lives of those outside these bounds and the desire to not renounce such evidence of grace. In the latter, one runs the risk of declaring that those outside the bounds absolutely lack saving grace, and are therefore not true Christians at all. I believe a middle ground can be found in St. Thomas Aquinas’ distinction between the sacraments of the Old Law, and those of the New.

A thing is known by its effects, and it appears that those without Apostolic succession possess the effects of grace (faith, hope, and charity). Therefore, it seems that they do indeed receive grace. We’ve avoided the excess error of the latter opinion noted above, but the question remains, then, as to how this grace is received. We understand that our Lord has instituted the sacraments as means of grace in order to aid us in our sanctification and growth in the Christian life. But do those outside Apostolic succession receive grace in the sacraments in the same manner as those who possess it? We do not wish to fall into the error of the former opinion and downplay the role of Apostolic succession in the sacramental ministry of the Church; for this succession is a mark of visible unity amongst the body of Christ that gives assurance of the grace offered in the sacraments. So what then? Where are we to find recourse for our problem? Here, we will turn to St. Thomas’ treatise on the sacraments.

St Thomas maintains that the sacraments, both old and new, derive their efficacy principally from the passion of Christ. For the sacraments of the Old Law, there is no grace properly speaking contained within the sacraments themselves. We could say they are occasions for grace, but not sources of grace. This is in contrast with the sacraments of the New Law which St. Thomas holds to contain grace similar to the way an axe possesses the quality of sharpness, and as such can be considered a source of grace. This is largely a point regarding the type of instrumentality we would ascribe to the sacraments. Protestant and Reformed theologians would deny a physical instrumentality, whereas St. Thomas would affirm such instrumentality. What’s meant by physical instrumentality here is, to take up the previous example of an axe, that just as the sharpness of an axe has a cutting effect on the wood when taken up and used by a craftsman, so too the sacraments have an effect upon the soul of the recipient when the Spirit uses the sacrament in its administration. This is often understood by the Latin phrase Ex Opere Operato (from the work performed). In contrast, in order for the sacraments of the Old Law to be efficacious for believers, one would have to contemplate and understand what these signs pointed to. As the mind grasped Christ in these sacraments, grace was conveyed for the sanctification of the believer. The reason for the difference in efficacy between the sacraments of the Old and New laws is because of their relation to the passion of Christ, which gives them their efficacy. Prior to the coming of Christ, the sacraments of the Old Law serve as signs which point to the coming of Christ, whereas after his coming the sacraments point back to, and are “filled up” with Christ’s passion. In short, the sacraments of the Old Law terminate in Christ, whereas the sacraments of the New Law promulgate Christ. 

Now, those familiar with Reformed Sacramentology will notice a lot of similarities. For the Reformed, sacraments do not function ex opere operato, and do not contain grace. They are merely occasions for grace. Underlying a lot of this are the Reformed particulars regarding predestination, election, and their articulation of the visible church as distinguished from the invisible. Unfortunately, we will not have the space to consider their rationality for each point. We will have to assume them for now. But, suffice it to say, the Reformed view of the sacraments has much in common with St. Thomas’ view on the efficacy of the sacraments under the old covenant. 

Is it too hard to imagine that our brothers and sisters outside of Apostolic Succession receive grace in this capacity? We maintain that their Eucharist is invalid upon grounds of intent and due to the lack of the episcopate, yet we also maintain that they bear in their persons the evidence of divine grace. This is something even our Roman brothers and sisters readily admit in their own catechism: 

“Furthermore, many elements of sanctification and truth” are found outside the visible confines of the Catholic Church: “the written Word of God; the life of grace; faith, hope, and charity, with the other interior gifts of the Holy Spirit, as well as visible elements.” Christ’s Spirit uses these Churches and ecclesial communities as means of salvation, whose power derives from the fullness of grace and truth that Christ has entrusted to the Catholic Church. All these blessings come from Christ and lead to him, and are in themselves calls to “Catholic unity.” - Catechism of the Catholic Church, 819

Yet, despite their Eucharist being invalid, we need not remove any notion that grace is absent therefrom. When we say their Eucharist is invalid, we’re merely asserting that it lacks the assurance that grace is conveyed in the way it was intended by Christ. Because it is invalid, we cannot say that grace is contained and has its effect through the administration of the sacrament. However, the signatory function of the Bread and Wine is not dependent upon priestly consecration but derives its function primarily through the Word. As such, one need not argue over the validity of signs. It is in regard to these signs that those outside of Apostolic Succession maintain some kind of proper intent. In what they put forth and offer, they truly administer signs of the Body and Blood of Christ Jesus, even if the real presence of Christ is not contained therein. Thus, as the minds of the faithful are taken up to consider these signs, grace can be said to be conveyed in a way similar to the sacraments under the Old Covenant.

This is still a contentious topic, and I do not believe to have settled anything with what I’ve written here. Most of the contention is found in the premises that I have assumed for the sake of brevity, and those will need to be addressed elsewhere. Nevertheless, St. Thomas provides us with, in my opinion, a theologically sound recourse to the two aforementioned errors that allows us to maintain our theological foundations without denying the clear work of the Spirit outside the bounds of the visible Church.