Currently reading: The Caroline Divines and the Church of Rome by Mark Langham 📚
It might indeed be the case that, rather than conserving orthodoxy, a personal apostolic line might perpetuate error in the Church. Andrewes thought the succession had been compromised, since some Popes had been schismatic, and others heretics. Laud shared the opinion of many Divines that succession was no proof of apostolicity since Rome had altered doctrine from that of the apostolic age. 69 There was more concern about succession in true apostolic faith, for which a faithful searching of scripture and the apostolic writings would suffice as well as any lineage for bishops.