See this online text:
- “‘Being Bishoped by’ God: The Theology of the Episcopacy According to St. Ignatius of Antioch”, by Prof. Kevin M. Clarke, Ph.D., Nova et Vetera, English Edition, Vol. 14, No. 1 (Winter 2016): pp. 227-243. Available on this page of Nova et Vetera at the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology; may be read online and available in pdf format at Project Muse; and available at ResearchGate.net.
See also the ebooks listed on the page Church and Ecclesiology and Early Christianity, as well as the following texts:
- “The Bishops of History and the Catholic Faith: A Reply to Brandon Addison” by Bryan Cross, June 8, 2014. May be read online and available in pdf format at Called to Communion. 168 pages with footnotes. [N.B., This is a very thorough essay on the hierarchy of the primitive Church that refutes non-Catholic arguments rejecting her historical monoepiscopate in favor of theories of presbyterial governance.]
- [Communion with Christ through Apostolic Tradition and Succession], General Audience Addresses by Pope Benedict XVI, delivered in March-May 2006.
- “Christ and the Church”, General Audience Address of Wednesday, 15 March 2006. May be read online on this page of Catholic Culture; on this page of the EWTN Library; and at the Holy See
- “Witnesses of Christ” General Audience Address of Wednesday, 22 March 2006. May be read online on this page of Catholic Culture; on this page of the EWTN Library; and at the Holy See.
- “The gift of communion”, General Audience Address of Wednesday, 29 March 2006. May be read online on this page of Catholic Culture; on this page of the EWTN Library; and at the Holy See
- “Safeguarding the gift” (“The Church of Love Is Also the Church of Truth”), General Audience Address of Wednesday, 5 April 2006. May be read online on this page of Catholic Culture; on this page of the EWTN Library; and at the Holy See.
- “Communion in time: Tradition”, General Audience Address of Wednesday, 26 April 2006. May be read online on this page of Catholic Culture; on this page and on this page of the EWTN Library; and at the Holy See.
- “The Apostolic Tradition of the Church”, General Audience Address of Wednesday, 3 May 2006. May be read online on this page of Catholic Culture; on this page of the EWTN Library, and at the Holy See.
- “Having a vision from on high” (“Apostolic Succession: Spiritual and Historical Tie to Christ”), General Audience Address of Wednesday, 10 May 2006. May be read online on this page and, under the title “Apostolic Succession: Spiritual and Historical Tie to Christ”, on this page of Catholic Culture; on this page of the EWTN Library, and at the Holy See. A different translation is provided at Catholic Online.
- [Notes: (a) These addresses form the first part of Pope Benedict XVI’s Catechesis on the Apostles and First Disciples, which is indexed on this page and summarized on this page of the EWTN Library, and indexed on Catechesis of the Popes. They are followed by the Holy Father’s addresses on the Apostles. (b) As far as we know, these addresses have no collective label provided by the Holy See, though Catechesis of the Popes provides the title “Origins of the Church”. The label “Communion with Christ through Apostolic Tradition and Succession” is our own.]
- Directory for the Pastoral Ministry of Bishops “Apostolorum Successores”, by the Congregation for Bishops, February 22, 2004. May be read online at the Holy See.
- The Pastoral Office, by Henry Edward Cardinal Manning (London: Printed for private use only, 1883). Available at Open Library and Internet Archive. [N.B., This treatise on the office and ministry of bishops is an excellent summation of the teaching of the Church on the episcopate.]
On the Feast of St. Ignatius of Antioch in the Latin church. For other texts and ebooks, you may access the List of Free eBooks (Arranged by Title), the List of Free eBooks (Grouped by Subject), the List of Worth-It Catholic Books & eBooks, and the main page of the Catholic eBooks Project.
Catholic eBooks Project 