Religious Authority and Succession

Core tenets that state who or what holds legitimate religious authority within a tradition, and how that authority passes from one holder to the next. This includes tenets about prophetic or apostolic succession, the authority of a living teacher, guru or lineage holder, the legitimacy of a governing council, clergy or magisterium, and the grounds on which a tradition claims that its own leadership speaks with real spiritual weight. A tenet describing how ordinary members should behave once inside the community, rather than who leads it or how leadership passes on, belongs instead under community and its boundaries.