You have no any clue about Orthodox Church and how things really are. :)
First, they state that they are the one true church because they hold the line of Apostolic succession.
Apostolic sccession is necessary, but not "first" or even "most important". It is much better and many things are easier when you have it, but Orthodox Christianity have a special workflow exactly for situaltions when Apostolic saccession is lost for whatever reason.
There is many Orthodox Churches, if you are not aware, even here we have two. Both True. Add to this Greek, Serbian, Romanian, American, Alexandrian, Cyprus and so on. All that Churches accounted as equal True Christian churches by each other, being different with their own hierarchy.
Russian Orthodox Church had a schism half millenia ago, when patriarch decided to adjust some service details with Greek Orthodox Church. Old Russian Orthodox Church that didn't accept this changes lost Apostolic succession few centuries later. However it was still accounted as True Church, all things like baptism, euharistia, weddings, burials of Old Orthodox was accepted by Orthodox mainstream. Later, Apostolic succession of Old Orthodox was restored by mainstream Russian Orthodoxy, and now Russian Old Orthodox Church have full Apostolic succession again.
The Orthodox claims the rightful line of Apostolic succession because they have not apostatized. And because the other churches have apostatized, they are not the True Church.
Great Schism started a massive process of creation of apostatic Churches. Rome decided that it have a right to change Christianity on its will, as they needed. Up to inventing Pope and declaring his speech as God's one.
But how do we know that those other churches have apostatized and not the Orthodox Church?
Orthodox Church is just mathematically least square estimate to the original Christ teachings. That's all. We use original Old and New Testament texts word-to-word translated into ancient Russian millenia ago, which is still used even for all services, and all pre Great schism things agreed on at World Councils are unchanged. This is much more important than even Apostolic succession.
He works only in their lives, and gives them the truth by experience.
You have no idea of what Orthodox Christianity is about and what we believe in.
Well, in short Christianity is a user manual for your soul given to you by Christ. Just like with user manual for your vacuum cleaner given to you by manufacturer, if you began to change existing parts of it or invent new ones, then your vacuum cleaner will work in ineffective way, could break completely or even cause a disaster in your house. If you invent your own user manual for your vacuum cleaner, then manufacturer can't guarantee your vacuum cleaner efficiency and ability to work as promised. No warranty repairs, no spare parts and so on. Further your version of user manual (Christianity) from original manufacturer (God) edition, less efficiency your soul have, up to complete malfunctioning or even destruction.
You could easily observe exactly that by yourself all over the world. Countries with prevalent Orthodox Christianity are much less poisoned with all that satanic perversions like LGBTXYZ idiocy, money (Mammona) worshipping, arrogance, ignorance, greed and so on. And even more important thing is a Christian population attitude to all that shit. If an average Christian accept 100500 genders in his country, think he have a right to judge and preach other nations or doesn't account stock gambling as something dirty - then his Church is definitely far from True one.
Original user manual objectively works much better than any other "customized" version.
I didn't replied to you personally, just explained some obvious things that people don't know about.
You say apostolic succession is necessary ... You blatantly contradicted yourself.
It is just one of many components. You could have apostolic succession, but have absolutely nothing with Christianity. And on the opposite, even without apostolic succession you could still have True Church. Without apostolic succession you can't receive grace in full, which make much harder to keep your soul healthy.
Hence, why Christianity is a faith.
Faith have to be logical and provable inside itself. Otherwise it is not a faith it is a cult.
IDK, what example you could understand. In a car, alternator is a necessary part. But you still could drive a car without alternator for some time using battery. Same here.
Church could lose apostolic succession for multiple reasons, but if it will not be restored, this church will eventually degrade to what we see in Rome now. That does not mean that apostolic asuccession prevent degradation.
Car could have perfectly working alternator, but completely broken engine.
Church also have to had "alternator and a place for it" in the first place. You can't create a Church without apostolic succession. Since there is no any apostoles currently around, creation of a new Church is not possible.
Church is a car that could drive you to salvation, if you will use it according to original user manual. It is a long road, you have to fill tank, replace brake pads, fix broken parts and change tires, oil, brake fluid and so on. Only if you do all of that things, not ones you want, but all of them, you will be able to reach your destination far away. You will not be able to reach destination if you don't have alternator, or tires, or transmission, or engine. You will not able to reach destination if you don't dare to fix broken parts.
Hope this analogy is simple enough to get what is Church, and why old Orthodox car, being older than all other, newer shiny and comfortable ones, still running fine and with highest probability will reach its destination with as many passengers as would choose to join.
You have no any clue about Orthodox Church and how things really are. :)
Apostolic sccession is necessary, but not "first" or even "most important". It is much better and many things are easier when you have it, but Orthodox Christianity have a special workflow exactly for situaltions when Apostolic saccession is lost for whatever reason.
There is many Orthodox Churches, if you are not aware, even here we have two. Both True. Add to this Greek, Serbian, Romanian, American, Alexandrian, Cyprus and so on. All that Churches accounted as equal True Christian churches by each other, being different with their own hierarchy.
Russian Orthodox Church had a schism half millenia ago, when patriarch decided to adjust some service details with Greek Orthodox Church. Old Russian Orthodox Church that didn't accept this changes lost Apostolic succession few centuries later. However it was still accounted as True Church, all things like baptism, euharistia, weddings, burials of Old Orthodox was accepted by Orthodox mainstream. Later, Apostolic succession of Old Orthodox was restored by mainstream Russian Orthodoxy, and now Russian Old Orthodox Church have full Apostolic succession again.
Great Schism started a massive process of creation of apostatic Churches. Rome decided that it have a right to change Christianity on its will, as they needed. Up to inventing Pope and declaring his speech as God's one.
Orthodox Church is just mathematically least square estimate to the original Christ teachings. That's all. We use original Old and New Testament texts word-to-word translated into ancient Russian millenia ago, which is still used even for all services, and all pre Great schism things agreed on at World Councils are unchanged. This is much more important than even Apostolic succession.
You have no idea of what Orthodox Christianity is about and what we believe in.
Well, in short Christianity is a user manual for your soul given to you by Christ. Just like with user manual for your vacuum cleaner given to you by manufacturer, if you began to change existing parts of it or invent new ones, then your vacuum cleaner will work in ineffective way, could break completely or even cause a disaster in your house. If you invent your own user manual for your vacuum cleaner, then manufacturer can't guarantee your vacuum cleaner efficiency and ability to work as promised. No warranty repairs, no spare parts and so on. Further your version of user manual (Christianity) from original manufacturer (God) edition, less efficiency your soul have, up to complete malfunctioning or even destruction.
You could easily observe exactly that by yourself all over the world. Countries with prevalent Orthodox Christianity are much less poisoned with all that satanic perversions like LGBTXYZ idiocy, money (Mammona) worshipping, arrogance, ignorance, greed and so on. And even more important thing is a Christian population attitude to all that shit. If an average Christian accept 100500 genders in his country, think he have a right to judge and preach other nations or doesn't account stock gambling as something dirty - then his Church is definitely far from True one.
Original user manual objectively works much better than any other "customized" version.
I didn't replied to you personally, just explained some obvious things that people don't know about.
It is just one of many components. You could have apostolic succession, but have absolutely nothing with Christianity. And on the opposite, even without apostolic succession you could still have True Church. Without apostolic succession you can't receive grace in full, which make much harder to keep your soul healthy.
Faith have to be logical and provable inside itself. Otherwise it is not a faith it is a cult.
Yes, it is necessary.
IDK, what example you could understand. In a car, alternator is a necessary part. But you still could drive a car without alternator for some time using battery. Same here.
Church could lose apostolic succession for multiple reasons, but if it will not be restored, this church will eventually degrade to what we see in Rome now. That does not mean that apostolic asuccession prevent degradation.
Car could have perfectly working alternator, but completely broken engine.
Church also have to had "alternator and a place for it" in the first place. You can't create a Church without apostolic succession. Since there is no any apostoles currently around, creation of a new Church is not possible.
Church is a car that could drive you to salvation, if you will use it according to original user manual. It is a long road, you have to fill tank, replace brake pads, fix broken parts and change tires, oil, brake fluid and so on. Only if you do all of that things, not ones you want, but all of them, you will be able to reach your destination far away. You will not be able to reach destination if you don't have alternator, or tires, or transmission, or engine. You will not able to reach destination if you don't dare to fix broken parts.
Hope this analogy is simple enough to get what is Church, and why old Orthodox car, being older than all other, newer shiny and comfortable ones, still running fine and with highest probability will reach its destination with as many passengers as would choose to join.