The quality of being apostolic, especially the claim that a church or teaching has genuine connection to the original apostles and their authority.
From apostolic plus the suffix -ity (quality or state). Developed in ecclesiastical Latin to describe the legitimacy and authenticity of Christian traditions claimed to derive from the apostles.
Different churches literally competed to prove their 'apostolicity'—like showing their authority came straight from Peter, Paul, or John—which was their version of having a blue checkmark from Jesus himself!
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