This is indeed a very interesting conversation; thank you for sharing it with us all.

I must confess that I am somewhat at a loss when it comes to understanding the details and nuances of the interchange, largely due to a lack of depth in my own scholarship when it comes to the history of the church.

Nevertheless, insofar as my limited understanding of this conversation may go, and as an anarchist, I find myself most strongly in disagreement with what appears to be a clinging to a hierarchy above and beyond the local church. Probably due to my upbringing (independent baptist) I've never bought the idea of apostolic succession, and I continue to view the proper form of the church(es) as a collection of autonomous gatherings of God's people into local congregations.

While I have no problem with voluntary associations of independent congregations, I view the upward delegation and centralization of authority in Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, and Presbyterian denominations (to mention a few prominent examples) as evidence of a failure to truly believe in Christ's headship and ability to manage, direct, and rule his churches.

Kindly forgive (and feel free to correct) any misapprehensions I may have about what you've shared here, and also please point out any important point(s) that I've obviously overlooked.