Without bishops, the Methodist Church does not subscribe to the idea of an historical episcopate. It does, however, affirm the doctrine of apostolic succession. In 1937 the Methodist Conference located the "true continuity" with the church of past ages in "the continuity of Christian experience, the fellowship in the gift of the one Spirit; in the continuity in the allegiance to one Lord, the continued proclamation of the message; the continued acceptance of the mission;..." a long chain which goes back to "the first disciples in the company of the Lord Himself ... This is our doctrine of apostolic succession" neither depends on, nor is secured by, "an official succession of ministers, whether bishops or presbyters, from apostolic times, but rather by fidelity to apostolic truth".