>>17796582I absolutely agree, especially if the theologians of that particular religion have rules how valid ordination occurs.
In the centuries after the expulsion of Jews from Jerusalem by the Romans rabbinical Jews still thought that they had to consencrate (lay hands) on Israeli soil to their successors. Rabbis from Iraq would sneak into Israel with a handful of students, consecrate them, and then return to their homeland until it became impossible due to political realities and the difficulty of travel. By the original rules of rabbinical Judaism, the "rabbinical succession" (very similar to the Catholic concept of apostolic succession) has ended.
The Mandaean priestly succession has likewise ceased after the unfortunate Iranian cholera epidemic of 1831 that killed all their validly ordained priests. Only two acolytes survived and had to basically rebuild the religious hierarchy from scratch - but because they're a minor order and the equivalent of Christian deacons, they did not have the divine power required to validly continue the line from antiquity.