Apostolic Succession
The first Christians had no doubts about how to determine which was the true Church and which doctrines the true teachings of Christ. The test was simple: Just trace the apostolic succession of the claimants.
Apostolic succession is the line of bishops stretching back to the apostles. All over the world, all Catholic bishops including that of Orthodox and Roman are part of a lineage that goes back to the time of the apostles, something that is impossible in Protestant denominations (most of which do not even claim to have bishops).
The role of apostolic succession in preserving true doctrine is illustrated in the Bible. To make sure that the apostles’ teachings would be passed down after the deaths of the apostles, Paul told Timothy, [What you have heard from me before many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” (2 Tim. 2:2). In this passage he refers to the first three generations of apostolic succession—his own generation, Timothy’s generation, and the generation Timothy will teach.
The Church Fathers, who were links in that chain of succession, regularly appealed to apostolic succession as a test for whether Catholics or heretics had correct doctrine. This was necessary because heretics simply put their own interpretations, even bizarre ones, on Scripture. Clearly, something other than Scripture had to be used as an ultimate test of doctrine in these cases.
Thus the early Church historian J. N. D. Kelly, a Protestant, writes, “Where in practice was the apostolic testimony or tradition to be found? . . . The most obvious answer was that the apostles had committed it orally to the Church, where it had been handed down from generation to generation. . . . Unlike the alleged secret tradition of the Gnostics, it was entirely public and open, having been entrusted by the apostles to their successors, and by these in turn to those who followed them, and was visible in the Church for all who cared to look for it” (Early Christian Doctrines, 37).
For the early Fathers, “the identity of the oral tradition with the original revelation is guaranteed by the unbroken succession of bishops in the great sees going back lineally to the apostles. . . . [A]n additional safeguard is supplied by the Holy Spirit, for the message committed was to the Church, and the Church is the home of the Spirit. Indeed, the Church’s bishops are . . . Spirit-endowed men who have been vouchsafed ‘an infallible charism of truth’” (ibid.).
Thus on the basis of experience the Fathers could be “profoundly convinced of the futility of arguing with heretics merely on the basis of Scripture. The skill and success with which they twisted its plain meaning made it impossible to reach any decisive conclusion in that field” (ibid., 41).
The Apostolic Succession is the historically traceable lineage of hands-on Consecration (Ordination) of bishops that is an unbroken link with the Holy Apostles.
Our Bishops have maintained Our Apostolic Succession from the Syriac and Antioch Orthodox Church including that of Russia in recent times through Bishops that join our jurisdiction from other Jurisdiction with Apostolic Succession.
Apostolic Succession and Traditions
The Apostolic Succession of Metropolitan +Mark of America, The Archbishop of North America and the Most Honorable Exarch of Africa
FROM OUR LORD JESUS THE CHRIST THROUGH THE APOSTLE ANDREW through the Apostolic See at Antioch
Cheirothesia February 9, 2014AD.
1. Peter the Apostle 35 A.D.
2. Eyodius 44
3. Ignatius (Martyr) 68
4. Earon 107
5. Cornelius 137
6. Eados 142
7. Theophilus 157
8. Maximus 171
9. Seraphim 179
10. Asclepiades (Martyr) 189
11. Philip 210
12. Zebinus 219
13. Babylos (Martyr) 237
14. F’abius 250
15. Demeirius 251
16. Paul I 259
17. Domnus I 270
18. Timotheus 281
19. Cyrilus 291
20. Tyrantus 296
21. Vitalius 301
22. Philogonius 318
23. Eustachius 323
24. Paulinus 338
25. Philabianus 383
26. Evagrius 386
27. Phosporius 416
28. Alexander 418
29. John I 428
30. Theodotus 431
31. Domnus II 442
32. Maximus 450
33. Accacius 454
34. Martyrius 457
35. Peter II 464
36. Phiadius 500
37. Serverius the Great 509
38. Sergius 544
39. Domnus III 547
40. Anastasius 560
41. Gregory I 564
42. Paul II 567
43. Patra 571
44. Domnus IV 586
45. Julianus 591
46. Athanasius I 595
47. John II 636
48. Theodorus I 649
49. Severus 668
50. Athanasius II 684
51. Julianus II 687
52. Elias I 709
53. Athanasius III 724
54. Evanius I 740
55. Gervasius I 759
56. Joseph 790
57. Cyriacus 793
58. Dionsius I 818
59. John III 847
60. Ignatius II 877
61. Theodosius 887
62. Dinousius II 897
63. John IV 910
64. Evanius 922
65. John V 936
66. Evanius II 954
67. Dionysius 958
68. Abraham I 962
69. John VI 965
70. Athanasius IV 987
71. John VII 1004
72. Dionysius III 1032
73. Theodorus II 1042
74. Athanasius V 1058
75. John VII 1064
76. Basilius II 1074
77. Abdoone 1076
78. Dionysius V 1077
79. Evanius III 1080
80. Dionysius VI 1088
81. Athanasias VI 1091
82. John IX 1131
83. Athanasius VI 1139
84. Michael I (the Great) 1167
85. Athanasius VIII 1200
86. Michael II 1207
87. JohnX 1208
88. Ignatius III 1223
89. Dionysius VII 1253
90. John XI 1253
91. Ignatius IV 1264
92. Philanus 1283
93. Ignatius Baruhid 1293
94. Ignatius Ishmael 1333
95. Ignatius Basilius III 1366
96. Ignatius Abraham II 1382
97. Ignatius Basilius IV 1412
98. Ignatius Bahanam I 1415
99. Ignatius l~aIejih 1455
100. Ignatius John XII 1483
101. Ignatius Noah 1492
102. Ignatius Jesus I 1509
103. Ignatius Jacob I 1510
104. Ignatius David I 1519
105. Ignatius Abdullah 1520
106. Ignatius Naamathalak 1557
107. Ignatius David II 1576
108. Ignatius Philathus 1591
109. Ignatius Abdullah II 1597
110. Ignatius Cadhal 1598
111. Ignatius Simeon 1640
112. Ignatius Jesus II 1653
113. Ignatius A. Massiah I 1661
114. Ignatius Cabeed 1686
115. Ignatius Gervasius III 1687
116. Ignatius Gervasius IV 1708
117. Ignatius Siccarablak 1722
118. Ignatius Qervasius III 1746
119. Ignatius Gervasius IV 1768
120. Ignatius Mathias 1781
121. Ignatius Bahanam II 1810
122. Ignatius Jonas 1817
123. Ignatius Gervasius V 1818
124. Ignatius Elias II 1839
125. Ignatius Jacob II 1847
126. Ignatius Peter III 1872
May 29, 1892, when Father Joseph (Vilathi), a priest who served the Belgian congregations of Little Sturgeon and Green Bay Wisconsin, was summoned to Ceylon to be consecrated the first Bishop for the Church in America. The consecration took place at the Church of Our Lady of Good Death, Colombo Ceylon (Sri Lanka), and was done canonically resulting from a Bull issued by His Holiness Ignatius Peter III, Patriarch of the Orthodox Syrian Church of Antioch. He was consecrated by Archbishop Julius Alvarez I (a Portugese convert to Orthodoxy from Roman Catholicism), Archbishop Paul Athanasius (Bishop of Kottayam), and Archbishop George Gregorius (Bishop of Niranam) who was later canonized a saint of the Indian (Malankara) Church. The Bull authorizing the consecration was issued on December 29, 1891 and he was given the name “Timotheos”.
Thus the Syriac –Greek Antiochian Orthodox Catholic Church independent Jurisdicion was established.
His Beatitude Metropolitan Timotheos Vilathi 1892 – 1920 Reposed 1929 Primate I
His Beatitude Metropolitan Frederick E Lloyd 1920 – 1932 Reposed 1933 Primate II
His Eminence Archbishop Daniel Hinton 1932 – 1933 Reposed?
His Eminence Archbishop Perry Wise Clarkson 1933 – 1941 Reposed 1942
His Eminence Archbishop Lowell Paul Wadle 1942 – 1951 Reposed 1965
His Beatitude Metropolitan Joseph John Skureth 1966 – 1980 Reposed 2013 Primate III
His Beatitude Metropolitan Joseph Gabriel Sokolowski 1980 – 1988 Reposed 1989 Primate IV
His Beatitude Metropolitan Stephen Thomas 1989 – 2023 Reposed Primate V
His Beatitude Metropolitan Mark Anthony 2023 till date Primate VII