Bishop's Epistle: APOSTOLIC SUCCESSION OF BISHOP JERRY HAYES

THE APOSTOLIC SUCCESSION OF

____________________________________

The Right Reverend

Jerry L. Hayes

(Mar David Ignatius)

Apostolic Succession

of the

Apostolic Orthodox Church International

Table of Contents

The Apostolic Orthodox Church,

The Sacrament of Holy Orders,

Apostolic Succession and Ordination,

The Origins of the Apostolic Lines of Succession,

The Apostolic Successions,

The Ministry of the Apostolic Orthodox Church International

From Ignatius of Antioch (A.D. 107) we learn that the New Testament model of ministers in the Church are the Bishops, Presbyters, Deacons and People.

The Ministry of the people is to represent Christ and his church; to bear witness to him wherever they may be; and, according to gifts given to them, to carry on Christ’s work of reconciliation in the world, and to take their place in the worship, and ministry of the Church.

The Ministry of the Bishop is to represent Christ and His church, particularly as Apostle, Prophet, Pastor, Evangelist or Teacher; to act in Christ’s name for the reconciliation of the world and the building up of the Church; and to ordain others to continue Christ’s ministry.

The ministry of the Presbyter is fulfilled through a designated performance of ordained duties; representing Christ and His Church, particularly to share with the Bishop in the overseeing of the Church; to assist the Bishop in the proclamation of the gospel; to administer the sacraments and to bless and declare pardon in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Ministry of a Deacon or Deaconess is fulfilled through a designated performance of ordained duties; representing Christ and His Church, particularly as a servant to those in need; and to assist the presbyter or bishop in the proclamation of the Gospel and the administration of the sacraments.

The Apostolic Orthodox Church International as “Apostolic”

The Church was established by the Apostles on the foundation of the person, teaching and saving deeds of Jesus Christ, who remains its head and cornerstone. The apostolicity of the Church rests on its conformity to the teachings of the apostles which we know as the apostolic tradition and is to be guarded, maintain and perpetuated by the Bishops in the historic Apostolic Succession. For this reason an official list of names of the bishops of each bishopric was made in order to trace the bishops in succession back to the apostles. The Apostolic Orthodox Church International possesses such a list.

As an apostolic branch of the Church, we believe we have been sent out to proclaim Christ to the world (an Apostle is one who is sent out to preach and extend the Kingdom of God). The Church, as an apostolic institution, signifies that it has a great mission to undertake, both in its nature and responsibility to spread the Word of God and to disciple all nations. We are a Community that is also Apostolic in our government. The Apostles were the original overseers of the Church.

The true Bishops of today are the true successors of the Apostles of our Lord. We are, in nature, an Episcopal branch of the Church. The word Episcopal literally means to be governed by bishops. The Bishops of the Church are to safeguard her unity, doctrine, worship and discipline. It is their responsibility, and the responsibility of the Bishops’ delegates, to shepherd and administer the Church until the Lord returns. In the local church, the Presbyter (also called Pastor) is charged by the Bishop with the role of shepherding and administering the flock of Christ entrusted to them.

The Apostolic Orthodox Church International is also Apostolic in the authority of its duly and properly ordained ministry. The apostolic Christian wholeheartedly agrees with the spiritual admonition: “Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you” (Hebrews 13:17). The Apostolic Orthodox Church International is Apostolic in it’s adherence to the Apostolic tradition, it’s maintenance and continuation of the historic Apostolic Succession and it’s Apostolic government, nature and mission.

Sacrament of Holy Orders in the Apostolic Orthodox Church International

Sacrament is an action performed by the church through sacramental ministers in the community of the faithful. The sacraments were ordained by our Lord Jesus Christ to convey the specific gift of His grace to the recipient. To be even more precise, it is God Himself, who acts through the minister of the sacrament. This means that the sacrament is effective in and of itself. It is God who (not only has ordained that the gift given, but who, in fact) gives it. The Apostolic Orthodox Church International holds to and practices the Sacrament of Holy Orders. Since the earliest days of the Christian Church there have been specific orders of ministers in the church. “And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach,” (Mark 3:14). These orders we continue to know today as Bishops, Presbyters, Deacons and Deaconesses; wherein are found the offices of Apostles, Prophets, Evangelist, Pastors and Teachers. Each has specific and well defined functions within the New Covenant of Jesus Christ. God calls out certain of his followers to represent him in these unique ways. Ordination into any of these orders is accomplished by the laying on of hands and the prayers of a Bishop.

Apostolic Succession and Ordination in the Apostolic Orthodox Church International

The Apostolic Orthodox Church International believes that ministry is a gift of God through Christ Jesus to His church, which He has given for the perfecting of the life and services of all its members. All its members share in this priestly nature according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Yet from the beginning, God has entrusted particular ministries to particular persons within it, and these have, through the Church, received the commission of Christ.

When we look to the writings of the Apostles and even the Apostolic Fathers, we see that they not only affirmed but deeply believe in Apostolic Succession. The Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy to find faithful men to whom he could entrust the teaching that he, Paul, had entrusted to Timothy, and that these faithful men would entrust this deposit to other faithful men (1 Timothy 2:2); then, in the next generation of the Church (A.D. 105) the beloved Bishop Ignatius of Antioch wrote profoundly on the subject.

As time passed the Western church, following the influence of Augustine of Hippo, devised a fourfold criteria for determining the validity of the consecration of a bishop in the historic apostolic succession, three are exterior, the fourth is interior.

The four criteria are:

Form: The consecration must be done in the context of the Eucharistic liturgy to be valid. This is to emphasize the connection and association of the ordination to and within the community.
Matter: There must be an actual laying on of the hands of a Bishop during the liturgy. Prayer is not sufficient in and of itself.
Minister: The one who performs a consecration must be a validly consecrated Bishop within the Apostolic Succession.
Intention: the intent of the laying on of hands in the prayer within the liturgy must be to ordain or consecrate the person to hold orders.

According to Western Christianity, if these criteria are met in the consecration a Bishop is within the apostolic succession.

The ordained ministry of the Apostolic Orthodox Church International consists of the designation of the Bishop, Presbyter, Deacon, Deaconess, Apostle, Prophet, Pastor, Teacher and Evangelist. In embracing these offices of the Church the Apostolic Orthodox Church International desires to maintain continuity with the historic ministry of the Body of Christ as it has comes down to us from early times through what is commonly known as the historic Apostolic Succession. An ordination service is a sacramental rite, and is how any one of these ministries is confirmed. It is an active God in His Church. The Apostolic Orthodox Church International believes that in all ordinations and consecrations the one who truly ordains and consecrates is God, who through the words and the acts of the Bishop in the Apostolic Succession, along with other representatives, and in response to the prayers of His Church, ordains, commissions and empowers for the office and work to which the persons, whom it (the Church through the Holy Spirit) has selected, have been called.

Apostolic Succession In The Apostolic Orthodox Church International

The Apostolic Orthodox Church International holds a succession of spiritual authority from the apostles, perpetuated by the laying on of hands in the consecrating of its bishops, that preserves and validates our sacraments and orders. This unbroken succession of apostolic authority and faith has been handed down through the centuries of Christianity to the present day, of which we are members. These lines of succession have helped root us deeply into the historical faith of the patriarchs, prophets, apostles, martyrs and saints of every age. The apostolic succession of the Apostolic Orthodox Church International is traced through the following branches of the Church:

Anglican
Metropolitan – Archbishops of Albania
Armenian Catholicate – Patriarch of Cilia – Catholic Uniate
Patriarchate of Moscow, Greek Melkite Patriarchate of Antioch - Melkite Uniate
Catholic/Patriarchate of Assyria (The East)
Chaldean Patriarchate of Babylon of Baghdad - Chaldean Uniate
Syrian “Jacobite” Patriarchate of Antioch
Order of Corporate Reunion
Antioch Orthodox Succession
Roman Petrine Succession - the Roman Catholic Church of Brazil
Holy Russian Orthodox Synod
Roman Petrine Succession - Utrecht Old Catholic Church
Ultrajectine
Old Roman Catholic

The Right Reverend Jerry L. Hayes
(Mar David Ignatius)

APOSTOLIC SUCCESSION

As Traced Through His Chief Consecrator’s,

THE RIGHT REVEREND GREGORY L. HOLLEY’s and THE RIGHT REVEREND DELBERT W. HERRIN’s

Line of Succession:

THE RIGHT REVEREND LONNIE R. REX’s

APOSTOLIC SUCCESSION

As Traced Through,

THE RIGHT REVEREND WAYNE BOOSAHDA

THE MOST REVEREND MICHAEL RIVERS MILNER JR.

Table of Apostolic Succession For Bishop Jerry L. Hayes
(Mar David Ignatius)

Although the Apostolic Orthodox Church International holds fourteen lines of succession to the Apostles of our Lord, only one will be recorded in this document: The Antioch Orthodox Succession.

Antioch Orthodox Succession

The table of succession of the Patriarchate of Antioch showing its western development. This Patriarchate has never ceased to elect and consecrate her own patriarchs and has preserved the Apostolic Succession unbroken. It was the first Gentile church founded by Saint Peter in 35 A.D. according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, and it was here that the followers of Jesus Christ were first called Christians.

Name of the Patriarch From

Peter the Apostle 35 A. D.

Eyodius 44

Ignatius (Martyr) 68

Earon 107

Theopilus 137

Eados 142

Theopilus 157

Maximus 171

Seraphim 179

Asclepiades (Martyr) 189

Philip 210

Zebinus 219

Babylos (Martyr) 237

Fabius 250

Demeirius 251

Paul I 259

Domnus I 270

Timotheus 281

Cyrilus 291

Tyrantus 296

Vitalius 301

Philogonius 318

Eustachius 323

Paulinus 338

Philabianus 383

Evagrius 386

Phosporius 416

Alexander 418

Theodotus ???-429

John I 429

Domnus II 442

Maximus 450

Accacius 454

Martyrius 457

Peter II 464

Phiadius 500

Serverius the Great 509

Sergius 544

Domnus III 547

Anastasius 560

Gregory I 564

Paul II 567

Patra 571

Domnus IV 586

Julianus 591

Athanasius I 595

John II 636

Theodorus I 649

Severus 668

Athanasius II 684

Jilianus II 687

Elias I 709

Athanasius III 724

Evanius I 740

Gervasius I 759

Joseph 790

Cyriacus 793

Dionysius I 818

John III 847

Ignatius II 877

Theodosius 887

Dionysius II 897

John IV 910

Evanius 922

John V 936

Evanius II 954

Dionysius III 958

Abraham I 962

John VI 965

Athanasius IV of Salah 986

John VII 1004

Dionysius IV Yagya 1034

John VIII 1049

Athanasius V 1058

John IX bar Shushab 1063

Baselius II 1074

Dionysius V Lazaros 1077

Evanius III 1080

Dionysius VI 1088

Athanasius VI 1091

John X 1129

Athanasius VII 1138

Michael I (the Great) 1167

Athanasius VIII 1200

Michael II 1207

John XI 1208

Ignatius III 1223

Dionysius VII 1253

John XII 1253

Ignatius IV 1264

Philanus 1284

Ignatius Baruhid 1293

Ignatius Ishmael 1333

Ignatius Basilius III 1366

Ignatius Abraham II 1382

Ignatius Basilius IV 1412

Ignatius Bahanam I 1415

Ignatius Kalejih 1455

Ignatius John XIII 1483

Ignatius Noah 1492

Ignatius Jesus I 1509

Ignatius Jacob I 1510

Ignatius David I 1519

Ignatius Abdullah 1520

Ignatius Naamathalak 1557

Ignatius David II 1576

Ignatius Philathus 1591

Ignatius Abdullah II 1597

Ignatius Cadhai 1598

Ignatius Jesus II 1653

Ignatius A. Massiah I 1661

Ignatius Cabeed 1686

Ignatius Gervasius II 1687

Ignatius Isaac Azar 1708

Ignatius Siccarablak 1722

Ignatius Gervasius III 1746

Ignatius Gervasius IV 1768

Ignatius Mathias 1781

Ignatius Bahanam II 1810

Ignatius Jonas 1817

Ignatius Gervasius V 1818

Ignatius Elias II 1839

Ignatius Jacob II 1847

Ignatius Peter III (IV) 1872

Western Development of Antioch Orthodox Succession

Boutros Ibn Salmo Mesk-Mar Ignatius Peter III (IV)

Syrian Jacobite Patriarch of Antioch and the East, who on the 4th of December, 1876, consecrated

Kadril Kooran-Mar Paul Athanasius

Bishop of Kottayam and appointed as the representative of the Patriarch of Antioch, who in accordance with the Patriarchal Bull of Ignatius Peter III, of January 1877, on the 28th of July 1879, assisted by the Metropolitan George Gregorius and Paul Evanis consecrated

Antonio Francis Xavier Alvarez-Mar Julius I

Archbishop of Ceylon, who in accordance with the Patriarchal Bull of Ignatius Peter III, (see Patriarchal Bull from Ignatius Peter III on page 17 of this document) of 29 December 1891, did on the 29th of May 1892, at the Church of Notre Dame de BonneMort in Columbo, Brazil, assisted by the Syrian Metropolitan Archbishops Gregprius and Athanasius consecrate

Joseph Rene Vilatte

Archbishop Metropolitan of all the Orthodox Catholic of the Americas. Archbishop Vilatte, Archbishop Alvarez (Julius I) assisted by Mar Athanasius of Kottayam and Mar Georgius, Bishop of Niranam, did on the 28th of September, 1921 consecrate

George Alexander McGuire M.D.

First Bishop of the African Orthodox Church, who on the 2nd of February, 1928, consecrated

William P. Tyarks

Who on the 2nd of October, 1932, consecrated

James F.A. Lashley

Who on the 17th of January, 1976, in Saint Leonard’s Church, Brooklyn, New York with the assistance of Bishop Ernest Parris, consecrated

Samuel T. Garner

Who was elected on Sunday, the 15th of January, 1989, as Primate of the American Catholic Orthodox Church, Petrine Antiochian Succession. Primate Garner did on the 5th of January, 1989, in St. Augustine’s American Catholic Church, Brooklyn, New York consecrate

Owen J. Augustine

Who on the 26th of February, 1995, in the Church of the Holy Spirit, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, consecrated

Michael Owen

Bishop of The Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches, who on the 4th of February, 1996, consecrated

Wayne Boosahda

Bishop of The Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches, who on the 24th of March, 1999, consecrated

Lonnie R. Rex

Bishop of The Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches, who on the 14th of May, 2009, consecrated

Gregory L. Holley

Metropolitan Archbishop of the Orthodox Church of The East

who on the 16th of January, 2010, consecrated

Delbert Herrin

Archbishop,

Who on the 4th of April, 2013, assisted by Metropolitan Gregory Holley, Bishop Lonnie R. Rex and Archbishop J. Davidson, consecrated

Jerry L. Hayes
(Mar David Ignatius)

Presiding Bishop of the Apostolic Orthodox Church International

BULL OF HIS HOLINESS IGNATIUS PETER III,

PATRIARCH OF THE APOSTOLIC SEE OF ANTIOCH AND THE EAST, FOR THE CONSECRATION OF ARCHBISHOP VILATTE

(Translated from Syriac)

In the name of the Essential, Eternal, Self-existing, Almighty God,

His servant, Ignatius Pater [sic] III,

Patriarch of the Apostolic See of Antioch and the East.

We, the humble servant of God, hereby allow the consecration by the Holy Ghost of the Priest Joseph Rene Vilatte, elected for Archepiscopal dignity, Archbishop Metropolitan, in the name of Mar Thimotheus, for the church of the Mother of God in Dyckesville,Wisconsin, United States, and other churches in the Archdiocese of America, viz, the churches adhering to the Orthodox Faith, in the name of the Father, Amen, of the Son,Amen, and of the Living Holy Ghost, Amen.

We stand up before God’s majesty, and, raising up our hands towards His grace, pray that the Holy Ghost may descend upon him, as He did upon the Apostles at the time of the ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom they were made Patriarchs[,] Bischops [sic] and Priests, and were authorized to bind and loose, as written by St. Matthew.

We, therefore, by virtue of our authority received from God, authorize him to bind and loose, and, elevating our voice, we offer thanks to God, and exclaim, “Kyrie eleison, Kyrie eleison, Kyrie eleison.” Again, we pray to God to grant him cheer of face before His throne of majesty, and that at all times for ever and ever.

Given on the seventeenth of Conoon Kadmayo, of the year of our Lord, eighteen hundred and ninety one (corresponding to twenty-ninth of December, eighteen hundred and ninety-one), from the Patriarchal Palace of the monastery of Mardin.

(Seal) IGNATIUS PETER III

(Seal) Mar DIONYSIUS,

Metropolitan of Malabar

CERTIFICATE OF CONSECRATION OF ARCHBISHOP VILATTE

(Translated from the Syriac)

In the Name of the Essential, Eternal, Self-existing, Almighty.

A.F.X. Alvarez,

Metropolitan under Antioch.

(Seal – Mar Athanasius) (Seal – Mar Gregorius) (Seal – Alvarez/Julius I)

This is to certify that the Rev. Joseph René Vilatte was duly raised to the Order of Monkhood: and in virtue of the special authority conferred upon us on the fifteenth of Konum Kolim by the Apostolical Edict of the Most Exalted Father and Head, His Holiness Moran Mar Ignatius Peter III., Patriarch of the Apostolic See of Antioch and of all the East, the said Monk, amidst solemn Mass, Prayers, and Services, was this day consecrated by the Holy Spirit, Metropolitan of the Archdiocese of America, in the meantime the Patriarchal Bull and the hands of our weaknesses being laid on his head. As commanded in His Holiness’ Edict, he was entitled Mar Timotheus; and we, together with the assembled faithful, exclaimed, as is usual, “Worthy, Worthy, Worthy, our Father Timotheus of the said Diocese.”

This sublime gift bestowed upon him by God, through the precious intercession of His Holiness, legally authorizes him to ordain monks, priests, deacons, etc., to consecrate churches, chancels, as well as baptismal and unction oil, and to exercise with perfect efficiency all other spiritual functions appertaining to metropolitan dignity, subject to the Patriarch of Antioch.

We entrust to his care the general epistle from the Holy See addressed to the believers of the above said Archdiocese; also we have to add that His Holiness the Patriarch is prayed and expected to speedily dispatch the station, definitely describing its authority and jurisdiction.

Church of Our Lady of Good Death, Columbo, Ceylon, twenty-ninth day of May eighteen hundred and ninety-two (29 5 1892).

/Signed/ Mar Athanasius,

Bishop of Kottayam

/Signed/ Mar Gregorius,

Bishop of Niranam

/Signed/ A.F.X. Alvarez/Julius I.,

Archbishop-Metropolitan for the Archdiocese of Ceylon, Goa and the whole of India.