• Bishop Thomas E Abel

• Bishop Charles Grande

• Bishop Lou Bordisso

Apostolic Succession the American Catholic Church Diocese of California

We therefore share the same Apostolic Succession and Catholicity in essentials, albeit in some areas, dissenting concerning matters of conscience. If it is important to you, be assured that Rome and the Orthodox Church recognizes the validity of our Sacraments.

The Apostolic Succession of our Bishops is of unquestioned validity from the successors of St. Peter in the See of Antioch, the original mission to Gentile Christendom.  The ACC was founded and originally headed by His Excellency, the Most Reverend Joseph Rene Vilatte in 1909 when he united his various independent Catholic churches and missions in Wisconsin, Illinois, New York, California, Arizona and Canada into one ecclesiastical family.

Although originally Antiochian in succession, as a result of multiple concordats of intercommunion and shared consecrations, the ACC is not dependent upon any single line of Apostolic Succession but can trace Antiochian, Old Catholic (Matthew Line), Roman (Duarte-Costa Line), Celtic, Gallican and Orthodox lines to name but a few. We acknowledge the primacy (not supremacy) of the Bishop of Rome and respect his position as an important voice of Catholic Christianity as well as his authority when he speaks in union with the Catholic Bishops and expresses the sensus fidelium of the Catholic Church.

 Although Archbishop Vilatte was ordained to the priesthood under His Excellency Bishop Eduard Herzog, a Swiss Old Catholic bishop, the ACC has never been a member of the Union of Utrecht.  

Archbishop Vilatte was consecrated in 1892 under a Bull of authority of Ignatius Peter III, Patriarch of Antioch and titled "Mar Timotheos, Metropolitan Archbishop for the Old Catholics of America adhering to the faith of the undivided church."  At the end of his life Archbishop Vilatte was reconciled with the Holy See of Rome, receiving a full Bishop’s pension from the Vatican until he died in a Cistercian Abbey in France on July 1, 1929. He was buried according to the simple rite, mitred, with all the episcopal dignity due him.   May he rest in peace.

The Church of Antioch & The Church of Malabar

The gospel was first preached in Antioch in Syria by Jewish converts returning there from Jerusalem after the days of Pentecost and afterwards by refugees who fled Jerusalem during the persecution at the time of the martyrdom of St. Stephen.  Later St. Barnabas brought St. Paul from Tarsus and they went to Antioch, being called to the Apostleship: “And the disciples were called 'Christians' first at Antioch” (Acts 11:26) then taking it to Rome and consecrated as his successor in Antioch, St. Evodius, who was in turn succeeded by St. Ignatius, called "Theophoros."  The 144th Patriarch of Antioch, counting from St. Peter, was Ignatius Peter III.

Likewise, Christianity was first preached in India by the Apostle, St. Thomas, and the indigenous Indian Church was called "The Christians of St. Thomas."  This church was never subject to a "See" but in 1665, being without a bishop, the St. Thomas Christians placed themselves under the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Antioch, from which See, they received a hierarchy and were thereafter called the Church of Malabar, being under the jurisdiction of those Patriarchs of Antioch.

The Validity of the Antiochian Succession

The churches of Antiochian Succession in the United States, including the American Catholic Church, traced apostolic succession through eastern sources, notably through Archbishop Joseph Renee Vilatte, who is often credited with bringing the Antiochian Succession to North America.

The validity of the Antiochian Succession has repeatedly been recognized and acknowledged by the Roman Catholic Church, which has admitted into its fold bishops of the Antiochian Succession without re-ordination or consecration; by the Old Catholic Church of Holland; by the Church of England, which in 1870, welcomed the visiting Patriarch of Antioch, Ignatius Peter III -- the same who ordered the consecration of Archbishop Vilatte -- and enthroned him in Canterbury Cathedral to bless the people; by the Armenian, Russian Orthodox, Greek and in fact, all branches of the Catholic Church, which have undoubted Orders themselves.

Especially significant and conclusive was the experience of His Grace Archbishop Lloyd, the first married Archbishop of the American Catholic Church, during his visit to the Holy Land in 1923, when the Patriarch of Jerusalem, the Antiochian Metropolitan of Jerusalem and the Archbishop of India, received and entertained him with all the honors due an Archbishop of the Holy Catholic Church.

The charge had erroneously been made by the Protestant Episcopal Church of America that the consecration of Archbishop Vilatte was null and void because the Church of Antioch, from which his Orders were derived, was "unorthodox." This charge, however, was disputed by the Church of England itself.  The Lambeth Conference of Pan-Anglican Bishops of 1920, in their Encyclical Letter "To The Christian World" (pp. 150-151), declared that the “accusations of heresy against the Western Syrian Churches are false.” It is also the same for the Christians of St. Thomas of Malabar.  American Episcopalian the Reverend Doctor Ritchie, acknowledged chief among Catholic-minded Episcopalian theologians and scholars in the United States of America, wrote a forceful editorial in the "Catholic Champion" in which he asserted: "Vilatte is as true a Bishop as ever wore a mitre." And a member of the House of Bishops, Bishop Coxe of Western New York, in a letter to Archbishop Vilatte declared in February 24, 1896 -- "Whatever the House of Bishops may say to the contrary, no Roman prelate in the United States has an Episcopate as valid as yours."

If further evidence of the canonical and valid Consecration of Archbishop Vilatte were required, it is found in the invitation he received to go to France and found a National Catholic Church for France. After the separation of the Church and State in France by the laws of July 1, 1901, the League of Catholics of France was formed to establish a French National Catholic Church, independent of Rome, the National Committee of which was under the presidency of Henri des Hou (Kt. of Legion of Honor and decorated with the Royal and Imperial Orders of Spain and Russia) and included such men of note as Senators Reveilland and Guiesse. These devout men of France, in their search for a valid non-papal bishop who would give them the Apostolic Succession, sent to Ceylon and to Malabar through the French Consulate to verify Bishop Vilatte's Consecration, and to obtain official copies of the Acts of Consecration, the Edict of the Patriarch of Antioch sanctioning it, and the attestation of the United States Consul Morey of Ceylon, who was present at the consecration and one of the witnesses to the event. Through the influence of M. Briand, Minister of Public Instruction and Worship, these indisputable documents were obtained. After the issues of his consecration were definitively settled, Archbishop Vilatte was most earnestly invited to come to France to assist in establishing an independent (non-Papal) Catholic Church and so was born the Independent Gallican Apostolic Catholic Church.

The American Catholic Succession

The American Catholic Succession can be traced from Jerusalem where the Apostles, equally called, commissioned and inspired, and their sacred office perpetuated by the election and consecration of Matthias, went forth preaching, healing, baptizing, laying on of hands, consecrating and establishing churches, the first of which was the Church of Antioch, founded by St. Peter about A. D. 38 and over which he reigned as Bishop and Patriarch for six years before the time he became Bishop of Rome.  Antioch thus became the Mother Church of Gentile Christendom, and consequently if any primacy or supremacy were possessed by St. Peter, and continued through his successors and the Church founded by him, then Antioch has a right to claim that supremacy.

However priority and absolute equality (not supremacy) with all other valid branches of the Catholic Church, is the claim and glorious heritage of the American Catholic Church through the Antiochian Succession.  St. Peter's successor as Bishop and Patriarch of Antioch was Evodus, who in turn was succeeded by St. Ignatius the Martyr, and so on down the Christian centuries until the present day. Without giving the names of all the Patriarchs who, as successors of St. Peter, have presided over the Antiochian Church, and kept alive the Apostolic Succession in that Church, it is practical to begin with the one from whom the American Catholic Church derives Canonical commission and Episcopate, the one hundred and forty-fourth in direct line from St. Peter, Ignatius Peter III.

Ignatius Peter III, Patriarch of Antioch and the East, assisted by two Bishops, consecrated Paul Athanasius in 1877 and appointed him his Legate. Metropolitan-Archbishop and Legate of Ignatius Peter III, Paul Athanasius, assisted by Metropolitan Archbishops George Gregorius and Paul Evanius, consecrated Francis Xavier Alvarez, Archbishop of Ceylon in 1889. Archbishop Alvarez, in accordance with the edict issued by His Holiness, Ignatius Peter III and assisted by the Metropolitan Archbishops, Gregorius and Athanasius, in his cathedral at Colombo, Ceylon, on May 29, 1892, consecrated Joseph Rene Vilatte as “Metropolitan-Archbishop for the Old Catholics of America”, adhering to the Faith of the early undivided Church; thus antedating by twenty years all other Independent or Non-Papal Catholic movements in America.

Archbishop Vilatte, on December 29, 1915, consecrated Frederic E. J. Lloyd, D.D., first Bishop of the American Catholic Church.  In 1920, he was elected Archbishop and Primate of the ACC.  On July 1, 1923, Archbishop Lloyd consecrated Samuel Gregory Lines, who was made Archbishop of the Province of the Pacific on October 11, 1925, in the Armenian Church of Los Angeles, California, kindly loaned by the authority of the Armenian Bishop of America, and the kindness of the rector the Reverend Father Milikian.  Archbishop Lloyd also consecrated Archbishop Hinton, who later became the second Primate.

Archbishop Lines consecrated Bishop Boyle; and Archbishop Hinton consecrated Bishop Clarkson who became third Primate.  Bishop Boyle consecrated Bishop L. P. Wadle.  On the death of Archbishop Metropolitan Clarkson, Archbishop Wadle became Archbishop Metropolitan and fifth Primate for he was coadjutor and co-occupant of the See with the right of succession to Archbishop Clarkson. Herman Adrian Spruit, who was co-consecrated by Wadle and Boyle, later went on to become primate of the Catholic Apostolic Church of Antioch (in America), our cousin church.

Each Communion has its own philosophy of Orders.  What is canonical in one is uncanonical in another.  It is doubtful if any church could claim validity if such claim would have to satisfy the Canons of every other church. For example, the ancient Canons of the Holy Catholic Apostolic Church of the East,  demands from those in higher ecclesiastical Orders abstinence from animal food (presumably a carryover from Jewish Kashruth).  The American Catholic Church looked upon Bishops consecrated in other Rites as "uncanonically consecrated," meaning their Orders may be "valid but not licit."  If they wished to be associated with the American Catholic Church as then constituted, "re-imposition" of hands was necessary to confer regularity and to cover any contingency that might otherwise arise (Sub-conditione action).

By way of remedy, Archbishop Wadle initiated a series of Concordats of Intercommunion with other Bishops and Archbishops as the result of which the American Catholic Church is now not dependent upon a single line of apostolic tradition. In 1998, (then) Presiding Archbishop Robert J. Allmen (of the reorganized American Catholic Church  initiated Concordats of Intercommunion with The Catholic Apostolic Church In North America (CACINA) and The Celtic Christian Church and through mutual consecrations of bishops adding both Celtic and Roman Lines of Succession.  The American Catholic Church shares in the Episcopal Successions of: Rome through the Duarte-Costa Line and the Old Catholic Church of Holland; Greek through Cyrill VI and Herman A. Spruit (through H. Francis Marshall); and Orthodox through both Russian and Syrian sources.

Archbishop Vilatte, during his life time, headed four ecclesiastical organizations: The American Old Roman Catholic Church (the continuation of the Swiss Christian-Catholic movement in which Vilatte had been ordained Priest and to which was added the word "North" when this Church defected from Bishop Vilatte's Episcopal jurisdiction); The African Orthodox Church; The Order of the Crown of Thorns and the American Catholic Church.  The latter had its inception with the consecration of Frederic E.J. Lloyd in 1915.  The American Catholic Synod of April 10, 1920 named Archbishop Vilatte, Exarch, in respect to the American Catholic Church.  This office Archbishop Lloyd was himself to assume in the latter part of his life.

The American Catholic Church was reorganized in 1989 and in 1995 Bishop Robert J. Allmen was consecrated Presiding Archbishop.  The ACC was nationally centered at Good Shepherd Cathedral in Hampton Bays, New York.  The reorganized ACC spread quickly and by 1996 had diocese / churches in many U.S. states.  In 1999, a number of factors led to resignations, annexing of a diocese and some bishops.  In the summer of 2000 after prayerful discussion of the Synod of Bishops of the American Catholic Church, Presiding Archbishop Robert J. Allmen resigned his position and retired from the American Catholic Church.  He is currently the Presiding Archbishop of the Reformed Catholic Church.   In November of 2000, the Synod of Bishops elected The Most Reverend Sharon DiSunno Presiding Archbishop of the American Catholic Church International (as it had been renamed), succeeding +Allmen.  On December 21, 2000, Bishop Patrick E. Trujillo, Co-Adjutor Bishop with Right of Succession, through the Board of Directors of the Archdiocese of Our Lady of Guadalupe of New Jersey, "severed ties" with the American Catholic Church International.  The extant Concordats of Intercommunion remained intact.

In January 2002, the Synod of Bishops of the American Catholic Church International: Most Reverend Sharon DiSunno, Presiding Bishop; The Most Reverend Charles Grande; Most Reverend Osmel Valera d'Abela; The Most Reverend Raymond Kelly; The Most Reverend Anthony Hash began to experience differences of canonical leadership style.  The Most Reverend Charles Grande consecrated the The Most Reverend Lou A. Bordisso as the Presiding Bishop of the American Catholic Church Diocese of California on November 6, 2005. The American Catholic Church is divided into jurisdictions under each Bishop as Ordinary. 

In January 2008 while in Synod of its Annual General Conference the ACC Diocese of California elected The Most Reverend Thomas E. Abel as Presiding Bishop.

Bishop Abel's Apostolic Succession

The Diocese of Utrecht, Holland , was founded in AD 722 by St. Willibrord. the right of the Chapter of Utrecht to elect the bishop of the Diocese was recognized in AD 1145. In AD 1520 the Bishop of Utrecht was given the right to adjudicate matters in his diocese without appeal or recourse to Rome . In AD 1559, when the war with France had ended, Philip II of Spain , the hereditary ruler of the Netherlands , persuaded the Pope to elevate the See of Utrecht to an archbishopric, with five new dioceses under it ( Haarlem, Deventer, Groningen, Leeuwarden and Middelburg).

Having survived the Calvinist Reformation in Holland as an underground Church, the Dutch Roman Catholic faithful were suddenly subjected to the political ambitions and maneuverings of the Jesuits, who fought to have Rome declare the See of Utrecht a missionary district under their control. At first failing in this battle to gain control of the Church in Holland, the Jesuits adopted a new tactic in AD 1691 by accusing +Peter Codde, the Archbishop of Utrecht, of espousing the so-called heresy of Jansenism. Although the Archbishop was eventually proved innocent of heresy. Pope Innocent XII tried to appease the Jesuits by suspending and deposing him in AD 1705. No mention was made of any reason for the deposition. Even a Papal canonist, Hyacinth de Archangelis, issued a formal opinion that a Vicar-Apostolic with the rights of an Ordinary (as + Codde undoubtedly was) could not be arbitrarily deposed. Two Dutch Catholic Chapters ( Utrecht and Haarlem ) naturally decided not to recognize this irregular, if not illegal, act. The battle was over local autonomy in a collegial Church versus Papal supremacy.

When the Papacy appointed +Theodore de Cock as Pro-Vicar-Apostolic of The United Provinces, in the place of Archbishop Peter Codde (deposed), the Chapters of Utrecht and Haarlem further decided not to recognize his authority on the ground that The Patriarch of Rome had no canonical authority to deprive even a Vicar-Apostolic, much less an Archbishop, without trial and condemnation. At the same time the Calvinist government decided that it would prefer a Catholic Church controlled by Dutch Catholics to a Catholic Church controlled by Rome. The government, therefore, issued a decree forbidding +de Cock to exercise any jurisdiction over Roman Catholics in Holland. Later, after accusing the Dutch government of being bribed by the secular clergy loyal to The Archbishop (+Codde), +de Cock was banished from Holland and fled to Rome. Rome countered by placing the Dutch Church under an Inhibition, prohibiting all Bishops from performing any episcopal acts in Holland.

At this point the battle between Utrecht and Rome was not doctrinal, but the results of Jesuit intrigue and their desire to firmly establish the Papacy as an absolute monarchy.

Had Archbishop Codde continued to exercise his authority as The Archbishop of Utrecht, while appealing his uneconomical suspension as Vicar-Apostolic (as Vicar-Apostolic he had diocesan jurisdiction wherever there was no Bishop or Chapter; metropolitan jurisdiction in the other dioceses), the course of Church history may well have seen the defeat of the Jesuit sponsored Ultramontane movement. Unfortunately, +Codde not only protested his suspension but also retired from the exercise of his office. His jurisdiction thus reverted to the Chapters and his people were left without episcopal protection and governance.

It was the position of the Chapter of Utrecht that:

Antonio Cardinal Barberini, as Archbishop of Rheims, 1657. He consecrated in the Church of the Sorbonne, Paris, the son of the Grand Chancellor of France,

Charles Maurice Latellier, succeeding as Archbishop of Rheims, November 12, 1668. He, in turn, consecrated in the church of the Cordeliers, Pontois,

James Benigne Bossuet, as Bishop of Condom, September 21, 1670. He was transferred to the See of Meaux by Pope Clement X, 1671. He, in turn, consecrated in the church of Chartreuse, Paris,

James Goydon de Matignon, Bishop of Condom, 1693, son of Count De Thoringy. He was Doyen of Lisieux and Abbey Commendantaire De St. Victor, Paris. By order of Pope Clement XI, he consecrated at Paris,

Dominic M. Varlet, as Bishop of Ascalon in partibus, and coadjutor to the Bishop of Babylon, Persia, February 12, 1719. Retiring later to Holland , he died 23 years after in the Cistercian Abbey of Rhijnwick. In response to the appeals of the Chapter of the Old Catholic Church of Utrecht, he consecrated,

Peter John Meindaerts, as Archbishop of Utrecht, October 17, 1739. He had been one of several priests ordained in Ireland by Luke Fagan, Bishop of Meath, afterwards Archbishop of Dublin, with the view of sustaining independence of the ancient Church of the Netherlands , founded by St. Willibrord in the 7th century. By his consecration to the Episcopate, the succession of the Old Catholic Church in Holland has been perpetuated. Archbishop Meindaerts consecrated,

John van Stiphout, as Bishop of Haarlem, July 11, 1745. He, in turn, consecrated,

Wwalter Michael van Nieuwenhuizen, as Archbishop of Utrecht , February 7, 1768. He consecrated,

Adrian Broekman, as Bishop of Haarlem, June 21, 1778. He consecrated,

John James van Rhijin, as Archbishop of Utrecht, November 7, 1805. He consecrated,

Gilbert De Jong, as Bishop of Deventer, November 2, 1805. He consecrated,

Willibrod van Os, as Archbishop of Utrecht, April 24, 1814. He consecrated,

John Bon, as Bishop Haarlem, April 22, 1819. He consecrated,

John van Santen, as Archbishop of Utrecht, June 14, 1825. He consecrated,

Herman Heykamp, as Bishop of Deventer, July 17, 1854. He consecrated,

Gaspard John Rinkel, as Bishop of Haarlem, August 11, 1873. He consecrated,

Gerard Gul, as Archbishop of Utrecht, May 11, 1892. He consecrated,

Arnold Harris Mathew, as Regional Old Catholic Bishop for Great Britain , April 28, 1908, at St. Gertrude's Church, Utrecht . He was elected Archbishop in 1911. He had been ordained to the Priesthood by Archbishop Eyre, at St. Andrew's Roman Catholic Cathedral, Glasgow , June 24, 1877. He consecrated,

Landas Berghes, on June 29, 1913. He consecrated,

Henry Carmel Carfora, on October 4, 1916. Carfora was elected Archbishop of the United States for all Old Catholics. He consecrated,

Robert Alfred Burns in 1956. He consecrated,

Robert Lane in 1970. He consecrated,

Floyd Anthony Kortenhof, of the Old Roman Catholic Church, English Rite in 1991. He consecrated,

Thomas Edward Abel on May 25, 2003 as Auxiliary Bishop of the Old Roman Catholic Church, English Rite. Bishop Abel came under his own Jurisdiction on August 8, 2004. Bishop Abel is Presiding Bishop of the American Catholic Church Diocese of California.

The origins of The Church of Armenia are traced to The First Enlighteners of Armenia, two of the Twelve Apostles: St. Thaddeus (martyred in 66 A.D. in Armenia ) and St. Bartholomew (martyred in 68 A.D. in Armenia ). It is St. Gregory, however, who is credited with converting first King Tiridates of Armenia to Christianity and then the whole Armenian nation. The Kingdom of Armenia was the first nation to become Christian in the whole world.

Soon after the King's conversion, St. Gregory was consecrated a Bishop. In obedience to a vision from Our Lord, Bishop Gregory built the first Christian Cathedral in the world in 303 A.D. with the support of the King. This cathedral was built in Vagharshapat, the capital of Armenia , not far from Mt. Ararat. In memory of the vision from our Lord to build this cathedral, the cathedral was named Holy Etchmiadzin (i. e., the place where The Only-Begotten Descended). Holy Etchmiadzin is still the official Seat of the head of the Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church.

The Church of Armenia participated in the First Ecumenical Council at Nicea (325 A.D.), with St. Aristakes, the younger son of St. Gregory the Enlightener, representing his ailing father.

The Patriarch of Armenia was the first to use the title Catholicos, a practice since adopted by many neighboring jurisdictions in the Near East.

In 485 A.D. the Seat of the Armenian Catholicos was moved from Holy Etchmiadzin to Dvin, where a Synod of Armenian, Georgian, and Caspio-Albanian Bishops in 506 A.D. confessed The Faith of the Third Ecumenical Council of Ephesus (431 A.D.) while rejecting Nestorianism and the acts of the Council of Chalcedon (451 A.D.). When Dvin was sacked by the Muslims in 927 A.D., the Catholicos' Seat was moved first to Aghtamar in Lake Van then to the fortified city of Ani . When Ani was captured by the Greeks in 1045 A.D., the Catholicos' Seat was moved to Romkla on the Euphrates River, then again transferred (c. 1293 A.D.) to Sis, the capital of the Cilician Armenian Kingdom. In 1441 A.D. the Seat was returned to Holy Etchmiadzin.

Several subsidiary Armenian Patriarchates emerged over the centuries. During the occupation of Armenia by the Arabs in the 7th century, the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem was recognized. Bishop Abraham was the first Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem (638--669 A. D.). The Patriarchate of Aght'amar was established as the result of a schism within the Church of Armenia in 1113 A.D. The Armenian Patriarchate of Sis was created in 1441 A.D. The Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople was created in 1461 A.D. by the Ottoman government soon after their conquest of Turkey . The Catholic Armenian Patriarchate of Cilicia was created by Rome in 1742 A.D. The Patriarchates of Aght'amar and Albania (which was semi-independent from the earliest of times) have lapsed. All the Armenian Patriarchates (except the Catholic Patriarchate of Cilicia) acknowledge The Patriarch of Holy Echmiadzin as first among equals.

The Turkish genocide against Armenian nationals in 1890--1915 A.D. dealt a severe blow to The Armenian Church and decimated the Armenian population in Eastern Turkey . Of the 5,000 priests living before the Turkish massacres of Armenians, only 400 were still alive at the end of World War I. Because of this loss of population, the Patriarchate of Aght'amarian was abandoned. The Patriarchal See of Sis was confiscated by the Turkish government (c. 1920). The Catholicos/Patriarch of Sis, Sahak II, with the help of the Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem and the French, moved south to Antelias, north of Beirut , Lebanon.

The Primate of The Church of Armenia bears the title: Patriarch and Catholicos of All the Armenians.

Gregory Petros VIII, Catholicos-Patriarch of Cilicia of The Armenians, consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Leon Chorchorunian on 7 April 1861 A.D. as Titular Archbishop of Malatia. Archbishop Chorchorunian consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Leon Chechemian on 23 April 1879 A.D. as "a Bishop at Malatia, Asia Minor". Bishop Chechemian consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

James Martin on 2 November 1890 A.D. as Archbishop of Caerleon-upon-Usk. Archbishop Martin consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Benjamin Charles Harris on 25 July 1915 A.D. as Bishop of Essex . Bishop Harris consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Charles Leslie Saul on 17 November 1944 A.D. at St. Paul 's Church, Outwood, near Radcliffe, Manchester , England . On 8 September 1945 A.D. Bishop Saul was given the title and position of Archbishop of Suthronia in the Eparchy of All the Britons. Archbishop Saul consecrated s.c. to the sacred Episcopate:

Herman Philippus Abbinga on 28 November 1946 A.D. as Missionary Bishop for Holland and Indonesia, assisting Mar Georgius of the Catholic Apostolic Church and Bishop Richard Kenneth Hurgon of The Order of Christ Our Most Holy Redeemer and King. Bishop Abbinga consecrated s.c. to the Sacred Episcopate:

Perry Nikolaus Cedarholm on 31 May 1953 A.D. in Oslo , Norway , as Bishop of Scandinavia for The Apostolic Episcopal Church. Bishop Cedarholm consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Nils Bertil Alexander Persson on 12 December 1971 A.D. with the title of Mar Alexander, Titular Bishop of Smyrna . Bishop Persson is Director of St. Ephrem's Institute for Eastern Christianity Studies (founded in 1896 A.D.). He was enthroned as Primate of The Apostolic Episcopal Church on 7 November 1986 A.D. Archbishop Persson consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Karl Julius Barwin on 5 August 1989 A.D. as Primate of The Evangelical Catholic Church, assisted by Archbishop Emile Federico Rodrigues y Fairfield (Iglesia Ortodoxa Catolica Apostolica Mexicana), Bishop Carroll T. Lowery (The Apostolic Episcopal Church), Archbishop Arthur J. Garrow (The Archiepiscopate Ordinariate of Healing Arts Missionaries & Chaplains in America) and Bishop Howard D. van Orden (Order of St. Jude), each assisting, coöperating and co-consecrating by laying on hands and uttering all the words of consecration. Assisting in this consecration as Co-Consecrators were Archbishop Paul Christian Gerald W. Schultz (Archbishop of Los Angeles and Administrator of The Philippine Independent Catholic Church in The Americas), Bishop Petros (Eric Tan Ong Veloso, Orthodox Catholic Church in The Philippines), Bishop Christopher J. Rogers (Suffragan Bishop of Los Angeles, The Philippine Independent Catholic Church in The Americas), and Bishop Marciel (Michael Marshall, Orthodox Old Catholic Church) consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Thomas E. Abel on May 25, 2003 as Auxiliary Bishop of the Old Roman Catholic Church, English Rite. Bishop Abel came under his own Jurisdiction on August 8, 2004. Bishop Abel is head of the Catholic Church of America.

n January through our Declaration of Unity Agreement, Bishop Abel became a member of the American Catholic Church Diocese of California. At the Synod General Conference at the same time of the merger, Bishop Abel we elected as Presiding Bishop.

In the ninth century the Rus (or Varangians) became masters of what is now western Russia and the indigenous Slavic population. Their chief centers of population were Novgorod , in the north, and Kiev , in the south (now part of the Ukraine ). This ruling minority of mostly Swedish Vikings soon adopted the Slavonic tongue and customs of their subjects.

Tradition credits Saint Andrew The First-Called with planting the seeds of Christianity in the area about Kiev . These seeds were nurtured by the ministry of Saints Cyril & Methodius, now known as the Apostles of the Slaves, in The Ukraine beginning in AD 864, using the native language. They invented a Slavic alphabet (based upon the Greek), which is still used today. The north shore of The Black Sea had been settled by Christians at least as early as the fourth century. The Khazars, rulers of what is now southern Russia , had adopted Judaism. However, the missionary efforts supported by Patriarch Photius of Constantinople to the Khazars was so successful that they soon asked for a Bishop of their own. Just a few years later Emperor Basil I ("The Macedonian") and Patriarch Ignatius commissioned a missionary Bishop to the Russians, who made many converts.

The first known Christian ruler over the Kievan State is Saint Olga (Olha), dowager regent, who received Christian baptism in AD 950. Although she sent to Emperor Otto I of Germany for missionaries, they seemed to have had no marked success. It is Saint Vladimir (Volodymyr The Great), the grandson of St. Olga, who accepted baptism himself about AD 986 and then in AD 988 commanded the Christianization of his entire State, who is recognized as having initiated the conversion of Russia. Although St. Vladimir received delegates from The Pope and sent representatives to Rome , it was The Church of Constantinople which won his support. At the time of his death, in AD 1015, there were three bishoprics in his domains; based upon the foundations laid by St. Vladimir, Christianity continued its gradual, steady spread throughout Russia . The Metropolitan of Kiev, for centuries the administrative head of The Russian Church, was appointed by the Patriarch of Constantinople; he was usually a Greek, unfamiliar with The Faithful of Russia. The clergy were poorly trained and almost always too few for the size of the country. The priests were chosen by their parishioners, while the bishops (a substantial minority of whom were also foreigners with little understanding of the customs or language of their flocks) were selected by the local princes.

The establishment of an independent Russian Church coincided with the decline of The Byzantine Empire, and the simultaneous rise of The Russian Empire. This process was helped when Kiev was destroyed during the Tartar invasion, and the Metropolitan consequently forced to move to Moscow (AD 1320). After the Grand Duke of Moscow (Ivan III) married a daughter of the nearest relative of the last Emperor of Constantinople, he claimed to be the legitimate successor of the Byzantine Emperors. He even adopted the double-headed eagle, symbol of Imperial Byzantine power. Later, beginning in AD 1547, the princes of the Russian State , as successors of the Byzantine Emperors, began calling themselves Czar (i.e., "Caesar"). It was only natural that they would seek the prestige of a self-governing independent Church in order to bolster their own temporal claims. Although the Russian Church claimed autocephaly from AD 1448, when the Russian Bishops began electing their own Primate (the Metropolitan of Moscow), official recognition of this independence by the ancient and historic patriarchates was not secured until AD 1590 (one year after Jeremiah II, Patriarch of Constantinople, was persuaded to invest Iob, the 46th Metropolitan of Moscow, as the first Russian Patriarch -- although Iob had been promoted to the rank of Patriarch by the Russian Bishops in AD 1453) at a meeting in Constantinople of all the Patriarchs of the historic Sees. When Constantinople fell to the Moslems on 29 May 1453, Russia became the only nation where the freedom of The Orthodox Church remained unrestricted; this favorably influenced their claim for an independent Patriarchate.

The Time of Troubles (civil war) which began in AD 1598 upon the death of Czar Fedor (Theodore), the childless son of Ivan IV, increased the Patriarch's political influence. It reached its height under Patriarch Filaret, whose son, Michael, at the age of sixteen, became the first Czar of the Romanov Dynasty. When Patriarch Adrian died in AD 1700, Czar Peter The Great refused to allow the election of a new Patriarch, leaving Stefan Iavorskii as Locum Tenens for 21 years. In AD 1721 Czar Peter finally promulgated a new constitution for The Church, which suspended the office of Patriarch and placed the governance of The Church under a Holy Synod.

Copying the example of Henry VIII of England, the government-imposed new Church constitution made The Czar the Head of The Church of Russia. It went further than King Henry, however, by providing for a Lay Procurator (a government official) to administer The Church's day-to-day affairs. This "constitutional" subjugation of The Church to the Russian State established the precedent of direct governmental control over and interference in all the affairs of The Russian Orthodox Church -- a practice continued until the end of the 20th century by the atheistical government of the former Soviet Republic of the U.S.S.R.

After the overthrow of Czar Nikolai II in March of AD 1917, The Russian Orthodox Church immediately convened a national Sobor to reform The Church and revive the Patriarchate of Moscow, which Czar Peter The Great had suspended. Metropolitan Tikhon, who had earlier been Russian Archbishop in America , won the election and assumed the office of Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia in November of that year, almost simultaneously with the outbreak of the Communist Revolution. This All-Russian Council (Sobor) attempted to restore sobornost -- the active participation of the whole Church (bishops, clergy, and laity) in every aspect of the Church's life, in contrast to the bureaucratic centralization which had ruled The Church under the secular and often hostile government of Russia since the creation of The Holy Synod by Czar Peter The Great.

The new reactionary Communist government of Russia immediately placed severe restrictions upon the revitalized and reforming Church of Russia . In view of the vigorous anti-religion activities of the new Russian government, Patriarch Tikhon issued a statement in AD 1917 urging The Russian Faithful to act independently to preserve The Church. Some of the Bishops of The Russian Church attempted to heed The Patriarch's advice by establishing a separate independent Church administration in southeastern Russia . The advance of the Bolsheviks, however, forced these faithful shepherds into exile.

In November of 1920 these refugee Bishops organized The Supreme Church Administration for Churches Outside of Russia in Istanbul ( Constantinople ), with the approval of The Ecumenical Patriarch. At the invitation of The Patriarch of Serbia, The Supreme Church Administration moved to Yugoslavia . Twelve of these Bishops, with representatives of the clergy and laity, organized a Sobor at Sremski Karlovtsi , Yugoslavia , on 21 November to 2 December 1921, under the presidency of Anthony Khrapovitski, Metropolitan of Kiev and Galich and under the canonical authority of an ukase (i.e., an Edict having the force of law) issued in AD 1920 by Patriarch Tikhon. The result of this meeting was the organization of The Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, sometimes called The Synodal Church.

Patriarch Tikhon, who vigorously opposed the inhumane and atheistic policies of the revolutionary regime, was cruelly imprisoned on 9 May 1922. The Communists refused to permit an election for his successor when he died in AD 1925. Metropolitan Petr of Krutica became Locum Tenes (Patriarchal Vicar), but he, too, was almost immediately imprisoned. He was succeeded later that year by Sergii, the Metropolitan of Nizhni-Novgorod, who tried to make peace with the new Soviet government. Although he suffered temporary imprisonment (December AD 1926 to April 1927), he issued a declaration in July of AD 1927 changing The Church's official stance towards the Communist government from one of hostility to one of praise and cooperation. Outside observers have called this declaration of The Metropolitan either the great betrayal or the great salvation of The Russian Church.

The Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia naturally disapproved of the cooperation between the Patriarchal Church and the atheistic Communist government in Russia , as first formulated in the letters issued by Metropolitan (later Patriarch) Sergii in AD 1926 and AD 1927. Because of the inappropriate influence seemingly exercised by the anti-religious government of Russia , The Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia refused to recognize The Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia in any way on the grounds that the Communist government completely controlled the patriarchate.

With the invasion of Mother Russia by the Nazis ( Russia 's former ally in the partition of Poland at the beginning of World War II), the political climate changed in Moscow . Metropolitan Sergii urged The Faithful to sincerely support the Russian war effort against the Nazis; he issued calls to arms, organized fund raising rallies, and did everything possible to ensure the protection of his people and the defense of The Church. By 1 October 1944 The Church had donated 150,000,000 rubles, as well as gifts "in kind," to the Communist government. These many sacrifices and contributions for Russia gained him the favorable attention of the then current Communist Dictator, Josef Stalin, who finally granted the Metropolitan's request for new patriarchal elections. Sergii was elected Patriarch on 7 September 1943; he unfortunately died within six months. After that The Kremlin permitted subsequent elections within a year of each vacancy and had made The Orthodox Church of Russia one of the few officially recognized Christian organizations in the Soviet Union -- following the precedent established by Czar Peter The Great. The Sobor to elect the new Patriarch was held 31 January to 2 February 1945. The Patriarch of Alexandria, Patriarch of Antioch, and the Catholicos of Georgia attended this Sobor, together with 44 Russian Bishops, 126 clergy, and representatives of the laity. The Sobor elected Alexis as the new Russian Patriarch. They thus established a "working model" for the other European Communist countries to follow in dealing with Religion. However, all other potential national Orthodox jurisdictions within the then-U.S.S.R., with the exception of the ancient and historic patriarchates of Armenia and Georgia , were merged into the Moscow Patriarchate, as were some Eastern-Rite Roman Catholics and many other Christian jurisdictions and sects.

The Orthodox Church of Russia has been increasingly active in international Orthodox and ecumenical affairs during the last few decades of the 20th Century. She has been particularly vocal before the World Council of Churches and elsewhere in encouraging anti-nuclear and anti-war movements throughout the world. The Primate of The Church of Russia bears the title: Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia. The official language of The Church is naturally Russian.

Metropolitan Antonii became the first head of The Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, with his Seat at Geneva , Switzerland . He was succeeded in AD 1936 by Metropolitan Anastasii (who died in AD 1965), who was followed on his retirement by Metropolitan Filaret, in 1964. The chief See of the Metropolitan was moved during World War II to Munich , Germany , and in AD 1952 to New York City . Since then The Synodal Church has attracted The Faithful from other exiled jurisdictions, particularly those with origins in the formerly communist-controlled nations of eastern European. The recent collapse of communism has not resulted in any rapprochement between the exile-jurisdictions and their mother churches.......yet. With the Moscow Patriarchate's vigorous pursuit of the return of Church property in foreign lands which has been administered since the Communist Revolution in Russia by The Synodal Church, the rift between the Synodal Church and the Moscow Patriarchate may never be healed.

Bishop Aleksij (Sergiy Vladimirovich Simanskij, 1877-1970) was consecrated 28 April 1913 by Patriarch Gregorios IV of The Syrian Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All The East in Russia as Bishop of Tichvin. In 1945 he was elected Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia. Patriarch Aleksij, assisted by Metropolitan Nikolaj (Boris Dorofeevic Jaruevic), Archbishop Makarij (Sergej Konstantinovic Daev), Archbishop Jurij (Vjaeslav Michaijlovic Egorov), Bishop Aleksij (Viktor Aleksandrovic Konoplev) and Bishop Pimen (Sergij Izvekov), consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Bishop John (Konstantin Nikolaevich Wendland, 1909-1989), Patriarchal Exarch of The Russian Orthodox Church in America , on 28 December 1958. On 3 August 1963 Bishop John became Metropolitan of The Russian Orthodox Church in America . He was recalled to Russia on 10 July 1967. Metropolitan John, assisted by Bishop Dositheus (Michail Ivanchenko of The Russian Orthodox Church in America ), consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Bishop Joseph (Joseph John Skureth, 01/08/1933 -- ), as Exarch, The Western Orthodox Catholic Church in America, Exarchate of The Patriarchates of Moscow and Antioch (a Western Rite body within The Russian Orthodox Church in America) on 17 April 1966. Bishop Dosifej (Dositheus/Michail Ivanchenko) had ordained Bp. Joseph priest on 3 July 1963. Exarch Joseph is also affiliated with The Syrian-Antiochian Orthodox Church. Bishop Joseph, assisted by Archbishop Francisco de Jesus Pagtakhan (The Philippine Independent Catholic Church, Manila) and Bishop Lawrence Lee Shaver (The Philippine Independent Catholic Church in The Americas), consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Bishop Bertil (Nils Bertil Alexander Persson, 11/10/1941 -- ) as Archbishop of The Apostolic Episcopal Church on 28 February 1989). Archbishop Bertil, together with Archbishop Emile Federico Rodrigues y Fairfield (Iglesia Ortodoxa Catolica Apostolica Mexicana), Bishop Carroll T. Lowery (The Apostolic Episcopal Church), Archbishop Arthur J. Garrow (The Archiepiscopate Ordinariate of Healing Arts Missionaries & Chaplains in America) and Bishop Howard D. van Orden (Order of St. Jude), each assisting, coöperating and co-consecrating by laying on hands and uttering all the words of consecration, and assisting in this consecration as Co-Consecrators by Archbishop Paul Christian Gerald W. Schultz (Archbishop of Los Angeles and Administrator of The Philippine Independent Catholic Church in The Americas), Bishop Petros (Eric Tan Ong Veloso, Orthodox Catholic Church in The Philippines), Bishop Christopher J. Rogers (Suffragan Bishop of Los Angeles, The Philippine Independent Catholic Church in The Americas), and Bishop Marciel (Michael Marshall, Orthodox Old Catholic Church), consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Bishop Karl (Karl Julius Barwin, 10/16/1943 -- ) as Primate of The Evangelical Catholic Church on The Feast of Saint Addai and Saint Mari (5 August) 1989, in The Chapel of The Holy Guardian Angels in Glendale, California consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Bishop Makarij (Michael Nevskij, 1835 - 02/16/26) was consecrated in 1884 by Bishop Nikon of The Russian Orthodox Church. He was elected Archbishop in 1906 and served as Metropolitan of Moscow and Kolomenskoe from 1912-1917. Bishop Makarij consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Bishop Evdokim (Basil Michaelovic Meschersky, 1869 - 1935) as Vicar Bishop, Diocese of Moscow , on 4 January 1904. Bishop Evdokim became the Archbishop of The North American Diocese of The Russian Orthodox Church in 1914. Archbishop Evdokim consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Bishop Aftimios (Abdullah Ofiesh, 1880 - 1966) as Bishop of Brooklyn on 13 May 1917. Bishop Aftimios became Archbishop of The Syrian Orthodox Mission of The North American Diocese of The Russian Orthodox Church in 1923. Archbishop Aftimios consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Bishop Sophronios (Sophronios Bishara, 1888 - 1940) as Bishop of Los Angeles on 26 May 1928, assisted by Elias, Metropolitan of Tyre and Sidon (The Syrian Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All The East) and Bishop Emmanuel (Rizkallah Abo-Hatab, The Syrian Orthodox Mission of The North American Diocese of The Russian Orthodox Church). Bishop Sophronios became Archbishop of The Syrian Orthodox Mission of The North American Diocese of The Russian Orthodox Church in 1933. Archbishop Sophronios consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Bishop Chrysostomos (John M. More-Moreno, + 1958), assisted by Archbishop-Exarch Benjamin (Ioann Athenasievich Fedchenkov of The North American Diocese of The Russian Orthodox Church, in November of 1933. Bishop Chrysostomos became the Ruling Bishop of The Holy Eastern Orthodox Catholic and Apostolic Church in North America . Bishop Chrysostomos consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Mar Nikolaus (Perry Nikolaus Cedarholm, 05/18/1890 - 08/06/1979) as Bishop of Brooklyn and Staten Island for The Apostolic Episcopal Church, assisted by Rev'd Fr. David Leondarides, The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, on 6 December 1949. Mar Nikolaus returned to Sweden in 1951 and was acknowledged as a Bishop by the Church of Sweden . He was enthroned as Bishop of Scandinavia for The Apostolic Episcopal Church in 1953 by Bishop Herman Philippus Abbinga of the Osterns Apostoliske Episkopale Kirke. In 1969 he assumed the position of Archbishop of The Apostolic Episcopal Church. Mar Nikolaus consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Mar Alexander (Nils Bertil Alexander Persson, 11/10/1941 -- ) as Titular Bishop of Smyrna on 12 December 1971. Mar Alexander succeeded Archbishop Nikolaus (Cedarholm) as Archbishop of Scandinavia of The Apostolic Episcopal Church on 22 July 1977. He was enthroned as Primate of The Apostolic Episcopal Church by Archbishop Wallace David de Ortega Maxey on 7 November 1986. Archbishop Persson also serves as the Missionary General for Scandinavia and All Europe for both the Iglesia Filipina Independiente (Philippine Independent Catholic Church, confirmed 15 June 1988; this is a member jurisdiction of The Anglican Communion) and the Igreja Católica Apostólica Brasiliera (Brazilian Catholic Apostolic Church, confirmed 14 June 1987). Archbishop Persson consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Bishop Karl (Karl Julius Barwin, 10/16/1943 -- ) as Primate of The Evangelical Catholic Church on 5 August 1989, assisted by Archbishop Emile Federico Rodrigues y Fairfield (Iglesia Ortodoxa Catolica Apostolica Mexicana), Bishop Carroll T. Lowery (The Apostolic Episcopal Church), Archbishop Arthur J. Garrow (The Archiepiscopate Ordinariate of Healing Arts Missionaries & Chaplains in America) and Bishop Howard D. van Orden (Order of St. Jude; Archbishop of Albuquerque and Dependencies, The Philippine Independent Catholic Church in The Americas), each assisting, coöperating and co-consecrating by laying on hands and uttering all the words of consecration. Assisting in this consecration as Co-Consecrators were Archbishop Paul Christian Gerald W. Schultz (Archbishop of Los Angeles and Administrator of The Philippine Independent Catholic Church in The Americas), Bishop Petros (Eric Tan Ong Veloso, Orthodox Catholic Church in The Philippines), Bishop Christopher J. Rogers (Suffragan Bishop of Los Angeles, The Philippine Independent Catholic Church in The Americas), and Bishop Marciel (Michael Marshall, Orthodox Old Catholic Church) consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Thomas E. Abel on May 25, 2003 as Auxiliary Bishop of the Old Roman Catholic Church, English Rite. Bishop Abel came under his own Jurisdiction on August 8, 2004. Bishop Abel is head of the Catholic Church of America.

Bishop Makarij (Michael Nevskij, 1835 - 02/16/26) was consecrated in 1884 by Bishop Nikon of The Russian Orthodox Church. He was elected Archbishop in 1906 and served as Metropolitan of Moscow and Kolomenskoe from 1912-1917. Archbishop Makarij (Macarius) consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Bishop Evdokim (Basil Michaelovic Meschersky, 1869 - 1935) as Vicar Bishop, Diocese of Moscow , on 4 January 1904. Bishop Evdokim became Archbishop of Alaska and North America for The Russian Orthodox Church in 1914. Archbishop Evdokim consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Bishop Aftimios (Abdullah Ofiesh, 1880 - 1966) as Bishop of Brooklyn on 13 May 1917, assisted by Bishop Stephen Alexander Dzubay of Pittsburgh and Bishop Alexander Alexandrovich Nemolovksy, Bishop of Canada. Bishop Aftimios became Archbishop of The Syrian Orthodox Mission of The North American Diocese of The Russian Orthodox Church in 1923. In 1927, urged on by the chaotic conditions in Russia , the canonical Russian Patriarchal Bishops in the U.S.A. acted upon instructions and advice issued earlier by Patriarch Tikhon of Moscow, and emphasized by his successor, the Locum Tenens (Sergius), and Commissioned Bishop Aftimios to be Archbishop and to found and head an autocephalous American Orthodox Catholic Church. Archbishop Aftimios consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Bishop Sophronios (Sophronios Bishara, 1888 - 1940) as Bishop of Los Angeles on 26 May 1928, assisted by Elias, Metropolitan of Tyre and Sidon (The Syrian Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All The East) and Bishop Emmanuel (Rizkallah Abo-Hatab, The Syrian Orthodox Mission of The North American Diocese of The Russian Orthodox Church). Bishop Sophronios became Archbishop of The Syrian Orthodox Mission of The North American Diocese of The Russian Orthodox Church in 1933. Archbishop Sophronios consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Bishop Christopher Kontogiorgios (Contogeorge; 1894 - 8/30/50) on 10 February 1934 at St. John the Baptist Church in New York City, assisting Theophanies Fan Stylian Noli, Archbishop of The Albanian Orthodox Diocese in America (consecrated 4 December 1923 in St. George's Cathedral in Korcha, Albania, by Metropolitan Kristofor Kissi [Bishop of Syradon] and Metropolitan Hierotheos [Andon Yahd, Bishop of Korcha & Plenipotentiary Exarch of the Patriarchate of Constantinople] as Metropolitan of Durazzo, Gora & Shpata; Primate & Exarch of All Illyria, of the Western Sea & of all Albania; 1924: President of Albania) as Metropolitan of Pentapoleos. Bishop Kontogiorgios was appointed Exarch of the Greek Orthodox Catholic Church under the Patriarchate of Alexandria in 1947. Exarch Kontogiorgios consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Archbishop Konstantin Jaroshevich in 1949, assisted by Archbishop Arsenios Saltas (consecrated 25 August 1934 by Abp. Kontogiorgios and Abp. Theophan Noli) and with the blessing and concurrence of Metropolitan Theophan Noli. In 1954 Abp. Jaroshevich was appointed Exarch of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria and All Africa in the United States. Archbishop Jaroschevich consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Bishop Peter Andreas Zhurawetsky (12/07/01 - 1994) in Sts. Peter and Paul Russian Orthodox Church of Springfield, Massachusetts, on 15 October 1950, assisting Patriarch Joseph Klimovich (of the American Holy Orthodox Catholic Eastern Church; Ptr. Klimovich was consecrated 14 October 1930 by Constantine Kuryllo of the Ruthenian Orthodox Church) together with Metropolitan Nicholas Bohatyretz (of the Ukrainians in the Orthodox Catholic Church in America; Met. Bohatyretz was consecrated 16 November 1913 by Bp. Paulo Louis Prota Guirleo Miraglia Gulotti, Bishop of Piacenza of the Italian National Episcopal Church), Metropolitan Joseph Zielonka (Polish Old Catholic Church of America and Europe ) and Bishop Peter M. Williamowich (consecrated by Met. Fan Noli), as Suffragan Bishop, The Polish Old Catholic Church. In December 1960 Bp. Zhurawetsky succeeded Metropolitan Zielonka and immediately changed the name of this jurisdiction to Christ Catholic Church of the Americas and Europe, and taking the name of Peter II. In 1978, His Beatitude, Pope Nikolaus VII of Alexandria and All Africa wrote a letter recognizing Abp. Petros Zhurawetsky as a canonical Orthodox bishop. Patriarch Peter II consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Bishop Robert Gerald John Schulyer Zeiger (01/01/29 - 1998) in the Russian Orthodox Church of the Holy Trinity and St. Olga, New Brunswick, New Jersey, on 1 July 1961, assisted by Primate Hubert Augustus Rogers, Bishop Julian Lester Smith, and Bishop James Hubert Rogers (all of The North American Catholic Church of America) as Bishop for The Orthodox Catholic Patriarchate of America. He later left Ptr. Zhurawetsky's jurisdiction in 1961 and founded the American Orthodox Catholic Church. In 1964 he resigned as Primate of that jurisdiction while remaining Archbishop Metropolitan of Denver . On 10 August 1976, Abp. Zeiger was consecrated at St. Paul's Monastery, La Porte, Indiana, by Abp/Primate Joseph John Skureth (Western Orthodox Catholic Church) assisted by Bishop Joseph Gabriel Sokolowski, O.S.B. (Abbot General, St. Paul's Monastery, La Porte, Indiana; consecrated 16 March 1970 by Abp. Joseph John Skureth & Bp. Frank Blevins). Abp. Zeiger consecrated sub conditione to the Sacred Episcopate:

Bishop Andre Leon Zotique Barbeau (11/22/12 - 2/14/94) on 8 August 1976, assisted by Bishop Gordon Albert Da Costa (Anglican Church of the Americas; consecrated 19 June 1971 by Bp. Benjamin C. Eckardt of the Free Protestant Episcopal Church, assisted by Bp. Charles Kennedy Samuel Steward Moffat and Bp. Albert J. Fuge). He was earlier consecrated on 14 May 1968 at the Pro-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Mirabel, Quebec, Canada, by Bp. Charles Brearley (Old Holy Catholic Church; consecrated 16 June 1954 by Marziano II, Basileus of Constantinople and of All the Christian Orient {Prince de Deols, Alessandro Licastro de la Chastre Grimaldi-Lascaris}, claimant to the throne of the Holy Roman Empire of the Orient as the 269th Emperor) and later on 26 July 1973 by Bishop Garry Robert Armstrong (Liberal Catholic Church International; consecrated 8 October 1972 by Bp. William Henry Daw of the Liberal Catholic Church International). He was further consecrated sub conditione on 19 August 1976 by Abp. Josef Maria Thiesen (Alt Roemisch Katholische Kirche in Germany; consecrated 17 April 1949 by Bp. Aloysius Stumpfl) and on 12/12/76 s.c. at the Cite de Marie, Mirabel, Quebec, Canada by Bp. George Bellemare (Eglise Universelle de la Nouvelle Alliance; consecrated 7 July 1975 by Bp. Roger Caro, assisted by Bp. Maurice Auberger and Bp. Patrick LeBar). Patriarch Barbeau consecrated sub conditione to the Sacred Episcopate:

Archbishop Leonard J. Curreri (07/27/46 - ) on 30 July 1977 at Mirabel, Quebec, Canada, assisted by Archbishop Rainer Laufer (Old Holy Catholic Church of Canada; Abp. Laufer was consecrated 18 November 1975 by: Bp. Charles Brearley of The Old Holy Catholic Church; Abp. Andre LeTellier, Titular Archbishop of Hippo and Archbishop Coadjutor of Montreal, Canada, Catholic Charismatic Church of Canada; and Bp. Jean-Marie Breault, Titular Bishop of Bethlehem and Auxiliary Bishop of Montreal, Catholic Charismatic Church of Canada), as Primate of The Tridentine Catholic Church. Abp. Curreri was first consecrated at Holy Cross Polish Catholic Church, New York City, on 23 April 1977 by Bp. Francis Joseph Ryan (Ecumenical Orthodox Catholic Church--Autocephalous; Bp. Ryan was consecrated in 1965 by Ptr. Udladyslau Ryzy-Ryski), assisted by Bp. Holmes Bennett Dayhoff (Tridentine Catholic Church) and Bp. John Basilo (American Orthodox Catholic Church; Bp. Basilo was consecrated by Walter Myron Propheta). Archbishop Curreri consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Bishop Peter Paul Brennan (1941 - ) on 10 June 1978 at Our Lady Queen of Heaven Church , Long Island , New York , assisting Bishop Richard Thomas McFarland (African Orthodox Church). He was consecrated sub conditione on 4 October 1979 by Archbishop Leonard J. Curreri (Tridentine Catholic Church), assisted by Archbishop Peter James G. Grazeloa (American National Catholic Church) and Bp. Holmes Bennett Dayhoff. In 1984 Abp. Brennan became head of the Ecumenical Catholic Diocese of the Americas based in West Hempstead , New York . Abp. Brennan consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Bishop Howard D. van Orden ((1938 - ) on 14 October 1984, assisting Bp. Patrick J. Callahan (Catholic Church of America--Utrecht Succession; Bp. Callahan was consecrated on 17 April 1984 by Abp. Emile Federico Rodriguez y Fairfield and Abp. Paul G. W. Schultz) as Bishop of The Western Rite Orthodox Catholic Church of Jesus in St. Stephen's Orthodox Catholic Church of Savannah, Georgia. Bishop van Orden consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Bishop Karl Julius Barwin (10/16/43 - ) as Primate of The Evangelical Catholic Church on The Feast of Saint Addai and Saint Mari (5 August) 1989 in The Chapel of The Holy Guardian Angels in Glendale, California, assisting Archbishop Bertil Persson (The Apostolic Episcopal Church), together with Archbishop Emile Federico Rodrigues y Fairfield (Iglesia Ortodoxa Catolica Apostolica Mexicana), Bishop Carroll T. Lowery (The Apostolic Episcopal Church), and Archbishop Arthur J. Garrow (The Archiepiscopate Ordinariate of Healing Arts Missionaries & Chaplains in America), each assisting, coöperating and co-consecrating by laying on hands and uttering all the words of consecration. Assisting in this consecration as Co-Consecrators were Archbishop Paul Christian Gerald W. Schultz (Archbishop of Los Angeles and Administrator of The Philippine Independent Catholic Church in The Americas), Bishop Eric T. Ong Veloso (Orthodox Catholic Church in The Philippines), Bishop Christopher J. Rogers (Philippine Independent Catholic Church in The Americas), and Exarch Marciel (Michael Marshall, Orthodox Old Catholic Church) consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Joseph A. Zuk (? - 2/23/34) was consecrated on 7 February 1932 by Bp. Aftimios (Abdullah Ofiesh; Holy Eastern Orthodox Catholic and Apostolic Church in North America), assisted by Bp. Sophronios Bishara (Bishop of Los Angeles) as Assistant Bishop of The Holy Eastern Orthodox Catholic and Apostolic Church in North America with special oversight over The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of America. The ecclesiastical jurisdiction of these bishops (Ofiesh, Bishara & Zuk) is believed by many to be the sole canonical successor of The Russian Orthodox jurisdiction established for North America by way of Alaska in 1763 under Canon Law (Council of Chalcedon, 453 A.D.); thus this jurisdiction would be the only lawful (i.e., canonical) Orthodox jurisdiction in the U.S.A. Bishop Zuk consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

William Albert Nichols (12/4/1867 - 2/6/1947) on 27 September 1932, together with Bp. Sophronios Bishara, assisting Abp. Aftimios (Abdullah Ofiesh). Bishop Nichols took the ecclesiastical name of Ignatius. Against canon law and Church tradition, Bp. Ignatius (Nichols) married in June of 1933, for which he was formally removed from Office by Bp. Bishara. Upon the death of both Bp. Bishara and Bp. Zuk in 1934, Bp. Nichols assumed leadership of part of The Holy Eastern Orthodox and Apostolic Church in North America, officially incorporating it in the State of New York on 16 March 1936 under the name: The Holy Orthodox Church in America. This newly incorporated jurisdiction also included the former Anglican Universal Church of Christ in the United States of America (Chaldean), which allowed married bishops and was headed by Abp. George Winslow Plummer. Ignatius, Archbishop of Washington, D.C., consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

George Winslow Plummer (8/25/1876 - 1/23/1944) on 8 May 1934, assisted by Bishop Ambrosius (Maitland Raines of The Russian Orthodox Church; consecrated by Bp. Alexander Vvedensky) and took the ecclesiastical name of Mar Georgius. Mar Georgius consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Stanislaus de Witow (born Stanislaus Witowski; 2/9/1890 - 4/1969) on 29 November 1936, assisted by Abp. Ignatius (William Albert Nichols) and Bishop Irenaeus (Henry van Arsdale Parsell; consecrated 19 September 1920 by Bp Manuel Ferrando of the Reformed Episcopal Church assisted by Mar Georgius/Plummer) and took the ecclesiastical name Theodotus. Bp. Theodotus became head of The Holy Orthodox Church in America on 14 April 1951 succeeding Abp/Primate Roy C. Toombs (who had succeeded Mar Georgius on 23 January 1944). Abp. Theodotus consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Walter Myron Propheta (1912 - 10/8/1972) in Springfield, Massachusetts, on 3 October 1964, assisting Ptr. Joachim Souris of the True Orthodox Church of Greece (consecrated 2 June 1951 by Ptr. Joseph Klimovicz of the American Holy Orthodox Catholic Eastern Church, assisted by Ptr. Peter A. Zhurawetsky, Bp. Jozef Zielonka, and Bp. Clement I {John Cyril Sherwood}). On 30 March1965 he was elevated to Archbishop by Abp. Theodotus and Bishop Theoklitus Kantaris (Bishop of the Greek Orthodox Diocese of New York , consecrated by Makarios III, Archbishop/Primate of Cyprus), and took the ecclesiastical name of Patriarch Woldymyr I. Ptr. Woldymyr I consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

John Arthur Christian (Chiasson; born: John Christofer Saison; ? - 12/25/1984) on 31 July 1966, assisted by Abp. Theodotus (Stanislaus De Witow). He was elected to succeed Ptr. Woldymyr I at a Synod of The American Orthodox Catholic Church on 18 November 1972, taking the ecclesiastical name of Christian I. Ptr. Christian I consecrated sub conditione to the Sacred Episcopate:

Harold James Donovan (? - 3/18/1996) in Chicago, Illinois, on 4 July 1982, at the request of the Holy Synod of The Holy Orthodox Catholic Apostolic Church in the Philippines, taking the ecclesiastical name of Mar Aftimios II. He had been previously consecrated on 16 March 1980 as Missionary Bishop for this jurisdiction by Bp. Tirso Cinco Noble, assisted by Bp. Miguel Pestano Borja, Bp. Joel T. Borja, and Bp. Urbano A. Blanco (all Bishops within The Holy Orthodox Catholic Apostolic Church in the Philippines ). In co-operation with Ptr. Christian I, Mar Aftimios II created an Exarchy in January 1983 of the Philippine Church later known as: The American Orthodox Church. Mar Aftimios II was consecrated sub conditione on 19 January 1987 by Bishop-Primate Forest Ernest Barber of the Holy Orthodox Catholic Apostolic Church in the Philippines (a part of the Igreja Catolica Apostolica Brasileira) assisted by Metropolitan Mark (Senen C. Bordeos) of the Holy Orthodox Catholic Apostolic Church in the Philippines, based in Los Banos. Mar Aftimios II consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Bishop Eric Tan Ong Veloso on 12 March 1989 in The Holy Guardian Angels Chapel, Glendale, California, assisted by Abp. Paul G. W. Schultz (Archbishop of Los Angeles and Administrator of The Philippine Independent Catholic Church in the Americas). Bp. Veloso had been previously consecrated on 30 October 1988 in Our Mother of Perpetual Help Orthodox Catholic Church of Los Angeles, California, by Abp. Howard D. van Orden, assisted by Bp. Jack London Mette (of the Catholic Apostolic Church in North America/Patriarchate of Brazil; consecrated by: Abp. de Ortega Maxey; Bp. Raymond Eugene Hefner; Ptr. Francis Jerome Joachim; Bp. Charles David Luther) and Bp. Carroll T. Lowery, for the Orthodox Catholic Church in The Philippines, taking the ecclesiastical name of Mar Petros. Mar Petros consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Bishop Karl Julius Barwin (10/16/1943 - ) in The Holy Guardian Angels Chapel, Glendale, California, on 5 August 1989, as Primate of The Evangelical Catholic Church, assisting Archbishop Nils Bertil Alexander Persson (The Apostolic Episcopal Church), together with Archbishop Emile Federico Rodrigues y Fairfield (Iglesia Ortodoxa Catolica Apostolica Mexicana), Bishop Carroll T. Lowery (The Apostolic Episcopal Church), Bishop Howard D. van Orden (Order of St. Jude; Archbishop of Albuquerque and Dependencies, The Philippine Independent Catholic Church in The Americas), and Archbishop Arthur J. Garrow (The Archiepiscopate Ordinariate of Healing Arts Missionaries & Chaplains in America), each assisting, coöperating and co-consecrating by laying on hands and uttering all the words of consecration. Assisting in this consecration as Co-Consecrators were Archbishop Paul Christian Gerald W. Schultz (Archbishop of Los Angeles and Administrator of The Philippine Independent Catholic Church in The Americas), Bishop Christopher J. Rogers (Philippine Independent Catholic Church in The Americas), and Exarch Marciel (Michael Marshall, Orthodox Old Catholic Church) consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Thomas E. Abel on May 25, 2003 as Auxiliary Bishop of the Old Roman Catholic, English Rite. Bishop Abel came under his own Jurisdiction on August 8, 2004. Bishop Abel is head of the Catholic Church of America.

During the centuries Syria was governed by Rome/Constantinople, Antioch came to rank among one of the greatest cities of the empire in prestige, luxury, culture, law, medicine, art, literature, philosophy, and religion. By the middle of the 5th century, paganism had died out and monasticism was flourishing. Anti-imperial, nationalist politics, however, soon came to find expression in the Monophysite controversies, which politically weakened both Syria and Constantinople . When the Patriarch of Antioch, Severus (Sawiriyus I), patriotically embraced the Monophysite movement in A.D. 518, the Church of Syria split. The faction loyal to imperial government elected Bulus I as their new Patriarch and forced Ptr. Severus into exile at Alexandria. (The Faithful in the Patriarchates of Jerusalem, Alexandria , and Antioch who continued to recognize Papal and Imperial authority came to be called Melkites--after the Greek word for "king". For a rehearsal of The Evangelical Catholic Church's Apostolic Lines from this group, see the section The Melkite Catholic Patriarchate of Antioch and All The East.

In A.D. 542, during the fourth year of Patriarch Severus' Monophysite successor (Sergius, Sirjiyus), Fr. Ya'qub al-Barda'i (Jacob Baradaeus) began a 36-year missionary journey throughout the Near East on behalf of Monophysitism and ordaining thousands of priests. His efforts solidified his Church's support among the common people and left such a positive and lasting impression that the Church for which he so arduously ministered is still fondly termed "Jacobite".

Syria was absorbed into the Muslim world at the beginning of the seventh century. The Jacobite Church flourished for many centuries, enjoying better treatment under the Muslims than under Constantinople . Since A.D. 1313, however, the Church has experienced a long decline and many factional splits.

Beginning with Patriarch Ignatius V (A.D. 1313), the Syrian prelate of Antioch has taken the name Ignatius as his religious name, in honor of St. Ignatius (the third Patriarch of Antioch), to which is added a second name and numeral. The head of this Syrian Church has the title: Patriarch of Antioch and of All the Domain of the Apostolic Throne.

Moran Mar Ignatius Yacob II (Ighnatiyus Ya'qub II), Patriarch of Antioch and All The East, consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Joseph Mar Dionysios V (Joseph Pulikottil, 1832 - 7/11/1909), as Metropolitan of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church on 12 February 1865 in Omeed (Deyarbekir), Turkey . He took the ecclesiastical name of Joseph Mar Dionysios V. Mar Dionysios consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Mar Julius I (Antonio Francisco Xavier Alvarez, 1837-1923), in the chapel of the Syrian seminary in Kottayam as Archbishop of Ceylon, Goa and India on 29 July 1889, assisted by Paulose Mar Athanasius (Paulose Kadavil Kooran), Paulose Mar Ivanios (Paulose Murimatton), and Geevarghese Mar Gregorios (Geevarghese Pallathitta Chaturuthil), all Bishops of The Malankar Orthodox Syrian Church. He took the ecclesiastical name of Mar Julius I. Mar Julius consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Mar Timotheus I (Joseph Rene Vilatte, 1/24/1854 - 7/8/1929), in Ceylon (nor Sri Lanka) as Archbishop-Exarch of North America for The American Catholic Church on 29 May 1892, assisted by Paulose Mar Athanasius (Paulose Kadavil Kooran) and Geevarghese Mar Gregorios (Geevarghese Pallathitta Chaturuthil), Bishops of The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, in accordance with the Patriarchal Bull of Moran Mor Ignatius Peter III dated 29 December 1891 at Mardin. Mar Timotheus I consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Mar Francis (John Barwell Walker, aka Edmund Basile Walker-Baxter, 10/25/1881 - 4/2/1963) on 1 June 1923, taking the ecclesiastical nameFrancis. He succeeded Mar Timotheus (Vilatte) on 25 June 1923 as Grand Master of The Order of The Crown of Thorns, taking the title of Prince Edmond de San Luigi, Edmond I. On 1 January 1946 he was consecrated by Antoine Joseph Aneed (Byzantine Universal {Catholic} and Orthodox Church of the Americas ), assisted by Bishop Henry Joseph Kleefisch and Bishop Charles H. Hampton, and assigned as Titular Bishop of Caesarea . Mar Francis consecrated s.c. to the Sacred Episcopate:

Emile Federico Rodriguez y Fairfield (7/3/1912 - ?), for the Byzantine Universal (Catholic) and Orthodox Church of the Americas sub conditione on 24 August 1961. Archbishop Emile, Iglesia Catolica Apostolica Mexicana, consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Bishop Karl (Karl Julius Barwin, 1943--) as Primate of The Evangelical Catholic Church on 5 August 1989, assisting Archbishop Bertil Persson (Primate, The Apostolic Episcopal Church; Missionary-General for Scandinavia and all Europe of both the Iglesia Filipina Independiente [a member Church of The Anglican Communion] and the Igreja Catolica Apostolica Brasiliera), together with Bishop Carroll T. Lowery (The Apostolic Episcopal Church), Archbishop Arthur J. Garrow (The Archiepiscopate Ordinariate of Healing Arts Missionaries & Chaplains in America) and Bishop Howard D. van Orden (Order of St. Jude; Archbishop of Albuquerque and Dependencies, The Philippine Independent Catholic Church in The Americas), each assisting, coöperating and co-consecrating by laying on hands and uttering all the words of consecration. Assisting in this consecration as Co-Consecrators were Archbishop Paul Christian Gerald W. Schultz (Archbishop of Los Angeles and Administrator of The Philippine Independent Catholic Church in The Americas), Bishop Petros (Eric Tan Ong Veloso, Orthodox Catholic Church in The Philippines), Bishop Christopher J. Rogers (Suffragan Bishop of Los Angeles, The Philippine Independent Catholic Church in The Americas), and Bishop Marciel (Michael Marshall, Orthodox Old Catholic Church) consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Melkite (or Melchite) is the name given by the Monophysites to those Christians in the Patriarchates of Jerusalem, Alexandria , and Antioch after The Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon in 451 A.D. who continued to accept and recognize the Papal and Imperial authority of Rome . Although originally the term "Melkite" was applied to all of the Chalcedonian Orthodox jurisdictions, it later came to refer specifically to The Greek Catholic Church of Antioch.

During the Middle Ages, two factions gradually emerged within The Melkite Church of Antioch, one favoring continued contact with Rome and the other preferring complete autocephaly. Finally, in 1724 A.D., each faction elected its own Patriarch. One faction within the Synod elected Kirillus Tanas (an advocate of autonomy under the Pope) as the new Patriarch, another faction simultaneously elected Silfistrus (who favored autocephaly under the Ecumenical Patriarch) as Patriarch. Rome recognized Kirillus VI Tanas shortly after his election as The Patriarch of Antioch and all the East, of Alexandria and of Jerusalem . His jurisdiction includes all Greek Melkite uniates in the Near East and the Americas . He alternates his residence between the cities of Cairo and Beirut , spending six months in each.

The Patriarchs of this jurisdiction have been known for their erudition and learning, and have been native Syrians from the beginning of the split.

Cyrillos VIII Jeha (Petros Geha, 1840--1916), the Melkite-Greek Catholic Patriarch of Antioch and all the East, of Alexandria and of Jerusalem , consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Athanasios (Melece Saouaya/Sawoya, 3/15/1870 -- 4/6/1919) on 5 February 1905 in The Chapel of St Michael at Cairo, Egypt, as Metropolitan Archbishop of Beirut and Gebeil, Lebanon. Abp. Athanasios (Sawoya) consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Antoun Anid (Anthony Aneed, 2/27/1881 -- 8/24/1970) on 9 October 1911 in New York as Assistant Bishop (although not recognized by Rome , this consecration was later recognized by Patriarch Kirillus IX Mughabghab of The Melkite-Greek Catholic Patriarchate of Antioch). On 1 January 1946 Bishop Aneed was enthroned as Patriarch of The Byzantine Universal (Catholic) and Orthodox Church of the Americas . Patriarch Aneed consecrated s.c. to the Sacred Episcopate:

Emile Federico Rodriguez y Fairfield on 24 November 1964. Archbishop Rodriguez y Fairfield was installed as the Archbishop/Primate of the Iglesia Ortodoxa Catolica Apostolica Mexicana on 13 September 1983. Archbishop Emile consecrated de novo to the Sacred Episcopate:

Bishop Karl (Karl Julius Barwin, 1943--) as Primate of The Evangelical Catholic Church on 5 August 1989, assisting Archbishop Bertil Persson (Primate, The Apostolic Episcopal Church; Missionary-General for Scandinavia and all Europe of both the Iglesia Filipina Independiente [a member Church of The Anglican Communion] and the Igreja Catolica Apostolica Brasiliera), together with Bishop Carroll T. Lowery (The Apostolic Episcopal Church), Archbishop Arthur J. Garrow (The Archiepiscopate Ordinariate of Healing Arts Missionaries & Chaplains in America) and Bishop Howard D. van Orden (Order of St. Jude; Archbishop of Albuquerque and Dependencies, The Philippine Independent Catholic Church in The Americas), each assisting, coöperating and co-consecrating by laying on hands and uttering all the words of consecration. Assisting in this consecration as Co-Consecrators were Archbishop Paul Christian Gerald W. Schultz (Archbishop of Los Angeles and Administrator of The Philippine Independent Catholic Church in The Americas), Bishop Petros (Eric Tan Ong Veloso, Orthodox Catholic Church in The Philippines), Bishop Christopher J. Rogers (Suffragan Bishop of Los Angeles, The Philippine Independent Catholic Church in The Americas), and Bishop Marciel (Michael Marshall, Orthodox Old Catholic Church) consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

The Church of Cyprus was founded, according to Tradition, by St. Barnabas (mentioned in The New Testament). In A.D. 431 She was recognized as autocephalous under an independent Archbishop.

During the Crusades, Cyprus was seized by Richard I, King of England. King Richard gave the island to Guy of Lusignan, titular King of Jerusalem, c. 1191 A.D., who placed the Orthodox Bishops of Cyprus under the Latin Archbishop of Nikosia. Finally, when Orthodox Archbishop Germanos died ( c. 1275 A.D.), The Church of Cyprus was not allowed to elect a new Primate. Venice took control of Cyprus in 1489 A.D., but still did not allow the election of a new Primate. The Ottoman Empire gained control of Cyprus in 1571 A.D. , at which time the Orthodox Faithful began instigating for a new Primate. In 1572 A.D., Turkey finally allowed the election of a new Archbishop of New Justiniana and All Cyprus . In 1821 A.D. they murdered the Archbishop (Kyprianos) and his three Bishops for aiding the Greek rebels on the mainland.

At the end of the Russo-Turkish War (1877-78), fearing Russian expansion, Turkey turned complete control of Cyprus over to the British for a rental of c. $500,000 a year (with Turkey retaining nominal title to the island). In the 20th century, Cyprus has been continuously plagued with fighting: between the Greek and the Turkish populations, between the British administration and those seeking union with Greece and those seeking total independence. The Archepiscopal throne was vacant several times during this period (e.g., 1900-1909, 1933-1947).

The Primate of The Church of Cyprus bears the title Archbishop of New Justiniana and All Cyprus and resides in Nikosia.

Makarios II, Archbishop of New Justiniana and All Cyprus, consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Makarios III (Mikhail Christodolou Mouskos Kykkotis, 8/13/13--8/3/77) on 13 June 1948. Bishop Kykkotis was elected Primate of Cyprus in 1950. Archbishop Makarios III consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Theoklitos Kantaris as Bishop of Salamis , Cyprus . Bishop Kantaris consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Wolodymyr I (Walter Myron Propheta, 1912--8/10/72) on 30 March 1965 as Archbishop of the American Orthodox Catholic Church with the title of Patriarch Wolodymyr I, assisted by Abp. Theodotus (Stanislaus de Witow). (Bishop Propheta was first consecrated on 3 October 1964 by Patriarch Joachim Souris of the True Orthodox Church of Greece, assisted by Abp. Theodotus. Some view the 1965 elevation as not a consecration to the Office of Archbishop but merely an installation into that Office.) Patriarch Wolodymyr I consecrated s.c. to the Sacred Episcopate:

Homer Ferdinand Roebke on 4 March 1967 as Archbishop for The American Orthodox Catholic Church. Archbishop Roebke consecrated s.c. to the Sacred Episcopate:

Paul Christian G. W. Schultz (4/10/31--9/13/95) on 7 May 1975. Archbishop Schultz consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Karl J. Barwin (10/16/43--) as Primate of The Evangelical Catholic Church on The Feast of Saint Addai and Saint Mari (5 August) 1989, in The Chapel of The Holy Guardian Angels in Glendale, California, assisting Archbishop Bertil Persson (The Apostolic Episcopal Church), Archbishop Emile Federico Rodriguez y Fairfield (Iglesia Ortodoxa Catolica Apostolica Mexicana), Bishop Carroll T. Lowery (The Apostolic Episcopal Church), Archbishop Arthur J. Garrow (The Archiepiscopate Ordinariate of Healing Arts Missionaries & Chaplains in America) and Archbishop Howard D. van Orden (Order of St. Jude, The Philippine Independent Catholic Church in the Americas), each assisting, coöperating and co-consecrating by laying on hands and uttering all the words of consecration. Assisting in this consecration as Co-Consecrators were Bishop Eric T. Ong Veloso (Orthodox Catholic Church in The Philippines), Bishop Christopher J. Rogers (Philippine Independent Catholic Church in The Americas), and Exarch Marciel (Michael Marshall, Orthodox Old Catholic Church) consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Archbishop Carlos Duarte Costa, ordained a priest within The Church of Rome on 1 April 1911, was consecrated to be the Roman Diocesan Bishop of Botucatu , Brazil , on 8 December 1924. His public statements on the treatment of the poor in Brazil (by both the civil government and the Roman Church) resulted in his removal as Diocesan Bishop of Botucatu. Bishop Duarte Costa was subsequently named Titular Bishop of Maura by Pope Pius XII (Eugenio Cardinal Pacelli, Vatican Secretary of State until 1939 under Pope Pius XI).

Archbishop Duarte Costa's criticisms of the Vatican , particularly the policy toward Nazi Germany, were not well received. He was formerly separated from the Church of Rome on 6 July 1945 after his strong and repeated public denunciations of the Vatican Secretariat of State for granting Vatican Passports to some very high ranking Nazis.

Some of the most notorious Nazi war criminals (e.g., Adolf Eichmann and Dr. Josef Mengele, the "Angel of Death,") escaped trial after World War II using Vatican Passports to flee to South America. The government of Brazil also came under the Bishop's criticism for collaborating with the Vatican on these passports.

Bishop Duarte Costa espoused what would be considered today as a rather liberal position on divorce, challenged mandatory celibacy for clergy, and publicly condemned the perceived abuses of papal power (especially the concept of Papal Infallibility, which he considered misguided and false). He founded the autonomous Igreja Catolica Apostolica Brasileira (ICAB) immediately upon his separation from The Church of Rome (6 July 1945) and remained Primate of this jurisdiction until his death in 1961.

Archbishop Luis Castillo Mendez was consecrated by Archbishop Duarte Costa on 3 May 1948. He succeed Abp. Duarte Costa as Primate and Patriarch of the National Catholic Apostolic Churches (Igreja Catolica Apostolica Nationales) in 1961.

In addition to the autonomous Igreja Catolica Apostolica Brasileira (ICAB), there are sister jurisdictions in thirteen other countries in the Western Hemisphere, Europe, the Pacific and in Asia, including: Argentina (ICAA), Chile, Venezuela, Cuba, Mexico, Spain, Germany, France, Portugal, Australia, the Philippines, Canada and the United States of America, with over 12 million members.

It may be of interest to consider Bishop Salomao Ferraz. He was a Roman priest who left that jurisdiction to join the new autocephalous Brazilian Church . He was consecrated to the office of bishop by Archbishop Carlos Duarte Costa for the Igreja Catolica Apostolica Brasileira (ICAB) in 1945. In 1958 he was reconciled with the Church of Rome (during the pontificate of Pope Pius XII). The Vatican appointed him Titular Bishop of Eleuterna on 12 May 1963. Although married, Bishop Ferraz was later appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Rio de Janeiro by Pope John XXIII. Pope Paul VI appointed Bishop Ferraz to serve on a commission of the Second Vatican Council; he even addressed the Council Fathers.

This is mentioned only to point out that Bishop Ferraz was never re-consecrated by the Roman Church, not even conditionally (sub conditione)! He was also allowed to keep his wife while serving and functioning as a Bishop of The Church of Rome! Later, he was buried with the full honors accorded a Bishop of the Church of Rome. The Vatican , by accepting Bishop Ferraz without any re-consecration, affirmed de jure and de facto the sacramental validity of the Apostolic Succession received via Abp. Duarte Costa.

Pope Benedictus XIV (Prospero Lorenzo Lambertini) Consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 19 March 1743:

Carlo della Torre Rezzoni (Pope Clement XIII) assisted by Archbishop Scopio Borghese & Ignatius Reali Consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 26 April 1767:

Cardinal Bernardinus Giraud assisted by Archbishop Marcus Antonius Conti & Bishop Iosefus Maria Carafa Consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 23 February 1777:

Cardinal Alexander Matthaeus assisted by Bishop Geraldus Macioti & Bishop Franciscus Albertini Consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 12 September 1819:

Cardinal Petrus Franciscus Galeffi assisted by Abp. Ioanne Franciscus Falzacappa & Abp. Iosephus della Porta Rodiani Consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 8 December 1822:

Cardinal Iacobus Philippus Fransoni assisted by Patriarch Joseph Valerga of Jerusalem & Bishop Rudesindus Salvado Consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 8 June 1851:

Cardinal Carolus Sacconi assisted by Archbishop Salvator Nobili Vitelleschi and

Archbishop Franciscus Xaverius Fridericus de Morode Consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 30 June 1872:

Cardinal Eduard Howard assisted by Archbishop Alessandro Sanminiatelli Zabarella & Bishop Giulio Lenti Consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 8 December 1882:

Cardinal Mariano Rampolla del Tindaro Consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 26 October 1890:

Cardinal Joaquin Arcoverde de Albuquerque-Cavalcanti Consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 4 June 1911:

Archbishop Sebastiao Leme da Silveira Cintra assisted by Dom Alberto Jose Goncalves & Dom Benedito Paulo Alves de Souza Consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 8 December 1924:

Dom Carlos Duarte Costa Patriarch, Igreja Catolica Apostolica Brasileira (1945) Consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 3 May 1948:

Dom Luis Fernando Castillo Mendez Patriarch, Igreja Catolica Apostolica Brasileira (1961) assisted by Dom Melquiades Rosa Garcia & Dom Bartolomeus Sebastiao Vilela Consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 30 January 1985:

Dom Forest Ernest Barber Holy Orthodox Church in the Philippines (Mission