Documentation of Apostolic Succession

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Apostolic succession is the method whereby the ministry of the Christian Church is held to be derived from the apostles by a continuous succession, which has usually been associated with a claim that the succession is through a series of bishops. This series was seen originally as that of the bishops of a particular see founded by one or more of the apostles. According to historian Justo L. González, apostolic succession is generally understood today as meaning a series of bishops, regardless of see, each consecrated by other bishops, themselves consecrated similarly in a succession going back to the apostles. According to the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue Between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church, "apostolic succession" means more than a mere transmission of powers. It is succession in a Church which witnesses to the apostolic faith, in communion with the other Churches, witnesses of the same apostolic faith. The "see (cathedra) plays an important role in inserting the bishop into the heart of ecclesial apostolicity", but, once consecrated, the bishop becomes in his Church the guarantor of apostolicity and becomes a successor of the apostles.

 Those who hold for the importance of apostolic succession via Episcopal laying on of hands appeal to the New Testament, which, they say, implies a personal apostolic succession (from Paul to Timothy and Titus, for example). They appeal as well to other documents of the early Church, especially the Epistle of Clement. In this context, Clement explicitly states that the apostles appointed bishops as successors and directed that these bishops should in turn appoint their own successors; given this, such leaders of the Church were not to be removed without cause and not in this way. Further, proponents of the necessity of the personal apostolic succession of bishops within the Church point to the universal practice of the undivided early Church (up to AD 431), before being divided into the Church of the East, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church. Christians of the Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Old Catholic, Anglican, Moravian, and Scandinavian Lutheran traditions maintain that "a bishop cannot have regular or valid orders unless he or she has been consecrated in this apostolic succession."

More than ninety five percent of the approximately 5,135 Roman Catholic bishops alive today trace their Episcopal lineage back to one bishop who was appointed in 1541 by Pope Paul III- Scipione Rebiba. Why so many bishops trace their lineages to this one bishop can be explained in great part by the intense sacramental activity of Pope Benedict XIII, who consecrated at least 159 bishops during his episcopate and pontificate, including many cardinals, papal diplomats, and bishops of important dioceses who, in turn, consecrated many other bishops. The bishop who consecrated Benedict XIII gives us the direct link to Scipione Rebiba.

The Union of Utrecht of the Old Catholic Churches (UU) is a federation of Old Catholic churches, nationally organized from 1870 schisms which rejected Roman Catholic doctrines of the First Vatican Council; its member churches are not in communion with the Roman Catholic Church. The 1889 Declaration of Utrecht is one of three founding documents together called the Convention of Utrecht. The UU is in full communion with the Anglican Communion through the 1931 Bonn Agreement; and, with the Philippine Independent Church, the Spanish Reformed Episcopal Church, and the Lusitanian Catholic Apostolic Evangelical Church through a 1965 extension of the Bonn Agreement. As of 2016,[update] the UU includes six member churches: the Old Catholic Church of the Netherlands (OKKN), the Catholic Diocese of the Old Catholics in Germany, the Christian Catholic Church of Switzerland, the Old Catholic Church of Austria, the Old Catholic Church of the Czech Republic, and the Polish Catholic Church in Poland[a

The Old Catholic churches reject the Roman Catholic dogma of papal infallibility and reject Roman Catholic ex cathedra dogmas, namely the Immaculate Conception and Assumption of Mary. While Old Catholics affirm the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, they do not emphasize transubstantiation as the sole dogmatic explanation for this presence. Old Catholics generally refrain from using the filioque and deum de deo clauses in the Nicene Creed and also reject a dogmatic understanding of Purgatory; however, they generally do recognize a purification by Christ's grace after death and include prayers for the dead in their liturgy and devotions. They maintain basic Roman Catholic practices such as baptism by affusion (pouring of water) and the use of unleavened bread in the Eucharist. Additionally, they have many aspects in common with the Orthodox and Anglican churches and Eastern-rite Catholicism, such as optional clerical celibacy.

UU member churches tend to maintain a more liberal theological anthropology than the Roman Catholic Church. Thus, many UU member churches ordain women to the priesthood. Angela Berlis (de) was the first woman priest in the union, ordained in 1996 for the Catholic Diocese of the Old Catholics in Germany. In addition, the churches of the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland offer the blessing of same-sex unions. The individual's primacy of conscience in ethical matters is stressed. Private confession is not mandatory, though it is practiced, and decisions regarding the use of artificial contraception are individual and discretionary.

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Part 1: Succession of Popes Leading to the Consecration of Scipione Rebiba

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1.      St. Peter (32-67)

2.      St. Linus (67-76)

3.      St. Anacletus (Cletus) (76-88)

4.      St. Clement I (88-97)

5.      St. Evaristus (97-105)

6.      St. Alexander I (105-115)

7.      St. Sixtus I (115-125) Also called Xystus I

8.      St. Telesphorus (125-136)

9.      St. Hyginus (136-140)

10.   St. Pius I (140-155)

11.   St. Anicetus (155-166)

12.   St. Soter (166-175)

13.   St. Eleutherius (175-189)

14.   St. Victor I (189-199)

15.   St. Zephyrinus (199-217)

16.   St. Callistus I (217-22) Callistus and the following three popes were opposed by St. Hippolytus, antipope (217-236)

17.   St. Urban I (222-30)

18.   St. Pontain (230-35)

19.   St. Anterus (235-36)

20.   St. Fabian (236-50)

21.   St. Cornelius (251-53) Opposed by Novatian, antipope (251)

22.   St. Lucius I (253-54)phen I (254-257)

24.   St. Sixtus II (257-258)

25.   St. Dionysius (260-268)

26.   St. Felix I (269-274)

27.  St. Eutychian (275-283)

28.  St. Caius (283-296) Also called Gaius

29.  St. Marcellinus (296-304)

30.  St. Marcellus I (308-309)

31.  St. Eusebius (309 or 310)

32.  St. Miltiades (311-14)

33.  St. Sylvester I (314-35)

34.     St. Marcus (336)

35.     St. Julius I (337-52)

36.     Liberius (352-66) Opposed by Felix II, antipope (355-365)

37.     St. Damasus I (366-84) Opposed by Ursicinus, antipope (366-367)

38.     St. Siricius (384-99)

39.     St. Anastasius I (399-401)

40.     St. Innocent I (401-17)

41.     St. Zosimus (417-18)

42.     St. Boniface I (418-22) Opposed by Eulalius, antipope (418-419)

43.     St. Celestine I (422-32)

44.     St. Sixtus III (432-40)

45.     St. Leo I (the Great) (440-61)

46.     St. Hilarius (461-68)

47.     St. Simplicius (468-83)

48.     St. Felix III (II) (483-92)

49.     St. Gelasius I (492-96)

50.     Anastasius II (496-98)

51.     St. Symmachus (498-514) Opposed by Laurentius, antipope (498-501)

52.     St. Hormisdas (514-23)

53.     St. John I (523-26)

54.     St. Felix IV (III) (526-30)

55.     Boniface II (530-32) Opposed by Dioscorus, antipope (530)

56.     John II (533-35)

57.     St. Agapetus I (535-36) Also called Agapitus I

58.     St. Silverius (536-37)

59.     Vigilius (537-55)

60.     Pelagius I (556-61)

61.     John III (561-74)

62.     Benedict I (575-79)

63.     Pelagius II (579-90)

64.     St. Gregory I (the Great) (590-604)

65.     Sabinian (604-606)

66.     Boniface III (607)

67.     St. Boniface IV (608-15)

68.     St. Deusdedit (Adeodatus I) (615-18)

69.     Boniface V (619-25)

70.     Honorius I (625-38)

71.     Severinus (640)

72.     John IV (640-42)

73.     Theodore I (642-49)

74.     St. Martin I (649-55)

75.     St. Eugene I (655-57)

76.     St. Vitalian (657-72)

77.     Adeodatus (II) (672-76)

78.     Donus (676-78)

79.     St. Agatho (678-81)

80.     St. Leo II (682-83)

81.     St. Benedict II (684-85)

82.     John V (685-86)

83.     Conon (686-87)

84.     St. Sergius I (687-701) Opposed by Theodore and Paschal, antipopes (687)

85.     John VI (701-05)

86.     John VII (705-07)

87.     Sisinnius (708)

88.     Constantine (708-15)

89.     St. Gregory II (715-31)

90.       St. Gregory III (731-41)

91.       St. Zachary (741-52) Stephen II followed Zachary, but because he died before being consecrated, modern lists omit him

92.       Stephen II (III) (752-57)

93.       St. Paul I (757-67)

94.       Stephen III (IV) (767-72) Opposed by Constantine II (767) and Philip (768), antipopes (767)

95.       Adrian I (772-95)

96.       St. Leo III (795-816)

97.       Stephen IV (V) (816-17)

98.       St. Paschal I (817-24)

99.       Eugene II (824-27)

100.    Valentine (827)

101.       Gregory IV (827-44)

102.    Sergius II (844-47) Opposed by John, antipope

103.     St. Leo IV (847-55)

104.    Benedict III (855-58) Opposed by Anastasius, antipope (855)

105.    St. Nicholas I (the Great) (858-67)

106.     Adrian II (867-72)

107.    John VIII (872-82)

108.    Marinus I (882-84)

109.    St. Adrian III (884-85)

110.    Stephen V (VI) (885-91)

111.    Formosus (891-96)

112.    Boniface VI (896)

113.    Stephen VI (VII) (896-97)

114.    Romanus (897)

115.    Theodore II (897)

116.    John IX (898-900)

117.    Benedict IV (900-03)

118.    Leo V (903) Opposed by Christopher, antipope (903-904)

119.    Sergius III (904-11)

120.    Anastasius III (911-13)

121.    Lando (913-14)

122.    John X (914-28)

123.    Leo VI (928)

124.    Stephen VIII (929-31)

125.    John XI (931-35)

126.    Leo VII (936-39)

127.  Stephen IX (939-42)

128.  Marinus II (942-46)

129.  Agapetus II (946-55)

130.  John XII (955-63)

131.  Leo VIII (963-64)

132.  Benedict V (964)

133.  John XIII (965-72)

134.  Benedict VI (973-74)

135.  Benedict VII (974-83) Benedict and John XIV were opposed by Boniface  VII, antipope (974; 984-985)

136.  John XIV (983-84)

137.  John XV (985-96)

138.   Gregory V (996-99) Opposed by John XVI, antipope (997-998)

139.  Sylvester II (999-1003)

140.  John XVII (1003)

141.  John XVIII (1003-09)

142.  Sergius IV (1009-12)

143.  Benedict VIII (1012-24) Opposed by Gregory, antipope (1012)

144.  John XIX (1024-32)

145.   Benedict IX (1032-45) He appears on this list three separate times, because he was twice deposed and restored

146.  Sylvester III (1045) Considered by some to be an antipope

147.  Benedict IX (1045)

148.  Gregory VI (1045-46)

149.  Clement II (1046-47)

150.  Benedict IX (1047-48)

151.  Damasus II (1048)

152.  St. Leo IX (1049-54)

153.  Victor II (1055-57)

154.  Stephen X (1057-58)

155.  Nicholas II (1058-61) Opposed by Benedict X, antipope (1058)

156.    Alexander II (1061-73) Opposed by Honorius II, antipope (1061-1072)

157.  St. Gregory VII (1073-85) Gregory and the following three popes were opposed by Guibert ("Clement III"), antipope (1080-1100)

158.  Blessed Victor III (1086-87)

159.  Blessed Urban II (1088-99)

160.  Paschal II (1099-1118) Opposed by Theodoric (1100), Aleric (1102) and Maginulf ("Sylvester IV", 1105-1111), antipopes (1100)

161.  Gelasius II (1118-19) Opposed by Burdin ("Gregory VIII"), antipope (1118)

162.  Callistus II (1119-24)

163.  Honorius II (1124-30) Opposed by Celestine II, antipope (1124)

164.  Innocent II (1130-43) Opposed by Anacletus II (1130-1138) and Gregory Conti ("Victor IV") (1138), antipopes (1138)

165.  Celestine II (1143-44)

166.  Lucius II (1144-45)

167.  Blessed Eugene III (1145-53)

168.  Anastasius IV (1153-54)

169.  Adrian IV (1154-59)

170.  Alexander III (1159-81) Opposed by Octavius ("Victor IV") (1159-1164), Pascal III (1165-1168), Callistus III (1168-1177) and Innocent III (1178-1180), antipopes

171.  Lucius III (1181-85)

172.  Urban III (1185-87)

173.  Gregory VIII (1187)

174.  Clement III (1187-91)

175.  Celestine III (1191-98)

176.  Innocent III (1198-1216)

177.  Honorius III (1216-27)

178.  Gregory IX (1227-41)

179.  Celestine IV (1241)

180.  Innocent IV (1243-54)

181.  Alexander IV (1254-61)

182.  Urban IV (1261-64)

183.  Clement IV (1265-68)

184.  Blessed Gregory X (1271-76)

185.  Blessed Innocent V (1276)

186.  Adrian V (1276)

187.  John XXI (1276-77)

188.  Nicholas III (1277-80)

189.  Martin IV (1281-85)

190.  Honorius IV (1285-87)

191.  Nicholas IV (1288-92)

192.  St. Celestine V (1294)

193.  Boniface VIII (1294-1303)

194.  Blessed Benedict XI (1303-04)

195.  Clement V (1305-14)

196.       John XXII (1316-34) Opposed by Nicholas V, antipope (1328-1330)

197.  Benedict XII (1334-42)

198.  Clement VI (1342-52)

199.  Innocent VI (1352-62)

200.  Blessed Urban V (1362-70)

201.  Gregory XI (1370-78)

202.  Urban VI (1378-89) Opposed by Robert of Geneva ("Clement  VII"), antipope (1378-1394)

203.  Boniface IX (1389-1404) Opposed by Robert of Geneva ("Clement VII") (1378-1394), Pedro de Luna ("Benedict XIII") (1394-1417) and Baldassare Cossa ("John XXIII") (1400-1415), antipopes

204.  Innocent VII (1404-06) Opposed by Pedro de Luna ("Benedict XIII") (1394-1417) and Baldassare Cossa ("John XXIII") (1400-1415), antipopes

205.  Gregory XII (1406-15) Opposed by Pedro de Luna ("Benedict XIII") (1394-1417), Baldassare Cossa ("John XXIII") (1400-1415), and Pietro Philarghi ("Alexander V") (1409-1410), antipopes

206.  Martin V (1417-31)

207.  Eugene IV (1431-47) Opposed by Amadeus of Savoy ("Felix V"), antipope (1439-1449)

208.  Nicholas V (1447-55)

209.  Callistus III (1455-58)

210.  Pius II (1458-64)

211.  Paul II (1464-71)

212.  Sixtus IV (1471-84)

213.  Innocent VIII (1484-92)

214.  Alexander VI (1492-1503)

215.  Pius III (1503)

216.  Julius II (1503-13)

217.  Leo X (1513-21)

218.  Adrian VI (1522-23)

219.  Clement VII (1523-34)

220.  Paul III (1534-49)

221.  Julius III (1550-55)

222.  Marcellus II (1555)

223.  Paul IV (1555-59) Formerly Cardinal Gian Pietro Carfa

 

 

Part 2: Consecration of Scipione Rebiba Forward to Susan Provost

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Pope Paul III in 1541 consecrated Scipione Rebiba  as titular Bishop of Amyclae (a suffragan of Patras in the Peloponnesus) on 16 March 1541, on the recommendation of Bishop Gian Pietro Carafa, so that he could serve as Carafa's auxiliary bishop in the diocese of Chieti.

 

Gian Pietro Carafa, (later elected as Paul IV) Roman Catholic Bishop of Chieti, in 1555 consecrated Scipione Rebiba as a Cardinal.

Scipione Rebiba, Roman Catholic Cardinal/Bishop of Troia

in 1566 consecrated

Giulio Antonio Santori.

 

Giulio Antonio Santori, Roman Catholic Bishop of Santa Severina,

in 1568 consecrated

Girolamo Bernerio, O.P.

 

Girolamo Bernerio, O.P., Roman Catholic Bishop of Ascoli Piceno,

in 1604 consecrated

Galeazzo Sanvitale.

 

Galeazzo Sanvitale, Roman Catholic Bishop of Bari,

in 1621 consecrated

Ludovico Ludovisi.

 

Ludovico Ludovisi, Roman Catholic Bishop of Bologna,

in 1622 consecrated

Luigi Caetani.

 

Luigi Caetani, Roman Catholic Bishop of Capua,

in 1630 consecrated

Giovanni Battista Scannaroli.

Giovanni Battista Scannaroli, Roman Catholic Titular Bishop of Sidon, in 1655 consecrated

Antonio Barberini.

 

Antonio Barberini, Roman Catholic Bishop of Frascati,

in 1668 consecrated

Charles Maurice LeTellier, S.J.

 

Charles Maurice LeTellier, S.J., Roman Catholic Bishop of Rheims,

in 1670 consecrated

Jacques Benigne Boussuet.

 

Jacques Benigne Boussuet, Roman Catholic Bishop of Meaux,

in 1693 consecrated

Jacques Goyon DeMatignon.

 

Jacques Goyon DeMatignon, Roman Catholic Bishop,

in 1719 consecrated

Dominique Marie Varlet.

 

Dominique Marie Varlet, Roman Catholic Bishop of Ascalon,

in 1739 consecrated

Petrus Johannes Meindaerts.

 

Petrus Johannes Meindaerts, Old Catholic Bishop of Utrecht,

in 1745 consecrated

Johannes van Stiphout.

 

Johannes van Stiphout, Old Catholic Bishop of Haarlem,

in 1768 consecrated

Gualterus Michael van Niewenhuizen.

 

Gualterus Michael van Niewenhuizen, Old Catholic Bishop of Utrecht,

in 1778 consecrated

Adrian Johannes Broekman.

 

Adrian Johannes Broekman, Old Catholic Bishop of Haarlem,

in 1797 consecrated

Johannes Jacobus van Rhijn.

Johannes Jacobus van Rhijn, Old Catholic Bishop of Utrecht,

in 1805 consecrated

Gilbert Cornelius de Jong.

 

Gilbert Cornelius de Jong, Old Catholic Bishop of Deventer,

in 1814 consecrated

Willibord van Os.

 

Willibord van Os, Old Catholic Bishop of Utrecht,

in 1819 consecrated

Johannes Bon.

 

Johannes Bon, Old Catholic Bishop of Haarlem,

in 1824 consecrated

Johannes van Santen.

 

Johannes van Santen, Old Catholic Bishop of Utrecht,

in 1854 consecrated

Hermann Johannes Heykamp.

 

Hermann Johannes Heykamp, Old Catholic Bishop of Deventer,

in 1873 consecrated

Casparus Johannes Rinkel.

 

Casparus Johannes Rinkel, Old Catholic Bishop of Haarlem,

in 1892 Consecrated

 Gerard Gul.

 

Gerard Gul, Old Catholic Bishop of Utrecht,

in 1908 consecrated

Arnold Harris Mathew.

 

Arnold Harris Mathew, Old Catholic Bishop of Great Britain,

in 1913 consecrated

Rudolphe Francois Edouard Hamilton.

 

Rudolphe Francois Edouard Hamilton, Old Catholic Bishop,

 in 1916 consecrated

Henry Carmel Carfora

 

*Henry Carmel Carfora, Old Catholic Bishop for America,

in 1924 consecrated

Edwin W. Hunter.

 

Edwin W. Hunter, North American Old Roman Catholic Church,

 in 1946 consecrated

Wallace David de Ortega Maxey.

​

Wallace David de Ortega Maxey, Apostolic Episcopal Church,

in 1957 consecrated

Herman Adrian Spruit.

 

Herman Adrian Spruit, Catholic Apostolic Church of Antioch,

in 1975 consecrated

Lewis Keizer.

 

Lewis Keizer, Home Temple,

in 1986 consecrated

Carlos Florido.

 

Carlos Florido, Orthodox Catholic Church,

in 1992 consecrated

Marilyn Sieg.

 

Marilyn L. Sieg, Orthodox Catholic Church,

in 2002 consecrated

William Wettingfeld.

 

William Wettingfeld, The National Catholic Church of North America,

in 2015 consecrated

Susan M. Provost.

​

Susan M. Provost, The National Catholic Church of North America,

in 2018 consecrated

Leonard Walker

 

Part 3: Consecration of Henry Carmel Carfora Forward to Eugene Young. (Up to Bishop Carfora, Bishop Young’s Apostolic Succession follows the same path as Bishop Provost.)

 

*Henry Carmel Carfora, Old Catholic Bishop for American,

in 1945 consecrated

Earl Anglin James

 

Earl Anglin James, Old Catholic Church of Utrecht

in 1950, consecrated

Grant Timothy Billet

 

Grant Timothy Billet, Old Catholic Church of Utrecht

In 1979 consecrated

Norman R. Parr

 

Norman R. Parr, Old Catholic Church of Utrecht

in 1991 consecrated

Maurice Darryl Mc Cormick

 

Maurice Darryl Mc Cormick, Old Catholic Church of Utrecht

In 1997 consecrated

Irwin R. Young Jr.

 

Irwin R. Young Jr., Antioch Orthodox Church

In 1998 consecrated

Paul Victor Verhaeren and Wayne Moore Hay

 

Paul Victor Verhaeren and Wayne Moore Hay, Antioch Orthodox Church

In 2003 consecrated

Bruce D. Campbell

 

Bruce D. Campbell, Antioch Orthodox Church

In 2003 consecrated

Shane Price

 

Shane Price, Reformed Catholic Church

In 2005 consecrated

Phillip Zimmerman

 

Phillip Zimmerman, Reformed Catholic Church

In 2008 Consecrated

Eugene Young