bertil persson

Latin Old Roman Catholic Church of Flanders (Independent and non-papal)

© 2006-2007 Mgr Philippe Laurent De Coster, B.Th., DD

Apostolic Successions

of Archbishop Nils Bertil Alexander Persson

and Archbishop Philippe Laurent De Coster

Edition Eucharist and Devotion Gent – Belgium © 1993 - 2007

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The Armenian Church

(The Apostolic Orthodox Church of Armenia)

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 Divn , 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

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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.

Apostolic Succession from

The Church of Armenia

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:

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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 Nils Bertil Persson consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate, on June 25, 1995 in London (UK), with co-consecrators, Bishops Hans Dieter Sauerlandt, and George Boyer:

Philippe Laurent De Coster, Archbishop of the Latin Old Roman Catholic Church of Flanders (non-papal).

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The Apostolic Succession from

The Russian Orthodox Church (Russkaya Pravoslavnaya Tserkov)

In the ninth century the Rus (or Varangians) became masters of what is now western Russia and the indigenous Slavic population. Their chief centres 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

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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 an 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

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of The Russian Orthodox Church -- a practice continued until the end of the 20th century by the atheistical government 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 reäctionary 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 Öcumenical 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

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(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 coöperation. 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 coöperation 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.

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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 rapproachment 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.

Apostolic Succession from The Russian Orthodox Church

through Saint Peter

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:

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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 Nils Bertil Persson consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate, on June 25, 1995 in London (UK), with co-consecrators, Bishops Hans Dieter Sauerlandt, and George Boyer:


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through Saint Andrew

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

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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 Nils Bertil Persson consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate, on June 25, 1995 in London (UK), with co-consecrators, Bishops Hans Dieter Sauerlandt, and George Boyer:


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through Archbishop Theophanies Fan Stylian Noli

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 Patriarchial 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

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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 Old Roman Catholic Church) 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

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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:

Summary: Bishop André Barbeau, consecrated (sub conditione) on December 12, 1976: Bishop Georges Bellemare, who consecrated (sub conditione) on June 27, 1977: Archbishop Roger Caro (Pierre Phoebus, later Stephanos), who consecrated on June 30, 1979: Archbishop Philippe Laurent De Coster (Philippus-Laurentius).

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Apostolic Succession from the Melkite-Greek Catholic Patriarchate of

Antioch and All The East

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 Anid was enthroned as Patriarch of The Byzantine Universal (Catholic) and Orthodox Church of the Americas. Patriarch Anid, together with Primate Lowell Paul Wadle (The American Catholic Church), Bishop Henry Joseph Kleefisch (The Byzantine Universal Orthodox Church), and Bishop Charles H. Hampton (The Old Roman Catholic Church), consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Mar David I (Wallace David de Ortega Maxey, 02/22/1902 - 03/12/1992) on 23 August 1945. He became the Primate of The Apostolic Episcopal Church in America on 7 July 1948 but later resigned from that office, not returning to The Apostolic Episcopal Church in America until the early 1970's. Mar David, assisted by Primate Robert Ronald Ramm (The Apostolic Episcopal Catholic Church), consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Archbishop Nils Bertil Alexander Persson and enthroned him as Primate of The Apostolic Episcopal Church on 7 November 1986. Abp. Persson succeeded Abp. Robert Ronald Ramm on 11 November 1986 as Primate of The Apostolic Episcopal Catholic Church. 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 Nils Bertil Persson consecrated to the Sacred

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Episcopate, on June 25, 1995, in London (UK), with co-consecrators, Bishops Hans Dieter Sauerlandt, and George Boyer:


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The Church of Cyprus

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.

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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 Paul Christian G.W. Schultz consecrated as co-consecrator (assisting, cooperating, and co-consecrating by laying on hands and uttering all the words of consecration) to the Sacred Episcopate Nil Bertil Alexander Persson as follows:

November 7, 1986, with the consecrator Archbishop and Primate Wallace de Ortega Maxey, assisting as co-consecrators the bishops Daniel Nelson McCarty, Emile Rodriguez Fairfield, Robert Ramm, Arthur Garrow, Jürgen Bless, and Paul Christian G.W. Schultz.

June 14, 1987, with the consecrator Bishop Forest Ernest Barber, assisting as co-consecrators the bishops Emile Rodriguez Fairfield, and Paul Christian G.W. Schultz, for the “Igreja Católica Apostólica Brasileira (Mission Scandinave)”

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June 15, 1988, with the consecrator Archbishop Francisco J. Pagtakhan, with co-consecrators de bishops Emile Rodriguez Fairfield and Paul Christian G.W. Schultz, for the Independent Catholic Church of the Philippines (Archdiocese of Europe) on the request of the Supreme Bishop Monsignor Dr. Macario V.Ga, DCM, STD: Archbishop Nils Bertil Alexander Persson, who consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate, on June 25, 1995 in London (UK), with co-consecrators, Bishops Hans Dieter Sauerlandt, and George Boyer:


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Iglesia Filipina Independiente

(The Philippine Independent Catholic Church)

With a membership well in excess of one million members, the Iglesia Filipina Independiente has long been considered one of the largest Catholic jurisdictions not under obedience to Rome.

Sometimes called the "Aglipayan" Church, this national Church is the daughter Church of The Roman Catholic Church of The Philippines rather than a result of the movement to restore Orthodoxy to the Occidental Church of Europe during the Middle Ages. Her history, however, is firmly linked to the history of Spain.

Almost four centuries ago the power of Spain overshadowed all other European nations in the Americas. In the same year that Cortes conquered Mexico, Magellan discovered the Philippines in the Pacific - which Spain governed, robbed, and oppressed for three hundred and seventy-five years (until she lost control on May 1, 1898, when the U.S. fleet, under Commadore George Dewey, sailed into the Bay of Manila and won a victory as complete and astonishing as that of Cortes in Mexico).

Spain's misrule in her colonies (Magellan began his rule in The Philippines by decapitating the beloved native ruler) produced a chronic state of insurrection; one after another, her colonies slipped from her grasp (Peru, Bolivia, Colombia, The Argentine, Mexico, Louisiana, Florida, and the greater part of the East Indies). She ceded Louisiana to France in 1800, Florida to the United States in 1819, and a few years later Mexico achieved her independence. Yet Spain still had the rich islands of Cuba and Puerto Rico in the West Indies and The Philippines in the East Indies; but these were quickly lost after her humiliating defeat by the Americans.

Just as the Spanish colonial government had oppressed the Filipino people, so also the Church of Rome (thru the rule of the local parishes by the Friars) greatly oppressed the native population. When Commadore Dewey won The Battle of Manila and occupied the city, he had to set up an American defense force to protect the former Spanish colonial rulers (civil and religious) and allow them to leave the islands. The National Philippine Militia was at the gates of Manila and had vowed to kill all Spaniards. Commadore Dewey was later

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commended by most European powers for the honorable way in which he had handled this matter.

It was not that The Church of Rome and Her clergy, even the Friars, had worked in vain. The native population had been brought the hope of The Gospel, which survives today in the vigorous folk devotion in the villages and the equally vigorous intellectual life of the larger cities of The Philippines.

Never the less, the Spanish colonial system, which identified The Church of Rome with the official colonial government (State), had put into the hands of the religious a tempting power which bore seeds of abuse and corruption. By the nineteenth century, the Spanish Friars enjoyed such a suffocating monopoly on farmland that they became the main target of the revolutionary literature which finally united the Filipino people in armed rebellion in 1896.

Within the Church of Rome in The Philippines, the Filipino clergy agitated against the arbitrary power of the foreign Friars. They also suffered from what might be called "racial discrimination" in that native clergy always occupied second-rate positions, and none were ever elevated to the episcopal rank.

In 1872 three native priests were executed for taking an anti-friar stand, an act not forgotten by the native clergy.

But Commadore Dewey's arrival in Manila Bay revived the stalemated native Filipino-Spanish hostilities. After the Battle of Manila and the occupation of Manila by Dewey, Father Gregorio Aglipay (of Illocos Norte) was appointed Vicar General of the Revolutionary Army by General Emilio Aguinaldo. In addition, the Spanish Bishop Jose Hevia Campomanes, a prisoner of the Filipino forces, named Fr. Aglipay the Ecclesiastical Governor of Nueva Segovia, a huge Episcopal See covering all of Northern Luzon.

The growing ranks of rebel native priests, now led by Fr. Aglipay, petitioned the Papal Nuncio for a native episcopacy. He promptly told them that "the Pope would never agree because . . . Filipinos were not capable of episcopacy."

The same day the Filipino native clergy received the insulting dictum of the Papal Nuncio in 1901, they announced their withdrawal from The Church of Rome under the slogan "An Independent Church in an Independent Philippines."

The fiery Don Isabelo de los Reyes, a journalist, folklorist and labor organizer who led the lay delegates of the native clergy (and whose son some fifty years later was to become the Obispo Maximo of the Independent Church) urged an independent Church be founded immediately.

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After some days of deliberation, the native clergy proceeded to elect seventeen native clergy as bishops and Fr. Gregorio Aglipay as The Supreme Bishop (Obispo Maximo). Thus was born the Iglesia Catolica Filipina Independiente, which is also termed the Iglesia Filipina Independiente. At the time of its formation the language of the realm was Spanish. In the English language the Church is known as The Philippine Independent Catholic Church or The Independent Catholic Church of The Philippines.

Father Aglipay, who was now called Monsignor Aglipay by his followers, was not only a loyal patriot but also a priest in Holy Orders of The Church of Rome. Although he realized that, in Rome's view, he could transmit to new priests valid presbyterial orders and thus establish a valid priesthood, he sought for a "regular" consecration to the episcopacy that would bring in line the Apostolic Succession of the ancient and truly Catholic Church.

He corresponded with the Old Catholics of Europe, the Episcopalians of the United States, and The Apostolic Episcopal Church of Bishop Wolfert Brooks of New York without success.

The native Church, however, grew rapidly, and was encouraged by the American presence in The Philippines. Governor-General William H. Taft was appointed and accepted the position of Honorary President of the Independent Church before he left for the United States in 1903.

The two million Filipinos who had joined Msgr. Aglipay in his revolt against The Church of Rome took possession of the buildings in which they had been worshipping for generations. Challenged by The Church of Rome in U.S. courts, all properties were taken away from the people and handed back to The Church of Rome.

Starting all over again, the Independientes nevertheless built Chapels and Churches throughout the country. Yet compared to The Church of Rome, they were a Church in poverty and could provide no Church-operated colleges or seminaries for their people.

Nationalism was the vitality that held the Philippine Independent Church together through many trials and setbacks. Religiously the average Aglipayan lost nothing and gained little, for although he gave up worship in the beautiful buildings of his forefathers, he continued to hear a generally unreformed Mass and enjoyed the close fellowship of a minority Church.

In addition, the clergy seemed more able to understand the problems of living because almost all of them were married. Except for the fact of a married clergy, not subject to the discipline of Roman obedience, the Church had changed little.

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It was still The One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church of Christ Jesus for the Filipino faithful.

Although controversialists said this independent Church would fail, some fifty years later it still had in excess of two million members, and the Government Census taken each decade (which also polls religious preference) consistently shows that one seventh of the Filipinos prefer membership in the Independent Church.

While no men of good will, Protestant or Catholic, would question the validity of the apostolate of The Independent Church, the question of the lack of a traceable Apostolic Succession (which was raised by Msgr. Aglipay himself) continued to be asked. The Protestant Episcopal Church in The United States of America provided the answer in 1948.

The Protestant Episcopal Church, looking back on its history, found that it had completely missed the mark when it refused to establish a vital episcopacy in Mexico in the late 1920's. After an assignation attempt on the life of the Mexican President and his cabinet members (allegedly traced to the Roman Catholic prelates and clergy in Mexico), Presidente Plutarco Elias Calles vowed to establish a Mexican National Catholic Church separate from and independent of Rome.

The Protestant Episcopal Church in the USA turned down the Mexican request and Presidente Calles finally obtained the Apostolic Succession for the Mexican National Catholic Church from Msgr. Carmel Henry Carfora, Archbishop of Chicago of the Old Roman Catholic Church.

Although three Bishops were consecrated to initiate the Mexican hierarchy (Jose Joaquin Perez y Budar, Antonio Lopez Sierra and Dr. Macario Lopez Valdes), the "Nationalistas" (as they were called), failed to replace The Church of Rome in Mexico and today only one remnant parish in Mexico and the East Los Angeles parish of Bishop Emil F. Rodriquez y Fairfield remain. Unlike the Filipinos, the Mexicans demanded continued celibacy in their national independent Church and were unable to recruit new priests.

Near the turn of the nineteenth century, some Protestant Episcopal Bishops (such as Charles Chapman Grafton, who became Bishop of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin in 1888), espoused the so-called "Three Branch Theory" of the Church. The idea was that one branch was The Church of Rome, another branch was the Orthodox Church under Constantinople, and the third branch was The Church of England. Thus, it was thought, the Protestant Episcopal Church in the U.S.A. would eventually become the TRUE American Catholic Church; and in a

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time before The Church of Rome was firmly established in the United States, PECUSA had high hopes.

It was the echo of this Branch Theory of Bishop Grafton that prevented the PECUSA from acting in the case of Mexico, and thus lost to the non-papal Christians the whole country of Mexico which, having cast out The Church of Rome and Her clergy, might have brought into the country the enlightenment that PECUSA claimed was Hers. But they did nothing until it was too late to do anything. The ideal was one branch only per country, and this idea blinded PECUSA's eyes at that time.

PECUSA did not again want to miss the opportunity for missionary advancement. When, after several years of correspondence, Isabelo de los Reyes, Jr., became the leader of the Philippine national Church, PECUSA set aside the Branch Theory for one of "side-by-side" jurisdictions in the same land.

On April 7, 1948, Isabela de los Reyes, Jr., and two other native bishops were consecrated to the Sacred Episcopacy by Bishop Norman S. Binstead of the PECUSA Missionary District of The Philippines, assisted by his suffragan (Bishop Robert F. Wilner) and the Rt. Rev'd Harry S. Kennedy (PECUSA Bishop of Honolulu).

The three newly consecrated Philippine prelates then consecrated all the other native Bishops and ordained all priests and deacons according to the PECUSA rite.

The Apostolic Succession obtained by the Philippine Independent Church was that of PECUSA - from The Church of England. A few years later, when European Old Catholics assisted in Filipino Episcopal consecrations, the Old Catholic Lines of the European Bishops were added.

For many years the Independents and the Philippine Episcopalians walked side by side in harmony. However, over the years, differences developed. The "High Church" versus the "Low Church" problems of the Episcopalians in the USA did not appear as such in The Philippines, the conflicting parties rather seemed to be grouped as Pro-Protestant (or Pro-PECUSA) and Pro-Catholic.

More recently groups have favoured former President Ferdinand Marcos who, as an infant, was baptized into the Independent Church by Msgr. Gregorio Aglipay himself. President Marcos had helped finance the Aglipay National Shrine which served as the Cathedral of Bishop Manuel Lagasca. Even as President Marcos often favoured the Independent Church until his conversion and political position as a Roman Catholic; so also many of the older "Pro-Catholic" Independent Bishops and clergy also supported Marcos when he was in office.

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The Pro-Protestant groups of younger priests and bishops within the Independent Church often tried (and succeeded) to overshadow the "war horse" bishops and priests who had been with the Independent Church from Her founding. One example: On May 8, 1961, the Pro-Protestant party won enough support to force the Constitution and Canons of The Philippine Independent Church to be amended to read, concerning Holy Orders, that "No bishop shall maintain seminarians in his convent or within his diocese on the ground that there is an official seminary, St. Francis Theological Seminary, Quezon City, recognized by the Church, where provision is made for the education of those who have a vocation to the priesthood. It is absolutely prohibited that any bishop ordain men to the priesthood . . . without certification issued by the dean of the seminary ..."

What this meant for The Independent Philippine Church is that, if a man graduated from Yale Divinity School or Union Theological Seminary or Concordia Theological Seminary or Harvard University (just to name a few schools from which that priests of the Los Angeles Diocese of The Philippine Independent Catholic Church in the Americas have graduated), they would be unable to be ordained as priests in The Independent Church. Also, the many Roman Catholic priests who, after having married, wanted to work as priests within The Independent Church, would have to be refused.

The older bishops of The Church never obeyed this canon, which they said turned their postulants over to a PECUSA-controlled seminary and the heresies of modernism which trickled down from PECUSA even to the Philippines. Also, these Church Fathers did not approve of PECUSA's sole control over the seminary and their postulants. These older Bishops refused to give up their diocesan training centres for clergy and continued the practice of accepting former Roman priests.

Msgr. Isabela de los Reyes, Jr., had been elected the Obispo Maximo (Supreme Bishop) in 1948, and continued to be re-elected every four years until his death. He was succeeded by Bishop Macario V. Ga, of the Diocese of Negros Oriental. Msgr. Ga has since been re-elected every four years. It is remarkable that many of the men who were with The Independent Catholic Church in The Philippines when She received Apostolic Succession from PECUSA are still serving and still in office.

The vision of formally extending The Philippine Independent Catholic Church to the United States was primarily carried to fulfillment through the efforts of Dr. Thomas Gore. Dr. Gore graduated from Nashotah House ( a PECUSA seminary in Wisconsin) in 1976 and was ordained a priest within PECUSA by the Rt. Rev'd Charles Bennison (Bishop of Western Michigan) in 1968. He continued his education and received the Doctor of Medicine degree from the

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Autonomous University of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. Licensed both in Texas and Mexico as a medical doctor, he currently practices psychiatry in Lubbock, Texas.

Fr. Gore was a representative when Bishop Pagtakhan of The Philippine Independent Catholic Church (assisted by Bp. Sergio Mondala and Bp. Lupe Rosete) consecrated Robert Kennaugh, Ogden Miller and C. Wayne Craig to the Sacred Episcopate for the continuing Anglican jurisdictions in the USA. Dr. Gore, however, desired a more direct link with the mainland Independent Church.

After visiting the Philippines and winning the approval of Obispo Maximo Macario Ga and Archbishop Pagtakhan, Dr. Gore was consecrated on April 20, 1986, by Abp. Pagtakhan, Bp. Bayani Mercado and Bp. F. Barber. Bishop Gore then caused the American diocese of The Philippine Independent Catholic Church to be incorporated in the State of Texas as the Iglesia Filipina Independiente, The Philippine Independent Catholic Church in the Americas with Abp. Francisco Pagtakhan serving as President of the Diocese/Corporation. It was Bishop Gore's hope that this new American jurisdiction could serve as a refuge for all traditional Episcopalians in the U.S.A. seeking valid sacraments, holy orders, and recognition by the International Catholic Community through its relation to the mainland Philippine Church -- which is a full member in good standing of The Anglican Communion.

The Philippine Independent Catholic Church has been in existence in the USA for about ten years (as of this writing). The small candle that was lighted by Dr. Thomas Gore in Texas has burned brighter each year, enhanced by the rainbow beams of the Philippines. Known for more than a century as the "Jewel of the Orient" from a folk-lore tradition that a Pearl from the Holy Grail was taken to the Philippines, an old tale says that the Philippines will bring the "Light of Understanding" to the Orient and bless the whole Christian world with the advancement of The Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The Iglesia Filipina Independiente, led by men such as Obispo Maximo Ga, Archbishop Francisco Pagtakhan, Archbishop Bartolome Remigio, Bishop Armando de la Cruz, and Bishop Manuel Lagasca, have given to the United States the great tradition of a conservative Independent Catholic Church. Yet it is not their work alone, it is the work of God.

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The Philippine Independent Catholic Church

Robert Kilgour , Bishop of Aberdeen & Primus of The Episcopal Church of Scotland, assisted by Bishop Coadjutor John Skinner of Aberdeen and Bishop Arthur Petrie of Ross & Caithness, consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 14 November 1784:

Dr. Samuel Seabury (11/30/1729 - 2/25/1796), as Bishop of Connecticut. Bishop Seabury graduated from Yale University in 1748 (B.A.; M.A., 1751) and studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh (1752 - 1753). He was ordained a Deacon by Bishop Dr. John Thomas of Lincoln on 12/21/1753 and a priest by Bishop Dr. Richard Osbaldiston of Carlisle on 12/23/1753. In 1775, after a brief imprisonment in New Haven for being a British Loyalist, he fled to New York City (which remained loyal to the King) where he supported his family by practicing medicine and serving through the war as Chaplain of the King of England's American Regiment, under commission of Sir Henry Clinton (14 February 1778); after the Revolutionary War, he received a pension from the King for the rest of his life. In 1777 Bishop Seabury received the Doctor of Divinity degree from the University of Oxford. On 18 November 1790 he was also made Bishop of Rhode Island. Bishop Seabury, assisted by Bishop William White of Pennsylvania, Bishop Samuel Provoost of New York and Bishop James Madison of Virginia, consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 17 September 1792:

Dr. Thomas John Claggett (1742 - 1816) as Bishop of Maryland (and the first canonical Episcopal/Anglican Bishop consecrated on American soil) and installed at Trinity Church at the foot of Wall Street in New York City City. On 27 November 1800, as the U.S. Senate completed its move to permanent quarters in Washington, D.C., the Rt. Rev'd Thomas John Claggett was elected as that body's third Chaplain. Bp. Claggett, assisted by Bishop William White and Bishop Samuel Provoost, consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 7 May 1797:

Edward Bass (11/23/1726 - 9/10/1803) as Bishop of New Hampshire and Massachusetts in Philadelphia. He graduated from Harvard in 1744 and received the degree of Doctor of Divinity from the University of Pennsylvania in 1789. He was ordained both Deacon and Priest by Bishop Dr. Sherlock of London in May 1752. With the death of Bp. Seabury, Bishop Bass was requested to assume responsibility and jurisdiction over the Churches in Rhode Island; he also was

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given jurisdiction over the Churches in New Hampshire about the same time. Throughout his entire episcopacy, he also continued to serve as Rector of St. Paul's Church, Newburyport, Massachusetts. Bishop Bass, assisted by Bishop William White and Bishop Samuel Provoost, consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 18 October 1797:

Abraham Jarvis (3/26/1770 - 1813) as the second Bishop of Connecticut, succeeding Bishop Samuel Seabury. Bishop Jarvis, assisted by Bishop William White and Bishop Samuel Provoost, consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 29 May 1811:

John Henry Hobart (9/14/1775 - 9/12/1830) as Assistant Bishop of New York (succeeding Bishop Benjamin Moore and becoming Diocesan in 1816). He was educated at the University of Pennsylvania and Princeton University (graduating in 1793). He was ordained a Deacon in 1798 and a Priest in 1801. As Bishop, he initiated mission work among the Oneida Indians, was one of the founders of the General Theological Seminary and a renewer of Geneva (now Hobart) College. Bishop Hobart, assisted by Bishop William White and Bishop James Kemp (2nd Bishop of Maryland, consecrated in 1814), consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 25 October 1827:

Henry Ustick Onderdonk 3/16/1789 - 12/6/1858) in Christ Church, Philadelphia, as Assistant Bishop of Pennsylvania (becoming Diocesan in 1836 upon the death of Bishop William White). He graduated from Columbia University in 1805 and studied medicine in London and the University of Edinburgh (M.D.). He studied theology and was ordained Priest in Trinity Church, New York, on 11 April 1816 by Bishop John Henry Hobart. In 1827 he also received the degree of S.T.D. from Columbia University. Bishop Onderdonk, assisted by Bishop William White and Bishop Dr. Benjamin T. Onderdonk (Bishop of New York, consecrated in 1830), consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 14 January 1834:

Dr. James Hervey Otey (1/27/1800 - 4/23/1863) in Christ Church, Philadelphia, Penn., as the 1st Bishop of Tennessee and the 30th Bishop in the PECUSA Succession, with parishes in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida and Tennessee. He was ordained both Deacon and Priest in Warrenton, North Carolina, by Bishop John S. Ravenscroft. Together with Louisiana Bishop Leonidas Polk (with whom he earlier founded Columbia Institute, a school for girls), he laid the groundwork for The University of the South at Suwanee, Tennessee, and served as the university's first Chancellor. Today a PECUSA parish on University Avenue in Suwanee bears the good Bishop's name. Bishop Otey, assisted by Bishop Leonidas Polk (1st Bishop of Louisiana; previously 1st Bishop of Arkansas; consecrated in 1838) and Bishop Nicholas H. Cobbs (1st

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Bishop of Alabama, consecrated in 1844), consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate on 24 February 1850:

Dr. William Mercer Green (5/2/1798 - 2/13/1887) in St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, Jackson, Mississippi, as the 1st Bishop of Mississippi. He graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1818 (studying theology) and was ordained a Deacon on 29 April 1821 by Bishop Richard C. Moore of Virginia in Christ Church, Raleigh, North Carolina. He was ordained a Priest on 20 April 1822 by the same bishop in St. James' Church, Wilmington, North Carolina. In 1845 he received the degree of Doctor of Divinity from the University of Pennsylvania. He served as Fourth Chancellor of The University of the South at Suwanee, Tennessee, beginning in 1867. Bishop Green, assisted by Bishop Joseph W. B. Wilmer (2nd Bishop of Louisiana; consecrated in 1866) and Bishop John W. Beckwith (2nd Bishop of Georgia; consecrated in consecrated in 1868), consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate on 17 January 1875:

William Forbes Adams (1/2/1833 - 1920) in St. Paul's Church, New Orleans, as Missionary Bishop of New Mexico & Arizona, becoming the 2nd Bishop of Easton (Maryland) in 1887. He was ordained a Deacon on 15 December 1859 and a Priest in St. Andrew's Church, Jackson, Mississippi, on 29 July 1861 by Bishop William Mercer Green. Bishop Adams, assisted by Bishop Alfred M. Randolph of Southern Virginia (consecrated in 1883) and Bishop Dr. William Paret of Maryland (consecrated on 1/8/1885), consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate on The Feast of St. Michael and All Angels (29 September), 1909:

John Gardner Murray (8/31/1857 - 10/3/29) as Coadjutor Bishop of Maryland, becoming Diocesan in 1911 (to 1929) and the first elected Presiding Bishop of PECUSA on 1 January 1926. Presiding Bishop John G. Murray, assisted by Bishop John McKim (1st Bishop of North Kwanto, consecrated in 1893) and Bishop Henry St. G. Tucker (consecrated in 1912 by Bp. John McKim, Bishop Norman Henry Tubbs of Rangoon in Burma and Bishop Arthur Lea of Kyushu, Japan) consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate on 3 December 1928:

Norman Spencer Binsted (1890 - 1961), as Missionary Bishop of Tohoku, The Central Philippines, for The Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America. Bishop Binsted, acting for the Presiding Bishop of PECUSA (Henry Knox Sherril), assisted by Bishop Robert Franklin Wilner (Suffragan Bishop of the Missionary District of the Philippines) and Bishop Harry Sherbourne Kennedy (Bishop of the Missionary District of Honolulu, Hawaii), consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate on 7 April 1948:

Isabelo de los Reyes, Jr (1900 - 1971) as Obispo Maximo of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente (being elected to this office in 1946). Obispo Maximo de los

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Reyes, assisted by Bishop Manuel N. Aguilar and Bishop Alejandro Remollino (Iglesia Filipina Independiente) consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate on 22 September 1957:

Francisco de Jesus Pagtakhan (1916 - ) as Bishop of Zambales in Maria Clara Christ Church, Manila. Bishop Pagtakhan was elevated to the office of Archbishop of the Cagayan Valley and The Americas, and appointed Archbishop Secretary for Missions, Ecumenical Relations and Foreign Affairs on 8 May 1984. Archbishop Pagtakhan, assisted by Archbishop Emile Federico Rodriguez y Fairfield (Primate, Iglesia Ortodoxa Catolica Apostolica Mexicana) and Bishop Paul G. W. Schultz (Bishop of Los Angeles, The Philippine Independent Catholic Church in the Americas), consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate sub conditione on 15 June 1988:

Nils Bertil Alexander Persson (11/10/41 - ) as Missionary General for Scandinavia and All Europe for the Iglesia Filipina Independiente, who consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate on June 25, 1995 in London (UK), with co-consecrators, Bishops Hans Dieter Sauerlandt, and George Boyer:


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The Church of England and

The Protestant Episcopal Church in the U.S.A.

The Church of England was planted in North America in 1607, at the foundation of the Jamestown Colony. It achieved quasi-establishment in Maryland and Virginia, and was "tolerated" in the other colonies, with the exception of New England, where the few Anglicans living there were bitterly persecuted and harassed.

The foundation for control of the Church by the laity (congregational form of polity) was firmly laid at this time. The appointment of clergy to serve parishes was almost totally in the hands of the laity who refused to allow priests a title to the benefits of their office which appointment/installation would allow, but preferred to pay Chaplains whom they could "fire" at will. This resulted in the ranks of the clergy being filled with very unworthy men and reduced the priest to the position of being an hireling/employee of the laity, consequently resulting in the laity's contempt.

As there were no resident bishops in North America, the Anglican parishes here were under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of London, who governed them by means of commissaries. The power of the laity was so strong, however, and the class of men willing to serve as hirelings rather than priests so inferior, that the spiritual state of Anglicanism in the American colonies was very weak.

At the close of The War of Independence, Episcopalians, as they were then commonly called, realized that The Church must have a national organization if it was to prosper and grow. The biggest obstacle to creating a National Church was the lack of a national hierarchy. In Connecticut, the former Congregational converts to Anglicanism considered a bishop to be of absolute necessity. The Connecticut clergy therefore elected the Rev'd Samuel Seabury as their Bishop and gave him the mandate to go abroad and obtain valid Apostolic Orders.

The Anglican Bishops in England could not by law consecrate any one who would not take the Oath of Allegiance to the Monarch of the Realm, however. It

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would have been impossible, therefore, for Bishop-elect Seabury to return to America if he had received consecration as a British subject who had sworn allegiance to the King of England. With the refusal of the English bishops to bestow episcopal consecration, Fr. Seabury proceeded to Scotland. After prolonged negotiations with the Nonjuring bishops of Scotland, he finally obtained their consent to confer Apostolic Succession upon him.

The Nonjuring Bishops of Scotland were the remnant of the Church which the Stuarts had endeavored to establish in Scotland but which had lost the protection of the State as well as all Church endowments by remaining supporters of James II. The average Scotsman considered them to be almost as obnoxious as Roman Catholics and certainly just as dangerous.

The Nonjuring Bishops of Scotland were extremely High Church. They abandoned the Calvinistic doctrine of the Holy Eucharist espoused in The 39 Articles of The Church of England and returned to the "Lutheran" doctrine of the 1549 Articles. They used Holy Chrism in Confirmation, were considered firm believers in the sacerdotal character of the Holy Priesthood, and adamant in the necessity of Apostolic Succession and Episcopal Ordination.

Dr. Seabury was consecrated by the Nonjuring Bishops on 14 November 1784. Immediately after his consecration to the office and work of Bishop, he signed a Concordat with the Nonjurors (on 15 Nov. 1784) agreeing to introduce the liturgical and doctrinal beliefs and practices of the Nonjurors into the Episcopal Church in Connecticut. He specifically promised to persuade the American Church to use the Prayer of Consecration taken largely unchanged by The Episcopal Church of Scotland from the 1549 Book of Common Prayer. Upon his return to Connecticut he organized and governed his Diocese according to the doctrine and practice of his Consecrators. The "children" were no longer allowed to rule and control The Church. Bishop Seabury governed and ruled the Episcopal Church in Connecticut according to Biblical and ancient canonical practices; the laity was excluded from all deliberations, ecclesiastical councils and control of ecclesiastical affairs. In effect, Bishop Seabury is the Father of the traditional High Church party within PECUSA, marked by evangelical piety united with high sacramental ideals.

In stark contrast to the understanding of The Church adopted by Bishop Seabury in Connecticut, a very non-Catholic and non-historic view of Church polity was adopted in New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. Dr. William White, Rector of Christ Church, believed that the Episcopal Church must assent to and adopt the secular, non-Biblical principle of "representative government." He was even willing to employ the practice of Presbyterian Ordination until such time as a valid Apostolic Succession could be obtained from The Church of England. Surprisingly, Presbyterian Ordination found little favor among the Faithful of

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Pennsylvania. Fortunately an Act was passed in the English Parliament allowing English bishops to confer the Episcopacy upon men not subject to the British Crown. Consequently, Dr. William White (Bishop-Elect of Pennsylvania) and Dr. Samuel Provoost (Bishop-Elect of New York) were consecrated at the hands of the 88th Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. John Moore, on Septuagesima Sunday, 4 February 1787.

Upon the return of Bishops White and Provoost to the United States, there were so many differences between the Connecticut Church and that of the Middle and Southern States, that a merger or union could not be immediately effected. When Dr. James Madison was elected to be Bishop of Virginia, he was forced to go to England to be consecrated since Bishop Provost of New York (perhaps the Father of what later came to be known as the Broad Church party within PECUSA) refused to act in conjunction with the Bishop of Connecticut. (Bishop White might be considered the Father of the Evangelical party within PECUSA, with its belief in the desirability -- rather than the necessity -- of Apostolic Succession and its desire to closely coöperate with all other churches of the Reformation.) The foundation for differing doctrines of The Church were already evident at this early time within The Protestant Episcopal Church. The union was finally cemented in 1792, when Dr. Thomas John Claggert was elected Bishop of Maryland. There were now three "valid" Anglican bishops in the U.S.A. (excluding Dr. Seabury). Bishop Provoost of New York therefore withdrew his objections to allowing Dr. Seabury to participate in Dr. Claggert's consecration. Had Bishop Seabury not been invited to participate in the consecration of Dr. Claggert, the result would have been a schism between Connecticut and the other States.

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The Church of England and

The Protestant Episcopal Church in the U.S.A.

POPE St. NICHOLAS I (consecrated in 858)

Consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate in 864:

FORMOSUS (Bishop of Porto; Pope 891)


St. PLEGMUND (as Archbishop of Canterbury)


ALTHELM (as Bishop of Wells; 914 Canterbury)

Consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate 914:

WULFHELM (as Bishop of Wells; 923 Canterbury)


ODO (as Bishop of Ramsbury; 942 Canterbury)


St. DUNSTAN (as Bishop of Worcester; 960 Canterbury)


St. AELPHEGE (as Bishop of Winchester; 1005 Canterbury)


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ELFRIC (as Bishop of Ramsbury; 995 Canterbury)


WULFSTAN (as Bishop of Worcester and York)

Consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 13 November 1020:

ETHELNOTH (as Archbishop of Canterbury)


EADSIGE (as Bishop of St. Martin's, Canterbury; 1038 Archbishop of Canterbury)

Consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 3 April 1043:

STIGAND (as Bishop of Elmham; 1052 Canterbury)


SIWARD (as Bishop of Rochester)

assisting William, Bishop of London

and Giso, Bishop of Wells (consecrated 15 April 1061 by Pope Nicholas II)

Consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 29 September 1070

Bl. LANFRANC (as Archbishop of Canterbury)


THOMAS (as Archbishop of York)

Consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 4 December 1094:

St. ANSELM (as Archbishop of Canterbury)

Consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 26 July 1108:

RICHARD de BELMEIS (as Bishop of London)

Consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 18 February 1123:

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WILLIAM of CORBEUIL

(as Archbishop of Canterbury) Consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 17 November 1129:

HENRY of BLOIS

(as Bishop of Winchester) Consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 3 June 1162:

St. THOMAS BECKET

(as Archbishop of Canterbury) Consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 23 August 1164:

ROGER of GLOUCESTER

(as Bishop of Worcester) assisting

Gilbert Foliot, Bishop of London Consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 7 November 1176:

PETER de LEIA

(as Bishop of St. David's, Wales) assisting

Baldwin, Archbishop of Canterbury John Cumin, Archbishop of Dublin

Consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 29 September 1185:

GILBERT GLANVILLE (as Bishop of Rochester)

assisting Hubert Walter, Archbishop of Canterbury

Bernard, Archbishop of Ragusa (consecrated 19 November 1189 by Pope Clement III)

Philip of Poictou, Bishop of Durham (consecrated 20 April 1197 by Pope Celestine III)

Consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 23 May 1199:

WILLIAM de SAINTE MERE L'EGLISE (as Bishop of London)

assisting Stephen Langton, Archbishop of Canterbury (consecrated 17 June 1207 by Pope

Innocent III) Consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 5 October 1214:

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WALTER de GRAY (as Bishop of Worcester; 1216 Archbishop of York)


WALTER KIRKHAM (as Bishop of Durham)


HENRY (as Bishop of Whithern)

assisting William Wickwane, Archbishop of York (consecrated 17 September 1279 by

Pope Nicholas III) Consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 9 January 1284:

ANTHONY BECK

(as Bishop of Durham; 1306 Patriarch of Jerusalem) Consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 14 September 1292:

JOHN of HALTON

(as Bishop of Carlisle) assisting

Thomas Cobham, Bishop of Worcester Consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 27 June 1322:

ROGER NORTHBOROUGH

(as Bishop of Lichfield) assisting

Henry Burghersh, Bishop of Lincoln Consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 15 July 1330:

ROBERT WYVIL

(as Bishop of Salisbury) Consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 12 March 1340:

RALPH STRATFORD (as Bishop of London)

assisting John Stratford, Archbishop of Canterbury

Consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 15 May 1346:

WILLIAM EDENDON (as Bishop of Winchester)

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Consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 20 March 1362:

SIMON SUDBURY (as Bishop of London; 1375 Archbishop of Canterbury) Consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 12 May 1370:

THOMAS BRENTINGHAM

(as Bishop of Exeter) Consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 5 January 1382:

ROBERT BRAYBROOKE

(as Bishop of London) Consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 3 February 1398:

ROGER WALDEN

(as Archbishop of Canterbury) Consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 14 July 1398:

HENRY BEAUFORT

(as Bishop of Lincoln; 1405 Bishop of Winchester) Consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 15 May 1435:

THOMAS BOURCHIER

(as Bishop of Worcester; 1443 Ely, 1454 Canterbury) Consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 31 January 1479:

JOHN MORTON

(as Bishop of Ely; 1486 Canterbury) Consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 21 May 1497:

RICHARD FITZJAMES

(as Bishop of Rochester; 1503 Chichester; 1506 London) Consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 25 September 1502:

WILLIAM WARHAM

(as Bishop of London; 1503 Cant) Consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 15 May 1521:

JOHN LONGLANDS (as Bishop of Lincoln)


THOMAS CRANMER

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(as Archbishop of Canterbury) Consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate in June 1536:

WILLIAM BARLOW

(as Bishop of St. David's, Wales; 1549 Bath; 1559 Chichester) Consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 17 December 1559:

MATTHEW PARKER

(as Archbishop of Canterbury) Consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 21 December 1559:

EDMUND GRINDAL

(as Bishop of London; 1570 York; 1576 Canterbury) Consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 21 April 1577:

JOHN WHITGIFT

(as Bishop of Worcester; 1583 Canterbury) Consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 8 May 1597:

RICHARD BANCROFT

(as Bishop of London; 1604 Canterbury) Consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 3 December 1609:

GEORGE ABBOT

(as Bishop of Lichfield; 1610 London; 1611 Canterbury) assisted by

Marc Anthonio de Dominis, (Dean of Windsor and former Roman Abp. of Spolatro & Primate of Dalmatia)


GEORGE MONTAIGNE (as Bishop of Lincoln; 1621 London; 1628 Durham; 1628 York)

assisted by John Howson (Bishop of Oxford)

Consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 18 November 1621:

Bl. WILLIAM LAUD (as Bishop of St. David's, Wales; 1626 Bath; 1628 London; 1633 Canterbury)

Consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 17 June 1638:

BRIAN DUPPA (as Bishop of Chichester; 1641 Salisbury; 1660 Winchester)

Consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 28 October 1660 (see note 5):

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GILBERT SHELDON

(as Bishop of London; 1663 Canterbury) Consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 6 December 1674:

HENRY COMPTON

(as Bishop of Oxford; 1675 London) Consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 27 January 1678:

WILLIAM SANCROFT

(as Archbishop of Canterbury) Consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 25 October 1685:

THOMAS WHITE

(as Bishop of Peterborough, who was deposed in 1690 as a non-juror) Under Royal Warrant from the exiled King James II


GEORGE HICKES (as Bishop of Thetford)


JAMES GADDERAR (consecrated without a See because of penal conditions; later Bp. of Aberdeen

and Moray) Consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 4 June 1727:

THOMAS RATTRAY (as Bishop of Dunkold)


WILLIAM FALCONAR (as Bishop of Ross and Caithness)


ROBERT KILGOUR (as Bishop of Aberdeen)

assisted by Bishop Coadjutor John Skinner (Aberdeen) & Bishop Arthur Petrie (Ross &

Caithness) Consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 14 November 1784:

SAMUEL SEABURY

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(as Bishop of Connecticut) assisted by

Bishop William White, Bishop Samuel Provoost and Bishop James Madison Consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 17 September 1792:

THOMAS JOHN CLAGGETT

(as Bishop of Maryland) assisted by

Bishop William White and Bishop Samuel Provoost Consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 7 May 1797:

EDWARD BASS

(as Bishop of Massachusetts) assisted by

Bishop William White and Bishop Samuel Provoost Consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 18 October 1797:

ABRAHAM JARVIS

(as Bishop of Connecticut) assisted by

Bishop William White and Bishop Samuel Provoost Consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 29 May 1811:

ALEXANDER VIETS GRISWOLD

(as Bishop of the Eastern Diocese) assisted by

Bishop William White and Bishop Nathaniel Bowen Consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 31 October 1832:

JOHN HENRY HOPKINS

(as Bishop of Vermont) assisted by

Bishop Benjamin B. Smith and Bishop Lee Henry Washington Consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 15 November 1866:

GEORGE DAVID CUMMINS (as Assistant Bishop of Kentucky)


CHARLES EDWARD CHENEY (for the Reformed Episcopal Church)

assisted by Bishop George David Cummins

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WILLIAM RUFUS NICHOLSON (Reformed Episcopal Church)

assisted by Bishop Samuel Fallows


ALFRED SPENCER RICHARDSON (Reformed Episcopal Church)

assisting Bishop Charles Isaac Stevens (2nd Patriarch, The Ancient British Church)

Consecrated sub conditione to The Sacred Episcopate on 4 May 1890:

LEON CHECHEMIAN (as Mar Leon, Abp. of Selsey; sometime Armenian Uniate Titular Bishop of

Malatia) assisted by

Bp. James Martin (Abp. of Caerleon-upon-Usk) Bp. Frederick Boucher & Bp. George W. L. Maaers (Iglesia Española

Reformada Episcopal) Consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 2 November 1897:

ANDREW CHARLES ALBERT McLAGEN

(as Titular Bishop of Claremont) Consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 4 June 1922:

HERBERT JAMES MONZANI HEARD

(as Mar Jacobus II, Archbishop of Selsey; 1930 Primate, Free Protestant Episcopal Church)


WILLIAM BERNARD CROW Grand Master of the Order of the Holy Wisdom

(as Mar Bernard, Bishop of Santa Sophia) (17 October 1943: Mar Basilius Abdullah III, Sovereign Prince Patriarch of

Antioch) Consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 10 April 1944:

HUGH GEORGE de WILLMOTT NEWMAN

(as Mar Georgius I, Metropolitan of Glastonbury and Catholicos of the West) assisted by

Abp. John Sebastian Marlow Ward (Archbishop of Olivet)

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Bishop Richard Kenneth Hurgon (Titular Bishop of Mere [Somerset]) Bishop John Syer (Mar John, Bishop of Verulam)

Bishop Charles Leslie Saul (Mar Leofric, Archbishop of Suthronia in the Eparchy of All the Britons)

Bishop Francis Ernest Langhelt (Mar Francis, Bishop of Minster) Consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 6 June 1946:

WALLACE DAVID de ORTEGA MAXEY

(as Mar David I, Patriarch of Malaga, Apostolic Primate of all the Iberians, & Supreme Hierarch of the Catholicate of the West in the Americas)

assisted by Abp. Robert Ronald Ramm (Archbishop-Primate, The Apostolic Episcopal

Catholic Church) Consecrated sub conditione to The Sacred Episcopate on 7 November 1986:

NILS BERTIL ALEXANDER PERSSON

(as Primate of The Apostolic Episcopal Church)

who consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate on June 25, 1995 in London (UK), with co-consecrators, Bishops Hans Dieter Sauerlandt, and George Boyer:

Archbishop Philippe Laurent De Coster, of the Latin Old Roman Catholic Church of Flanders.

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The Mexican National Catholic Church (Iglesia Ortodoxa Católica Apostólica Mexicana)

Bishop Carmel Henry Carfora was consecrated in the Chapel of St. Dunstan's Abbey in Waukegan, Illinois, by Archbishop Rudolf Franziskus Eduard de Landas Berghes et de Rache assisted by Bishop William Henry Francis Brothers, on 4 October 1916 as Archbishop of Canada. In 1919 Abp. Carfora became Primate of The North American Old Roman Catholic Church. Abp. Carfora consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Bishop José Macario López y Valdes on 17 October 1926 in Chicago, Illinois, as Bishop of Puebla de Zaragoza, Mexico, for the Iglesia Ortodoxa Católica Apostólica Mexicana. Bishop Valdes consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Bishop Alberto Luis Rodriguez y Durand on .27 March 1930 "Por Autoridad del Patriarca de la Iglesia Ortodoxa Catolica Apostolica Mexicana" in the Old Catholic Orthodox Church of St. Augustine of the Mystical Body of Christ in Lost Angeles, California, USA, as Bishop Ordinary of Los Angeles and Regionary Bishop in Alto California. Bp. Rodriguez y Durand consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Bishop Emile Federico Rodriguez y Fairfield on 12 March 1955 in the Church of St. Augustine of the Mystical Body of Christ in Los Angeles, California, USA, as Bishop for Alta California. In 1983, with the death of Bp. José Cortes y Olmas, Bp. Rodriguez y Fairfield became the sole living possessor of episcopal orders from the Iglesia Ortodoxa Católica Apostólica Mexicana. On 13 September 1983 he was installed as the Archbishop/Primate of the Iglesia Ortodoxa Católica Apostólica Mexicana and head of the only remaining parish of that Church in East Los Angeles.

Bishop Emile Federico Rodriguez y Fairfield, was co-consecrator of Archbishop Nils Bertil Persson on June 15, 1988, “consecration by co-consecrator (assisting, cooperating and co-consecrating by laying on hands and uttering all the words of consecration in unison), as follows:

June 15, 1988, with the consecrator Archbishop Francisco J. Pagtakhan, with co-consecrators de bishops Emile Rodriguez Fairfield and Paul Christian G.W. Schultz, for the Independent Catholic Church of the Philippines (Archdiocese of

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Europe) on the request of the Supreme Bishop Monsignor Dr. Macario V.Ga, DCM, STD: Archbishop Nils Bertil Alexander Persson, who consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate, on June 25, 1995 in London (UK), with co-consecrators, Bishops Hans Dieter Sauerlandt, and George Boyer:


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Apostolic Succession from The Syrian Patriarchate of Antioch,

The Apostle Peter first Apostolic Throne And its valid Gnostic Branch as from 1918.

Christian Gnosticism:

The last few years have brought to the fore a considerable number of organizations bearing the name "Gnostic". The principal reason for this was the discovery in 1945 and the publication in fully translated form in 1977 of the Nag Hammadi Library of Coptic Gnostic scriptures -- the largest collection of Gnostic writings ever discovered. The Nag Hammadi Library has not only brought the name "Gnostic" into prominence but has also convinced many persons in our culture that Gnosticism is more than a peculiar ancient heresy of mainly antiquarian interest. On the contrary, Gnosticism now stands revealed as a fascinating and creative early variant of Christianity that possesses many features of contemporary relevance.

Gnostic Christianity is the key to discovering Jesus' logos/logic teachings. In addition, how that discovery can set us free. Gnostic Christianity also offers fact-based solutions to countless Biblical and spiritual mysteries.

Scholars refer to Jesus' private teachings as his "logos," logic or oral tradition. Gnostics and Mystics refer to those teachings as Jesus' lost or secret teachings. The important thing to remember about Jesus' public and private teachings is that both are his. Jesus used his public teachings to inspire us, through mystical awe and spiritual insight, to love one another. He used his private/Gnostic teachings to provide us with the foundations for a non-judgemental system of logic that makes it reasonable for us to relate ideas in ways we now think of as spiritual and loving.

The key to understanding the goal of Jesus' ministry is to first know how the apostle John uses the Greek term logos. Jesus does not use logos in the sense of the statement or the "word" of God recorded in the Bible. Logos, for Jesus, refers to divine logic/reason of God, in man. This definition is Hellenized Judaism's adaptation of the classical Greek concept of logos as "world soul" (274) meaning the mind of God.

We stand on the edge of a revolution in consciousness, as momentous as any in history. Knowledge of Jesus' Gnostic/logos teachings is the key to that

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revolution. The second coming of Jesus is not Jesus in person, but his form of higher consciousness within us all.

To those of us who are committed to the Gnostic Tradition, these developments have brought both satisfaction and concern. Understandably, we are encouraged by the increase of interest in our tradition. It is also gratifying for us to note that today, unlike some years ago, the use of the name "Gnostic" is considered advantageous by many. At the same time we are compelled to recognize that many avail themselves of the name "Gnostic" without adequate justification. Just as not all is gold that glitters, so not all who call themselves "Gnostic" have a just claim to this name.

The Emperor is long dead. We no longer need to live in the dark ignorance of Constantine's shadow. We can now examine for ourselves every aspect of Jesus' outlawed Gnostic teachings, and bring back into our lives that part of Jesus' ministry which Constantine stole from us.

We can continue teaching religious values from only a mystical perspective, or we can intellectually support those values by teaching our children to reason lovingly. A truly better future for our children depends upon what we teach them now. Hopefully, religious leaders will consider Jesus' knowledge teachings an intellectual instrument that can ally reason and religion to the benefit of both.

"Without the exercise and development of intellect man would still be in the Stone Age but unless homo sapiens develops a greater humility concerning both the imperfect nature of his knowledge and the need for transcendental moral guidance, he could easily return to the Stone Age."

In order to promote authenticity and clarity in regard to matters belonging to Christian Gnosticism, the Gnostic Apostolic Churches having as founder the French Bishop Jean Bricaud (Tau Jean II) and its affiliated ecclesiastical organizations, do secure the uninterrupted apostolic continuance as from the apostle Peter at Antioch, along official rites as to the Roman Pontifical and traditional Apostolic and Christian Belief.

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Who was “Jean Bricaud”?

Jean Bricaud was and remained an employee of the Bank Crèdit Lyonnais from the time he was 16 years old, after being indentured for seminary studies for the Roman Catholic Priesthood by his pious parents. While still attending his seminarian studies in Lyon, he frequented the circles of Elia Alta, a bookseller who is also a spiritualist - and the therapeutist Bouvier, who were a pupil of Eliphas Jacques Charrot. Bouvier shared his passion for the traditions of the Kabbalah and occult philosophy with the young man. In 1899 he became acquianted with Papus who at

that time held lineages from many esoteric colleges and orders and where, as of four years earlier, installed as Gnostic Bishop for his own district. Like his friend he was early in his life fascinated with the growing attention to the science interior and universal represented in the Occult literate circle and sought like him access to the secrets of God,the universe,life and everything else in books, in initiations, in personal pupilship to more or less dependable modern teachers. While Papus trailed behind him a mass of pamphlets and treatises addressed to a larger audience, Jean Bricaud focused on those circles in which they both moved, drawing a select audience for his insights and discoveries. Jean Bricaud moved in many circles - from the most conventional and devout of Catholic intellectuals, to eccentric and mysterious sages, tricksters and phantasts. With his introduction to the Western Gnosis, be it the masonic illuminism of the Ancient and Primitive Rite of Memphis-Misraim, the internal therapeutic

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theurgy of Elie Alta, Bouvier and Maistre Anthelme Nizier Phillipe, the enthusiastic messianism of the followers of Pierre-Michel Eugene Vintras who had a French headquarters in the city of Lyons - the path of the heart of Martinism as administrated by his friend Papus or the charismatic ritualism of Tau Synesius Gnostic Church, he discovered a richness and diversity he prior to this thought he could only encounter in the Far East. Among his friends and associates later in life where Bishop Louis-Marie-François Giraud (d. 1951) who after having lived for many years as a Trappist Monk had joined the fray with the Gallican Catholic Church under the Apostolic protection of Archbishop Joseph Renè Villatte, from whom he could trace his Apostolic succession as a Bishop. Bishop Giraud`s consecrator was also a famous "Mage" the Abbe Julio(Jules Ernest Houssay,1844-1912), who through the introduction of Giraud, Jean Bricaud befriended. Louis-Marie-Francois Giraud consecrated Jean Bricaud, already a Gnostic Bishop with three verified lineages from heterodox and esoteric lines of succession on the 21st of July 1913, as Apostolic Bishop, with a fraternal affiliation with the Gallicanne communion. Thus in the history of the visible modern manifestation of the Gnosis, a Communion of Gnostics where again reunited with the Communion of Christians of the Apostolic and Catholic Church; a situation which Saint Valentine invested so much into preserving, but which were destroyed by countless schisms and resulting persecutions of outsiders and esoterics in the Church of Rome as well as the Church of Constantinople. On February 21st 1934, 70 years hence in a few days time - Tau Jean II were received in the higher Assembly in the Pleroma, to, within the Heart of God, watch over us in the company of victors, saints, holy men and women - and the entire cosmos of angels, archangels, principalities, thrones, cherubim, seraphim and the entirety of entirities. Having ensured a continuation of the Psykikos-Pneumatikos oikumene initiated in secrecy by the Valentinians, as a continuation of the Mandate from the Holy Spirit through the disciples +John,+Thomas,+Andrew,+Mark as well as the hierophantic mysteries dispensed by +Mathias and the wisdom traditions donated to the Church by our dear Apostle +Paul - within the vehicle of the Universal Gnostic Church. Jean Bricaud, in ecclesia named Tau Jean II was succeeded, of his own wish and election, as Patriarch by Constant Martin Chevillon, a man of the same fervour,solemnitude and rectitude as himself, who was sadly martyred on the 22nd of March 1944 by partisans to the Nazi occupant powers and mock goverment, in Lyon. Who was Constant Martin Chevillon (Tau Harmonius) ? Tau Harmonius were the ecclesiastical name for Constant Martin Chevillon (born 26.10.1880 - dead 22.03.1944), Patriarch for both Eglise Gnostique

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Universelle and the Eglise Gallicanne. With respect of EGU, Harmonius succeeded Jean Bricaud, in ecclesia Tau Jean II - when the latter died 21.February 1934. With respect of Eglise Gallicanne, Constant Martin Chevillon were elected Patriarch to succeeded Jean Bricaud on 5. January , 1936 were he received consecration to that central position by Louis Francois Giraud. He was additionally representative for the following esoteric and initiatory orders: L'Ordre Martiniste de Lyon, The Order of Knights Masons of Elus Cohen and the Ancient and Primitive Rite of Memphis-Mizraim of which he was Grand Master after Jean Bricaud (c.1934-1944). Constant Martin

Chevillon was born in Annoire (Jura) the 26th October 1880, he was of a philosophical and literary disposition and wrote several books in addition to countless articles on a great variety of topics. It appears Chevillon had from the early 1920`s onwards a penchant for the perspective provided by the awakening in France towards the idea and ideal of the Universal Tradition and treated the subject more consistently than many Theosophists who were greatly enchanted and enthused about the idea but lacked the expertise of actual and consistent comparative scholarship. Another aspect of Harmonius work were his vision of a Spiritual and Christian socialism, ever since the inference of certain philosophies of a libertarian and communalistic kind into France, by for instance Charles Fourier and Antoine-Hoene Wronskij, the latter incidentally one of the tutors of Alphonse Louis Constant aka. Eliphas Levi - the ideals contained in that Vision has been central for the Esoteric initiatory traditions in France and the Benelux countries. Doubtless some of this fervour also influenced the way and manner Harmonius treated his many responsibilities as leader for colleges and orders of a Hermetic and Esoteric nature, so also with Masonry - drawing on inspiration from Count Cagliostros organization of the Rite of Egyptian Freemasonry, which included a Feminine Rite - he decided that the Masonic work he lead should also respect and facilitate a specifically feminine actual Masonic initiatory progress - this became very controversial, just as the later inclusion of a feminine Episcopate which initially in the "non-apostolic" Gnostic Church had precedence with Doinel`s consecration of female Bishops, so-called Sophia`s and Priestesses - would cause controversy in the later incarnations of the Eglise Gnostique.

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On March 22, 1944, somewhere outside Lyon,Constant Chevillon faced a firing-squad, formed by a pseudo police-unit. In reality they were collaborating Frenchmen , by order of the ' Parti Populaire Francais" and the 'M.S.R.' -after having been arrested and interrogated consistently for a long period of time. The Nazis had formed an iron fist since their occupation of France, to deal with the different movements and orders there which would pose a threat to their new Reich, among those were chiefly Masonic orders, especially those that had developed on French soil, autonomous since the French Revolution, and also those that had developed in England, like Yarker`s charter of the Rite of Memphis-Mizraim. Some leaders of Esoteric colleges did not comprehend the danger they were in, they thought that the occupational forces would empower non-Catholic and anti-Catholic groups such as their own, for example, Les Polaires thought the Third Reich would become the beacon of a coming new race, and became fascinated by the National socialists own mythology and "technology". Rather than bring the man to court for supposed subversive activities, the Nazi occupation government and their pawns elected to shoot the man down anonymously. Thus ended a very fertile and yet frustrated period of Underground esoteric work in Europe, from which arose a situation which still haunts continental Initiatory and Gnostic circles. Robert Amadou

Robert Amadou was Doctor in Theology, Doctor ‘ès Lettres’ (as called in France), Doctor in Ethnology, Professor and Writer. He was born February 16, 1924 at Bois-Colombes, and died March 14, 2006, in Paris. He was buried at the cemetery “Père-Lachaise” March 22, 2006. The religious service took place in the Syrian Orthodox Church 58, avenue Daniel Perdigé, Montfermeil (93) at 10.30 h. He was a priest in the same church, known as Father Brahim Jesus Robert, in the Aramaic rite, the language of Jesus and the Apostles. The Syrian Orthodox Church has 2000 believers in France, and goes as far back in

Mgr Robert Amadou history to the first bishops of Antioch, obviously the apostle Peter(A.D 38); Evodius (A.D. 40), and Saint Ignatius I (the Martyr, devoured by lions in Rome) (A.D. 43). During the funeral ceremony, the celebrant-priest said about Robert Amadou: “Father Brahim Jesus Robert was very committed in his life, always in

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search of God. We are all left as widowers, and our objective is to re-marry with the Divine Wisdom, the Christ”. Robert Amadou did only live for books and by books, his biography shows us the importance of his literary works. He was in no way a sectarian, not in matters of confessions and initiation disciplines: Christian, Orthodox, Macon, Martinist, and even Sufi, so much that some badly situated him as being very changeable. However, Louis-Claude de Saint-Martin, and Martinists of all degrees, occultists, believers, all unanimously agreed that his presence is great, and will ever remain so. We all love him, but when we thought to have understood him, he disappeared under his cloak; such was the way of life of the Servant he was. Robert Amadou never ceased in his search of the truth, as for instance in history and tradition. At the age of 1, he had his secondary education in the Jesuit College, Rue de Madrid in Paris, and was at the same called to serve the Patriarch of the Syrian Catholic Church, when he was visiting Paris,; at the occasion of the universal fair trade in 1937. A few years after, Robert entered the Syrian Catholic Church, where he had a function in the Syrian Saint-Ephrem Church in Paris. On January 25, 1945, he was ordained in the priesthood in the Syrian Succession of Saint Peter, and the thesis for his doctorate was, “Research on the Churches of the Syrian language, and the derivative Churches”. In 1944, Henri Meslin consecrated him as a Gnostic

bishop in their own invalid line of Jules Doinel. Soon he knew about the invalidity of the Doinel non-apostolic succession, and met a great man as well, Victor Blanchard. He now knew that it was absolutely essential to be consecrated anew, and not just under condition (sub conditione, but fully). Bishop Victor Blanchard consecrated by Jean Bricaud (Tau Jean II), consecrated him in the incontestable apostolic succession of Antioch (called Syrian- Jacobite), and this on January 28, 1945. Without ever belonging to a Gnostic Church, as one can be a Gnostic outside a Gnostic Apostolic Community, he edited an article in Mgr Victor Blanchard

“l’Initiation” (1978), having as subject, “What is the Gnostic Church?”. Robert Amadou never avoided studying the Kabala neither Sufi teaching. He was also admitted in a Sufi brotherhood. He claimed, “Judaism, Christianity and Islam, are the three pillars of Abrahamic Wisdom”. Priest of the Lord Jesus Christ, he often celebrated for the French Martinists. He met Archbishop Nils

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Bertil Persson in Paris, September 1988, and became an active member in France of St. Ephrem’s Institute, Solna, Sweden He consecrated, and vice versa Nils Bertil Persson as seen below in the Syrian-Jacobite Apostolic Succession list. The mutual consecrations were “sub conditione”. He never left his black cassock, as he pointed out, “My cassock is analogous to my way of thinking, my function, my life.” I always wear my cassock even in the many traditional forms, religious or not, and in the various initiation orders, and the Providence granted me to be engaged in Christian Gnosticism. Mgr Victor Blanchard consecrating me, of which the Martinist Order comes from; the Sufi brotherhoods (the Koran revelation where the biblical revelation is perfected; the Islam, religion of Abraham, as the third religion which came forth from the father of all believers, assuming and completing Judeo-Christianity, with Sufism deepening the knowledge of God. Along the Bible and the Koran, Bishop Robert Amadou was a “friend of God.” The Apostolic Succession of Saint Peter at Antioch as it has its off-spring in the ancient lineage of Melchizedek to the Master Jesus, is the most ancient spiritual lineage that can be traced through history. It is more ancient than any historically extant Tibetan, Hindu, Buddhist, Chinese or other lineage of priesthood or discipleship. It is 2000 years old. Embedded in the lineages are not only the divine Apostolic powers and energies transmitted directly from the Master Jesus by the laying-on of hands, but also the centuries of dedicated work of heart, soul, and spirit that all those who laboured in the lineages transmitted through their striving and service.

The Western churches follow the conventions described by Augustine of Hippo in the Fourth Century for valid Apostolic Succession:

1. Consecration of a Bishop must be done in the context of the Eucharist or Holy Communion Liturgy

2. There must be an actual laying-on of hands by the Consecrating Bishop

3. The Consecrator must be a validly Consecrated Bishop and

4. The Consecrator's intention must be to Consecrate a Bishop (i.e., not coerced).

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THE ANTIOCHIAN - JACOBITE SUCCESSION

(Also called the Vilatte Succession or the Malankara Syrian Succession)

“Have you an Apostolic Succession? Unfold the line of your Bishops.”

(Tertullian, 3rd Century)

Table of succession of the Patriarchate of Antioch showing its western development. This patriarchate has never ceased to elect and consecrate her own Patriarch and has preserved the Apostolic Succession unbroken. It was the first Gentile Church founded by St. Peter in 35 A.D. according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, and it was here that the followers of Jesus Christ were first called Christians. (1) Peter, 38; (2) Evodus 40; (3) Ignatius I, 43; (4) Aaron, 123; (5) Cornelius, 123; (6) Eodos, 142 (7) Theophulus, 157 (8) Maximinus, 171 (9) Seraphim, 179 (10) Astlediaes, 189 (11) Philip, 201 (12) Sebinus {Zebinus},219 (13) Babylos, 237; (14) Fabius, 250; (15) Demetrius, 251; (16) Paul I, 259; (17) Domnus I, 270; (18) Timotheus, 281; (19) Cyrilus, 281; (20) Tyrantus, 296; (21) Vitalius, 301; (22) Philognius, 318; (23) Eustachius, 323; (24) Paulinius, 338; (25) Philabianus, 383; (26) Evagrius, 386; (27) Phosohorius, 416; (28) Alexander, 418; (29) John I, 428; (30) Theodotus, 431; (31) Domnus II, 442;

(43) Patra, 571; (44) Domnus IV, 586; (45) Julianus, 591; (46) Athanasius I, 595; (47) John II, 636; (48) Theodorus I, 649; (49) Severus, 668; (50) Athanasius II, 684; (51) Julianus II, 687; (52) Elias I, 709; (53) Athanasius III 724; (54) Evanius I, 740 (55) Gervasius I, 759 (56) Joseph, 790 (57) Cyriacus, 793 (58) Dionysius I, 818 (59) John III, 847; (60) Ignatius II, 877; (61) Theodosius, 887 (62) Dionysius II 897 (63) John IV, 910 (64) Basilus I, 922 (65) John V, 936 (66) Evanius II, 954 (67) Dionysius III, 958 (68) Abraham I, 962 (69) John VI, 965 (70) Athamasius IV, 987 (71) John VII, 1004 (72) Dionysius IV, 1032 (73) Theodorus II, 1042

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|32) Maximus, 450; (33) Accacius, 454; (34) Martyrius, 457; (35) Peter II, 464; (36) Philadius, 500; (37) Serverius, 509; (38) Segius, 544; (39) Domnus III, 547; (40) Anadtasius, 560; (41) Gregory I, 564; (42) Paul II, 567;

(74) Athanasius V, 1058 (75) John VIII, 1064 (76) Basilius II, 1074 (77) Abdoone, 1076 (78) Dionysius V, 1077 (79) Evanius III, 1080 (80) Dionysius VI, 1088 (81) Athanasius VI, 1091 (82) John IX, 1131 (83) Athanasius VII, 1139 (84) Michael I, 1167

(85) Athanasius VIII, 1200 (86) Michael II, 1207 (87) John X, 1208 (88) Ignatius III, 1223; (89) Dionysius VII, 1253 (90) John XI, 1253 (91) Ignatius IV, 1264 (92) Philanus, 1283 (93) Ignatius Baruhid, 1293 (94) Ignatius Ismael, 1333 (95) Ignatius Basilius III, 1366 (96) Ignatius Abraham II, 1382 (97) Ignatius Bacalius IV, 1412 (98) Ignatius Behanam I, 1415; (99) Ignatius Kalejih, 1455 (100) Ignatius John XII, 1483 (101) Ignatius Noah, 1492 (102) Ignatius Jesus I, 1509; (103) Ignatius Jacob I, 1510 (104) Ignatius David I, 1519 (105) Ignatius Abdullah I, 1520 (106) Ignatius Naamathalak, 1557

(107) Ignatius David II, 1577 (108) Ignatius Philathus, 1591 (109) Ignatius Abdullah II, 1597 (110) Ignatius Cadhai, 1598 (111) Ignatius Simeon, 1640 (112) Ignatius Jesus II, 1661 (113) Ignatius Messiah, 1661 (114) Ignatius Cabeeb, 1686 (115) Ignatius Gervasius II, 1687 (116) Ignatius Isaac, 1708 (117) Ignatius Siccarablak, 1722 (118) Ignatius Gervasius III, 1746 (119) Ignatius Gervasius IV, 1768 (120) Ignatius Mathias, 1781 (121) Ignatius Behanam, 1810 (122) Ignatius Jonas, 1817 (123) Ignatius Gervasius V, 1818 (124) Ignatius Elias II, 1839 (125) Ignatius Jacob II, 1847 (126) Mar Ignatius Peter III, 1872.1

Boutros Ibn Salmo Mesko-Mar Ignatius Peter III (IV) Syrian Jacobite Patriarch of Antioch and the East, on the 4th of December 1876, consecrated: (127) Kadril Kooran-Mar Paul Athanasius Bishop of Liottayan, and was appointed as the representative of the 1 Antiochian Patriarchs after Ignatius Peter III (IV) Ignatius Abdul Masih II 1895-1905 Abdul Masih was deposed in 1905. Ignatius Abd Allah II 1906-1915 Ignatius Elias III 1917-1932 Ignatius Afram I Barsoum 1933-1957 Ignatius Jacob III 1957-1980 Ignatius Zakka I Iwas 1980-

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Patriarch of Antioch, who, in accordance with the Patriarchal Bull of Ignatius Peter III (IV), of January 1889, on the 29th of July 1889, assisted by the Metropolitan Archbishops George Gregorius and Paul Evanius consecrated: (128) Antonio Francis Xavier Alvarez (Mar Julius I) Archbishop of Ceylon, who in accordance with the Patriarchal Bull of Ignatius Peter III, of 29 December 1891, did on the 29th of May 1892, at the Church of Notre Dame de Bonne-Mort in Columbo, Ceylon, assisted by the Syrian Metropolitan Archbishops Mar Athanasius, of Kottayan and Mar Georgius, Bishop of Niranam consecrated: (129) Joseph Rene Vilatte Archbishop Metropolitan of all the Orthodox Catholics of the Americas, extending his apostolate in Europe, and restores the Gallican Church (“Eglise Catholique Apostolique Française”, commonly known as “Gallican”). Joseph René Vilatte consecrates May 6, 1900: Paul Miraglia Gulotti , from the Catholic Italian Church, who consecrates December 4, 1904:

Jules Houssaye (l’Abbé Julio), Archbishop of the Catholic French Church (Gallican), who in Geneva (Switzerland), consecrates on June 21, 1911:

Louis François Giraud, Patriarch of the Gallican Catholic Church, who consecrates on July 21, 1913:

Jean Bricaud (Tau Jean II), Primate of the Eglise Catholique Gnostique (later, Eglise Gnostique Universelle), who consecrates May 5, 1918:

Victor Blanchard (Tau Targelius), who consecrates January 7, 1945:

Roger Menard (Tau Eon II), who consecrates June 10, 1946:

Robert Ambelain (Tau Robert-Jean III), who consecrates May 31, 1959 :

Roger Deschamps (Tau Jean Rudiger), who consecrates June 1, 1963 :

Armand Toussaint (Tau Raymond Panagion), later Primate of the

Victor Blanchard (Tau Targelius), who consecrates January 28, 1945:

Robert Amadou, having received the Minor and Major Orders up and including priesthood by the same on January 25, 1945. Robert Amadou consecrated on September 17, 1988 in Paris:

Nils Bertil Alexander Persson, who consecrated on June 25, 1995 in London (UK), with co-consecrators, Bishops Hans Dieter Sauerlandt, and

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Rosicrucian Apostolic Church, who confers the Minor and Major Orders up to the priesthood, and consecrates to the episcopate, June 10, 1972:

Roger Caro (Pierre Phoebus, later also Stephanos), who consecrates June 7, 1974, assisted by the co-consecrators, Jean-Paul Charlet (Jethro), Maurice Auberger (Theophoreonai), and the other bishops on the Synod, all laying on hands, saying “Receive the Holy Spirit)”:

Archbishop Philippe Laurent De Coster, of the Latin Old Roman Catholic Church of Flanders. To have for ecumenical reasons, all the other reconsecrations of the Patriarch Roger Caro, he was consecrated “sub conditione” (under condition), a last time, also on a Synod, with the same assistant bishops, and all other present, on June 30, 1979.

George Boyer:

Archbishop Philippe Laurent De Coster, of the Latin Old Roman Catholic Church of Flanders

.

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Here follows a few documents and photos:

Christmas wishes from Archbishop Joseph René Vilatte to Bishop Jean Bricaud

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Bishop Robert Amadou consecrating “sub conditione” Nils Bertil Alexander Persson.

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At the Episcopal Consecration in London, June 25, 1995.

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Ethiopian Orthodox Coptic Church of North and South America

Introduction

The Coptic Church (Arabic qubt; from Greek aiguptios, "Egyptian"), is the major Christian church in Egypt. Its name points to its national origins. Unsubstantiated tradition attributes to the apostle Mark the initial preaching of Christianity in Egypt. Recent scholarship suggests that the origins of Egyptian Christianity are to be found among the Jews living in Alexandria in the 1st century AD. By the end of the 2nd century in Alexandria, the major city of Hellenistic Egypt, the Christian catechetical school headed by Clement of Alexandria had already acquired great fame. Origen, the founder of Greek Christian theology and biblical science, followed Clement as head of the school. In the 4th and 5th centuries, two great bishops of Alexandria defended Christian orthodoxy - Saint Athanasius, against Arianism, and Saint Cyril, against Nestorianism.

Some Egyptian Christians, however, refused to follow the decrees of the Council of Chalcedon (451), which defined the person of Jesus Christ as being "one in two natures." The doctrine of "two natures" appeared to them to imply the existence of two Christs, divine and human, and was therefore tainted with Nestorianism. They upheld the

terminology of Cyril, who had spoken of "one incarnate nature of God the Word." Those Egyptian Christians who rejected the Council of Chalcedon - a council accepted both in Constantinople (present-day Ýstanbul) and in Rome - faced charges of Monophysitism, the belief that Christ has only one nature rather than two.

Only a few Alexandrians remained faithful to Chalcedonian orthodoxy. Because this minority was supported by Byzantine imperial authorities, the Copts developed national and cultural animosity against the Byzantine Empire. This hostility facilitated the conquest of Egypt by the Arab Muslims in the 7th century. Today the Coptic Christian population of Egypt constitutes a substantial minority of about 7 million, although official government statistics lower this figure. Traditionally the Coptic church is headed by the pope and patriarch of Alexandria, who is nominated by an electoral college of clergy and laity, with the final selection among three leading nominees decided by lot. After the Egyptian government banished the pope to a desert monastery in September 1981, church-state relations were handled by a commission of five Coptic clergymen; the pope was restored to his powers early in 1985.

With a flourishing monastic tradition dating from the early Christian era (1st century to 8th century), the church has, in recent times, encouraged the development of a modern school system. The Coptic Church has also been in fruitful communication with the Ethiopian, Armenian, Jacobite, and Malabâr communities. Recent discussion between Coptic and

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Eastern Orthodox theologians has indicated that the controversies of the past, provoked mainly by verbal differences, could be overcome and communion restored between the two.

Saint Mark the Evangelist (Lived 1st century, Jerusalem — died traditionally Alexandria, Egypt; Western feast day April 25; Eastern feast day September 23) Christian evangelist to whom the second Gospel is traditionally ascribed. He joined Saints Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary journey but left them at Perga and returned to Jerusalem. He may also have aided St. Peter in Rome, and some scholars believe that Mark's Gospel is based on Peter's account of his experiences as one of the Twelve Apostles. If this is true, it was probably written shortly after Peter's death c. AD 65. The Egyptian church claims Mark as its founder, and he is patron saint of the Italian cities of Aquileia and Venice. His symbol is the lion. He is also believed to be the first Patriarch of Alexandria by both the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Coptic Orthodox Church, and thus the founder of Christianity in Africa. His evangelistic symbol is the winged lion.

Popes of the Coptic Orthodox Church Mark I (43-68) Peter III Michael II John VII Peter VI Anianus (68-82) Athanasius II Cosmas II Theodosius III John XVII Avilius (83-95) John I Shenouda I John VIII Mark VII Kedron (96-106) John II Michael III John IX John XVIII Primus(106-118) Dioscorus II Gabriel I Benjamin II Mark VIII Justus (118-129) Timothy III Cosmas III Peter V Peter VII Eumenes(131-141) Theodosius I Macarius I Mark IV Cyril IV Markianos(142-152) |Peter IV Theophilus II John X Demetrius II Celadion (152-166) Damian Mina II Gabriel IV Cyril V Agrippinus (167-178)

Anastasius Abraham Matthew I John XIX

Julian( 178-189) Andronicus Philotheos Gabriel V Macarius III Demetrius I (189-232)

Benjamin I Zacharias John XI Joseph II

Heraclas (232-248) Agatho Shenouda II Matthew II Cyril VI Dionysius (248-264) John III Christodolos Gabriel VI Shenouda III2 Maximus (265-282) Isaac Cyril II Michael VI Theonas (282-300) Simeon I Michael IV John XII Peter I (300-311) Alexander II Macarius II John XIII Achillas (312-313) Cosmas I Gabriel II Gabriel VII Alexander I (313-

326)3 Theodosius II Michael V John XIV

2Present Pope of Alexandria: Shenouda III (1971-Present)

3 First ecumenical Council occurred vacant (326-328)

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Athanasius I (328-339)4

Michael I John V Gabriel VIII

Peter II (373-380) Mina I Mark III Mark V Timothy I (380-385)5

John IV John VI John XV

Theophilus I (385-412)

Mark II Cyril III Matthew III

Cyril I (412-444)6

Jacob Athanasius III Mark VI

Dioscorus I(444-454)7

Simeon II John VII Matthew IV

Timothy II (457-477)

Joseph I Gabriel III John XVI

Coptic Popes of Alexandria

The following is a list of all the Coptic Popes of Alexandria who have led the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria and have succeeded the Apostle Mark the Evangelist in the office of Bishop of Alexandria, who founded the Church in the 1st century, and therefore marked the beginning of Christianity in Africa. It is one of the five ancient patriarchates of the early Church, called the Pentarchy. The title Pope has been first adopted by Pope Heraclas as the first Alexandrian Bishop to be known by this title. The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria is one of the the Oriental Orthodox churches (not to be mistaken with the Eastern Orthodox group of churches) and is presided over by the Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria who is the body's spiritual leader. The Oriental Orthodox believe that they are the "One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic" Church of the ancient Christian creeds. Currently this position is held by His Holiness Pope Shenouda III, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of all Africa on the Holy the See of St. Mark. For the Patriarchs of Alexandria prior to the schism after the Council of Chalcedon, see List of Patriarchs of Alexandria. For the patriarchs of the Eastern Orthodox Church after the split with the Oriental Orthodox church.

4 Served as a Deacon for the First Council; became Pope of Alexandria. Gregory of Cappadocia (339-346), Arian Patriarch; not accepted by the adherents of the Nicene creed (and thus not counted by Coptic Orthodox, Byzantine Orthodox or Catholic lineages. Athanasius I (restored) (346-373)

5 Second Ecumenical Council occurred.

6 Third Ecumenical Council occurred.

7 Fourth Ecumenical Council occurred/Schism between Oriental Orthodoxy and Dyophysitism - vacant (454-457)

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List of Orthodox Patriarchs of Alexandria Note: Not all of the dates given are certain. Some of these dates disagree with those given in Coptic publications such as The English Katameros. In some cases, this is due to publications errors, which have been corrected. In other cases, calendar differences may have caused some confusion.

See list above, from the Apostle Saint Mark to Timothy II (457-477) as hereunder:

Timothy II (457-477) Cyril III (1235-1243) Peter III (477-489) vacant (1243-1250) Athanasius II (489-496) Athanasius III (1250-1261) John I (496-505) John VII (1261-1268) John II (505-516) Gabriel III (1268-1271) Dioscorus II (516-517) John VII (restored) (1271-1293) Timothy III (517-535) Theodosius III (1293-1300) Theodosius I (535-567) John VIII (1300-1320) Dorotheos (567-569) John IX (1320-1327) Damian (569-605) Benjamin II (1327-1339) Anastasius (605-616) Peter V (1340-1348) Andronicus (616-622) Mark IV (1348-1363) Benjamin I (622-661) John X (1363-1369) Agatho (661-677) Gabriel IV (1370-1378) John III (677-688) Matthew I (1378-1408) Isaac (688-689) Gabriel V (1408-1427) Simeon I (689-701) John XI (1427-1452) Alexander II (702-729) Matthew II (1453-1466) Cosmas I (729-730) Gabriel VI (1466-1475) Theodosius II (730-742) Michael VI (1475-1477) Michael I (743-767) John XII (1480-1483) Mina I (767-775) John XIII (1483-1524) John IV (776-799) vacant (1524-1526) Mark II (799-819) Gabriel VII (1526-1569) Jacob (819-830) vacant (1569-1573) Simeon II (830) John XIV (1573-1589) Joseph I (831-849) Gabriel VIII (1587-1603) Michael II (849-851) vacant (1603-1610) Cosmas II (851-858) Mark V (1610-1621) Shenouda I (859-880) John XV (1621-1631) Michael III (880-907) Matthew III (1631-1645) vacant (907-910) Mark VI (1645-1660) Gabriel I (910-921) Matthew IV (1660-1676) Cosmas III (921-933) John XVI (1676-1718) Macarius I (933-953) Peter VI (1718-1726) Michael V (1145-1146) John XVII (1727-1745) Theophilus II (953-956) Mark VII (1745-1769) Mina II (956-974) John XVIII (1769-1796) Abraham (975-978) Mark VIII (1797-1810)

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Philotheos (979-1003) Peter VII (1810-1852) Zacharias (1004-1032) vacant (1852-1854) Shenouda II (1032-1046) Cyril IV (1854-1861) Christodolos (1047-1077) Demetrius II (1862-1870) Cyril II (1078-1092) vacant (1870-1874) Michael IV (1092-1102) Cyril V (1874-1927) Macarius II (1102-1131) John XIX (1928-1942) Gabriel II (1131-1145) Macarius III (1942-1944) John V (1147-1166) vacant (1944-1946) Mark III (1166-1189) (1) Joseph II (Anba Yusak II) (1946-1956) John VI (1189-1216) vacant (1956-1959) vacant (1216-1235) (2) Cyril VI (Anba Kirillus/Kirollos VI

(Azer Joseph Atta) (1959-1971)

1. Anba Yusak II (Egyptian Coptic Pope) (Enthronement 1946) (+ 14.11.1956), Archbishop of Girga, Patriarch of Alexandria, consecrated January 13, 1951, as Patriarchal Vicar (Itchege): Gebre Giyorgis (Anba Basilios), Archbishop of the Orthodox Coptic Church, Archdiocese of Ethiopia in 1951. He was the Patriarch-Catholicos of the Orthodox Coptic Church in 1959. (+ 1970).

2. Anba Kirillus/Kirollos VI (Azer Joseph Atta) (Coptic Pope) (See photograph) (October 3, 1902 – March 9, 1971), Patriarch of Alexandria of the Orthodox Coptic Church in 1959. Abba Kirollos VI enthroned as first Patriarch-Catholicos, June 28, 1959 of the Orthodox Ethiopian Coptic Church, Anba Basilios (Abuna Basilios) (+ October 12, 1970).

3. Abuna Basilios is the consecrator of La Von Miguel Haithman (Abba Gabre Mikael Kristos) (+ 1985). He was ordained priest in 1959 for the Orthodox Ethiopian Church. In the capital city of Addis Ababa, Abuna Mikael was ordained to the Episcopacy, by His Holiness Abuna Basilios, Abuna

Markos Patriarch of Gojjam, and His Grace Petros, Metropolitan of Gondar, on July 12, 1959. Archbishop metropolitan Gabre Mikael Kristos, assisted by the bishops Gabre Kristos Jeremiah (David William Worley) and Marcos Kristos (Lennard Lares), consecrated February 16, 1982, Philip Lewis. He was ordained priest in the Orthodox Episcopal Church, April 4, 1972. He was elected Archbishop Metropolitan and Primate of the Orthodox Ethiopian Coptic Church of the Americas North and South, and of Europe in 1990.

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4. Archbishop Philip Lewis consecrated under condition (sub conditione) October 13, 1990, Archbishop Nils Bertil Persson, Primate of the Apostolic Episcopal Universal Church (the Apostolic Episcopal Church Worldwide).

5. Archbishop Nils Bertil Alexander Persson, who consecrated on June 25, 1995 in London (UK), with co-consecrators, Bishops Hans Dieter Sauerlandt, and George Boyer:


A Few Biographies of Popes and Prelates

of the former Ethiopian Orthodox Church and the newly founded Ethiopian Orthodox Coptic Church (1962)

Anba Kirillus/Kirollos VI (Azer Joseph Atta) (Coptic Pope)

Pope Cyril VI was born in Damanhour, Egypt, into a Coptic Orthodox family. He resigned a civil service position to become a monk in July 1927. He passed his probationary period and, on February 24, 1928, took his monastic vows at the Paromeos (Roman) Monastery and assumed the name of Father Mina el-Baramosy (Mina of the Roman Monastery).

In 1947, Father Mina built the Church of Saint Mina in Cairo and used to pray in the Church of the Holy Virgin (Babylon El-Darag) before assuming papacy.

He became Pope of Alexandria on May 10, 1959 (2 Pashons, 1675 A.M.) On June 28, 1959,

In accordance with the old Coptic church tradition Pope Cyril VI was the only Monk in the 20th century to be chosen to be the Coptic Pope without being a Bishop /Metropolitan before becoming the Pope as before him there was three Bishops / Metropolitans who became Popes; John XIX (1928-1942) , Macarius III (1942-1944) and Pope Yousab II and after him Pope Shenouda III was a Bishop before becoming a Pope.

Pope Cyril VI elevated the Archbishop of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church to the title of Patriarch-Catholicos. Abuna Baslios, who was the first Ethiopian to be appointed Archbishop of Ethiopia by the previous Pope, Pope Joseph II, became Ethiopia's first Patriarch. Pope Cyril VI was awarded the Grand Cordon of the Star of Solomon by Emperor

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Haile Selassie in gratitude. In November 1959 he laid the foundation stone of the new Monastery of Saint Mina in the Mariout Desert.

In January 1965, Pope Cyril VI presided over the Committee of Oriental Orthodox Churches in Addis Ababa, the first ecumenical and non-Chalcedonian synod of these churches held in modern times.

In June 1968, Pope Cyril received the relics of Saint Mark the Evangelist and Apostle, which had been taken from Alexandria to Venice over eleven centuries earlier. The Saint's relics were interred beneath the newly built Cathedral of Saint Mark in Cairo, which was built by Pope Cyril and was inaugurated in a ceremony attended by President Nasser, Emperor Haile Selassie, and delegates from most of the world's churches.

The papacy of HH Pope Cyril VI was also marked by the unprecedented Apparitions of

the Virgin Mary in Zeitoun, Egypt (starting on 2 April 1968).

It is said that Pope Cyril VI was gifted with prescience, and that he knew who was coming to see him, their needs (before they revealed them), and God's answers to them. For instance, he knew the time of his departure. He is also said to have had the gift of bilocation. It is believed by many that countless miracles occurred and continue to occur to this day through the intercession of Pope Cyril VI.

At his death bed, Pope Cyril VI said this to the clergy: "I am leaving to the Lord... With vigilance defend the Church... may the Lord shepherd you." He died on March 9, 1971, after a short illness.

Attesting to the sanctity of his predecessor, HH Pope Shenouda III stated "There is no man in all the history of the church like Pope Cyril VI, who was able to pray this many liturgies. He prayed more than 12,000 liturgies. This matter never happened before in the history of any pope of the popes of Alexandria or the world, or even among the monks. He was wondrous in his prayers."

The seat of the Pope during his papacy in Cairo remained in the Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Azbakeya in Cairo but he built the Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Abbasseya Cairo which is currently the Seat of the Coptic Orthodox Pope.

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Abuna Basilios

His Holiness Abuna Basilios was born on 23rd April 1891 in Mada Mikael, a village in the district of Merhabete in Shoa Province. Woldetzadik Solomon, his father, was an ecclesiastical official. In his home town he received elementary church education and then he entered the Monastery of Debre Libanos where he received advanced religious education. He took the oath of celibacy and became a monk at the age of 21. For 12 years thereafter he served in the same Monastery. At the beginning of the year 1933 he was nominated Head of the Ethiopian Churches and Monasteries in Jerusalem. He had already given distinguished service in various capacities for several years, in important monasteries and churches in Ethiopia. He remained in Jerusalem for two years. During that time

he continued to experience that profound satisfaction which comes through prayer and which is given only to the elect and pure inn heart. While in Jerusalem, he used to visit reverently those places where Christ had lived in poverty and humility, where he had preached to the crowds, where He had given back health and hope to the sick and resurrection to the dead, where He had shown the way of that truth which leads to eternal life. Abuna Basilios thus consolidated his theological knowledge which, once he came back to his fatherland, enabled him to fulfil the duties of Etcheguie of the Ethiopian Church open to an Ethiopian. He became known as Etcheguie Guebre Guiorguis. During Facist Invasion in 1935 he accompanied His Imperial Majesty and the Ethiopian troops to the battle of Maichew where he gave moral support to all. During the five years of the foreign occupation, he lived in exile in Jerusalem. In those difficult and troubled days for Ethiopia, he remained constantly in touch with the resistance fighters and through them he sent words of encouragement to the population of Ethiopia. Abuna Basilios was consecrated Archbishop in July 1948 during a ceremony held at the Patriarchate of Saint Mark in Egypt. In 1950, on the death in Cairo of Abuna Kyrollos, 110th and last Egyptian Archbishop of Ethiopia, he became Head of the Church of Ethiopia, with authority to nominate Bishops and Archbishops. Later in the year 1959, during a solemn ceremony at which His Majesty Emperor Haile Sellasie I was present, he was consecrated first Ethiopian Patriarch of the National Church of Ethiopia. Reference: The Church of Ethiopia – The National Church in the Making – by Yolande Mara (ASMARA – Publisher “IL POLIGRAFICO” (1972), pages 113-115)

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Abuna Basilios from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Some reform was also effected within the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. In July 1948, Haile Selassie initiated steps, completed in 1956, by which he, rather than the patriarch of Alexandria, would appoint the abuna, or Patriarch, of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. Thus, for the first time in sixteen centuries of Ethiopian Christianity, an Ethiopian rather than an Egyptian served as head of the national church. The Ethiopian church, however, continued to recognize the primacy of the Alexandrian see. The Coptic and Ethiopian Churches reached an agreement on 13 July 1948 that led to autocephaly for the Ethiopian Church. Five bishops were immediately consecrated by the Coptic Pope of Alexandria and Patriach of All Africa, empowered to elect a new Patriarch for their church, and the successor to Abuna Qerellos IV would have the power to consecrate new bishops. This promotion was completed when Coptic Orthodox Pope Joseph II consecrated an Ethiopian-born Archbishop, Abuna Basilios, 14 January 1951. Then in 1959, Pope Cyril VI of Alexandria crowned Abuna Basilios as the first Patriarch of Ethiopia.Patriarch Abune Basilios died in 1970, and was succeeded that year by Patriarch Abune Tewophilos. This appointment was followed by the creation of enough new bishoprics to allow the Ethiopians to elect their own patriarch. Abuna Basilios, the first Ethiopian archbishop, was elevated to the status of Patriarch in 1959. The postwar years also saw a change in the church-state relationship; the vast church landholdings became subject to tax legislation, and the clergy lost the right to try fellow church officials for civil offences in their own court.

La Von Miguel Haithman (Anba Gabre Mikael Kristos)

In a climate of confusion, a number of branches of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church now exist in the West, reflecting the divisions in Africa. The last Emperor of Ethiopia, official head of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, Emperor Haile Selassie I, commissioned Abuna Mikael Gabre Kristos, to establish a diocese of the Ethiopian Church in the Americas. In the capital city of Addis Ababa, Abuna Mikael was ordained to the Episcopacy, by His Holiness Abuna Basilios, Abuna Markos Patriarch of Gojjam, and His Grace Petros, Metropolitan of Gondar, on July 12, 1959. Two days later, in the royal hall,he was invested in office by Emperor Halle Selassie I, and sent with Ukase to establish the church in the west, especially towards Africans of the Diaspora. He was bestowed and installed in the order of Nebur-id. Knowing that unfavorable political change which would affect the church was soon forthcoming, and that there might come a necessity to create a legally separate organization in the west, His Majesty gave Abuna Mikael the freedom to do so.

In 1959, Abuna Mikael served as sponsor for a group of five priests and five deacons sent by Abuna Basilios for advanced study. However, some of the priests, including Fr. Laike Mandefro broke relations with Abuna Mikael. Fr. Laike Mandefro sought authority from Abuna Theophilos (after the death of Abuna Basilios) to begin to gather Ethiopian-Americans into a congregation in Brooklyn, which was later relocated to the Bronx. As the work of Fr.

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Laike Mandefro grew, he was raised to the rank of Archimandrite and placed in charge of the Ethiopian Church in the West, Archimandrite Mandefro was consecrated a bishop. Mandfredo was invested in 1979 as Abuna Yeshaq, Archbishop of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church in the Western Hemisphere.

Abuna Mikael recognized a similar need, and established the Ethiopian Orthodox Coptic Church of North and South America, reinserting the name “Coptic” into the name of the church, (1962) because he wanted strongly to identify with and maintain connection to the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria as well as the royal and ecclesiastical line of Ethiopia. His Beatitude imparted to each of his sons the coveted Apostolic Succession of the Oriental Stream.

Pope Cyril VI approved the initiation of the Patriarchate of Ethiopia, long hoped for by the Ethiopian church, by ordaining the first Ethiopian patriarch, His Holiness Abuna Basilios. This Established for the first time a separate Ethiopian Orthodox Church (1959), which until then had existed as a branch under the mother Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria of Egypt.

The Ethiopian Orthodox Coptic Church of NSA, being an Autocephalous body, recognize H.H Pope Shenouda III, Abuna Merkorios, in exile, as the lawful Patriarch, and Abuna Apollo as Metropolitan Primate. Being an autocephalous body, this group is not under the control or directly governed by the See of Alexandria. The Holy See of the Ethiopian Orthodox Coptic Archdiocese of North and South Amercia is located in Manhattan, New York. (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.)

Abuna Gabre Mikael Kristos (Lavon M Haithman) Social Security death index

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His Holiness Abune Basilios consecrating bishops

Archbishop Lewis Philip – Archbishop Bertil Persson – George Boyer

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Ethiopian Orthodox Coptic Congregation

London (UK), June 25, 1995

At consecration “sub conditione of Archbishop Philippe Laurent De Coster, B.Th., D.D.

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A page from the church registry with signature of Archbishop Philip Lewis

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From “Independent Bishops – An International Directory, Edited by Gary L. Ward, Bertil Persson and Alain Bain (Apogee Books, Penobscot

Building, Detroit, Michigan 48226), 1990.”

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In Memory of Pope Kirollos VI (Azer Joseph Atta)

Archbishop Philippe Laurent De Coster, at a consecration (under condition)

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Apostolic Succession from the Russian Orthodox Church through Bishops Joseph A. Zuk, Walter Myron Propheta,

and La Von Miguel Haithman (Gabre Mikael Kristos), along the American Orthodox Catholic Church.

Foreword The Mission Statement of The American Orthodox Catholic Church - Propheta Jurisdiction is to foster and propagate, in the example of our Holy Father St. Walter Myron Propheta, a true and authentic American Orthodox Catholicism: faithfully expressing the faith, belief, Traditions and Praxis of the early and undivided Church. Furthermore, we call both seeker and Disciple to leadership and accountability in the Orthodox and Catholic Church; empowering them to use the every gift given for the ministerial uplifting of all the People of God.

The American Orthodox Catholic Church, is also known as the Propheta Jurisdiction. Its foundations are in the Orthodox Patriarchate of Moscow in Russia. It is also related to the Coptic Orthodox Church of Ethiopia.

The AOCC, in its present form, was founded in 1964 as a separate and autocephalous jurisdiction, in a continuation of the autonomy granted to the initial American Orthodox Church. This Communion was chartered in the State of New York in 1965 by Patriarch Walter Myron Propheta of Blessed Memory. From the time of St. Propheta until the present, the AOCC has evolved from a long and storied past.

The current Hierarchs, Clergy and Seminarians of this Church have begun an attempt at breathing new life into an all-but-forgotten unique Orthodox legacy and the heritage of St. Walter Propheta, re-establishing and making relevant for these times a Communion long dormant.

The AOCC has taken upon itself the calling of implanting a truly American and all-embracing Orthodoxy, branching out into the Liturgical expressions of both Eastern and Western Orthodox Christianity.

As a result of this Church's roots in the ancient Patriarchate of Alexandria, and because of missionary activity reaching the Celtic Isles, a Celtic Orthodox presence has been established in this Jurisdiction.

The goal of St. Propheta and all other adherents is to make right faith and worship an empowering characteristic of personal and communal spirituality: this within the broader scope of returning to communion with the Body of Christ, with the Father, and with one another those who, for whatever reason, have been disenfranchised from their faith communities of origin, the restoration of the place of and the role this Church once held in the broader

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picture of American Church history, maintaining absolute Liturgical purity, and propagating uncompromised Apostolic teaching.

History As It Is

The AOCC-Propheta Jurisdiction in its present form, was founded in 1964 as a separate and independent jurisdiction. This Communion was chartered in the State of New York in 1965 by Patriarch Walter Myron Propheta of Blessed Memory.

The AOCC has taken upon itself the calling of implanting a truly American and all-embracing Orthodoxy, as distinct from the canonical jurisdictions of the Orthodox Church in America and the Ecumenical Patriarchate, branching out into the liturgical expressions of both Eastern and Western Orthodox Christianity.

The stated goal of Propheta and the AOCC is to make right faith and worship an empowering characteristic of personal and communal spirituality: this within the broader scope of returning to communion with the Body of Christ, with the Father, and with one another those who, for whatever reason, have been disenfranchised from their faith communities of origin, the restoration of the place of and the role this Church once held in the broader picture of American Church history, maintaining absolute Liturgical purity, and propagating uncompromised Apostolic teaching.

The first missionaries from the Orthodox Patriarchate of Moscow and all Russia, stepped upon the shores of the North American Continent in 1794; establishing a foundation on Kodiak Island, and building mission outposts in what is now the State of Alaska. Hierarch after Hierarch was consecrated in succession from the Patriarchal Seat and sent to serve and administer these parishes, clergy and faithful.

One such Bishop was Tikhon Bellavin, a holy Martyr for both the Church and for Orthodoxy, and a Canonized Saint: Metropolitan Archbishop of The Russian Orthodox Church in America during the years 1895-1907; until he was recalled to Moscow to lead the re-established Russian Patriarchate.

In 1917 Patriarch Tikhon and the Holy Synod elected a Presbyter from the Patriarchate of Antioch, Abdullah (Aftimios) Ofiesh, for consecration to the Episcopacy. Ofiesh had come to the United States to minister under the Omophora of the Exarch for all people of Arab descent in America, Archbishop St. Raphael Hawaweeny: Hawaweeny having been himself consecrated as Hierarch by St. Tikhon. Ofiesh was assigned to serve as Dean of the Cathedral of St. Nicholas in New York City.

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The Consecration of Fr. Aftimios as Bishop was celebrated at that very same Cathedral on May 31, 1917 by the laying on of hands from Archbishops Evdokim Mischersky of the Russian Church in America, Alexander Nemolovsky, Russian Orthodox Exarch for Canada and the Aleutian Islands, and Bishop Stephen Dzubai, of the Russian Orthodox Diocese of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In this sacramental act was passed to Hierarch Aftimios the validity and canonicity of Russian Orthodoxy.

The mandate subsequently given by Patriarch Tikhon to the new Bishop was to found, under Synodal Constitution from the Mother Church, an autonomous American Orthodox Church.

A decade later, this call was to be confirmed. In that year, 1927, Metropolitan Platon, spiritual leader of the Russian Orthodox Church in America and a successor to Patriarch St. Tikhon in this country, gave now Archbishop Ofiesh care and responsibility; reiterating the missionary challenge of St. Tikhon, of building an American Church for the Orthodox population of this country who were not being satisfactorily served by ethnic Orthodoxy; as well as those from other denominations of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church who might come to wish to associate themselves with an autonomous and independent American Orthodox Church.

As successive years unfolded, other Bishops from ethnic Churches would cooperate with one another in consecrating Hierarchs and ordaining clergy for their respective Jurisdictions, thus significantly contributing to the building of American Orthodoxy. Most notable among these are the Churches of Greece and Ukraine, the Church of Albania, and the Greek Patriarchate of Alexandria.

It is not only from its Russian heritage, but also from the other Churches and Patriarchates given to every other Bishop in the history and lineage of American Orthodoxy, including Walter Myron Propheta, that the AOCC claims the absolute legitimacy and validity of its descendency.

The Coptic Patriarchates of Alexandria (Egypt) and Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) Of more recent dating, and of equal importance to the history of the presently ministering AOCC - Propheta Jurisdiction is the Apostolic Lineage given from the Coptic Church of Ethiopia.

The first Hierarch to be spoken of here is Abuna Basilios, consecrated to the Episcopacy in 1951 by Patriarch Kyrillos VI and Archbishop Joseph Youasab II of the Coptic Church of Egypt. Upon the Orthodox Clergy and faithful of Ethiopia being granted their autocephaly, Basilios was consecrated as their Patriarch.

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In the decade of the 1950s, under Abuna Basilios, came a Fr. Gabre Mikael Kristos (La Von Miguel Haithman); originally ordained to the Presbyterate by Archbishop Hubert Augustus Rogers of The North American Old Roman Catholic Church. We do not know if the Ethiopian Patriarch Abuna Basilios accepted Fr. Mikael Kristos’ ordination by Rogers or if he re-ordained under condition him deacon and priest. It could be that Abuna Basilios accepted his Holy Orders up and included the priesthood; or, he may have wanted to confirm his Holy Orders.

In a climate of confusion, a number of branches of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church now exist in the West, reflecting the divisions in Africa. The last Emperor of Ethiopia, official head of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, Emperor Haile Selassie I, commissioned Abuna Mikael Gabre Kristos, to establish a diocese of the Ethiopian Church in the Americas. In the capital city of Addis Ababa, Abuna Mikael was ordained to the Episcopacy, by His Holiness Abuna Basilios, Abuna Markos Metropolitan of Gojjam (not ‘Patriarch’ as stated in Wikipedia’s article), and His Grace Petros, Metropolitan of Gondar, on July 12, 1959. Two days later, in the royal hall,he was invested in office by Emperor Halle Selassie I, and sent with Ukase to establish the church in the west, especially towards Africans of the Diaspora. He was bestowed and installed in the order of Nebur-id. Knowing that unfavorable political change which would affect the church was soon forthcoming, and that there might come a necessity to create a legally separate organization in the west, His Majesty gave Abuna Mikael the freedom to do so.

In 1959, Abuna Mikael served as sponsor for a group of five priests and five deacons sent by Abuna Basilios for advanced study. However, some of the priests, including Fr. Laike Mandefro broke relations with Abuna Mikael. Fr. Laike Mandefro sought authority from Abuna Theophilos (after the death of Abuna Basilios) to begin to gather Ethiopian-Americans into a congregation in Brooklyn, which was later relocated to the Bronx. As the work of Fr. Laike Mandefro grew, he was raised to the rank of Archimandrite and placed in charge of the Ethiopian Church in the West, Archimandrite Mandefro was consecrated a bishop. Mandfredo was invested in 1979 as Abuna Yeshaq, Archbishop of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church in the Western Hemisphere.

Abuna Mikael recognized a similar need, and established the Ethiopian Orthodox Coptic Church of North and South America, reinserting the name “Coptic” into the name of the church, (1962) because he wanted strongly to identify with and maintain connection to the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria as well as the royal and ecclesiastical line of Ethiopia. His Beatitude imparted to each of his sons the coveted Apostolic Succession of the Oriental Stream.

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Pope Cyril VI approved the initiation of the Patriarchate of Ethiopia, long hoped for by the Ethiopian church, by ordaining the first Ethiopian patriarch, His Holiness Abuna Basilios. This Established for the first time a separate Ethiopian Orthodox Church (1959), which until then had existed as a branch under the mother Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria of Egypt.

The Ethiopian Orthodox Coptic Church of NSA, being an Autocephalous body, recognize H.H Pope Shenouda III, Abuna Merkorios, in exile, as the lawful Patriarch, and Abuna Apollo as Metropolitan Primate. Being an autocephalous body, this group is not under the control or directly governed by the See of Alexandria. The Holy See of the Ethiopian Orthodox Coptic Archdiocese of North and South Amercia is located in Manhattan, New York.

It is remarked that prior to his return to this country in 1959, Gabre Mikael was consecrated to the episcopate, and nominated as assistant-bishop (‘chorbishop’, as some would say in Orthodoxy, word no longer in use at least in Roman Catholicism; while bishop-coadjutor or assistant is currently named) by Abuna Basilios; and in 1962 was ordained to the full Episcopacy, the “enthronment” part, also by Abuna Basilios, and named Metropolitan Primate of the EOCC for North and South America. (Concerning assistant or coadjutor bishops, refer to the Roman “Codex Iuris Canonici, Canon 403 to Canon 411.”)

Archbishop Walter Myron Propheta

In a treatise about the American Orthodox Catholic Church, it is also necessary to speak of Archbishop Walter Myron Propheta. Propheta was born in 1912 in the City of Lviv in Ukraine to Archpriest and Mrs. Dimitray Propheta. Archpriest Dimitray, being the eleventh generation of Ukrainian Orthodox clergy in his ancestry, was known in religion as Wolodymir I and was, according to the AOCC, a spiritual leader of some influence, respected among the Hierarchs of the Autocephalous Orthodox Communions as they existed in his time. Speaking in ecclesiastical terms, Walter Propheta was ordained to the Presbyterate, becoming the twelfth generation to carry on the legacy of Ukrainian Orthodox Priesthood in his family, on May 5, 1933 by The Most Reverend Bodhan Schpylka, Bishop and future Metropolitan Primate of The Ukrainian Orthodox Church in America - Ecumenical Patriachate of Constantinople: the UOCA having been founded by Archbishop Joseph Zuk. After a quarter century of service to this Orthodox Jurisdiction as Priest, Fr. Walter was elevated to the Office of Mitred Archpriest and appointed Chancellor of the UOCA; these honours were bestowed upon him in 1959 by

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Hierarch Schpylka. As Presbyter, Propheta was first Pastor of St. Mary's Ukrainian Orthodox Church in South Plainfield, New Jersey and others. In the late 1950s, the congregation at the Church of the Holy Resurrection in the Bronx, New York wished to have the vernacular brought into the celebration of the Divine Liturgy to replace the traditional Old Church Slavonic. It was Propheta's desire that the broader scope of not only the Church but also Orthodoxy be made available and accessible to all regardless of national origin. Due to a rubrical disagreement with Metropolitan Bodhan, who served as Dean of Priests as well as Pastor because Schpylka would not sanction the change, Archpriest Walter split from the Ukranian Orthodox Church and ventured into the realm of canonical, independent autocephaly. He took up the mission of restoring the vision of American Orthodoxy, like those who had come before him and whose succession he would soon share. In 1965, Propheta chartered the American Orthodox Catholic Church in New York. His resolve in this labour is shown by his cooperation with such well-known and longestablished Hierarchs as Archbishops Peter Zhurawetsky and Hubert Augustus Rogers, and many others. He himself, however, remained faithful to his Ukrainian Orthodox heritage. October 4, 1964 saw Archpriest Walter consecrated to episcopacy by Joachim Souris of The Greek Archdiocese of Brooklyn and New Jersey, (former American Exarchate of the Patriarchate of Alexandria) and Metropolitan Theodotus DeWitow of The Holy Orthodox Church in America. This Episcopal Consecration was sanctioned by the Roman Catholic Cardinal Archbishop of New York at the time, Francis Spellman, although the Episcopal consecration did not need the approval of the Roman Pope. Archbishop Theoklitos Kantaris of the Orthodox Church of Cyprus and Metropolitan DeWitow, on March 30, 1965 and by the laying on of hands, elevated Bishop Walter service as Archbishop and Metropolitan Primate of The American Orthodox Church/American Orthodox Catholic Church. The influence of The American Orthodox Church/American Orthodox Catholic Church under Propheta's Omophora in the 1960s and early 1970s extended to many parts of the world and was comprised of clergy and religious in Europe, Africa, the Caribbean, South America, Great Britain and the United States. Propheta died on October 8, 1972. He was laid to rest in the State of New Jersey. Propheta was canonized as a saint by the AOCC-Propheta Jurisdiction on June 9, 2004.

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The Ethiopian Orthodox Coptic Church of North and South America) The establishment of the Ethiopian Orthodox Coptic Church in North America would prove of great importance, for upon the assassination of Ethiopia's beloved Emperor Haile Selassie and the overthrow of the Ethiopian government, Abuna Basilios was sent into exile. He came to America and settled in New York City. The AOCC believes that at this time, the EOCC in Basilios' homeland fell into both heretical and blasphemous practices, while the EOCC Church in the United States, under Hierarch Gabre Mikael, retained its faithfulness to Canonical Orthodoxy. (This is not a view shared by the remainder of the Coptic Orthodox churches or by the broader Orthodox communion.) For a time also, The Ethiopian Orthodox Coptic Church came under the Omophora of Archbishop Propheta and was known as 'The American Orthodox Catholic Church - Archdiocese of the Coptic Rite.' Bishop Gabre Mikael Kristos and the Ethiopian Orthodox Coptic Church are integral to the history and the succession of the current AOCC - Propheta in that Gabre Mikael, who had also received Consecration from Archbishop Propheta and thus received the lineage of American Orthodoxy, was the principle consecrator of Archbishop Gabre Medhin Jeremiah (David W. Worley), retired Metropolitan Primate of The American Orthodox Church/American Orthodox Catholic Church.

Abuna Gabre Medhin Kristos Jeremiah (David William Worley) The year of our Lord 1970 saw the ordination of David William Worley to the Subdiaconate by a representative of ‘The American Orthodox Catholic Church – American Orthodox Church’ in Rochester, New York. Following the reception of this Minor Order; Subdeacon Worley went to the New York City Borough of the Bronx, entered Monastic Life, and began his service as a Cleric in the AOCC/AOC. His deaconate came shortly thereafter; and on September 12, 1970 he received the priesthood from the Most Reverend Anthony Everheart (Father Tony Everheart started his services in a tent. After, the building he founded at 726, Gate Avenue in Brooklyn, was dedicated by Archbishop Abuna Theophilus of the Ethiopian Church, on December 14, 1959). Bishop Everhearts was at that time 80 years of age. He also was an Auxiliary (assistant, coadjutor) Bishop to the Patriarch of the AOCC/AOC.

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Abuna Gabre Medhin Kristos Jeremiah’s association with Metropolitan Gabre Mikael Kristos and the Ethiopian Orthodox Coptic Church began in 1971; when, subsequent to his ordination and elevation to the Offices of Mitred Archpriest and Assistant Bishop (chorepiscopus, as some would say) at the hands of Patriarch Walter Myron Propheta and Archbishop John Christian Chiasson, he was assigned to minister with Abuna Mikael Kristos and the Ethiopian Orthodox Coptic Church; being also given the ministry as Jurisdiction’s Chancellor. November 18, 1972 saw Assistant-bishop (chorbishop) Jeremiah consecrated fully to the Episcopacy at the Cathedral Church of Saint of Saint Leonard in Brooklyn, New York. Metropolitan Gabre Mikael Kristos was the principle consecrator, assisted by Hierarchs Francis Ryan, James Edward Burns, and Anthony Everhaert. It is important to note that Abuna Jeremiah was the first and only non-African American to receive Episcopal Consecration in the Ethiopian Orthodox Coptic Church, within which he also established the Church of Saint Barbara. After his Episcopal Consecration Abuna Jeremiah was appointed the Bishop Ordinary for the Brooklyn, New York Diocese of the Ethiopian Orthodox Coptic Church. He was widely known and respected in and around New York City for his ministries among the African American, Hispanic, and Immigrant populations. Abuna Jeremiah was also invested in the Order of Saint Anthony of the Desert (Egypt), an Order of Ethiopian Knighthood, bestowed only on Clerics.

Archbishop Walter Myron Propheta’s Legacy

The influence of The American orthodox Church/American Orthodox Catholic Church under Propheta's Omophora in the 1960s and early 1970s extended to many parts of the world and was comprised of clergy and religious in Europe, Africa, the Caribbean, South America, Great Britain and the United States. Archbishop Walter Myron Propheta died on October 8, 1972. He was laid to rest in the State of New Jersey.

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Russian Orthodox and Ethiopian Orthodox Coptic Apostolic Successions

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

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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 March 1965 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. Patriarch Woldymyr I consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate La Von Miguel Haithman (known as Abuna Gabre Mikael Kristos), obviously ‘sub conditione’, because of his first consecration at Addis Ababa, Abuna Gabre Mikael Kristos being ordained to the Episcopacy, by His Holiness Abuna Basilios, Abuna Markos Metropolitan (Patriarch in Wikipedia) of Gojjam, and His Grace Petros, Metropolitan of Gondar, on July 12, 1959. Walter Myron elected on March 21, 1971 and consecrated same year 1971 in the Apostolic Succession of the Russian Orthodox Church through bishop Joseph A. Zuk:

La Von Miguel Haithman (Abuna Gabre Mikael Kristos). He consecrated, assisted by the bishops Gabre Kristos Jeremiah (David William Worley) and Marcos Kristos (Lennard Lares), on February 16, 1982, Philip Lewis. He was ordained priest in the Orthodox Episcopal Church, April 4, 1972. He was elected Archbishop Metropolitan and Primate of the Orthodox Ethiopian Coptic Church of the Americas North and South, and of Europe in 1990.

Archbishop Philip Lewis consecrated under condition (sub conditione) October 13, 1990, Archbishop Nils Bertil Persson, Primate of the Apostolic Episcopal Universal Church (the Apostolic Episcopal Church Worldwide).

Archbishop Nils Bertil Alexander Persson, who consecrated on June 25, 1995 in London (UK), with co-consecrators, Bishops Hans Dieter Sauerlandt, and George Boyer:


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On this “Deed of Election”, Abba Gabre Mikael Kristos is given the title of “Right Reverend Mitred Archimandrite”. An ordinary Archimandrite is normally a priest or an abbot. What is an Archimandrite? The title Archimandrite (Greek: ἀρχιµανδρίτης - archimandrites), primarily used in the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Eastern Catholic Churches, originally referred to a superior abbot whom a bishop appointed to supervise several "ordinary" abbots (each styled hegumenos) and monasteries, or to the abbot of some especially great and important monastery. Today, the title is also used as one purely of honor, with no connection to any actual monastery, bestowed on clergy as a mark of respect or gratitude for their services (this honor is only given to those priests who have taken vows of celibacy — "monastics" — while married clergy may receive instead the title of "archpriest.")

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The Apostolic Succession from the Church of the East

The Church of The East also known as The Syrian Church, The East Syrian Church, or The Church of Assyria, claims Apostolic origins. She traces Her existence back to a small Christian community founded by the Apostles Peter, Thomas, and Bartholomew, as well as St. Addai and St. Mari of The Seventy, at Edessa (Urfa) during the first century after Christ. Although Her list of Bishops, with their years of service to The Church, is even more difficult to verify than that of The Church of Rome, Her tradition of Apostolic Succession has never been challenged.

The Church of The East enjoyed a limited measure of tolerance during the first few centuries after Christ under Persian rule. This was due primarily to the Persian's endemic and inveterate hatred of the Romans and the persecution of the Christian religion in The Roman Empire.

About 280 A.D., Mar ("Lord", Abouna, Episkopos, Bishop) Papa organized The Church into a Metropolitanate centered around the city of Seleucia, which is about thirty miles from modern-day Baghdad. After the conversion of Emperor Constantine of Rome to Christianity, however, the loyalty of Persian Christians became suspect. For almost one hundred years (c. 330 - 440 A.D.) Christians in the Persian Empire suffered under intermittent persecution. One of the blessed martyrs, in fact, was The Catholicos (the designation for The Metropolitan of Seleucia-Ctesiphon after 280 A.D.), Shimun bar Sabbai. In the fifth century The Catholicos took the title of Catholicos-Patriarch of The East. The persecution of Christianity in the fourth and fifth centuries scattered the members of The Church across all of Asia; they brought their Church with them. The Church grew rapidly during these centuries, reaching Her peak of cultural development and influence during the reign of Catholicos-Patriarch Yabhalaha III (1283 - 1318 A.D.). The Church's members and missionaries by this time had carried The Church of The East across all of Asia, from Arabia to Ceylon, Burma, India, Thailand, Indochina and into China itself. The Assyrian Church seemed destined to become the sole source of Christian instruction for the oriental world. The rise of the Mongols, however, slowed this missionary effort, and nearly destroyed The Church.

By the mid-fifteenth century, the core of The Assyrian Church had sought refuge in the mountains of Kurdistan and Azerbaijan. Political developments about this time made communication between The Metropolitan of Malabar, a major center of The Church, and The Catholicos-Patriarch of The East impossible. This eventually resulted in the conversion of the Malabar members

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of The Church of The East to The Church of Rome or to the Syrian Orthodox Church of Antioch. The sack of Baghdad was followed by the widespread destruction of Church property and buildings, and the wholesale slaughter of Church leaders. This led, of necessity, to the election (with Shim'un V or VI) of the nephew of the previous Patriarch. The Patriarch had been raised in his uncle's house, trained from birth for the high position to which he was now elected. The Patriarchate now became hereditary in the bar Mama family, with succession passing from uncle to nephew or sometimes to brother. After the crisis subsided, upon the death of Ishu'yabh Shim'un VIII in 1551 A.D. (about one hundred years after the establishment of the hereditary Patriarchate) a significant faction of Bishops and secular leaders attempted to restore the ancient electoral process. They chose a monk to be the new Catholicos-Patriarch, Sa'ud bar Dani'il, whose religious name was Yukhannan Sulaqa. Dinkha Shim'un bar Mama, however, was named by his family as successor to his uncle, Ishu'yabh. Thus The Church was split into two factions: The Church of The East and what later came to be known as The Chaldean Catholic Church. To complicate matters, Sulaqa immediately sought legitimacy from Rome; Pope Julius III ratified his election and bestowed upon him the official title of Patriarch of The Chaldeans.

Seeking to unify The Church once again, Shim'un bar Mama engineered the arrest and subsequent execution of his rival, Sulaqa, in 1555 A.D. The dissident faction, however, elected 'Abdishu' Marun as Yukhannan Sulaqa's successor.

Shim'un bar Mama died in 1558 A.D. His successor, Iliya Shim'un Dinkha, started the tradition of giving each Patriarch the same name. The rival Catholicos-Patriarch, 'Abdishu' Marun, died in 1567 A.D. (or 1571 A.D.), and was succeeded after some delay by Yabhalaha IV (also called Yabhalaha Shim'un).

A large faction of The Church headed by Iliya Shim'un Dinkha, led by The Metropolitan of Gelu (who was also called Dinkha Shim'un), rejected the authority of the bar Mama family, and submitted to Yabhalaha Shim'un, the rival Catholicos-Patriarch. On the latter's death in 1580 A.D., The Metropolitan of Gelu was rewarded by being elected his successor, the first Patriarch of the Shim'un family. Thus was established the second hereditary line of Patriarchs within The Church of The East.

Through political pressure the rival Shim'uns were forced to move their See to the mountains of Kurdistan. Throughout the next three hundred years The Catholicos of the Shim'un family and their Church remained isolated from outside contact, even losing contact with Rome. The last hereditary Catholicos, Ishai Shim'un XXIII, succeeded in 1920 A.D. at the age of twelve. In 1933 A.D., after his return to Iraq from his English school, he attempted to restore the old

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civil authority of the patriarchate. His supporters took up arms and, in an unfortunate series of events, were massacred by government soldiers. Shim'un spent the rest of his life in exile, much of it in San Francisco, California, USA. He resigned his office in 1973 A.D., without any obvious successor. The Church was thrown into turmoil. Church leaders from Iraq pleaded with The Patriarch to renounce his resignation--at least until some provisions for the succession could be made. Shim'un agreed to return for a six-month period, at which point a Synod of three bishops was appointed to govern The Church during the interregnum. When Shim'un was murdered two years later (November of 1975 A.D.), the Bishops agreed to restore the ancient electoral process. A new Patriarch, Mar Dinkha IV, was chosen in October of 1976 A.D. at a special meeting of Church leaders in London, England. The official language of The Church is Syriac. The first freely-elected Patriarch in centuries, whose official title is Catholicos-Patriarch of The Church of The East, resided in Chicago, Illinois.

In 1586 A.D., in contrast to the isolation of the Shim'uns, the bar Mama family began exchanging letters with The Patriarch of Rome. They formally submitted to papal authority in 1616 A.D. at Dyarbekir. This submission came to end by 1669 A.D.. The Metropolitan of Dyarbekir, Yusip, subsequently withdrew his allegiance from both factions of The Church (in 1672 A.D.) and fled to Rome in 1675 A.D. There he was granted the title of Patriarch by Pope Innocent XI in 1681 A.D. There were now three Assyrian Patriarchs. Yusip's successor, Yusip II (or III) was given the title Patriarch of Babylon in 1701 A.D. On the death of Yusip IV in 1779 A.D., the Patriarch's nephew was able to succeed his uncle as Metropolitan of Dyarbekir but not as Patriarch (only as Apostolic Administrator). Rome never granted him official recognition as Patriarch.

Iliya XIII bar Mama died in 1804 A.D. No successor was elected; a Roman Catholic cousin of the last Patriarch, Yukhannan Khurmiz, tried to claim the patriarchate and even sought official recognition from The Pope. With two Papal claimants to two different patriarchal thrones, The Roman Church declined to recognize either until the death of Yusip (V) in 1828 A.D. Khurmiz was thereupon acknowledged as Patriarch of Babylon of The Chaldeans in 1830 A.D. To forestall the possibility of the re-establishment of an hereditary patriarchate, a co-adjutor Patriarch with the right of succession was appointed in 1838 A.D. This Uniate Chaldean Church nearly broke with Rome again in 1869 A.D. over the imposition by The Pope of the Bull Reversurus, which deprived The Patriarch of his prerogative to select and consecrate Chaldean bishops. Patriarch Yusip VI was threatened with excommunication in 1876 A.D., but managed to smooth over his difficulties with Rome before his death two years later. The official language of The Church is Syriac. The Patriarch resides at Baghdad, Iraq.

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The Church of The East recognizes only the Öcumenical Councils of Nicaea (325 A.D.) and Constantinople (381 A.D.), although they do teach that from the moment of His conception Our Lord was both perfect man and perfect God. The Church rejects the title Mother of God for The Blessed Virgin Mary and insists upon Mother of Christ instead.

The doctrine of Apostolic Succession is rigorously adhered to; She teaches that apart from the apostolic succession "there are no sacraments, no Church, and no operation of The Holy Spirit" (Mar O'dishoo).

Holy Baptism is administered by triple immersion, usually forty days after birth, and immediately followed by Chrismation and First Holy Communion. In the Mystery of Holy Communion, The Church teaches that the leavened bread and the fermented wine are changed into The Body and Blood of Christ our God. The sacrifice of The Mass is identical with that of The Cross of Calvary, and not a repetition of it. Communicants both fast before participating in Holy Communion as well as drink The Precious Blood directly from The Chalice.

A strong tradition with The Church of The East is that St. Addai and St. Mari brought with them a portion of the original Bread consecrated by Jesus in the Upper Room at The Last Supper. The bread made for use in the Sacrament of Holy Communion is leavened with a part of the loaf consecrated at a previous celebration; thus each celebration of The Holy Eucharist in The Church of The East today is seen as a continuous material succession with the first Eucharist celebrated by Jesus in Jerusalem.

The Eucharistic Liturgy is the fourth-century Rite named after two of the traditional founders of The Church, St. Addai and St. Mari, and attributed to St. James of Jerusalem, the brother of The Lord.

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Apostolic Succession from The Church of the East through

The Patriarchate of Selucia-Ctesiphen and All The East

Maran Mar Rubil Shimun XVIII , Catholicos-Patriarch of Selucia-Ctesphen & All The East, consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Mar Antonius Abd-Ishu (Anthony Thondatta) as Metropolitan of India, Ceylon, Milapur, Socotra and Messina in The Holy Church of Mar Saba in Upper Tiari, on 17 December 1862 A.D. Mar Abd-Ishu, assisted by Mar Augustine (Michael Augustine) of The Syro-Chaldean Church, consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Mar Basilius (Luis Mariano Soares) as Bishop of Trichur on 24 July 1899 A.D. and head of a small body of Indian Christians known as Mellusians; he succeeded to the Metropolitanate upon Mar Abd-Ishu's death in 1900 A.D. Mar Basilius consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Mar Jacobus (Ulric Vernon Herford) as Bishop for the United Kingdom and with the Title of Mar Jacobus, Bishop of Mercia & Meddelesex (including the county of London) at Palithamm, near Kaliarkoli, Madura District, South India, on 30 November 1902 A.D. Upon his return to England, Mar Jacobus founded The Evangelical Catholic Communion with the hope of uniting East and West. Mar Jacobus consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Mar Paulus (William Stanley McBean Knight) as Bishop of Kent on 28 February 1925 A.D. Mar Paulus consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Mar Hedley (Hedley Coward Bartlett) as Bishop of Siluria on 18 October 1931 A.D. Mar Hedley consecrated sub conditioned to the Sacred Episcopate:

Mar Georgius (Hugh George de Willmott-Newman) as Metropolitan of Glastonbury on 20 May 1945 A.D., assisted by Bishop John Syer (Bishop of Llanthony), Mar Francis (Francis Ernest Langhelt, Bishop of Minster) and Bishop George Henry Brook (Order of Rievaulx). Mar Georgius consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Mar Benignus (Richard Kenneth Hurgon) as Titular Bishop of Mere (Somerset) on 22 April 1946 A.D., assisted by Mar Leofric (Charles Leslie Saul, Archbishop-Exarch of The Catholicate of the West), Mar David (Francis David

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Bacon, Bishop of The Catholicate of the West), and Mar Johannus (William John Eaton Jeffrey, General Moderator of The Evangelical Catholic Communion and Bishop of The Catholicate of the West). Mar Benignus consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Mar Alexander (Nils Bertil Alexander Persson) on 7 December 1985 A.D., assisted by Bishop Ian Kirk-Stewart (Reformed Catholic Church).

Mar Alexander (Nils Bertil Alexander Persson) consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate on June 25, 1995 in London (UK), with co-consecrators, Bishops Hans Dieter Sauerlandt, and George Boyer:


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Apostolic Succession from The Church of the East through

The Patriarchate of Babylonia of the Chaldeans

Maran Man Yusip 'Ummanu'il II Thoma (Yosif Khayatt), Catholicos-Patriarch of Babylonia of The Chaldeans, who was consecrated 24 July 1892 A.D. by Maran Mar Petros Elias XIV Abu-Al-Yunan (Patriarch 1878-1894 A.D.), assisted by the Bishop of Salmas & Patriarchal Vicar Pierre Aziz, consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Mar Antoine (Antoine Lefberne/Lefebvre) on 27 May 1917 A.D. as Patriarchal Exarch of Western Europe and Delegate & Special Commissary in the U.S.A. Mar Antoine was a member of the Ordo Antonianus S. Hormisdae Chaldaeorum. Mar Antoine consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Mar John Emmanuel (Arthur Wolfort Brooks) on 4 May 1925 A.D. in The Chapel of The Redeemer in New York City, assisted by Mar James (Fernand Portal) and Mar Evodius (Edward Robert Smith), Bishops of The Chaldean Catholic Church. On 19 November 1930 A.D., Mar John Emmanuel became Presiding Bishop of The Apostolic Episcopal Church, which had been accepted in 1929 A.D. by The Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem, Elisha I (Eghishe I Tourian). Mar John Emmanuel consecrated sub conditione to the Sacred Episcopate:

Mar David I (Wallace de Ortega Maxey) on 13 July 1946 A.D. at St. Michael Hellenic Orthodox Church "Taxiarchai" of The Holy Land as Archbishop of The Province of The West of The Apostolic Episcopal Church, assisted by Rev'd David Leondarides and Rev'd Stanatios Jongsoudis of The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem. Mar David became Archbishop-Primate of The Apostolic Episcopal Church in 1948. Mar David I consecrated sub conditione to the Sacred Episcopate:

Mar Alexander (Nils Bertil Alexander Persson) and enthroned him as the Third Archbishop-Primate of The Apostolic Episcopal Church on 7 November 1986 A.D., assisted by Archbishop-Primate Juergen Bless (The German Old Catholic Church in America), Archbishop-Primate Emile Rodriguez y Fairfield (Iglesia Ortodoxa Catolica Apostolica Mexicana), Archbishop-Primate Arthur J. Garrow (The Archiepiscopate Ordinariate of Healing Arts Missionaries and Chaplains in America), Bishop Daniel N. McCarty (The Apostolic Catholic Church of the

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Americas), Archbishop-Primate Robert Ronald Ramm (The Ancient Christian Fellowship) and Archbishop Paul G. W. Schultz (Iglesia Ortodoxa Apostolica Mexicana and Apostolic Administrator of The Province of The West of The Apostolic Episcopal Church).

Mar Alexander (Nils Bertil Alexander Persson) who consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate on June 25, 1995 in London (UK), with co-consecrators, Bishops Hans Dieter Sauerlandt, and George Boyer:


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The Old Roman Catholic Church of Utrecht

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

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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 uncanonical 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:

• Both the Province and Diocese of Utrecht, with all their ancient and canonical rights and privileges, still existed. (The Chapter of Utrecht was formally recognized on many occasions by Papal Nuncios even after this date.)

• The Vicariate instituted by Archbishop Philip Rovenius on 9 June 1633 was the canonical reconstitution of the ancient Chapter of Utrecht and possessed all the rights of the Chapter, including the right to elect the Archbishop of Utrecht. (All nominations made hereafter by this Chapter were, in fact, accepted by Rome, including that of Archbishop Codde.)

• Later archbishops, from + Vosmeer to + Codde, were not only Vicars-Apostolic of the Roman See, but also Archbishops of Utrecht, the true canonical successors of St. Willibrord.

On 25 May 1717, five doctors of the theological faculty of the University of Louvain publicly sided with the Archepiscopal See of Utrecht by stating that the Church of Utrecht had not been reduced to the status of a mere mission, that the Chapter of Utrecht had survived, and that the Vicariate established by + Rovenius was the ancient Chapter of Utrecht. Later, 102 doctors of theology at the University of Paris, together with the whole law faculty, publicly agreed with the doctors of Louvain. As a result of the support of the theology faculties of two French universities, three French Bishops (Soanen of Senez, Lorraine of Bayeux, and Caumartin of Blois) declared that they were ready to ordain priests for the Chapter of Utrecht, and actually did so.

Upon the death, in AD 1710, of + Peter Codde, the deposed Archbishop of Utrecht, the Cathedral Chapter (exercising its historically recognized right)

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elected a successor. No Bishop, however, could be found who would ignore the Pope's Inhibition by consecrating the Archbishop-elect. The Church of Holland continued to send Her candidates for the priesthood out of the country for ordination by foreign Bishops; Her children, without a diocesan Ordinary, were left unconfirmed. At this point the Jesuits and Rome sought and anxiously anticipated the total capitulation of the autocephalous Dutch Church.

A turning point in the Dutch Church's struggle with Rome came in AD 1719 when + Dominique Maria Varlet, former missionary priest in The Louisiana Territory in North America, stopped in Amsterdam for a few days on his way to his new post in Persia. A local Dutch priest, Father Jacob Krys, begged the new Bishop to confirm 604 orphans and other poor children as an act of charity, which he did. He then continued his journey to Persia, arriving at his residence at Schamake (now Shemakh near Baku in the Republic of Azerbaijan) on 9 October 1719. On 26 March 1720, the Bishop of Babylon was presented with a formal Notice of Suspension from his office, sent by the Bishop of Ispahan by order of the Congregation de Propaganda Fide, and delivered by a Jesuit priest (Fr. Bachou) because of the confirmations in Amsterdam. Like the late Archbishop Codde, Bishop Varlet elected not to remain in office while fighting the Papal action. After careful consideration and prayer, the good Bishop immediately left Persia and returned to Amsterdam, where he settled permanently.

The Chapter of Utrecht had meanwhile repeatedly attempted to get the Pope to allow the election and consecration of an archbishop; Pope Innocent XIII ignored their petitions. The Chapter next turned to the leading canon lawyers of the day. They were told that the Chapter had the canonical right to elect their archbishop and get him consecrated without the consent of the Pope (recent precedents in both France and Portugal supported this position). Nineteen doctors of the theological faculty of the Sorbonne (University of Paris), and others from Nantes, Rheims, Padua, and Louvain, gave their agreement to this position, as well as assuring the Chapter that in the case of necessity one bishop alone might preside at the consecration.

With the approval of the government, the Chapter met at The Hague on 27 April 1723 and, after a Mass of The Holy Spirit, elected, with all the canonical forms, Cornelius Steenoven to be Archbishop of Utrecht. Although Fr. Steenoven was elected as the candidate likely to be the least objectionable to Rome, the Pope refused to answer the Chapter's request to permit his consecration. The Chapter finally begged the Bishop of Babylon to consecrate their candidate. He consented. The government also consented to this the first consecration of an Archbishop of Utrecht since the Reformation. Thus at 6:00am on Pentecost XX, 15 October 1724, Cornelius van Steenoven was consecrated in the

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presence of the whole Chapter by the Bishop of Babylon in Amsterdam to be the seventh Archbishop of Utrecht and canonical successor of St. Willibrord.

The Bishop of Babylon was called upon by The Chapter to consecrate four archbishops for the See of Utrecht before his death on 14 May 1742 at The Hague.

Apostolic Succession

from The Old Catholic Church of Utrecht

through Archbishop Paul G. W. Schultz

Cardinal Antonio Barberini , nephew of Pope Urban VIII, was consecrated in AD 1655 (by the order of Pope Alexander VII) by Monsignore Scannarola (Bishop of Sidonia), assisted by Monsignore Botini (Domestic Prelate of the Pope), and Monsignore Laurenzio Gavotti (Bishop of Ventimiglia), as Bishop of Frascati. In AD 1657 Bishop Barberini became Archbishop of Rheims; in AD 1661 he became Bishop of Palestrina. Cardinal Barberini consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Bishop Charles Maurice Le Tellier, Duke, son of the Grand Chancellor of France, as Co-Adjutor Bishop, on 12 November 1668 at The Church of The Sorbonne. He became the Archbishop of Rheims in AD 1669. Archbishop Le Tellier consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Bishop James Benigne Bossuet, The Eagle of Meaux, as Bishop of Condom, on 21 September 1670, at The Church of the Cordeliers, Pontoise. He was translated to The See of Meaux by Pope Clement X in AD 1679. Bishop Bossuet consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Bishop James Coydon de Matignon, son of the Count de Thorigny, Doyen of Lisieux and Abbe Commendataire de St. Victor at Marseilles, as Assistant Bishop of Condom in AD 1673, at the Church of The Carthusian Fathers, Paris. Bishop de Matignon, by order of Pope Clement XI, consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

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Bishop Dominique Maria Varlet as Bishop of Ascalon in partibus and Co-Adjutor to the Bishop of Babylon, Persia, on 12 February 1719 in The Chapel attached to the House of the Fathers of Foreign Missions at Paris, assisted by the Co-Adjutor Bishop of Quebec and the Bishop of Claremont. Bishop Varlet consecrated four Archbishops of Utrecht; three died without consecrating successors. The continued existence of the autocephalous Old Roman Catholic Church of Holland was assured when Bishop Varlet consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Archbishop Petrus Johannes Meindaerts, Archpriest of Leeuwarden and Dean of Friesland (who had been ordained a priest in Ireland by Bishop Fagan) as the tenth Archbishop of Utrecht on St. Luke's Day, 18 October 1739. Archbishop Meindaerts consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Bishop Johannes van Stiphout as the fourth Bishop of Haarlem on 11 July 1745. Bishop Stiphout consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Archbishop Walter Michael van Nieuwenhuisen as the eleventh Archbishop of Utrecht on Sexagesima Sunday, 7 February 1768, assisted by Bishop Bartholomaeus Johannes Byeveld (of Deventer). The new archbishop received letters of communion from bishops in Germany, France, Italy and Spain, who recognized that the claims to canonical jurisdiction by The Church of Holland were sound and her doctrine orthodox. Archbishop Nieuwenhuisen consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Bishop Adrian Johannes Broekman, President of the Amersfoort Seminary, on Pentecost II Sunday, 21 June 1778, as Bishop of Haarlem. Bishop Broekman consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Archbishop Johannes Jacobus van Rhijn as the twelfth Archbishop of Utrecht on 5 July 1797, assisted by Bishop Nicholas Nellemans of Deventer. Archbishop van Rhijn consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Bishop Gisbertus de Jong as the fifth Bishop of Deventer on 7 November 1805, shortly after the formation of the Batavian Republic in Holland by Napoleon. Bishop de Jong consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Archbishop Willibrord van Os as the thirteenth Archbishop of Utrecht on 24 April 1814. Archbishop van Os consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Bishop Johannes Bon as the seventh Bishop of Haarlem on 25 April 1819. Bishop Bon was the first Bishop of the autocephalous Dutch succession not to be excommunicated by Rome; in 1827 he was nominated by the King of Holland to the See of Bruges, without objection from Rome. One Roman

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Cardinal is reported to have said of this nomination: Dominus Bonus no potest esse pastor malus (It is not possible for Lord Good to be a bad pastor). Bishop Bon consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Archbishop Johannes van Santen, parish priest of Schiedam, as fourteenth Archbishop of Utrecht on the Sunday within the Octave of St. Willibrord, 13 November 1825, in The Cathedral of St. Gertrude in Utrecht. The announcement of this consecration to The Pope is the first time that the Archbishop of Utrecht called himself the Pope's brother (and not son). Archbishop van Santen consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Bishop Hermann Heykamp as seventh Bishop of Deventer on 17 July 1853. Bishop Heykamp consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Bishop Gaspardus Johannes Rinkel as the tenth Bishop of Haarlem and Bishop Josef Hubert Reinkens as the first Bishop of The Old Catholic Church in Germany (Bonn) on 11 August 1873 in the Church of St. Lawrence and St. Mary Magdalene at Rotterdam. This is the first time that the formal proofs of election were read during the Mass of Consecration instead of the Papal Mandate; it is also the first time that the new Bishops did not notify Rome of their consecrations. Bishop Rinkel consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Archbishop Gerardus Gul, parish priest of Hilversum, as the seventeenth Archbishop of Utrecht, on 11 May 1892 in Hilversum, assisted by Bishop Cornelius Diependaal of Deventer and Bishop Reinkens of The Old Catholic Church in Germany. Archbishop Gul consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Bishop Henricus Johannes Theodorus van Vlijmen as the thirteenth Bishop of Haarlem in 1916, assisted by Bishop Edward Herzog of The Old Catholic Church in Switzerland. Bishop van Vlijmen consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Archbishop Franciscus Kenninck, President of the Amersfoort Seminary, as the eighteenth Archbishop of Utrecht in 1920, assisted by Bishop Edward Herzog of The Old Catholic Church in Switzerland (Berne) and Bishop Georg Moog of The Old Catholic Church in Germany. Archbishop Kenninck consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Bishop Adolf Küry , Professor in the Old Catholic Theological Faculty at Berne, as the second Old Catholic Bishop in Berne (Switzerland), on 14 September 1924. Bishop Küry consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Bishop Erwin Kreuzer, parish priest at Freiburg-in-Breisgau, as fifth Old Catholic Bishop in Bonn (Germany), at Mannheim on 8 May 1935, assisted by

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Bishop Vlijmen (Haarlem) and Bishop Johannes Hermannus Berends (Deventer). Bishop Kreuzer consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Bishop Albert D. Bell as Bishop for the North American Old Roman Catholic Church in 1939. Bishop Bell consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Bishop Edgar Ramon Verostek as a Bishop of the North American Old Roman Catholic Church --Utrecht Succession, on 9 March 1940. Bishop Verostek consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Archbishop Paul G. W. Schultz (4/10/31--9/13/95) as a Bishop of The Order of Christian Renewal on 20 May 1978. Archbishop Paul Christian G. W. Schultz consecrated as co-consecrator (assisting, cooperating, and co-consecrating by laying on hands and uttering all the words of consecration) to the Sacred Episcopate Nil Bertil Alexander Persson as follows:


June 14, 1987, with the consecrator Bishop Forest Ernest Barber, assisting as co-consecrators (assisting, cooperating, and co-consecrating by laying on hands and uttering all the words of consecration) the bishops Emile Rodriguez Fairfield, and Paul Christian G.W. Schultz, for the “Igreja Católica Apostólica Brasileira (Mission Scandinave)”

June 15, 1988, with the consecrator Archbishop Francisco J. Pagtakhan, with co-consecrators (assisting, cooperating, and co-consecrating by laying on hands and uttering all the words of consecration) the bishops Emile Rodriguez Fairfield and Paul Christian G.W. Schultz, for the Independent Catholic Church of the Philippines (Archdiocese of Europe) on the request of the Supreme Bishop Monsignor Dr. Macario V.Ga, DCM, STD: Archbishop Nils Bertil Alexander Persson, who consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate, on June 25, 1995 in London (UK), with co-consecrators, Bishops Hans Dieter Sauerlandt, and George Boyer:


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Apostolic Succession from The Old Catholic Church of Utrecht

through The Mariavite Catholic Church of Poland

Bishop Johann Michael Kowalski was consecrated in Utrecht, Holland, on 5 October 1909 by Archbishop Gerard Gul of Utrecht, Archbishop Arnold Harris Mathew (Archbishop of London, Old Catholic Church of England), Bishop Johannes Jacobus van Thiel and Bishop Nicolas Bartholomaeus Petrus Spit (Old Catholic Church of Holland), and Bishop Joseph Demmel (Bishop of Bonn, Old Catholic Church of Germany), as Bishop for the Polish Catholic Church of the Mariavites. Bishop Kowalski consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Bishop Marc Marie (Paul Fatome) on 4 September 1938 as Regionary Bishop for France. Bishop Marc Marie consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Bishop Paulus (Helmut Norbert Maas) on 6 October 1949 as Bishop of the Mariavite Catholic Church in Germany (Katholische Kirche der Mariaviten in Deutschland). Bishop Paulus consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Bishop Efrem Maria Mauro Fusi on 24 May 1953 as Bishop for The Mariavite Catholic Church in Italy (Chiesa Cattolica Mariavita). Bishop Fusi consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Bishop Clement Alfio Sgroi Marchese on 26 May 1954 as Bishop of Sicily for The Mariavite Catholic Church in Italy. Bishop Marchese consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Mar Georgius (Hugh George de Willmott Newman) on 18 September 1954 as Patriarch of Glastonbury (and the 6th British Orthodox Patriarch). Mar Georgius consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Bishop Charles Dennis Boltwood on 6 July 1956 as Titular Bishop of Thorney and Auxiliary Bishop for London north of the Thames. Bishop Boltwood consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Archbishop Emmett Neil Enochs on 31 August 1958 at Los Angeles, California, as Archbishop of California, Primate of the United States for the Free Protestant Episcopal Church and Titular Missionary Bishop in The Catholic Apostolic Church, assisted by Rev'd Frederick C. King, Ph.D., Rev'd Karla

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King, and Rev'd Marshall Ho'o. Archbishop Enochs consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Bishop Frederick Charles King on 19 May 1963 for the Old Roman Catholic Church. Bishop King consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Bishop Paul Christian G. W. Schultz on 18 May 1975, assisted by Bishop George A. Lyman (American Orthodox Catholic Church). Bishop Schultz consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate as co-consecrator (assisting, cooperating, and co-consecrating by laying on hands and uttering all the words of consecration) to the Sacred Episcopate Nil Bertil Alexander Persson as follows:


June 14, 1987, with the consecrator Bishop Forest Ernest Barber, assisting as co-consecrators (assisting, cooperating, and co-consecrating by laying on hands and uttering all the words of consecration) the bishops Emile Rodriguez Fairfield, and Paul Christian G.W. Schultz, for the “Igreja Católica Apostólica Brasileira (Mission Scandinave)”

June 15, 1988, with the consecrator Archbishop Francisco J. Pagtakhan, with co-consecrators (assisting, cooperating, and co-consecrating by laying on hands and uttering all the words of consecration) the bishops Emile Rodriguez Fairfield and Paul Christian G.W. Schultz, for the Independent Catholic Church of the Philippines (Archdiocese of Europe) on the request of the Supreme Bishop Monsignor Dr. Macario V.Ga, DCM, STD: Archbishop Nils Bertil Alexander Persson, who consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate, on June 25, 1995 in London (UK), with co-consecrators, Bishops Hans Dieter Sauerlandt, and George Boyer:


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through Archbishop William Montgomery Brown

Archbishop Gerard Gul (Old Catholic Church of Utrecht), assisted by Bishop Johannes Jacobus van Thiel and Bishop Nicholas Bartholomaeus Petrus Spit (both with The Old Catholic Church of Utrecht) and Bishop Josef Demmel (Old Catholic Church in Germany), consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Archbishop-Primate Arnold Harris Mathew on 28 April 1908 as Archbishop of London and Primate of the Old Catholic Church in England. Archbishop Mathew consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Bishop Rudolf Franziskus Eduard de Landas Berghes et de Rache on 29 June 1913 as Missionary Bishop for Scotland. In 1916 Prince de Landas Berghes became Archbishop-Primate of The National Catholic Church in North America. Archbishop de Landas Berghes et de Rache consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Bishop William Henry Francis Brothers on 3 October 1916 for The Old Roman Catholic Church. In 1917 Bishop Brothers became Archbishop and Metropolitan of The Old Catholic Church in America. Archbishop Brothers consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Bishop William Montgomery Brown on 24 June 1925, assisted by Bishop Jozef Zielonka (Polish Old Catholic Church of America) and Bishop Albert Jehan (Bishop of Chicago, the Old Catholic Church in America). Bishop Brown consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Bishop Wallace David de Ortega Maxey on 2 January 1927, assisted by Bishop Jozef Zielonka (Polish Old Catholic Church of America), Bishop Albert Jehan (Bishop of Chicago, the Old Catholic Church in America), and Archbishop William Henry Francis Brothers (Primate, the Old Catholic Church in America). Archbishop de Ortega Maxey consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Archbishop Nils Bertil Alexander Persson as Primate of The Apostolic Episcopal Church on 7 November 1986, assisted by Archbishop Robert Ronald Ramm (Apostolic Episcopal Catholic Church). Archbishop Persson also serves

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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, on June 25, 1995 in London (UK), with co-consecrators, Bishops Hans Dieter Sauerlandt, and George Boyer:


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through Archbishop Carmel Henry Carfora

Archbishop Rudolf Franziskus Eduard de Landas Berghes et de Rache, consecrated on 29 June 1913 by Archbishop-Primate Arnold Harris Mathew (Old Catholic Church in England) as Missionary Bishop for Scotland, consecrated s.c. to the Sacred Episcopate:

Bishop Carmel Henry Carfora in the Chapel of St. Dunstan's Abbey in Waukegan, Illinois, assisted by Bishop William Henry Francis Brothers, on 4 October 1916 as Archbishop of Canada. Bishop Carfora consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Bishop Edwin Wallace Hunter, on 11 February 1924, assisted by Bishop Franciszek Viktor Maximillian Kanski (American Catholic Church) as Regionary Bishop for the U.S.A. and Canada for The North American Old Roman Catholic Church. Bishop Hunter consecrated s.c. to the Sacred Episcopate:

Bishop Wallace David de Ortega Maxey on 24 May 1929, assisted by Bishop Samuel Gregory Lines (Apostolic Christian Church) and Bishop Francis John Barwell Walker (American Catholic Church). Archbishop de Ortega Maxey consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate:

Archbishop Nils Bertil Alexander Persson as Primate of The Apostolic Episcopal Church on 7 November 1986, assisted by Archbishop Robert Ronald Ramm (Apostolic Episcopal Catholic Church). 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, on June 25, 1995 in London (UK), with co-consecrators, Bishops Hans Dieter Sauerlandt, and George Boyer:


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The Apostolic Succession

from

The Order of Corporate Reunion At the direction of the Roman Catholic Hierarch at Milan, Italy, in the summer of 1877, a plan was initiated for the purpose of introducing Orders into a Pro-Uniate Movement within The Church of England which The Vatican would be compelled to recognize as valid. Roman Catholic Archbishop Luigi Nazari di Calabiana of Milan (consecrated 12 April 1847; Archbishop of Milan from 1867 - 1893), joined near the city of Venice, Italy, by two unnamed Bishops (Greek and Coptic, their names being kept under the confessional seal but their validity guaranteed by The Vatican), did consecrate three bishops in the summer of 1877 to the sacred episcopacy:

Dr. Frederick George Lee (01/06/1832 - 01/22/02) as Bishop of Dorchester and Primate I of The Order of Corporate Reunion.

Thomas Wimberley Mossman (1826 - 06/06/1885 ) as Bishop of Selby.

Dr. John Thomas Seccombe (1835 - 1895 ) as Bishop of Caerleon.

Bp. Lee, Bp. Mossman and Bp. Seccombe, assisting Mar Pelagius I (Patriarch Richard Williams Morgan, First British Patriarch of the Patriarchate of Antioch for the Ancient British Church, consecrated in 1874 by Mar Julius {Raimond Ferrette}, Bishop of Iona and Patriarchal Legate for Western Europe; at some time Bp. Morgan was also consecrated by Bp. Seccombe), consecrated to the sacred episcopacy on 6 March 1879:

Charles Isaac Stevens (1935 - 02/02/17) as Mar Theophilus I for The Order of Corporate Reunion; later Hierarch of Caerleon-on-Usk and Second Patriarch of The Ancient British Church. Mar Theophilus I, assisted by Bp. Alfred Spencer Richardson of The Reformed Episcopal Church, consecrated to the sacred episcopacy on 4 May 1890:

Leon Chechemian (1848 - 1920) as Mar Leon, Archbishop of Selsey for The Ancient British Church. Abp. Chechemian, assisted by Abp. James Martin, Bp. Frederick Boucher, and Bp. George W. L. Maaers, consecrated to the sacred episcopacy on 2 November 1897:

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Andrew Charles Albert McLagen 1851 - 1928) as Colonial Missionary Bishop for Cape Colony and Titular Bishop of Claremont. In 1919 Bp. McLagen became the 4th Patriarch of The Ancient British Church. Ptr. McLagen consecrated to the sacred episcopacy on 4 June 1922:

Herbert James Monzani-Heard (1866 - 08/15/47) in St. Andrew's Church, Retreat Place, London, as Mar Jacobus II, Bishop of Selsey and Primate of The Ancient British Church and the United Armenian Catholic Church. Bp. Heard became the 5th Patriarch of The Ancient British Church/Free Protestant Episcopal Church in 1930. Ptr. Monzani-Heard consecrated to the sacred episcopacy on 13 June 1943:

William Bernard Crow (09/11/1895 - 06/28/76) as Mar Bernard, Bishop of Santa Sophia. On 17 October 1943 at "The Council of London," Bp. Crow was elected by representatives of The Ancient British Church, British Orthodox Catholic Church, Apostolic Episcopal Church, Old Catholic Orthodox Church, Order of the Holy Wisdom, and Order of Antioch to the Patriarchal See of Antioch with the title of Mar Basilius Abdullah III. On 23 March 1944 the Ancient British Church, British Orthodox Catholic Church and the Old Catholic Orthodox Church banded together to form The Western Orthodox Catholic Church. Ptr. Mar Basilius Abdullah II consecrated to the sacred episcopacy on 10 April 1944:

Hugh George de Willmott Newman 01/17/05 - 02/28/79) as Mar Georgius. On 29 January 1945 Mar Georgius became the 6th Patriarch of The Ancient British Church with the title Patriarch of Glastonbury. Ptr. Mar Georgius, assisted by Mar Joannes, Titular Bishop of St. Marylebone (William John Eaton Jeffrey), Mar Leofric, Archbishop of Suthronia in the Eparchy of all the Britons (Charles Leslie Saul), and Mar David, Bishop of Repton (Dr. Francis David Bacon), consecrated to the sacred episcopacy on 22 April 1946:

Richard Kenneth Hurgon (04/24/02 - ?) as Mar Benignus, Titular Bishop of Mere (Somerset). On 29 March 1981 Mar Benignus became Primus of The Reformed Catholic Church (Utrecht Confession). Bp. Hurgon consecrated to the sacred episcopacy on 7 December 1985:

Nils Bertil Alexander Persson (11/10/41 - ), Archbishop of Europe and Asia, The Apostolic Episcopal Church. He was enthroned as Primate of the Apostolic Episcopal Church on 7 November 1986 and served as Primate VIII of The Order of Corporate Reunion.

Mar Alexander (Nils Bertil Alexander Persson) who consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate on June 25, 1995 in London (UK), with co-consecrators, Bishops Hans Dieter Sauerlandt, and George Boyer:

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Chiesa Cattolica in Italia and

Igreja Catolica no Brasil

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

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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.


Chiesa Cattolica in Italia and

Igreja Catolica no Brasil

Pope Benedictus XIV (Prospero Lorenzo Lambertini)

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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


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


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


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

Cardinal Joaquin Arcoverde de Albuquerque-Cavalcanti

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Archbishop Sebastiao Leme da Silveira Cintra assisted by

Dom Alberto Jose Goncalves and 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 and Dom Bartolomeus Sebastiao Vilela Consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 30 January 1985:

Dom Forest Ernest Barber

Holy Orthodox Church in the Philippines (Mission of the Igreja Catolica Apostolica Brasileira)

assisted by Abp. Emile Federico Rodriguez y Fairfield and Abp. Paul G. W. Schultz


Dom Nils Bertil Alexander Persson

Dom Nils Bertil Alexander Persson consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate on June 25, 1995 in London (UK), with co-consecrators, Bishops Hans Dieter Sauerlandt, and George Boyer:


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Abp. Paul Christian G. W. Schultz, Bishop Arthur J. Garrow, Abp. Emile Federico Rodriguez y Fairfield, Bp. Karl J. Barwin, Abp. Bertil Persson, Bp. Howard D. van Orden, Bp. Petros

(Eric T. Ong Velosa), Bp. Carroll T. Lowery, & Abp. William C. Thompson

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Biography of Archbishop Philippe Laurent De Coster, Latin Old Roman Catholic Church of

Flanders (non-papal) (French and Dutch language)

MGR PHILIPPE LAURENT DE COSTER (PHILIPPUS-LAURENTIU S) Birth, baptism, confirmation, early theological studies. Célibataire. Né à Gand (Belgique), le 19 septembre 1938. Baptisé le 25 septembre 1938. Confirmé le 6 juin 1950.Etudes Théologiques (avec diplômes et certificats). Emmaus Bible School, Eastham, Cheshire, England. Trois ans d'études (extra muros), 1959 - 1961. Aussi, en 1990/91. Institut Biblique de Bruxelles, cours résidentiels en 1960. Unity School of Christianity , Lee's Summit, Missouri, U.S.A. (extra muros), neuf ans d'études de 1962 à 1970. Hoger Diocesaan Godsdienstinstituut, cours du samedi après-midi de recyclage (formation complémentaire Catholique Romaine) 1967/68. Une année académique sans examens à cause d’hospitalisation pendant presque trois mois pour cause d’accident rural. Ordinations: (Minor and major ordinations, priesthood included) Ordres Mineurs et majeurs de Diacre et de Prêtre, le 24 février 1974, par Mgr Jean-Paul CHARLET. Episcopate through Patriarch-Archbishop Roger Caro (Pierre Phoebus/later Stephanos), and co-consecrators Jean-Paul Charlet, Maurice Auberger, and all bishops present at the Synods 1974, 1975, 1979. (See book on Apostolic Succession for details. Épiscopat le 7 juin 1974, par Mgr Roger CARO, et co-consécrateurs (voir page 8) (filiations Orthodoxes et Vieille-Catholique Romaine d'Utrecht). Épiscopat "sub conditione", le 19 octobre 1975 pour obtenir la Succession Apostolique Romaine du Brésil (lignée de Mgr Dom Carlos Duarte da Costa). Épiscopat "sub conditione" le 30 juin 1979, par Mgr Roger CARO, et co-consécrateurs pour avoir les Successions Apostoliques transmises par Mgr Joannes Maria Van Assendelft ( désormais MGR MARCOS, Evêque en France de l'Eglise Copte d'Egypte), et Mgr Giovanni TADDEI dans les diverses

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Eglises Orthodoxes et d'Utrecht. Les consécrations "sub conditione" avaient qu'un seul but: l’œcuménisme. Continuation theological studies « extra muros » at London Bible College, Northwood, London, its name today: “London School for Theological Studies”, and other. Continuation des études théologiques "extra muros": Diplôme de Bachelier en Théologie, le 28 décembre 1980 (Southeastern University, Greenville, South Carolina, U.S.A. par l'extension belge.)8 Diplôme

8Toespraak van Zijne Excellentie Monseigneur Professor Doctor Diederik D.J. QUATANNENS, Ph.D.,Th.D. Academische Plechtigheid op zondag 15 februari 1981 ter gelegenheid van de uitreiking van het diploma van "Bachelor of Theology" aan Zijne Excellentie Monseigneur Philippe Laurent De Coster vanwege Southeastern University, Greenville, South Carolina, U.S.A. en THE VIRGIN ISLANDS OF THE UNITED STATES, door Zijne Excellentie Monseigneur Professor Doctor Diederik D.J. QUATANNENS, Directeur van de Europese Extensies. Na de indrukwekkende Eucharistieviering, is het mij een waar genoegen, thans te mogen overgaan tot de uitreiking van het diploma van BACHELOR OF THEOLOGY aan Monseigneur Philippe Laurent DE COSTER. Hij behaalde deze universitaire graad op 28 december 1980 aan SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY,THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, GREENVILLE, SOUTH CAROLINA, U.S.A. en THE VIRGIN ISLANDS OF THE UNITED STATES. Deze universiteit biedt naast de gewone cursussen ter plaatse, tevens de mogelijkheid de studies gedeeltelijk "in absentia" te doen. Degenen die wegens hun beroepsbezigheden niet van morgens tot s'avonds op de schoolbanken kunnen zitten, vinden in dit systeem een waardevolle hulp om universitaire studies te volbrengen, zelfs als zij door materiële omstandigheden verhinderd zijn steeds aanwezig te zijn. Daarom is er ook een Europese Studiedepartement dat onder mijn leiding staat, alsmede een Europese Centrale Examencommissie die ik presideer, ten einde de reizen van onze Europese studenten naar de U.S.A. tot het minimum te beperken en hen in de mogelijkheid te stellen, zowel de studies als de examens met vrucht te voleindigen. De vereisten voor de studies "in absentia" zijn echter dezelfde als de gewone studies. Ze zijn echter iets zwaarder. Wat begrijpelijk is. Het niveau van de studies aan S.E.U. is bovendien identiek aan dat van alle grote universiteiten. Onze studenten worden daarom zonder bijkomende arbeid aanvaard aan al de belangrijkste en bijzonderste universiteiten van Amerika. Ik zal straks een dossier ter inzage brengen, dat verschillende documenten bevat waaruit dit moge blijken. Monseigneur Philippe Laurent DE COSTER heeft gemeend er goed aan te doen zijn studies een voorlopige afsluiting te geven aan S.E.U. Hij heeft er verstandig mee gehandeld. Hij heeft immers veel en lang gestudeerd en verschillende diploma's behaald, maar was er wegens de grote verscheidenheid van zijn arbeidsterrein, nooit toe gekomen de BACHELOR'S degree te verwerven. Aangezien deze graad een noodzakelijke vereiste is voor alle verdere wetenschappelijke arbeid op universitair niveau en Mgr DE COSTER zich hieraan wil wijden, was het wel noodzakelijk dat hij de graad van BACHELOR verwierf. De voorafgaande studies van Mgr DE COSTER die ik hierna zal opsommen, hebben meer dan twintig jaar geduurd en het spreekt vanzelf dat wij daarmee in de mate van het mogelijke hebben rekening gehouden ter beoordeling van zijn kennis. Na zijn middelbaar onderwijs genoten te hebben aan een paar scholen te Gent, studeerde Mgr Philippe Laurent DE COSTER aan de volgende onderwijsinstellingen en vormingscentra: 1° Emmaus Bible School, Eastham, Cheshire, England. Drie jaar studies van 1959 tot 1961. 2° Bijbelinstituut België, Brussel, thans Herverlee - Leuven: Eén jaar studie in 1960.3° Unity School of Christianity, Lee's Summit, Missouri, U.S.A.: Negen jaar studie van 1962 tot 1970. 4° The Science of Thought Center, Chichester, Sussex, England: Veertien jaar studie van 1966 tot 1980. 5° Hoger Diocesaan Godsdienstinstituut, Gent: één jaar studie van 1967 tot 1968. 6° Psychologische Cursussen (Dr. Robert Assagioli):Tien jaar studie van 1970 tot 1980. 7° The London Bible College, Northwood, England: Drie jaar studie van 1978 tot 1980. Op grond van zijn waardevolle kerkelijke arbeid ontving Mgr Philippe Laurent DE COSTER bovendien de volgende titels bij wijze van eerbetuiging: 8° St. Ephrem's Institute, Stockholm, Sweden: De eregraad van Doctor of Divinity in 1979. 9° New Christian Institute of New England, Weirs Beach, New Hampshire, U.S.A: De eregraad van Doctor of Divinity in 1980. Nietegenstaande deze lange arbeid, heeft Mgr Philippe Laurent DE COSTER bovendien ook nog een behoorlijk studieprogramma afgewerkt aan S.E.U. en slaagde hij met GROTE ONDERSCHEIDING in de eindexamens voor het behalen van de graad van BACHELOR OF THEOLOGY. Alvorens hem dit diploma te overhandigen, zou ik hier eerst nog een paar woorden willen aan toevoegen, die heel in het bijzonder bestemd

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du "London Bible College", en novembre 1984 (niveau universitaire). Egalement au "London Bible College", quelques spécialisations:OLD TESTAMENT : General (Cambridge Diploma/Certificate in Religious Studies paper). Etudes analytiques: Hebrews; et Acts of the Apostles. Various degrees. Nominations honorifiques Anglo-Saxons. St. Ephrem's Institute, Sweden, "Doctor of Divinity", le 2 septembre 1979. New Christian Institute of New England,"Doctor of Divinity", le 16 octobre 1980. The International University, à Los Altos, California, U.S.A.:"Doctor of Divinity", le 20 avril 1990. Other : Autres: Fonctions de Conseiller Oecuménique et Historique, de Professeur et de Délégué international, venant du Ministère de la Justice, Administration des Établissements Pénitentiaires, Aumônerie protestante, dans le cadre de l'oecuménisme. L'acte est signé le 24 mai 1982, par Diederik D.J. QUATANNENS, Administrateur général, Aumônier national et Doyen de l'Institut. Centre Oecuménique d'Enseignement Universitaire, le 21 février 1983: Conseiller Oecuménique en liturgie Catholique Romaine.

zijn voor onze jonge priesters. Monseigneur Philippe Laurent DE COSTER staat als bisschop-abt aan het hoofd van een belangrijke Orde, die zich internationaal aan het uitbreiden is. Ruim twintig jaar lang heeft hij aan verschillende scholen wetenschappelijk onderricht genoten. Niettegenstaande dit alles heeft hij zijn studies nog verder gezet aan SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY en er thans de graad van BACHELOR OF THEOLOGY behaald. Dit is een hele krachttoer als men nagaat hoeveel arbeid Monseigneur DE COSTER dagelijks heeft te verzetten, hoeveel moeite en verantwoordelijkheid er op zijn schouders rusten. Ik zou dus aan al onze jonge collega's dit willen zeggen: Wees nooit te vlug tevreden. Doe verder. Zelfs al is het moeilijk. Mik hoog. Schei niet te vroeg uit met studeren, want de Kerk heeft goed gevormde priesters nodig. Volg het voorbeeld na van Monseigneur DE COSTER. Monseigneur DE COSTER, in naam van de President en de Universiteitsraad van SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY, van de Dekaan, de Faculteitsraad en het ganse Professorencorps van het THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY van deze universiteit, alsmede in mijn eigen naam, overhandig ik U het diploma van BACHELOR OF THEOLOGY en spreek de hoop uit dat ik later ook het diploma van MASTER OF THEOLOGY zal mogen uitreiken. Monseigneur DE COSTER heel hartelijk gefeliciteerd !

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London, June 25, 1995

Archbishop Bertil Persson, Bishop Hans Dieter Sauerlandt, and

Archbishop Philippe Laurent De Coster

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London, June 25, 1995

Dignitaries: Philippe L. De Coster – Walter M. Walgraeve - Hans Dieter Sauerlandt, and George Boyer.

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The Unity of the Apostolic Christian Church

- Old Roman and Orthodox –

(Based on the Sacred Scriptures and the Church-Fathers)

1. The Apostolic Christian Church (Old Roman and Orthodox rites) is the true Church of Christ established by our Lord and Saviour Himself, the Church confirmed and sustained by the Holy Spirit, the Church about which the Saviour Himself has said: "I will build my church; and the

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gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (Mt. 16:18). She is the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, the keeper and provider of the Holy Sacraments throughout the world, "the pillar and ground of the truth" (1 Tim. 3:15). She bears full responsibility for the proclamation of the truth of Christ's Gospel, as well as full power to witness to "the faith which was once delivered unto the saints" (Jude 3).

2. The Apostolic Christian Church (Old Roman and Orthodox rites) is one and unique (St. Cyprian of Carthage, On the Unity of the Church). The unity of the Church, the Body of Christ, is based on the fact that she has one Head, the Lord Jesus Christ (Eph. 5:23), and that working in her is one Holy Spirit Who gives life to the Body of the Church and unites all her members with Christ as her Head.

3. The Apostolic Christian Church (Old Roman and Orthodox rites) is the unity of a "new humanity in Christ". By His incarnation the Son of God "commenced afresh the long line of human beings"(St. Irenaeus of Lyons, Adversus Haereses, 3, 18), creating a new grace-bearing people, the spiritual posterity of the Second Adam. The unity of the Church is above every human and earthly union, for it has been given from above as a perfect and divine gift. The members of the Church are united in Christ like vines, rooted in Him and gathered in one eternal and spiritual life.

4. The Apostolic Christian Church (Old Roman and Orthodox rites) overcomes all barriers and frontiers, including racial, linguistic and social differences. The message of salvation is to be proclaimed to all nations in order to bring them into one fold, to unite them by the power of faith and the grace of the Holy Spirit (Mt. 28:19-20; Mk. 16:15; Acts 1:8).

5. In the Apostolic Christian Church (Old Roman and Orthodox rites), enmity and alienation are overcome, and humanity, divided by sin, is united in love in the image of the Consubstantial Trinity.

6. The Apostolic Christian Church (Old Roman and Orthodox rites) is the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Eph. 4:3), the fullness of uninterrupted grace-filled life and spiritual experience. "Where the Church is, there is the Spirit of God; and where the Spirit of God is, there is the Church, and every kind of grace" (St. Irenaeus of Lyons, Adversus Haereses, 3, 24). This unity of grace-filled life is the foundation of the unity and changelessness of the Church's faith as found in the Holy Scriptures canonical and non-canonical, and the church fathers. Bishops, priests, deacons and theologians are the instructors of ageless wisdom.

7. The Apostolic Christian Church (Old Roman and Orthodox rites) is universal, but she exists in the world in the form of various denominations. This does not diminish the unity of the Church in any

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way. "The Church, illumined with the light of the Lord, sheds forth her rays over the whole world, yet it is one light which is everywhere diffused, nor is the unity of the body separated. She spreads her branches, laden with fruit, over the whole world. He freely flowing streams extend to the farthest regions, and yet throughout all this her head is one, her source one, and she is one mother, rich in the abundance of her fruitfulness" (St. Cyprian of Carthage, On the Unity of the Church).

8. Apostolic Christian Church (Old Roman and Orthodox rites) unity is bound up inseparably with the Sacrament of the Eucharist, in which the faithful, partaking of the one Body of Christ, are really and truly joined in the one and catholic Body, in the mystery of Christ's love, in the transforming power of the Spirit. "Indeed, if 'we are all partakers of that one bread', then we all comprise one Body (1 Cor. 10:17), for Christ cannot be divided. That is why the Church is called the Body of Christ, while we are 'members in particular', according to the understanding of the apostle Paul (1 Cor. 12:27)" (St. Cyril of Alexandria).

9. The One, Holy, Catholic Church is the Apostolic Church (Old Roman and Orthodox rites). Through the divinely instituted priesthood the gifts of the Holy Spirit are communicated to the faithful. The apostolic succession of the hierarchy, beginning from the holy apostles, is the basis of the communion and unity of grace-filled life. Any deviation from the lawful Church authority is a deviation from the Holy Spirit, from Christ Himself. "See that you all follow the bishop, even as Jesus Christ does the Father, and the presbytery as you would the apostles; and reverence the deacons, as being the institution of God. Let no man do anything connected with the Church without the bishop. “Wherever the bishop shall appear, there let the multitude of the people also be; even as, wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church". (St. Ignatius of Antioch, To the Smyrnians, 8).

10. It is only through relationship with a particular apostolic assembly that each member of the Church realises his communion with the whole Church. By breaking canonical relations with his own denomination, a Christian damages his grace-filled unity with the whole Church body, tearing himself away from it. Any sin distances a person from the Church to a greater or lesser degree, but it does not cut him off from her altogether. In the understanding of the Early Church, excommunication was exclusion from the Eucharistic assembly. Those excommunicated, however, were never re-admitted to Church communion through re-baptism. Faith in the indelible nature of baptism is confessed in the Nicean-Constantinopolitan Creed: "I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sin". Apostolic Canon 47 reads: "Let a bishop or presbyter

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who shall baptise again one who has rightly received baptism… be deposed".

11. In this way the Church bore witness that those who have been excommunicated retain a certain "seal" of belonging to the people of God. By accepting them back the Church brings back to life those who have already been baptised by the Spirit into the one Body. Even while excommunicating one of her members, sealed by her on the day of his baptism, the Church hopes for his return. She considers excommunication itself to be a means of spiritual rebirth for such person.

12. Throughout the centuries Christ's commandment of unity has been repeatedly violated. Contrary to the catholic unanimity enjoined by God, differences and divisions have arisen in Christianity. The Church has always shown a strict and principled attitude towards those who have challenged the purity of her saving faith and those who have brought division and confusion into the Church: "Why are there strifes, and tumults, and divisions, and schisms, and wars among you? Have we not [all] one God and one Christ? Is there not one Spirit of grace poured out upon us? And have we not one calling in Christ? Why do we divide and tear to pieces the members of Christ, and raise up strife against our own body, and have reached such a height of madness as to forget that we are members one of another?" (St. Clement of Rome. First Letter to the Corinthians, 46).

13. Throughout Christian history, not only individual Christians but also entire Christian communities moved away from the unity with the Catholic, Orthodox Apostolic Church. Some of them have perished in course of history, while others have survived through the centuries. The most fundamental divisions of the first millennium, which have survived to this day, took place after the Third and Fourth Ecumenical Councils, when some Christian communities refused to accept their decisions. As a result, the Assyrian Church of the East and the non-Chalcedonian Churches, including the Coptic, Armenian, Syrian Jacobite, Ethiopian and Malabar Churches, are separated even today. In the second millennium, the separation of the Roman Church was followed by internal divisions in Western Christianity, brought about by the Reformation, Old Catholicism in its various forms, which resulted in the continual formation of different Christian denominations outside of communion with the Roman See. They are called independent churches, ran by independent bishops outside the Vatican. (We have full respect for the Pope, but we are in no way subject to him.) There were also breakaways from the unity with the Roman Catholic Church and the great Orthodox Patriarchates.

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14. Delusions and heresies result from a person's desire to assert himself and set himself apart. Every division or schism implies a certain measure of falling away from the plenitude of the Church. A division, even if it happens for non-doctrinal reasons, is a violation of Orthodox teaching on the nature of the Church and leads ultimately to distortions in the faith.

15. Apostolic Christian Church (Old Roman and Orthodox rites) through the mouths of the holy scriptural writers as found in the canonical and non-canonical books and church-fathers (of the first 400 years), affirms that salvation can be attained only in the Church of Christ. At the same time however, communities which have fallen away from the Apostolic Christian Church (Old Roman and Orthodox rites), have never been viewed as fully deprived of the grace of God. Any break from communion with the Church inevitably leads to an erosion of her grace-filled life, but not always to its complete loss in these separated communities.

16. The ecclesial status of those who have separated themselves from the Apostolic Christian Church (Old Roman and Orthodox rites) does not lend itself to simple definition. In a divided Christendom, there are still certain characteristics, which make it one: the Word of God, faith in Christ as God and Saviour come in the flesh (1 Jn. 1:1-2; 4, 2, 9), and sincere devotion.

17. The Apostolic Christian Church (Old Roman and Orthodox rites), even in its independence with the Vatican and great Orthodox Patriarchates is like them the true Church in which the Holy Tradition and the fullness of God's saving grace are preserved intact. She has preserved the heritage of the apostles and the church fathers in its integrity and purity. She is aware that her teaching, liturgical structures old or new and spiritual practice are the same as those of the apostolic proclamation and the Tradition of the Early Church.

18. The task of the of the Old Roman Catholic Church of Flanders, together with the other Apostolic Christian Churches (Roman or Orthodox Rites) witness is entrusted to every member of the Church. Apostolic Christians should clearly realise that the faith they preserve and confess has a global and universal character. The Church is not only called to teach her children, but also to witness to the truth before those who have left her. "How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?" (Rom. 10:14). The duty of every Apostolic Christian is to bear witness to the truth that has been entrusted to the Church for ever, since, according to St. Paul, "we are labourers together with God" (1 Cor. 3:9).

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Archbishop Philippe Laurent De Coster, B.Th., DD

Latin Old Roman Catholic Church of Flanders

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CONTENTS

The Church of Armenia

The Russian Orthodox Church (Russkaya Pravoslavnaya Tserkov)

Apostolic Succession from the Russian Orthodox Church

through Archbishop Theophanies Fan Stylian Noli

The Melkite Catholic Patriarchate of Antioch and All The East


The Church of England & Iglesia Filipina Independiente

The Church of England and the Protestant Episcopal Church in the U.S.A.

The Mexican National Catholic Church Iglesia Ortodoxa Católica Apostólica Mexicana)

Apostolic Succession from the Syrian Patriarchate of Antioch,

The Apostle Peter first Apostolic Throne and its valid Gnostic Branch as from 1918

Ethiopian Orthodox Coptic Church of North and South America

Apostolic Succession from the Russian Orthodox Church

through Bishops Joseph A. Zuk, Walter Myron Propheta, and La Von Miguel Haithman (Gabre Mikael Kristos), along the American Orthodox Catholic

Church.

The Ancient Church of The East (The Syro-Chaldean Church)

The Syrian Patriarchate of Antioch and All The East

Apostolic Succession from the Church of the East through The Patriarchate of Selucia-Ctesiphen and All The East

Apostolic Succession from the Church of the East through

The Patriarchate of Babylonia of the Chaldeans

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The Apostolic Succession from The Old Roman Catholic Church of Utrecht

The Order of Corporate Reunion

(Chiesa Cattolica in Italia & Igreja Catolica no Brasil

Biography of Archbishop Philippe Laurent De Coster, Latin Old Roman Catholic Church of Flanders (non-papal)

The Unity of the Apostolic Christian Church

Old Roman and Orthodox – (Based on the Sacred Scriptures and the Church-Fathers)

Edition Eucharist and Devotion Gent – Belgium © 1993 – 2007

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Appendix

Archbishop Nils Bertil (Mar Alexander) Persson

On the

ORDER OF CORPORATE REUNION

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“Pro Deo, pro ecclesia, pro patria”

The Order

of Corporate Reunion

By

Bertil Persson

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“Pro Deo, pro ecclesia, pro patria”

The Order of

Corporate Reunion

By

Bertil Persson © Solna, Sweden 2000. St. Ephrem’s Institute, The Vilatte Guild Extension Academy of

The Peoples University of the Americas Inc, Bertil Persson Illerstigen 22, S-170 71 SOLNA, Sweden.

Fax +46 8 85 73 28. E-mail [email protected] ISBN 91 85734 07 1 (Publication No. 8)

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CONTENTS Page 4. Introduction Page 5. Foreward by Rt Rev Francis C Spataro Page 7. Chapter 1: Historical Background Page 10. Chapter 2: Origin and development • Quoted primary sources • Pastoral Letter • Principal characters • On the basics • On the consecrations • Eye witnesses accounts • The origin of The Order of Corporate Reunion: An attempt to conclusion • The Revived Order of Corporate Reunion • The Revived Order of Corporate Reunion: An attempt to conclusion • The vision of abbé Portal and Lord Halifax • Malines Conversations • Monastère Bénédictin de Amay-sur-Meuse • The growth of The Apostolic Episcopal Church Page 32. Chapter 3: Situation 2000 Page 33. Chapter 4: Short biographies Page 38. Chapter 5: Bibliography Page 40. Appendix 1: Outline of some religious societies in The British Isles 1830-1910 Page 42. Appendix 2: The apostolic succession of Chiesa Cattolica in Italia Page 43. Appendix 3: The apostolic succession of The Armenian Catholic Church Page 44. Appendix 4: The apostolic succession of The Syrian Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East Page 45. Appendix 5: The apostolic succession of The Union of Ütrecht of the Old Catholic Churches Page 46. Appendix 6: The apostolic succession from The Chaldean Catholic Church

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INTRODUCTION In fact, we have only one scientific work which up to now thoroughly has treated the subject for this publication, The Order of Corporate Reunion. This is Dr. Lee of Lambeth: A Chapter in Parenthesis in the History of the Oxford Movement, London 1951, written by Rev Henry R T Brandreth. Thanks to many kind and helpful informants - I will especially mention Msgr Professor Dr Diederik Quatannens, Belgium, and Rev Dr Günther Thomann, Germany - and archives, I have been able to develop Brandreth’s fundamental work. The last wish he expressed to me was just that I may continue his work on smaller Christian communities. I have made several attemps and this publication is another one. This is a second and totally revised version of the book with the same title I published in 1995. I repeat what I expressed at that time: I am very grateful to three close friends who all have encouraged me to compose a sketch on The Order of Corporate Reunion: Very Rev Canon Dr Paul Faunch (RIP), London, United Kingdom, Mt Rev Professor Dr Paul G W Schultz (RIP), Glendale, CA, USA, and Mt Rev Professor Dr Francis C Spataro, Queens, NY, USA. The main intension with this work is to account the result of twenty years multidisciplinary research about the ideological background and complex origin of The Order of Corporate Reunion, but also to show how this Anglo-Catholic religious society has inspired to new development works in order to realize the prayer of Jesus ”that all may be one” (Joh 17:21). Finally two remarks of practical kind. The booklet is composed as an anthology, as the primary sources today are difficult to obtain. Person mentioned only with family name has a biographical entry in Chapter 4. Solna, Sweden, 8 September 2000 Bertil Persson, DD, ThD, FRSA

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FOREWARD Because of recent papal decisions on the validity of Anglican Orders, I believe an updated foreward to the second edition has become quite necessary. When the predecessor of the Order of Corporate Reunion, the Association for Promotion of the Unity of Christendom, presented the Holy See with its four proposals for corporate reunion, the Holy Office responded negatively. These four proposals were: (1) the recognition of Anglican Orders; (2) the marriage of priests; (3) the giving of the chalice to the laity; and (4) the liturgy in the vernacular. Since Vatican Council II, proposals (3) and (4) have definitevly been met by the Church of Rome; as to (1) and (2) the present pope, Johannes Paul PP II, has reiterated Leo PP XIII’s condemnation of Anglican Orders and very forcefully maintains the need for celibacy of his priests regardless of mounting shortages of clergy and calls to the contrary! However, since the mid 1990’s the Church of England has been ordaining women as priests, and this certainly has complicated the entire question. In two modern histories of the role of deaconesses in the Catholic Church, Aime Martimort’s ”Deaconesses” (Ignatius, 1986) and Ellen Gvosdev’s ”Female Diaconate” (Light & Life, Minn.), the decrees of both Nicaea I and Chalcedon concerning ”gune diaconos” have been presented to the public as well as clarified as to the role of deaconesses in the early and ancient Catholic Church in the East and the West. These councils of the undivided Catholic Church permitted the ordination of women deacons (gune diaconos) provided certain definite guidelines were followed. Thus when Johannes Paulus PP II says that he has no authority to ordain women to the priesthood, he is in fact stating that only an Ecumenical Council can decide to ordain women as deacons! When it comes to the validity of Anglican Orders, this aged and infirm pope, whose pontificate has been the longest in recent history, has contradicted himself. First, he declares valid the orders of both the Polish National Catholic Church and the Old Catholic Churches of the Ütrecht Communion; secondly, he declares invalid the orders of the Church of England and the Anglican Communion. But this is an out and out contradiction and abuse of papal power. Since the Bonn Agreement of 1931, all consecrations of bishops of the Church of England have been performed with at least one co-consecrator from the Polish National Catholic Church or the Old Catholic Churches of the Ütrecht Communion whose orders the pope declared valid and the same as those of his own Church of Rome. This means that over the last 70 years all bishops of the Church of England have received the orders of The Union of Ütrecht and have passed them on to their clergy! If Old Catholic orders are valid so are those of the Church of England because they are the same as those of Ütrecht, which are the same as those of Rome! The pope’s condemnation of Anglican Orders and the marriage of priests are his personal whimsey and not Catholic Teaching just as Leo PP XIII’s decision was based on the false belief that the matter for ordination of priests was the handing of the chalice and not the laying on of hands. Another pope in the near future can opt for the validity of Anglican Orders as well as for the marriage of priests. He might also revive the Ancient Order of Deaconesses. And a future Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church, Western & Eastern, may pronounce in favour of ordaining women as priests following the guidelines set down by Nicaea I (Canon 19) and Chalcedon (Canon 15) for the ordination of deaconesses as well as

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Canon 48 of the Trullan Synod in 691. Canon 41 of the Arabic translation of the Nicene Canons specifically describes the Order of Deaconesses. Thus the validity of Anglican Orders has become intrinsically linked with both the revival of the Order of Deaconesses, the marriage of priests and the ordination of women as priests in the Catholic Church. All may be decided by either a future pope or a future Ecumenical Council of the entire Holy Church of all Christians in the Unity of Christendom. ”THAT ALL MAY BE ONE.” Rt Rev Francis C Spataro, Bishop

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CHAPTER 1: HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

The idea on religious societies In order to have a broad perspective on the context in which we find The Order of Corporate Reunion it may be motived to start with a historical outline of the idea on religious societies. This idea has its roots in the monastic orders and the societies of the original Societas Rosicruciana.9 In The Country Parson’s Advice to His Parishioners, 1680, we find the following definition: ”If good men of the Church will unite together in the several parts of the kingdom, disposing themselves into friendly societies, and engaging each other, in their respective combinations, to be helpful to each other in all good Christian ways, it will be the most effectual means for restoring our decaying Christianity to its primitive life and vigour, and the supporting of our tottering and sinking church.” This idea on religious societies has been the impuls to many activities. In England we have the birth of Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (founded 1698)10 and Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts (founded 1701) and the book by Dr. Josiah Woodward, Account of the Rise and Progress of the Religious Societies in the City of London, London 1712. This publication was very soon translated into German and professor August Hermann Francke (1663-1727) at University of Halle took its message to his heart. In the spiritual revival which arose from Halle, the pietism, the idea on religious societies became an important ingredience. In Sweden the idea became a source of inspiration for the Lutheran state church to inhebit religious societies without the attendance of a clergyman. A law was created, Konventikelplakatet, whose authority stamped the development of the religious life 1726-1858. The renewer of Unitas Fratrum (The Moravian Church), Count Nikolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf (1700-1760), also took to his heart the importance of religious societies and initiated societies wherever in Europe and America he and his co-operators established missions. In a letter published in London Magazine 1760, John Wesley (1703-1791) sheds the light on the origin of The Methodist Church, whose spiritual father he was. He refers to his reading of The Country Parson’s Advice to His Parishioners and says: ”… united together in the several parts of the kingdom, engaging, in like manner, to be helpful to each other in all good Christian ways”. Thanks to his close life together with some bishops of The Moravian Church, including Zinzendorf, his heart became convinced of the importance of religious 9 The original Societas Rosicruciana was founded 1188 as a result of a knightly meeting in the castle d’Agini at Gisors in France. It came up as a politically independent crypto-society for scientific development. Among its most important learned men we find John Dee (1527-1608), Francis Bacon (1561-1626) and Johann Amos Comenius (1592-1670). The Lutheran clergyman Johann Valentin Andreæ (1586-1654) established in Germany 1618/1619 several learned independent rosicrucian societies and 1645 rosicrucians founded Royal Society in London. It may be of interest to notice that Comenius, also Bishop of Unitas Fratrum, developed a pedagogy which has been fundamental for all future education. In Didactica Magna, 1657, he has substantiated his pedagogical ideas. About Societas Rosicruciana, see Dawkins, Peter, Francis Bacon. Herald of the New Age, Warwickshire 1997; McIntosh, Christopher, The Rosicrucians, Northamtonshire 1987; Yates, Frances A, The Rosicrucian Enlightenment, London 1986. The present author is also refering to new researches which will be in print, Persson, Bertil, Some Scientific Glimpses of the Original Knights Templar, in the MS, St. Ephrem’s Institute, Solna 1992. 10 The Church of England Yearbook 2000, p 306: ”SPCK is the oldest Anglican mission agency and seeks to support the work of the Church in every part of the world through the production and distribution of Christian literature and other communication resources.”

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societies. The way to the establishing of The Methodist Church consists of a series of creation of religious societies. The Oxford Movement Around 1800 The Church of England appeared to be nearly spiritually dead. A sermon at St. Mary’s University Church, Oxford, Sunday 14 July 1833, preached by Rev. Professor John Keble (1792-1866), became the start of The Oxford Movement with refreshed spirituality, revival of ceremonial in public worship, a restored church and a consecrated life on its scheme. The idea of religious societies became one of the implements and a lot of societes were established. See Appendix 1. Here reproduces some passages from Keble’s sermon. His text was: ”As for me, God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you: but I will teach you the good and the right way” (1 Sam. XII. 23): ”What [he asked] should be the tenour of their conduct, who find themselves cast on such times of decay and danger? How may a man best reconcile his allegiance to God and his Church with this duty to his country, which now… is fast becoming hostile to the Church, and cannot therefore long be the friend of God?… That combination of sweetness with firmness, of consideration with energy, which constitutes the temper of a perfect public man, was never perhaps so beautifully exemplified. He makes no secret of the bitter grief and dismay with which the resolution of his countrymen filled him. He was prepared to resist it at all hazards, had he not received from God Himself directions to give them their own way; protesting, however, in the most distinct and solemn tone, so as to throw the whole blame of what might ensue on their wilfulness. Having so protested, and found them obstinate, he does not therefore at once forsake their service, he continues discharging all the functions they had left him, with a true and loyal, though most heavy, heart. ‘God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you: but I will teach you the good and the right way’. Should it ever happen (which God avert, but we cannot shut our eyes to the danger) that the Apostolical Church should be forsaken, degraded, nay trampled on and dispoiled by the State and people of England, I cannot conceive a kinder wish for her, on the part of her most affectionate and dutiful children, than that she may, consistently, act in the spirit of this most noble sentence… I do not see how any person can devote himself too entirely to the cause of the Apostolical Church in these realms. There may be, as far as he know, but a very few to sympathize with him. He may have to wait long, and very likely pass out of this world before he see any abatement in the triumph of disorder and irreligion. But, if he is consistent, he possesses, to the utmost, the personal consolations of a good Christian: and as a true Churchman, he has that encouragement, which no other cause in the world can impart in the same degree: he is calmly, soberly, demonstrably, sure, that, sooner or later, his will be the winning side…” The ”Assyrian-fever” Contemporary with that The Oxford Movement arose, new discoveries reached England on the milieu of names and events well-known from The Old Testament and on the Christians in the former Assyria. An ”Assyrian-fever” arose which inspired to many different churchly interactions. 1864 The Eastern Churches Association was founded by the famous hymnist and liturgiologist John Mason Neale (1818-1866) and 1866 The Archbishop of Canterbury,

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Edward White Benson (1829-1896), initiated The Archbishop of Canterbury’s Assyrian Mission.11 The Old Catholic movements During the 18th and 19th centuries a lot of critical voices arose within The Catholic Church in the western hemisphere. 1889 these Old Catholic movements in Western Europe generated into The Union of Ütrecht of The Old Catholic Churches. The common sense for these movements consisted of a revival of the theology of The Council of Khalkedon 451 and the undivided church, and of a repudiation of opera supererogationis, celebacy for priests and bishops and that the pope according to the decree of 1870 is infallible when he speaks ex cathedra. And as a result of the victory of democracy through The French Revolution 1789 several national churches would like to be independent papal control.12 Summary The context in which we may understand The Order of Corporate Reunion consists of a combination of many different dogmatic and practical positions in which The Oxford Movement and its religious societies appear as a melting-pot. A considerably simplified attempt to summarize may be the following key map. It is worth emphasizing that the goal of the activities is related to The Church of England while that of The Old Catholic movements is related to The Catholic Church. A review of The Anglo-Catholic Movement at the time of the growth of The Order of Corporate Reunion may have the following appearence:

The Anglo-Catholic Movement The High Church Movement or Tractarians13

The restoration societies

Revival within The Church of England Ambition of making The Church of England to a uniate church of The Western Patriarchate

Emphasise on all doctrines of The Catholic Church

Emphasise on the authority of the apostolic succession

Emphasise on the restoration of the apostolic succession

Emphasise on the authority of the sacraments Emphasise on the importance of liturgies and vestments Initial interests for the churches in The Near East 11 See: Akan, Ishak & Persson, Bertil, En kort introduktion av syrianerna/araméerna och Syrisk-Ortodoxa Kyrkan, Stockholm 1995; Aprem, Mar, Western Missions Among Assyrians, Trichur 1982; Coakley, J F, The Church of the East and The Church of England. A History of The Archbishop of Canterbury’s Assyrian Mission, Oxford 1992; Kawerau, Peter, Amerika und die Orientalischen Kirchen, Berlin 1958. 12 This process of change is summarized in Persson, Bertil, A Biographical Sketch on Joseph René Vilatte, Solna 2000 pp 38-39. 13 Tractarians became a name for the sympathizers of The High Church Movement, as they took to the heart the message from the prominent figures of the Movement through reading Tracts for the Times. 90 tracts appeared 1833-1841. Keble’s sermon was published in this serie.

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CHAPTER 2: ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT

Quoted primary sources Anson, Peter F, Bishops at Large, London 1964 [A ritualistic clergyman], article in Catholic Standard and Ransomer 22 November 1894 Brandreth, Henry R T, Dr. Lee of Lambeth: A Chapter in Parenthesis in the History of the Oxford Movement, London 1951 Centre for Kentish Studies [Maidstone], Records of the Society of the Holy Cross, 71/A Crehan, J H, Black Market in Episcopal Orders? in The Month Vol 9. No. 6 June 1953 De Lisle, Ambrose Phillips, letter 11 April 1864 to Cardinal Wiseman, Westminster Cathedral Archives Diary of Laura de Lisle, 15 November 1866, 10 May 1877 Essays on the Reunion of Christendom, [by members of Association for the Promotion of the Unity of Christendom] 1867 Fletcher, W G D, Lee, Frederick George in The Dictionary of National Biography, Suppl 2, London 1912 Grant, William, Is the Order of Corporate Reunion Schismatical?, London 1878 Grant, William, article in Church Times 22 August 187914 Lee, Ambrose, letter published in The Tablet 5 December 1908 Lee, Frederick George, letter published in Morning Post 14 July 1877 Lee, Frederick George, Order Out of Chaos, London 1881 Lee, Frederick George, article in Nineteenth Century November 1881 Lutgen, Thomas-Marie, L’Église Catholique Celtique, Rennes 1967 Mathew, A H, Are Anglican Orders Valid?, London 1910 Matthews, A Jerome, article in Trowbridge Chronicle 16 October 1886 Morning Post 5 July 1877 Mossman, Thomas W, Br. Mossman’s Report on the Order of Corporate Reunion. Presented to S.S.C., 1878 Mossman, Thomas W, letter published in English Churchman 15 March 1885 Mossman, Thomas W, article in Church Review 3 November 1881 Pastoral Letter by the Rector, Provincials, and Provosts of the Order of Corporate Reunion, 187715 Purcell, Edmund Sheridan, Life and Letters of Ambrose Phillipps De Lisle, Vol I-II, London 1900 Reunion Magazine 1877-187916 S.S.C. Report of Committee on the Order of Corporate Reunion, 1878 The Tablet 7 July 1877 The Tablet 16 September 1877 The Tablet 23 January 1909 The Torch, A Monthly Review advocating the Reconstruction of the Church in the West and Reunion with the Holy Orthodox Church of the East 19 June 1912 Trailies, W F, article in Trowbridge Chronicle 29 November 1886 14 Church Times was founded by Mr. George J. Palmer as a mouthpiece for The High Church Movement. The first number was published 7 February 1863. 15 A copy is extant at Pusey House, Oxford, which has been the main initial position for this study. Pusey House was founded 1884 to continue the work of the first ideological leader of The Anglo-Catholic Movement, Rev. Edward Bouverie Pusey (1800-1882), as a center for theological study and contains his library. 16 Reunion Magazine, quarterly, official periodical of The Order of Corporate Reunion.

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Walsh, Walter, History of the Romeward Movement in the Church of England, 1833-1864, London 1910 Whitebrook, J C, letter 10 December 1908 published in The Tablet 26 December 1908 Wright, Thomas, Life of Walter Pater, Vol II, 1907

Pastoral Letter by the Rector, Provincials, and Provosts of

the Order of Corporate Reunion

*************************************************************************** Pro Deo, pro ecclesia, pro patria In the Sacred Name of the Most Holy, Undivided and Adorable Trinity, Father Son and Holy Ghost. Amen †Thomas, by the Favour of GOD, Rector of the ORDER OF CORPORATE REUNION, and PRO-PROVINCIAL OF CANTERBURY; †Joseph, by the Favour of GOD, PROVINCIAL OF YORK, in the Kingdom of England; and †Laurence, by the Favour of GOD, PROVINCIAL OF CAERLEON, in the Principality of Wales, with the Provosts and Members of the Synod of the Order, to the Faithful in CHRIST JESUS, whom these Presents may concern; Health and Benediction in the LORD GOD Everlasting. EVERY faithful Christian must surely be distressed and bewildered at the spectacle afforded by the evil state into which the National Church of England has been brought by departure from ancient principles and by recent events. A long course of change, usurpation, and revolution has moved all her old land-marks. The evil is continually working; no man being able to foresee whereunto it will grow, or what will be the end thereof. Two things are certain, however: on the one hand, that all semblance of independent existence and corporate action has departed from the Established Church, so that she is given up, as it were, bound hand and foot, and blindfolded into the toils of her enemies; while, on the other hand, these enemies are waiting to rob her of her privileges and possessions, and are even now debating how to divide the spoil. We affirm, that in the Providence of God, the evil itself has opened the door to a remedy. For the Bishops of the Church of England, having yielded up all canonical authority and jurisdiction in the spiritual order, can neither interfere with, nor restrain, Us in Our work of recovering from elsewhere that which has been forfeited or lost - securing three distinct and independent lines of a new Episcopal Succession, so as to labour corporately, and on no sandy foundation, for the healing of the breach which has been made. In thus associating ourselves together, we solemny take as the basis of this Our Order the Catholic Faith as defined by the Seven General Councils, acknowledged as such by the whole Church of the East and the West before the great and deplorable schism, and as commonly received in the Apostles´ Creed, and the Creed of Nicaea, and the Creed of St. Athanasius. To all the sublime doctrines so laid down, We declare our unreserved adhesion, as well as to the

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principles of Church constitution and discipline, set forth and approved by the said Seven General Councils. Furthermore, until the whole Church shall speak on the subject, We accept all those dogmatic statements set forth in common by the Council of Trent and the Synod of Bethlehem respectively, with regard to the doctrine of the Sacraments… Thanking Almighty God most humbly for the restoration of Brotherhoods, Sisterhoods, and Guilds, We solemny affirm that the Monastic Life, duly regulated according to the laws of the Catholic Church, is a most salutary institution, in perfect harmony with the spirit of the Gospel; and is full of profit to those who, being carefully tried and examined, make full proof of their calling thereto. Our services will always be at the disposal of such - upon whom We invoke the Divine blessing. As regards the chief aim of this new Order - Corporate Reunion - it is needful to remark finally, that, while We have to deplore the divisions existing amongst the churches, We cannot unchurch any having a true succession. Therefore, We pray for all, We remove all stumblingblocks in the way of union amongst the baptized, whom We hail and regard as brethren, while, on disputed points of Church opinion not yet defined by lawful Authority. We appeal to a free General Council, with earnest prayers to God for its speedy assembly and guidance by the Holy Ghost. Amen. *************************************************************************** Pastoral Letter was published in Reunion Magazine 1877 and in The Tablet 23 January 1909. The text above is an excerpt. At least in 1875 a rough draft to the proclamation on The Order of Corporate Reunion was compiled. De Lisle and Lee et al. had worked a long time for preparing it. In the beginning of 1876 it was disclosed in a pamphlet distributed by ‘Presbyter Anglicanus’.17 It had the form of an open letter addressed to Henry Edward Cardinal Manning (1808-1892), Archbishop of Westminster. De Lisle distributed copies among his friends, and 12 January 1876 he wrote to Manning (letter published in Purcell, op.cit., Vol II, p 23): ”I hear from various quarters - all more or less good and reliable sources - the actual number of whom Presbyter Anglicanus as the deputed mouthpiece variously estimated as from 500 to 1,000 of the clergy and from 50,000 to 100,000 of the laity. Be this as it may, if the snowball is favoured by the Holy See, it will gather round it even millions - all who care for Christianity in our very dear old England! - and of one thing I am perfectly certain, that WE with our countless encumbrances and our frightful burden of abuses from one end of the Earth to the other, shall never win England or any other nation again, but shall continue to lose every day more and more of the few that remain to us. But behold the Lord send us an offer of new Life, which may be the germ of moral regeneration for the whole earth under the fostering care of the Holy See.” Morning Post 5 July 1877: ”The first synod of the new organization - regarding which such varied rumours and reports have been current for some months past - was held in London on Tuesday and Wednesday, the 3rd and 4th of this month. The proceedings, which, so we are informed, were conducted with all the order and gravity common to solemn synods, was opened by Mass of the Holy Ghost, according to Sarum Rite, followed by prayers and intercessions given in Gavantus.

17 Presbyter Anglicanus: According to Anson, Peter F, Bishops at Large, London 1964 p 64, the penname of Rev. Edmund Huff, 1853-1891 rector of Little Cawthorpe, Lincolnshire. According to Pawley, Bernard & Margret, Rome and Canterbury through four Centuries, London & Oxford 1974 p 198, the penname of Rev. Edmund S. Grindle, vicar of St. Paul’s, Brighton.

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The work undertaken by the promoters was carried on and completed in perfect unanimity. We understand that a formal pastoral of the rector and provincials will be issued early in September.”18 At this first synod, which was held in secrecy, Pastoral Letter with addition of the prefatory episcopal greetings was approved. Seccombe has in a letter written to Lee said (published in Brandreth, op.cit., p 120): ”I have been working hard at the scheme, not without result, as I will show you when we meet. There is nothing like having a definite course chalked out, for when the time of action comes it often happens that mistakes are made by want of consideration. But whatever is done, I hope the Establishment may remain for many years - even though we may not share the advantages of it.” After the founding Bishops have informed De Lisle about the first synod, De Lisle answered in a letter published in Reunion Magazine 1877 p 355: ”I hail the meeting of the first Synod of the new Ecclesiastical organization as one of the most important steps that has been taken since the era of the Reformation. I shall commend it to the prayers of our chaplain in the celebration of the most Holy Mysteries in our chapel tomorrow, and most heartily do I pray that God will pour out His Blessing upon the Synod, and guide it by His Holy and Life-long Spirit, so that it may become a great instrument towards promoting the Reunion of Christendom, and thus paving the way for the full development of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ over the whole world. The hearts of all good men seem now more and more turned towards Rome, and the healing of our deplorable divisions; but we have all sinned and we must all humble ourselves before God, and implore His mercy and assistance. The Holy Sacrifice will also be celebrated for this intention tomorrow in the Church of St Bernard’s Abbey.” According to Reunion Magazine 1877 p 11: Saturday 8 September 1877, at dawn, Pastoral Letter was read on the steps at the west end of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London in the presence of witnesses whose names have not been made public. The Tablet 16 September 1877: ”We have been looking out since the spring for a phenomenon about which divers dark and mysterious hints have been privately dropped from time to time. It has at length burst upon an astonished world. This phenomenon is nothing less than a kind of Ritualistic crypto-hierarchy. On Saturday last, being ‘the Feast of the Nativity of Our Lady St Mary, the Blessed Mother of God, in the year of Our Lord, and of the World’s Redemption, One Thousand, Eight Hundred and Seventy-seven, was drawn up, approved, ratified, and solemny promulgated in the

18 A similar article was published in The Tablet 7 July 1877. - The founders wished to maintain The Sarum Breviary and Missal. In Reunion Magazine 1877 p 99 it is stated that ”in all chapels and oratories of this Order… the Ancient Liturgy of the Church of England according to the use of Sarum be used in the celebration of the Sacred Mysteries of the Altar”. This liturgy, originally composed of several local liturgies, was of the Cathedral and Diocese of Salisbury (Sarum) in Wiltshire and has usually been ascribed to St. Osmund, the second bishop of the See (1077-1099). However, there is no evidence for this ascription. It was given the definite form during the 13th century by Richard Poore (Poor, Poure or Le Poor, dead 1237), bishop of Salisbury, Chichester and Durham. Ref. Directorium Anglicanum, London 1858, 1865 and 1878. The 1st edition was edited by Rev. John Purchas and the others were edited as revised editions by Lee. Yates, Nigel, Anglican Ritualism in Victorian Britain 1830-1910, Oxford 1999 pp 121-123, gives an outline of the revisions of this liturgical work. - Gavantus refers to Thesaurus sacrorum rituum, Seu Commentaria in rubricas Missalis et Breviarii Romani, Roma 1628, composed by Bartholommeo Gavanti (1569-1638).

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divinely protected City of London’ - a phrase which gives a quite deliciously Oriental flavour to the proceedings - a kind of Bull, Brief, or Encyclical to all ‘the Faith ful whom these Presents concern’. It may be naturally asked by whom it is issued. We regret that here the information becomes somewhat defective. The surnames which appear on the face of the document are ‘Irons’, as the delineator and engraver of the somewhat ambitious decoration prefixed to it, and the original of which is apparently intended to be worn round the neck of somebody, and that of ‘Adrian de Helte’, Notary Apostolic, which testifies that on the 15th of August this is a true copy of an instrument which we are informed was drawn up on the 8th of September. We regret to be unable to inform our readers who these gentlemen are. We do not for a moment suppose that the first name has anything to do with that of a well-known Anglican clergyman. Of the second we know nothing whatsoever… Now for the object of all this selemn fooling - for without wishing to speak harshly, or even unsympathetically, we can call it nothing else. Its authors have opened their eyes to the fact that, as all the authorities of their communion being against them, they are somewhat in the position of rebels. Therefore, by way of mending matters, they have resolved to invent amateur superiors of their own kidney. Nor is it even a pretended Religious Order which the Superiors are to govern. It is rather ‘a Church within a Church’, to which anybody is admitted who can prove that he is baptized, or will submit to conditinal baptism, unless he be ‘a presbyter’ who has been twice married, a divorced person or a deceased wife’s sister, a Freemason, or a member of a similar secret society.”

Principal characters Behind The Order of Corporate Reunion we find five principal characters. The following is a summary of informations, important for the understanding of their role for the origin of The Order of Corporate Reunion. Ambrose Phillipps De Lisle (1809-1879) 1824 De Lisle was received into The Catholic Church. His whole life he worked for a reunion of The Church of England with The Catholic Church. 1835 he began to re-establish The Cistercian Order in England through building The Monastery of St. Bernard, Witwick, Leicestershire, and here he drew up the scheme for a uniate church in England. Quite privately, in the church of St. Bernard’s Abbey a uniate church began to take form. He is 1838 co-founder of Society for Prayers for the Conversion of England and 1857 co-founder of Association for the Promotion of the Unity of Christendom.19 He maintained a life-long interest in the Armenian Mekhitarist monastery in Venezia. His daughter, Margret De Lisle, was 10 May 1877 presented to Pius PP IX. She handed over a letter from De Lisle who was asking for blessing over his strategies for reunion of the churches. 13 May 1877 Pius PP IX returned the letter to the chaplain of The Monastery of St. Bernard, Fr. Cesario Tondini di

19 In Association for the Promotion of the Unity of Christendom he met Rev. E.F.K. Fortescue, 1851-1871 Provost of St. Ninian’s Cathedral, Perth. He tried to creat a union between The Church of England and The Armenian Catholic Church in his church through introducing ”Anglican and Armenian Liturgies”. See Fortescue, E F K, The Armenian Church, London 1872, which is ”dedicated to the members of The Eastern Church Association and The Society for Promoting the Union of Christendom, as these two societies - the one by its work, the other by its prayers - have for their object the re-union of Christendom, which may it please Almighty God in His own good time of accomplish”. Fortescue was also a member of The Society of the Holy Cross.

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Quarenghi,20 and with the words ”Benedicat et exaudiat vos Deus” he blessed prayers for the reunion of The Church of England, the Eastern churches and The Catholic Church. Margret De Lisle then visited the Armenian monastery in Venezia 27 May 1877.21 It is an obious fact that it is De Lisle who has ”opened the doors” to the different consecrators. By his contemporaries he was regarded as the effective organizer of The Order of Corporate Reunion. As Primate of The Evangelical Catholic Communion 1858-1870 he had many clandestine contacts. De Lisle letter 9 July 1877 published in Purcell, op.cit., Vol II p 175: When De Lisle intermediary Fr. Cesario Tondini got the letter from Pius PP IX, he at once informed Ex Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone (1809-1898), writing: ”The Pope has now committed himself over head and ears to the two points for which I have always agitated through good report and evil report. The first is for the Principle of Corporate Reunion. The second is for the special Prayers for the Reunion of the Graeco-Russian Church with our Latin Church”. Frederick George Lee (1832-1902) A bit simplified we can state, that The Order of Corporate Reunion is raised on two pillars: De Lisle is the ideologist and the originator of contacts, Lee is the episcopal authority who stands up for the realization. Thomas Wimberley Mossman (1826-1889) Mossman in Essays on the Reunion of Christendom, 1867 p 288-289: ”Let us be assured, that the Roman and Greek Churches cannot, if they would, hold out the right hand of fellowship to us, so long as we are uncatholic in our practice…We see then most clearly, as the conclusion of the whole matter, that by adopting and promoting really Catholic Ritual observances, we are, as far as in us lies, promoting in the most effectual way possible the accomplishment of Visible Unity and intercommunion amongst all parts of the Church; and that by neglecting or opposing Catholic Ritual we are doing our best, or our worst, to hinder the glorious consummation of the visible corporate Reunion of the whole Christian family.” Centre for Kentish Studies, op.cit. [résumé]: Mossman was since 1856 member of The Society of the Holy Cross. When it was known that he was secretly consecrated, the Master demanded to know ”what are the names of the three Bishops of the ‘Order’, where they live, by whom they were consecrated, and what was the diocese of the consecrater… The only See from which we, in this country, can obtain valid orders, and valid jurisdiction is the See of Canterbury, and if the so-called Bishops of the ‘O.C.R.’ do not derive their succession from this source, they are clearly schismatics”. At a later meeting the Master described The Order of Corporate Reunion as ”a proselytising Society [which] did much harm in promoting the belief that the Catholic Clergy were doubtful as to the validity of their Orders… He looked on the ‘Order’ as fraught with the gravest possible evil to the Catholic party in the Church of England; the dark and underhand way in which the work was conducted, of itself condemned it”. After further debate the society voted

20 Fr. Cesario Tondini di Quarenghi belonged to The Barnabites, Clerks Regular of St. Paul (C.R.S.P.), an order founded 1530 in Milano by St. Antonio Maria Zaccaria (1502-1539). The order is most noted for its work with St. Charles Borromeo (1538-1584), Cardinal-Archbishop of Milano, who 1560-1583 was Primate of the secret ecumenical Evangelical Catholic Communion, founded 1518 by Gasparo Cardinal Contarini (1483-1542) from Venezia. 21 All informations about Margret De Lisle are from Diary of Laura de Lisle.

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that membership of The Order of Corporate Reunion was ”inconsistent with membership of” The Order of the Holy Cross and in due course Mossman’s name was removed from the roll of members. George Nugée (1819-1892) Wright, op.cit., p 32: Wright tells that Nugée was ”surrounded by a number of helpers, including Mr Richard C Jackson (or the Reverend Brother à Becket, to use his monastic name) and the Reverend E. Salisbury”. As the first secretary of Association for the Promotion of the Unity of Christendom Nugée - together with Mgr. George Talbot, Canon of St. Peters - was received in audience by Pius PP IX. In Weekly Register 19 and 26 November 1864 he commented on ”the heartiness of the Holy Father’s commendation… I shall not easily forget the zeal he evinced during that in urging the claims of the Association of the Unity of Christendom of the Holy Father”. 16 September 1864 letter Ad omnes episcopos Angliae Constantinus Cardinal Patrizi Naro (1798-1876) forbade Catholic membership in A.P.U.C. as Catholic, Orthodox and Anglican bodies were considered being of equal validity.22 Accordingly, De Lisle left his membership. De Lisle letter11 April 1864 to Nicholas Patrick Stephen Cardinal Wiseman (1802-1865), Archbishop of Westminster: De Lisle introduced Nugée: ”… he laid before His Holiness the general plan for the Reconciliation in a conversation of great interest, and the Pope expressed his great delight and gave him his Blessing for the success of the work - on the same occasion he presented to the Pope the Mother Superior of a Convent of Sisters of Charity… and His Holiness gave her his Blessing and expressed his amazement at such an institution having been established in the Church of England”. As Association for the Promotion of the Unity of Christendom also recruited members from the Eastern churches, he came in touch with Ferrette, who in August-September 1866 ordained him priest and consecrated him. Later Nugée consecrated Rev. William Petterson Whitebrook. John Thomas Seccombe (1835-1895) In his younger days, Seccombe stayed at The Monastery of St. Bernard, Witwick, Leicestershire, founded 1835 by De Lisle. Diary of Laura de Lisle 15 November 1866: ”Jules Ferrette, friend of Nugée arrives”, i.e. at Witwick, Leicestershire, and stayed with De Lisle 15-17 November 1866. 18-19 November 1866 Ferrette visited Seccombe in Terrington St. Clement, King’s Lynn, Norfolk, and ordained him all orders inclusive baptism and consecrated him. In accordance with his agreement with his consecrator, Ferrette August 1866-March 1867 organized the mission on The British Isles of The Syrian Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East through consecrating Nugée, Seccombe and Rev. Richard Williams Morgan.23 Morgan became his successor when he at the end of March 1867 moved to USA.

22 About Nugée’s audience and the later development of A.P.U.C., see Butler, Cuthbert, The Life and Times of Bishop Ullathorne 1806-1889. Vol II, London p 345. 23 It may be mentioned that these consecrations originally had nothing to do with The Order of Corporate Reunion but we may suppose that Nugée’s and Seccombe’s friendship with Ferrette has stimulated the

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In the frame of this mission Seccombe translated and 1867 ”printed by the authority of the Bishop of Iona” The Great Catechism of the Eastern Orthodox Church and The Holy Canons of the Syrian Oecumenical Synods. Seccombe was a member of The Odd Fellow Order, and this may strengthen his ecumenical vision.24

On the basics

The following excerpts may illustrate the basics in Pastoral Letter. Lee in Morning Post 14 July 1877: ”Absolutely denouncing all lawlessness, with sacramental basis on which no dark shadow of doubt can henceforth ever fall, and with dogmatic principles accepted by both East and West, we bind ourselves together anew under godly obedience and discipline for necessary self-defence, for co-operation, and for promoting the grand and most necessary work of Corporate Reunion, the highest and greatest need of our time… Even the lower animals, when attacked, have the instinct to herd together for self-defence. We shall do no more, but we shall do no less.” Mossman, Br. Mossman’s Report on the Order of Corporate Reunion. Presented to S.S.C., p 10: ”The O.C.R. admits none but those who accept the whole Catholic Faith; and its work is to gather them together, and form them into one great spiritual Order: and then, when the time appointed comes, as most surely in God’s Providence it will come, whoever lives to see it, we shall go with our thousands of faithful clergy and laity, and we shall say to the Patriarchs of the East and West, ‘We all hold the Catholic Faith in its fulness and integrity, can you refuse to admit us to intercommunion?’ I have the best possible ground for believing that, whatever might be the action of the other Patriarchs, the Patriarch of the West [the Pope] would not look coldly on our plea, and would not only grant it, but would give besides every concession that could in reason be demanded.” Lee, Order Out of Chaos, p 50 and pp 60-62: ”As I am personally challenged on this point, I hold, and have always held (mere rough contradictions have no effect on me) that the Pope is the Archbishop’s [of Canterbury] direct spiritual superior both in rank and authority… The government of the Catholic Church by Bishops, Primates, Metropolitans, and Patriarchs, with One Visible Head, is so exactly of that practical nature, that no wholly independent and isolated religious body can possibly partake either in its government or in the blessing of being rightly governed, so long as it remains independent… The Visible Head of that One Christian Family, as Christendom has universally allowed, is the Bishop of the See of St. Peter. Unlike all other Bishops, he has no superior either in rank or jurisdiction. Now, when any part of a family, by misunderstanding

preparatory work for The Order of Corporate Reunion. 1856 Ferrette had founded Ordo Fratrum Praedicatorum Unionis in order to bring together Eastern and Western Christianity. 24 The Odd Fellow Order was founded in England in the beginning of 1740’s as a breakaway faction from The Freemasons with accentuation on a fraternal and popular solidarity (”the poor man’s Freemasonry”). Its motto, based on an essentially Judeo-Christian nature, is ”Friendship, Charity & Truth”. During 1980’s the present author was a member of an academic society within the scope of The Odd Fellow Order of Sweden. Concerning the origin of the order, he has published a series of articles in Svensk Odd Fellow Tidning, Stockholm 1982.

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and perverseness, becomes disobedient to, or out of harmony with, its Visible Head, weakness and confusion, as regards its oneness, are certain to supervene.” Seccombe in Reunion Magazine 1877 p 242: ”It is quite true that we [O.C.R.] do not assume an attitude of independence towards the Holy See. We frankly acknowledge that, in the Providence of God, the Roman Pontiff is the first Bishop in the Church, and, therefore, ITS VISIBLE HEAD ON EARTH. We do not believe that either the Emperor of Russia or the Queen of England is the head of the Church. As the Church must have some executive head, and as there is no other competitor, we believe the Pope to be that head. But he is more to us than this, for he is our Patriarch as well. So that we admit this claim to the veneration and LOYALTY of all baptized men, and in a special degree of all Western Christians, and in these capacities we prayed for him in our Constituent Synod.” Mossman in Church Review 3 November 1881 p 531: ”I used to be as opposed to the doctrine of Papal Infallibility as it was possible for anyone to be. Deeper reflection has, however, convinced me that there is really nothing in it to which exception need be taken. Granting an administrative Head of the whole Catholic Church, granting a Primate of Christendom, by the same right even that the Archbishops of Canterbury profess to be Primates of the English Church - namely, ‘by Divine Providence’, it is surely only reasonable to believe that, if this Head of the Universal Church were to teach ex-cathedra, or authoritatively, anything pertaining to faith or morals, to the whole flock of God, of which he is the Chief Shepherd upon earth, he would most surely be guided by the Holy Ghost in such a way as not to teach Satan’s lie instead of the truth of God. This is the way in which I should feel disposed to understand the Vatican Decree. And so far from seeing anything inconsistent with reason, or history, or Holy Scripture, or the Catholic Faith, in that Decree, thus understood, it appears to me that natural piety itself, and a belief in God’s providential guidance of His Church, would lead us to accept it.” Grant, op.cit., p 12: The clergy who were members of The Order of Corporate Reunion were bound to ”obey the State bishops in foro externo, which is all the obedience the State bishops or the law can claim. In foro interno they will preserve their freedom, and as an Order they will not cease to administer the Seven Sacraments as Catholic priests and Catholic bishops have the inalienable right to administer them”.

On the consecrations Fletcher op. cit., p 441: ”Lee was consecrated by a bishop by some catholic prelates, whose names were kept - even from members of the ‘Order’ - a profound secret, at or near Venice in the summer of 1877; he took the title of ‘Bishop of Dorchester’. On his return to England he consecrated two other Anglicans in the little chapel at All Saints´vicarage, Lambeth, as bishops - the Rev. Thomas Wimberley Mossman, rector of East and West Torrington, Lincolnshire, as ‘Bishop of Selby’, and Dr. J. T. Seccombe, an Anglican layman, as ‘Bishop of Caerleon’. In this chapel, too, Lee and his coadjutors re-ordained some few clergy who felt doubtful about their orders, and administered confirmation to laity who felt the like scruples.” This biographical entry, composed by Rev. W.G.D. Fletcher, has been examined by the second son of Lee, Ambrose Lee. In a letter 29 June 1912 to Fr. Thurston he writes (Crehan, op.cit., pp 356-357):

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”I was consulted about the Dictionary of National Biography some time ago, and think that a proof of my father’s life was submitted to me… In any case, I supplied most of the facts contained therein. I never heard the statement to which you refer as to ‘consecration by the Abp. of Milan in his private Chapel’, and do not attach the slightest credence to it. Whetever was done was done not at Milan but at Venice, and, I believe, out at sea there. Very few of the initiated of the O.C.R. were told the actual circumstances of the consecration, but all were invited to take the facts on trust. Those who did know were bound to secrecy. My mother, who followed me into the Church in 1881 - being reconciled by your Fr. Galwey - was one who knew everything and disclosed enough to demonstrate that she had been validly confirmed by one of the O.C.R. bishops - Mossman, I think. She never corrected my references to the Venice consecration, and always led me to believe that she concurred in my attribution of this event to that city… The whole idea of the O.C.R., I am positive, was my father’s. I recollect the initiation of it and his journey to Italy perfectly well…” Ambrose Lee in The Tablet 5 December 1908 p 894: Ambrose Lee states that his father has consecrated Mossman and Seccombe. Whitebrook, op.cit.: Whitebrook writes as a reaction on Ambrose Lee’s statement in The Tablet 5 December 1908 that the origin of the episcopates of Mossman and Seccombe was not so. His assertion was inconsistent with an explicit statement made by Lee and a document, a copy of which was in his possession. Mossman in English Churchman 5 March 1885 p 110: ”I believe, that the Bishops of England ought to be elected by the Christian people of England, and that the election ought to be approved and confirmed by the Pope, as the visible head of God’s Catholic Church here on earth… All I have ever claimed for myself is to be in what are termed Episcopal Orders, and even that not publicly.” Lutgen, op.cit., p 6: ”… le troisième catholique romain. Ce dernier, au témoignage de J. Elphinstone Robertson, aurait été l’archevêque de Milan. Il existe peu de précisions à ce sujet, mais il est indéniable que le Vatican, qui en possède plus de details dans ses archives secrètes, n’a jamais contesté la validité de ces consécrations épiscopales.”25 Mossman letter in S.S.C. Report of Committee on the Order of Corporate Reunion, pp 9-10: ”I can only speak profitably of what I am able to testify of my own personal knowledge. The most important part of this is that a Consecration has undoubtedly taken place. I have been frequently asked what is meant by ‘three distinct and independent lines of Episcopal Succession’ in the First Pastoral of the Order of Corporate Reunion. Let me distinguish carefully between what I have been told and what I know. What I have been told is, that three Anglican clergymen have been consecrated Bishops from three distinct sources. That may be true, or it may be the reverse. What I know is, that one Anglican clergyman has been consecrated a Bishop by a Catholic Bishop; and by a Catholic Bishop I mean one who is now at this present time, and who was when he performed the act of consecration, in full communion with either the See of Rome, the Patriarch of Constantinople, or the Archbishop of Canterbury. It will thus be seen that the Bishops of all so-called heretical or schismatical bodies are excluded vi terminorum. More than this I am pledged not to reveal at present. I

25 Rev. John Elphinstone Robertson was 12 November 1881 ordained priest by Mossman.

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know it will appear very strange to many that such a thing could have taken place. I am not sure that I should have been able to believe it myself, had not the documents which attest the consecration, signed and sealed by the consecrating Prelate himself, attested by witnesses, and other corroborative evidence, been placed in my hands for examination in the most frank and unreserved maner possible.” Brandreth, op. cit., p 140: Mossman to Henry Edward Cardinal Manning (1808-1892) Archbishop of Westminster: ”… my character of a Catholic Bishop by which I mean possessing true episcopal orders”. Trowbridge Chronicle 16 October 1886: Rev. A. Jerome Matthews asserts that Lee was reputed to be ”one of three Anglican clergymen who went in a vessel for a sea voyage in company with three foreign schismatical but real Bishops. That when in mid-ocean, the three clergymen were conditionally baptized, ordained Deacons and Priests, and then consecrated Bishops. That they went to mid-ocean to be in nobody’s diocese, and that Dr. Lee does not deny the allegation… He [Lee] is undoubtedly a bishop, which is more than can be said of his neighbour at Lambeth Palace.” Mathew, op. cit., pp 119-120: ”By 1879 he [Lee], in concert with the Rev. T.W. Mossman of Torrington, and a Mr. Seccombe, conceived the idea of forming an ‘Order of Corporate Reunion’, for the purpose inter alia of revalidating the halting Orders of the Church of England. These three clergymen were conditionally baptised, confirmed and ordained absolutely, and then consecrated Bishops by the sympathetic Roman Catholic Cardinal Archbishop of Milan, in his private chapel… The story of a Consecration at sea is fabulous.”26 Crehan op. cit., pp 354-355: ”In summary, Mr. Brandreth thinks that of the three, Seccombe was made bishop in 1866 by Ferrette, and that he may have been the machinator doli for the others. Mossman, he thinks, was consecrated by a suffragan of the Archbishop of Milan, at or near Milan, and in the Ambrosian rite, while Lee was consecrated at or near Venice, possibly by some Armenian prelate in communion with Rome: ‘though the name of the Bishop of Murano has been constantly connected with the affair’… Mr. Brandreth thinks that the mystery of the consecration began and ended in Milan: ‘It would seem probable that the Archbishop of Milan engineered the whole business, though he was concerned directly with only one of the consecrations. It seems certain that this consecration was that of Mossman. There is no documentary evidence now available for either theory, but a Roman Catholic priest who was in the Diocese of Milan at the time, and later became a Professor at Wonersh, implicated his Archbishop in the proceedings.’ As evidence for the last statement Mr. Brandreth offers the information that the priest in question gave these facts to the late Canon Ollard in a private letter… He was personally known to the Archbishop of Milan (Calabiana) of the time and received tonsure and Minor Orders from him.”27

Eye witnesses accounts

26 The year 1879 must be an error. - Concerning the story of the consecration at sea, due to Mathew’s contact with Lee it is evident that he has here rectified his statement in Trowbridge Cronicle 16 October 1886. Note that Rev. A. Jerome Matthews and Archbishop Arnold Harris Mathew is the same person! 27 The Ambrosian Rite is a Catholic liturgy used in The Archdiocese of Milano, its surroundings and in Schweiz.

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Mr. William Grant, ”Registrar, O.C.R.”, has in Church Times 22 August 1879 p 528 answered a letter to the press: ”In reply to one paragraph in the letter printed in your last issue from ‘H.A.B.’… Personally, I have received, at the very least, over fifty letters of inquiry and ‘Goodspeed’ from eminent Roman Catholic priests and members of Religious Orders, and well-known Roman Catholic laymen. I was lately shown a letter addressed by his Eminence Cardinal Manning to an Anglican layman, who had requested the Cardinal’s opinion of the O.C.R., in which his Eminence, whilst insisting on the fact that individual secession was the rule of his Church in England, utterly refused to condemn the aims and objects of the O.C.R., stating that every organization which tended to a restoration of unity was to be respected.” Lee in Nineteenth Century November 1881 p 755: ”Already there are representatives of the O.C.R. in almost every English diocese.” [A ritualistic clergyman] in Catholic Standard and Ransomer 22 November 1894 p 323: ”We have heard just lately that there are now eight hundred clergymen of the Church of England who have been validly ordained by Dr. Lee and his co-Bishops of the Order of Corporate Reunion. If so, Dr. Lee’s dream of providing a body with which the Pope could deal seems likely to be realized.” Ambrose Lee in The Tablet 5 December 1908 p 894: Ambrose Lee speaks of a number of ordinations of Anglican clergy which took place in the Order’s Chapel at Lee’s vicarage in Lambeth. Anson, op. cit., p 80: Archbishop Frederick Temple (1821-1902), who during his time as Archbishop of Canterbury 1896-1902 lived at Lambeth Palace, has said: ”If you want an undoubted bishop, he lives just over my garden wall, Lee, the vicar of All Saints´, practically all the strands of apostolic succession meet and unite in him.” Rev. Trailies in Trowbridge Chronicle 29 November 1886: Rev. Trailies writes that ”the Order of Corporate Reunion is under Dr. Lee, who is undoubtedly a Bishop, which is more than can be said by anybody of his neighbour at Lambeth Palace”.28

The origin of The Order of Corporate Reunion: An attempt to conclusion

At first commentaries to some subjects which often appear in the hearsays on the origin of The Order of Corporate Reunion. The Mekhitarists Within The Armenian Church in Constantinople Fr. Frank Manugh (1676-1749) in 1701 founded The Order of St. Antonius. The order was in 1711 approved by Sancta Sedes (but substituted The Rule of Benedictus for that of St. Antonius). 1712 Fr. Frank was appointed Abbot-General of the order. Owing to the Turkish occupation in 1714, the order was 26 August 1717 given the islands of San Lazzaro, just outside Venezia, where it still is. When the

28 Rev. W.F. Trailies was a priest of The Catholic Church in England & Wales.

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founder in 1691 received the religious habit he took the name Mekhitar (=Comforter). He was ordained priest 1696. One of his main efforts was to unite The Armenian Catholic Church with Sancta Sedes. (The Armenian Catholic Church was created already during the 17th century in Constantinople but entirely and officially in 1740.) He died 27 April 1749. From 1800 The Abbot-General of Ordo Mechitaristarum Venetiarum (”The Mekhitarists”) is a bishop.29 ”Bishop of Murano” Since 8 October 1451 The Archbishop of Venezia holds the office of Patriarch, after a fusion of The Bishopric Castello and The Patriarchate Grado, made by Nicholas PP V (pope 1447-1455). The Patriarch of Venezia signs himself as ”primat de la Dalmatie et abbé comm. Perpétuel de St-Cyprien de Murano”.30 This is the true explanation of why the expression ”Bishop of Murano” sometimes exists in the hearsays. Murano is an island in Laguna Veneta (outside Venezia). ”Right Rev. J. B. Gigli, Bishop of Chardica” Fr. Thurston according to Crehan, op.cit., p 350: ”Fr. Thurston… left some notes on the subject of Lee’s consecration from which I take the following: ‘The widow of Mr. Seccombe found among some old treasures in 1923 a little phial labelled ‘Holy Chrism supplied by Rt. Rev. J.B. Gigli, Bp of Chardica and conveyed to me by the Rt. Rev. F.G. Lee, D.C.L., 15 Nov. 1877. J.T. Seccombe.’ This was apparently found in the house of the Rev. C.E. Seccombe, rector of Plympton St. Maurice, Devon.” In The Catholic Church there was at the time of the consecration(s) a Titular Bishop of Cardicensis in Thessalia Prima. In the official books of Sancta Sedes31 we find the remarkable matter that noone holds this office between 12 May 1848 (when Bishop Alphonsus Maria di Donato died) and 5 May 1885 (when Bishop Augustus Bonetti succeeded), and no J B Gigli is to be found. In The Church of Greece there is a Metropolitinate of Larissa in which the bishopric of Khardhitsa exists but The Apostolic Exarchate for Catholics of Byzantine Rite was created first 1923. ”… three distinct and independent lines of a new Episcopal Succession” Brandreth, op. cit., p 124: ”Certain facts are beyond dispute: namely, that a consecration did take place in the summer of 1877; that it took place in Italy; that the bishops consecrated were Lee and Mossman; that the consecrating prelates had Orders accepted as valid at Rome; It is probable that the prelates were in communion with Rome. The remainder of the story is open to question. Seccombe was almost certainly a bishop before 1877, though he was probably given conditional re-consecration by Lee and Mossman on their return from Italy. A pituresque addition to the story is that it took place on the high seas, but, that too, is probably not true. The whole business was so shrouded in secrecy that it probably impossible today to arrive with any certainty at the facts of the case…” The present author’s contribution to the debate on The Order of Corporate Reunion: Based on accessible facts, we are today able to state,

29 The first six Abbot-Generals: 1712-1749 [Mekhitar] Frank Manugh, 1750-1799 Etienne Melconian, 1800-1824 Etienne Cuvert Acoutz, 1824-1846 Soukias (Placide) Somal, 1846-1876 Georges Hurmuz, 1876-1921 Ignas Gurégh [Ignatius Ghiurekian]. Ref. André, Alexandrian, Histoire Abrégée des Sièges Archiépiscopaux et Épiscopaux du Patriarcat de Cilicie, Beyrouth 1908 p 88-90. 30 Annuaire Pontifical Catholique de 1930, Paris 1930 p 182. 31 Giornale di Roma and Hierarchia Catholica Medii et Recentioris Aevi, Vol VIII:1846-1903.

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1. that influenced by the spirit of The Oxford Movement and miscellaneous information from the ”Assyrian-fever” a team of like-minded persons, consisting of De Lisle, Lee, Mossman, Nugée and Seccombe, began to draw up a scheme for making The Church of England to a uniate church of The Western Patriarchate. De Lisle played the role of principal originator and later also organizer. 2. that Association for the Promotion of the Unity of Christendom was a religious society for preparing a uniate church. 3. that the church of St. Bernard’s Abbey, Witwick, Leicestershire, was an ”experimental theatre” for a uniate church. 4. that - as Mossman has pointed out - ”the ‘Order of Corporate Reunion’ was simply the A.P.U.C. in action”. In this forum, everyone of the principal characters - from his qualifications and personal contacts - contributed to draw up and realize the scheme of The Order of Corporate Reunion. 5. that Seccombe was ordained priest and consecrated 18-19 November 1866 in Terrington St. Clement, King’s Lynn, Norfolk, by Ferrette. See Appendix 4. 6. that Lee was consecrated in June 1877 in Venezia by Abbot-General Ignas Gurégh [Ignatios Ghiurekian] and that in some way Patriarch Giuseppe Luigi Trevisanato has played a role during the planning stage.32 See Appendix 3. 7. that Mossman was consecrated in June 1877 in Milano by Archbishop Luigi Nazari di Calabiana. See Appendix 2. 8. that the ”new Episcopal Succession” acting through The Order of Corporate Reunion is a merger of the apostolic succession from Chiesa Cattolica in Italia and The Syrian Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East. The merger has taken place at the First Synod 3-4 July 1877 in London, when ”the work undertaken by the promoters was carried on and completed in perfect unamity” (Morning Post 5 July 1877). 9. that at the First Synod 3-4 July 1877 the following organization took effect: • Rt. Rev. Frederick George Lee: †Thomas, Bishop of Dorchester, Rector of The Corporate

Reunion, Pro-Provincial of Canterbury • Rt. Rev. Thomas Wimberley Mossman: †Joseph, Bishop of Selby, Provincial of York • Rt. Rev. John Thomas Seccombe: †Laurence, Bishop of Caerleon, Provincial of Caerleon • Rt. Rev. George Nugée: Provost • Mr. William Grant: Registrar 10. that ”Rt. Rev. J.B. Gigli, Bp of Chardica” is de facto an incorrect, hand-written notice made by Seecombe which is spread out in a wrongly way of decoding. The person in question is Bishop Josephus Cigliano (1854-1906), Titular Bishop of Cymaensis, who has had nothing to do with the consecrations referred to. As the ordaining Bishop of Carfora he has been an important link to implement the scheme of The Order of Corporate Reunion in North America. 11. that the chronology of Pastoral Letter and the consecrations is as follows: • 18-19 November 1866 Seccombe was consecrated by Ferrette. • At least 1875 a rough draft to Pastoral Letter was composed by the teamwork of De Lisle,

Lee, Mossman, Nugée, Seccombe et al. • June 1877 the consecrations of Lee and Mossman took place. • 3-4 July 1877 during the First Synod the ”new Episcopal Succession” was regularized.

32 Mgr. Diederik D.J. Quatannens letter 19 April 1994 to the present author: ”OCR was founded under the authority of Mgr. Trevisanato, Patriarch of Venice, during the period 1874-1877. But the consecration was realized by his successor Mgr. Agostino [Dominicus Agostino] on 24 June 1877, Anniversary of the Birth of Saint John the Baptist.”

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• 3-4 July 1877 during the First Synod Pastoral Letter with additional prefatory episcopal greetings was approved.

• 15 August 1877, The Feast of the Assumption, copies of the approved Pastoral Letter was signed and then distributed to Pius PP IX, Queen Victoria, Ex Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone, Archbishop Henry Edward Cardinal Manning of Westminster, Archbishop Archibald Campbell Tait of Canterbury, Archbishop William Thomson of York, Presiding Bishop Benjamin Bosworth Smith of The Protestant Episcopal Church and many others.

• 8 September 1877 Pastoral Letter was formally promulgated through its reading at the step of St. Paul’s Cathedral.

”Already there are representatives of O.C.R. in almost every English diocese” The following clergymen are known as consecrated by the founding Bishops of The Order of Corporate Reunion: Consecrand Originally ordained

priest of Date of consecration Consecrator(s)

Richard Williams Morgan

Church of England 6 March 1879 Lee, Mossman, Seccombe

Charles Isaac Stevens

Reformed Episcopal Church

6 March 1879 Lee, Mossman, Seccombe, assisted by Morgan

Henry Arthur Stanton

Church of England 26 December 1882 Lee, Mossman, Seccombe

Henry Barclay Swete

Church of England 26 December 1882 Lee, Mossman, Seccombe

Alexander Melville Bell

Order of Corporate Reunion

27 August 1885 Lee, Mossman, Seccombe

Dominic Albert Godwin


29 April 1889 Lee and/or Seccombe

Frederick Cornwallis Conybeare

Armenian Orthodox Church of Ejmiatsin

15 August 1894 Lee and/or Seccombe

Percy Dearmer

Church of England 15 August 1894 Lee and/or Seecombe

Richard Charles Jackson


24 June 1896 Lee

Frederick Temple

Church of England Date unknown At least by Lee

John Cudworth Whitebrook

Church of England Date unknown Lee

William Patterson Whitebrook

Church of England Date unknown Lee

The Revived Order of Corporate Reunion

The Torch 19 June 1912: ”Since the extinction of the O.C.R. by the death of its three Bishops, the Rt Rev. Fredk. George Lee, of All Saints´, Lambeth, the Rt Rev. Thomas W. Mossman of Torrington, and the Rt Rev. Dr Seccombe, who were all of them consecrated to the Episcopate by the Most

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Eminent Cardinal Archbishop of Milan in his domestic chapel, no definite step has been taken in the direction of Corporate Reunion with the Holy See. The letter of ‘Sacerdos Hibernicus’ in The Torch Monthly Review of May 15th, created a profound interest, and brought together a body of persons who decided to revive the O.C.R. Facing the facts that the Roman Church has repeatedly denied the validity of Anglican Orders, and that the Ordinations of the Church of England are not recognized by any church claiming to be Catholic, the promoters of the Revived Order felt that all doubt must be set at rest so far as the Orders of its clerical members were concerned, and they appealed to Archbishop Mathew of the Old Roman Catholic Church, asking if he would accept the position of Honorary Prelate of the Order, and in that capacity give conditional ordination to such members as had received Anglican Ordination. His Grace has replied expressing his willingness… and to conditionally ordain such members as are Clergy of the Established Church and who, having received conditional Baptism and the Sacrament of Confirmation, sign a Profession of the Catholic Faith. The Archbishop stipulated that it must be made perfectly clear to all concerned, that his services, in connection with this delicate and important matter will be given on the express condition that no fee or reward of any description shall be offered to or will be accepted by him. The Order has now started on its way and seeks to enrol members. Mere Ritualists are not invited, but earnest minded Catholics who sincerely desire to help forward the work of Corporate Reunion with the Holy See will be cordially welcomed.” The main person behind The Revived Order of Corporate Reunion is Mathew. At the same time as he has oscillated between Anglicanism and Catholicism he found a home in Old Catholicism. At the same time he was close to The Order of Corporate Reunion. 1910 Mathew published a book titled Are Anglican Orders Valid?. This book plays a special role which by no means has been observed. In this book Mathew expresses very clearly his standpoint. In his criticism of The Church of England he consistently refers to Pastoral Letter as a code of laws and to Reunion Magazine as its commentary. Why this fundamental standpoint so strongly proclaimed from the beginning of 1900’s? The answer is that 1 November 1909 he was consecrated by three bishops who have been consecrated by the three founding Bishops of The Order of Corporate Reunion. This inspired him to a new phase of The Order of Corporate Reunion, The Revived Order of Corporate Reunion, which he has expressed in the advertise 19 June 1912 in The Torch.33 From 1908 Mathew was a Bishop of The Old Catholic Church in Great Britain of The Union of Ütrecht of the Old Catholic Churches and it is in the authority of his situation after 1909 he was able to sign two decrees on intercommunion. 5 August 1911 he signed Act of Union with The Syrian Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East through The Archbishop of Beyrouth, Gerassimos Messarah, and 13/26 September 1912 Act of Union with The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria through Patriarch Photios. 22 February 1916 he created a churchly side of The Revived Order of Corporate Reunion, which appeared under several names, inter alia The Uniate Western Catholic Church.34 In reality this church was a 33 The Torch was founded by Mathew 1912. Only few issues were published. 34 The Uniate Western Catholic Church also named The Uniate Western Catholic and Apostolic Church, The Western Catholic and Apostolic Church, The Old Roman Catholic and Apostolic Church.

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continuation of a party in The Old Catholic Church in Great Britain after a schism among his bishops. Today this church exists only as an ‘inner operational circle’ of The Order of Corporate Reunion. The following clergymen are known as consecrated by Mathew and most of them have been members of The Order of Corporate Reunion: Consecrand Originally ordained priest

of Date of consecration

Ralph Whitman Methodist Church 8 June 1910 Herbert Ignatius Beale I 13 June 1910 Arthur William Howarth I 13 June 1910 Francis Herbert Bacon IV 7 January 1911 Cuthbert Francis Hinton IV 7 January 1911 Frederic Clement Christie Egerton

IV 7 January 1911

Victor Alexander de Kubinyi Catholic Church in Hungary 15 June 1913 Rudolphe Francois Edouard de Landas Berghes et de Rache

IV 29 June 1913

James Arron Bell IV 7 October 1914 Frederick Samuel Willoughby III 28 October 1914 James Charles Thomas Ayliffe Williams

IV 14 April 1916

James Columba McFall II 2 July 1916 John Arnold Carter III 22 August 1917 William Noël Lambert Congregational Church 22 August 1917 Allen Hay III 19 December 1919 I: The Catholic Church in England & Wales; II: The Old Catholic Church in Great Britain of The Union of Ütrecht of the Old Catholic Churches; III: The Church of England; IV: The Old Catholic Church of Great Britain One of these bishops, Bacon, was 1914-1919 in North America and in the name of The Order of Corporate Reunion performed ordinations and consecrations of several Anglo-Catholic clergymen. It is the present author’s privilege to unveil the following facts.35 Many Episcopalian and Presbyterian clergymen in USA were influenced by The Anglo-Catholic Movement. Carfora, who had got many vital impressions on The Order of Corporate Reunion from his ordaining Bishop Josephus Cigliano (1854-1906) became consecrated.36 Carfora instructed his bishops

35 Among the present author’s main sources are Very Rev. Canon Paul Faunch (1913-1995), Archbishop Richard Arthur Marchenna (1902-1982), Archbishop Paul G W Schultz (1931-1995). 36 Mostly this statement is regarded as a tall story. But this is the fact behind: Just after Bishop Louis Prota Giurleo Miraglia Gulotti (1857-1916) from Italy had settled in USA, he travelled to England and 27 December 1908 consecrated Bishop William Patterson Whitebrook. At this time Gulotti was consecrated sub conditione by the said Whitebrook, who in his turn had been consecrated by the founding Bishops of The Order of Corporate Reunion. 14 June 1912 Gulotti consecrated Carfora, who 4 October 1916 was consecrated by Bishop Rudolphe Francois Edouard de Landas Berghes et de Rache.

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to ordain and consecrate any clergy who applied to them. They had to maintain separate registers of these conditional ordinations and these were to be kept confidentially. In this respect the object of The Order of Corporate Reunion is today an invisible reality, inaccessible to survey. One thing seems to be quite clear. When Carfora introduced The Order of Corporate Reunion to Crummey, that inspired him to found The Universal Christian Communion/The Universal Episcopal Communion 1930. The following clergymen are known as consecrated by Carfora: Roman W Slocinski Samuel Durlin Benedict Edwin Wallace Hunter Victor Alexander von Kubinyi Charles Alphonse Blanchard José Joaquin Pérez y Budar Antonio Benicio Lopez y Sierra José Macario Lopez y Valdes Ference Lorenz Benigno Gómez Rubalcaba William S Hammond H Frederick Van Trump Pamphile Cyril Depew Hieronymo Maria Bonaz (Ehrenberg) Henry Peter Riel Mather Williams Sherwood James Christian Crummey Wasil Drapak Armin von Monte de Honor Vincente José Linan Francisco José Duran de la Vega José Pedro Ortiz-Rodriguez John Richard Weld Francis Xavier Resch Richard Arthur Marchenna Hubert Augustus Rogers Frederick Littler Pyman J Morrison Thomas Alfred Thomas Bennett Haines Zigismunt K Vipartas E James Cyrus Paul A R Markiewicz Francis Mazur Earl Anglin Lawrence James Charles G Vestle Francis Michael Donahue Robert Alfred Burns

30 May 1921 12 June 1921 10 February 1924 3 May 1925 21 September 1926 17 October 1926 17 October 1926 17 October 1926 ? 17 October 1926 7 May 1929 15 December 1929 15 December 1929 24 December 1929 21 November 1930 19 March 1931 19 March 1931 29 November 1931 26 June 1932 29 June 1932 26 February 1933 29 June 1933 8 December 1940 8 December 1940 16 April 1941 30 July 1942 15 August 1943 8 December 1943 8 December 1943 15 August 1944 17 September 1944 20 April 1945 27 May 1945 17 June 1945 3 November 1946 3 November 1946 25 August 1956

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The Revived Order of Corporate Reunion: An attempt to conclusion

The present author’s conclusion: 1. The Revived Order of Corporate Reunion was not a new order but a temporary attempt to renew The Order of Corporate Reunion, an achievement started up by Mathew. 2. Mathew was originally consecrated by Bishops of The Union of Ütrecht of the Old Catholic Churches and then 1909 by Bishops of the ”new Episcopal Succession” of The Order of Corporate Reunion, why we through Mathew have an expansion of the number of apostolic successions of The Order of Corporate Reunion. See Appendix 2-5. 3. There are reasons for supposing that most of the bishops consecrated by Carfora are sharing the apostolic successions represented by The Revived Order of Corporate Reunion. 4. The Revived Order of Corporate Reunion had one churchly side, The Uniate Western Catholic Church, and one churchly outgrowth, The Universal Christian Communion/The Universal Episcopal Communion. All organizations are today headed by the Universal Primate of The Order of Corporate Reunion.

The vision of abbé Portal and Lord Halifax The discussions about The Order of Corporate Reunion gave utterance to different opinions in The Anglo-Catholic Movement. When the ideological leader of the Anglo-Catholicism, Rev. Edward Bouverie Pusey (1800-1882) died, Rev. Charles Lindley Wood, from 1885 Viscount Lord Halifax (1839-1934), became de facto his successor. In winter 1889-1890, by chance, he met in Madeira abbé Portal, teacher at the Seminary at Cahors, France. Abbé Portal suggested that a recognition of the Anglican orders should be the first stage in a process of reunion between The Church of England and The Catholic Church. Thanks to this meeting Lord Halifax caught the full vision of the unity of the church. Nearly twenty years later, 24 January 1921, before Malines Conversations, abbé Portal wrote to Désiré Joseph Cardinal Mercier (1851-1926), Archbishop of Malines (Mechelen), Belgium: ”The question of Holy Orders was chosen as providing a suitable meeting ground for Anglicans and Catholics, where they could discuss, not only the validity of Anglican Orders, but also other problems which separate them. As regards Holy Orders, there was agreement on certain basic principles: the need for uninterrupted transmission: of sufficiency of matter and form, and of an intention to do that which the Church does. I thought there were sufficient points of contacts to enable the question to be discussed profitably. It was not really necessary to come to any final decision on the validity of Anglican Orders; that could have been left to the end, after all the other problems had been discussed.” As a strategy in this debate abbé Portal 1895-1896 published in France La Revue Anglo-Romaine with Catholic and Anglican contributors and also a study of Anglican Orders, Les Ordinations Anglicanes,37 in both cases assisted by abbé Louis Marie Olivier Duchesne (1843-1922). 38 Early 1895 Lord Halifax and abbé Portal had two audiences at Leo PP XIII,

37 La Revue Anglo-Romaine was published November 1895-November 1896 with 51 numbers. Les Ordinations Anglicanes, Arras 1894, was published under the pseudonym Fernand Dalbus. 38 A close friend of Mathew. Mathew, who had French as one of his mother tongues, translated into English some of his books. See the biographical entry of Mathew. Duchesne was a radical researcher in church history and revealed many iniquities in The Catholic Church why some of his books were placed on Index Librorum Prohibitorum.

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who in his letter 22 April 1895 Ad Anglos encouraged the possibility of reunion of the two churches. The debates generated in a document, worked out by a committee with representatives from both sides, Dissertatio Apologetica de Hierarchia Anglicana, which was presented to Leo PP XIII. Herbert Cardinal Vaughan (1832-1903), Archbishop of Westminster, and his chief assistant Dom Francis Neil Aidan Gasquet (1846-1929) had hurried to Roma in order to start a campaign against the work of the committee. Vaughan expressed that he did not accept French interference in his jurisdiction. He also stated that Anglo-Catholicism was inspired by Satan. The meeting with Leo PP XIII resulted in the papal encyclica Apostolicae Curae of 13 September 1896 declaring that the Anglican orders are ”absolutely null and utterly void”. This condemnation of Anglican orders did not, however, damp Lord Halifax’s and abbé Portal’s struggle for reunion, based on the vision of a uniate church of The Church of England.39 Abbé Portal letter 5 October 1896 to Lord Halifax: ”Our first thought was for you and our friends in England - Puller, Lucey, etc. Poor friends, who have been so good, so generous, so loyal. There is nothing for it but to bow the head and keep silence. I talk to no one. Besides, the blow is so heavy and the grief so overwhelming that I am quite benumbed. May our Lord have pity on us. Mat He at least grant us the consolation of seeing with our own eyes that we have not done more harm than good. You and yours have shown too much faith, too much abnegation, for your praiseworthy deeds and your sacrifices of every kind to be lost. They will help immensely in the salvation of your souls, and also (against all hope I hope) towards reunion.” Lord Halifax replied in a letter 21 September 1896 to abbé Portal: ”Your letter fills my eyes with tears; but it does me inexpressible good. Assuredly it was love of souls that moved us: we did not think of anything else. May something be done to put an end to the divisions among those who love our Lord Jesus Christ - those divisions that keep so many souls far away from Him - so that those who love each other, communicating at the same altars, may love each other more… We tried to do something which, I believe, God inspired. We have failed, for the moment; but if God wills it, His desire will be accomplished, and if He allows us to be shattered, it may well be because He means to do it Himself. This is no dream. The thing is as certain as ever. There are some bitter things which are worth all the joys of earth, and I prefer, many thousand times, to suffer with you in such a cause, than to triumph with the whole world. Your letter is more precious to me than I can possibly say. Trobles shared are already half assuaged; only I know that if we suffer, you are suffering still more, and it is this thought that hurts me most.”

39 Some very authoritative books on this subject are Hughes, J J, Absolutely Null and Utterly Void, London & Sidney 1968; Hughes, J J, Stewards of the Lord, London 1970. Very important are also: Halifax, Lord, Leo XIII and Anglican Orders, London 1912; Lacey, T A, A Roman Diary and Other Documents relating to the Papal Inquiry into English Ordinations, Green 1910; Lockhart, J G, Charles Lindley, Viscount Halifax, Vol I London 1935, Vol II London 1936. - It may be of some interest that the following Byzantine orthodox churches acknowledged the Anglican orders already in the beginning of the 20th century: 1922 The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinope, 1923 The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, 1923 The Orthodox Church of Cyprus, 1930 The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria, 1936 The Romanian Orthodox Church, Patriarchate Bucaresti. Ref. Amzar, D C, Die orthodoxe Kirche und die Wiedervereinigung der Kirchen in Kyrios, 1966 p 197.

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Malines Conversations The common vision of abbé Portal and Lord Halifax generated in a series of four conversations between Anglican and Catholic delegates in Malines (Mechelen), Belgium, 1921-1925. The prime movers were Cardinal Mercier and Lord Halifax. From The Church of England participated: Lord Halifax; Dr. J. Armitage Robinson, Dean of Wells; Bishop Walter H. Frere of Truro; Bishop emeritus Charles Gore (1911-1919 Bishop of Oxford); Dr. Beresford J. Kidd, Warden of Keble College. From The Catholic Church participated: Cardinal Mercier; Msgr Josef-Ernst van Roey, Vicar-General of Malines; Abbé Portal, Congrégation de la Mission,40 Paris; Msgr Pierre Batiffol, Canon of Notre Dame, Paris; Abbé Hippolyte Hemmer, Curé de la Sainte Trinité, Paris. In the last conversation the Catholics raised the possibility that The Church of England may be a uniate church to The Catholic Church with The Archbishop of Canterbury as Patriarch, but the conversations pretended out with Cardinal Mercier’s and abbé Portal’s death 1926.41

Monastère Bénédictin de Amay-sur-Meuse This monastery, located in Belgium (diocese of Liège), was founded 1925 by Dom Lambert Beauduin (1873-1960), a monk of Monastère Bénédictin de Mont César (Louvain, Belgium). Since 1927 it is publisher of the quarterly Irénikon. Abbé Portal, who at that time was active in Paris for creating a uniate church, became connected to this monastery. It was established as a center for clandestine work for a uniate church and contact was created with The Chaldean Catholic Church, a uniate church in The Near East. Its Patriarch, Maran Mar Yosif Emmanuel II Thoma (1852-1947), consecrated a lot of bishops, among them abbé Portal. 42 As this was done without approval by Sancta Sedes, the Patriarch was reprimanded and the monastery was excommunicated for many years. 1939 the monastery moved to Chevetogne (diocese of Namur, Belgium), its present site.

40 Belonged to Congregatio Missionis (C.M.), (”The Lazarists” or ”The Vincentians”), founded 1625 by St. Vincent de Paul. Abbé Portal had joined 1874. 41 The final report was published 19 January 1928, The Conversations at Malines, 1921-1925. Ref. The Malines Conversations, Chapter LXXIX, pp 1254-1302 in Bell, G K A, Randall Davidson, Archbishop of Canterbury, Vol II, London 1935; Bivort de la Saudée, Jacques de, Documents sur le Problème de l’union Anglo-Romaine, 1921-1927: Anglicans et Catholiques, Paris 1949. 42 For discussing the establishment of a uniate church abbé Portal founded and published 1904-1908 a successor of Revue Anglo-Romaine, Revue Catholique des Églises, which became a prototyp for Irénikon. An important article by Ladous, Régis, Dom Lambert Beauduin et Monsieur Portal, is published in Veilleur avant l’aurore. Colloque Lambert Beauduin, Chevetogne 1978, pp 97-133. - One of the main areas for the French Lazarist mission was the former Assyria. The first mission started 1838 in Salmas, a district just west of lake Urmiah (a region of today’s Azerbajdzjan). It is essentially through the French Lazarists as the connection with The Chaldean Catholic Church was established. Recently the present author has discovered that it is in the frame of the French Lazarists as Maran Mar Yosif Emmanuel II Thoma paid his visits in Europe and performed some clandestine consecrations. He was accompanied by Pierre Aziz Ho (1866-1937), Bishop of Salmas and Patriarchal Vicar (15 August 1910 consecrated in Mousul by Maran Mar Yosif Emmanuel II Thoma), who assisted in at least some consecrations. - Paul Bedjan (1838-1920), trained by the Lazarists in Salmas and later priest of The Chaldean Catholic Church, has played an important role as introducer of Chaldean Church traditions in Europe as publisher of liturgical and other ecclesiastical books. - The present author is very thankful to Very Rev. Dr Salvatore Cajozzo, Stockholm, Sweden, who has supplied with many inside informations about the activities at Monastère Bénédictine de Amay-sur-Meuse/Chevetogne, dating from his time during the 1950’s at Chevetogne. About the clandestine consecrations he states: ”They are an open secret.”

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The growth of The Apostolic Episcopal Church

1921-1923 Rev. Arthur Wolfort Brooks was professor of English Bible Interpretation and Secretary at St. Athanasius Greek Theological Seminary, Astoria, Long Island, New York. Brooks was an Anglo-Catholic clergyman of The Protestant Episcopal Church. The seminary was founded 1921 by Bishop Alexander of Rhodostolon, The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America, with Archimandrite Philaretos Iohannidos (later Bishop of Chicago) as Dean.43 Here Brooks ran across his future consecrator, Mar Antoine (Lefebüre), a close friend of abbé Portal and belonging to Ordo Antonianus S. Hormisdae Chaldaeorum.44 Mar Antoine had a common interest with Brooks: To concretizise the vision of a uniate church. With support from Titular Bishop of Iconium, Petro di Maria, and Titular Bishop of Tarsus, Alexis Lépicier,45 both of The Catholic Church, and from Bishop William T. Manning of New York of The Protestant Episcopal Church, 4 May 1925 Mar Antoine and abbé Portal consecrated Brooks in New York and 1930 the uniate church, The Apostolic Episcopal Church (The Holy Eastern Catholic and Apostolic Orthodox Church), was officially founded.46 See Appendix 6. The Apostolic Episcopal Church is the only concret result of the vision of a uniate church, once created by abbé Portal and Lord Halifax, and that has its ideological root in The Order of Corporate Reunion. This church is today a world-wide communion.

CHAPTER 3: SITUATION 2000 AD

As is stated on previous pages The Order of Corporate Reunion has worked as an order in its strictly sense. So also today as a clandestine religious society, which is continuing to sow corns for realizing the words of Jesus ”that all may be one”. It may be motivated to repeat that The Order of Corporate Reunion and The Revived Order of Corporate Reunion are not two organizations. It seems so, but this is depending on the special personal presumptions which are connected to the two first stages of the development, 1870’s - 1890’s and 1910’s. Since then, great restoration progress has been made. Now, when we have passed the threshold to the new millennium, the Universal Primate states: ”In the consequence of the current bible-scientific and ecumenical progress the following ideas from Pastoral Letter are the basics for the activities today. Jesus is our spiritual authority. Further, we accentuate the fact that it is impossible to capture God in human categories why the main task for the order is that in an interchurchly, interreligiously and

43 The Orthodox Catholic Review, 1927, No 3, p 118. 44 This order was founded 1808 in the Couvent of Rabban Hormiz, Iraq, by abbé Gabriel Dambo (murdered 1832). Its constitution were approved by Gregorius PP XVI 26 September 1845. Ref. Regula et constitutiones monachorum Chaldaeorum ordinis S. Antonii abbatis congregationis S. Hormisdae in Mesopotamia, Roma 1898; Bello, Stephane, La fondation de la congrégation des moines de S. Hormisdas et l’histoire de l’Église chaldéenne dans la premiere moitié du XIXe siècle, Roma 1939. 45 Letter 23 October 1987 No. 17.571 from Archivio Segreto Vaticano to the present author. See also Persson, Bertil, An Apostolic Episcopal Ministry. Archbishop Arthur W Brooks and Christ’s Church By-The-Sea in Memory and Inspiration, Phoenix 1992 46 Brooks quoted in Mar Philippus (Abbinga) letter 19 November 1962 to Rev. Henry R.T. Brandreth, now in the possess of St. Ephrem’s Institute.

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interdisciplinarily way continue to contribute to bring God to life and by this realize the words of Jesus ‘that all may be one’”. According to the present Universal Primate, The Order of Corporate Reunion has Pro-Provincials and Provincials in Europe and North America.

CHAPTER 4: SHORT BIOGRAPHIES

Remark Person mentioned only with family name has a biographical entry in this chapter. abbé Portal >>> Portal, Fernand Agostino, Dominicus 1825-1891. 22 January 1851 ordained priest, Chiesa Cattolica in Italia. 2 November 1871 consecrated. 22 June 1877 - 7 July 1886 Patriarch of Venezia. 1882 Cardinal. Bacon, Francis Herbert 7 January 1911 ordained priest and consecrated as Bishop of Durham by Mathew. On lecture tours 1914 - 1919 in USA and Canada. Coadjutor 17 January 1920 - 16 February 1920 to Archbishop-Primate James Charles Thomas Ayliffe Williams (dead 1952), The Old Roman Catholic Church (Pro-Uniate Rite). Archbishop-Primate 16 February 1920 - 4 October 1920 of The Old Roman Catholic Church (Pro-Uniate Rite). 1 October 1920 recived into The Church of England by The Bishop of London Arthur Foley Winnington-Ingram (1858-1946). 21 December 1920 ordained priest, The Church of England, by Winnington-Ingram. Resigned 8 December 1927. Brooks, Arthur Wolfort 1888-1948. 11 January 1916 ordained priest, The Protestant Episcopal Church, by The Bishop of Kentucky, Charles Edward Woodcock (1854-1940). 4 May 1925 consecrated as Mar John Emmanuel by Mar Antoine (Lefebüre), Patriarchal Exarch of Western Europe and Delegate and Special Commissary in USA of The Chaldean Catholic Church, who was assisted by Mar James (Fernand Portal) and Mar Evodius (Edward Robert Smith). 23 June 1926 elected Titular Bishop of Sardis of The Anglican Universal Church of Christ in the United States of America (Chaldean). 18 November 1926 resigned of his own volition from the ministry of The Protestant Episcopal Church. 1929 consecrated by Bishop William Montgomery Brown (1855-1937), The Old Catholic Church in America. 19 November 1930 enthroned as Archbishop-Presiding Bishop of The Apostolic Episcopal Church (The Holy Eastern Catholic and Apostolic Orthodox Church). 16 May 1937 member of The Archbishop John Carroll Original Synod. 9 April 1939 member of The Evangelical Catholic Communion. 8 October 1941-10 April 1944 Presiding Bishop of The Old Catholic Orthodox Church in the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland. 29 June 1944 elected Titular Archbishop of Ebbsfleet and Legate of The Patriarchal Throne of Antioch as Exarch of the Americas. 16 October 1947 member of The High Church World Union. Published The Divine Liturgy...According to the Order and Usage established in the Apostolic Episcopal Church, New York 1943. - Monograph: Persson, Bertil, An Apostolic Episcopal Ministry. Archbishop Arthur W Brooks And Christ’s Church By-The-Sea In Memory And Inspiration, Phoenix 1992

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Carfora, Carmelo [Carmel] Henry 1878-1958. 15 August 1901 ordained priest, Chiesa Cattolica in Italia, by Josephus [Giuseppe] Cigliano (1854-1906), Titular Bishop of Cymaensis. 7 June 1907 consecrated as Bishop of Chiesa Episcopale Nazionale Italiana by Metropolitan-Primate Joseph René Vilatte (1854-1929), The Old Catholic Church of America. 1908 he left The Catholic Church and opened independent Catholic missions in West Virginia, Brooklyn and New York. April 1909 pastor of St. Rocchus National Church [Parochia San Rocco], Youngstown, Ohio. 14 June 1912 consecrated by Bishop Prota Giurleo Miraglia Gulotti, The Old Catholic Church of America. 4 October 1916 consecrated by Archbishop-Primate Rudolphe Francois Eduard de Landas Berghes et de Rache (1873-1920), The North American Old Roman Catholic Church. 1919-1958 Primate of The North American Old Roman Catholic Church. June 1931 Honorary Protector for USA of Ordensgesellschaft Signum Fidei. Author of Answer to Harding, alias Dom Cipolline, alias Dom Cypriam, alias Dom Augustine etc., Chicago 1919; Historical and doctrinal Sketch of the Old Roman Catholic Church, Niagara Falls 1950. 1945-1950 editor of The Augustinian. De Lisle, Ambrose Phillipps 1809-1879. Born as Ambrose Lisle March-Phillipps. Originally member of The Church of England. 1824 received into The Catholic Church of England & Wales by Rev. Thomas Macdonell, Birmingham. 1835 re-established The Cistercian Order in England. 1837 received the habit of Third Order of St. Dominic. 1838 with Rev. George Spencer [Fr. Ignatius] founder of Society for Prayers for the Conversion of England. 6 September 1857 co-founder of Association for Promotion of the Union of Christendom. 1858-1870 Primate of The Evangelical Catholic Communion. Published A letter… on the re-establishment of the hierarchy, London 1850. - Monograph: Pawley, Margaret, Faith and Family. The Life and Circle of Ambrose Phillips de Lisle, Norwich 1993. di Calabiana, Luigi [Aloysius Josephus] Nazari 1808-1893. 29 May 1831 ordained priest, Chiesa Cattolica in Italia, by The Bishop of Torino, Colombano Chiavarotti. 6 June 1847 consecrated by Ugo Pietro [Hugo Petrus] Cardinal Spinola, who was assisted by Bishop Dominicus Lucciardi and Bishop Ioannes Carolus Gentili. Archbishop of Milano 27 March 1867 - 23 October 1893. Ferrette, Raimond (Mar Julius) 1828-1904. Originally a Protestant. 1850 received into The Catholic Church. 19 June 1856 founder of Ordo Fratrum Praedicatorum Unionis (Magister General to 23 April 1879). 2 June 1855 ordained priest, Chiesa Cattolica in Italia, by Constantinus Cardinal Patrizi Naro (1798-1876). 16 June 1856 returned to Protestantism. 1856-1859 Presbyterian missionary in The Near East. Around the turn of the year 1860 Presbyterian missionary in Belfast, Ireland. 1860 - 1862 Presbyterian missionary in Syria and Libanon. 1863 in Europe. Presbyterian missionary in Syria and 30 March 1865 became retired and returned to England. Summer 1866 back in Syria and was 2 June/6 June 1866 consecrated as ”Mar Julius, Bishop of Iona and its dependencies” by Mar Julius, Metropolitan of the World, The Syrian Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East (1799-1894; 1872-1894 as Moran Mor Ignatius XXXIV Peter [Boutros] III/IV Patriarch). July 1866 back in England he made a tour around England and Scotland and November 1866 returned to London. March 1867 left for USA. Lived in Cambridge, Mass. to 1880, when he moved to Lausanne. From 1896 lived in Geneva. During his time in Schweiz he became a reputed advisor in interconfessional matters. Author of

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works as The Romish Baptism as judged by Protestant Theology, Belfast 1858, The Gospel of Matthew...in Arabic, 1863, The Damasqus Ritual. A complete Arabic liturgy extracted partly from the Greek euchologium and partly from the common prayer book, Oxford 1864, Euchologion. The Eastern Liturgy of the Holy, Catholic Apostolic and Orthodox Church, simplified and supplemented...Translated by the author from his Greek manuscript, 1866, The Essential Rites of the Seven Sacraments, a Pastoral Epistle, Cambridge, MA, 1876, Les Rites Essentiels de l’Église, Geneva 1901, Les Rites Essentiels du Christianisme, Geneva 1903. Contributor to Union Review. Gurégh, Ignas [Ghiurekian, Ignatios] 1834-1921. 17 January 1854 ordained priest, The Armenian Catholic Church. 2 August 1876 elected as the 6th Abbot-General of The Mekhitarists in Venezia. 8 May 1877 Titular Archbishop of Trajanopolis and Rhodope. 20 May 1877 consecrated by Alessandro Cardinal Franchi, Titular Archbishop of Thessalonika. Lee, Frederick George 1832-1902. 21 September 1856 ordained priest, The Church of England, by The Bishop of Oxford, Samuel Wilberforce (1805-1873). 6 September 1857 co-founder of The Association for Promotion the Union of Christendom, for which he 1863-1869 edited Union Review. 1879 DDhc at Washington and Lee University, Lexington, VA, USA. 11 December 1901 received into The Catholic Church. Author of works as Essays on the Reunion of Christendom, 1867, The Validity of the Holy Orders of the Church of England maintained and vindicated, 1869, A Dictionary of Ritual,1871, Pastoral Letter by the Rector, Provincials, and Provosts of the Order of Corporate Reunion, 1877, A Glossary of Liturgical and Ecclesiastical Terms, 1877, Hymns for Several Occasions, 1880, Order out of Chaos: Three Sermons, 1881, The Need of Spiritual Authority, 1882, Sights and Shadows, 1894. Edited 1877-1879 Reunion Magazine. - Monograph: Brandreth, Henry R. T., Dr Lee of Lambeth: A Chapter in Parenthesis in the History of the Oxford Movement, London 1951. Lefebüre [Lefberne], Antoïne (Mar Antoine) 1862-1953. Joined Ordo Antonianus S. Hormisdae Chaldaeorum. 6 January 1893 ordained priest, The Chaldean Catholic Church, by Maran Mar Petros Elias XIV Abu-Al-Yunan, Patriarch of The Chaldean Catholic Church. 27 May 1917 consecrated by Maran Mar Yosif Emmanuel II Thoma, Patriarch of The Chaldean Catholic Church, and appointed Patriarchal Exarch of Western Europe and Delegate and Special Commissary in USA. During 1930’s created a small monastery of Ordo Antonianus S. Hormisdae Chaldaeorum in Paris (closed 1940). Around 1940 started a small monastery in Bruxelles, which was closed 1941 and Mar Antoine joined The Franciscan Father’s Monastery, Bruxelles. 1942 arrested by the German intelligence service. Lord Halifax >>> Wood, Charles Lindley Mathew, Arnold Harris 1852-1919. Born as Arnold Harris Ochterlony Matthews. 13 October 1875 joined The Catholic Church. 24 June 1877 ordained priest, The Catholic Church in Scotland, by Charles Eyre (1817-1902), Titular Bishop of Anazarba in partibus. July 1889 retired from all church duties. Was for around one year engaged in The Unitarian Movement. 1892 joined The Church of England. 1899 rejoined The Catholic Church of England & Wales as a layman. 28 April 1908 consecrated as Bishop of The Old Catholic Church in Great Britain of The Union of Ütrecht of the Old Catholic Churches by Archbishop-Primate Gerard Gul (1847-1920),

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who was assisted by Bishop Johannes Jacobus van Thiel and Bishop Nicolas Bartholomäus Petrus Spit of Oud-Katkolieke Kerk van Nederland and Bishop Josef Demmel of Alt-Katholische Kirche in Deutschland. 7 January 1909-October 1909 Vice President of The Society of St. Willibrord. 29 December 1910 broke the relation to The Ütrecht Communion but remained in full communion with The Old Catholic Church of the Mariavites (Plock). 7 January 1911 elected Archbishop of London and Presiding Bishop of The Old Catholic Church in Great Britain. 11 February 1911 excommunicated by Pius PP X. 5 August 1911 signed Act of Union with The Syrian Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch through The Archbishop of Beyrouth, Gerassimos Messarah. 13/26 September 1912 signed Act of Union with The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria through Patriarch Photios. June 1913 received Abbot-Bishop William Henry Francis Brothers (1887-1979) and his Old Catholic mission in USA as a Western-Rite-Mission. 16 December 1914 wrote to Benedictus PP XV offering complete submission, placing the entire movement under his authority; formally abdicated jurisdiction over The Old Catholic Church in Great Britain. 22 February 1916 founder of The Uniate Western Catholic Church. Author of works as The old Catholic missal and ritual, prepared for the use of English-speaking congregations of old Catholics, in communion with the ancient Catholic archiepiscopal, 1909, Are Anglican Orders Valid?, London 1910, Articles of Belief of the Old Catholics of Great Britain and Ireland, of the Western Orthodox Church, 1911, The Catholic Church of England, its Constitution, Faith, Episcopal succession, 1914, An Episcopal Odyssey, 1915. Editor of The Torch. A Monthly Review advocating the Reconstruction of the Church in the West and Reunion with the Holy Orthodox Church of the East (only few issues of 1912). Translator of Duchesne, Louis Marie Olivier, The churches separated from Rome, 1907, and idem, The beginnings of the temporal sovereignty of the popes, A.D. 754 - 1073, 1907. - Monograph: Georgius, Mar, Being an Account of the Late Most Reverend Arnold Harris Mathew, DD, and the Old Catholic Movement in the British Isles, Anvers 1954; Persson, Bertil, A Brief Biographical Sketch on Arnold Harris Mathew, Solna 2000. Mossman, Thomas Wimberley 1826-1885. 26 May 1850 ordained priest, The Church of England, by The Bishop of Lincoln, John Kaye. 1856 member of The Society of the Holy Cross. 1859-1885 rector of East Torrington and vicar of West Torrington, Lincolnshire. 1866 founder of The Brotherhood of the Holy Redeemer. 1881 DDhc at University of the South, Sewanee, TN, USA. 1885 received into The Catholic Church of England & Wales by Henry Edward Cardinal Manning (1808-1892), Archbishop of Westminster. Author of works as A Glossary of the Principal Words used in a figurative, typical, or mystical sense in the Holy Scriptures, with their significations gathered from the sacred writers, or from the works of the ancient fathers, London 1854; Sermons, London 1857; Ritualism in its relation to Re-union (in Lee, F G, Essays on the Reunion of Christendom), 1867; The Followers of the Lamb. A sermon [on Rev. XIV. 4], London 1867; A history of the Catholic church of Jesus Christ, from the death of Saint John to the middle of the second century; including an account of the original organisation of the Christian ministry and growth of episcopacy, 1873; Epiphanus; the history of his child and youth, told by himself. A tale of the Early Church, London 1874; Freedom for the Church of God: an earnest and affectionate appeal to my High Church brethren, London 1876; The Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven (sermon on OCR), 1879; The Relations which at present exist between Church and State in England. A Letter to the Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone, London 1883; A Latin Letter (with an English translation) to his Holiness, Pope Leo XIII, London 1884. - Monograph: Burton, A. H. (ed), The Order of Corporate Reunion. Reminiscences of one of its ”Bishops” (= T. W. Mossman), 1899.

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Nugée, George 1819-1892. 30 May 1847 ordained priest, The Church of England, by The Bishop of London, Charles James Blomfield. 1865 founder of The Order of St. Augustine. The first secretary of The Association for the Promotion of the Union of Christendom. 1858 founder of The Community of St. Mary the Virgin. Rector of Widley and vicar of Wymering, Cosham and Portsmouth 1859-1872. August-September 1866 consecrated by Ferrette. Published works as The Spirit of Romanism; a sermon [on Hosea IV. 17], London 1847; The Lame Man healed at the Temple Gate: a sermon [on Acts III. 4-8] on Church Dispensaries, London 1852; The Holy Women in the Gospel:… A series of seven lectures, delivered in… Lent, 1854, London 1856; Conversion: a Sermon preached...in aid of the London diocesan Penitentiary [on 1 Tim. I. 15], Oxford 1857; A Letter to the Lord Bishop of London on the subject of a London Church Mission for assisting the Parochial Clergy in seeking out the Lost, London 1865; A Conference of Theologians, suggested as a further step towards promoting the Re-union of Christendom (in Lee, F G, Essays on the Reunion of Christendom), 1867; St. Austin’s Mission Handbook of prayer and praise for the people, London 1875. England and the Jews; their destiny and her duty, London 1881. Portal, Fernand 1855-1926. 1874 joined Congregatio Missionis (C.M.) (”The Lazarists”). 1880 ordained priest, Église Catholique de France. 1880-1882 teacher in Oran, 1882-1886 teacher in Cahors. Owing to weak health he spent a time in Madeira. 1898-1906 ”supérieur du séminaire université Saint-Vincent de Paul”, Paris. 1909-1926 priest, Congrégation de la Mission, Paris. 1926 joined Monastère Bénédictin de Amay-sur-Meuse. 29 December 1918 consecrated by Mar Antoine (Lefebüre). 7 November 1920 consecrated by Maran Mar Yosif Emmanuel II Thoma, Patriarch of The Chaldean Catholic Church, assisted by Mar Antoine. 1921-1925 member of the committee of The Malines Conversations. - Monograph: Hemmer, Hippolyte, Fernand Portal, 1855-1926: Apostle of Unity, New York 1961; Ladous, Régis, Mr Portal et les siens. Mission chrétienne et union des Églises, diss., Université de Lyon 1982. Seccombe, John Thomas 1835-1895. 1864 settled in Terrington St. Clements, King’s Lynn, Norfolk, as Medical Officer. Magistrate. 18-19 November 1866 ordained priest and consecrated by Ferrette. Published works as Science, Theism and Revelation, considered in relation to Mr. Mill’s Essay on Nature, Religion and Atheism, London 1875. Translator of The Holy Canons of the Seven Oecumenic Synods, translated from the original Greek (preface: Jules Ferrette), London 1867; Platon [Petr Georgievich Levshin, Archbishop of Tver, Metropolitan of Moscow], The Great Cathechism of the Holy Catholic, Apostolic and Orthodox Church. Translated from the Greek edition by J. T. S. Trevisanato, Giuseppe Luigi [Josephus Aloysius] 1801-1877. 13 March 1824 ordained priest, Chiesa Cattolica in Italia. 16 January 1853 consecrated by Fabius Maria Cardinal Asquini, assisted by Gaetano Bedini, Titular Archbishop of Thebae, and Antonio Ligi-Bussi, Titular Archbishop of Iconium. 7 April 1862 - 28 April 1877 Patriarch of Venezia. 16 March 1863 Cardinal. Wood, Charles Lindley [Lord Halifax] 1839-1934. 4th Baronet and 2nd Viscount Halifax. 1868-1919 and 1927-1934 President of English Church Union. 1921-1925 member of the committee of The Malines Conversations. Published Leo XIII and Anglican Orders, London 1912; A Call to Reunion, Oxford 1922; The

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Conversations at Malines, 1921-25, 1930. - Monograph: Lockhart, J G, Charles Lindley, Viscount Halifax, Vol I, London 1935, Vol II, London 1936.

CHAPTER 5: BIBLIOGRAPHY

Akan, Ishak & Persson, Bertil, En kort introduktion av syrianerna/araméerna och Syrisk-Ortodoxa Kyrkan, Stockholm 1995 Allen, Louis, Ambrose Phillipps de Lisle, 1809-1879, in Catholic Historical Review, 40, No. 1, April 1954 Alt-Katholisches Jahrbuch, running volumes André, Alexandrian, Histoire Abrégée des Sièges Archiépiscopaux et Épiscopaux du Patriarcat de Cilicie, Beyrouth 1908 Annuario Pontificio, running volumes Anson, Peter F, The Religious Orders and Congregations of Great Britain and Ireland, London 1949 Anson, Peter F, The Call of the Cloister, London 1958 Anson, Peter F, Bishops at Large, London 1964 Aprem, Mar, Western Missions Among Assyrians, Trichur 1982 Bell, G K A, Randall Davidson, Archbishop of Canterbury, Vol I-II, London 1935 Bivort de la Saudée, Jacques de, Documents sur le Problème de l’union Anglo-Romaine, 1921-1927: Anglicans et Catholiques, Paris 1949 Brandreth, Henry R T, Oecumenical Ideals of the Oxford Movement, London 1947 Brandreth, Henry R T, Episcopi Vagantes and the Anglican Church, London 1961 Brilioth, Yngve, The Anglican Revival: Studies in the Oxford Movement, Stockholm 1925 Chorley, Edward Clowes, Men and Movement in the American Episcopal church, New York 1946 The Church of England Yearbook, running volumes Clarke, R F, Dr Lee and the Order of Corporate Reunion, 1881 Cnattingius, Hans, Bishops and Societies. A Study in Anglican Colonial and Missionary Expansion, 1698-1850, London 1952 Coakley, J F, The Church of the East and the Church of England, Oxford 1992 Crockford’s Clerical Directory, running volumes Dalbus, Fernand, Les Ordinations Anglicanes. Extrait de la Science catholique, 15 décembre, 1893, 15 janvier et 15 avril 1894, Arras 1894 Dawson, Christopher, The Spirit of the Oxford Movement, London 2001 Day, Peter, Dictionary of Religious Orders, London 2001 Dearmer, Nan, The Life of Percy Dearmer, London 1940 De Mille, George Edmed, The Catholic Movement in the American Episcopal Church, Philadelphia 1950 de Voil, W H, The Origin and Development of the Old Catholic Group of Churches, Edinburgh University 1937 Embry, J, The Catholic Movement and the Society of the Holy Cross, London 1931 Fortescue, E F K, The Armenian Church, London 1872 Gabrielson, Sam, Kyrkostudier från långfärd och bokvärld, Uppsala 1910 Giamil, Samuel, Genuinae relationes inter Sedem Apostolicam et Assyriorum Orientalium seu Chaldaeorum Ecclesiam, Roma 1902 Gorman, W G, Converts to Rome. A biographical list of the more notable Converts to the Catholic Church in the United Kingdom during the last sixty years, London 1910

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Grace Dieu Manor House… 1833-1933, in The Tablet, 161, No. 4848, April 8, 1933 Gretason, Mark Nicholas, The Idea of the church in The Catholic Apostolic Church, unpublished PhD-thesis, London n.d. Halifax, Lord, Leo XIII and Anglican Orders, London 1912 Halifax, Lord, A Call to Reunion, Oxford 1922 Halifax, Lord, The Conversations at Malines, 1921-25, 1930 Hemmer, Hippolyte, Fernand Portal, 1855-1926: Apostle of Unity, 1961 Herring, George, What was Oxford Movement?, London 2002 Hierarchia Catholica medii et recentioris aevi, Vol VIII:1846-1903 Hornus, Jean-Michel, Les petites églises catholiques non romains, i Revue d’histoire et de philosophie religieuses, No 2, No 3 1970 Huelin, Gordon (ed), Old Catholics & Anglicans 1931-1981, Oxford 1983 Hughes, J J, Absolutely Null and Utterly Void, London & Sidney 1968 Hughes, J J, Stewards of the Lord, London 1970 Kitchenham, P P G, The Attempt to Control Ritualism in the Church of England through the Use of Legislation and the Courts, 1869 to 1887, with Special Reference to the Society of the Holy Cross, PhD-thesis, Durham 1997 Lacey, T A, A Roman Diary and Other Documents realting to the Papal Inquiry into English Ordinations, Green 1910 Leslie, Shane, Henry Edward Manning: His Life and Labour, London 1921 Livius, T & C.SS.R., The Order of Corporate Reunion, Dublin 1882 Lockhart, J G, Charles Lindley, Viscount Halifax, Vol I London 1935, Vol II London 1936 Morris, Kevin L, The Cambridge Converts and the Oxford Movement, in Recusant History, 17, No. 4, October 1985 Morse-Boycott, Desmond, The Secret Story of the Oxford Movement, London 1933 Nockles, Peter B., The Oxford Movement in Context. Anglican High Churchmanship 1760-1857, Cambridge 1996 Norman, Edward, The English Catholic Church in the Nineteenth Century, New York 1984 Norton, Robert, Reasons for believing that the Lord has restored the Church apostles and prophets, London 1852 Norton, Robert, Truths and untruths respecting a restored apostolate, London 1876 Ollard, S L, A Short History of the Oxford Movement, Oxford 1915 Ollard, S L & Crosse, Gordon & Bond, Maurice (ed), A Dictionary of English Church History, London & Oxford & New York 1948, Chapter Reunion pp 521-533 Oussani, Gabriel, An historical essay on the Assyro-Chaldean Christians in Naayem, Joseph, Shall this nation die?, New York 1921 Parallell Movements, London 1933 Pawley, Bernard & Margaret, Rome and Canterbury through four Centuries, London & Oxford 1974 Pawley, Margaret, Faith and Family. The Life and Circle of Ambrose Phillips de Lisle, Norwich 1993 Perry, W, A.P. Forbes, Bishop of Brechin, the Scottish Pusey, London 1939 Persson, Bertil, An Apostolic Episcopal Ministry. Archbishop Arthur W Brooks and Christ’s Church By-The-Sea in Memory and Inspiration, Phoenix 1992 Persson, Bertil, A Brief Biographical Sketch on Mar Julius, Bishop of Iona, Solna 2000 Persson, Bertil, A Biographical Sketch on Joseph René Vilatte, Solna 2000 Seraphim, Mar, Bishop Mathew and the Orthodox in The Glastonbury Bulletin No 67 May 1984 Ståhl, Bo R & Persson, Bertil, Kulter Sekter Samfund, Stockholm 1971

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APPENDIX 1: Outline of some religious societies

in The British Isles 1830-1910 Society for Prayers for the Conversion of England Founded 1838 by De Lisle and Rev. George Spencer [Fr. Ignatius] of The Catholic Church of England & Wales.47 The society was created under influence of the spirituality of the Rosminians.48 Society of the Holy Cross [Societas Sanctæ Crucis] (SSC) Founded 1855 by Rev. Charles Fuge Lowder, Rev. Alfred Poole and Rev. Joseph Newton Smith, all of The Church of England, ”for priests ‘maintain and extend the Catholic faith and discipline and to form a special bond of union between Catholic clergy’”49 The society grew up from a merger of the spirituality of The Oxford Movement and the idea on restoration of the apostolate of The Catholic Apostolic Church (‘The Irvingites’).50 Association for Promotion of the Union of Christendom (A.P.U.C.) Founded 1857 by De Lisle and architect A W Pugin from the Catholic side and from the Anglican side Alexander Penrose Forbes, Bishop of Brechin (1847-1875) of The Scottish Episcopal Church and Lee in order to promote a Catholic uniate church in The British Isles. Nugée was its first secretary. 51 Magazine: Union Review, founded 1863, 1863-1869 edited by Lee. English Church Union Founded 1859 ”at the time of the ‘Oxford Movement’, to promote catholic faith and order, it continues this work today by providing support and encouragement to those lay people and priests who wish to see catholic faith, order, morals and spirituality maintained and upheld, and who wish to promote catholic unity”.52 1868-1919 Lord Halifax was president. Magazine: Church Review, 1861-1864, from 1864 Monthly Circular. 47 Together with De Lisle, Spencer was among the so called ”Cambridge converts” who during the studies at Trinity College, Cambridge, converted to Catholicism. 48 Fr. Antonio Rosmini-Serbati (1797-1855), Chiesa Cattolica in Italia, founded Institute of Charity (”Rosminians”). His metaphysics and epistemology were grounded in the immediate intuition of ideal being as the basis for every act of knowledge. He was supposedly best known for his writings on behalf of Church reform, why some of his books were placed in Index Librorum Prohibitorum. 49 Quotation: The Church of England Yearbook 2000, p 308. About the foundation, see Ellsworth, L E, Charles Lowder and the Ritualist Movement, London 1982. 50 An outstanding work is Gretason, Mark Nicholas, The Idea of the church in The Catholic Apostolic Church, unpublished PhD-thesis, London n.d.. Ref. Also: Norton, Robert, Reasons for believing that the Lord has restored the Church apostles and prophets, London 1852; Norton, Robert, Truths and untruths respecting a restored apostolate, London 1876; Ståhl, Bo R & Persson, Bertil, Kulter Sekter Samfund, Stockholm 1971 pp 23-30. - The idea on restoration of the apostolate was characteristic of the age, a movement in which we also find the pre-pentecostal movements and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (”The Mormons”). Cf Lively, Robert L, The Catholic Apostolic Church and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. A Comparative Study of Two Minority Millenarian Groups in Nineteenth-Century England, (diss.), Oxford University 1977 51 About the foundation, see Butler, Cuthbert, The Life and Times of Bishop Ullathorne 1806-1889, Vol I, London 1926, pp 334-468. 52 Quotation: The Church of England Yearbook 2000, p 282.

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Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament Founded 1862 with three objects: ”1. The honour due to the Person of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament of His Body and Blood. 2. Mutual and Special Intercession at the time of, and in union with the Eucharistic Sacrifice. 3. To promote the Observances of the Catholic and Primitive practice of receiving the Holy Communion.” Anglican and Eastern Churches Association Founded 1864 by the hymnist and liturgiologist John Mason Neale ”to promote mutual understanding of, and closer relations between, the Orthodox, Oriental and Anglican Churches”.53 Society of St. John the Evangelist Founded 1866 by Rev. Richard Meux Benson, The Church of England, with Rev. Charles Grafton, The Protestant Episcopal Church, as co-founder ”to seek that sanctification to which God in His Mercy calls us, and in so doing to seek, as far as God may permit, to be instrumental in bringing others to be partakers of the same sanctification”.54 Brotherhood of the Holy Redeemer Founded 1866 by Mossman for poor ordinands. The brotherhood was short-lived. Order of the Holy Redeemer (OHR) Founded 1880’s. It had an inner circle, supposedly as a revival of The Brotherhood of the Holy Redeemer, Brotherhood of the Holy Cross , which ”was started by a few friends who were studying for Holy Orders”. These societies acted for a time as inner circles of The Order of Corporate Reunion. Superior General of OHR was consecrated by Lee.55 Magazine: Catholic, The Official Publication of the Order of the Holy Redeemer. Society for the Restoration of Apostolic Unity Founded 1905 by Bishop Henry Bernard Ventham, Bishop John Cudworth Whitebrook and Bishop William Patterson Whitebrook, all of The Independent Catholic Church of Great Britain of the American Catholic Church Communion, as a regional branch of The Order of Corporate Reunion.56 Published a Pastoral Letter 1905. Society of St. Willibrord Founded 1908 as The Anglican and Old Catholic Society of St. Willibrord ”to promote friendly relations between the Anglican and Old Catholic Churches, including the fullest use of the full Communion established between them in 1931”.57 1909-1913 Mathew was Vice President. 53 Quotation: The Church of England Yearbook 2000, p 268. 54 In Anson, Peter F, The Call of the Cloister, London 1958 pp 75-83 there is an informative historical sketch on the society. Grafton later returned to his native country, USA, and as Bishop of Fond du Lac of The Protestant Episcopal Church played a shady role in the early history of the Old Catholic Church. See Persson, Bertil, A Biographical Sketch on Joseph René Vilatte, Solna 2000. The society still exists ”engaged in retreats, missions and educational work”. Quotation: The Church of England Yearbook 2000, p 251. 55 Walsh, Walter, The Secret History of The Oxford Movement, London 1899 pp 233-239, gives a good report on OHR. 56 Ref. Persson, Bertil, A Biographical Sketch on Joseph René Vilatte, Solna 2000. 57 Quotation: The Church of England Yearbook 2000, p 308. Ref. Burley, John, The Society of St. Willibrord, in Huelin, Gordon (ed), Old Catholics & Anglicans 1931-1981, Oxford 1983 pp 62-85.

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APPENDIX 2:

The apostolic succession of Chiesa Cattolica in Italia (I)

Bonifaz, Emmanuel Quintano (-1774) Archbishop of Pharsala Archbishop Bonifaz consecrated 11 August 1765 de Lorenzana, Francisco Antonio (1722-1804) Archbishop of Toledo (1772) Cardinal (1789) Cardinal de Lorenzana consecrated 30 September 1798 Spina, Iosephus Maria (1756-1828) Cardinal (1820) Cardinal Spina consecrated 12 November 1826 Spinola, Ugo Pietro [Hugo Petrus] (1791-1858) Cardinal (1831) Assisted by Bishops Dominicus Lucciardi and Ioannes Carolus Gentili, Cardinal Spinola consecrated 6 June 1847 di Calabiana, Luigi [Aloysius Josephus] Nazari (1808-1893) Never been a Cardinal

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APPENDIX 3: The apostolic succession of

Chiesa Cattolica in Italia (II) Castiglione, Francesco Saverio (1761-1830) Ordained priest, Chiesa Cattolica in Italia (1785) Cardinal (1816) Archbishop of Spoleto (1827) [As Pius PP VIII Vicarius Christi (1829)] Cardinal Castiglione consecrated 3 June 1827 Mastai-Ferretti, Giovanni Maria (Pius PP IX, 1792-1878) Ordained priest, Chiesa Cattolica in Italia (1819) Vicarius Christi (1846) Pius PP IX consecrated 6 July 1856 Franchi, Alessandro (1819-1878) Ordained priest, Chiesa Cattolica in Italia (1842) Titular Archbishop of Thessalonika (1856) Cardinal (1873) Apostolic Nuncio (1874) Cardinal Franchi consecrated 20 May 1877 Gurégh, Ignas [Ghiurekian, Ignatios] (1833-1921) Ordained priest, The Armenian Catholic Church of Kilikia (1854) Abbot-General of The Mechitarists, Venezia (1876) Titular Archbishop of Trajanopolis and Rhodope (1877)

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The Syrian Patriarchate of Antoch and All the East ibn Salmo Mesko, Boutros (Mar Julius, 1799-1894) Consecrated 1846 as Mar Julius by Moran Mor Ignatius XXXII Elias II, later appointed as Julius, Metropolitan of the World [1872-1894 as Moran Mor Ignatius XXXIV Peter [Boutros] III/IV Patriarch] Mar Julius consecrated as Mar Julius, Bishop of Iona and its dependencies (The Catholic Apostolic Church of the West [The Ancient British Church]) 2 June 1866 (old style)/6 June 1866 (new style) Ferrette, Raimond (Mar Julius, 1828-1904) Ordained priest, Chiesa Cattolica in Italia (1855) Mar Julius, Bishop of Iona and its dependencies (The Catholic Apostolic Church of the West [The Ancient British Church]), consecrated August-September 1866 Nugée, George (1819-1892) Ordained priest, The Church of England (1845) Mar Julius, Bishop of Iona and its dependencies (The Catholic Apostolic Church of the West [The Ancient British Church]), consecrated 18-19 November 1866 Seccombe, John Thomas (1835-1895) Ordained priest, The Catholic Apostolic Church of the West (The Ancient British Church) (1866)

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The Union of Ütrecht of the Old Catholic Churches Gul, Gerard (1847-1920) 11 May 1892 consecrated by Bishop Gaspart Johannes Rinkel, Bishop of Haarlem of Oud-Katholieke Kerk van Nederland, assisted by Bishops Cornelius Diependaal, Oud-Katholieke Kerk van Nederland, Josef Hubert Reinkens, Alt-Katholische Kirche in Deutschland and Eduard Herzog, Christkatholische Kirche der Schweiz/Église catholique-chrétienne de la Suisse Archbishop, The Union of Ütrecht of the Old Catholic Churches (1892) Assisted by Bishops Johannes Jacobus van Thiel and Nicolas Bartholomäus Petrus Spit, Oud-Katholieke Kerk van Nederland, and Bishop Josef Demmel, Alt-Katholische Kirche in Deutschland, Archbishop Gul consecrated 28 April 1908 Mathew, Arnold Harris (1852-1919) Ordained priest, The Catholic Church in Scotland (1877) Archbishop-Primate, The Old Catholic Church in Great Britain (1911) Archbishop-Primate, The Uniate Western Catholic Church (1916)

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CHAPTER 6: The apostolic succession of

The Chaldean Catholic Church Khayatt, Yosif (Maran Mar Yosif Emmanuel II Thoma, 1852-1947) Patriarch, The Chaldean Catholic Church (1900) Assisted by Bishop of Salmas and Patriarchal Vicar Pierre Aziz Ho, Maran Mar Yosif Emmanuel II Thoma consecrated 27 May 1917 Lefebüre [Leberne, Lefberne], Antoïne (Mar Antoine, 1862-1953) Member, Ordo Antonianus S. Hormisdae Chaldaeorum Ordained priest, The Chaldean Catholic Church (1893) Patriarchal Exarch of Western Europe (1917) Delegate and Special Commissary in the USA (1917) Assisted by Mar James (Fernand Portal) and Mar Evodius (Edward Robert Smith), Bishops of The Chaldean Catholic Church, Mar Antoine consecrated 4 May 1925 Brooks, Arthur Wolfort (Mar John Emmanuel, 1889-1948) Ordained priest, The Protestant Episcopal Church (1916) Archbishop-Primate, The Apostolic Episcopal Church (1930)

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CHAPTER 4: SHORT BIOGRAPHIES

Remark Person mentioned only with family name has a biographical entry in this chapter. Agostino, Dominicus 1825-1891. 22 January 1851 ordained priest, The Roman Catholic Church. 2 November 1871 consecrated. 22 June 1877 - 7 July 1886 Patriarch of Venezia. 1882 Cardinal. # on Murano Bacon, Francis Herbert 7 January 1911 ordained priest and consecrated as Bishop of Durham by Mathew. On lecture tours 1914 - 1919 in USA and Canada.# Coadjutor 17 January 1920 - 16 February 1920 to Archbishop-Primate James Charles Thomas Ayliffe Williams (dead 1952), The Old Roman Catholic Church (Pro-Uniate Rite). Archbishop-Primate 16 February 1920 - 4 October 1920 of The Old Roman Catholic Church (Pro-Uniate Rite). 1 October 1920 recived into The Church of England by Winnington-Ingram. 21 December 1920 ordained priest, The Church of England, by Winnington-Ingram. Resigned 8 December 1927. # on Carfora Beale, Herbert Ignatius 1862-1927. 6 February 1887 ordained priest, Catholic Church of England & Wales, by The Bishop of Nottingham, Edward Gilpin Bagshawe. 1896 founder of Missionary Brotherhood of Franciscan Tertiaries and became Father-Superior (suppressed 1900). 1897 joined Association of St Anthony of Padua. Deprived. August 1903 reconciled. 1909 deprived. 13 June 1910 consecrated by Mathew. 11 February 1911 excommunicated by Pius PP X. 1913 reconciled. In USA, where 2 July 1914 The Bishop of Nebraska, Tommaso Bonacum, placed him in the mission of Wahoo. Already 6 July 1914 left this mission and returned to England. March 1915 received into The Church of England. 17 May 1916 reconciled and became a Catholic layman. Later priest of The Church of England. Bell, Alexander Melville 1819-1905. 19 June 1884 ordained priest by Lee. 27 August 1885 consecrated by Lee et al. Brooks, Arthur Wolfort 1888-1948. 11 January 1916 ordained priest, The Protestant Episcopal Church, by The Bishop of Kentucky, Charles Edward Woodcock (1854-1940). 4 May 1925 consecrated as Mar John Emmanuel by Mar Antoine (Lefebvre/Lefberne; 1862-1953), Patriarchal Exarch of Western Europe and Delegate and Special Commissary in USA of The Chaldean Catholic Church, who was assisted by Mar James (Fernand Portal) and Mar Evodius (Edward Robert Smith). 23 June 1926 elected Titular Bishop of Sardis of The Anglican Universal Church of Christ in theUnited States of America (Chaldean). 18 November 1926 resigned of his own volition from the ministry of The Protestant Episcopal Church. 1929 consecrated by Bishop William Montgomery Brown (1855-1937), The Old Catholic Church in America. 19 November 1930 enthroned as Archbishop-Presiding Bishop of The Apostolic Episcopal Church (The Holy Eastern Catholic and Apostolic Orthodox Church). 16 May 1937 member of The Archbishop John Carroll Original Synod. 9 April 1939 member of The Evangelical

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Catholic Communion.# 8 October 1941- 10 April 1944 of Presiding Bishop The Old Catholic Orthodox Church in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. 29 June 1944 elected Titular Archbishop of Ebbsfleet and Legate of The Patriarchal Throne of Antioch as Exarch of the Americas. 16 October 1947 member of The High Church World Union. Published The Divine Liturgy...According to the Order and Usage established in the Apostolic Episcopal Church, 1943. - Monograph: Persson, Bertil, An Apostolic Episcopal Ministry. Archbishop Arthur W Brooks And Christ’s Church By-The-Sea In Memory And Inspiration, Phoenix 1992 # on The Evangelical Catholic Communion Carfora, Carmel [Carmelo] Henry 1878-1958. 15 August 1901 ordained priest, Chiesa Cattolica in Italia, by Giuseppe Cigliano (1854-1906), Titular Bishop of Cymaensis. 7 June 1907 consecrated as Bishop of Chiesa Episcopale Nazionale Italiana by Metropolitan-Primate Joseph René Vilatte (1854-1929), The Old Catholic Church of America.# 1908 he left The Catholic Church and opened independent Catholic missions in West Virginia, Brooklyn and New York. April 1909 pastor of St. Rocchus National Church [Parochia San Rocco], Youngstown, Ohio. 14 June 1912 consecrated by Bishop Prota Giurleo Miraglia Gulotti, The Old Catholic Church of America. 4 October 1916 consecrated by Archbishop-Primate Rudolfe Francois Eduard de Landas Berghes et de Rache (1873-1920), The North American Old Roman Catholic Church. 1919-1958 Primate of The North American Old Roman Catholic Church. June 1931 Honorary Protector for USA of Ordensgesellschaft Signum Fidei. Author of Answer to Harding, alias Dom Cipolline, alias Dom Cypriam, alias Dom Augustine etc., Chicago 1919; Historical and doctrinal Sketch of the Old Roman Catholic Church, Niagara Falls 1950. 1945-1950 editor of The Augustinian. # on my book on Vilatte Carter, John Arnold 1887-1967. Ordained priest, The Old Catholic Church in Great Britain, by Mathew. 22 May 1921 ordained priest, The Church of England, by The Bishop of London, Winnington-Ingram. 1946-1951 examining Chaplain to The Bishop of Coventry. 30 June 1958 retired from ministry of The Church of England. Conybeare, Frederick Cornwallis 1856-1924. 15 August 1894 consecrated by Lee and Seccombe et al. According to Armenian scholars he was ”a distinguished armenologist”. Among his many books The Key of Truth. A manual of the Paulician Church in Armenia, 1898, and Rituale Armeniorum, being the administration of the sacraments and the breviary rites of the Armenian Church, 1905, are still of very great importance. Dearmer, Percy 1867-1936. 1892 ordained priest, The Church of England. 15 August 1894 consecrated by Lee and Seccombe. During World War I Chaplain to The British Red Cross in Serbia. 1919-1936 Professor of ecclesiastical art, King’s College, London. 1909-1914 member of the committee of The Society of St Willibrord (founded 1908 by Rev George Barber ”to promote friendly relations between the Anglican and Old Catholic Churches, and to prepare the way for the restoration of full intercommunion with them”).# 1924 received by Bishop-Primate Ulric Vernon Herford (1866-1938), The Evangelical Catholic Communion,# to assist in an interdenominational Congregationalist church. 1931-1936 Canon of Westminster Abbey. Author of hymns and works as Parson’s Handbook, 1899; Reunion and Rome, 1910. Editor

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of English Hymnal, 1906; Songs of Praise, 1925; The Oxford Book of Carols, 1928; Songs of Praise Discussed, 1933. - Monograph: Dearmer, Nan, Life of Percy Dearmer, 1940 # on The Society of St. Willibrord # on The Evangelical Catholic Communion De Lisle, Ambrose Phillipps 1809-1879. Born as Ambrose Lisle March-Phillipps. One of the main figures behind the birth of OCR. Originally member of The Church of England. 1824 received into The Catholic Church of England & Wales by Rev. Thomas Macdonell, Birmingham. 1835 founder of a Cistercian monastery. 1837 received the habit of Third Order of St Dominic. Introduced The Rosminians# into England. With Rev George Spencer founder of Society for Prayers for the Conversion of England (approved by Nicolaus Cardinal Wiseman). 6 September 1857 with Lee and Nugée founder of The Association for Promoting the Union of Christendom (condemned 1864 and he withdrew).# 1858 - 1870 Primate of The Evangelical Catholic Communion.#Together with Seccombe the promoter of OCR. - Monograph: Pawley, Margaret, Faith and Family. The Life and Circle of Ambrose Phillips de Lisle, Norwich 1993 # on The Rosminians # on A.P.U.C. # Ref Brooks di Calabiana, Luigi (Aloysius Josephus) Nazari 1808-1893. 29 May 1831 ordained priest, Chiesa Cattolica in Italia, by The Bishop of Torino, Colombano Chiavarotti. 6 June 1847 consecrated by Ugo Pietro (Hugo Petrus) Cardinal Spinola, who was assisted by Bishop Dominicus Lucciardi and Bishop Ioannes Carolus Gentili. Archbishop of Milano 27 March 1867 - 23 October 1893. Ferrette, Raimond (Mar Julius) 1828-1904. Originally a Protestant. 1850 received into The Roman Catholic Church. 19 June 1856 founder of Ordo Fratrum Praedicatorum Unionis (Magister General to 23 April 1879).# 2 June 1855 ordained priest, Chiesa Cattolica in Italia, by Constantinus Cardinal Patrizi Naro (1798-1876). 16 June 1856 returned to Protestantism. 1856-1859 Presbyterian missionary in The Near East. Around the turn of the year 1860 Presbyterian missionary in Belfast, Ireland. 1860 - 1862 Presbyterian missionary in Syria and Libanon. 1863 in Europe. Presbyterian missionary in Syria and 30 March 1865 became retired, and returned to England. Summer 1866 back in Syria and was 2 June/6 June 1866 consecrated as Mar Julius and Bishop of Iona and its dependencies by Mar Julius, Metropolitan of the World, The Syrian Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East. July 1866 back in England he made a tour around England and Scotland and November 1866 returned to London. March 1867 left for USA. Lived in Cambridge, Mass. to 1880, when he moved to Lausanne. From 1896 lived in Geneva. During his time in Schweiz he became a reputed advisor in interconfessional matters. Author of works as The Romish baptism as judged by protestant theology, 1858, The Gospel of Matthew...in Arabic, 1863, The Damasqus Ritual. A complete Arabic liturgy extracted partly from the Greek euchologium and partly from the common prayer book, 1864, Euchologion. The Eastern Liturgy of the Holy, Catholic Apostolic and Orthodox Church, simplified and supplemented...Translated by the author from his Greek manuscript, 1866, The Essential Rites of the Seven Sacraments, a Pastoral Epistle, 1876, Les Rites Essentiels de l’Église, 1901, Les Rites Essentiels du Christianisme, 1903. # on O F P U

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Ghiurekian, Ignatios 1833-1921. 1854 ordained priest, The Armenian Catholic Church. 1876 elected as the 6th Abbot-General of The Mekhitarists in Venezia. 1877 consecrated. 8 May 1877 Titular Archbishop of Trajanopolis. Godwin, Dominic Albert 1846-1914. 29 April 1889 consecrated by Seccombe. Howarth, Arthur William 1867-1942. 21 December 1892 ordained priest, The Catholic Church of England & Wales, by The Bishop of Nottingham, Edward Gilpin Bagshawe. Domestic Prelate to Leo PP XIII. 13 June 1910 consecrated by Mathew. 11 February 1911 excommunicated by Pius PP X. Reconciled. 21 December 1919 - 8 August 1933 Archbishop-Primate of The Uniate Western Catholic Church. Author of A Protest against the Tyranny of the Roman Inquisition and of His Holiness Pope X, 1919 (privately printed). Jackson, Richard Charles 1851-1937. Member of The Order of St Augustine (founded ca 1865 by Rev George Nugée) and adopted the monastic name Brother à Becket.# Ordained priest, OCR, by Lee. 24 June 1896 consecrated by Lee. Is said to has been ”at once an authority on Dante and Greek Art, a Platonist, a Monk, and a Reunionist”. Vice President of The Dante Society. Fellow of The Royal Historical Society. Author of works as In memoriam the Lord Bishop of Oxford, the Right Revd. William Stubbs, 1901, His presence. Spiritual hymns and poems of the blessed sacrament of the altar, for devotional use at Holy Communion, 1886, Jackson’s Sarum and Roman kalendar, 1892-1893, The golden city. Sonnets and other poems written at Keble college, Oxford, with a sonnet ”In memoriam” of Dr E. B. Pusey, 1883. # Ref Nugée Lambert, William Noël Pastor of The Congregational Church, Islington, London. 9 February 1909 ordained priest, The Old Catholic Church in Great Britain, by Mathew. Christmas 1910 and definitly 23 May 1913 received into The Church of England, by The Bishop of London, Winnington-Ingram. 22 August 1917 consecrated by Mathew. Dead 1954. Lee, Frederick George 1832-1902. 21 September 1856 ordained priest, The Church of England, by The Bishop of Oxford, Samuel Wilberforce (1805-1873). 6 September 1857 with De Lisle and Nugée founder of The Association for Promoting the Union of Christendom, for which he 1863 - 1869 edited Union Review.# 1979 DD at Washington and Lee University, Lexington, VA, USA. 11 December 1901 received into The Catholic Church. Author of works as Essays on the Reunion of Christendom, 1867, The Validity of the Holy Orders of the Church of England maintained and vindicated, 1869, A Dictionary of Ritual,1871, Pastoral Letter by the Rector, Provincials, and Provosts of the Order of Corporate Reunion, 1877, A Glossary of Liturgical and Ecclesiastical Terms, 1877, Hymns for Several Occasions, 1880, Order out of Chaos: Three Sermons, 1881, The Need of Spiritual Authority, 1882, Sights and Shadows, 1894. Edited 1877 - 1879 the magazine of OCR, Reunion Magazine. - Monograph: Brandreth, Henry R T, Dr Lee of Lambeth: A Chapter in Parenthesis in the History of the Oxford Movement, London 1951 # on A.P.U.C. see De Lisle

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Mathew, Arnold Harris 1852-1919. 13 October 1875 joined The Catholic Church of England & Wales. 24 June 1877 ordained priest, The Catholic Church of England & Wales, by The Bishop of Glasgow, Charles Eyre (1817-1902). July 1889 retired from all church duties. Was for around one year engaged in The Unitarian Movement. 1892 joined The Church of England. 1899 rejoined The Catholic Church of England & Wales as a layman. 28 April 1908 consecrated as Bishop of The Old Catholic Church in Great Britain by Archbishop-Primate Gerard Gul (1847-1920), who was assisted by Bishop Johannes Jacobus van Thiel and Bishop Nicholas Bartholomaeus Petrus Spit of The Old Catholic Church in The Netherlands and Bishop Josef Demmel of The Old Catholic Church in Germany. 7 January 1909-1913 Vice President of The Society of St Willibrord. 29 December 1910 broke the relation to The Utrecht Communion but remained in full communion with The Old Catholic Church of the Mariavites (Plock). 7 January 1911 elected Archbishop of London and Presiding Bishop of The Old Catholic Church in Great Britain. 11 February 1911 excommunicated by Pius PP X. 5 August 1911 signed Act of Union with The Syrian Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch through The Archbishop of Beyrouth, Gerassimos Messarah. 13/26 September 1912 signed Act of Union with The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria through Patriarch Photios. June 1913 received Abbot-Bishop William Henry Francis Brothers and his Old Catholic mission in USA as a Western-Rite-Mission. 16 December 1914 wrote to Benedictus PP XV offering complete submission, placing the entire movement under his authority; formally abdicated jurisdiction over The Old Catholic Church in Great Britain. 22 February 1916 founder of The Uniate Western Catholic Church. Author of works as The old Catholic missal and ritual, prepared for the use of English-speaking congregations of old Catholics, in communion with the ancient Catholic archiepiscopal, 1909, Are Anglican Orders Valid?, 1910, Articles of Belief of the Old Catholics of Great Britain and Ireland, of the Western Orthodox Church, 1911, The Catholic Church of England, its Constitution, Faith, Episcopal succession, 1914, An Episcopal Odyssey, 1915. Editor of The Torch. A Monthly Review advocating the Reconstruction of the Church in the West and Reunion with the Holy Orthodox Church of the East (only few issues of 1912). Translator of Duchesne, Louis Marie Olivier, The churches separated from Rome, 1907, and idem, The beginnings of the temporal sovereignty of the popes, A.D. 754 - 1073, 1907. - Monograph: Persson, Bertil, A Brief Biographical Sketch on Arnold Harris Mathew, Solna 2000. Morgan, Richard Williams 1815-1889. 2 October 1842 ordained priest, The Church of England, by The Bishop of St. David’s, Connop Thirlwall. 6 March 1879 consecrated by Lee, Mossman and Seccombe. 1874-1889 as Mar Pelagius I Patriarch of The Ancient British Church. Accepted The Druidic Order as the forerunner of Christianity in The British Isles and was a Bard with the name Mor Merion (= Foaming Sea). Wrote and taught on the subject of the British being descended from the Lost Tribes of Israel. Published Liturgy of the Ancient British Church, 1874. Author of works as A Vindication of the Church of England, 1851, Scheme for the Reconstruction of the church Episcopate and its Patronage in Wales, 1855, The Church and Its Episcopal Corruptions in Wales, 1855, The British Kymry or Britons of Cambria, 1857, St Paul in Britain, or the Origin of British as opposed to Papal Christianity, 1861. Mossman, Thomas Wimberley 1826-1885. 26 May 1850 ordained priest, The Church of England, by The Bishop of Lincoln, John Kaye. 1856 member of The Society of the Holy Cross (a secret ritualist society).# 1866 founder of The Brotherhood of the Holy Redeemer.# 1885 received into The Catholic Church of England & Wales by Henry Edward Cardinal Manning (1808-1892), Archbishop of

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Westminster. Author of works as A glossary of the principal words used in a figurative, typical, or mystical sense in the Holy Scriptures, with their significations gathered from the sacred writers, or from the works of the ancient fathers, 1854, A history of the Catholic church of Jesus Christ, from the death of Saint John to the middle of the second century; including an account of the original organisation of the Christian ministry and growth of episcopacy, 1873, Freedom for the Church of God: an earnest and affectionate appeal to my High Church brethren, 1876. The Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven (sermon on OCR), 1879. # on The Society of the Holy Cross # on The Brotherhood of the Holy Redeemer Nugée, George 1819-1892. 30 May 1847 ordained priest, The Church of England, by The Bishop of London, Charles James Blomfield. Founder ca 1865 of The Order of St Augustine.# 6 September 1857 with De Lisle and Lee founder of The Association for the Promoting of the Union of Christendom (condemned by The Holy See 16 September 1864 by a letter signed by Constantinus Cardinal Patrizi Naro).# 1858 founder of The Community of St Mary the Virgin. Rector of Widley and vicar of Wymering 1859-1872. August 1866 consecrated by Ferrette. Published Conversion: a Sermon preached...in aid of the London diocesan Penitentiary, 1857. # on The Oder of St Augustine # on A.P.U.C. see De Lisle Seccombe, John Thomas 1835-1895. Medical. Magistrate. November 1866 ordained priest and consecrated by Ferrette. Stanton, Henry Arthur 1839-1913. Member of The Society of the Holy Cross (of The Oxford Movement). 26 December 1882 consecrated by Lee, Mossman and Seccombe. Author of works as Catholic Prayers for Church of England People, 1891. - Monograph: Russell, George W E, Arthur Stanton: a Memoir, 1917 # see Stevens, Charles Isaac 1835-1917. Ordained priest, The Reformed Episcopal Church (USA). Trained to organist. 6 March 1879 consecrated as Bishop of Caerleon-upon-Usk by Morgan, assisted by Lee, Mossman and Seccombe. 1889-1917 as Mar Theophilus I Patriarch of The Ancient British Church. 1897 consecrated by Archbishop-Primate Leon Chechemian (1848-1920), Free Protestant Church of England. Author of An essay on the theory of music, Göttingen 1863. Swete, Henry Barclay 1835-1917. 1859 ordained priest, The Church of England, by The Bishop of Bath and Wells, Robert John Eden. 26 December 1882 consecrated by Lee, Mossman and Seccombe. Most of his time professor in London and Cambridge related to various topics in liturgy, theology and Bible interpretation of the early Christianity. Issued The Old Testament in Greek, 1887-1891. 1899 founder of Journal of Theological Studies. Trevisanato, Giuseppe Luigi (Josephus Aloysius) 1801-1877. 13 March 1824 ordained priest, The Roman Catholic Church. 16 January 1853 consecrated by Fabius Maria Cardinal Asquini, assisted by Gaetano Bedini, Titular Archbishop of Thebae, and Antonio Ligi-Bussi, Titular Archbishop of Iconium. 7 April 1862 - 28 April 1877 Patriarch of Venezia. 16 March 1863 Cardinal.#

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# see Agostino Ventham, Henry Bernard 1873-1944. 23 December 1898 ordained priest by Metropolitan-Primate Joseph René Vilatte (1854-1929), The Old Catholic Church of America. 15 June 1903 consecrated as Bishop of Worchester by Bishop Henry Marsh Marsh-Edwards (1866-1931), The Independent Catholic Church of Great Britain of the communion of The Old Catholic Church of America, who was assisted by Archbishop Vilatte. 19 February 1905 with J. C. Whitebrook and W. P. Whitebrook founder of The Society for The Restoration of Apostolic Unity and took the name and title as Thomas, Bishop of Worchester. Ordained priest by Mathew, The Uniate Western Catholic Church. 29 June 1924 ordained priest, The Church of England, by The Bishop of London, Winnington-Ingram. Warwick, William Geoffrey 14 July 1920 ordained priest and supposedly consecrated for OCR by Bacon. Dead 1955. Whitebrook, John Cudworth 1873-1961. Ordained priest, The Church of England. Consecrated by Lee. 19 February 1905 with his brother W. P. Whitebrook and Ventham founder of The Society for The Restoration of Apostolic Unity and took the name and title as Cuthbert, Bishop of Lindisfarne. Genealogist. Author of A Chapter of Secret History, 1922, The consecration of the Most Reverend Matthew Parker, archbishop of Canterbury, effected by the Rt. Rev. Anthony Kitchen called Dunstan; monk of the Order of St Benedict; sometime prior of students at Gloucester college, and abbot of Eynsham, thereafter bishop of Llandaff, 1945. 1960 joined Catholic Church of England & Wales. Whitebrook, William Patterson 1871-1915. Ordained priest, The Church of England. Around 1905 consecrated by Bishop Andrew Charles Albert McLaglen, The Free Protestant Episcopal Church. Consecrated by Nugée. 19 February 1905 with his brother J. C. Whitebrook and Ventham founder of The Society for The Restoration of Apostolic Unity and took the name and title as Vergilius, Archbishop of Whitby. 27 December 1908 consecrated by Bishop Louis Prota Giurleo Miraglia Gulotti (1857-1916), The Old Catholic Church of America. Author of The Independent Catholics of Great Britain, n d. Winnington-Ingram, Arthur Foley 1858-1946. 1884 ordained priest, The Church of England. 1897 consecrated. 1901-1939 Bishop of London, The Church of England. Author of works as Fifty Years in London,