Apostolic Succession

The first Christians had no doubts about how to determine which was the true Church and which doctrines the true teachings of Christ. The test was simple: Just trace the apostolic succession of the claimants.

Apostolic succession is the line of bishops stretching back to the apostles. All over the world, all Catholic bishops including that of Orthodox and Roman are part of a lineage that goes back to the time of the apostles, something that is impossible in Protestant denominations (most of which do not even claim to have bishops).

The role of apostolic succession in preserving true doctrine is illustrated in the Bible. To make sure that the apostles’ teachings would be passed down after the deaths of the apostles, Paul told Timothy, [What you have heard from me before many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” (2 Tim. 2:2). In this passage he refers to the first three generations of apostolic succession—his own generation, Timothy’s generation, and the generation Timothy will teach.

The Church Fathers, who were links in that chain of succession, regularly appealed to apostolic succession as a test for whether Catholics or heretics had correct doctrine. This was necessary because heretics simply put their own interpretations, even bizarre ones, on Scripture. Clearly, something other than Scripture had to be used as an ultimate test of doctrine in these cases.

Thus the early Church historian J. N. D. Kelly, a Protestant, writes, “Where in practice was the apostolic testimony or tradition to be found? . . . The most obvious answer was that the apostles had committed it orally to the Church, where it had been handed down from generation to generation. . . . Unlike the alleged secret tradition of the Gnostics, it was entirely public and open, having been entrusted by the apostles to their successors, and by these in turn to those who followed them, and was visible in the Church for all who cared to look for it” (Early Christian Doctrines, 37).

For the early Fathers, “the identity of the oral tradition with the original revelation is guaranteed by the unbroken succession of bishops in the great sees going back lineally to the apostles. . . . [A]n additional safeguard is supplied by the Holy Spirit, for the message committed was to the Church, and the Church is the home of the Spirit. Indeed, the Church’s bishops are . . . Spirit-endowed men who have been vouchsafed ‘an infallible charism of truth’” (ibid.).

Thus on the basis of experience the Fathers could be “profoundly convinced of the futility of arguing with heretics merely on the basis of Scripture. The skill and success with which they twisted its plain meaning made it impossible to reach any decisive conclusion in that field” (ibid., 41).

The Apostolic Succession is the historically traceable lineage of hands-on Consecration (Ordination) of bishops that is an unbroken link with the Holy Apostles.

Our Bishops have maintained Our Apostolic Succession from the Syriac and Antioch Orthodox Church including that of Russia in recent times through Bishops that join our jurisdiction from other Jurisdiction with Apostolic Succession.

The Apostolic Succession of
the True Byzantine Orthodox Church of Africa

The Church of Constantinople

NAME of Hierarch	EPISCOPAL TERM
1. Andrew, the Apostle of our Lord (Founded the Church at Constantinople; ordained Stachys)	Founded 38 AD
2. Stachys, the Disciple (one of the 70 Apostles) (First Bishop of Constantinople)	AD 38 – 54
3. Onesimos	AD 54 – 68
4. Polykarpos	AD 69 – 89
5. Ploutarchos	AD 89 – 105
6. Sedekion	AD 105 – 114
7. Diogenes	AD 114 – 129
8. Eleftherios	AD129 – 136
9. Felix	AD 136 – 141
10. Polykarpos II	AD 141 – 144
11. Athenodoros	AD 144 – 148
12. Euzoios	AD 148 – 154
13. Laurentios	AD 154 – 166
14. Alypios	AD 166 – 169
15. Pertinax	AD 169 – 187
16. Olympianos	AD 187 – 198
17. Markos I	AD 198 – 211
18. Philadelphos	AD 211 – 214
20. Kyriakos I	AD 214 – 230
21. Kastinos	AD 230 – 237
22. Eugenios I	AD 237 – 242
23. Titos	AD 242 – 272
24. Dometios	AD 272 – 303
25. Roufinos	AD 303
26. Provos	AD 303 – 315
27. Metrophanes I	AD 315 – 325
28. Alexandros	AD 325 – 340
29. Paulos I, the Confessor	AD 340 – 41, 342 – 34, 348 – 50
30. Eusebios	AD 341 – 342
31. Makedonios I	AD 344 – 348, 350 – 360
32. Eudoxios	AD 360 – 369
33. Demophilos	AD 369 – 379
34. Evagrios	AD 379
35. Maximos I,	AD 380
36. Gregory, the Theologian (First Archbishop of Constantinople)	AD 379 – 381
37. Nectarios	AD 381 – 397
38. John I, the Chrysostom	AD 398 – 404
39. Arsakios	AD 404 – 405
40. Attikos	AD 406 – 425
41. Sisinios I	AD 425 – 427
42. Nestorios	AD 428 – 431
43. Maximianos	AD 431 – 434
44. Proklos	AD 434 – 447
45. Flavianos	AD 447 – 449
46. Anatolios (First Patriarch of Constantinople)	AD 449 – 458
47. Gennadios I	AD 458 – 471
48. Akakios	AD 471 – 489
49. Favritas (Fravitas)	AD 489 – 490
50. Euphemios	AD 490 – 496
51. Makedonios II	AD 496 – 511
52. Timotheos I	AD 511 – 518
53. John II, the Cappadocian	AD 518 – 520
54. Epiphanios	AD 520 – 536
55. Anthimos	AD 535 – 536
56. Menas	AD 536 – 552
57. Eutychios I	AD 552 – 565, 577 – 582
58. John III	AD 566 – 577
59. Eutychios II	AD 577 – 582
60. John IV, the Faster	AD 582 – 595
61. Kyriakos II	AD 595 – 607
62. Thomas I	AD 607 – 610
63. Sergios I	AD 610 – 638
64. Pyrros I (later returned as Pyrros II)	AD 638 – 641
65. Paulos II	AD 641 – 652
66. Pyrros II ()same as Pyrros I)	AD 652 or 654
67. Petros	AD 652 – 664
68. Thomas II	AD 665 – 668
69. John V	AD 668 – 674
70. Constantine I	AD 674 – 676
71. Theodoros I	AD 676 – 678, 683 – 686
72. Georgios I	AD 678 – 683
73. Paulos III	AD 686 – 693
74. Kallinikos I	AD 693 – 705
75. Kyros	AD 705 – 711
76. John VI	AD 711 – 715
77. Germanos I, the Confessor	AD 715 – 730
78. Anastasios	AD 730 – 751
79. Constantine II	AD 754 – 766
80. Niketas, the Slav	AD 766 – 780
81. Paulos IV	AD 780 – 784
82. Tarasios	AD 784 – 806
83. Nikephoros I	AD 806 – 815
84. Theodotos, Melissenos	AD 815 – 821
85. Antonios I, Kasymatas	AD 821 – 826
86. John VII the Grammatikos	AD 826 – 842
87. Methodios I, the Confessor	842 – 846
88. Ignatios I, the Prince	AD 846 – 857, 867 – 878
89. Photios the Great	AD 857 – 867, 878 – 886
90. Stephanos I, the Prince	AD 886 – 893
91. Antonios II, Kavleas	AD 893 – 895
92. Nikolaos I, the Mystic	AD 895 – 906, 911 – 925
93. Euthymios I	AD 906 – 911
94. Stephanos II	AD 925 – 928
95. Tryphon	AD 928 – 931
96. Theophylctos, Lakapenos, the Princeling	AD 933 – 956
97. Polyeuctos	AD 956 – 970
98. Vasilios I, Skamandrenos	AD 970 – 974
99. Antonios III, Skandalios, also Stoudites	AD 974 – 980
100. Nikolaos II, Chrysoverges	AD 984 – 995

The Russian Church

Period during which the Metropolitans sat at Kiev:

NAME of Hierarch	EPISCOPAL TERM
1. Michael, the Syrian	A.D. 990
2. Leontius	A.D. 993
3. John	A.D. 1015
4. Theopemptus	A.D. 1037
5. Hilarion	A.D. 1051
6.George	A.D. 1072
7.John II	A.D. 1080
8. John III	A.D. 1089
9. Ephraim	A.D. 1096
10. Nicholas	A.D. 1098
11. Nicephorus	A.D. 1108
12. Nicetas	A.D. 1124
13. Michael II	A.D. 1127
14. Clement	A.D. 1197
15. Constantine	A.D. 1136
16. Theodore	A.D. 1160
17. John IV	A.D. 1164
18. Constantine II	A.D. 1167
19. Nicephorus II	A.D. 1185
20. Matthew	A.D. 1201
21. Kyrill I	A.D. 1205
22. Joseph	A.D. 1240

Period during which the Metropolitans sat at Vladimir:

NAME of Hierarch	EPISCOPAL TERM
23. Kyrill II	A.D. 1250
24. Maximus	A.D. 1283
25. Peter	A.D. 1308

Period during which the Metropolitans resided at Moscow:

NAME of Hierarch	EPISCOPAL TERM
26. Theognostes	A.D. 1328
27. Alexis	A.D. 1353
28. Cyprian	A.D. 1380
29. Photius	A.D. 1410
30. Isidore	A.D. 1432
31. Jonah	A.D. 1448
32. Theodosius	A D. 1462
33. Philip I	A.D. 1467
34. Gerontius	A.D. 1472
35. Zosimus	A.D. 1491
36. Simon	A.D. 1496
37. Barlaam	A.D. 1511
38. Daniel	A.D. 1522
39. Joasaph	A.D. 1539
40. Macarius	A.D. 1542
41. Athanasius	A.D. 1564
42. Philip	A.D. 1565
43. Cyrill III	A.D. 1568
44. Anthony	A.D. 1572
45. Dionysius	A.D. 1582

The Patriarchs of Moscow:

NAME of Hierarch	EPISCOPAL TERM
1. Job	A.D. 1587
2. Hermogenes	A.D. 1606
3. Philaret	A.D. 1620
4. Joasaph I	A.D. 1631
5. Joseph	A.D. 1642
6. Nikon	A.D. 1653
7. Joasaph II	A.D. 1667
8. Pitirim	A.D. 1672
9. Joachim	A.D. 1673
10. Adrian	A.D. 1690
11. Metropolitan Stephen (Yavorsky), of Rostov, Guardian of the Patriarchate	A.D. 1701
12. The Most Holy Synod	A.D. 1721 – 1918
13. Metropilitan Macarius (Michael Neveskij)	AD 1912 -1917

Russian Orthodox Church of Alaska And North America

3. Evdokim (Basil Mikhailovish Meschersky)	AD 1904
2. Aftimios Ofiesch	AD 1917
3. Sophronios (Bashira)	AD 1928
4. Ignatius W.A. Nichols,	AD 1933
5.Theodotus Stanislaus Dewitow,	AD 1936
6. Walter M. Propheta,	AD 1964

Russian Orthodox Church in Africa

7. Solomon Gbadebo, OLA	AD 1978
8. BSimon-Pembeth-Sytha	AD 1984
9. Pierre Tang	AD 1989
10. Mark Anthony	AD 2011

Genuine Orthodox Church

Bishop Mark Anthony, who proclaims the faith of the Genuine Orthodox Church of the Matthewite tradition, has brought the Syrian Greek Orthodox Church and the Byzantine Catholic Church into that tradition.