As a general rule there must be two validly consecrated co-consecrators in participation with the main consecrating bishop to insure the validity of the consecration. Once a person becomes a priest or a bishop, they are ordained spiritually for their entire life.

Over the thousands of years of church history, there have been validly consecrated bishops from Catholic denominations including the Roman Catholic Church who have broken their affiliation and allegiance to a particular denomination. These bishops and denominations have been called schismatic. Those bishops who have left a denomination are still valid bishops and may continue to ordain priests and consecrate new bishops, thus the valid Apostolic Succession is carried on.

The major splits or schisms, from the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church (sometimes called the greater Catholic Church) founded 2,000 years ago, were the Eastern Orthodox separation in 1054 and the Anglican community in 1534. There have been a few times in church history where the Church at Rome has given permission for a particular Diocese to elect its own bishops without being appointed by the Pope. Bishops, independent of Rome, have come about through both of these mechanisms.

Some other independent Catholic jurisdictions are the “Old Catholic Church,” the “Liberal Catholic Church,” the “Old Roman Catholic Church,” the “American Catholic Church,” the “American Orthodox Church,” the “United Reform Catholic Church International,” and many more.

The term "apostolic succession" refers to the doctrine in Catholic and Orthodox churches that holds that certain spiritual powers, who Jesus Christ first entrusted to the twelve apostles, is passed on in an unbroken line of succession from apostle to bishop to bishop, and from these bishops to the priests who assist them in their pastoral duties. The validity of apostolic succession is a key factor in determining the sacerdotal powers of the Church.

The principal line of apostolic succession of the Church of Antioch comes from the Roman Catholic Church, through the Dutch Old Catholic Church and the Liberal Catholic Church in England. The validity of this line of succession is widely recognized, the earliest recorded member being Roman Catholic bishop Scipione Rebiba. More than 91 percent of all Roman Catholic bishops world-wide trace their own lineage to Rebiba (Bransom, 1990). The founder of our Church, Archbishop Herman Adrian Spruit, as you below, is in direct succession.

In addition, the Catholic Church of Antioch has made an effort to unite eastern and western lines of apostolic succession. The Catholic Church of Antioch derives additional lines of succession from Archbishop Spruit's co-consecrators (in addition to our name). These additional lines include the Syrian Jacobite Patriarchate of Antioch, the Chaldean Patriarchate of Babylon at Baghdad, the Catholicate-Patriarchate of Assyria, the Greek Melkite Patriarchate of Antioch, Patriarchate of Moscow, Armenian Catholicate-Patriarchate of Cilicia, the Metropolitan-Archbishops of Albania, the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria, and the nonjurying Anglicans. Joseph Aneed, a Greek Melkite bishop with a claim to a patriarchate for North America willed his claim to Archbishop Spruit, thereby giving our church a similar claim.

We make our principal line of succession available here for those who wish to gain a better understanding of the sacramental authority on which our independent branch of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church is founded. All Christians are grafted into the one vine, the mystical body of Jesus Christ. Please visit the World Wide Church at: www.churchofantioch.org

To get additional information, or to ask questions, please contact us at: info@mySaintMiriam.org | << Back to Top | Back to Home Page >>