A few years ago, Rev. Mitchell Lewis wrote an article entitled United Methodism and Apostolic Succession. Apostolic Succession was extremely important in the early Church. Nelson’s New Christian Dictionary, edited by George Kurian, states that “Apostolic succession is the Doctrine of an unbroken transmission of the Holy Spirit conveyed by properly ordained bishops through the laying on of hands going back to the first apostles and to Christ Himself. The continuity of the succession is considered a sign of the validity of all ordinations and is taught in the Roman Catholic, Orthodox, and Episcopal churches.”
In the 2016 Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church, ¶302 reads: “Ordination and Apostolic Ministry—The pattern for this response to the call is provided in the development of the early church. The apostles led in prayer, teaching, and preaching, ordered the spiritual and temporal life of the community, established leadership for the ministry of service, and provided for the proclamation of the gospel to new persons and in new places. The early church, through the laying on of hands, set apart persons with responsibility to preach, to teach, to administer the sacraments, to nurture, to heal, to gather the community in worship, and to send them forth in witness.”
In 2013, the General Commission on Archives and History collected a list of all the persons who had been consecrated Bishop in The United Methodist Church and its predecessors dating from 1784-2012. You are able to follow your or your pastor’s ordination if they were ordained by Bishop Hope Morgan Ward or prior, and can trace the Apostolic Chain through the list provided in the PDF found here: http://s3.amazonaws.com/gcah.org/UMC_History/BISHOPS.PDF. This list helps trace back to John Wesley.
I was ordained an Elder on June 2, 2003 in Fayetteville, NC by Bishop Marion M. Edwards.
- Marion Edwards, elected bishop in 1996
- John Owen Smith, elected bishop in 1960
- Edwin Dubose Mouzon, elected bishop in 1910
- Eugene Russell Hendrix, elected bishop in 1886
- Holland Nimmons McTyeire, elected bishop in 1866
- William Capers, elected bishop in 1846
- William M’Kendree, elected bishop in 1808
- Francis Asbury, elected bishop in 1784 by the Christmas Conference (Bishop Francis Asbury was elected an Elder by Bishop Thomas Coke)
- Thomas Coke, appointed superintendent by Dr. John Wesley, ordained Elder within the Church of England
Rev. Lewis’ article picks up from that point and uses the Apostolic Succession provided by Dr. Gregory Neal. Dr. Neal shares in his article Methodist/Anglican Thoughts on Apostolic Succession, beginning with John Wesley’s Apostolic succession beginning Wesley’s ordination as Priest on September 22, 1728 by Bishop of Oxford Dr. John Potter.
From Wesley to Christ
- Dr. John Potter, 1715
- Dr. Baxter Tenison, 1701
- Dr. Philip Tillotson, 1683
- Niles Sancroft, 1658
- William Laude, 1633
- Kyle Abbot, 1610
- Richard Bancroft, 1604
- Mark Whitgift, 1577
- Steven Grendall, 1575
- Dr. Parker, 1559
- Phillip Barlow, Bishop of London 1536
And then through English Catholicism:
- Thomas Cranmer, 1533
- William Warham, 1503
- Cardinal Morton, 1488
- Cardinal Bourchier, 1469
- Cardinal Kemp, 1452
- Henry Chichele, 1413
- James Abingdon, 1381
- Simon Sudbury, 1367
- Simon Langham, 1327
- Walter Reynolds, 1313
- Robert of Winchelsea, 1293
- John Peckham, 1279
- Robert Kilwardby, 1269
- Boniface of Savoy, 1252
- Edmund, 1234
- Richard Weathershed, 1230
- Stephen Langton, 1205
- Hubert Walter, 1197
- Fitz-Jocelin, 1191
- Reginal, 1183
- Baldwin, 1178
- Richard, 1170
- Thomas Becket, 1162
- Theobald, 1139
- William de Corbeuil, 1122
- Ralph d’Escures, 1109
- St. Anselm, 1093
- Wulfstan, 1064
- Edmund, 1012
- Elphege, 1006
- Aelfric, 995
- Sigeric, 990
- Ethelgar, 988
- Dunstan, 959
- Odo, 941
- Phlegmund, 890
- Rufus, 859
- Cuthbert, 814
- Herefrid, 788
- Egbert, 749
- Ethelburh, 712
- Theodore, 668
- Deusdedit, 652
- Justus, 635
- Laurentius, 604
- St. Augustine, 601
In Dr. Neal’s article, he mentioned that “Augustine was consecrated Archbishop of Canterbury in 601 AD by three Bishops of Gaul, the same line which originally evangelized England in the 200s AD.” The Bishops of Gaul traced their Apostolic succession through the line of Bishop St. Irenaeus.
So, it would continue to follow through Gaul to Ephesus:
- Aetherius, 591
- Maximus Lyster, 587
- St. Mark Pireu, 581
- John, 562
- Gregory II, 547
- Linus, 532
- St. Evarestus, 502
- Christopher III, 485
- Christopher II, 472
- Timothy Eumenes, 468
- Clement of Lyons, 436
- Basil, 415
- James, 413
- St. Christopher, 394
- Paul Anencletus “the Elder”, 330
- Mark Leuvian, 312
- Pious Stephenas, 291
- Andrew Meletius, 283
- Gregory Antilas, 276
- St. Matthias, 276
- Philip Deoderus, 241
- Maximus, 203
- St. Nicomedian, 180
- St. Irenaeus, 177
The Church in Ephesus followed Apostolic Succession from St. Irenaus to St. Paul of Tarsus. Paul’s apostleship came during his Damascus Road conversion when he met Jesus face-to-face.
And then through the early church to Christ:
- St. Polycrates, 175
- Lucius, 156
- Demetrius, 131
- St. John the Elder, 113
- St. Onesemus, 91
- St. Timothy, 62
- St. Paul the Apostle, 33
- Jesus Christ
May God richly bless your ministries as you serve Him in spirit and in truth.
Rev. Bryan Huffman