The Kingdom Scribe — Garland F. Byers, Jr.

St. Michael the Archangel, sword raised, with his foot upon Satan; painting by Guido Reni, 1635 — St. Michael the Archangel casting down Satan, by Guido Reni (1635), in the Church of Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccini, Rome.Public domain.

Then said he unto them, “Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old.”Matthew 13:52 (KJV)

“Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city:…”Matthew 23:34 (KJV)

Welcome

Welcome to the home page of the website of The Most Reverend Garland F. Byers, Jr., J.D., D.D.^‡ Whether you are Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran, Methodist, Baptist, a member of some other denomination, or an unbeliever, we are very happy that you are here and that you have chosen to take the time to read the Word of God and to open your mind to what may be a different view of the faith, or to be confirmed in your own view of the faith. The Kingdom Scribe is published in 42 languages. The chief aim of this website is to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ to all the nations.² No effort is made to learn who you are; the site keeps only anonymous totals of visits. There are no cookies installed on your phone or computer. Nothing is sold, and nothing is asked for. The sole intention is to glorify God the Father and His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ,³ and we pray that the Holy Spirit illuminate your mind and open your heart during your time here.⁴

The title of the website, “The Kingdom Scribe,” is taken from one of the callings that Bishop Byers has. The bishop has two callings: first, as a bishop in apostolic succession, and second, as a scribe of the Kingdom of Heaven, as spoken of by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.⁵

Bishop Byers is a bishop to the nations, under apostolic commission, which is explained further on this website. His calling is not to pastor a church or govern a diocese, but to write with apostolic authority and set forth sound doctrine for the people of God through the ministry of the Word.⁶ He speaks for no denomination, draws freely on the witness of every Christian tradition, and seeks the unity of Christ’s church.

In this he follows those who went before him. Ezra the priest was “a ready scribe in the law of Moses,” who “had prepared his heart to seek the law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments.”⁷ St. Jerome, when ordained a presbyter, asked that ordination not take from him the monastic life for which he had forsaken the world,⁸ and gave his life to translating and expounding the Scriptures. St. Bede spent his whole life in the monastery of Wearmouth and Jarrow and wrote of himself: “I wholly applied myself to the study of Scripture; … I always took delight in learning, or teaching, or writing.”⁹

Bishop Byers encourages you to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit in determining where you attend church,¹⁰ and to find a place that teaches true doctrine and that feeds you spiritually.¹¹ He does not seek to pastor a church, nor does he seek to become a traveling evangelist. Bishop Byers teaches true doctrine as he is led to by the Holy Spirit, and prays that you will be blessed for reading the Word of God wherever you are.¹²

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Latest Writings

Writings will appear here as they are published.

Episcopal seal of Garland F. Byers, Jr., bearing the motto Euntes in Mundum Universum

Euntes in Mundum Universum: “Go ye into all the world” (Mark 16:15, KJV)

Correspondence

By email, or through the Contact the Bishop page.

Endnotes

Scripture is quoted from the King James Version. The words of Christ, with their quotation marks, are set in red. NPNF2 = Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series.

1Acts 6:4 (KJV) “But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.” ↩︎

2Matthew 28:19 (KJV) “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:”Mark 16:15 (KJV) “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” ↩︎

3John 3:16 (KJV) “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” ↩︎

4Ephesians 1:17–18 (KJV) “That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,” ↩︎

5Matthew 13:52 (KJV) “Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old.” ↩︎

6Acts 6:4 (KJV) “But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.”Titus 1:9 (KJV) “Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers.”The Bishop’s commission is set forth on the Personal Commission page. ↩︎

7Ezra 7:6 (KJV) “This Ezra went up from Babylon; and he was a ready scribe in the law of Moses, which the LORD God of Israel had given: and the king granted him all his request, according to the hand of the LORD his God upon him.”Ezra 7:10 (KJV) “For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments.” ↩︎

8Jerome, To Pammachius Against John of Jerusalem 41 (NPNF2 6) “Suppose that he had been ordained by you; he would only tell you the same that I, a poor wretch of a man, told Bishop Paulinus of blessed memory. Did I ask to be ordained by you? I said. If in bestowing the rank of presbyter you do not strip us of the monastic state, you can bestow or withhold ordination as you think best. But if your intention in giving the name presbyter was to take from me that for which I forsook the world, I must still claim to be what I always was; you have suffered no loss by ordaining me.” Translated by W. H. Fremantle, G. Lewis and W. G. Martley, in NPNF2 vol. 6, ed. Philip Schaff and Henry Wace (1893); quoted as given, in New Advent’s lightly revised text, at https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3004.htm. ↩︎

9Bede, Ecclesiastical History V.24 “Having been born in the territory of that same monastery, I was given, by the care of kinsmen, at seven years of age, to be educated by the most reverend Abbot Benedict, and afterwards by Ceolfrid, and spending all the remaining time of my life a dweller in that monastery, I wholly applied myself to the study of Scripture; and amidst the observance of monastic rule, and the daily charge of singing in the church, I always took delight in learning, or teaching, or writing.” Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of England, trans. A. M. Sellar, 386–87 (Project Gutenberg eBook #38326). ↩︎

10John 16:13 (KJV) “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.”Romans 8:14 (KJV) “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” ↩︎

11Hebrews 10:25 (KJV) “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.”Jeremiah 3:15 (KJV) “And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.” ↩︎

12Revelation 1:3 (KJV) “Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.” ↩︎