Apostolic Succession
from St. Linus, Apostle of the Seventy, to the present time
in the line of
The Most ReverendGarland F. Byers, Jr., J.D., D.D.
Bishop to the Nations, under Apostolic Commission
1.Saint Linus, Apostle of the SeventyC Osent by Christ among the Seventy about A.D. 30 (Luke 10:1)
named in Scripture: “Eubulus greeteth thee, and Pudens, and Linus, and Claudia” (2 Timothy 4:21)
first bishop of Rome after St. Peter, about A.D. 67
This line of apostolic succession extends from the Apostle Linus, about A.D. 30, to the present day, a span of 1,996 years as of 2026.
The succession from St. Linus to Pope Paul III follows the list of the bishops of Rome kept by the Roman Catholic Church: the same list by which the Roman Catholic Church traces its own apostolic succession to St. Peter, whom St. Linus succeeded.
St. Linus is honored as an apostle of the Seventy by the Eastern Orthodox Church, which keeps his feast on November 5, with the Apostles Patrobas and Hermas, and numbers him among the Seventy Apostles honored together on January 4. The Roman Catholic Church keeps his feast on September 23 and names him first among the saints after the apostles in the Roman Canon of the Mass. St. Irenaeus of Lyon, about A.D. 180, recorded that the blessed apostles committed the office of bishop at Rome to Linus, and that St. Paul makes mention of this Linus in his Epistle to Timothy.
Consecrations to the office of bishop were made, one to the next, through the churches named below.
Some bishops in this line are also honored as saints. The marks beside their names concern holiness of life only. They do not bear on the validity of any consecration: every bishop listed holds his place in the succession equally, whether or not he is honored as a saint.
- St.
- Saint: one whom a Church publicly honors as having lived a life of heroic holiness and as now being with God, and whose memory it keeps in its calendar. In the early Church saints were recognized by the acclaim of the faithful and their bishops; later, by formal canonization in the Roman Catholic Church and glorification in the Eastern Orthodox Church.
- Bl.
- Blessed: in the Roman Catholic Church, one who has been beatified, the formal step that precedes canonization as a saint.
- C
- Honored as a saint or blessed by the Roman Catholic Church.
- C O
- Honored as a saint by both the Roman Catholic and the Eastern Orthodox Churches.
- Red
- Martyr: one who gave his life for the faith.
The Churches do not always agree on who is a saint. One may honor a person whom another does not, and the marks show which Church honors each.
Rome
The See of Rome, where the Apostles Peter and Paul gave their lives. The bishops of Rome from St. Anacletus, who succeeded St. Linus, to Pope Paul III, in whose reign Scipione Rebiba was raised to the episcopate in 1541.
- 2.St. AnacletusC Oc. 76
- 3.St. Clement IC O Martyrc. 88
- 4.St. EvaristusC Oc. 97
- 5.St. Alexander IC Oc. 105
- 6.St. Sixtus IC Oc. 115
- 7.St. TelesphorusC O Martyrc. 125
- 8.St. HyginusC Oc. 136
- 9.St. Pius IC Oc. 140
- 10.St. AnicetusC Oc. 155
- 11.St. SoterC Oc. 166
- 12.St. EleutheriusC Oc. 175
- 13.St. Victor IC O189
- 14.St. ZephyrinusC O199
- 15.St. Callixtus IC O Martyr217
- 16.St. Urban IC O222
- 17.St. PontianC O Martyr230
- 18.St. AnterusC O235
- 19.St. FabianC O Martyr236
- 20.St. CorneliusC O Martyr251
- 21.St. Lucius IC O253
- 22.St. Stephen IC O254
- 23.St. Sixtus IIC O Martyr257
- 24.St. DionysiusC O259
- 25.St. Felix IC O269
- 26.St. EutychianC O275
- 27.St. CaiusC O283
- 28.St. MarcellinusC O296
- 29.St. Marcellus IC O308
- 30.St. EusebiusC O309
- 31.St. MiltiadesC O311
- 32.St. Sylvester IC O314
- 33.St. MarkC O336
- 34.St. Julius IC O337
- 35.Liberius352
- 36.St. Damasus IC O366
- 37.St. SiriciusC O384
- 38.St. Anastasius IC O399
- 39.St. Innocent IC O401
- 40.St. ZosimusC O417
- 41.St. Boniface IC O418
- 42.St. Celestine IC O422
- 43.St. Sixtus IIIC O432
- 44.St. Leo IC O440
- 45.St. HilariusC O461
- 46.St. SimpliciusC O468
- 47.St. Felix IIIC O483
- 48.St. Gelasius IC O492
- 49.Anastasius II496
- 50.St. SymmachusC O498
- 51.St. HormisdasC O514
- 52.St. John IC O Martyr523
- 53.St. Felix IVC O526
- 54.Boniface II530
- 55.John II533
- 56.St. Agapetus IC O535
- 57.St. SilveriusC O Martyr536
- 58.Vigilius537
- 59.Pelagius I556
- 60.John III561
- 61.Benedict I575
- 62.Pelagius II579
- 63.St. Gregory IC O590
- 64.Sabinian604
- 65.Boniface III607
- 66.St. Boniface IVC O608
- 67.St. Adeodatus IC O615
- 68.Boniface V619
- 69.Honorius I625
- 70.Severinus640
- 71.John IV640
- 72.Theodore I642
- 73.St. Martin IC O Martyr649
- 74.St. Eugene IC O654
- 75.St. VitalianC O657
- 76.Adeodatus II672
- 77.Donus676
- 78.St. AgathoC O678
- 79.St. Leo IIC O682
- 80.St. Benedict IIC O684
- 81.John V685
- 82.Conon686
- 83.St. Sergius IC O687
- 84.John VI701
- 85.John VII705
- 86.Sisinnius708
- 87.Constantine708
- 88.St. Gregory IIC O715
- 89.St. Gregory IIIC O731
- 90.St. ZacharyC O741
- 91.Stephen II752
- 92.St. Paul IC O757
- 93.Stephen III768
- 94.Adrian I772
- 95.St. Leo IIIC O795
- 96.Stephen IV816
- 97.St. Paschal IC O817
- 98.Eugene II824
- 99.Valentine827
- 100.Gregory IV827
- 101.Sergius II844
- 102.St. Leo IVC O847
- 103.Benedict III855
- 104.St. Nicholas IC O858
- 105.Adrian II867
- 106.John VIII872
- 107.Marinus I882
- 108.St. Adrian IIIC O884
- 109.Stephen V885
- 110.Formosus891
- 111.Boniface VI896
- 112.Stephen VI896
- 113.Romanus897
- 114.Theodore II897
- 115.John IX898
- 116.Benedict IV900
- 117.Leo V903
- 118.Sergius III904
- 119.Anastasius III911
- 120.Lando913
- 121.John X914
- 122.Leo VI928
- 123.Stephen VII928
- 124.John XI931
- 125.Leo VII936
- 126.Stephen VIII939
- 127.Marinus II942
- 128.Agapetus II946
- 129.John XII955
- 130.Leo VIII963
- 131.Benedict V964
- 132.John XIII965
- 133.Benedict VI973
- 134.Benedict VII974
- 135.John XIV983
- 136.John XV985
- 137.Gregory V996
- 138.Sylvester II999
- 139.John XVII1003
- 140.John XVIII1004
- 141.Sergius IV1009
- 142.Benedict VIII1012
- 143.John XIX1024
- 144.Benedict IX1032
- 145.Sylvester III1045
- 146.Benedict IX1045
- 147.Gregory VI1045
- 148.Clement II1046
- 149.Benedict IX1047
- 150.Damasus II1048
- 151.St. Leo IXC1049
- 152.Victor II1055
- 153.Stephen IX1057
- 154.Nicholas II1059
- 155.Alexander II1061
- 156.St. Gregory VIIC1073
- 157.Bl. Victor IIIC1086
- 158.Bl. Urban IIC1088
- 159.Paschal II1099
- 160.Gelasius II1118
- 161.Callixtus II1119
- 162.Honorius II1124
- 163.Innocent II1130
- 164.Celestine II1143
- 165.Lucius II1144
- 166.Bl. Eugene IIIC1145
- 167.Anastasius IV1153
- 168.Adrian IV1154
- 169.Alexander III1159
- 170.Lucius III1181
- 171.Urban III1185
- 172.Gregory VIII1187
- 173.Clement III1187
- 174.Celestine III1191
- 175.Innocent III1198
- 176.Honorius III1216
- 177.Gregory IX1227
- 178.Celestine IV1241
- 179.Innocent IV1243
- 180.Alexander IV1254
- 181.Urban IV1261
- 182.Clement IV1265
- 183.Bl. Gregory XC1271
- 184.Bl. Innocent VC1276
- 185.Adrian V1276
- 186.John XXI1276
- 187.Nicholas III1277
- 188.Martin IV1281
- 189.Honorius IV1285
- 190.Nicholas IV1288
- 191.St. Celestine VC1294
- 192.Boniface VIII1294
- 193.Bl. Benedict XIC1303
- 194.Clement V1305
- 195.John XXII1316
- 196.Benedict XII1334
- 197.Clement VI1342
- 198.Innocent VI1352
- 199.Bl. Urban VC1362
- 200.Gregory XI1370
- 201.Urban VI1378
- 202.Boniface IX1389
- 203.Innocent VII1404
- 204.Gregory XII1406
- 205.Martin V1417
- 206.Eugene IV1431
- 207.Nicholas V1447
- 208.Callixtus III1455
- 209.Pius II1458
- 210.Paul II1464
- 211.Sixtus IV1471
- 212.Innocent VIII1484
- 213.Alexander VI1492
- 214.Pius III1503
- 215.Julius II1503
- 216.Leo X1513
- 217.Adrian VI1522
- 218.Clement VII1523
- 219.Paul III1534
The Rebiba Succession
From Cardinal Scipione Rebiba, each bishop consecrated by the one listed before him. Nearly all bishops of the Roman Catholic Church today descend from this succession, among them the present Bishop of Rome.
- 220.Scipione Rebiba1541
- 221.Giulio Antonio Santorio1566
- 222.Girolamo Bernerio1586
- 223.Galeazzo Sanvitale1604
- 224.Ludovico Ludovisi1621
- 225.Luigi Caetani1622
- 226.Ulderico Carpegna1630
- 227.Paluzzo Paluzzi Altieri1666
- 228.Pope Benedict XIII (Orsini)1675
- 229.Pope Benedict XIV (Lambertini)1724
- 230.Pope Clement XIII (Rezzonico)1743
- 231.Bernardino Giraud1767
- 232.Alessandro Mattei1777
- 233.Pietro Francesco Galeffi1819
- 234.Giacomo Filippo Fransoni1822
- 235.Carlo Sacconi1851
- 236.Edward Henry Howard1872
- 237.Mariano Rampolla1882
- 238.Joaquim Arcoverde1890
- 239.Sebastião Leme1911
The Americas
From Carlos Duarte Costa, consecrated Bishop of Botucatu in Brazil in 1924, to the bishops who have carried this succession to the present day.
- 240.Carlos Duarte Costa1924
- 241.Emile Rodriguez y Fairfield1954
- 242.Nils Bertil Alexander Persson1986
- 243.Samuel Guido, Jr.2004
244.Garland F. Byers, Jr.2013
Holy Orders
- Ordination
- August 17, 2008, by the laying on of hands, at St. Paul’s Lutheran Orthodox Chapel, Palmerton, Pennsylvania.
- Consecration to the Holy Order of Bishop
- April 20, 2013, by the laying on of hands during the celebration of the Holy Eucharist, at St. Paul’s Lutheran Orthodox Chapel, meeting that day at American Legion Post 16, Slatington, Pennsylvania.
- Principal consecrator
- The Most Reverend Samuel Guido, Jr.
- Co-consecrators
- Bishop Bradley A. Varvil
Bishop Michael Byus
Bishop James Thompson
The certificates of ordination and consecration, with photographs of the consecration, are presented on the About the Bishop page.
Service
Consecrated to the Holy Order of Bishop on April 20, 2013, within the Lutheran Orthodox Church, Inc., in which he subsequently served as Archbishop of the Diocese of Western North Carolina. Bishop Byers is no longer affiliated with that body.
Doctor of Divinity (honoris causa), conferred by the Lutheran Orthodox Church, Inc., April 20, 2013.
