St. Evodius, Apostle of the Seventy, from the Russian Lives of the Saints

Apostolic Succession

from St. Evodius, Apostle of the Seventy, through the Patriarchates of Antioch and Moscow, 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

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1.Saint Evodius, Apostle of the SeventyC Osent by Christ among the Seventy about A.D. 30 (Luke 10:1)
first bishop of Antioch after St. Peter, about A.D. 53

This line of apostolic succession extends from the Apostle Evodius, about A.D. 30, to the present day, a span of 1,996 years as of 2026.

The succession from St. Evodius to Gregory IV, Patriarch of Antioch, follows the list of the patriarchs of Antioch kept by the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch: the same list by which the Orthodox Church of Antioch traces its own apostolic succession to St. Peter, first bishop of Antioch, whom St. Evodius succeeded.

St. Evodius is honored as an apostle of the Seventy by the Eastern Orthodox Church, which keeps his feast on September 7 and numbers him among the Seventy Apostles honored together on January 4. The Roman Catholic Church honors him as St. Evodius, bishop of Antioch, on May 6. The historian Eusebius, about A.D. 325, recorded him as the first bishop of Antioch after St. Peter, and the Apostolic Constitutions, about A.D. 380, record that St. Peter appointed him.

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.
O
Honored as a saint by the Eastern Orthodox 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.

Antioch

The see of Antioch, where “the disciples were called Christians first” (Acts 11:26), founded by St. Peter before he went to Rome. The bishops and patriarchs of Antioch from St. Ignatius, who succeeded St. Evodius, to Cyril V, as the Church of Antioch keeps their list.

  1. 2.St. IgnatiusC O Martyr68
  2. 3.Heron I100
  3. 4.Cornelius127
  4. 5.Heron II151
  5. 6.St. TheophilusC O169
  6. 7.Maximus I188
  7. 8.St. SerapionC O191
  8. 9.St. AsclepiadesC O212
  9. 10.Philetus218
  10. 11.Zebinus232
  11. 12.St. BabylasC O Martyr240
  12. 13.Fabius253
  13. 14.Demetrian256
  14. 15.Amphilochius263
  15. 16.Paul of Samosata267
  16. 17.Domnus I270
  17. 18.Timaeus273
  18. 19.Cyril277
  19. 20.Tyrannion299
  20. 21.Vitalius308
  21. 22.St. PhilogoniusC O314
  22. 23.Paulinus324
  23. 24.St. EustathiusC O325
  24. 25.Eulalius332
  25. 26.Euphronius333
  26. 27.Flacillus334
  27. 28.Stephen I341
  28. 29.Leontius345
  29. 30.Eudoxius350
  30. 31.St. MeletiusC O354
  31. 32.Anianus357
  32. 33.Euzoius360
  33. 34.Dorotheus370
  34. 35.Paulinus II371
  35. 36.Vitalius II376
  36. 37.St. Flavian IC O384
  37. 38.Porphyrius404
  38. 39.Alexander408
  39. 40.Theodotus418
  40. 41.John I427
  41. 42.Domnus II443
  42. 43.Maximus II450
  43. 44.Basil459
  44. 45.Acacius459
  45. 46.Martyrius461
  46. 47.Peter the Fuller465
  47. 48.Julian466
  48. 49.John II475
  49. 50.Stephen II490
  50. 51.Stephen III493
  51. 52.Calandion495
  52. 53.John Codonatus495
  53. 54.Palladius497
  54. 55.Flavian II505
  55. 56.Severus513
  56. 57.Paul II518
  57. 58.Euphrasius521
  58. 59.St. EphraimO526
  59. 60.Domnus III546
  60. 61.St. Anastasius I the SinaiteC O561
  61. 62.St. GregoryC O571
  62. 63.St. Anastasius IIC O Martyr599
  63. 64.Gregory II610
  64. 65.Anastasius III620
  65. 66.Macedonius628
  66. 67.George I640
  67. 68.Macarius656
  68. 69.Theophanes681
  69. 70.Sebastian687
  70. 71.George II690
  71. 72.Alexander II695
  72. 73.Stephen IV742
  73. 74.Theophylact748
  74. 75.Theodore767
  75. 76.John IV797
  76. 77.Job810
  77. 78.Nicholas826
  78. 79.Simeon834
  79. 80.Elias840
  80. 81.Theodosius852
  81. 82.Nicholas II860
  82. 83.Michael879
  83. 84.Zacharias890
  84. 85.George III902
  85. 86.Job II917
  86. 87.Eustratius939
  87. 88.Christopher960
  88. 89.Theodore II966
  89. 90.Agapius977
  90. 91.John V995
  91. 92.Nicholas III1000
  92. 93.Elias II1003
  93. 94.George Lascaris1010
  94. 95.Macarius the Virtuous1015
  95. 96.Eleutherius1023
  96. 97.Peter III1028
  97. 98.John VI1051
  98. 99.Aemilian1062
  99. 100.Theodosius II1075
  100. 101.Nicephorus1084
  101. 102.John VII1090
  102. 103.John IX1155
  103. 104.Euthymius1159
  104. 105.Macarius II1164
  105. 106.Athanasius1166
  106. 107.Theodosius III1180
  107. 108.Elias III1182
  108. 109.Christopher II1184
  109. 110.Theodore IV (Balsamon)1185
  110. 111.Joachim1199
  111. 112.Dorotheus1219
  112. 113.Simeon II1245
  113. 114.Euthymius II1268
  114. 115.Theodosius IV1269
  115. 116.Theodosius V1276
  116. 117.Arsenius1285
  117. 118.Dionysius1293
  118. 119.Mark1308
  119. 120.Ignatius II1342
  120. 121.Pachomius1386
  121. 122.Nilus1393
  122. 123.Michael III1401
  123. 124.Pachomius II1410
  124. 125.Joachim II1411
  125. 126.Mark III1426
  126. 127.Dorotheus II1436
  127. 128.Michael IV1454
  128. 129.Mark IV1476
  129. 130.Joachim III1476
  130. 131.Gregory III1483
  131. 132.Dorotheus III1497
  132. 133.Michael V1523
  133. 134.Dorotheus IV1541
  134. 135.Joachim IV1543
  135. 136.Michael VI1577
  136. 137.Joachim V1581
  137. 138.Joachim VI1593
  138. 139.Dorotheus V1604
  139. 140.Athanasius III (Dabbas)1611
  140. 141.Ignatius III (Attiyah)1619
  141. 142.Euthymius III1635
  142. 143.Euthymius IV1636
  143. 144.Macarius III (Zaim)1648
  144. 145.Neophytos I1674
  145. 146.Athanasius IV (Dabbas)1686
  146. 147.Cyril V (Zaim)1694

The Orthodox Patriarchate

From 1724, the Greek Orthodox Patriarchs of Antioch, from Sylvester to Gregory IV, who in 1913, while visiting Russia, consecrated Alexy (Simansky) bishop in the Cathedral of St. Sophia at Novgorod.

  1. 148.Sylvester1724
  2. 149.Philemon1766
  3. 150.Daniel1767
  4. 151.Euthymius1792
  5. 152.Seraphim1813
  6. 153.Methodius1823
  7. 154.Hierotheos1850
  8. 155.Gerasimos1885
  9. 156.Spyridon1892
  10. 157.Meletius II (Doumani)1899
  11. 158.Gregory IV (Haddad)1906

Moscow and America

From Alexy, later Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, each bishop consecrated by the one listed before him.

  1. 159.Alexy (Simansky), later Patriarch Alexy I of Moscow1913
  2. 160.John (Wendland)1958
  3. 161.Joseph John Skureth1966
  4. 162.Nils Bertil Alexander Persson1989
  5. 163.Samuel Guido, Jr.2004

164.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.

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