The Apostle Peter, from the icon of Sts. Peter and Paul of the Cathedral of St. Sophia, Novgorod, about 1050

Apostolic Succession

from St. Peter at Antioch, 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 Peter, Apostle and MartyrC Ocalled by Christ about A.D. 30; first bishop of Antioch
named in Scripture: “Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church” (Matthew 16:18); at Antioch (Galatians 2:11)

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

The succession from St. Peter 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.

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. Evodius, who succeeded St. Peter, to Cyril V, as the Church of Antioch keeps their list.

  1. 2.St. EvodiusC O53
  2. 3.St. IgnatiusC O Martyr68
  3. 4.Heron I100
  4. 5.Cornelius127
  5. 6.Heron II151
  6. 7.St. TheophilusC O169
  7. 8.Maximus I188
  8. 9.St. SerapionC O191
  9. 10.St. AsclepiadesC O212
  10. 11.Philetus218
  11. 12.Zebinus232
  12. 13.St. BabylasC O Martyr240
  13. 14.Fabius253
  14. 15.Demetrian256
  15. 16.Amphilochius263
  16. 17.Paul of Samosata267
  17. 18.Domnus I270
  18. 19.Timaeus273
  19. 20.Cyril277
  20. 21.Tyrannion299
  21. 22.Vitalius308
  22. 23.St. PhilogoniusC O314
  23. 24.Paulinus324
  24. 25.St. EustathiusC O325
  25. 26.Eulalius332
  26. 27.Euphronius333
  27. 28.Flacillus334
  28. 29.Stephen I341
  29. 30.Leontius345
  30. 31.Eudoxius350
  31. 32.St. MeletiusC O354
  32. 33.Anianus357
  33. 34.Euzoius360
  34. 35.Dorotheus370
  35. 36.Paulinus II371
  36. 37.Vitalius II376
  37. 38.St. Flavian IC O384
  38. 39.Porphyrius404
  39. 40.Alexander408
  40. 41.Theodotus418
  41. 42.John I427
  42. 43.Domnus II443
  43. 44.Maximus II450
  44. 45.Basil459
  45. 46.Acacius459
  46. 47.Martyrius461
  47. 48.Peter the Fuller465
  48. 49.Julian466
  49. 50.John II475
  50. 51.Stephen II490
  51. 52.Stephen III493
  52. 53.Calandion495
  53. 54.John Codonatus495
  54. 55.Palladius497
  55. 56.Flavian II505
  56. 57.Severus513
  57. 58.Paul II518
  58. 59.Euphrasius521
  59. 60.St. EphraimO526
  60. 61.Domnus III546
  61. 62.St. Anastasius I the SinaiteC O561
  62. 63.St. GregoryC O571
  63. 64.St. Anastasius IIC O Martyr599
  64. 65.Gregory II610
  65. 66.Anastasius III620
  66. 67.Macedonius628
  67. 68.George I640
  68. 69.Macarius656
  69. 70.Theophanes681
  70. 71.Sebastian687
  71. 72.George II690
  72. 73.Alexander II695
  73. 74.Stephen IV742
  74. 75.Theophylact748
  75. 76.Theodore767
  76. 77.John IV797
  77. 78.Job810
  78. 79.Nicholas826
  79. 80.Simeon834
  80. 81.Elias840
  81. 82.Theodosius852
  82. 83.Nicholas II860
  83. 84.Michael879
  84. 85.Zacharias890
  85. 86.George III902
  86. 87.Job II917
  87. 88.Eustratius939
  88. 89.Christopher960
  89. 90.Theodore II966
  90. 91.Agapius977
  91. 92.John V995
  92. 93.Nicholas III1000
  93. 94.Elias II1003
  94. 95.George Lascaris1010
  95. 96.Macarius the Virtuous1015
  96. 97.Eleutherius1023
  97. 98.Peter III1028
  98. 99.John VI1051
  99. 100.Aemilian1062
  100. 101.Theodosius II1075
  101. 102.Nicephorus1084
  102. 103.John VII1090
  103. 104.John IX1155
  104. 105.Euthymius1159
  105. 106.Macarius II1164
  106. 107.Athanasius1166
  107. 108.Theodosius III1180
  108. 109.Elias III1182
  109. 110.Christopher II1184
  110. 111.Theodore IV (Balsamon)1185
  111. 112.Joachim1199
  112. 113.Dorotheus1219
  113. 114.Simeon II1245
  114. 115.Euthymius II1268
  115. 116.Theodosius IV1269
  116. 117.Theodosius V1276
  117. 118.Arsenius1285
  118. 119.Dionysius1293
  119. 120.Mark1308
  120. 121.Ignatius II1342
  121. 122.Pachomius1386
  122. 123.Nilus1393
  123. 124.Michael III1401
  124. 125.Pachomius II1410
  125. 126.Joachim II1411
  126. 127.Mark III1426
  127. 128.Dorotheus II1436
  128. 129.Michael IV1454
  129. 130.Mark IV1476
  130. 131.Joachim III1476
  131. 132.Gregory III1483
  132. 133.Dorotheus III1497
  133. 134.Michael V1523
  134. 135.Dorotheus IV1541
  135. 136.Joachim IV1543
  136. 137.Michael VI1577
  137. 138.Joachim V1581
  138. 139.Joachim VI1593
  139. 140.Dorotheus V1604
  140. 141.Athanasius III (Dabbas)1611
  141. 142.Ignatius III (Attiyah)1619
  142. 143.Euthymius III1635
  143. 144.Euthymius IV1636
  144. 145.Macarius III (Zaim)1648
  145. 146.Neophytos I1674
  146. 147.Athanasius IV (Dabbas)1686
  147. 148.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. 149.Sylvester1724
  2. 150.Philemon1766
  3. 151.Daniel1767
  4. 152.Euthymius1792
  5. 153.Seraphim1813
  6. 154.Methodius1823
  7. 155.Hierotheos1850
  8. 156.Gerasimos1885
  9. 157.Spyridon1892
  10. 158.Meletius II (Doumani)1899
  11. 159.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. 160.Alexy (Simansky), later Patriarch Alexy I of Moscow1913
  2. 161.John (Wendland)1958
  3. 162.Joseph John Skureth1966
  4. 163.Nils Bertil Alexander Persson1989
  5. 164.Samuel Guido, Jr.2004

165.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