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The following article is was originally published in Sursum Corda, the official newsletter of the Charismatic Episcopal Church.

Archbishop Randolph W. Sly
The copyright is held by the author. However, you are invited to print, distribute or reference it freely.

In the Beginning

On June 26, 1992, Austin Randolph Adler was consecrated a bishop in apostolic succession at St. Michael's Church in San Clemente, California and became the founding bishop of the Charismatic Episcopal Church. Thus began the journey of a communion that has gathered many churches from around the world into a young, vibrant budding branch of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. From the beginning, the ICCEC's bishops often have been asked questions about the legitimacy of our claim to an apostolic lineage. Since the primary consecrator at Archbishop Adler's consecration had been Bishop Timothy Barker of the Church of Antioch, we outlined the various lines of succession which we had received from that Church for those who asked. Later on, after Abps. Adler and Sly, and Bishop Dale Howard had received an Anglican apostolic line from Bishop William Millsapps during Bishop Howard's consecration, we incorporated the information concerning our newly received Anglican line in our answers. Thus, for the past five years, these two distinct lines of succession have served to place us within the crucible of historic faith.

What About Apostolic Succession?

Whenever the issue of Apostolic Succession comes up, invariably someone asks, "What's the big deal?" While such a question begs for an answer, let's begin by defining what we mean by the term. Apostolic Succession refers to the process by which the authority to govern the People of God has been transferred from Christ to the Apostles, from the Apostles to the first bishops of Church, and finally from those bishops to the bishops alive today. Specifically, it refers to the Rite of Consecration in which one to three bishops lay hands upon a man who is to be made a bishop, invoking the Holy Spirit to make this man a bishop in the Church of Christ. By the laying on of hands, the apostles conferred the authority to lead the Church upon those men they entrusted to perpetuate the Faith, the life of Christ in the Sacraments and His teachings. It is to this succession that the Church, Eastern and Western, has consistently appealed to distinguish between true and fraudulent claims to authority within the Church. While the Holy Spirit sets certain men apart to lead the Church, it is Apostolic Succession which answers the question, "How do we know that a certain man has been set apart by the Holy Spirit as a leader of the People of God?" It has been in and through the laying on of hands, the Apostolic Succession, that each generation of bishops bequeathed to the next generation the keys of the kingdom - the authority to govern the People of God. As Fr. Vaughn Treco stated in his paper on Apostolic Succession for the House of Bishops, "A Church is a Christian community whose bishops possess a valid Apostolic Succession. This is the sacramental bottom line."

Our Apostolic Line

Over the past few years, several ICCEC bishops, on behalf of the Primate, began investigating our line of succession. As other branches of historic faith have sought to know more about us for dialog and intercommunion, and as members of the ICCEC have asked for more definitive answers concerning our line of succession, we researched our line. Throughout our research, we received significant assistance from one of the foremost scholars in the field. From this research, two issues arose which we felt compelled to resolve. The first issue that emerged was the problem of association. What we discovered in the course of our research was that the Church of Antioch, from which we derived our primary apostolic line, embraces certain doctrines that are incompatible with orthodox Christian Faith. While an apostolic line is not invalidated by deviations in theology, the House of Bishops of the ICCEC did not desire to be associated in this manner with such a Church. Further, since we had no compatibility with this group, and did not desire to propagate any of the theological or ecclesiastical distinctives they hold - even if only by association - we were reluctant to leave this line of succession as the main branch of our family tree. The second issue that emerged was the problem of verifiability. Because Apostolic Succession is of the essence of the Church, being able to document (i.e. verify) that our line is authentic is a critical issue. "How are other apostolic Churches to be certain of our apostolicity if our line was not readily verifiable?" or the question, "How can an ordinary Christian know who has been authorized by Jesus Christ to lead His Church?" These and other questions arose as we considered the complexity that attended the process of documenting each of our current lines of succession. Our research revealed that we could document our apostolic lines. However, it also revealed that this documentation could only be accomplished if we invested an incredible amount of money and time into the effort. (Documenting our line of succession would have required that we obtain notarized copies of all extant consecration documents, news articles, other legal notices and pictures, for each of the primary consecrators within our line of succession - all the way back to the last bishop who was consecrated within one of the primary branches of the Church Catholic.) These two issues, the association with bishops who had departed in significant ways from the Faith, and the problem associated with the verification of our lines of succession raised enough questions that the House of Bishops began to pray in earnest for God's direction concerning how we ought to proceed. We asked that God would provide an opportunity for communion with a faithful Church that possessed a strong and verifiable line for the ICCEC. We asked the Lord to strengthen our line.

The Bishops From Brazil

We were not surprised that God answered our prayers. However, we were amazed that his answer came so quickly, and so completely. Near the end of our research, in the fullness of time, one of our bishops inadvertently stumbled across an article about a branch of the Church Catholic that had an apostolic line that was both solid and verifiable. Moreover, we discovered later that its apostolic line was recognized as valid by both the Eastern and Western branches of the Church Catholic. From this initial discovery God led us to make contact with the Igreja Catolica Apostolica Brasileira (ICAB, trans. Catholic Apostolic Church of Brazil). The ICAB was established in 1945 by Bishop Carlos Duarte Costa, formerly the Roman Catholic Titular Bishop of Maura, when Bishop Costa separated from Rome because of the mistreatment of the Brazilian people by the Papal Nuncio of Brazil. We also discovered that the ICAB was missionary minded and had grown beyond the borders of Brazil -- establishing Churches in Canada, Portugal and Austria. Today, this international communion of Churches is known as the National Catholic Apostolic Church. However, what excited us the most was when we realized that the NCAC was very similar in ethos to the ICCEC: they embraced the power and presence of the Holy Spirit, maintained a high regard for the Sacred Scriptures, and were possessed of a deep love for the Lord. Last summer we began making contact with the N.C.A.C. and its Patriarch, The Most Reverend Luiz Fernando Castillo Mendez, to find out more about its history and to share our story with them. After sending numerous faxes, the personal resumes of our bishops, and other information, Bishop Mendez, who had been consecrated by Bishop Costa, expressed a willingness to bring us his line. As a result, Bishop Mendez along with the Primate and Vice-Primate of the ICAB made plans to travel to Maryland and pass their apostolic line to the ICCEC. On Nov. 5, 1997 Bishop Mendez layed hands upon Archbishop Austin Randolph Adler, along with Archbishop Sly, Bishop Lipka, Bishop Zampino and Bishop Fick, thereby giving to the ICCEC a line of apostolic succession that is only one consecration removed from a direct Roman line back to the throne of Peter. Nine days later in New York City, at a morning service on the day of Bishop Craig Bates' consecration, all but six of the bishops of the ICCEC received this new apostolic line. The remaining bishops will be receiving this new apostolic line at subsequent meetings of each House of Bishops. While the reception of this apostolic line significantly strengthens the apostolic lineage of the ICCEC, by the grace of God it has come to us without any obligation or formal connection to Rome. However, it has come with the incredible blessing of intercommunion with the National Catholic Apostolic Church, as we continue our own journey as an international communion.

What Does This Really Mean?

The strengthening of our apostolic line provides a number of special blessings for the ICCEC. We now have our connection into historic Christian faith through a Church that is orthodox in its theology and catholic in origin. The bishops from Brazil gave us a special gift because of their love of Christ and His Church and their belief that God's hand was upon us as a true expression of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. The issue of verifiability has now been settled. For those within our communion, we continue business as usual, confident of our beginnings and encouraged by the rich deposit of strength to our line which we have received. For those outside of the ICCEC, the question has now been settled once and for all. The line of apostolic succession we have received solidly places us in a clear line that eliminates the complexities inherent in tracing our previous one. The future holds many exciting opportunities for Christ's Church around the world. Both the East and West, along with their many tributaries, are facing issues and obstacles that demand increased dialogue and discovery of God's purposes for His Church. As the Lord continues to posture His Church for the next millenium, we have been given, by His grace, the credentials necessary to enter this dialogue.

It's All About Jesus!

As we sat with the three consecrating bishops from Brazil at breakfast the morning after the service, Bishop Mendez shared some thoughts with us through our translator.

"Last night," he said, "was all about Jesus."

"Everything we did was Jesus. Every sign and symbol was for Jesus."

His words were those of encouragement, calling for us to defend the faith, to love the Lord, and to serve Him faithfully!

Archbishop Randolph W. Sly