Book Eight: Appendix

Appendix A:

Lines of Apostolic Succession

 The Lines of Apostolic Succession enjoyed by all bishops of the Ecumenical Catholic Church+USA are as follows:

The Vilatte Succession
The Utrecht Succession
The Duarté-Costa Succession

As established at the 2005 Synod, these three Apostolic lines will be retained in perpetuity as our Church's Official Lines of Apostolic Succession. While some of our bishops have also received other lines through their Consecrator or Co-consecrator, these three lines are recognized as our primary lines, and all of our bishops have been ordained in these lines. All future bishops, either newly ordained or incardinated in this Church, will also receive these lines through the imposition of hands by the Presiding Bishop.

The current bishops of this Church do not consider it appropriate and therefore will not engage in any activity of going gathering of other lines of Apostolic Succession in order to enhance their own or the Church's Apostolic résumé. The Church's Council of Bishops is confident of the validity of these three lines as well as our bishops individual and collective sharing in these lines.

Documents attesting to the Lines of Apostolic Succession are maintained in the Church archive and are available for examination upon request to the Presiding Bishop or to the individual bishop.