Joseph Martinka — Spiritual Hub

Apostolic Succession

Taken from The Apostolic Succession of the Ascension Alliance

The Ascension Alliance derives its apostolic succession through several lineages, including from the Roman Catholic, Old Catholic, and Syrian Orthodox churches. While there has been a strong oral tradition from the very beginnings of the Christian Church, it was not until the sixteenth century when the Roman Catholic Church began to keep written records of these consecrations. We trace our principal western, Roman Catholic, line of succession from this source. See below:

Roman Catholic Line
The first recorded Roman Catholic lineage begins on 12 March 1566 with Cardinal Scipione Rebiba.
Cardinal Scipione Rebiba, Roman Catholic Bishop of Troia, consecrated
Giulio Antonio Santorio, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Santa Severina, who on 7 September 1586 consecrated
Girolamo Bernerio, O.P., Roman Catholic Bishop of Ascoli Picenowho on 4 April 1604 consecrated
Galeazzo Sanvitale, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Bari, who on 2 May 1621 consecrated
Ludovico Ludovisi, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Bologna who on 12 June 1622 consecrated
Luigi Caetani, Roman Catholic Titular Patriarch of Antioch who on 7 October 1630 consecrated
Giovanni Battista Scannaroli, Roman Catholic Titular Bishop of Sidon who on 24 October 1655 consecrated
Antonio Barberini (the younger), Roman Catholic Bishop of Frascati who on 11 November 1668 consecrated
Charles Maurice Le Tellier, Roman Catholic Bishop of Mieux, who on 21 September 1670 consecrated
Jaques Benigne Boussuet, who on 24 October 1693 consecrated
Jaques Goyon De Matigon, who on 18 February 1719 consecrated
Dominicus Marie Varlet, Roman Catholic Bishop of Babylon

Old Catholic Line
The Old Catholic lineage begins on 17 October 1739, when Dominucus Marie Varlet consecrated
Petrus Meindaerts, Old Catholic Archbishop of Utrecht, who on 11 July 1745 consecrated
Johannes Van Stiphout, Old Catholic Bishop of Harrlem, who on 7 February 1768 consecrated
Gualterus Michael Van Nieuwenhuizen, Old Catholic Archbishop of Utrecht, who on 21 June 1778 consecrated
Adrianus Johannes Broekman, Old Catholic Bishop of Harrlem, who on 5 July 1797 consecrated
Johannes Jacobus Van Rhijn, Old Catholic Archbishop of Utrecht, who on 7 November 1805 consecrated
Gilbert Cornelius De Jong, Old Catholic Bishop of Deventer, who on 24 April 1814 consecrated
Willibord Van Os, Old Catholic Archbishop of Utrecht, who on 25 April 1819 consecrated
Johannes Bon, Old Catholic Bishop of Haarlem, who on 13 November 1824 consecrated
Johannes Van Santen, Old Catholic Archbishop of Utrecht, who on 17 July 1854 consecrated
Hermanus Heijkamp, Old Catholic Bishop of Deventer, who on 11 August 1873 consecrated
Casparus Johannes Rinkel, Old Catholic Bishop of Haarlem, who on 11 May 1892 consecrated
Gerard Gul, Old Catholic Archbishop of Utrecht, who on 28 April 1908 consecrated
Arnold Harris Mathew, Old Catholic Bishop for Great Britain.

Independent Catholic Line
The Independent Catholic lineage begins on 28 October 1914 when Arnold Harris Mathew consecrated
Frederick Samuel Willoughby, who on 13 February 1916 consecrated
James Ingall Wedgwood, Presiding Bishop of the Liberal Catholic Church, who on 13 July 1919 consecrated
Irving Steiger Cooper, Liberal Catholic Regionary Bishop for the United States, who on 13 September 1931 consecrated
Charles H. Hampton, Liberal Catholic Regionary Bishop for the United States, who on 22 June 1957 consecrated
Herman Adrian Spruit, who became Archbishop-Patriarch of the Church of Antioch (Catholic Apostolic Church of Antioch, Malabar Rite), who on 7 October 1980 consecrated
Meri Louise Spruit, Bishop of the Church of Antioch (Catholic Apostolic Church of Antioch, Malabar Rite) who was enthroned as Archbishop-Matriarch on 26 January 1986, who on 27 October 1990 consecrated
Richard Alston Gundrey, Bishop of the Church of Antioch (Catholic Apostolic Church of Antioch), who was elevated to Patriarch-Presiding Archishop on February 19, 2005.

Ascension Line
The Ascension lineage begins on 21 October 2006 when Richard Alston Gundrey consecrated Alan Richard Kemp, Bishop for the Diocese of the Northwest (Catholic Apostolic Church of Antioch), who became the Interim Presiding Bishop of the Catholic Apostolic Church of Antioch on 26 January 2009, who founded the Ascension Alliance on November 5, 2009, and who became its first and fourth Presiding Bishop. [Archbishop Kemp’s co-consecraters were Bishop Paul Clemens and Bishop Kera Hamilton. Bishop Paul Clemens was consecrated in 1988 by Archbishop Herman Adrian Spruit. Bishop Kera Hamilton was consecrated in 2005 by Archbishop Richard Alston Gundrey.]

As founder and first Presiding Bishop, Archbishop Alan Richard Kemp consecrated the following individuals:

Bernie Orders Finch on 29 August 2010 at the Little Chapel of St. Thomas, the Doubter, at the Hermitage on Key Peninsula, Gig Harbor, WA 98329. [Bishop Finch’s co-consecrators were Most Rev. Howard Dugan, Most Rev. Patsy Grubbs, and Most Rev. Dale Caldwell.]
Randal David Gillen on 18 November 2010 at the Little Chapel of St. Thomas, the Doubter, at the Hermitage on Key Peninsula, Gig Harbor, WA 98329. [Bishop Gillen’s co-consecrators were Most Rev. Patsy Grubbs, Most Rev. Daniel Dangaran, Most Rev. Jorge Eagar, and Most Rev. Roberto Foss]

Archbishop Patsy Grubbs was elected Presiding Bishop on 25 August 2012 and was installed in this office during a pontifucal celebration of the Holy Eucharist on 26 August 2012 by Most Rev. Alan Richard Kemp. Archbishop Patsy Grubbs consecrated the following individuals:

Deirdre Brousseau and Sandra Olson on 12 September 2015 during the pontifical celebration of the Holy Eucharist at Convocation 2015, Seabeck Conference Center, Seabeck, WA. [Bishop Brousseau’s and Bishop Olson’s co-consecrators were Most Rev. Alan Richard Kemp and Most Rev. Anastasia Voyatidjes].

Archbishop Roberto Foss was elected Presiding Bishop on 12 September 2015 and was installed in this office during a pontifical celebration of the Holy Eucharist on 13 September 2015 by Most Rev. Patsy Grubbs and Most Rev. Alan Richard Kemp. Archbishop Roberto Foss consecrated the following individuals:

Thomas Gallub on 22 May 2017 during the pontifical celebration of the Holy Eucharist at Immanuel Lutheran Church, Palm City, FL by Archbishop Roberto Foss. [Bishop Gallub’s co-consecrators were Most Rev. Joseph Reed and Most Rev. Joel O’Rourke].
Marian Kelley on 8 October 2017 during the pontifical celebration of the Holy Eucharist at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Chapel, Santa Fe, NM by Archbishop Roberto Foss. [Bishop Kelley’s co-consecrators were Most Rev. Alan Richard Kemp and Most Rev. Patsy Grubbs].

Archbishop Alan Richard Kemp was appointed as Presiding Bishop on 7 July 2025 upon the resignation of Archbishop Roberto Foss. He accepted this appointment and assumed office immediately. During his second term as Presiding Bishop, the following individuals were consecrated to the episcopacy within the Ascension Alliance:

On October 4, 2025, the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, Patricia Diane Longoni was consecrated by Presiding Bishop Emeritus, Archbishop Roberto Foss, during a pontifical celebration of the Holy Eucharist at the Shrine of Holy Wisdom, Mesa, AZ. [Bishop Longoni’s co-consecrators were Most Rev. Jorge Eagar and Most Rev. Douglas Walker].