The “Four Marks” of the Catholic Church have been clearly recognized since the First Council of Nicea in 325 A.D. When St. Athanasius presented to the Council Fathers his Creed, he identified the core beliefs of all Christians. In the Niceo-Constantinoplean Creed, four of the marks of the Church were presented as: One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic. All four of these elements are necessary to constitute a living and saving ministry created and sent by Christ.

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The Apostolic mark, refers back to the indisputable belief that authentic Christian communities are borne of authentic Ministers celebrating the sacraments, beginning with the triune Sacraments of Holy Baptism, Holy Chrismation (reception of the All-Holy Ghost), and the Eucharist (the Bread and Wine becoming the Body and Blood of Christ). For these ministers to be authentic, they must be direct recipients of the gift of the All-Holy Spirit, through the laying on of hands, by a bishop who is also a direct recipient of the same gift through the hands of another bishop, and so on. No one can claim valid ordained ministry in the Catholic Church if they cannot trace the origins of their ministry and doctrines back to one of the Apostles sent by the Lord. Apostolic Succession is therefore, in its most proper context and understanding, the litmus test for all communities that call themselves Catholic.

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“The Apostles received the Gospel for us from the Lord Jesus Christ; Jesus Christ was sent forth from God. So then Christ is from God, and the Apostles are from Christ. Both therefore came of the will of God in the appointed order. Having therefore received a charge, and having been fully assured through the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ and confirmed in the word of God with full assurance of the Holy Ghost, they went forth with the glad tidings that the kingdom of God should come. So preaching everywhere in country and town, they appointed their firstfruits, when they had proved them by the Spirit, to be bishops and deacons unto them that should believe. And this they did in no new fashion; for indeed it had been written concerning bishops and deacons from very ancient times; for thus saith the scripture in a certain place, I will appoint their bishops in righteousness and their deacons in faith…And our Apostles knew through our Lord Jesus Christ that there would be strife over the name of the bishop's office. For this cause therefore, having received complete foreknowledge, they appointed the aforesaid persons, and afterwards they provided a continuance, that if these should fall asleep, other approved men should succeed to their ministration. Those therefore who were appointed by them, or afterward by other men of repute with the consent of the whole Church, and have ministered unblamably to the flock of Christ in lowliness of mind, peacefully and with all modesty, and for long time have borne a good report with all these men we consider to be unjustly thrust out from their ministration. For it will be no light sin for us, if we thrust out those who have offered the gifts of the bishop's office unblamably and holily. Blessed are those presbyters who have gone before, seeing that their departure was fruitful and ripe: for they have no fear lest any one should remove them from their appointed place. For we see that ye have displaced certain persons, though they were living honorably, from the ministration which had been respected by them blamelessly.”

~ Saint Clement of Rome, Chapter 42 and Chapter 44

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“Let [the heretics] produce the original records of their churches; let them unfold the roll of their bishops, running down in due succession from the beginning in such a manner that [their first] bishop shall be able to show for his ordainer and predecessor some one of the apostles or of Apostolic men—a man, moreover, who continued steadfast with the Apostles. For this is the manner in which the Apostolic churches transmit their registers. For example, the church of Smyrna, records that Polycarp was placed in his position by John; the church of Rome makes Clement to have been ordained in a similar manner by Peter. In exactly the same way the other churches also exhibit those whom have been appointed to their Episcopal places by Apostles. These they regard as transmitters of the apostolic seed. Let the heretics fabricate something of the same kind, for after their blasphemy, what could be unlawful for them? But even if they succeed in their fabrication, they will not advance a step. For their very doctrine, when compared with that of the Apostles, will declare, by its own diversity and disagreement, that it had for its author neither an Apostle nor an Apostolic man…To this test, therefore, they will be submitted for proof by those churches who, although they derive not their founder from Apostles or apostolic men (as being of much later date, for they are in fact being founded daily), yet, since they agree in the same faith, they are considered no less Apostolic because they are alike in doctrine. Then let all the heresies, when challenged to these two tests by our apostolic church, offer their proof of how they deem themselves to be Apostolic."

~ Tertullian on Apostolic Churches Prescription against Heretics

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Apostolic Churches in both the East and West evolved the following four exoteric criterion, having been used traditionally to adjudicate the validity of a Church’s Orders:

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A) Form: The consecration of a Bishop must take place in a Eucharistic setting (which means at public worship), using an appropriate Order of consecrating a Bishop. A consecration in secret, or apart from the church’s worshipping community could be considered invalid.

B) Matter: Consecration must be by actual laying on of hands during the Eucharistic liturgy. For example, prayer or prophecy alone will not be sufficient.

C) Minister: The consecrator must himself be validly consecrated within the Apostolic Succession, and possess jurisdictional authority to pass along not only Sacramental consecration but also to pass on jurisdictional authority (what territory/diocese the bishop will serve).

D) Intent: The intent of laying on of hands during the consecration liturgy must be to ordain or consecrate the person to Orders/the episcopate. Intent must be present both on the part of the consecrator and the consecrated. This criterion is meant to negate claims made that a person was consecrated for the episcopate during a healing service, for example.

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There are *several* preferences of reckoning a bishop’s lineage: the first focuses on the person of the “primary” consecrator, and reckons that only the apostolic lineage held by the primary consecrator is passed to the new bishop. The second focuses on the whole of the consecrating bishops, and reckons that the new bishop receives the lineages of each bishop participating in the actual consecration of the new bishop. Though the first is completely valid, this document takes the latter approach, and traces lineage through several of the co-consecrating bishops as well as the primary consecrators. There are also two conventions for reckoning which lines are passed and traced:

• The first assumes that all lines received by a bishop are inextricably woven together, and thus are passed in their totality to any new bishop during consecration.

• The second assumes that a bishop intentionally chooses which select lines are to be passed to a new bishop during consecration. This situation is unique to those in the "Independent Movement", wherein multiple lines are held by the majority of bishops.

Theologically, our Church assumes and hold to the first approach. It assumes that all lines received by a bishop are necessarily passed on to any new bishops during consecration. Though we hold that the Chief Consecrator is the one by which the line of succession is validated and initially traced, the complete historic Apostolic Succession for both the Chief and Co-Consecrators given to this Holy Church have been traced and logged.

There are also another set of views in recognizing the lineage of succession of the Bishops:

• The first assumes that we trace the lineage by the *Episcopal See*, focusing on who sits upon the episcopal throne and what bishops was before him in said particular See. This also deals with the submission to a particular Patriarchate, for some lineages are counted beginning with the decree of a particular Primate (i.e. the decree of a Pope to ordain a Bishop).

• The second assumes that we trace the lineage by the *hand*, focusing on the matter of who laid hands on the Bishop to grant them said episcopal throne (i.e. "Bishop John" was consecrated by "Bishop Bob", who was consecrated by....all the way back to Apostle Andrew who was sent by the Lord).

 

These documents from this Church give attention to both, depending on the lineage in question. As each Christian is born again and resurrected in baptism, and sent on their apostolic mission, the Caribbean Apostolic Church is the Patriarchate of the West Indies born again and resurrected, and sent forth to minister to the people of God and the inheritance given by God (Isaiah 49:1-8). 

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The *Apostolic Succession of The Throne* of the United Holy Caribbean Apostolic Church is traced "from the Throne of the Patriarch of the West indies", coming down from His Excellency Antonio de Rojas Manrique, Archbishop of Granada, Spain, who himself was consecrated the Patriarch the West Indies by Archbishop Clement VII, the Pope of Rome and Patriarch of the Western half of the Holy Catholic Church. This succession traces down to the Caribbean Apostolic Church today.

The *Primary Lineage of Succession* of the United Holy Caribbean Apostolic Church are traced "from the hand", coming down through Archbishop Charles Hill, Sr., who himself was consecrated by the Patriarchal Decree of Metropolitan Archbishop Heyward 'PAUL' Bruce Ewart III, Patriarch of the Holy Catholic Church International. This succession traces down from the Catholic Apostolic Church of Brazil, all the way back to Saints Peter and Paul the Apostles.

The *Co-consecrating Lineages of Succession" of the United Holy Caribbean Apostolic Church are traced "from the hand", coming down through Archbishop Charles Hill Sr., who himself was consecrated with the direct laying on of hands of Archbishop William Patrick Francis Malloy, Metropolitan Archbishop within the Holy Catholic Church International. While this succession traces initially from the American Orthodox Catholic Church all the way back to Saint Andrew the Apostle, the other lineages traces from his co-consecrators which themselves traces back to other Apostles of the Lord's Church.

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All three tell a significant portion of the Gospel truth through our Church, playing active roles, neither overshadowing either. The lineages of Apostles Succession shown in these documents all play an important role on the raising up of the United Holy Caribbean Apostolic Church, and the one holy Catholic and Apostolic Church as a whole.

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In addition, each diocese and Archdiocese within the Patriarchate of the West Indies is logged, with their current see seat holder.