Friday, 29 December 2017

From Saint Peter to Archbishop Jason Gordon - The Apostolic Linage

The information below is taken from the website catholic-hierarchy.org.

Charles Jason Gordon
  • Born 17th March 1959.
  • Ordained Priest  19th March 1991
  • Ordained Bishop 21st September 2011
  • Installed 23 September 2011
  • Appointed Archbishop 19th October 2017
  • Installed 27th December 2017
 Episcopal Lineage / Apostolic Succession:
So it would seem that Charles Jasons recieving of the Holy Spirit From one Bishop to Another came through the Maronite Order of Bishops of Antioch. Following from this, here is a little history on Georges Rizquallah Beseb'ely from Wikipedia-

George Beseb'ely was born in the village of Beseb'el (from which his surname came), near Tripoli, Lebanon, in about 1595, son of Hadj Rizqallah. He was chosen as auxiliary bishop and consecrated by Patriarch John Bawab Safrawy on July 25, 1656.

After the death of Patriarch John Bawab Safrawy happened on December 23, 1656, the bishops elected as patriarch the monk George Habquq, who anyway for humility refused and escaped in a cave of the Kadisha Valley to live as an hermit. So a second election was held and on January 1, 1657 the Archbishop George Beseb'ely was elected patriarch. The new patriarch sent to Rome his credentials to obtain confirmation of the pope; but, for unknown reasons, the Holy See took the deal for long, to the point that the patriarch had to renew his instances. His election was confirmed by Pope Alexander VII on May 26, 1659, and he received the pallium on August 30, 1660.

George Beseb'ely used, as his predecessor, to live in a monastery subject to the strict discipline of the monks. During his patriarchate he kept good relations with the Kingdom of France, which in 1662 appointed for the first time as French Consul in Beirut a Maronite noble, Abu Nawfal of the Khazen family. This act strengthened the friendship and protection of the France towards the Maronite nation.

George Beseb'ely died on April 12, 1670 because of a pestilence in the monastery of Mar Challita in Keserwan District.

Following him as Patriarch was Estephan Douaihi (image to the right). 
There were 56 Patriarchs of Antioch between the Founder of the Maronite order, John Maron and Patriarch George Beseb'ely. John Maron is the 63rd in line for the office of the Patriarch of Antioch after Peter the Apostle. "What?" says you. "But Peter was in Rome." Well here is what Antiochian.org has to say on the matter.

Church tradition maintains that the See of Antioch was founded by Saint Peter the Apostle in A.D. 34. Peter was either followed or joined by the Apostles Paul and Barnabas who preached there to both Gentiles and to Jews, who seem to have been numerous in the city. It was in Antioch that one of the first conflicts within the Church developed between Peter and Paul. This conflict regarded the necessity of circumcision for male Gentile converts to Christianity. It was the resolution of this conflict at the Council of Jerusalem under Saint James the Apostle that determined the direction of the Antiochian mission to the Gentiles, and the dynamic nature of that Christian community in its missionary outreach. It was from Antioch that Paul and Barnabas departed for their great missionary journeys to the Gentile lands (Acts 13:1).

After spending some seven years in Antioch, Peter left for Rome. To succeed him as bishop of Antioch he appointed Euodius, who is thus counted in early episcopal lists as the first successor to the Antiochian Throne of Peter.

The See of Antioch continued its glorious contributions to the universal Church by the numerous outstanding personalities it nurtured. Saint Ignatius of Antioch for example (image to the right), is revered as both a victorious martyr during the reign of Emperor Trajan (early second century) and as a reliable historical source for the structure of Church life. Ignatius was the second successor to Peter and may actually have been consecrated by that Apostle or Saint Paul.


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ARCHBISHOP OF PORT OF SPAIN INSTALLED


Congratulations to the New Archbishop of Port of Spain.

I listened to him speak to his brother priests at the installation Mass, "We will learn to work together." he said, and I thought good choice of words. Because even though our new archbishop is quite the orator, there are those among his number who really do not care for him. He is their new leader and they took a vow of obedience, so you know they HAVE TO follow his dictates.

There are also church members who do not like him, and those who are quick to criticize him. One such critique is that even though he has the gift of Gab and that constant smile, that he is not a spiritual man. Time will tell. For me, the telling is to ensure that the office of Exorcist is manned. That says that he is fully aware of the devil as an active entity and is ensuring that there is someone or some people who are cable of dealing with this issue.

There are those among us who think that he is as close (as we can get) to former Archbishop Anthony Pantin. That is to say, a rootsy priest.... a peoples person.

His Grace is known for the many good works that he has done, including the work he started in Gonzales place to reduce crime. In the next 17 years, I am sure,  the Church in Port of Spain will grow  from strength to strength under his stewardship.

As for my criticism? Well so far, I think he could have made a better choice of Vicar General.

Also I think that he has a serious issue that must be deal with.  I will not discuss (but will mention) birth control, or the oppressive Catholic secondary schools who bully poor parents for money. I will not discuss the Catholic church's lack of leadership in doing away with the SEA programme and the extortion that parents are forced to pay to get their children into a good school. No. Today I am asking that the Church address the lack of HOPE in our membership. The church today is faced with people just dropping out. They have lost "Hope" they do not believe. Please Your Grace, make this a priority, tell your brother priests that it is ok to tell the flock that they can expect and experience miracles, that it is not a thing of the past. Of the 17% of our church that go to church regularly on Sundays, we need to ensure that that the 90% of those who only walk in and out of church and do not participate in church activity (perhaps because they are not invited) come to church with a sense of HOPE. Two year Confirmation courses supposedly encourage people to come to church, but does it encourage HOPE. (Two year courses??? Really??? is this suppose to encourage activity or chase the youth away?? Why not effect these classes IN SCHOOL?) Masses that keep people in church for 90 minutes and over (not necessarily because of the homily) need to be stopped. People are busy, they don't need to be burdened by the church. Going to Church should not be like unpleasant work that has to be done. That encourages drop outs. Instead, the church needs to show that it is the proper conduit for salvation and HOPE.

So Our Archbishops work begins as he aims to breathe new life into the Archdiocese. Good Luck and may God bless you in your Ministry Your Grace.

The photo at the top is taken from the online Trinidad Guardian and was taken by Marcus Gonzales. It is of two former Port of Spain Archbishops (Gilbert and Harris) with Jason Gordon.



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