The Society of Christ the King
The Society of Christ the King, also known by its Latin name Societas Christi Regis, was established as a Society of Apostolic Life dedicated to four objectives:
1. The formation in and propagation of proper liturgy in the Roman Rite.
2. The formation in and teaching of true and sound doctrine of the holy Catholic faith that has been believed and upheld “everywhere, always, and by all,” substantiated and affirmed by Sacred Scripture and Tradition.
3. The outreach and inclusion of all of the People of God, especially those on the margins, in the one Church of Christ that is the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.
4. Through prayer, penance, and charitable works, the ultimate purpose of the Society is to effect the complete Kingship of Our Lord Jesus Christ in union and in conjunction with the mission of the Universal Church here on earth.
The Society is comprised of priests, single people, married people and couples, and families called into a deeper relationship with our Crucified Lord. All people who are willing to undergo a rigorous, yet spiritually fulfilling, formation program are welcome to postulancy in the Society.
Valid Apostolic Succession and Sacraments
The Society of Christ the King possess undisputed Apostolic Succession; therefore, the Society participates fully in the sacramental life of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church that Christ had founded and commissioned to “make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” (Matt 28:19) Since many of these lines of succession derive from the other major particular Churches, such as the Roman Catholic Church, Orthodox Church, and Anglican Church, the Society shares in the common history of the Universal Church.
The Society’s lines of apostolic succession include:
1. The Roman Catholic succession through Monsignor +Carlos Duarte Costa of Brazil
2. The Roman Catholic succession through Archbishop +Emmanuel Milingo
3. The Roman Catholic succession through Archbishop +Pierre Martin Ngo Dinh Thuc
4. The Old Catholic succession through Archbishop +Arnold Harris Mathew
5. The Old Catholic succession through Archbishop +Joseph Rene Vilatte
6. The Old Catholic succession through Bishop +Edwin Kreuzer (Old Catholic Church of Germany Succession)
6. The Coptic Orthodox succession through Pope Cyril VI of Alexandria (Azer Youssef Atta)
7. The Russian Orthodox succession through Patriarch Alexei I (Sergey Vladimirovich Simanskiy)
8. The Anglican and Episcopal succession through Bishop +Arthur Lea and Bishop +Henry St. George Tucker
However, given the Society’s affinity to the Roman Rite, the Society places particular emphasis on the three primary Roman Catholic lines of succession as follows:
Primary Line of Succession: The Roman Catholic Church through Archbishop +Emmanuel Milingo
1. Scipione Cardinal Rebiba, Cardinal-Priest of Sant’Anastasia, who on March 22, 1566, consecrated
2. Giulio Antonio Cardinal Santorio, Cardinal-Priest of San Bartolomeo all’Isola, who on September 7, 1586, consecrated
3. Girolamo Cardinal Bernerio, O.P., Cardinal-Bishop of Albano, who on April 4, 1604, consecrated
4. Archbishop Galeazzo Sanvitale, Archbishop Emeritus of Bari (-Canosa)), who on May 2, 1621, consecrated
5. Ludovico Cardinal Ludovisi, Archbishop of Bologna, who on June 12, 1622, consecrated,
6. Luigi Cardinal Caetani, Cardinal-Priest of Santa Pudenziana, who on October 7, 1630, consecrated,
7. Ulderico Cardinal Carpegna, Cardinal-Priest of Santa Maria in Trastevere, who on May 2, 1666, consecrated,
8. Paluzzo Cardinal Paluzzi Altieri Degli Albertoni, Chamberlain (Camerlengo) of the Apostolic Chamber, who on February 3, 1675, consecrated,
9. Pope Benedict XIII (Pietro Francesco (Vincenzo Maria) Orsini de Gravina, O.P.), who on July 16, 1724, consecrated,
10. Pope Benedict XIV (Prospero Lorenzo Lambertini), who on March 19, 1743, consecrated
11. Pope Clement XIII (Carlo della Torre Rezzonico), who on April 25, 1762, consecrated,
12. Marcantonio Cardinal Colonna (Jr.), Cardinal-Priest of Santa Maria della Pace, who on March 2, 1777, consecrated,
13. Hyacinthe-Sigismond Cardinal Gerdil, B., Cardinal-Priest of Santa Cecilia, who on December 21, 1788, consecrated,
14. Giulio Maria Cardinal della Somaglia, Cardinal-Bishop of Ostia (e Velletri), who on May 25, 1823, consecrated,
15. Carlo Cardinal Odescalchi, S.J., Cardinal-Priest of Santi XII Apostoli, who on December 21, 1828, consecrated,
16. Costantino Cardinal Patrizi Naro, Cardinal-Bishop of Ostia (e Velletri), who on November 5, 1871, consecrated,
17. Lucido Maria Cardinal Parocchi, Cardinal-Priest of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, who on November 16, 1884, consecrated,
18. Pope Pius X (St. Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto), who on December 22, 1907, consecrated,
19. Pope Benedict XV (Giacomo Giambattista della Chiesa), who on May 13, 1917, consecrated,
20. Pope Pius XII (Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Cardinal Pacelli, Cardinal-Priest of Santi Giovanni e Paolo), who on July 25, 1937, consecrated,
21. Eugène-Gabriel-Gervais-Laurent Cardinal Tisserant, Cardinal-Bishop of Ostia, who on December 12, 1954, consecrated,
22. Pope Paul VI (St. Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini), who on August 1, 1969, consecrated,
23. Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo, Archbishop Emeritus of Lusaka, who on September 24, 2006, sub conditione consecrated,
24. Archbishop Peter Paul Brennan, Archbishop of the Ecumenical Catholic Diocese of the Americas, who on December 21, 2013, sub conditione consecrated
25. Bishop Jerome Gorders, OFM Cap., who on October 17, 2020, sub conditione consecrated,
26. Robert Chung, S.C.R., Superior General of the Society of Christ the King.
Secondary Line of Succession: The Roman Catholic Church through Archbishop +Carlos Duarte Costa
1. Scipione Cardinal Rebiba —March 16, 1541
2. Guilio Antonio Santoro —March 12, 1566
3. Girolama Bernerio —September 7, 1586
4. Galeazzo Sanvitale —April 4, 1604
5. Lodovico Ludovisi —May 2, 1621
6. Luigi Caetani —June 12, 1622
7. Ulderico Carpegna —October 7, 1630
8. Paluzzo Altieri—May 2, 1666
9. Vincenzo Maria Orsini— February 3, 1675
10. Prospero Lorenzo Lambertini—July 16, 1724
11. Carol Della Torre Rezzoni —March 19, 1743
12. Bernadinus Giraud— April 26, 1767
13. Alexander Matthaeus — February 23, 1777
14. Petrus Franciscus Galeffi — September 12, 1819
15. Iacobus Phillipus Fransoni — December 8, 1822
16. Carolus Sacconi—June 8, 1851
17. Eduard Howard—June 30, 1872
18. Mariano Rampollamarchese Del Tindaro— December 8, 1882
19. Joaquin Arcoverde De Albuquerque-Calvacanti — October 26, 1890
20. Sebastiao Leme De Silveira Cintra— June 4, 1911
21. Carlos Duarte Costa (consecrated December 8, 1924), who on 3 May 1948 consecrated:
22. Luis Fernando Castillo-Mendez for the Igreja Catolica Apostolica Dominicana, who on 30 January 1985, assisted by Melquiades Rosa Garcia and Bartolomeu Sabastiao Vilela, at the Catedral de Nossa Senhora de Medalha Milagrosa, in Brasilia, Brasil, consecrated sub conditione:
23. Forest Ernest Barber, who on 14 March 1987, assisted by Paul G. W. Schultz, Daniel Nelson McCarty, and Jurgen W. Bless, consecrated sub conditione:
24. Peter Paul Brennan, Archbishop of the Ecumenical Catholic Diocese of America, who on December 21, 2013, sub conditione consecrated:
25. Bishop Jerome Gorders, OFM Cap., who on October 17, 2020, sub conditione consecrated:
26. Robert Chung, SCR., Superior General of the Society of Christ the King
Tertiary Line of Succession: The Roman Catholic Church through Archbishop +Pierre Martin Ngo Dinh Thuc (Chaldean Catholic Church in origin)
1. Maran Mar Yusip Ummanu’il II Thoma, Bishop of Seert of the Chaldeans, afterward Patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans, in 1917 consecrated:
2. Francis Daoud, Bishop of Amadiyah of the Chaldeans, on 22 December 1929, assisted by Georges Dallal, Archbishop of Mossoul of the Syrians, and Jacques Nessimian, Archbishop of Mardin of the Armenians, consecrated:
3. Antonin Drapier, Titular (Roman Catholic) Archbishop of Neocaesarea in Pontus, who on 5 May 1938, assisted by Isidore Dumortier, Titular Bishop of Lipara, and Dominique Maria Ho Ngoc Can, Titular Bishop of Zenobias, consecrated:
4. Ngo Dinh Thuc, Pierre Martin, Archbishop of Hue and Titular Archbishop of Bulla Regia, who on 11 January 1976 consecrated:
5. Clemente Dominguez y Gómez of the Holy Palmarian Church, who on January 9, 1977, assisted by Manuel Alonso Corral and Camilo Estevez Puga, consecrated:
6. Ciaran Bernardo Broadbery, who on April 27, 1978 consecrated:
7. Michael Patrick O'Connor Cox, Archbishop of the Order Mater Dei, who on 19 May 1998 consecrated:
8. Patrick Buckley, who on 14 February 1999 consecrated:
9. Peter Paul Brennan, Archbishop of the Ecumenical Catholic Diocese of America, who on December 21, 2013, sub conditione consecrated
10. Bishop Jerome Gorders, OFM Cap., who on October 17, 2020, sub conditione consecrated,
11. Robert Chung, S.C.R., Superior General of the Society of Christ the King.
Although the Society is not under papal jurisdiction, the aforementioned unbroken lines of succession bind us closely to a long and celebrated lineage that traces back to the Apostle Peter. This more than assures that the sacraments offered by the Society are truly valid.
Also note, the Society of Christ the King is not a jurisdiction. Our priests and bishops do not have ordinary jurisdiction; thereby, the priests and the bishops of the Society are able to freely assist at any parish so long as the community welcomes their service. Moreover, the Society of Christ the King is an ecumenical society. All members of God’s people are welcome to postulate with the Society, regardless of jurisdiction, denomination, and any concurrent affiliation. In this manner, the Society hopes to foster greater unity and cooperation in the Church Universal, thus moving closer to the Lord’s most fervent prayer that “they may all be one.” (John 17:21)