Official Record of Apostolic Succession of

A large faction of The Church headed by Iliya Shim'un Dinkha, led by The Metropolitan of Gelu (who was
also called Dinkha Shim'un), rejected the authority of the bar Mama family, and submitted to Yabhalaha
Shim'un, the rival Catholicos-Patriarch. On the latter's death in 1580 A.D., The Metropolitan of Gelu was
rewarded by being elected his successor, the first Patriarch of the Shim'un family. Thus was established the
second hereditary line of Patriarchs within The Church of the East.
Through political pressure the rival Shim'uns were forced to move their See to the mountains of Kurdistan.
Throughout the next three hundred years The Catholicos of the Shim'un family and their Church remained
isolated from outside contact, even losing contact with Rome. The last hereditary Catholicos, Ishai Shim'un
XXIII, succeeded in 1920 A.D. at the age of twelve. In 1933 A.D., after his return to Iraq from his English
school, he attempted to restore the old civil authority of the patriarchate. His supporters took up arms and, in
an unfortunate series of events, were massacred by government soldiers. Shim'un spent the rest of his life in
exile, much of it in San Francisco, California, USA. He resigned his office in 1973 A.D., without any obvious
successor. The Church was thrown into turmoil. Church leaders from Iraq pleaded with The Patriarch to
renounce his resignation--at least until some provisions for the succession could be made. Shim'un agreed
to return for a six-month period, at which point a Synod of three bishops was appointed to govern The
Church during the interregnum. When Shim'un was murdered two years later (November of 1975 A.D.), the
Bishops agreed to restore the ancient electoral process. A new Patriarch, Mar Dinkha IV, was chosen in
October of 1976 A.D. at a special meeting of Church leaders in London, England. The official language of
The Church is Syriac. The first freely-elected Patriarch in centuries, whose official title is Catholicos-
Patriarch of the Church of the East, resided in Chicago, Illinois.
In 1586 A.D., in contrast to the isolation of the Shim'uns, the bar Mama family began exchanging letters with
The Patriarch of Rome. They formally submitted to papal authority in 1616 A.D. at Dyarbekir. This
submission came to end by 1669 A.D.. The Metropolitan of Dyarbekir, Yusip, subsequently withdrew his
allegiance from both factions of The Church (in 1672 A.D.) and fled to Rome in 1675 A.D. There he was
granted the title of Patriarch by Pope Innocent XI in 1681 A.D. There were now three Assyrian Patriarchs.
Yusip's successor, Yusip II (or III) was given the title Patriarch of Babylon in 1701 A.D. On the death of
Yusip IV in 1779 A.D., the Patriarch's nephew was able to succeed his uncle as Metropolitan of Dyarbekir
but not as Patriarch (only as Apostolic Administrator). Rome never granted him official recognition as
Patriarch.
Iliya XIII bar Mama died in 1804 A.D. No successor was elected; a Roman Catholic cousin of the last
Patriarch, Yukhannan Khurmiz, tried to claim the patriarchate and even sought official recognition from The
Pope. With two Papal claimants to two different patriarchal thrones, The Roman Church declined to
recognize either until the death of Yusip (V) in 1828 A.D. Khurmiz was thereupon acknowledged as
Patriarch of Babylon of The Chaldeans in 1830 A.D. To forestall the possibility of the re-establishment of
an hereditary patriarchate, a co-adjutor Patriarch with the right of succession was appointed in 1838 A.D.
This Uniate Chaldean Church nearly broke with Rome again in 1869 A.D. over the imposition by The Pope
of the Bull Reversurus, which deprived The Patriarch of his prerogative to select and consecrate Chaldean
bishops. Patriarch Yusip VI was threatened with excommunication in 1876 A.D., but managed to smooth
over his difficulties with Rome before his death two years later. The official language of The Church is
Syriac. The Patriarch resides at Baghdad, Iraq.
The Church of the East recognizes only the Öcumenical Councils of Nicaea (325 A.D.) and Constantinople
(381 A.D.), although they do teach that from the moment of His conception Our Lord was both perfect man
and perfect God. The Church rejects the title Mother of God for The Blessed Virgin Mary and insists upon
Mother of Christ instead.
The doctrine of Apostolic Succession is rigorously adhered to; She teaches that apart from the apostolic
succession "there are no sacraments, no Church, and no operation of The Holy Spirit" (Mar O'dishoo).
Holy Baptism is administered by triple immersion, usually forty days after birth, and immediately followed by
Chrismation and First Holy Communion. In the Mystery of Holy Communion, The Church teaches that the
leavened bread and the fermented wine are changed into The Body and Blood of Christ our God. The
sacrifice of The Mass is identical with that of The Cross of Calvary, and not a repetition of it. Communicants
both fast before participating in Holy Communion as well as drink The Precious Blood directly from The
Chalice.