Here’s a new one I hadn’t heard of before. They claim to be Catholic, but they’re independent. Whaat?
From their website:
We proclaim the faith of the Nicene Creed:
Jesus Christ is fully God and fully human
Jesus Christ saves humankind through His death and resurrection
We celebrate the seven sacraments and preserve the apostolic succession
We welcome all people to full participation in the church
We ordain men and women, gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and heterosexual Christians as bishops, priests, and deacons
We celebrate the marriages of all committed couples — same-sex and opposite-sex
We worship God with the full diversity of liturgical expression
We use Roman, Anglican, and Byzantine rites
We welcome both traditional and contemporary expressions
Local communities adapt liturgies to meet local needs
Is there no end to the religious lunacy in the USA?
I don’t get it. Why don’t they join the Episcopal Church of the USA?
Having grown up among split-p presbyterians, I thought division was a specialty of conservative denominations. A few days ago I happened on the Reformed Anglican Catholic Church’s web page. Their vision/mission is just the same as this bunch, but for a preference for anglican polity (whatever that means these days). I guess diversity is winning out over inclusion in the proliferation of these leftist fringe groups.pilgrim Kate
Father, I think you will find this lot are just one of the umpteen fractures from the Old Catholic Church, with doctrine by vote etc. No doubt they will point to apostolic succession through Utrecht and make dubious claims for their role in the greater scheme of things. They are but a minor irritation to greater Christendom.
“Is there no end to the religious lunacy in the USA?”In a word? No.
“We ordain men and women, gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and heterosexual Christians as bishops, priests, and deaconsWe celebrate the marriages of all committed couples — same-sex and opposite-sex”That didn’t take long…why am I not surprised?
I used to be quite a follower of the Independent Movement. Check out:www.ind-movement.orgwww.independentmovement.us (their own Wiki!)The number of jurisdictions is mindboggling. There are dozens claiming to be derived from Anglicanism, Catholicism, and Eastern Orthodoxy. They range from the ultra-conservative (sedevacantists and other Tridentists, Continuing Anglicans) to ultra-liberal (ordination for women, gay people, non-mammals).I suspect the reason these groups don’t unite and/or join larger denominations has a lot to do with (a) once you put a miter on somebody’s head, it’s hard to come off–uniting jurisdictions means somebody loses a bishop or has to share authority; and likewise (b) these groups tend to be equally lax about ordaining priests and deacons, usually with just a bit of home study, etc.
“I don’t get it. Why don’t they join the Episcopal Church of the USA?”I know, I know!!Because while they will ordain anyone and marry anyone to anyone else, they draw the line at confessing Islam.Its nice to imagine that they have some standards.
One thing I find interesting about this lot is that there is only one bishop. Usually this type of thing you see 20 bishops and only 2 priests and only 10 faithful. it is also telling that the e-mail uses yahoo.com. Just my thoughts.
I happen to have met the “bishop” years ago: he’s been through several denominations, including some time as a Catholic. Now he’s all about marrying gays. Oh, well. In his favor, he’s staunchly against abortion, so he confirms my dictum that nobody is wrong all the time.