Liberal Catholic Churches
★1804★
American Catholic Church (Laguna Beach, California)
430 Park Ave.
Laguna Beach, CA 92651
On December 29, 1915, as one of the first acts after founding his fledgling American Catholic Church, Joseph Rene Vilatte, consecrated Frederick E. J. Lloyd (1859-1933), an Episcopal clergyman whose distinguished career included his election and then rejection of the post of Bishop Coadjutor of Oregon. In 1915, after four years as pastor of Grace Episcopal Church in Oak Park, Illinois, he resigned to go with Vilatte. In 1920 at a Synod of the Church held in Chicago, Vilatte retired and turned the Church over to Lloyd who assumed the titles of Primate, Metropolitan and Archbishop.
Lloyd proved to be an able leader, but, following the pattern of other independent bishops, he attempted to build the American Catholic Church by drawing priestly colleagues around him and consecrating them to the episcopacy. He hoped that bishops would generate a jurisdiction, and appointed them before there were congregations over which they could give oversight. Among the eight bishops he consecrated Gregory Lines (1923), Francis Kanski (1926), Daniel C. Hinton (1927) and Ernest Leopold Peterson (1927). Each of these would at one point leave the American Catholic Church and establish a different jurisdiction.
Lloyd was succeeded in 1932 by Hinton. Hinton in turn consecrated Percy Wise Clarkson the following year. Clarkson opened a successful church in Laguna Beach, California, but he was a Theosophist and brought a Theosophical theological perspective which came to dominate American Catholic Church life and thought.
Bishop Lines had problems with Hinton. He withdrew from the American Catholic Church in 1927 in reaction to Hinton's consecration as Bishop-Auxiliary to Lloyd, and formed the Apostolic Christian Church. He returned a few years later only to leave again when Hinton became Primate. During his first year separated from the Church, he consecrated Justin A. Boyle (a.k.a. Robert Raleigh). In 1930 Raleigh consecrated a Theosophist, Lowell Paul Wadle. Wadle soon left Raleigh and placed himself under Clarkson who had succeeded Hinton. In 1940 Wadle succeeded Clarkson, and served as Primate of the American Catholic Church for the next twenty-five years. During these years the Theosophical perspective initially brought in by Clarkson became the only perspective in the church and interaction with the Liberal Catholic Church branches has been strong. Wadle participated in a number of Liberal Catholic consecration services. In 1965 Wadle was succeeded by Hanlon Francis Marshall, who served only one year before being replaced by Hugh Michael Strange. The present Primate is Archbishop Simon E. Talarczyk.
During this same period, the other bishops, now separated from Clarkson and Wadle, initiated their new jurisdictions: The American Catholic Church (Syro-Antiochean) (Peterson); The Church of Antioch (Lines/Raleigh); the Traditional Roman Catholic Church in the Americas (Kanski): and the Apostolic Episcopal Church (Kanski).
The beliefs of the American Catholic Church are very close to that of the Liberal Catholic Church. It views itself as holding to an "orthodox" faith but interpreting it in the light of some basic truths: that our ignorance of God and nature is due to the lack of the spirit and life of God within us; that the way to the divine knowledge is the way of the gospel that leads to a new birth; and that the way of new birth is totally within the will of man to grasp.
Membership: Not reported. There are only one or two churches and several hundred members remaining in the church.
Sources:
Barry, Odo A. Outline History of the American Catholic Church. Long Beach, CA: American Catholic Church, 1951.
The Holy Liturgy. Long Beach, CA: American Catholic Church, 1955.
Wadle, Lowell Paul. In the Light of the Orient. Long Beach, CA: The Author, 1951.
★1805★
American Temple
℅ Uriel House
545 E. San Carlos
San Jose, CA 95112-2104
The American Temple is one of several groups that emerged among the former members of the Holy Order of MANS, an esoteric group that merged into the Greek Orthodox Missionary Archdiocese of Vasiloupolis. Many of the present members of the temple were formerly members of the Holy Order and it strives to teach the Universal Truths that were taught inside the Order from the Tree of Life (Kabbalah) lessons and the Christian Mysteries. The temple does not intend to attempt a reforming of the order, rather it builds on its foundation and continues its work.
The temple describes itself as following the teachings of the Master Jesus Christ and striving towards the unfoldment of the Christ light and self within each person. It is a school of universal teachings (the Western esoteric tradition). Founded in the 1990s, under the leadership of Mt. Rev. Michael Whitney, it has local centers, but as the new century begins it operates primarily in cyberspace. In that regard, it has built an expansive web site and posted many of the publications of the Holy Order.
The temple offers its teachings to any motivated student who shows a desire to learn. It emphasizes its base within mystical Christianity but strives to add the insights the perspective available from other traditions as well. The church is attempting to build a strong spiritual community while supporting the family structure. It invites members to a life of learning as well as charity and social service in the community.
Membership: Not reported.
★1806★
Apostolic Orthodox Church (Boerne, Texas)
The Most Rev. Mathias Mar Yusef
248 Deer Creek
Boerne, TX 78006
Apostolic Orthodox Church (AOC) was founded in 1994 by His Holiness, Mathias Mar Yusef (b. 1946) who was appointed Catholicos to the West in 1994, and elected to the Holy Office of Patriarch in 1996. The church has attained its apostolic succession through the lineage of St. Thomas Christians no possessed by several of the Liberal Catholic churches.
In 1983, its founder, a former Roman Catholic, visited India and the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church that traces its origins to the Apostles Thomas. On this visit and a subsequent trip in 1986, he became fascinated with the tradition of St. Thomas and the reputed Sacred Tradition of teachings that have persisted without reference to the historic councils of the Christian church. According to what he learned in India, Thomas had preached a doctrine of individual salvation attained primarily through one's own efforts. He founded a nonproselytizing community and invited those who would to join. As the church grew, the most spiritually advanced were ordained, and Thomas moved on. Before returning to the United States, he was commissioned to spread the Sacred Tradition in the West.
The Sacred Tradition, a gnosis that transcends mere facts and beliefs, and is impressed directly on the soul, was passed by Jesus to Thomas. It is this tradition that the AOC attempts to perpetuate.
The church acknowledges its base within the Eastern Orthodox tradition, and uses the Nicene Creed. However, it does not concern itself primarily with doctrine, and the Creed is seen as a symbol of the Faith—an object of contemplation, not a statement of Truth. The Bible is seen as a compilation of myth, allegory, legend, and fact. It, like all scripture, is given by inspiration of God and hence useful.
The church teaches that there is one Existence, God, who is manifested as a Trinity. Humans, created in the image of God, are also triune—body, soul, and spirit. Humans exist as part of a vast progression of life from the highest to the lowest. Humans have a duty to discern the divine light they have within. The church is a liturgical church and practices the sacraments instituted by Christ to provide an outward manifestation of the inner graces.
Membership: Not reported.
★1807★
Canadian Catholic Church
(Defunct)
The Canadian Catholic Church was a short-lived Liberal Catholic jurisdiction founded in 1948 by Odo Acheson Barry as an independent sister church of the American Catholic Church. A priest of the Liberal Catholic Church, Barry was originally consecrated by Antoine Joseph Aneed of the Byzantine Universal (Catholic) and Orthodox Church of the Americas on July 26, 1946. He was consecrated again three days later by Charles Hampton, a liberal Catholic bishop, assisted by several other bishops including Lowell Paul Wadle of the American Catholic Church. In 1948 he was consecrated sub conditione by Wadle.
A short time after establishing the Canadian Catholic Church, Berry moved to Sri Lanka (Ceylon). He also lived for a while in New Zealand and England and only returned to Canada in 1960. Little was heard of his jurisdiction during the years he was away and it did not develop any substantial membership after his return. Berry died in 1968 and the church folded afterward.
Sources:
Ward, Gary L. Independent Bishops: An International Directory. Detroit, MI: Apogee Books, 1990. 524 pp.
★1808★
The Catholic Church of the Antiochean Rite
℅ Archbishop Primate
c/o Archbishop Primate
2008 Chesapeake Dr.
Odessa, FL 33566
The Catholic Church of the Antiochean Rite is a small jurisdiction founded in 1980 by the Most Rev. Dr. Roberto Toca (b. 1945), Archbishop for Florida and Exarch for Latin America. Toca was consecrated as Bishop in 1976 by Archbishop Herman Adrian Spruit of the Church of Antioch, who also consecrated him as archbishop in 1982. He was elevated to Archbishop Primate in 1987 and took the religious name Sar Mar Profeta. In January 2000, the General Episcopal Synod and the Universal Initiatic Conclave enthronized Toca, Sar Mar Profeta, as Archbishop-Patriarch and constituted officially the Gnostic Ecumenic Patriarchate in The Catholic Church of the Antiochean Rite.
The church has developed a ministry within the Hispanic community in Florida. While independent of the Church of Antioch, it generally follows its beliefs and practices. Along with the Bible, the church recognizes the Apocryphal writings, such as the Gnostic texts found at Nag Hammadi, as authoritative literature. Worship is primarily in Spanish. The church is headquartered in the Holy Trinity Cathedral and Gnostic Orthodox Abbey in Odessa, a suburb in the Tampa Bay area of Florida.
Archbishop Toca has assumed a leadership role in the Cuban community of the Tampa Bay Area. He has won awards for this ethnic television series, "University on the Air," "Popular Academy," "From the Point of Light," "University of the Soul," and most recently, "The Prophet of the Mysteries of Beyond." He has also won a number of awards from the National Association of Cuban Journalism, and is the head of a magical order, the Ordo Templi Orientis Antiqua, a Para-Masonic Memphis and Mizraim obedience. He has written several books in Spanish on esotericism, magick, parapsychology, and political issues.
Membership: In 2002 the church claimed around 15,000 members in 196 congregations, mostly in Florida, Cuba, Latin America, and Spain.
Educational Facilities: International University of Theology and Parapsychology.
Esoteric School of the International Initiation.
The Magical Mysteries Museum, Odessa, Florida.
★1809★
Catholic Church of the Holy Grail
c/o Beloved Disciple Seminary
PO Box 437 Mesquite, NM 88048
The Catholic Church of the Holy Grail is an esoteric church founded at the close of the twentieth century. It founder and presiding bishop, Sharon Hart, was consecrated in 2000 by David P. Goddard, assisted by Marilyn Hill and Evelyn Hill, who passed to her several apostolic lineages that passed through British bishop Hugh George de Willmott Newman (Mar Georgius I), Richard Duc de Palatine (Pre-Nicene Church), and George Boyer (Temple of the Holy Grail).
The symbol of the Holy Grail represents to church members the progressive unfoldment that occurs on the spiritual path. Members seek "at-one-ment with the Divine Source of all creation." It accepts the tradition that identifies the Holy Grail with the chalice of wine brought by Melchizedek, king and priest of the Most High (Genesis 14:18), who initiated Abraham, and was also the cup used by Jesus at the Last Supper. The church accepts into membership any who are seekers, though they are new to the quest for spiritual life. They are not asked to subscribe to a common belief, but rather a willingness to engage in corporate activity through a common ritual. The church recognizes that God, the Eternal Spirit, is One.
The church carries many of the trappings of the western catholic tradition, though pouring esoteric content into the doctrines and symbols. Priests dispense the seven sacraments—-baptism, confirmation, the eucharist/last supper, absolution, unction/anointing for healing, matrimony, and holy orders. Holy orders are open to both men and women.
The Church of the Holy Grail is organized around small faith groups and has instituted a Church House Program that allows members to meet at a time convenient for them and that offers a sense of close community with others of like faith. Priests generally work secular jobs and administer their sacramental duties as leisure time allows. Training occurs through the Beloved Disciple Seminary, which offers theological courses through correspondence.
Membership: Not reported.
Educational Facilities: Beloved Disciple Seminary, Mesquite, New Mexico.
★1810★
Church of Antioch
111 W. Cordova Rd.
Santa Fe, NM 87505-3623
During the 1930s the American Catholic Church on the West Coast became thoroughly infused with Theosophical metaphysics. One instrument for moving the Church in that direction was Justin A. Boyle, more popularly known as Robert Raleigh. Boyle, a Roman Catholic priest, joined the Apostolic Christian Church, a splinter of the American Catholic Church schism formed by Gregory Lines in 1927. Lines consecrated Boyle on April 7, 1928, and appointed him coadjutor with right of succession. Lines returned for a few years to Lloyd's Church, but seceded again upon Lloyd's retirement. After Lines' death Raleigh continued as head of his independent jurisdiction. Over the years he also headed several Christian metaphysical organizations, St. Primordia's Guild and the Mystical Prayer Shrine.
At the time of Bishop Raleigh's retirement in 1965, his coadjutor was Herman Adrian Spruit (b. 1911). A pastor in the Methodist Church (1939-1951), Spruit left the church in 1951. He was inclined to follow the metaphysical movement in certain respects, and feeling that the Methodists were unable to accept his perspective, he joined the Church of Religious Science. At the outset, he became the executive secretary of the church and taught homiletics in the school of ministry. He left in 1953 to become vice president of the Golden State University in Hollywood, California.
Spruit, having become familiar with Liberal Catholicism, sought out Archbishop Charles Hampton, who ordained him to the deaconate in 1955 and to the priesthood the following year. Archbishop Hampton was joined by Archbishop Lowell Paul Wadle and Bishop Francis Marshall in consecrating Spruit to the bishopric in 1957. Spruit then interacted with Wadle and the American Catholic Church Wadle headed, but joined himself to Raleigh's independent jurisdiction, the Christian Catholic Church. In 1968, three years after Spruit succeeded Raleigh, he changed the name of the church to the Church of Antioch, Malabar Rite, to affirm the church's orders through Archbishops Joseph Rene Vilatte and Frederick E. J. Lloyd, the first bishops of the American Catholic Church, who brought the Antiochean succession to America.
In faith and practice the church emphasizes a mystical Catholic perspective. In the interpretation of scriptures, it follows a liberal bent and relies upon the Ecumenical Creeds, but requires none. It is quick to state that "it seeks further light on the mystery and wonder of the faith by searching in the spirit of disciplined scholarship for those aspects of Christian evidences that preceded and followed the Apostolic Period." The church was among the first Christian groups to ordain women to the priesthood, and in 1976 Spruit consecrated Helene Seymour as the first woman bishop in modern times. In 1980 he consecrated his wife Meri Louise Spruit as archbishop, and on January 26, 1986, she was enthroned as Matriarch of the Church of Antioch, the feminine counterpart of the Patriarch, with equal rights, powers, and responsiblities.
Archbishop Spruit resigned in 1991 due to health problems and died in 1994. Mt. Rev. Meri Louise Spruit continues to head the church. She has designated the Most Rev. Richard Gundrey as her coadjutor and successor. He currently runs the day to day operations of the church from Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Membership: In 2001 there were 68 active clergy and 26 chartered churches. There are clergy in Canada, Australia, Ireland, and England.
Educational Facilities: Sophia Divinity School, Santa Fe, NM.
Periodicals: Prism.
Sources:
Spruit, Herman A. Constitution and Statement of Principles. Mountian View, CA: Church of Antioch Press, 1978.
——. The Sacramentarion. Mountain View, CA: The Author, n.d.
Spruit, Mary, ed. The Chalice of Antioch. Mountain View, CA: Archbishop Herman Adrian Spruit, 1979.
Sullivan, Edward C. A Short History of the Church of Antioch and Its Apostolic Succession. Bellingham, WA: Holy Order of the Rose and Cross,1981.
Van Campenhout, W. John Kooistra. Apostolic Succession in the Catholic and Apostolic Church of Antioch. Scarborough, ON: Institute for Johannine Christianity Press, 1993. 86p.
★1811★
The Church of Gnosis (Ecclesia Gnostica Mysteriorum)
3437 Alma, No. 23
Palo Alto, CA 94306
The Church of Gnosis, (Ecclesia Gnostica Mysteriorum), founded in the 1970s by Bishop Rosamonde Miller, began as a center of the Church of the Sacred Wisdom, a small jurisdiction founded and headed by Bishop Neil Jack. It was later associated with the Ecclesia Gnostica led by Bishop Stephan A. Hoeller. In 1983 the Ecclesia incorporated as a separate entity. Bishop Miller had been ordained in 1974 by Bishop Hoeller, assisted by Bishops Neil Jack, Forest Barber, and Herman Adrian Spruit of the Church of Antioch. Bishops Hoeller, Jack, and Barber consecrated Miller as a bishop in 1981.
Bishop Miller claims a primal apostolic succession through the Mary Magdalene lineage. According to her account, Mary Magdalene had received her "hierophantic power" in the Isis Mystery schools of Egypt and later at the hands of Christ, as did the other apostles. Later she was the first to see the resurrected Christ. Unable to function in the immediate area because of sexist attitudes, she traveled west with Joseph of Arimathea, first to England and later to the Continent, where she lived out her life. She left behind a secret sisterhood that survives to this day. During the 1960s, Miller made contact with this sisterhood and was consecrated in it. She promised to keep her association confidential until after she had received the more recognized male lineage. She has now, however, ordained the first male priests in the Mary Magdalene Order. Teachings of the church are taken from the Mary Magdalene Order, gnostic writings, her own experience of gnosis, and other sources. A liturgy was developed based upon the writings of the Mary Magdalene Order, Miller's own writings, and quotations from George Mead's collection of gnostic texts, Fragments of a Faith Forgotten. The church is unconcerned with reviving any doctrine or system, including Gnosticism, and does not consider itself Christian even though it uses a male/female Christos mythology as basis for its ritual. It is concerned with the elimination of doctrines and systems altogether in order to free the mind to experience "gnosis."
Membership: As the church does not operate in a jurisdictional system, no parishes or branches exist. However, there are several ordained priests with their own churches throughout the world and 17 local clergy. Membership is not counted, but as of 1997 approximately 400 people regularly attend services throughout the year and approximately 1,000 are loosely connected.
Periodicals: The Gnostic.
Sources:
The Gnostic Holy Eucharist. Palo Alto, CA: Sanctuary of the Holy Shekinah, 1984.
Mead, George R. S. Fragments of a Faith Forgotten. New Hyde Park, NY: University Books, 1960.
Miller, Rose. The Gnostic Holy Eucharist. Palo Alto, CA: Ecclesia Gnostica Mysteriorum, 1984.
Segal, Robert, and Iyne Singer. Allure of Gnosticism. LaSalle, IL: Open Court, 1994.
★1812★
Ecclesia Gnostica
4516 Hollywood Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90027
Stephan A. Hoeller has for many years been a popular writer of occult literature and has written extensively on gnosticism and the wisdom tradition. Early in his career, he became acquainted with the writings of James Morgan Pryse. Pryse, a leader of the independent Theosophical movement in New York City early in the century, later moved to Los Angeles and became a popular lecturer and writer on the occult and gnosticism. The Ecclesia Gnostica continues, in a religious vein, the gnostic tradition of the Gnostic Society founded by Pryse in 1928. The society is now a chartered lay organization of the church.
In 1959 Hoeller was appointed to oversee the work of the Brotherhood and Order of the Pleroma and the Pre-Nicene Church as the American representative of Richard, Duc de Palatine. After de Palatine's death, he and many members of the order left and formed the Ecclesia Gnostica. Hoeller had been consecrated in 1967 by de Palatine, assisted by Bishops John Martyn-Baxter and Gregory F. E. Barber. He was reconsecrated subconditione by Archbishop Herman Adrian Spruit (of the Church of Antioch), assisted by Bishop Barber and Neill P. Jack, Jr., in 1972.
The Ecclesia Gnostica continues the teaching of the Brotherhood and Order of Pleroma, but has a much more open approach. From the headquarters, the Sophia Gnostic Center in Hollywood, California, regular classes and lectures and weekly worship is offered to the public, and a worshipping community has gathered. The church has been in the forefront of welcoming women to the priesthood and has one female bishop.
Membership: In 2002 the church reported approximately 300 affiliated lay people, 14 priests, and five congregations worldwide, as well as a seminary in Arizona.
Educational Facilities: St. Sophia Seminary, Sedona, Arizona.
Sources:
Hoeller, Stephan A. The Enchanted Life. Hollywood, CA: Gnostic Society, n.d.
——. The Gnostic Jung. Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1982.
——. The Royal Road. Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1975.
——. The Tao of Freedom: Jung, Gnosis and a Voluntary Society. Rolling Hills Estates, CA: Wayfarer Press, 1984.
Pryse, James M. Spiritual Light. Los Angeles: The Author, 1940.
★1813★
Edta Ha Thoma
Current address not obtained for this edition.
Edta Ha Thoma is a small jurisdiction formed just before the disruption of the Federation of St. Thomas Christian Churches in 1984. It was founded by Abp. James A. Dennis, a bishop in the Ecumenical Catholic Communion. He established a ministry at San Bruno, California. In the mid-1980s the jurisdiction was strengthened by the absorption of the Mesbarim Fellowship, which had been formed in 1976 by several former priests of the Church of Antioch. On Thanksgiving Day 1976, one of the priests, Michael G. Zaharakis (1946-1984) was consecrated by Lewis S. Keizer of the Independent Church of Antioch to lead the fellowship. An initial congregation of 22 members was formed at Santa Cruz, California.
The fellowship shared the gnostic-mystical perspectives of the Church of Antioch, but had placed its priorities on social action and community service. In Portland, Oregon, for example, a ministry to alcoholics was initiated, and in Santa Cruz, an outreach to migrants led to the development of a jail ministry. A variety of outreach projects flowed from these initial efforts. Basor Press was founded as a publishing arm of Mebasrim. Edta Ha Thoma, like the Federation of St. Thomas Christian Churches, recognizes the Gospel of Thomas as having scriptural authority.
In 1980, the fellowship affiliated with the ecumenical Federation of St. Thomas Christian Churches, an older organization that was attempting to tie together the scattered esoteric Christian churches. Zaharakis provided much of the leadership for the federation during the remaining few years of his life. The year 1984 proved traumatic for the fellowship. Due to internal disputes, the federation was disrupted and the fellowship withdrew its support. Zaharakis threw his support behind the formation of a new organization, the Synod of Independent Sacramental Churches, which included many of the churches formerly in the federation. However, before the synod could reorganize, Zaharakis died.
The fellowship supported the synod, but much of its work was assumed by Bp. Ismael Ford of the New Age Universal Church. Among the new members of the synod was Edta Ha Thoma. Within a short time the remaining remnant of the Mebasrim fellowship merged into that jurisdiction, in which it now functions as an order. Basor Press is now the publishing arm of Edta Ha Thoma.
Membership: Formal membership is not required of those who are involved with Edta Ha Thoma.
Educational Facilities: St. Thomas Institute, San Bruno, California.
Western Orthodox Theological Institute, San Bruno, California.
Periodicals: Basor.
Sources:
Keizer, Lewis S. Initiation: Ancient & Modern. San Francisco: St. Thomas Press, 1981.
★1814★
Federation of St. Thomas Christian Churches
134 Dakota, No. 308
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
The Federation of St. Thomas Christian Churches was founded in 1963 by its Archbishop and Patriarch, Joseph L. Vredenburgh, a former Congregationalist minister. Vredenburgh was ordained in the Reformed Church in America in 1958 and for several decades served congregations in California culminating in a year's work in British Samoa (1977-78). However, in 1963 he was also consecrated as a bishop by another Congregationalist minister carrying Old Catholic episcopal orders, Howard E. Mather, and Cyrus A. Starkey. Through Mathers, Vredenburgh inherited orders from the Syrian Church of Antioch, the church of the St. Thomas Christians of India. Upon his return from Samoa, Vredenburgh settled in Santa Cruz and activated the Federation of St. Thomas Christians as a fellowship of independent and autonomous churches. A number of small jurisdictions, many of which has derived from the Church of Antioch, affiliated with the federation. By 1983 there were approximately 30 ministries and churches in the federation including the MeBasrim Fellowship, the Ecclesia Gnostica Mysteriorum, and the Independent Church of Antioch.
Disruption of the fellowship began in 1984. That year Bishop Michael G. Zaharakis, a leading member of the federation died, and Archbishop Joseph L. Vredenburgh, who had moved to Hawaii, and Bishop Lewis S. Keizer, of the Independent Church of Antioch, had a disagreement on policy which led to a disintegration of the federation as it was then constituted. Many of the member churches withdrew and formed the Synod of Independent Sacramental Churches. Vredenburgh reorganized the federation as an umbrella for the remaining independent ministries. In 1984 the Reformed Catholic Church in America, led by Most Rev. Brian G. Turkington, its founder, merged into the federation. Turkington was named co-patriach of the federation and shares leadership with Vredenburgh. An annual synod convenes on the July 4th weekend.
The federation professes belief in the "True Light", which enlightened the Lord Jesus Christ and brings salvation, and acknowledges the necessity of a personal commitment to Christ. Members look to the Universal Divine Gnosis (Wisdom). The Gnostic Gospel of Thomas is accepted as scripture along with the Bible.
The federation has grown steadily as it has become the umbrella for a variety of churches and ministries across North America. In 1997, for example, the church added to its fold the congregations of Zoe Ministries in New York City; Diocese of San Jose and Diocese of Sonoma County, California; and Christ Cathedral in Chesterfield, Virginia. A new ministry for bikers has been developed in Flagstaff, Arizona, and a seminary program has emerged in Sedona, Arizona.
Membership: In 2002 the federation reported 1,500 members, 96 churches, 98 clergy persons in the United States, 84 members in four churches served by two priest in Canada, and an additional 500 members in churches in Barbados, Western Samoa, Australia, the United Kingdom.
Educational Facilities: College of Seminarians, Santa Cruz, California and Atlanta Georgia.
American Apostolic University, Santa Cruz, California.
St. Andrews Pastoral Institute, Alta Monte Springs, Florida.
Periodicals: Basor.
★1815★
Free Liberal Catholic Church
c/o St. Alban Theological Seminary
PO Box 2507
Frisco, TX 75034-2507
The Free Liberal Catholic Church was founded in 1975 by a group of Liberal Catholic priests including Bishops Donald M. Berry (1935- ) and John Russell (1920-1985). Bishop Berry was consecrated by Bishop William H. Daw of the Liberal Catholic Church International. Bishop Russell was consecrated by Bishop William A. Henley of the American Orthodox Catholic Church. Archbishop John Shelton Davis, vicar general at the time of the formation of the Free Liberal Catholic Church, is currently the presiding bishop. Davis was consecrated by Berry in 1979.
The Free Liberal Catholic Church follows the Liberal Catholic tradition. The Bible is accepted as the guide and rule of life by members and priests, but no one is required to subscribe to a creedal summary or to a particular formulation of faith. Freedom of inquiry is encouraged. There are seven sacraments that operate by the power of the Holy Spirit and depend for their efficacy on the clear conscience of the supplicant.
The organization's Internet site is http://www.liberalcatholic.org.
Membership: Not reported.
★1816★
Friends Catholic Communion
c/o Tonya Beckett, Convening Bishop
PO Box 60
Chesapeake, OH 45619-0060
The Friends Catholic Communion dates to a retreat at which clergy and laity from a variety of previously existing Christian ministries held in Washington, D.C. in February 1994. The retreat became a time for healing and fellowship and from it emerged a new community that shared a common tradition and desire to keep an apostolic sacramental tradition of the early Christian church. They also represented independent ministries that wished to make the sacraments available to as many people as possible. Apart from these primary commitments, those participating wished to emphasize their freedom to make choices about the direction of their individual spiritual lives and the expression of their ministries. The group affirmed that "to be truly free, we must be free to be different in individual ways and equally free to be similar, traditional, even conservative."
To retain the apostolic tradition, the group decided that a bishop was needed. In their midst was Mt. Rev. J. C. Catherine Adams, a bishop from the New Order of Glastonbury. She agreed to teach Jesus' teachings, to keep the sacraments and successions according to the apostolic tradition, and in other matters to allow each clergyperson free to pursue what for them was authentic spirituality and ministry. She was named the first Convening Bishop of the new Friends Catholic Communion. Within the Communion, each ministry would be autonomous in all areas not directly impinging upon the integrity of the Communion's apostolic tradition or the community as a whole. As such, the Communion is neither Roman Catholic, canonically Orthodox, nor Protestant.
The communion includes ministries nationwide. Each is led by an independent bishop and different bishops have different lineages of apostolic succession. On matters affecting the whole communion, each covenant ministry selects one layperson and one clergyperson to meet together for communal decision making.
The communion sees itself as particularly called to serve disenfranchised and marginalized people.
Membership: Not reported. In 2002, there were twelve ministries associated with the communion.
Remarks: Among the bishops who have associated with the Friends Catholic Communion is Rt. Rev. Brian G. Turkington, formerly with the Old Episcopal Church of Scotland (OECS) and the Federation of St. Thomas Christian Churches.
★1817★
Gnostic Order of Christ
PO Box 8660
San Jose, CA 95155-8660
The Gnostic Order of Christ is one of several groups founded by former members of the Holy Order of MANS who dissented from the Holy Order's merger into the Greek Orthodox Missionary Archdiocese of Vasiloupolis in 1986. The Holy Order had been founded by Fr. Earl W. Blighton (1904-1974) who modeled the group on a Roman Catholic order, but who poured mystical and esoteric material into its teachings. The merger with the Greek archdiocese was backed by those members who felt their greatest attachment to a traditional Christian approach to belief and practice.
Timothy D. Harris was one of the original members of the Holy Order, having been a member of the Science of Man Church that preceded it. He was ordained by Blighton in 1970, though two years later he left the Order to become an independent metaphysical teacher. In 1984 he accepted consecration as a bishop from Bishop Lewis S. Keizer of the Home Temple Movement whose orders came through Adrian Spruit and the Church of Antioch. Joining him in the founding of the Gnostic Order of Christ was Jessica Catherine Burkhouse who had taken vows with the Holy Order in 1978. Known as Sister Jessica, she took a leadership role in the Immaculate Heart Sisters of Mary, a suborder for females within the Holy Order. She also was consecrated a bishop in the Keizer-Spruit lineage.
The merger of the Holy Order left those members who followed the more mystical stream of its teachings more or less cut off and scattered. They began to communicate with each other; and Harris and Brukhouse, along with Stephen R. Thibideaux (1942-2000), who had been consecrated as a bishop by Burkhouse, assumed leadership roles in forming two organizations, the Euphotic Foundation (a for-profit business) and the Gnostic Order of Christ.
Membership: Not reported. The order has various affiliated communities across the United States, including Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Vernon, Texas; Witchita, Kansas; and Rapid City, South Dakota.
Sources:
Gnostic Order of Christ. http://www.gnosticorderofchrist.net/. 1 February 2002.
Lucas, Philip Charles. The Odyssey of a New Religion: The Holy Order of MANS from New Age to Orthodoxy. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1995.
★1818★
Gnostic Orthodox Church of Christ in America
The Most Rev. Abbot George Burke
Holy Protection Orthodox Monastery
Geneva, NE 68361
The pilgrimage of Abbot George Burke and the group of monastics that surround him at the Holy Protection Grostic Orthoday Monastery outside Geneva, Nebraska (including the convent for women in Geneva) is among the most fascinating of all of the independent apostolic churches. Burke was raised a conservative Protestant but among people with a mystic bent who had prophetic powers and practiced spiritual healing. As a young adult he discovered the Bhagavad Gita, the ancient Hindu scripture from India, to which he was immediately attracted. He began a study of Eastern religious literature. He finally traveled to India where he became a disciple of Sri Sri Ananda Mayi Ma (b. 1895), a famous female quru, and was initiated into the classical Hindu monastic order of Shankaracharya.
He returned to the United States and resided for three years in a Greek Orthodox monastery where he discovered the convergence of mystical Eastern Christianity with much Hindu spirituality. Upon leaving the Monastery he gathered a small group around him and in 1968 they went to India. Upon their return in 1969, they settled in Oklahoma City and created the Sri Ma Anandamayi Monastery and began publishing a magazine called Ananda Jyoti. As disciples of Anandamayi they practiced japa (or mara) yoga, a spiritual discipline which requires the repetition of a mantrum, word(s) of power. The practice leads to the spiritual liberation that all seek.
Then in the early 1970s Burke, known then as Swami Nirmalananda Giri became acquainted with Archibishiop Robert Williams of the Liberal Catholic Church International. On August 23, 1975 he was consecrated by and Robert L. Williams of the Liberal Catholic Church International, Bishop Jay Davis Kirby working with a letter of concurrence from Archbishop E. R. Verostek of the North American Old Roman Catholic Church-Utrecht Succession.
During the mid-and late 1970s Burke and the Monastery functioned under the episcopal authority of Bishop Williams as the American Catholic Church. They created Rexist Press, from which flowed some of the most substantive material produced by Old Catholics in America. Burke's catechetical text, Faith Speaks, remains the most complete theological text produced by any American Old Catholic. He also wrote several booklets, reprinted several classical Old Catholic works, produced a series of Bible Guides, and in 1976 began The Old Catholic (later renamed The Good Shepherd) which gave Old Catholicism one of its few high-quality periodicals. During this period Burke's writings were traditional Catholic in its theological perspective and widely read and appreciated by Old Catholics.
More recently, Burke has openly moved toward Liberal Catholicism in belief, while the early attunement to Eastern Orthodoxy has asserted itself in practice. He remains a member of the Shankaracharya Order and has sought an affiliation that will provide an ideological compatibility. The concept of reincarnation and karma are integral to his theology. Finally, in 1984 he founded the Gnostic Orthodox Church. It is in communion with the Liberal Catholic Church, Province of the United States.
Membership: Not reported.
Sources:
Burke, George. Faith Speaks. Oklahoma City, OK: Rexist Press, 1975.
——. Magnetic Healing. Oklahoma City, OK: Saint George Press, 1980.
Sullivan, Edward C., and Jeffrey A. Isbrandtsen. "An Interview with Abbot George Burke." Parts 1, 2. AROHN 3, no. 3 (1980): 26-29, 24-30.
★1819★
Independent Catholic Church International
℅ Mt. Rev. R. V. Bernard Dawe
1260 American Canyon Rd., No. 148
Vallejo, CA 94589
The Independent Catholic Church International was formed in 1981 as both a new jurisdiction out of the Anglican heritage and an ecumenical body which related a variety of independent episcopal bodies, some out of the theosophical Liberal Catholic tradition. The first primate was Peter Wayne Goodrich. Goodrich resigned in 1983 and was succeeded by R. V. Bernard Dawe (b.1925), who had been consecrated in 1980 and had served as the church's international legate.
As constituted, the small jurisdiction has freely developed interchanges with a variety of Old Catholic and Anglican jurisdictions and has remained open to theosophical currents. It is a member of the Synod of Independent Sacramental Churches.
Membership: Not reported.
Sources:
Ward, Gary L. Independent Bishops: An International Directory. Detroit, MI: Apogee Books, 1990.
★1820★
Independent Catholic Church of Canada
℅ Mt. Rev. William Hains-Howard
4520 Huron St., Apt. 602
Niagara Falls, ON, Canada I2E 6Y0
The Independent Catholic Church of Canada is a Catholic jurisdiction founded in the late 1970s, one of a set of fraternally related independent Anglican, Catholic, and Liberal Catholic jurisdictions which would associate in 1981 in the Independent Catholic Church International (ICCI). Peter Wayne Reynold Goodrich, consecrated in 1978 by William H. Daw of the Liberal Catholic Church International, became the first primate. Goodrich also headed the ICCI. He resigned both positions in 1983 to become primate of the North American Episcopal Church and was succeeded by William Vincen t (Paul) Hains-Howard.
Hains-Howard had been consecrated in 1970 by Earl Anglin James of the North American Old Roman Catholic Church. He also heads the Order of St. Gilbert of Sempringham, an ordered community.
Membership: Not reported.
Sources:
Ward, Gary L. Independent Bishops: An International Directory. Detroit, MI: Apogee Books, 1990.
★1821★
Independent Church of Antioch
℅ The New Church Center
350 Santa Cruz St.
Boulder Creek, CA 95006
The Independent Church of Antioch is a small jurisdiction founded by its Primate, Bishop Robert Branch. Branch was consecrated by Archbishop Herman Adrian Spruit of the Church of Antioch, but left that jurisdiction to found the Independent Church of Antioch. The new jurisdiction became known in the 1970s through the varied activities of its regional bishop, Lewis S. Keizer.
Keizer, a former Episcopal priest, received his doctorate from the Graduate Theological Union in 1973. In the late 1960s, while serving as a deacon at St. Mark's Episcopal Church, he met Jeannie Maierader, a teacher of esoteric wisdom known affectionately as Mother Jeannie. She convinced Keizer to resign from the Episcopal Church, and on March 30, 1975 he was ordained and made Vicar General of the Church of Antioch by Archbishop Spruit. Two weeks later he was consecrated bishop by Spruit. Soon after that consecration, Keizer left Spruit's jurisdiction and aligned himself with Bishop Branch and the Independent Church of Antioch. Besides authoring a number of books and scholarly papers, Keizer has founded and directed a nationally recognized school for gifted children, and has attained fame as a jazz and classical musician.
The Independent Church of Antioch functions not so much as a traditional body of believers, but as an association of five theosophically-inclined teacher-bishops. Besides Branch and Keizer, the bishops are Dr. Daniel Fritz, a close associate of Manly Palmer Hall and Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov; Warren Watters, head of the Center for Esoteric Studies in Santa Barbara, California, and editor of the Esoteric Review; and Torkom Saraydarian, head of the Aquarian Educational Group.
Membership: Not reported.
Periodicals: Esoteric Review. Send orders to 533 E. Anapamu St., Santa Barbara, CA 93013.
Sources:
Keizer, Lewis S. The Eighth Reveal the Ninth: A New Hermetic Initiation Disclosure. Seaside, CA: Academy of Arts and Humanities, 1974.
——. Initiation: Ancient & Modern. San Francisco, CA: St. Thomas Press, 1981.
——. Love, Prayer and Meditation. Santa Cruz, CA: The Author, n.d.
——. Priesthood in the New Age. Santa Cruz, CA: The Author, 1985.
★1822★
International Free Catholic Communion
PO Box 3454
Clearwater, FL 34630
The International Free Catholic Communion is a liturgical Christian church founded in 1991. On Pentecost 1991, the first synod of the Communion was held at Bremerton, Washington, by Bishop Timothy Barker (1953- ), Bishop-elect Michael Milner (1954- ), and his wife, Rev. Maru Milner. The Statement of Union was completed at that synod. Bishop Barker had been consecrated in 1989 by Patriarch Herman Adrian Spruit of the Church of Antioch and served as the bishop of the church's diocese of New England. Bishop-elect Milner was consecrated in 1991 by Barker, assisted by Bishops Brian G. Turkington and Joseph P. Sousa, and Louis Boynton. Milner had an eclectic background, having studied Taoism, served as a Pentecostal minister, and worked with the Roman Catholic Church prior to a brief period with the Church of Antioch.
The International Free Catholic Communion follows the Free Catholic tradition earlier exemplified in the Church of Antioch. It sees itself as a viable sacramental alternative to the Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Protestant traditions. It accepts the traditional Apostles' and Nicene Creeds as the basis of Christian unity but also emphasizes the right and privilege of individual freedom of thought. The church offers seven sacraments: baptism, confirmation, the holy Eucharist, reconciliation, anointing the sick, matrimony, and holy orders. Women are admitted to all orders of the ministry: deacon, priest, and bishop. In like measure, married people are also admitted to all levels of ministry. The Eucharist is open to all, whatever their religious affiliation.
The Communion has formal intercommunion agreements with the Federation of St. Thomas Christian Churches and the Orthodox Church of the East. Bishop Barker also founded the Koinonia Institute to foster communication among independent Catholic, Anglican, and Orthodox jurisdictions.
Membership: Not reported. There are two dioceses with headquarters in Florida and California.
Periodicals: Free Catholic Communicant, 1250 Grand Ave., 10, Arroyo Grande, CA 93420.
★1823★
International Liberal Catholic Church
(Defunct)
The International Liberal Catholic Church was founded in 1966 by Bishop Edmund Walter Sheehan and others who left the Liberal Catholic Church branch led by Bishop Edward M. Matthews. He had previously served as an auxiliary bishop under Bishop Charles Hampton. His disagreement with Matthews concerned administrative matters.
Sheehan linked the International Liberal Catholic Church to the Brotherhood of the Blessed Sacrament, a Dutch group which had broken with the British headquarters of the Liberal Catholic Church. The Brotherhood had originally sided with Matthews but had broken relations with him in 1962.
The International Liberal Catholic Church followed the Matthews faction in doctrinal and liturgical matters. While reporting 9 bishops, 25 clergy, and 3,000 members in 1969, the International Church dwindled to only a few parishes during the 1970s, and in the early 1980s was disbanded.
Sources:
International Liberal Catholic Church, Origins, Principles, Worship, Theology, Sacraments. Ojai, CA: St. Raphael's Printing Guild, 1968.
Sheehan, Edmund. Teaching and Worship of the Liberal Catholic Church. Los Angeles, CA: St. Alban Press, 1925.
★1824★
Johannine Catholic Church
18372 Highway 94
Dulzura, CA 91917
The Johannine Catholic Church was organized in 1968 (incorporated in 1971) by J. Julian Gillman and his wife, Rita Anne Gillman, as a ministry to those rejected by or disillusioned with the traditional churches. Initially it was directed to the hippie culture of the late 1960s. Gillman was consecrated "sub-rosa" by a 'renegade' (unnamed) Episcopal bishop, but in 1977 both he and his wife were consecrated by H. Ernest Caswell of the North American Old Roman Catholic Church-Utrecht Succession.
The church is described as new age in orientation, open to clergy of both sexes and making no distinctions due to sexual preferences. The designation Johannine refers to the Gospel of John and its central message of love. Love, not theology, is considered the overriding principle of Christianity.
The church sponsors several religious orders, all open to men and women, both married and single. The Order of Saint John the Evangelist is the order of clergy whose ministry is to the rejected. The Order of Saint John Bernadone is a street ministry to street people. The Paracelsian Order is a new age community seeking to develop an alternative life style. The church is a member of the Synod of Independent Sacramental Churches. Gillman edits SISCOM, the journal of the synod. Saint Dionysius' Press is the church's publishing arm.
Membership: Not reported. In 1988 the church reported approximately 100 members in four congregations served by eight priests. The church centers were located in San Diego, Santa Barbara, Dulzura, and San Francisco, California.
Periodicals: The Madre Grande Journal.
Sources:
Nihle, William. A True History of Celtic Britain. San Diego, CA: Saint Dionysius Press, 1982. The People's Liturgy. San Diego, CA: Johannine Catholic Church, 1968.
★1825★
Liberal Catholic Church International
741 Cerro Gordo Ave.
San Diego, CA 92102
The Liberal Catholic Church (being the American Province of the Liberal Catholic Church International) was constituted in 1983 by the merger of the Liberal Catholic Church and the Liberal Catholic Church International. The Liberal Catholic Church was one of two groups claiming to continue the original Liberal Catholic Church incorporated in 1928. In that church (under the second regionary bishop Charles Hampton) a strong division of opinion developed. Hampton articulated an independent stance regarding the Theosophical Society. As a result, he was deposed in 1944.
Most clergy and congregations supported him, and a schism was created. Then, the Presiding Bishop of the Church, F. W. Pigott (d. 1956), in London appointed John T. Eklund as the new regionary bishop. Eklund in turn consecrated two priests as bishops without obtaining the required approval of the priests and deacons of the Province. This act precipitated a second schism under Bishop Ray Marshall Wardall (d. 1954). A majority of the clergy and congregations in the United States supported Wardall.
In response to the Eklund consecrations, Wardall consecrated Edward M. Matthews (1898-1985), whom the Eklund faction had deposed from his position as Dean of the Liberal Catholic Cathedral in Los Angeles. Nevertheless, Matthews retained possession of the Cathedral. In 1950 Matthews succeeded Wardall as head of those clergy and congregations under his control. At that point, the Eklund faction filed suit against the Wardall-Matthews faction asking the court to deny Matthews use of either the name Liberal Catholic Church or the title Regionary Bishop. In 1955 Matthews exercised his powers as head of the jurisdiction by consecrating two priests to the episcopacy, William H. Daw and James Pickford Roberts.
The litigation took over a decade, by which time Pigott, Eklund, Hampton and Wardall had all died. The court ruled in favor of Matthews, who it declared to be the Presiding Bishop of the Liberal Catholic Church. However, during the years of litigation most of the clergy and congregations were now aligned with other jurisdictions. (Also, detached from the organizational strength of the Theosophical Society, the Matthews' faction had lost a major source for new members.) In 1964, shortly after the ruling, Bishops Daw and Roberts left the Mathews' jurisdiction to form the Liberal Catholic Church International.
Matthews eventually sold the Los Angeles Cathedral property and moved his headquarters to Miranda, California, where it remained until 1976, at which time Matthews reported 8 churches, 8 clergy, and 4,000 members. (In fact the church had only two parishes, one in Miranda and one in San Diego, California, and several priests.) The church splintered and Matthews, along with the congregation in Miranda, returned to the Liberal Catholic Church, Province of the United States. The San Diego parish under the leadership of then Very Rev. Dean Bekken, Vicar General of the Province, retained the corporate structure, and began to rebuild the Church.
Meanwhile, the Liberal Catholic Church International had picked up strength internationally. In 1974, Daw, the presiding bishop resigned in favor of Joseph Edward Neth.
On July 4, 1983, the Liberal Catholic Church merged with the Liberal Catholic Church International and became its American Province. Neth remained as the presiding bishop but also became the Provincial Bishop for the United States. The present presiding bishop is the most Charles W. Finn. Affiliated parishes are reported in England, Canada, and the Netherlands.
Among the important documents produced by Bishop Matthews, the 1959 Encyclical "Freedom of Thought" outlined the distinctives of this branch of Liberal Catholicism. Matthews attempted to move the Church away from Theosophical distinctives by affirming traditional Catholic ones. He specifically attacked the doctrine of reincarnation and noted that Liberal Catholicism does not now, nor ever has at any time, insisted or prescribed the dogma or teaching of the principle known as reincarnation, "Christian" or otherwise, as a tenet of belief and practices. Reincarnation is often a basic "text" belief in one's acceptance or rejection of Theosophy.
Membership: In 2002 the church reported 6,570 members in the United States, 19 priests, and 9 congregations in the United States.
Educational Facilities: St. Alban Theological Seminary, San Diego, California.
Sources:
The Holy Eucharist and Other Services. San Diego, CA: St. Alban Press, 1977.
Matthews, Edward M. "Freedom of Thought," An Encyclical. Los Angeles: Liberal Catholic Church, 1959.
——. The Liberal Catholic Church and Its Place in the World. Los Angeles: St. Alban Book Shop, n.d.
Statement of Principles. San Diego, CA: Liberal Catholic Church, 1977.
★1826★
Liberal Catholic Church, Province of the United States
1206 Ayers Ave.
Ojai, CA 93023
Bishop James Ingall Wedgewood brought The Liberal Catholic Church to the United States on the round-the-world tour he took his first year as Primate. Crossing the United States and meeting with Theosophists, he ordained as priests Charles Hampton (Los Angeles, August 19, 1917), Dr. Edwin Burt Beckwith (Chicago, September 16, 1917), and Ray Marshall Wardall (New York City, October 4, 1917). In 1919 Charles W. Leadbeater joined Wedgwood in consecrating Irving Steiger Cooper as the first regionary bishop for the United States. That consecration led to a war of words. Independent American Theosophists, especially those led by Katherine Tingley, used the emergence of the Liberal Catholic Church as an opportunity to denounce the Annie Besant-led Theosophists for selling out to Catholicism.
The Liberal Catholic Church prospered and spread under Cooper, but ran into trouble under its second regionary bishop, Charles Hampton (d. 1958). Hampton questioned the necessity of the provincal board and its beliefs. As the controversy continued, Hampton was deposed, and John T. Eklund was appointed to succeed him. Eklund's consecration of Newton A. Dahl and Walter J. Zollinger led to a second schism by priests led by Bishop Wardall, who objected to the legality of the action. Among those opposed to Eklund was Edward M. Mathews, the priest in charge of the leading congregation of the church in Hollywood, California. Eklund instituted suit against the schismatic group in hopes of denying it use of the church's name. The suit was lost in a ten-year court battle, but in spite of the loss, most Liberal Catholics adhered. In 1973 it could report 29 congregations, 61 clergy, and 2,393 members. The church retained the recognition of the international church headquartered in London, but it was forced to re-incorporate in 1962 in Maryland in order to continue the use of its original name in the United States.
This branch of Liberal Catholicism is most closely tied to the Theosophical Society. The cathedral church of Our Lady and All Angels is located in Ojai, California. The Province of the United State of America is aligned with the world headquarters of the church which is in London England. The presiding bishop of the Liberal Catholic Chuch is the Rt. Rev. Ian Hooker of Western Australia. In the year 2000 The Rt. Rev. William S. H. Downey became the regionary bishop for the United States of America succeeding the Rt. Rev. Hein van Beusekom.
Membership: In 2002, the church reported 2,400 members, 23 congregations, 38 priests, and 9 deacons.
Educational Facilities: Liberal Catholic Institute of Studies, (LCIS).
Periodicals: Ubique. Available from the Rev. James Voirol, 40 Krotona Rd., Ojai, CA 93023. • The Voice of the Synod. Send orders to the Very Rev. Robert Green Provost 4560 Lincoln Dr., Concord, CA 94521.
Sources:
Cooper, Irving S. Ceremonies of the Liberal Catholic Rite. London: St. Alban Press, 1964.
Leadbeater, Charles Webster. The Science of the Sacraments. Los Angeles: St. Alban Press, 1920.
The Liturgy of the Liberal Catholic Church. London: St. Alban Press, 1983.
Norton, Robert. The Willow in the Tempest: A Brief History of the Liberal Catholic Church in the United States from 1917-1942. Ojai, CA: St. Alban Press, 1990.
Pitkin, William H. Credo, First Steps in Faith. Ojai, CA: St. Alban Press, 1977.
Wedgewood, James Ingall. The Beginnings of the Liberal Catholic Church. Lakewood, NJ: Ubique, 1967.
★1827★
New Order of Glastonbury
Box 285
Yellow Jacket, CO 81335
The New Order of Glastonbury began in 1979 when seven independent Old and Liberal Catholic priests decided to establish an ordered community. The previous year, one of their number, Frank Ellsworth Hughes, had been consecrated by Archbishop Herman Adrian Spruit of the Church of Antioch. The group incorporated in 1980 and only later decided to add a Protestant-style ministry as a means of serving the lay public. A number of the clergy have established churches and ministries.
The order is very eclectic but generally follows a Liberal Catholic perspective. Their statement of principles espouses a belief in One God, manifest as the Creator; the Cosmic Christ, the Son; and the Holy Spirit, the Comforter. In life and worship, the order combines emphases from Catholic (apostolic succession, seven sacraments); Protestant (freedom of belief and mode of worship); and Metaphysical (the study of comparative religion, occult and psychic reality) traditions. A variety of liturgies are approved from the more orthodox (such as the Tridentine Latin or Byzantine) to the theosophical liturgy of the American Catholic Church written by Lowell Paul Wadle.
The order is governed by a seven-member board of directors. Most Rev. Frank Ellsworth Hughes was elected as the first presiding bishop. The order admits both men and women married or unmarried to all levels of its ministry. Fr. Merle D. Mohring, Sr. served as the first president of the board of directors, while his wife, Most Rev. Martha Theresa (Martha Jo Mohring Shultz) served as secretary-treasurer, and in 1985 she was appointed presiding bishop.
Membership: In 2002 the order reported ten congregations and 300 members served by 52 priests and ministers.
Educational Facilities: Seminary of Our Lady, Yellow Jacket, Colorado and Boulder, Colorado.
The order also offers a correspondence study program leading to ordination.
Periodicals: Gateways.
Sources:
The New Order of Glastonbury, History and Apostolic Succession. Rialto, CA: New Order of Glastonbury, [1980].
★1828★
Old Holy Catholic Church, Province of North America
Current address not obtained for this edition.
The Old Holy Catholic Church, Province of North America was founded in 1979 by the Rev. George W. S. Brister. Brister had been ordained to the priesthood by Bishop James A. J. Taylor of the Order of St. Germain, Ecclesia Catholica Liberalis in 1969. He headed the Maranatha Ministry Church and the Order of St. Timothy, Ecclesia Catholica Liberalis, both in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. By 1975, Maranatha Churches could also be found in Tulsa and Las Vegas. He was consecrated by Bishop Stephan A. Hoeller of the Ecclesia Gnostica in 1980. His church, as is true of Liberal Catholic congregations, was quite eclectic and combined teaching drawn from Theosophy, Buddhism, New Age metaphysics, and Religious Science.
In June 1987, Brister retired as archbishop primate of the church and appointed Bishop Alvin Lee Baker to succeed him. Besides his role as archbishop emeritus of the church, Brister now serves as vicar general of the Liberal Catholic Church (Oklahoma Synod) with which the Old Holy Catholic Church is in communion. Baker now serves as pastor of St. Timothy's Church in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
The Old Holy Catholic Church affirms the Nicene Creed, and the beliefs of the undivided church in Christ and redemption, though it understands them with a Liberal Catholic interpretation. It affirms its oneness with the one church founded by Christ that consists of the Roman Catholic Church, all the independent Catholic hierarchical churches, the Eastern churches such as the Orthodox, Coptic, and Armenian. The church condemns moral permissiveness, immodest dress during worship, homosexuality, and, in general, conforming to the "spirit of this world."
The church follows the liturgical year in its worship and emphasizes fasting during penitential seasons (such as Lent). It advocates the use of pious images, the rosary, and Gregorian chants.
Membership: Not reported.
Periodicals: The Lamp.
★1829★
Order of St. Germain, Ecclesia Catholica Liberalis
(Defunct)
The Order of St. Germain, Ecclesia Catholica Liberalis was founded in 1969 as the Order of St. Germain. Its more recent name was adopted two years later. Its founder was James A. J. Taylor, also known as James Matthews, a former member of the Holy Order of MANS, an esoteric-metaphysical group modeled on the structure of a Roman Catholic religious order. Like traditional orders, the Order of St. Germain had no lay members, but is made up entirely of priests, ministers and "practitioners." Taylor asserted that although he "was consecrated by a Bishop (unnamed) of the Liberal Catholic Church, the Order claims no genetic connection with that Church."
The Order existed to forward the work of the Masters, the Christs, in the world. It was a sacramental church but differed in that it attempted to offer the widest latitude in matters of intellectual liberty and respect for individual conscience. Theologically it was Liberal Catholic in perspective.
The small order was headed by the Archbishop, assisted by other bishops appointed to administer state jurisdictions. A board of directors assisted in administrative matters. The order never grew beyond northern California.
★1830★
Order of the Americas
Current address not obtained for this edition.
The Order of the Americas is a Gnostic religious jurisdiction founded in 1994 by Bp. Michael von Stambach Bruce. The order can be traced to a series of lectures offered by Bruce in 1992 at several locations in Atlanta, Georgia. Out of the positive response to his lectures, the Gnostic Academy, a school of Gnostic studies was formed. In the meantime, Bruce became a seminarian at Sophia Divinity School, the seminary of the Church of Antioch, and in 1993 he attended the American College of Seminarians, the school of the Federation of St. Thomas Christian Churches. He was ordained by Abp. Joseph Vredenburgh on October 31, 1993. He was consecrated in 1994 by Bp. Louis S. Keizer of the Independent Church of Antioch, and the following day (April 26) founded the Order of the Americas. On January 1, 1995, he participated in a service of cross-consecration with Bp. Russell Hill of the Ecclesia Gnostca Spirtualis and the NeoPythagorean Church. He was elevated to the office of archbishop in April 1995.
The Order of the Americas is a non-creedal Gnostic church. The Gnostic perspective rejects the God of Judaism and Christianity, which it considers a tribal deity. The highest expression of God to the Gnostic is an impersonal God as Ineffable, i.e., consciousness at rest, and has not thought of Itself. God can not be expressed in images, but can be experienced. Salvation is an act of awakening from the dream of life in matter and remembering who one really is, a spiritual being. Jesus is seen as the personification of the Logos, an impersonal principle of reason. As a person awakens, Logos operates to translate the new knowledge of the self.
The Order of the Americas, as an independent episcopal jurisdiction, is organized as a chivalric order and offers a course in religious knighthood. Knighthood is considered an archetypal role model. Through the gnostic academy, ministers are trained for the orders of deacon and priest. Priests are also eligible for consideration for the office of bishop. Ministers organize study groups and lead Sunday worship services. Services are conducted on a democratic basis and include meditation, readings from Gnostic scriptures, communion, and healing. Currently, the primary worship center is at the Gnostic shrine of Sophia in Atlanta. Worship services are open to all.
Membership: In 1995 the order reported approximately 300 members and eight clergy. The great majority of members are in the United States, but there are members in Great Britain, New Zealand, and Canada.
Educational Facilities: Gnostic Academy, Atlanta, Georgia.
Periodicals: Gnostica.
Sources:
Gregorious, Tau, Russell Slay Hill, and Michael von Stambach Bruce. "European Esoteric Lineages." Gnostic 1, 9 (February 1995): 1-5.
"Questions and Answers." Atlanta, GA: Order of the Americas, 1995.
★1831★
Paracletian Catholic Church
(Defunct)
The Paracletian Catholic Church was founded in 1982 by Leonard R. Barcynski and Vivian Barcynski, two bishops in the Church of Antioch. The Barcynskis had become well-known during the 1970s for their many books on magick and the occult written under their pseudonms, Melita Denning and Osborne Phillips. They have been leaders for over a decade in the Aurum Solis, a ritual magick organization which they helped reconstitute in 1971.
In 1978 the Barcynskis moved to the United States and soon after met Archbishop Herman Adrian Spruit, who in June 1982 consecrated them and established a Diocese of St. Paul (Minnesota) which the Barcynskis jointly administered. However, in October of that year, they broke with the Church of Antioch and established an independent jurisdiction. The Church never became firmly established, however, and several years later they abandoned any further effort to establish its parishes.
The articles of association of the Paracletian Catholic Church indicated that the church's main purposes were "to spread the love and knowledge of Christ, to administer the sacraments of the Catholic and Apostolic tradition in their plenitude, and to perform charitable works." The church was an attempt to give expression through the forms of the Catholic liturgical tradition to the teachings of Western Occultism as transmitted through the Aurum Solis. As defined by the Aurum Solis, the purpose of life in this world is to discover one's True Will and to do it. God is envisioned as the Divine Spark within, which motivates people to search out their true Vocation or Will.
★1832★
Pre-Nicene Church (de Palatine)
23301 Mobile St.
Canoga Park, CA 91307-3322
The Brotherhood and Order of the Pleroma was founded in 1953 in England by Ronald Powell, better known by the name he adopted, Richard, Duc de Palatine. The year previous to his founding of the Order he had been given the office of archon (ruler) of an Italian-based order, The Ancient Mystical Order of the Fratis Lucis. The Church is a liturgical community open only to members of the Order. It has its apostolic succession from Hugh George de Willmott Newman, who consecrated de Palatine in 1953.
The Order and Church differs from many Liberal Catholic groups by their emphasis upon gnosticism. The Gnostics were second century Christians who rejected the humanity of Jesus. They said he never became human, i.e. fleshly, and only seemed to have a material body. "Gnosis" means "knowledge," and the Gnostics sought salvation through the secret knowledge (occult wisdom) teachings.
The Order and Church emphasize a Western approach to the ancient wisdom, as opposed to Theosophists who draw heavily upon Eastern occultism.. It emphasizes Jesus' role as the bringer of gnosis and de-emphasizes the Oriental yogic disciplines. It is an active system, calling members to strive for enlightenment and push aside any self-abnegation. God is identified with nature and is pictured as fragmented into billions of parts, which are the spiritual selves, sparks of the divine, which man is. This spark is buried in the tomb of flesh. Humanity's task is to realize his God-nature and actualize his divine potentials. Reincarnation is a part of this scheme of actualization.
The method of actualization is the arcane (hidden) discipline, a way known to mystics of all ages. It includes the esoteric sacramental rituals of the Church which are based upon the allegorical interpretation of Holy Scripture.
The Order and Church are headquartered in London. The Sanctuary of the Gnosis is the corporate body created to give legal and civil status to the Order in America. The present President of the Sanctuary is George Ricci. The apostolic succession was passed by Powell to John Martyn-Baxter, who has passed it to the present bishop leaders of the Church.
Membership: Not reported. There are only a few hundred members of the Order in America and no more than 1,000 worldwide.
Sources:
Duc de Palatine, Richard John Chretien. The Inner Meaning of the Mystery School. London: Pre-Nicene Publishing House, 1959.
——. You and Reincarnation. Sherman Oaks, CA: Aeon Press, 1976.
★1833★
Science of Man Church
52501 E. Sylvan Dr.
Sandy, OR 97055
The Science of Man (SOM) was originally conceived of as an idea by Rev. Earl W. Blighton (1904-1974), an independent minister, from a revelation he had in 1930 that asked him to work for "the uniting of science and the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ." Blighton participated in a variety of theosophical and esoteric groups over the next decades, but in 1960 assembled a small group of 14 people in the San Francisco Bay Area to begin the work of helping the world and freeing it from the effects of 2,000 years of dogmatism. They began to absorb the Western Esoteric teachings with a Christian perspective.
The Science of Man Church evolved out of the group's deliberations and was chartered in 1961. Blighton led the church as teacher and preacher and developed a ministry to former convicts. The church opened a prayer shrine that serviced the street people of the period in San Francisco's Tenderloin section. People from the Tenderloin volunteered to assist and a brotherhood began to form within the church. Brotherhood members worked on the streets to help any in need. The somewhat informal brotherhood evolved into a more ordered community, the Holy Order of MANS, formed in 1968. At this time the Science of Man Church became inactive. The Holy Order grew into a large organization with centers in cities across the United States and Europe. Following Blighton's death in 1974, however, the new leadership of the order began to move it away from its esoteric teachings and place almost exclusive emphasis on its traditional Christian roots, especially eastern Orthodoxy. In 1986, they led the order to merge into the Greek Orthodox Missionary Archdiocese of Vasiloupolis.
As the move toward Orthodoxy became evident in the mid-1980s, two leaders in Oregon, Titus Hayden and his wife Karen Hayden, left the Holy Order and began to build a network of people who rejected the direction in which the order was moving. In 1987, Ruth Blighton, Blighton's widow, moved to Oregon and the three reactivated the old Science of Man Church to perpetuate what they saw as the order's original teachings.
The church's teachings flow from the general Western Esoteric teachings, but its teachings are occult and thus given out only to members and fully revealed in the experiencing of them. It is also the belief of the church, however, that all religions have been inspired by the Cosmic Christ, which gives the church a non-dogmatic openness to various spiritual paths and perceptions.
Membership: Not reported.
Periodicals: SOM Quarterly, 52501 E. Sylvan Dr., Sandy, OR97055.
Sources:
Lucas, Philip Charles. The Odyssey of a New Religion: The Holy Order of MANS from New Age to Orthodoxy. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1995.
Science of Man Church. http://www.scienceofman.org/. 1 February 2002.
Liberal Catholic Churches
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