ANGLO-CATHOLICS GONE WILD
A couple of weeks back, Damian Thompson had an amusing post on the so-called episcopi vagantes or “wandering bishops.” In older times, these were bishops who may have been driven from their sees by the Muslims, for example. Nowadays, these are “bishops” who have left Catholic, Orthodox or Anglican churches and gotten themselves pointy hats and hooked sticks from someone who claims apostolic succession usually through groups like the Old Catholics of the Netherlands.
There’s even a modern name for this phenomenon, the “Independent Sacramental Movement,” and it seems to cross denominational lines. As we see fairly regularly, many of these “bishops” consider themselves Roman Catholics. And you can’t swing a dead Northern pig-tailed macaque without hitting an Anglican with his or her very own crozier, miter and episcopal or primatial see.
If you’re interested in pursuing this subject, Thompson recommends Bishops at Large by Peter Anson. A Strange Vocation lets these “bishops” tell their own stories and seems to take them seriously while, according to its reviewers, Episcopi Vagantes and the Anglican Church takes a much more skeptical line.
The reason I bring all this up is that I think I’ve found an Anglican church that has taken all this to a whole new level:
There’s even a modern name for this phenomenon, the “Independent Sacramental Movement,” and it seems to cross denominational lines. As we see fairly regularly, many of these “bishops” consider themselves Roman Catholics. And you can’t swing a dead Northern pig-tailed macaque without hitting an Anglican with his or her very own crozier, miter and episcopal or primatial see.
If you’re interested in pursuing this subject, Thompson recommends Bishops at Large by Peter Anson. A Strange Vocation lets these “bishops” tell their own stories and seems to take them seriously while, according to its reviewers, Episcopi Vagantes and the Anglican Church takes a much more skeptical line.
The reason I bring all this up is that I think I’ve found an Anglican church that has taken all this to a whole new level:
The Anglican Rite Roman Catholic Church is a historical community of the Catholic Faith in the Anglican Tradition. Stemming from its historic Patriarchal See, distinct from the Anglican Ordinariate and the Continuing Anglican organizations, and not affiliated formally with any other Anglican or Catholic organization except as stated, it operates worldwide to spread the missionary Gospel of the pilgrim Church. We are distinct in that we openly embrace both the Anglican Rite and the Roman Rite in our liturgy, theology, and practices. Blessed with the gift of autonomy and independence, and in spiritual unity and sympathy with His Holiness, Benedict XVI, we work to exemplify the example of our Lord through the Charism of the Holy Spirt and the Intercessions of Our Lady in the daily advance of spiritual discipleship as our Anglican Rite Catholic Faithful advance in their daily walk with Christ.
Free from the constraints of traditional jurisdiction and political intrigue, our authority originates in Christ Jesus, in unbroken Apostolic Succession from St. Peter, Prince of the Apostles and includes the fullness of Anglican and Roman Catholic succession. Though independent, we recognize the Primacy of the Bishop of Rome, successor to the See of St. Peter, as First Among Equals of all Catholic Bishops in unity worldwide.
But Chris! Why are you tell us this? The Roman Catholic Church already has an Anglican rite. True. But this isn’t it.
Q: Why is the church name the “Anglican Rite Roman Catholic Church?”
A: Because this is an accurate statement of what we are and how we are distinct in the simplest terms possible. We are Roman Catholics in descent from the See of Utrecht who also have the heritage of the Anglican Church.
A: Because this is an accurate statement of what we are and how we are distinct in the simplest terms possible. We are Roman Catholics in descent from the See of Utrecht who also have the heritage of the Anglican Church.
Q: What does it mean to be “Anglican Rite Roman Catholic?”
A: This Church’s name reflects that it is a particular Church in both Anglican and Roman Catholic Apostolic Succession. As such, the Church enjoys the heritage of both expressions of the Christian Faith. This is particularly significant since it was Rome that founded the Anglican Church when St. Augustine of Canterbury was sent by Pope Gregory the Great to the British Isles. We also enjoy the blessing, privilege, and responsibility of autocephalous government. By being blessed with and accepting our true nature as an Anglican and Roman Particular Church, we have achieved a special sort of unity so rarely seen in the Church since the Protestant Reformation.
A: This Church’s name reflects that it is a particular Church in both Anglican and Roman Catholic Apostolic Succession. As such, the Church enjoys the heritage of both expressions of the Christian Faith. This is particularly significant since it was Rome that founded the Anglican Church when St. Augustine of Canterbury was sent by Pope Gregory the Great to the British Isles. We also enjoy the blessing, privilege, and responsibility of autocephalous government. By being blessed with and accepting our true nature as an Anglican and Roman Particular Church, we have achieved a special sort of unity so rarely seen in the Church since the Protestant Reformation.
Q: Are you under direct Papal leadership?
A: No, we have independence of ecclesiastical government. We do, however, maintain a spiritual unity with Rome and accept the Bishop of Rome as First Among Equals, Vicar of Christ, etc.
A: No, we have independence of ecclesiastical government. We do, however, maintain a spiritual unity with Rome and accept the Bishop of Rome as First Among Equals, Vicar of Christ, etc.
Do you think your Anglican church has its own bishop? Don’t bring that lame-ass smack around this church, yo. Meet the world’s first Anglican cardinal.
His Eminence Rutherford Cardinal Johnson is the Patriarch of the Anglican Rite Roman Catholic Church. He previously served as 6th Bishop of the Diocese and 1st Metropolitan of the Archdiocese of the Southwest. He was elected Patriarch of the Anglican Rite Roman Catholic Church in 2011 by the Patriarchal Electors. By his office, he holds the titular See of Leopontopolis as Archbishop in partibus infidelium and Cardinal-Deacon of Santa Maria Antiqua in camera persona.
Did I happen to mention that he’s also a Patriarch? Shouldn’t leave that out, I guess. I’ve never heard of Leopontopolis but then again, Leopontopolis has probably never heard of me so that’s fair.
Here’s a picture of His Eminence. I don’t know what that long red train is called but chances are pretty good that it’s going to end up at the other site. My man’s got his own Patriarchal Household along with a Curia whose offices have their own seals. And His Eminence even issues encyclicals.
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