Holy Catholic Church (Anglican Rite)

The Holy Catholic Church Anglican Rite (also known as the Anglican Rite Catholic Church) is a Christian church of the Continuing Anglican movement. It is represented in the United States of America.

History

Conflict and founding

In 1991, the Anglican Catholic Church, a Continuing Anglican body led at the time by Archbishop Louis Falk, split over its merger agreement with the American Episcopal Church. Parishes that refused the merger, a majority, continued under the name Anglican Catholic Church, Original Province (ACC-OP).

In 1997, a succession dispute arose among the bishops of the ACC-OP, which led to the formation of the Holy Catholic Church Anglican Rite. Related to the succession dispute was a debate about the value of continuing Anglicanism itself. In March of that year Archbishop William Lewis, Metropolitan of the ACC-OP, suffered a stroke, an event which led to questions about his ability to continue in his post. Thereafter a dispute arose regarding whether Thomas Kleppinger or John Cahoon was the Senior Bishop Ordinary in line to become Acting Metropolitan upon the death or disability of Lewis.[1]

In June 1997, Lewis submitted the question to the ACC-OP's Provincial Court. An attempted settlement of the issue in July fell apart at a meeting of the bishops on August 4, which ended abruptly. The next day, Bishops James McNeley, Arthur Seeland, and Leslie Hamlett announced that Archbishop Lewis was incapacitated and declared Bishop Kleppinger Acting Metropolitan. On August 6, Kleppinger, Hamlett, and Seeland called on the bishops, clergy, and lay members of the church to repudiate "Traditional Episcopalians". Kleppinger signed the letter under the title of Acting Metropolitan, also joined later by bishops McNeley and Alexander Price. On August 7, Archbishop Lewis issued a writ of inhibition against McNeley (suspending him from the exercise of his office), alleging that McNeley had struck Bishop Joseph Deyman at the meeting and thereby excommunicated himself. On August 19, Lewis charged the five with "invasion of the patrimony of the metropolitan" and issued writs of inhibition against the rest of the group.[1]

On August 28, the ACC's Provincial Court ruled that Cahoon was Senior Bishop Ordinary, and when Lewis died on September 23, 1997, Cahoon assumed the role of Acting Metropolitan. He was succeeded by a new Metropolitan, Bishop Michael Stephens, elected by a biennial provincial synod in Norfolk, Virginia on October 15. Meanwhile, the five dissenting bishops met as another synod in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and elected Bishop Hamlett as Metropolitan.[1]

By 1999, the dissenting bishops had separated into groups forming two new churches, the Holy Catholic Church Western Rite, friendly to Orthodox theology and skeptical about Anglicanism's doctrinal comprehensiveness, and the Holy Catholic Church Anglican Rite, following Anglo-Catholic theology.[2][3]

2010 reunion attempt

In March 2010, the bishops of the Holy Catholic Church Western Rite and the Holy Catholic Church Anglican Rite entered into full communion as one church, but retaining both names, in addition to a third name, Anglican Rite Catholic Church, with Bishop Kleppinger as Metropolitan.[4]

At the time of the 2010 union, these dioceses were reported:

By the end of 2010, however, the HCC-AR magazine Koinonia had dropped references to Kleppinger from its pages and Bishop Leo Michael, in an editorial, had criticized suggestions of diluting the Anglican identity of HCC-AR through "Western Rite" approaches.[5]

Status

As of 2016, these dioceses were reported:

19 parishes and missions were reported in the United States.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Anthony J. Parrillo (April 16, 1998). "Kleppinger v. Anglican Catholic Church Incorporated". Superior Court of New Jersey (via FindLaw). Retrieved June 5, 2016.
  2. ↑ William J. Tighe, Ph.D. "Anglican Bodies and Organizations". Virtue Online. Retrieved June 5, 2016.
  3. ↑ William J. Tighe, Ph.D. (January 2003). "Anglicanism, Catholicism & The Significance of the "Anglican Use" in The Catholic Church". New Oxford Review.
  4. ↑ "Declaration of Unity: communio in sacris" (PDF). Koinonia (Lent 2010). Kansas City, Missouri: Holy Catholic Church Anglican Rite. March 1, 2010. Retrieved June 5, 2016.
  5. ↑ Leo Michael (December 2010). "Editorial" (PDF). Koinonia (Christmas 2010). Kansas City, Missouri: Holy Catholic Church Anglican Rite. Retrieved June 5, 2016.

External links

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