Liberal Catholic Church International
Encyclopedia
The Liberal Catholic Church International (LCCI) is a Christian church
with headquarters based in the United States
. The Church traces its founding to Jesus
and the Twelve Apostles and sees the Bishops of the Church as the successors of the Apostles. While it derives its Apostolic Succession
from the Old Catholic Church
, the LCCI is today not in full communion
with either the Utrecht Union
, or the Roman Catholic Church
, and differs with them theologically in several important respects.
As of 2008, the LCCI has parishes in Africa
, North America
, Australia
, and Europe
.
In 2004, the GES approved the ordination of women
to all Holy Orders
up to and including Bishop.
Each province is governed by a Regionary Bishop who, in turn, may have one or more Bishops functioning as auxiliaries. For the most part these clergy are not financially compensated and hold secular jobs.
varies from diocese
to diocese, but generally postulant
s take distance study courses from St. Alban's Theological Seminary
, which offers three tracks of study: one for Holy Orders
, one for lay theologian
, and another for personal enrichment.
Seminarians are encouraged to pray the Divine Office
of the Church, specifically the morning prayer or Prime
, and the evening prayer or Compline
.
, today known as the Liberal Rite
. This liturgy was mostly composed by Bishop Wedgwood, with Bishop Leadbeater assisting on the Collects, and selecting the Psalms, canticles, and weekly epistle and gospel readings. The rite focuses more on the glorification of God, rather than the depravity of man.
Currently there are two religious orders in the church, including the Apostolic Society of St. Brigid of Kildare (SSB), and the Order of St. John the Apostle (OSJA).
The founding Bishop of the Liberal Catholic Church was James I. Wedgwood of the Wedgwood China family, formerly a Cleric in the Church of England
(Anglican). Wedgwood grew dissatisfied with the Church, and discovered the Theosophical Society
, which had a stronger appeal to his sense of life and justice. When Archbishop Arnold Harris Mathew sought to ordain those clergy who were dissatisfied with the Church of England, Wedgwood was one who joined the new Old Catholic Church of England. Archbishop Mathew knew of Wedgwood's membership in the Theosophical Society, as well as that of other clergy in the Old Catholic Church of England, and originally promised that this would not be a problem, but later retracted that promise and asked all clergy to resign from the Theosophical Society. Not willing to do so, Father Wedgwood and most of the Old Catholic Church in England found themselves without a Bishop as they withdrew from Archbishop Mathew's leadership.
One of the men who Archbishop Mathew had consecrated to the Episcopate, Bishop Frederick Samuel Willoughby, offered to consecrate and elevate one of the withdrawn clergy to the Episcopate so that they would not be without a Bishop. Father Wedgwood was selected and elevated to the Episcopate on February 13, 1916. The Church was eventually reorganized and renamed The Liberal Catholic Church. Archbishop Wedgwood then consecrated another former Anglican Priest, Charles W. Leadbeater, later that same year, with Bishop Leadbeater going on to become the 2nd Presiding Bishop of the Church in later years.
The LCCI arose from the 1941 schism of the Liberal Catholic Church in the United States, which surrounded the controversy involving American Regionary Bishop Charles Hampton, who wished to keep adherence to Theosophical tenets optional for all clergy, in accordance with the wishes of the church's first two Presiding Bishops, James I. Wedgwood and Charles W. Leadbeater.
During the controversy of the 1940s, 3rd Presiding Bishop Frank W. Pigott, who embraced a more Theosophical vision for the church's future, suspended Bishop Hampton and all the clergy under him who refused to endorse his Episcopal replacement. Bishop Pigott also ordered the confiscation of church property at the Regionary headquarters in California. The American Synod saw this as a breach of canon law and a violation of the laws of California under which the church had been incorporated in America.
The majority of clergy in America, who had supported Bishop Hampton, broke with Bishop Pigott and continued as the Liberal Catholic Church, with Bishop Ray M. Wardall becoming the 4th Presiding Bishop in 1943. The Church eventually won the right in a court of law to use the name The Liberal Catholic Church (while being called the Liberal Catholic Church International in the rest of the world), although the litigation was settled after Bishop Hampton's death.
In 1955, Edward M Matthews became the 5th Presiding Bishop, followed by Francis Erwin in 1962. The 7th Presiding Bishop was William H. Daw in 1970, followed by Joseph Neth in 1974. The 9th Presiding Bishop was Dean E. Bekken in 1989, followed by Charles W. Finn and Bishop Roberts.
Christian Church
The Christian Church is the assembly or association of followers of Jesus Christ. The Greek term ἐκκλησία that in its appearances in the New Testament is usually translated as "church" basically means "assembly"...
with headquarters based in the United States
Religion in the United States
Religion in the United States is characterized by both a wide diversity in religious beliefs and practices, and by a high adherence level. According to recent surveys, 83 percent of Americans claim to belong to a religious denomination, 40 percent claim to attend services nearly every week or...
. The Church traces its founding to Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
and the Twelve Apostles and sees the Bishops of the Church as the successors of the Apostles. While it derives its Apostolic Succession
Apostolic Succession
Apostolic succession is a doctrine, held by some Christian denominations, which asserts that the chosen successors of the Twelve Apostles, from the first century to the present day, have inherited the spiritual, ecclesiastical and sacramental authority, power, and responsibility that were...
from the Old Catholic Church
Old Catholic Church
The term Old Catholic Church is commonly used to describe a number of Ultrajectine Christian churches that originated with groups that split from the Roman Catholic Church over certain doctrines, most importantly that of Papal Infallibility...
, the LCCI is today not in full communion
Full communion
In Christian ecclesiology, full communion is a relationship between church organizations or groups that mutually recognize their sharing the essential doctrines....
with either the Utrecht Union
Utrecht Union
The Union of Utrecht is a federation of Old Catholic Churches, not in communion with Rome, that seceded from the Roman Catholic Church over the issue of Papal infallibility. The Declaration of Utrecht solidified this movement in 1889...
, or the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
, and differs with them theologically in several important respects.
As of 2008, the LCCI has parishes in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
.
Beliefs
The Church maintains a high level of intellectual liberty for its members in such matters as the interpretation of creeds, as well as freedom of conscience. From 1956 to 1994, due to its emphasis of Freedom of Belief, no definitive statement of "Official Teachings" of the Church existed. In response to the many inquiries of persons interested knowing more about the Church, the General Episcopal Synod saw fit in 1994 to assemble a list of teachings that they felt reflected the character of the LCCI. It should be understood, however, that these statements are teachings, but not required beliefs. The Church's stance on freedom of thought has not been abandoned. A selection from this list follows:
- The Church recognizes the historic seven sacraments, which are: Baptism
BaptismIn Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
, Confirmation, Holy Eucharist, AbsolutionAbsolutionAbsolution is a traditional theological term for the forgiveness experienced in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. This concept is found in the Roman Catholic Church, as well as the Eastern Orthodox churches, the Anglican churches, and most Lutheran churches....
, Extreme Unction, Holy MatrimonyHoly MatrimonyHoly matrimony is a phrase used by Christians to describe marriage. See also Christian views of marriage. It may also refer to:*Holy Matrimony , a 1943 comedy starring Monty Woolley and Gracie Fields...
, and Holy OrdersHoly OrdersThe term Holy Orders is used by many Christian churches to refer to ordination or to those individuals ordained for a special role or ministry....
.
- The Church teaches the doctrine of the Holy Trinity
TrinityThe Christian doctrine of the Trinity defines God as three divine persons : the Father, the Son , and the Holy Spirit. The three persons are distinct yet coexist in unity, and are co-equal, co-eternal and consubstantial . Put another way, the three persons of the Trinity are of one being...
.
- The Church teaches that we are all immortal, both before and after physical death.
- The Church teaches that in the Holy Eucharist
EucharistThe Eucharist , also called Holy Communion, the Sacrament of the Altar, the Blessed Sacrament, the Lord's Supper, and other names, is a Christian sacrament or ordinance...
the substance of the bread and wine become linked, or polarized, on the Life of the Christ and become literal outposts of His Life and His Consciousness. And that the Holy Eucharist is designed to help those who physically take part, and to pour out a flood of spiritual power upon the surrounding world. (The Church has open communion.)
- The Church teaches that the Minor Orders
Minor ordersThe minor orders are the lowest ranks in the Christian clergy. The most recognized minor orders are porter, lector, exorcist, and acolyte. In the Latin rite Catholic Church, the minor orders were in most cases replaced by "instituted" ministries of lector and acolyte, though communities that use...
(Cleric/Tonsure, Doorkeeper, Reader, Exorcist, Acolyte and SubdeaconSubdeacon-Subdeacons in the Orthodox Church:A subdeacon or hypodeacon is the highest of the minor orders of clergy in the Orthodox Church. This order is higher than the reader and lower than the deacon.-Canonical Discipline:...
) are intended primarily to assist the candidate in his own spiritual growth and life and that the Major Orders (Deacon, Priest, and Bishop) are intended primarily to assist the Christian Community. (Clergy are allowed to marry.)
- The Church teaches that the Holy Bible, the Creeds, and the Traditions of the Church are the means by which the teachings of Christ have been handed down to His followers. They are fundamental, true, and sufficient as a basis for right understanding and right conduct.
- The Church teaches that all Christian worship is valid, of whatever kind, so long as it is earnest and true.
- The Church teaches that everyone shall "one day reach His Feet, however far they stray." We teach that the "dead" pass to a life of higher service, where there is available to them the "felicity of [the] . . . Presence, evermore . . . ." What we shall experience "at His Feet" is conscious life in Christ.
In 2004, the GES approved the ordination of women
Ordination of women
Ordination in general religious usage is the process by which a person is consecrated . The ordination of women is a regular practice among some major religious groups, as it was of several religions of antiquity...
to all Holy Orders
Holy Orders
The term Holy Orders is used by many Christian churches to refer to ordination or to those individuals ordained for a special role or ministry....
up to and including Bishop.
Church structure
The Liberal Catholic Church International is governed by the "General Episcopal Synod" of all Bishops. The Synod meets formally every three years and it elects a Presiding Bishop from among their ranks as the church's titular head. The General Episcopal Synod also elects Priests to the Episcopacy, with the approval of the parishes of their respective provinces. The current Presiding Bishop is James Roberts.Each province is governed by a Regionary Bishop who, in turn, may have one or more Bishops functioning as auxiliaries. For the most part these clergy are not financially compensated and hold secular jobs.
Laity
Laypersons in the Church come from diverse backgrounds and from all spiritual paths. Due to the open nature of the Church, no layperson is required to accept any of the more "formal" beliefs of the Church, and are allowed to accept or reject them as they please.Seminary
Training for the clergyClergy
Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. A clergyman, churchman or cleric is a member of the clergy, especially one who is a priest, preacher, pastor, or other religious professional....
varies from diocese
Diocese
A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...
to diocese, but generally postulant
Postulant
A postulant was originally one who makes a request or demand; hence, a candidate. The use of the term is now generally restricted to those asking for admission into a monastery or a convent, both before actual admission and for the length of time preceding their admission into the novitiate...
s take distance study courses from St. Alban's Theological Seminary
St. Alban's Theological Seminary
The St. Alban Theological Seminary was established in Frisco, Texas in 1923 and is the official seminary of the Liberal Catholic Church International....
, which offers three tracks of study: one for Holy Orders
Holy Orders
The term Holy Orders is used by many Christian churches to refer to ordination or to those individuals ordained for a special role or ministry....
, one for lay theologian
Lay theologian
A lay theologian is a theologian who is not an ordained clergyman.Among lay theologians are the following:* George Abbot * Thomas J. J. Altizer* Joseph T. Bayly* Edward Musgrave Blaiklock* Nicholas Cabasilas* Chung Hyun Kyung...
, and another for personal enrichment.
Seminarians are encouraged to pray the Divine Office
Liturgy of the hours
The Liturgy of the Hours or Divine Office is the official set of daily prayers prescribed by the Catholic Church to be recited at the canonical hours by the clergy, religious orders, and laity. The Liturgy of the Hours consists primarily of psalms supplemented by hymns and readings...
of the Church, specifically the morning prayer or Prime
Prime (liturgy)
Prime, or the First Hour, is a fixed time of prayer of the traditional Divine Office , said at the first hour of daylight , between the morning Hour of Lauds and the 9 a.m. Hour of Terce. It is part of the Christian liturgies of Eastern Christianity, but in the Latin Rite it was suppressed by the...
, and the evening prayer or Compline
Compline
Compline is the final church service of the day in the Christian tradition of canonical hours. The English word Compline is derived from the Latin completorium, as Compline is the completion of the working day. The word was first used in this sense about the beginning of the 6th century by St...
.
Liturgy
The Church uses its own liturgyLiturgy
Liturgy is either the customary public worship done by a specific religious group, according to its particular traditions or a more precise term that distinguishes between those religious groups who believe their ritual requires the "people" to do the "work" of responding to the priest, and those...
, today known as the Liberal Rite
Liberal Rite
The primary liturgical rite used by various denominations within the greater Liberal Catholic movement. Also known as the Mystical Mass and the Wedgwood/Leadbeater Mass, the Liberal Rite is the most widely used liturgical form found within the Liberal Catholic Movement...
. This liturgy was mostly composed by Bishop Wedgwood, with Bishop Leadbeater assisting on the Collects, and selecting the Psalms, canticles, and weekly epistle and gospel readings. The rite focuses more on the glorification of God, rather than the depravity of man.
Religious orders
Both the ordained and the laity may enter the religious life as friars or sisters. A candidate takes vows confirming their desire to follow the order's common rule.Currently there are two religious orders in the church, including the Apostolic Society of St. Brigid of Kildare (SSB), and the Order of St. John the Apostle (OSJA).
History
The Church traces its apostolic succession to Archbishop Arnold Harris Mathew. Mathew was consecrated bishop on 28 April 1908, by Utrecht Archbishop Gerhardus Gul, assisted by the Old Catholic bishops of Deventer and Berne, in St. Gertrude's Old Catholic Cathedral, Utrecht. Only two years later, Mathew declared his autonomy from the Union of Utrecht, with which he had experienced tension from the beginning. It was only a short time later that Bishop Mathew found himself at odds with his own clergy in Great Britain and ultimately walked away to seek union with the Roman Catholic Church.The founding Bishop of the Liberal Catholic Church was James I. Wedgwood of the Wedgwood China family, formerly a Cleric in the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
(Anglican). Wedgwood grew dissatisfied with the Church, and discovered the Theosophical Society
Theosophical Society
The Theosophical Society is an organization formed in 1875 to advance the spiritual principles and search for Truth known as Theosophy. The original organization, after splits and realignments has several successors...
, which had a stronger appeal to his sense of life and justice. When Archbishop Arnold Harris Mathew sought to ordain those clergy who were dissatisfied with the Church of England, Wedgwood was one who joined the new Old Catholic Church of England. Archbishop Mathew knew of Wedgwood's membership in the Theosophical Society, as well as that of other clergy in the Old Catholic Church of England, and originally promised that this would not be a problem, but later retracted that promise and asked all clergy to resign from the Theosophical Society. Not willing to do so, Father Wedgwood and most of the Old Catholic Church in England found themselves without a Bishop as they withdrew from Archbishop Mathew's leadership.
One of the men who Archbishop Mathew had consecrated to the Episcopate, Bishop Frederick Samuel Willoughby, offered to consecrate and elevate one of the withdrawn clergy to the Episcopate so that they would not be without a Bishop. Father Wedgwood was selected and elevated to the Episcopate on February 13, 1916. The Church was eventually reorganized and renamed The Liberal Catholic Church. Archbishop Wedgwood then consecrated another former Anglican Priest, Charles W. Leadbeater, later that same year, with Bishop Leadbeater going on to become the 2nd Presiding Bishop of the Church in later years.
The LCCI arose from the 1941 schism of the Liberal Catholic Church in the United States, which surrounded the controversy involving American Regionary Bishop Charles Hampton, who wished to keep adherence to Theosophical tenets optional for all clergy, in accordance with the wishes of the church's first two Presiding Bishops, James I. Wedgwood and Charles W. Leadbeater.
During the controversy of the 1940s, 3rd Presiding Bishop Frank W. Pigott, who embraced a more Theosophical vision for the church's future, suspended Bishop Hampton and all the clergy under him who refused to endorse his Episcopal replacement. Bishop Pigott also ordered the confiscation of church property at the Regionary headquarters in California. The American Synod saw this as a breach of canon law and a violation of the laws of California under which the church had been incorporated in America.
The majority of clergy in America, who had supported Bishop Hampton, broke with Bishop Pigott and continued as the Liberal Catholic Church, with Bishop Ray M. Wardall becoming the 4th Presiding Bishop in 1943. The Church eventually won the right in a court of law to use the name The Liberal Catholic Church (while being called the Liberal Catholic Church International in the rest of the world), although the litigation was settled after Bishop Hampton's death.
In 1955, Edward M Matthews became the 5th Presiding Bishop, followed by Francis Erwin in 1962. The 7th Presiding Bishop was William H. Daw in 1970, followed by Joseph Neth in 1974. The 9th Presiding Bishop was Dean E. Bekken in 1989, followed by Charles W. Finn and Bishop Roberts.