Peace be with you!
As a person of faith who has been using computers and also navigating the Internet for about twenty years, it seemed about time for me to venture in the realm of blogging. It would seem as though everyone has a blog these days because just about everyone has something to say and to share with everyone else.
My first thoughts are to use this blog as a means to speak to you about our Church and our religious Order, but first we should discuss where and how we began. There are many emerging Catholic communities in the United States and elsewhere and I think it is important that people are aware of our existence. Many of us grew up believing that there is only one Catholic Church, so it is difficult for a great many people to accept the reality that there are actually many Catholic churches.
The Roman Catholic Church, for instance, is in union with the following churches: Armenian Catholic Church, Byzantine Catholic Church, Chaldean Catholic Church (East Syrian), Coptic Catholic Church, Ethiopian Catholic Church, Maronite Church, Melkite Catholic Church, Romanian Catholic Church, Russian Catholic Church, Ruthenian Catholic Church, Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, Ukranian Catholic Church, West Syrian Catholic Church.
There are also other churches that are "Catholic" by virtue of their historical and apostolic lineage and creedal beliefs, such as: Eastern Orthodox (Byzantine Tradition Churches: Greek, Russian, Serbian, Arab, etc.), Oriental Orthodox Churches (Armenian, Syrian, Coptic, Ethiopian, Indian Syrian), Assyrian Church of the East, Polish National Catholic Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church (Lutheran World Federation), Anglican Communion, Reformed (Calvinist: Presbyterian, United Church of Christ, Dutch origin churches-RCA & CRC), Methodist (United, African Methodist), Christian Church/Disciples of Christ .
The Early Church was made up of five co-equal Apostolic Sees, each of which was led by its own bishop or patriarch. The Apostolic Sees were: Jerusalem, Alexandria, Antioch, Constantinople and Rome. Together they were the Orthodox Catholic Church. The word "Catholic" meaning Universal.
To better understand what happened to the Early Church, please visit this website and read about the Great Schism that seperated the Church. http://www.mb-soft.com/believe/txc/gschism.htm
Although the Bishops of the undivided Church were (and are) equal to each other in the administration of the liturgical rites and the teaching, they began to differ in rank according to the valuation of the places where their Sees were located. Rome, Alexandria and Antioch were prominent cities, Metropolis, in those days. Their Bishops were Metropolitans, and the Bishop of Rome was given the honorary precedence only because Rome was then the political capital of the world. Later, the Bishops of the capitals of all political Provinces were called Archbishops. When the Emperor moved his Seat from Rome to Constantinople, the Archbishop of latter was given equal reverence with that of Rome "because Constantinople was the 'King's city' "; later in 587, the honorary title of "Ecumenical" was bestowed on him, too. By 451 the Bishops of Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem were called Patriarchs, of whom only two remained free after the inroads of the Moslems (7th century): that of Rome in the West, and Constantinople in the East, both equal in rank and reverence. Later, the attempted abolishment of the equal rank status of both Seats was the main cause of the Great Separation.
The Bishop of Rome, even today in this century, insists that he has a primacy of jurisdiction over all Churches, including the Patriarchs of the East. He claims they should be subject to him since "he is not only Bishop of Rome and the Patriarch of the West but also the Vicar of Christ on Earth, the successor of St. Peter, and the Supreme Pontiff". Pope Pius XII in 1955 called upon the "Uniat" Church to use its utmost to bring the Orthodox Churches to the "fold". The Eastern Orthodox is told that it would not be necessary to change any of the teachings or customs of the Orthodox Church but to submit himself under the Pope's jurisdiction; that is, to lose every right of freedom and independence. In other words, unconditional surrender under the Pope's yoke is asked. But the principles of the democratic government of the Eastern Orthodox Church is its very foundation. The "Conscience of the Church" is its supreme authority and the infallible guidance to proclaim the truth of Salvation, as was the case for centuries for the Western Church, too. The question as to the supremacy of the Pope was the main cause of the separation of the Eastern and Western Churches.
So, where did independent Catholic churches and other emerging Catholic communities come from? For one thing, there are many traditionalist as well as progressive Catholic churches and emerging Catholic communities in the United States and around the world. While some do, the majority no longer have ties with the Church of Rome. In our hemisphere, a large number of valid, Catholic ordinations and episcopal consecrations, outside of the Church of Rome, began with the late Bishop of Botucatu, Brazil, ++Archbishop Carlos Duarte Costa (1888 - 1961).
Archbishop Carlos Duarte Costa, originally ordained a Roman Catholic Priest on April 1, 1911, founded the National Catholic Apostolic Churches (Igreja Catolica Apostolica Nationales). The resulting branches of his Church spread to other places around the world through subsequent ordinations and consecrations. In the United States and elsewhere, many independent, Catholic churches and Episcopal Jurisdictions can trace their Apostolic lines back to Archbishop Duarte Costa. My own Apostolic Succession can be traced back to the Episcopal lines proceeding from Archbishop Duarte Costa and to preceding Apostolic lines dating back to Pope Leo XIII of the Latin Rite and also Bishop Dionisio's Jurisdiction of the Greek Orthodox Church, the See of Saint Mark (Alexandria/ Greek Orthodox Rite).
Archbishop Duarte Costa was consecrated as the Roman Catholic Diocesan Bishop of Botucatu, Brazil, on December 8, 1924, until certain views he expressed about treatment of the Brazil's poor, by both the civil government and the Roman Catholic Church in Brazil, caused his removal from the Diocese of Botucatu. Archbishop Duarte Costa was subsequently named Titular Bishop of Maura by the late Pope Pius XII (Eugenio Cardinal Pacelli, formerly Vatican Secretary of State until 1939, under Pope Pius XI). Archbishop Duarte Costa had been a strong advocate in the 1930's for reform of the Roman Church; he challenged many of the key issues that the Second Vatican Council would later thirty-five years take action upon.
Archbishop Duarte Costa's criticisms of the Holy See, particularly about Vatican foreign policy during World War II toward Nazi Germany, were not well received at the Vatican, and he was eventually separated from the Roman Church by Pope Pius XII. This action was taken only after Duarte Costa's strong and repeated public denunciations over the fact that the Vatican Secretariat of State was engaged in the issuance of Vatican Passports to some very high ranking German ex-Nazis, a practice referred to as the "Ratline."
These former Nazi officials were among some of the most notorious of war criminals, such as, the Auschwitz Concentration Camp Commandant Adolf Eichmann and the infamous, Dr. Josef Mengele, the "Angel of Death," both of whom traveled after the War on officially issued Vatican Passports. Such criminals were in flight from trial to South America in 1945.
The Brazilian Government came under the criticism of Archbishop Duarte Costa for collaboration with the Roman Church over these passports. Duarte Costa espoused liberal church positions on divorce, challenged mandatory celibacy for the clergy, and publicly stated his contempt regarding abuses of papal power, including the concept of Papal Infallibility, which the Archbishop considered a misguided and false dogma. Archbishop Duarte Costa left the jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Church on July 6, 1945. He immediately founded the independent Igreja Catolica Apostolica Brasileira (ICAB) on that same date and remained Primate until his death in 1961.
Archbishop Luis Castillo Mendez of Brazil, Patriarch of the National Catholic Apostolic Churches (Igreja Catolica Apostolica Nationales) was consecrated by and succeeded the late ++Archbishop Duarte Costa as Primate in 1961. Archbishop Luis Castillo Mendez is still leading the worldwide spiritual confederation of the National Catholic Apostolic Churches founded by the late Archbishop Duarte Costa. These national churches are now estimated to have a combined worldwide membership which exceeds 12 million members. According to the ancient practice of the early Church and among many Orthodox Christian bishops, such Catholic apostolic churches exist in their countries, functioning both as autonomous and independent Particular Churches.
In addition to ICAB in Brazil, there are sister apostolic branches in thirteen other countries in the Western Hemisphere, Europe, the Pacific and in Asia, including: Argentina (ICAA), Chile, Venezuela, Cuba, Mexico, Spain, Germany, France, Portugal, Australia, the Philippines, Canada and the United States of America. While bound by a common origin from Archbishop Duarte Costa's apostolic line, each bishop or bishops are autonomous, being completely independent and self governing, while adhering to doctrinal precepts of Orthodox Christianity.
Bishop Salomao Ferraz who was a former Roman Catholic Priest, was consecrated a bishop by Archbishop Carlos Duarte Costa for the Igreja Catolica Apostolica Brasileira (ICAB) in 1945, and was eventually reconciled with the Roman Catholic Church in 1958 during the late pontificate of Pope Pius XII. Bishop Ferraz was named by the Holy See to be Titular Bishop of Eleuterna on May 12, 1963. Although still married, Bishop Ferraz was later appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Rio de Janeiro by Pope John XXIII. Bishop Ferraz was later called by Pope Paul VI to serve on a working commission of the Second Vatican Council and addressed the Council Fathers in session.
It is notable that Bishop Ferraz was never re-consecrated by the Roman Catholic Church, even conditionally (sub conditione), and later was buried with the full honors accorded Bishops of the Roman Catholic Church. The Roman Church by accepting Bishop Ferraz in this manner, without any re-consecration, affirm de jure and de facto the sacramental validity of the Duarte Costa Apostolic Succession lines of what is commonly known as the "Rebiba Apostolic Succession."
I was ordained as a Catholic priest in 1997 by His Excellency, +The Most Reverend Robert Wayne Martin, then Presiding Bishop of the Holy Catholic Church (USA). The Holy Catholic Church had split from the Ecumenical Catholic Church (USA) two years earlier. I was elected to the episcopacy in 2003 and in 2004 was consecrated, in the Name of the Most Holy Trinity, as a Bishop by their Excellencies, +The Most Reverend Michael Ronald Steinhardt and +The Most Reverend Raphael Byron DeFord, bishops of the Free Christian Catholic Orthodox Church of Costa Rica. Upon my consecration, our new Jurisdiction, the Trinitarian Catholic Church was established. Our Metropolitan Diocese of Hope encompasses the New England States of the Northeastern United States of America, as well as New York and New Jersey.
Having been borne from a contemporary Franciscan charism, our Church has adopted as it's mission an ecumenical approach that is intended to build bridges between the many separated families of God's Holy Church in order to fulfill Christ's request to Saint Francis of Assisi to repair God's House.
Well, since it's getting pretty late, I think I will close here for now. Hopefully, this will serve as a good start for our blog. I'd like to close by saying that we know from experience that there are many people who will read this blog and our website and get angry because they will feel threatened by our existence and the existence of new, emerging Catholic communities. To you I say, fear not. We are not trying to tear down anyone's Church as we attempt to grow ours. We never steal members from other churches. We respect other churches and all people of faith. Just thought I would close by saying this.
Peace and love,
+Russell Francis, FDP
