The Convergence Movement, also known as the Ancient-Future Faith,[1] whose foundation is primarily attributed to Robert E. Webber in 1985,[2] is an ecumenical movement. Developed as an effort among evangelical, charismatic and Pentecostal, and liturgical Christians and denominations blending their forms of worship,[3] the movement has been defined for its predominant use of the Anglican tradition's Book of Common Prayer; use from additional liturgical sources common to Lutheranism, Eastern Orthodoxy, and Catholicism have also been employed.[4][5][6][7]
Christian denominations and individuals within the movement have identified themselves as Ancient Faith or Ancient Church, Ancient-Future,[8] Convergence,[9] Charismatic Orthodox,[10] evangelical Episcopal,[8] paleo-orthodox, or Pentecostal Catholic or Orthodox.[6] Denominations in this movement have also been referred as some form of broader, or new Anglicanism or Episcopalianism.[11]
The pioneers of the Convergence Movement were seeking to restore a primitive form of Christianity in contrast with the teachings of the Restoration Movement.[12] The Ancient-Future Faith was inspired by the spiritual pilgrimages of Protestant writers like Thomas Howard, Robert E. Webber, Peter E. Gillquist, and ancient Christian writers including the Church Fathers and their communities. These men—along with theologians, scripture scholars, and pastors in a number of Protestant denominational traditions leading to the movement's foundation—were calling Christians back to what they saw as their roots in the early Church prior to the East–West Schism and rise of the state church of the Roman Empire.[13][14]
In 1973, Campus Crusade for Christ missionary Peter E. Gillquist (1938–2012) of Chicago established a network of house churches throughout the United States of America, aiming to restore a primitive form of Christianity, which was called the New Covenant Apostolic Order. Researching Christian history, Gillquist and his colleagues found sources for this restoration in the writings of the early Church Fathers. This led the New Covenant Apostolic Order to practice a more liturgical form of worship than in their previous evangelical background.[15]
In 1977, "The Chicago Call" was issued by the National Conference of Evangelicals for Historic Christianity, meeting in Warrenville, Illinois.[16] Led by Robert E. Webber (Assoc. Professor of Theology at Wheaton College), along with Peter Gillquist, Thomas Howard, Richard Holt, Donald Bloesch, Jan Dennis, Lane Dennis, and Victor Oliver, the conference discussed the need for evangelical Protestants to rediscover and re-attach to the Christian Church's historic roots. The conference issued several documents which together are known as "The Chicago Call." Components of the document include: "A Call to Historic Roots and Continuity; A Call to Biblical Fidelity; A Call to Creedal Identity; A Call to Holistic Salvation; A Call to Sacramental Integrity; A Call to Spirituality; A Call to Church Authority; and A Call to Church Unity."[16]
In 1979, the Evangelical Orthodox Church was organized.[17] The belief of needing apostolic succession and the historic episcopacy led most members of Evangelical Orthodoxy to join the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America in 1987.[18][19] Others later joined the Orthodox Church in America.[20]
In 1984 Charisma magazine—one of the most influential magazines of the Charismatic Movement—published an article by Richard Lovelace entitled, "The Three Streams, One River?" (Sept 1984).[21] Lovelace approvingly noted the trend of Catholics, Evangelicals, and Charismatic and Pentecostal Christians moving closer together.
Robert Webber's 1985 book—Evangelicals on the Canterbury Trail: Why Evangelicals are Attracted to the Liturgical Church—documented the stories of six evangelical Protestants who, for various reasons, had transitioned to the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States. Publication of this book stirred up a great deal of interest in the evangelical Protestant press, generating numerous reviews in Christianity Today and other widely read evangelical publications.[1]
In June 1992, the Charismatic Episcopal Church was established as a part of the Convergence Movement following the episcopal ordination of Randy Adler by Herman Adrian Spruit of the Catholic Apostolic Church of Antioch—an Independent Catholic jurisdiction embracing religious pluralism.[9] By 1997, Adler and the clergy of the Charismatic Episcopal Church were conditionally ordained by the Brazilian Catholic Apostolic Church.[22] By 2007, former Charismatic Episcopal Archbishop Randolph Sly joined the Catholic Church and was ordained into the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter, broadening recognition of the Convergence Movement among the ancient liturgical Christian denominations.[23][24]
In 1995, the Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches was organized.[25] In October 1995, approximately 300 individuals gathered from multiple denominational backgrounds; various bishops from Anglican, independent Eastern Orthodox and Old Catholic churches assisted in the episcopal ordination of the denomination's first two bishops, and the ordination of 25 pastors and 7 deacons.[26]
In 2011, Evangelical Episcopal Bishop Derek Jones was received by the Convocations of Anglicans in North America into the Anglican Church in North America.[27] By March 2012, under the leadership of Quintin Moore, the Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches entered full communion with his Christian Communion International as the denomination's United States province.[28] From 2008–2014, the Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches held informal ecumenical dialogue with the Catholic Church through Bishop Tony Palmer. During an audience with Pope Francis, Palmer and Bishop Emilio Alvarez represented their denomination; Alvarez was official translator for the meeting.[29][30] Palmer continued to serve in papal audiences until his death, befriending Pope Francis.[31][11]
Palmer's death was initially disclosed by Archbishop Charles Hill of Ambassadors for Christ Ministries of America,[32][33][34] whom he also befriended and was member of the same communion.[35] Hill also served as "Apostle Primate Patriarch Archbishop" within the Patriarchate in the World of Jesus Christ.[36] Archbishop Hill would later lead a Charismatic Liberal Catholic denomination named the Ancient Church Global,[37] claiming descent from the Knights Templar and self-proclaiming themselves the sole source of Independent, Old and Liberal Catholicism.[38][39] This denomination led by Hill upon their departure from the Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches also uniquely claims to hold apostolic succession and continuity with Ancient Egyptian polytheistic religious practices;[40] their additional claims to succession and the historic episcopate stem from various wandering bishops within Independent and Old Catholicism, the American Orthodox Catholic Church, Anglicanism, and Gnosticism.[41][42] In May 2023, a religious university founded by Hill for their Charismatic denomination conferred an honorary degree upon Liberian politician Matthew Zarzar.[43][44]
In 2019, the Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches split and the Continuing Evangelical Episcopal Communion was founded.[45] Alvarez also left the Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches and organized the Union of Charismatic Orthodox Churches; by October 2020, he was elected to lead the denomination as its primate and in 2021 was installed as archbishop and primate for the denomination.[46] In December 2020, leadership of the Union of Charismatic Orthodox Churches met with Archbishop Elpidophoros of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America (Ecumenical Patriarchate).[47] Alvarez and the Convergence Movement were featured by Religion News Service, after a trend of young Christians returning to traditional churches.[48][49]
In 2019, the Apostolic Communion of Anglican Churches—founded in 2005[50]—received the former Anglican Church in North America priest Jack Lumanog. Joining this denomination, Lumanog was declared to have no ecclesiastical status through any province of the Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans following his election and ordination to the episcopacy by Archbishop Darel Chase.[51][52][53] Chase also ordained a claimant to the Roman papacy,[54][55] and organized the National Bible College Association accreditation mill which accredited their self-established Metropolitan Christian University and Midwestern School of Divinity for their churches.[56][57][58]
Following Lumanog's episcopal ordination and the formation of the Anglican Diocese of St. Ignatius Loyola, in 2020, Gideon Arinzechukwu Uzomechina was appointed interim archdeacon for this diocese in the Apostolic Communion of Anglican Churches.[59][60] Uzomechina was a deposed Episcopalian priest accused of fraud and sexual misconduct with young men.[61][62][63] In December 2022, Uzomechina and his church were publicly disowned by the Church of Nigeria to prevent alleged misrepresentation.[64][65][66][67]
In 2022, Archbishop Sterling Lands II of the Evangelical Episcopal Communion—once part of the Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches—and Archbishop Deng Dau Deng, former archbishop-elect of the Anglican Church of South Sudan,[68][69][70] joined the African Episcopal Church organized and led by Chase. By 2023 Jonathan Kyangasha—an expelled Church of Uganda priest[71][72]—joined the African Episcopal Church.[73] Kyangasha founded the Reformed Anglican Church in Uganda after their expulsion in 2017.[74] A year later, Lumanog joined the African Episcopal Church's house of bishops,[75] and a lawsuit by Uzomechina against the Episcopal Diocese of New Jersey alleging discrimination and wrongful deposition was dismissed.[76]
Since the advent of Convergence Christianity, numerous denominations and organizations have sought or claimed apostolic succession through excommunicated Latin Catholic bishops and wandering bishops of Anglican and Orthodox traditions including Carlos Duarte Costa, Arnold Mathew, Joseph Vilatte, Aftimios Ofiesh, and others in order to preserve doctrinal and apostolic continuity and establish sacramental legitimacy.[77]
Catholicism
According to Catholic teaching, such ordinations are "valid but illicit." The Code of Canon Law within the Roman Catholic Church states Catholic bishops are able to ordain in holy orders, yet ordinations without authorization are deemed illicit and result in automatic excommunication (and for some, laicization, i.e., Emmanuel Milingo).[78][79] In Anglicanism, it is taught "once a bishop, always a bishop."[80]
There is also an understanding through Catholic teaching on sacramental character; dogma suggests those excommunicated for valid but illicit ordinations—even those deposed and laicized—cannot have their orders or episcopal genealogy (apostolic succession) vacated or revoked though their use of the sacraments go unrecognized among those in communion with the Pope of Rome, as they have only been relieved of episcopal duties within the Latin Catholic Church and its Eastern Catholic Churches specifically.[81][82] In Catholicism, the Catechism of the Catholic Church (1992), §1121 expresses:
The three sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Orders confer, in addition to grace, a sacramental character or seal by which the Christian shares in Christ's priesthood and is made a member of the Church according to different states and functions. This configuration to Christ and to the Church, brought about by the Spirit, is indelible; it remains for ever in the Christian as a positive disposition for grace, a promise and guarantee of divine protection, and as a vocation to divine worship and to the service of the Church. Therefore these sacraments can never be repeated.
Eastern Orthodoxy
From mainstream Eastern Orthodox teaching no holy orders outside of their churches are generally recognized considering a strict adherence to the letter of the law (see also: legalism),[83] although some mainstream Eastern Orthodox may consider outside holy orders as valid and forgo conditional ordinations via divine economy,[84] thereby recognizing the Augustinian method of holy orders. The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, for example, teaches through "extreme oikonomia [economy]", those who are baptized in the following traditions can be received into the Eastern Orthodox Church through the sacrament of Chrismation and not through re-baptism:[85]
This is also because each autocephalous church determines the validity of another's holy orders and other sacraments.[86]
Through the establishment of multiple denominations in the Convergence Movement, more than 2 million individuals have been claimed as adherents of its multiple organizations. According to self-reported statistics in 2023, the largest denomination in the movement is the Continuing Evangelical Episcopal Communion—reporting an estimated 2,100,000 members and 10,703 churches.[87] The second-largest denomination is the Evangelical Episcopal Communion, claiming to have planted more than 5,000 churches through its Province of St. Peter;[88] and over 100 churches and ministries altogether through Missio Mosaic and the Province of India.[89][90] Following, the Charismatic Episcopal Church with more than 1,600 churches as of 2008,[91] and almost 2,000 as of 2014,[92] has been the movement's third-largest. The Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches had 150+ churches and ministries through its provinces and U.S. dioceses.[93][94][95][90]
The following is not a complete list, but aims to provide a comprehensible overview of the diversity among denominations of Convergence Christianity. Only organizations with Wikipedia articles will be listed.
The Salvation Army does not observe the sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion as they believe the rituals are not necessary to experience the inward grace of which the sacraments are outward signs.
"What We Believe". Holy Communion of Churches. Archived from the original on 2022-08-18. Retrieved 2022-08-18. With each church having a primary base, three different types of convergence churches seem to be most common today: blended churches, inclusion churches, and network churches. Blended churches have maintained their original identity, denominational connection and distinctive theologically. From this base they then are adding elements from the other two streams in their worship and ministry practices. While most common among Liturgical/Sacramental churches, blended churches are found in Evangelical and Charismatic streams as well.
"What is Convergence?". Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches. Archived from the original on October 29, 2020. Retrieved 2020-07-19. As a Convergence communion, the CEEC embraces the Anglican precedent and seeks to be a true expression of the Ancient/Future Church, making visible the Kingdom of God, fulfilling the Great Commission, and manifesting fully the beauty, glory and power of the One Church and its Lord.
"About the ICCEC". International Communion of the Charismatic Episcopal Church. 2022-02-15. Retrieved 2023-12-18. Kurian, George Thomas; Lamport, Mark A. (2016-11-10). "Convergence Movement". Encyclopedia of Christianity in the United States. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 629–630. ISBN 978-1-4422-4432-0. The Convergence Movement focused on the blending of different worship traditions into one. For this reason, it had several defining characteristics corresponding with the different worship backgrounds that were being blended together. One characteristic of the movement was the focus given to unity. Rather than being divided by the different denominations, the movement rejoiced in the one body of Christ seen throughout the whole world. The Convergence Movement was also defined by its focus on the early church. It sought to live in accordance with apostolic teaching and trace its authority back to apostolic origins.
Melton, Gordon J. Encyclopedia of American Religions. 2003. pp. 629–630. "In the years after World War I, negotiations began to create a broad union that would include the Anglican and ... the "convergence movement," the term referring to the "convergence" of various streams of renewal that shared an understanding of the church as one Body with a variety of diverse but contributing parts. Following the lead of British bishop Lesslie Newbigin, the convergence movement affirmed the threefold essence of the church as Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox/Pentecostal. The church is Catholic as it relates to the emphases of "incarnation and creation," Protestant with an emphasis on "biblical proclamation and conversion," and Orthodox/Pentecostal in relation to "the mystical and the Holy Spirit." Vinson, Synan. Holiness-Pentecostal Tradition: Charismatic Movements in the Twentieth Century. 1997. p294 "By 1990, like minded pastors were banding together in what they called a "convergence movement" designed to bring the three streams together in a new and powerful spiritual configuration. Even more striking were the cases of charismatic ..."
Hopkins, Joseph (April 21, 1978). "Schism in the Order". Christianity Today. Vol. 22 no. 14. p. 45.
Walker, Gordon (September 1983). "Odyssey to Orthodoxy". Again. Vol. 6 no. 3. p. 10.
"Evangelical Orthodox Join Antiochian Jurisdiction". Theosis. Vol. 9 no. 9. September 1986. p. 8.
Edward Jarvis, God, Land & Freedom: the true story of ICAB, Apocryphile Press, Berkeley CA, 2018, p 168 Yong, Amos. Spirit Poured Out on All Flesh. 2005. "The Charismatic Episcopal Church (1992) and the Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches (1995) are examples of organized expressions of the Convergence Movement (from the 1970s), which has sought to blend charismatic, evangelical ..." "Our History". Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches. Archived from the original on 2022-08-18. Retrieved 2022-08-18. October of 1995, in Fredericksburg, Virginia, approximately 300 people gathered for the consecration of the CEEC's first two bishops and the ordination of 25 pastors and 7 deacons by bishops in apostolic succession from the Anglican, Orthodox and Old Catholic jurisdictions, who were committed to ecumenism. That night twenty-five independent congregations from a wide variety of denominational backgrounds came into the newly organized Communion. Bishop Michael Owen served as the first Presiding Bishop.
Gledhill, Ruth (2014-07-22). "Christians mourn death of bishop Tony Palmer, friend of Pope Francis". Christian Today. Archived from the original on 2023-12-19. Retrieved 2023-12-18. The news of his death was disclosed by Archbishop Charles Hill, patriarch and presiding prelate of Ambassadors for Christ Ministries of America, who wrote on Facebook yesterday (20th): "We are in prayer for the family of Bishop Tony Palmer who was in a motorcycle accident this morning in the UK after hours of surgery he went home to be with the Lord. He was a good friend and brother in the vineyard."
"Francis' Protestant Dialogue Partner Tony Palmer Killed in Motorcycle Accident". Novus Ordo Watch. 2014-07-21. Archived from the original on 2023-12-19. Retrieved 2023-12-18. On July 20, 2014, at 4:30 pm ET, Protestant "Archbishop" Charles Hill posted a note on Facebook, announcing that Anglican-Evangelical "Bishop" Tony Palmer, whom "Pope" Francis was going to meet later this month in Caserta, Italy, had been killed in a tragic motorcycle accident.
"About". Ancient Church Global. Archived from the original on 2023-12-18. Retrieved 2023-12-18. "Origins of Old Catholicism". Ancient Church Global. Archived from the original on 2024-03-24. Retrieved 2024-03-24. As a result of all of the above facts, the Templar denomination of Ancient Catholicism is the earliest original source of, and the underlying foundations and basis for, all Independent Churches and Old Catholic Churches. For this reason, the Ancient Catholic Church from 1139 AD is historically and canonically the only Pontifical Catholicate which unifies and represents the Independent Church Movement from 1145 AD, the derivative Old Catholic Movement from 1870 AD, the related Reformed Catholic Movement of 1879 AD, and the resulting Liberal Catholic Movement from 1916 AD. The apparent paradox of a Pontifical authority for "Independent" Churches is resolved by the original and authentic principles of doctrinal freedom, liturgical freedom, and autonomy for all of its member Churches. This allows the Ancient Catholic Church (Ancient Church Global) to serve as an international presence advancing the collective interests for the benefit of all its Churches in communion with the canonical Pontificate.
"Orthodox Succession". Ancient Church Global. 2024-03-24. Archived from the original on 2024-03-24. Retrieved 2024-07-09. Beyond the valid customary practices of the Ancient Priesthood, and the legitimacy of the Templar Lines, the canonical Apostolic practice of Catholic Christianity also involves the "laying on of hands" (Acts 1:22, 1:25-26, 6:1-6, 9:17; 13:1-5; I Timothy 4:1, 4:14, 5:22; II Timothy 1:6). This includes "anointing" by sacred oils, such as the Pontifical consecration of the Biblical King Solomon (I Kings 1:39) [5], which was also practiced in the Ancient Priesthood in Egypt (the hieroglyphics 'Se Neter' meaning "to consecrate" literally mean to "infuse with the Holiness of God") [6].
"About". Continuing Evangelical Episcopal Communion. Archived from the original on 2022-08-18. Retrieved 2023-12-18. After three years of internal debate over the necessity of an overarching Canon Law, the CEEC.CHURCH's largest provinces have unanimously agreed to stand together. They continue to operate under their current version of Canon Law, adopted in 2016. In a decision guaranteeing the continued historicity and validation of the CEEC.CHURCH, 98% of original churches and clergy choose continuing communion and remain globally united, with only slight adaptation to their name.
"Our History". Union of Charismatic Orthodox Churches. Archived from the original on 2022-11-23. Retrieved 2023-12-18. "The Apostolic Communion of Anglican Churches – Scripture + Spirit + Sacrament". Apostolic Communion of Anglican Churches. Archived from the original on 2024-04-03. Retrieved 2024-04-03. The Apostolic Communion Anglican Churches was initially established April 2005, and is an international faith communion of like-minded believers in Christ Jesus, sharing the rich history and heritage of the Church and exercising the freedom of multi-cultural and spiritual expression.
Gross, Andrew (2019-05-23). "Jon Ignatius Jack Lumanog Inhibited from Ministry". The Anglican Church in North America. Archived from the original on 2022-08-18. Retrieved 2022-08-18. Mr Lumanog's status is with one of the myriad of non-Anglican groups who loosely use a type of Anglican polity – that includes the use of Anglican titles. While we understand that he is titled as a "bishop" with this group, Mr. Lumanog is not a bishop with the ACNA or with any recognized ACNA or GAFCON communion body.
Dreher, Rod (2011-12-29). "Behold, the patriarch". The American Conservative. Archived from the original on 2022-08-18. Retrieved 2022-08-18. Christopher Johnson at Midwestern Conservative Journal draws our eyes to Rutherford Johnson — that's His Royal Highness Prince Rutherford Johnson of Etruria, who is also Rutherford Cardinal Johnson, the patriarch of the recently invented Anglican Rite Roman Catholic Church.
"Leadership". The Anglican Diocese of St. Ignatius Loyola. 2021-08-19. Archived from the original on 2023-02-16. Retrieved 2023-02-16. Stokes, William (2020-04-06). "Notice of Order and Sentencing" (PDF). The Diocese of New Jersey. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2023-02-16. Retrieved 2023-02-16. Pursuant to Canon IV.14.12(a) of the Canons of The Episcopal Church, this is to notify you of an Order of a Hearing Panel of the Diocese of New Jersey involving Respondent The Venerable Gideon Arinzechukwu Uzomechina, a Presbyter canonically resident in the Diocese of New Jersey. This Order became effective on April 1, 2020. The Offenses which are the subject of this Order are specified in Canons IV.4.1(c), IV.4.1(d), IV.4.1(h)(1). IV.4.1(h)(6), and IV.4.1(h)(9) of the Canons of The Episcopal Church. Pursuant to the Order, Gideon Arinzechukwu Uzomechina has been sentenced to deposition from the ordained Ministry of The Episcopal Church.
"About us". Messiah Anglican Church. Retrieved 2023-02-27. MEET OUR LEADER FATHER GIDEON A. UZOMECHINA: Having serve as a priest and missionary for over two decades following his seminary training in Nigeria and ordination into the Anglican Communion (Anglo Catholic tradition) as well as his Interfaith and Ecumenical studies in Israel, the Venerable Dr. Gideon Uzomechina, fondly called Father Gideon, is the Rector of spirit filled Anglican Church of the Messiah, Plainfield, the Archdeacon of New Jersey, and the Diocesan Director of Missions.
"Leadership". Evangelical Episcopal Communion. Archived from the original on 2022-10-25. Retrieved 2022-10-25. "Convergence Ecclesiology | Addendum 4: Apostolic Succession" (PDF). International Communion of the Charismatic Episcopal Church. 2018. A summary of Apostolic Succession may be described as Three Streams coming together to make one river including: Apostolic Faith/Doctrine (the Evangelical Stream); Apostolic Authority (the Liturgical/Sacramental Stream) and Apostolic Anointing (the Charismatic Stream). Using these categories, we note that the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Michael Ramsey summarized the essential elements of Apostolic Succession as including: "First of all, the succession of Bishop to Bishop in office secured a continuity of Christian teaching and tradition in every See. Each followed the teachings of his predecessor, and so the succession of Bishops was a guarantee that everywhere the Christians were taught the true Gospel of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Having no such succession, the Gnostics had no claim to be the authorized teachers of the faith….Thus the succession of Bishops is a safeguard of continuous teaching…."
"Automatic excommunication for bishop over illicit ordination". Catholic News Agency. Archived from the original on 2022-09-25. Retrieved 2022-09-25. According to canon 1382, both "A bishop who consecrates some one a bishop without a pontifical mandate and the person who receives the consecration from him incur a latae sententiae excommunication reserved to the Apostolic See."
"Once a Bishop, Always a Bishop" (PDF). Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth. Retrieved April 10, 2022. The Church of England's Canon C.1, sec.2, explicitly agrees with the rest of Catholic tradition in this regard: "No person who has been admitted to the order of bishop, priest, or deacon can ever be divested of the character of his order," though he may be deprived or deposed from exercising it. The Episcopal Church accepts the same principle in practice by providing for the restoration of someone under the discipline of suspension, inhibition, or deposition without requiring re-ordination (Canon IV.13). Like baptism and confirmation, ordination seals someone permanently with the seal of the Holy Spirit, or to use similar language common in Western theology and in our Anglican formularies, it confers an indelible character. If a bishop is deposed for "abandoning the communion of this church," then "this church" must surely refer to our particular province over which we have a rightful control, and not to any other provinces of the Catholic Church for which he was also ordained. Is that perhaps why the Presiding Bishop does not seem to be bothered that Bishop Jeffrey Steenson and others are "abandoning the communion of this church" for the Roman Catholic Church, but seems very upset about bishops and parishes "abandoning the communion of this church" for some other province in the Anglican Communion, even so far as being willing to sell our property to Roman Catholics or Methodists or anyone else except Anglicans?
"If a priest leaves the priesthood, is he still able to perform the sacraments?". Catholic Straight Answers. So what happens when a priest leaves the priesthood? Since Holy Orders is a character sacrament, once it has been validly received, it never is invalidated for any reason whatsoever. Granted, a cleric– deacon, priest, or bishop– may be freed from the clerical state and dispensed from the promise of celibacy by the proper authority. He may no longer have the obligations or the privileges to function as a cleric, but nevertheless he remains a cleric. Commonly, this practice is called laicization, meaning "returned to the state of the laity." (Code of Canon Law, #290-293.) Even though the cleric has been laicized and no longer functions as a deacon, priest, or bishop, he still has the sacramental character of Holy Orders. Technically, if he were to perform a sacrament in accord with the norms of the Church, that sacrament would indeed be valid. However, the sacrament would be illicit, meaning he violated Church law and would be culpable for this infraction since he no longer has the faculties to function as a priest.
"The "Indelible Character" of Holy Orders". The Catholic Layman. 7 (76): 38–39. 1858. ISSN 0791-5640. The Council of Trent decrees, that "in the Sacrament of Order . . . a 'character' is impressed which can neither be blotter out nor taken away:" and condemns all who affirm that "persons once rightly ordained can again be laics." (Sess. xxiii., ch. 4) "If any one shall have said, that by sacred ordination . . . . a character is not impressed or that he who was once a priest can again become a laic, let him be accursed." (Sess. xxiii., ch. 4) . . . . Where the mark is stamped on the soul, there there is "order;" and where that mark is not stamped on the soul, there is not order (according to the Church of Rome). And the Council of Trent declares that mark or "character" to be "indelible;" that is to say, once impressed on the soul, it can never be rubbed out or lost, or taken away.
Pheidas, Vlassios. "Chapter I". The limits of the church in an orthodox perspective. Myriobiblos: The online library of the Church of Greece. Online Cultural Center of the Church of Greece. Archived from the original on 30 October 2005. Retrieved 14 May 2013. "Chapter II". Archived from the original on 30 October 2005. Retrieved March 14, 2022. "Home". Continuing Evangelical Episcopal Communion. Archived from the original on 2023-12-19. Retrieved 2023-12-19. "About". Evangelical Episcopal Communion. Archived from the original on 2023-12-19. Retrieved 2023-12-19.
- Gillquist, Rev. Peter E. Becoming Orthodox: A Journey to the Ancient Christian Faith. Ben Lomond, CA: Conciliar Press, 1989. (ISBN 0-9622713-3-0)
- "Sound of Rushing Waters", by Daniel W. Williams, ACW Press/DQuest Publications, 2005. ISBN 1-932124-66-7
- "Forgotten Power", William L. DeArteaga, 2002 Zondervan Publishing, Grand Rapids Michigan, 49530, ISBN 0-310-24567-2
- "Evangelical, Sacramental, and Pentecostal: Why the Church Should Be All Three", Gordon T. Smith, 2017 IVP Academic, ISBN 978-0830851607
