Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches

Last updated
Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches
Seal of the Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches.png
Seal of the CEEC
AbbreviationCEEC
Classification Western Christian
Orientation Convergence
Polity Episcopal
Presiding BishopQuintin Moore
RegionInternational
Headquarters Hutchinson, Kansas
Origin1995
Merger of Evangelical Episcopal Churches International (1999); Christian Communion International (2012)
Separations Continuing Evangelical Episcopal Communion (2019); Union of Charismatic Orthodox Churches (2019); Evangelical Episcopal Communion (2021)
Congregations157+
Official website ceec.org

The Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches (CEEC) is a Christian convergence communion established in 1995 within the United States of America. [1] [2] With a large international presence in five provinces and seven U.S. dioceses, most of its churches and missions are spread throughout the Mid-Atlantic and Mid-West regions, and South Carolina; [3] Florida and California; [4] [5] and India. [6] The Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches is currently led by Bishop Quintin Moore as presiding bishop of the CEEC. [7]

Contents

History

In early 1994 members of a charismatic renewal parish in the Episcopal Church USA, together with their rector, began to conceptualize a vision of a new communion of churches that would be tied to the historic Anglican spiritual tradition, while experiencing "convergence" of the streams of the Christian Church. [8] Archbishop John Kivuva was connected with and agreed to serve as transitional presiding bishop for the new body, tentatively called the Evangelical Episcopal Church. Bishop Kivuva at that time was a bishop with the Africa Inland Mission movement and had oversight over a number of churches in Kenya.

In October 1995 in Dale City, Virginia, approximately 300 people gathered, representing a wide variety of denominational backgrounds and 25 independent congregations who had come into relationship with the new group. Bishop Michael Owen, Archdeacon Beth Owen, Rt. Rev. Peter Riola, and other bishops in apostolic succession from independent Eastern Orthodox and Old Catholic jurisdictions were present to help in the consecrating of their first two bishops and the ordination of 25 pastors and 7 deacons. [2] Among the jurisdictions present, notable groups were the International Free Catholic Communion, a continuation of the American Orthodox Catholic Church, and others stemming from the Brazilian Catholic Apostolic Church. [9] The first two bishops consecrated included Vincent McCall (who later seceded from the EEC) and Russell McClanahan, former archbishop of the CEEC Province of St. Peter, [9] and patriarch of the Evangelical Episcopal Communion. [10] Initially, five congregations fully affiliated with the new communion.

In January 1997, the 6 bishops meeting in synod voted to reconstitute and reincorporate the Evangelical Episcopal Church as "The Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches" to reflect the international growth and the needs for eventual provincial structuring. Six countries were now represented in affiliation.

In 1997 the Rev. Duraisingh James, a priest and church planter with the Church of South India for 17 years at that time and long-time head of Christian Education for the Church Union of South India, traveled to meet with the USA founding House of Bishops and indicated his desire to affiliate with the CEEC, together with the 30 churches under his oversight. Shortly thereafter, Fr. Duraisingh was consecrated as missionary bishop for India, and later as archbishop for the CEEC Province of India. Since 1999, two new bishops have been consecrated/received into the Province of India with three dioceses numbering over 75 congregations, along with a seminary founded by Archbishop James.

In 2005, the CEEC USA province joined with the International Communion of Christian Churches to form the Communion of Convergence Churches, USA. In 2006 this relationship was strengthened as the international CEEC organization entered into "co-communion" with the CCCUSA, now known as Christian Communion International. By March 2012, Christian Communion International merged into the CEEC USA's province. [11]

Up to 2014, the CEEC held ecumenical dialogue with Pope Francis and the Catholic Church, [12] until Bishop Tony Palmer's death. [13] [14] [15]

In 2019, a portion of the CEEC voted to continue operating under the canons that had been ratified in 2016. [16] The Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches adopted Instruments of Unity between bishops and affirms that "that each jurisdiction that has a seat in the IHOB is a separate, corporate, and legal entity and maintains their own canons, which cannot be imposed on others." [17] The Continuing Evangelical Episcopal Communion uses the same acronym and naming conventions, with the Continuing Communion's Province of Reconciliation sharing a similar name as the Diocese of the Restoration. [18] Bishop Emilio Alvarez also separated with the CEEC and helped organize the Union of Charismatic Orthodox Churches throughout 2019.

In 2023, a new diocese was established in Florida, the Diocese of Redemption. [19]

Statistics

As of 2023, the CEEC was organized into six autocephalous provinces, [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] and seven dioceses in the U.S. [26] [19] Through its U.S. dioceses parish and ministry directories, as of 2023, it has 30 churches. Altogether, the CEEC claimed an estimated 157+ churches including its Order of St. Leonard in the United Kingdom; [27] the Charismatic Churches of India; [6] [28] and Province of Canada. [24] A year later, it only maintained five provinces.

Related Research Articles

A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role or office of the bishop is called episcopacy. Organizationally, several Christian denominations utilize ecclesiastical structures that call for the position of bishops, while other denominations have dispensed with this office, seeing it as a symbol of power. Bishops have also exercised political authority within their dioceses.

The Continuing Anglican movement, also known as the Anglican Continuum, encompasses a number of Christian churches, principally based in North America, that have an Anglican identity and tradition but are not part of the Anglican Communion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East</span> Anglican church organization

The Episcopal Church of Jerusalem and the Middle East is a province of the Anglican Communion. The primate of the church is called President Bishop and represents the Church at the international Anglican Communion Primates' Meetings. The Central Synod of the church is its deliberative and legislative organ.

An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian churches, including those of both Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity, that have traditional hierarchical structures. An ecclesiastical province consists of several dioceses, one of them being the archdiocese, headed by a metropolitan bishop or archbishop who has ecclesiastical jurisdiction over all other bishops of the province.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reformed Evangelical Anglican Church of South Africa</span> Christian denomination in South Africa

The Reformed Evangelical Anglican Church of South Africa (REACH-SA), known until 2013 as the Church of England in South Africa (CESA), is a Christian denomination in South Africa. It was constituted in 1938 as a federation of churches. It appointed its first bishop in 1955. It is an Anglican church and it relates closely to the Sydney Diocese of the Anglican Church of Australia, to which it is similar in that it sees itself as a bastion of the Reformation and particularly of reformed doctrine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reformed Episcopal Church</span> Anglican church of Episcopalian heritage

The Reformed Episcopal Church (REC) is an Anglican Church. It was founded in 1873 in New York City by George David Cummins, a former bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church.

The Charismatic Episcopal Church (CEC), officially the International Communion of the Charismatic Episcopal Church (ICCEC), is a Christian denomination established in 1992. The ICCEC is a part of the Convergence Movement. Within North America, most of the Charismatic Episcopal Church's congregations and missions are located within the Northern, Southeastern, Midwest, and Western United States; it also has a presence in Texas, and in Western Canada.

The Convergence Movement, also known as the Ancient-Future Faith, whose foundation is primarily attributed to Robert E. Webber in 1985, is an ecumenical movement. Developed as an effort among evangelical, charismatic and Pentecostal, and liturgical Christians and denominations blending their forms of worship, 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.

The Anglican realignment is a movement among some Anglicans to align themselves under new or alternative oversight within or outside the Anglican Communion. This movement is primarily active in parts of the Episcopal Church in the United States and the Anglican Church of Canada. Two of the major events that contributed to the movement were the 2002 decision of the Diocese of New Westminster in Canada to authorise a rite of blessing for same-sex unions, and the nomination of two openly gay priests in 2003 to become bishops. Jeffrey John, an openly gay priest with a long-time partner, was appointed to be the next Bishop of Reading in the Church of England and the General Convention of the Episcopal Church ratified the election of Gene Robinson, an openly gay non-celibate man, as Bishop of New Hampshire. Jeffrey John ultimately declined the appointment due to pressure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anglican Communion and ecumenism</span> Overview about the Anglican Communion and ecumenism

Anglican interest in ecumenical dialogue can be traced back to the time of the Reformation and dialogues with both Orthodox and Lutheran churches in the sixteenth century. In the nineteenth century, with the rise of the Oxford Movement, there arose greater concern for reunion of the churches of "Catholic confession". This desire to work towards full communion with other denominations led to the development of the Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral, approved by the Third Lambeth Conference of 1888. The four points were stipulated as the basis for church unity, "a basis on which approach may be by God's blessing made towards Home Reunion":

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anglican Church in North America</span> Anglican realignment province

The Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) is a Christian denomination in the Anglican tradition in the United States and Canada. It also includes ten congregations in Mexico, two mission churches in Guatemala, and a missionary diocese in Cuba. Headquartered in Ambridge, Pennsylvania, the church reported 977 congregations and 124,999 members in 2022. The first archbishop of the ACNA was Robert Duncan, who was succeeded by Foley Beach in 2014.

The Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans is a communion of conservative Anglican churches that formed in 2008 in response to ongoing theological disputes in the worldwide Anglican Communion. Conservative Anglicans met in 2008 at the Global Anglican Future Conference, creating the Jerusalem Declaration and establishing the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (FCA), which was rebranded as GAFCON in 2017.

Archbishop Doyé Teido Agama is a Christian leader within the Pentecostal Holiness and Convergence movements. He is the founder of Apostolic Pastoral Congress, a collegiate collective of Pentecostal bishops and pastors adhering to paleo-orthodoxy and was for many years the organisation’s President and its presiding prelate. He leads the Christian Way of Life group of churches. He has been a prominent figure in the Churches Together in England movement and is involved extensively in the African diaspora and black and multicultural affairs.

The Catholic Apostolic Church of Antioch (CACA) is an Independent Catholic jurisdiction in the United States, established in 1958 by Herman Adrian Spruit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Vincent's Cathedral</span> Anglican cathedral of the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth

St. Vincent's Cathedral is an Anglican church in Bedford, Texas. It is the cathedral of the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth. The cathedral played a major part in the Anglican realignment by hosting the inaugural assembly in 2009 where the Anglican Church in North America was constituted.

The Anglican Network in Europe (ANiE) is a small Christian denomination in the Anglican tradition with churches in Europe. Formed as part of the worldwide Anglican realignment, it is a member jurisdiction of the Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (GAFCON) and is under the primatial oversight of the chairman of the GAFCON Primates Council. ANiE runs in parallel with the Free Church of England (RECUK). GAFCON recognizes ANiE as a "proto-province" operating separately from the Church of England, the Scottish Episcopal Church, the Church in Wales and other Anglican Communion jurisdictions in Great Britain and the European continent. ANiE is the body hierarchically above the preexisting Anglican Mission in England; the former is the equivalent of a province whilst the latter is a convocation, the equivalent of a diocese.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Lipka</span> American Anglican bishop

Richard Walter Lipka is an American Anglican bishop. Lipka served as a Roman Catholic and Episcopal priest before being consecrated in the Charismatic Episcopal Church. He has served since 2021 as bishop ordinary of the Missionary Diocese of All Saints, an Anglo-Catholic diocese in the Anglican Church in North America. He is a significant figure in the Episcopal charismatic renewal movement and the Anglican realignment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Continuing Evangelical Episcopal Communion</span> Christian denomination established in 2019

The Continuing Evangelical Episcopal Communion is a Christian denomination in the Convergence Movement, established in 2019. Separating from the Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches, the Continuing Evangelical Episcopal Communion is led by Bishop Primus John Sathiyakumar of the Province of India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evangelical Episcopal Communion</span>

The Evangelical Episcopal Communion (EEC) is a Christian denomination within the Convergence Movement, formerly part of the Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches. The denomination was founded by Archbishop Russell McClanahan, who has served as presiding bishop and patriarch.

References

  1. ↑ Amos Yong, 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 ..."
  2. 1 2 "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.
  3. ↑ "Our Congregations". Diocese of the Restoration. Retrieved 2022-12-16.
  4. ↑ "Parishes". Diocese of Saint Anthony. Retrieved 2022-12-16.
  5. ↑ "Welcome". Diocese of Saint Patrick. Retrieved 2022-12-16.
  6. 1 2 "Member Churches". CCI Diocese (Province of St. Thomas). Retrieved 2022-12-16.
  7. ↑ "Presiding Bishop Quintin Moore". Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches. Archived from the original on 2022-08-18. Retrieved 2022-08-18. Bishop Quintin was installed as the Presiding Bishop of The CEEC in 2016. He has been the Lead Pastor of The Father's House, a convergent congregation in Hutchinson, Kansas since 1986. Since 2011 Bishop Quintin has served as the Presiding Bishop of the CEEC Province USA. He founded the Diocese of the Restoration in 2004 which serves as a covering for churches regionally. Bishop Quintin holds a Masters of Ministry and is completing a Doctorate from George Fox University. He has assisted in the successful planting of hundreds of churches in the US, Mexico, and other countries around the world, most of which are still thriving in their various communities.
  8. ↑ "History of the Continuing Evangelical Episcopal Communion". Continuing Evangelical Episcopal Communion. 4 January 2019. Archived from the original on 2022-08-18. Retrieved 2022-08-18.
  9. 1 2 "The Apostolic Succession of The Most Reverend Russell McClanahan". www.theceec.org. Archived from the original on 2007-07-17. Retrieved 2019-04-13.
  10. ↑ "Leadership". Evangelical Episcopal Communion. Archived from the original on 2022-08-18. Retrieved 2022-08-18. Our Patriarch and Presiding Bishop, Archbishop Russell McClanahan, was deeply involved in the Charismatic Renewal. Prior to that time, he began his ministry in the Methodist Church in 1964 where he served for 12 years. Impacted by the Charismatic Renewal, he caught a vision for the convergence of the three great traditions of the church universal, accomplished as the strengths of each are drawn upon and all are held in balance with one another. Passionate about his vision, Abp McClanahan left the Methodist Church and from 1976-1995, he pioneered many church plants which developed into a network of churches and ministries. Under his oversight, these groups continued to grow in their understanding and experience of converging the three historical streams of worship. Providentially, in 1994, Abp McClanahan met with a group of leaders of another developing organization which shared his vision for convergence. After seeking the heart and mind of God, they determined that the two groups should link arms. Abp McClanahan was unanimously elected by the founding leadership of the Evangelical Episcopal Church International to be its first Bishop in historic Apostolic succession. He was consecrated on October 3, 1995 by the Right Reverend Michael Owen (Chief Consecrator), The Most Reverend Owen Augustine, and The Most Reverend Daniel C. Gincig at Hylton Memorial Chapel in Fredericksburg, VA. During that same ceremony, one other Bishop was consecrated and 25 priests, as well as 7 deacons, were ordained.
  11. ↑ "History of the CEEC USA". CEEC Province USA. Archived from the original on 2022-08-18. Retrieved 2022-08-18.
  12. ↑ Andrews, Mark. "Evangelical Anglicans Aim to Bridge Gulf Between Pentecostals and Pope". Charisma News. Archived from the original on 2023-12-19. Retrieved 2023-12-19.
  13. ↑ "Tony Palmer, who captured Pope Francis' bid for Christian unity with a cellphone, dies after motorcycle crash". Religion News Service. Religion News Foundation. 2014-07-22. Archived from the original on January 7, 2019. Retrieved 2021-02-15. Retired Pope Benedict XVI invited Anglicans to join the Catholic Church, allowing priests to remain married and continue to have some autonomy. With a Catholic wife, an international background and a charismatic evangelical blend, Longenecker wrote, Palmer served as the perfect "face" for new Anglicanism.
  14. ↑ "Pope and Late Evangelical Bishop were Like 'Father and Son'". America Magazine. 2014-07-22. Archived from the original on July 27, 2014. Retrieved 2021-02-15.
  15. ↑ Gledhill, Ruth (2014-07-22). "Christians mourn death of bishop Tony Palmer, friend of Pope Francis". Christian Today. Retrieved 2023-12-18.
  16. ↑ "About". Continuing Evangelical Episcopal Communion. 12 February 2018. Archived from the original on 2022-08-18. Retrieved 2022-08-18. 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.
  17. ↑ "Instruments of Unity". Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches. Archived from the original on 2022-08-18. Retrieved 2022-08-18.
  18. ↑ "History of the CEEC - CEEC-GLOBAL". Continuing Evangelical Episcopal Communion. 4 January 2019. Archived from the original on 2023-12-19. Retrieved 2021-02-15.
  19. 1 2 "New CEEC-USA Diocese Established in Florida". Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches. 2023-05-10. Archived from the original on 2023-12-19. Retrieved 2023-08-11.
  20. ↑ "Province USA". Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches. Retrieved 2022-08-18.
  21. ↑ "Province of United Kingdom". Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches. Retrieved 2022-08-18.
  22. ↑ "Province of St. Thomas". Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches. Retrieved 2022-08-18.
  23. ↑ "Society of St. Patrick & St. Aiden". Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches. Retrieved 2022-08-18.
  24. 1 2 "Province of Canada". Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches. Retrieved 2022-08-18.
  25. ↑ "Act 4 Nations". Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches. Retrieved 2022-08-18.
  26. ↑ "Dioceses and Orders – CEEC Province USA" . Retrieved 2022-08-18.
  27. ↑ "Member Churches". The Order of St Leonard. Retrieved 2023-12-19.
  28. ↑ "Archbishop Reinhard Sekar of CEEC-India visits the United States". Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches. 2023-05-31. Retrieved 2023-12-19.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.