Liberal Catholic Church
The terms Liberal Catholic Church (LCC) and Liberal Catholic movement are used by a number of separate Independent Catholic denominations throughout the world descending from Bishop James I. Wedgwood.[1][2]
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Although the term Liberal Catholic might suggest otherwise, it does not refer to liberal groups within the Roman Catholic Church, but to groups unrecognised by and not in communion with the Holy See.
History
Foundation
Wedgwood claims he established the Liberal Catholic Church. Wedgwood also says that during the existence of the early unified Liberal Catholic Church, he created the Liberal Rite.[3] Following accusations of sexual misconduct with juveniles, in 1919, Wedgwood resigned from the Theosophical Society and the Liberal Catholic Church.[4]
Young Rite
In 2006, former LCC Presiding Bishop Johannes van Alphen consecrated Markus van Alphen. Alphen, in turn, established the Young Rite. Bishop Johannes himself eventually joined the Young Rite, serving there until his death. Among the tenets of the Young Rite was the belief that all possessed a path to the priesthood, and anyone requesting ordination should receive it.[5] This practice was abandoned in the United States after Markus van Alphen's retirement and with the establishment of the Community of Saint George, a Young Rite jurisdiction. Young Rite USA now requires a multi-year formation program for its clergy.[6]
See also
References
- "Liberal Catholic Church". Oxford Reference.
- Whalen, William J., Separated Brethren: A Survey Of Protestant, Anglican, Eastern Orthodox and Other Denominations in the United States, 1979, p. 153
- Wedgwood, James Ingall (1937). The Beginnings of the Liberal Catholic Church: February 13, 1916 (3rd ed.). St. Alban Press.
We set to work to eliminate the many features which from our point of view disfigure and weaken the older liturgies. References to fear of God, to His wrath and to everlasting damnation were taken out, also the constant insistence on the sinfulness and worthlessness of man and the frequent appeals for mercy. The services were made as clear and free from repetition in their structural sequence as possible. And every opportunity was given to the congregation to join in the worship with all the resources of mind and will and emotion and self-dedication they were able to command. The sentiments put into the mouth of the worshiper are such as those who are filled with the spirit of devotion and service can honestly and sincerely utter.... It stresses the idea of co-operation with the Divine Father rather than that of supplication, and being outward-turned in the service of God and His world soon enables a man to realize something of the boundless resources of his own being. They are his by right and not simply by grace.
- Gregory Tillet, The Elder Brother, 192-193.
- Bate, Alistair (2009). A Strange Vocation: Independent Bishops Tell Their Stories. Berkeley, CA: The Apocryphile Press. ISBN 978-1933993751.
- "Education (Celebrants)". YoungRiteUSA. Retrieved 2023-02-28.
Further reading
- Liberal Catholic Church (1926). The Liberal Catholic Church: statement of principles, summary of doctrine and table of apostolic succession. St. Alban Press – via Trove.