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The Catholic Apostolic Church of Antioch
Malabar Rite
What is the Church of Antioch?
Archbishop Herman A. Spruit
CHRISTIC
We are a limb of the one Christian church, the Mystical Body
of Christ. We acknowledge the Christ as our founder, living head, and eternal high priest.
INDEPENDENT CATHOLIC
We are a Catholic church in the original, universal, sense
of that word as well as in our form of sacramental worship. We are neither Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, or Protestant. We
are a Catholic Church and our bishops and priests trace their Holy Orders, or “apostolic succession” (the
tradition of bishops consecrating other bishops), through Roman Catholic and Orthodox lines of succession. In this way we
trace our roots as far back as any other Catholic or Orthodox church. Our priests perform the Divine Liturgy and administer
the seven sacraments.
SACRAMENTAL
We are a sacramental church. We hold that the sacraments
are visible signs of a manifestation of divine grace and are powerful aids to spiritual growth.
The seven sacraments are Holy Eucharist (Communion), Reconciliation
(Penance), Holy Unction (healing of the sick), and Holy Matrimony. They are made available to all who seek them. Baptism
is the rite of formal initiation into Christ's church. Confirmation seals the commitment to a Christian way of life. Holy
Orders is an initiation available to those who believe they have the charism of priesthood and wish to serve as clergy.
MODERN
We are a modern church. We maintain that eternal truth cloaks
itself in garb appropriate to the age, and that the outward form of religion should keep pace with human development. We do
not shrink from new knowledge. Our form of Catholicism embodies an ancient truth for a new age. We provide a contemporary
alternative to older Catholic traditions — traditional worship with free exploration of new ideas and avenues of spirituality.
Seekers are encouraged to explore all resources of spiritual development they find meaningful.
FELLOWSHIP
Our church is a spiritual fellowship of followers of the
Spirit. We give ourselves and others encouragement to live the truth. To live the truth is to become ever more the Christ,
the true Self of all and the source of real happiness and abiding fellowship.
LOVE CENTERED
We are a church of love. We accept Saint John's testimony
that God is Love For us; Christ's ministry is the law of love: “Love the Lord, thy God, with thy whole heart, thy whole
mind and thy whole strength; and love thy neighbor as thyself. This is the whole of the Law and the prophets.” This
Summary of the Law that epitomized Christian ethics is found in Saint Augustine's precept, “Love and do as you will.”
UNIVERSAL
We maintain that the Holy Spirit acts through pure channels
everywhere regardless of age, sex, race, creed or culture. There is only one true God however this God is known or worshipped;
hence, there is eternally only one holy universal Church regardless of the cultural form it happens to assume in a given time
and place. We revere the saints, sages, and holy ones of all ages and places.
HONORS THE DIVINE FEMININE
We recognize that the one true God speaks with both feminine
and masculine voices. We listen for them. We maintain that God touches us in many ways. We respond. The Divine Feminine and
Divine Masculine manifest through and in us. We act. We seek not one or the other, but rather the co-mingling and integration
of all that is God. Experienced inwardly and expressed outwardly, the Divine Presence moves us with Grace toward a stillpoint
where we can abide in Peace, rest in God, and co-exist with all that is.
MYSTICAL
We are a mystical church, keeping in mind the Old Testament
words, “Be still and know I AM - God.” We give a primary place to Christ's saying, “The kingdom of heaven
lies within you” and acknowledge that the greatest advancement in spiritual truth is made by those who discover that
divinity resides within. If God is Love, then it is through our love that we come to a real and abiding knowledge of God.
For Christians, love is spiritual knowledge par excellence.
SPIRITUAL
We seek to draw back the veil, first to discover the deeper
intellectual import, and then the experiential dimension which is the true meaning of spiritual symbolism in scripture, ritual,
liturgy and theology.
OPEN COMMUNION
We hold that a chief purpose of the church is to perpetuate
the historical sacramental tradition as instituted by Jesus Christ and as preserved through apostolic succession. We maintain
that the sacraments are channels of divine grace. Therefore, we make the sacraments easily available to all.
Since the Eucharist puts us in direct communion with the
Christ, it is a channel of Grace without parallel. Therefore, at our altars all reverent persons are welcome to receive communion
whether members of the Church of Antioch or not.
OPEN HOLY ORDERS
Holy Orders are open to all regardless of gender, marital
status, or sexual orientation. While we value the principle of the “priesthood of the laity,” we also recognize
the importance of valid Holy Orders for the administration of the sacraments. Our solution is to make Holy Orders available
to all qualified candidates who wish to serve Christ through ordained ministry. Such candidates are required to have a level
of academic achievement and prior life experience which demonstrates the potential for the successful completion of a program
of formation and for the professional practice of ministry. This formation is supervised by the church's seminary, Sophia
Diviity School. All of our clergy must be self-supporting.
AN INVITATION
Do you want the freedom to read and investigate the best
of modern philosphers, theologians, and writers while at the same time remaining rooted in the beauty
and form of traditional Catholicism? Large numbers of both clergy and laity are leaving their traditional churches because
they realize there is no longer the possibility of reforming those churches to be truly just and equitable within
current dogmatic formulations and hierarchal structure. Moreover, they have found it is impossible to live
according to their informed conscience and still remain within those churches.
The great tragedy is that many of these people are the most
intelligent, best educated, and spiritually developed members of the church! They have used their time and energy for
self-education, either formally or informally, to learn from the best theologians of our age only to be denied
the right to use what they have learned in their churches. They have experienced the heartbreak of having to leave their
churche, which they still love and in which most of them were raised, in order to respect what they have learned. If you are such a person, it could be that you are spiritually
ripe to join the Church of Antioch but do not realize it yet. This is the church which sets no limits on your thinking,
to the contrary, it encourages you to use all the gifts God has given you to find the deepest spiritual truths that you
can. You are urged to read all you can on scriptural interpretation, comparative religion, and mystical traditions as well
as the best works in the contemporary social sciences. At the same time, you can share with your fellow seekers the experience
of worshiping in the rich traditional beauty of Catholic Eucharistic fellowship.
Who Are We?
Archbishop
Herman A. Spruit
We
are a Catholic Church in the oldest, universal, orthodox sense of the word as defined by St. Polycarp in the second century.
We have valid apostolic succession through both the Roman Catholic line of apostolic succession and Syro-Jacobite line of
apostolic succession. We maintain the fidelity of the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church. We are an independent
branch of the “one, holy, catholic, apostolic church of Christ” as promulgated in the Nicene Creed and are not
a part of the Roman Catholic or Orthodox Churches.
Because
we are an independent branch of Catholicism we are free to determine our own dogma and doctrine. As such we affirm that
Jesus’ message was one of love of all of God’s creation. We believe that God created each of us just the
way he wanted us to be: male, female, ethnically, racially, gay, straight, and with the gifts he gave us – all
to glorify him and to reach out to our brothers and sisters in his name that are less fortunate than ourselves. That
is why the Church of Antioch places no restriction on full participation in the church either as a lay person or clergy predicated
on marital status, gender or sexual orientation.
Just
as the table of our Lord was open to all who came to him, all are able to receive Holy Communion at the table of the Lord
who come to our churches. We wholeheartedly agree with the theologian who wrote, "Denominationalism is the
scandal of Christianity and denial of Holy Communion predicated on denominalization is its heresy." If Jesus were
here with today he wouldn’t deny himself to anyone because they belonged to the “wrong” church and neither
do we. Everyone is welcomed to receive Holy Communion at the churches of the Church of Antioch.
The
Church of Antioch affirms people's informed conscience; not church dogma or doctrine, as the final arbiter in all matters
of faith, belief, and moral decision making. The days of lock-step, closed-minded, monolithic, one-size fits all moral
decision making predicated on natural law and biblical inerrancy no longer meets the needs of people in 21st
century America. Contrary to what some churches maintain, it is possible for people to develop informed consciences
without resorting to relativism or situational ethics to find appropriate ethical and moral answers.
The Church of Antioch recognizes that everyone’s spiritual pathway is unique and different. We
encourage you to explore every venue, traditional and non-traditional, that is meaningful to you. In addition to Christian
resources many have found Buddhist meditation and Tai Chi very meaningful. Others have found Sufi poetry or the beauty
of the Orthodox liturgy to be a spiritual awakening. In other words, there is no limit when it comes to discovering
what brings you spiritual fulfillment because that is between you and God.
Our Spiritual Principles
Archbishop
Herman A. Spruit
WE AFFIRM
there is but One Spirit of God made manifest in the Holy Trinity, and which permeates all things seen and unseen.
WE AFFIRM
our belief in the Son of God, Jesus the Christ, and that we observe his teachings and strive to live by his example in this
human life.
WE AFFIRM
to live according to these two great rules given by Jesus the Christ: “You shall love the Lord Your God with all your
heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind... You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” All other principles
fall within these rules and are governed by them.
WE AFFIRM
that our spiritual message to the world is one of unconditional love, peace, and self-responsibility.
WE AFFIRM
that every human being is a Son or Daughter of God and that each one has the potential to experience oneness with God.
WE AFFIRM
the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church and the seven traditional sacraments which are empowered by Jesus the Christ.
WE AFFIRM
the sacred writings of both the Hebrew and New Testament books of the Bible, which contain our foundational body of knowledge.
However, we are not limited to these writings.
WE AFFIRM
that we are a truly Catholic Church in the most universal sense. Our altars and priesthood are open to all humanity.
WE AFFIRM
an individual’s right to complete freedom of thought, interpretation, conscience, and inquiry in all matters of our
faith and belief.
WE AFFIRM
our openness to spiritual truth wherever it may be found, whether that is in ancient wisdom, modern thought, mystical or daily
experience or one's inner-knowing.
WE AFFIRM
that we are spiritual beings in the human experience and that spiritual consciousness is forever expanding into higher and
more infinite realms of awareness.
WE AFFIRM
spiritual enlightenment as part of our mission to experience God at the innermost depths of our being as we surrender our
humanness to dissolution in the divine Light. Our greatest desire is to share these experiences with all of humanity by our
living example.
The Friends of God
Thoughts
on the Holy Catholic Church
Archbishop
Herman A. Spruit
I do most reverently believe in the Holy Catholic church,
regarding which, it may be ventured:
It is a church in the sense of a worldwide fellowship of
spiritual explorers, linked together by a certain universal kind of approach to God.
It is Catholic (a spacious word derived from ancient Greek:
kata which means according to, and holikos meaning the whole) because it includes the members of all the Churches
of God -- Eastern Catholic, Roman Catholic, Anglican, Nestorian. Coptic, high, middle, low, whatever, and all others -- provided
that they as individuals be sincere friends of God and obedient to Him, according to their hearing off His voice.
It is Holy because it includes the holy ones here on earth
that belong to each division and subsection of the Whole, as well as those who have gone beyond the veil of illusion who are
friends of God and listen to His voice.
The single, all inclusive and indispensable Rule of its Founder,
binding on all members is this: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy Heart, and with all thy Soul, and with all
thy strength, and with all thy mind, and thy neighbor as thyself (Luke 10:27). Everything of ultimate significance
in this Church stems from the Rule.
It has no absolute canons, decrials or injunctions with regard
to policy, ritual or structure; all members being encouraged to fulfill their own inner need with all charity and sincerity,
doing all things in an orderly manner as befits the Children of God.
Its theology deals primarily with the direct experience of
God. Its philosophy deals with value, the highest human value -- holiness of life. Therefore, it esteems all devotional means,
including sacramental, according to the measure of their effectiveness in helping toward the attainments of these great ends.
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is its Supreme Bishop, and
its highest Exemplar of Holiness (Col. 1:18). He is also its Supreme Advocate of Wholeness, meaning Catholicity, meaning
Unity (Jn. 17:21).
Its Source of Continuing Life is the Holy Spirit, the Giver
of Life, the special Gift of the Father's love and concern.
Its Roster of Saints includes all holy persons who have followed
with all their hearts and minds in the Way of Christ, in the many divisions of the Whole Church, during the whole time since
Jesus ascended on high: also all non-Christian souls who have greatly hungered and thirsted after God, everywhere, any time.
Its membership test reasonably requires that all who would
have their names entered in its Book of Life possess and demonstrate the following fruits of the Spirit: love, joy. peace,
longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-restraint (Gal. 5:22.23).
Its members are authorized, empowered and expected to cast
out seven tenacious devils, all of them destructive to the spiritual life, namely: pride, greed, lying, hatred, malice, lust,
intolerance. Its members can also remove mountains of difficulty in human relations and perform many other social miracles
through the courage and power begotten of faith, hope and love.
Its hidden badge is the Cross, engraven on the heart, signifying
to its members that they are liberated by responding to the Holiest Sacrifice with a ready, humble and sacrificial spirit
(Gal 2:20, 2Cor. 13:14, Rom. 8:9).
It values Episcopal succession as a venerable churchly bond,
cherished by many, but which must never be a cause for Pharisism on the part of anyone who is truly in love with the mind
that was in Jesus. In the views of the true Church, the precession of Christian grace outranks the "laying on of hands" as
a bond and link for the folk of the Kingdom of God.
It admits an uncancelable lien on its affections because
of the vast spiritual wealth from the Jews, who wrought justly, loved mercy and walked humbly with God. It agrees to pay perpetually
the Interest of brotherly love to their modern successors, who respect the teachings of Jesus, while clinging sincerely to
the law and testimony of ancient Israel.
Summing it up: It is the essential, perdurable and invisible
Realm of God that was, is and will be on earth, until all the sons and daughters of God shall be gathered from the north,
south east and west to the final Assembly of the Saints -the consummated and eternal Holy Catholic church, forever free from
compromise and division.
Apostolic Succession
The term apostolic succession refers to the doctrine in Catholic and Orthodox
churches that holds that certain spiritual powers, which Jesus entrusted to the twelve disciples, are passed on in an
unbroken line of succession from bishop to bishop, and from these bishops to the priests who assist them in their pastoral
duties. The validity of apostolic succession is the key factor in determining the sacerdotal powers of a Church.
The principal line of apostolic succession of the Church of Antioch comes
from the Roman Catholic Church, through the Dutch
Old Catholic Church and the Liberal Catholic Church in England. The
validity of this line of succession is widely recognized with the earliest recorded member being Roman Catholic bishop Scipione
Rebiba. More than 91 percent of all Roman Catholic bishops world-wide trace their own lineage to Rebiba (Bransom,
1990). The founder of our Church, Archbishop Herman Adrian Spruit, as you will
see below, is in direct succession from Bishop Rebiba.
In addition, the Church of Antioch has made an effort to unite eastern and
western lines of apostolic succession. In addition to our name, The Church of Antioch derives additional lines of succession
from Archbishop Spruit's co-consecrators. These additional lines include the Syrian Jacobite Patriarchate of Antioch, the
Chaldean Patriarchate of Babylon at Baghdad, the Catholicate-Patriarchate of Assyria, the Greek Melkite Patriarchate of Antioch,
Patriarchate of Moscow, Armenian Catholicate-Patriarchate of Cilicia, the Metropolitan-Archbishops of Albania, the Coptic
Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria, and the nonjuring Anglicans. Joseph Aneed, a Greek Melkite bishop with a claim to a patriarchate
for North America willed his claim to Archbishop Spruit, thereby giving our church a similar claim.
We make our principal lines of succession available for those who wish to
gain a better understanding of the sacramental authority on which our independent branch of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic
Church is founded. All Christians are grafted into the one vine, the mystical body of Jesus Christ.
Major
Lines of Apostolic Succession
ROMAN CATHOLIC SUCCESSION
From Peter to Cardinal Scipione Rebiba
who on 12 March 1566 concecrated
Cardinal
Scipione Rebiba,
Roman Catholic Bishop of Troia
consecrated
Giulio
Antonio Santorio,
Roman Catholic Archbishop of Santa Severina
who on 7 September 1586 consecrated
Girolamo Bernerio, O.P.,
Roman Catholic Bishop of Ascoli Piceno
who on 4 April 1604 consecrated
Galeazzo
Sanvitale,
Roman Catholic Archbishop of Bari
who on 2 May 1621 consecrated
Ludovico
Ludovisi,
Roman Catholic Archbishop of Bologna
who on 12 June 1622 consecrated
Luigi
Caetani,
Roman Catholic Titular Patriarch of Antioch
who on 7 October 1630 consecrated
Giovanni
Battista Scannaroli,
Roman Catholic Titular Bishop of Sidon
who on 24 October 1655 consecrated
Antonio
Barberini (the younger),
Roman Catholic Bishop of Frascati
who on 11 November 1668 consecrated
Charles Maurice Le Tellier,
Roman Catholic Bishop of Mieux
who on 21 September 1670 consecrated
Jaques Benigne Boussuet
who on 24 October 1693 consecrated
Jaques
Goyon De Matigon,
who on 18 February 1719 consecrated
Dominicus
Marie Varlet,
Roman Catholic Bishop of Babylon
who on 17 October 1739 consecrated
Petrus Meindaerts,
Old Catholic Archbishop of Utrecht
who on 11 July 1745 consecrated
Johannes
Van Stiphout,
Old Catholic Bishop of Harrlem
who on 7 February 1768 consecrated
Gualterus
Michael Van Nieuwenhuizen,
Old Catholic Archbishop of Utrecht
who on 21 June 1778 consecrated
Adrianus
Johannes Broekman,
Old Catholic Bishop of Harrlem
who on 5 July 1797 consecrated
Johannes Jacobus Van Rhijn,
Old Catholic Archbishop of Utrecht
who on 7 November 1805 consecrated
Gilbert
Cornelius De Jong,
Old Catholic Bishop of Deventer
who on 24 April 1814 consecrated
Willibord
Van Os,
Old Catholic Archbishop of Utrecht
who on 25 April 1819 consecrated
Johannes
Bon,
Old Catholic Bishop of Haarlem
who on 13 November 1824 consecrated
Johannes
Van Santen,
Old Catholic Archbishop of Utrecht
who on 17 July 1854 consecrated
Casparus
Johannes Rinkel,
Old Catholic Bishop of Haarlem
who on 11 May 1892 consecrated
Gerard
Gul,
Old Catholic Archbishop of Utrecht
who on 28 April 1908 consecrated
Arnold
Harris Mathew,
Old Catholic Bishop for Great Britain
who on 28 October 1914 consecrated
Frederick
Samuel Willoughby,
who on 13 February 1916 consecrated
James
Ingall Wedgwood,
Presiding Bishop of the Liberal Catholic Church
who on 13 July 1919 consecrated
Irving
Steiger Cooper,
Liberal Catholic Regionary Bishop for the United States
who on 13 September 1931 consecrated
Charles
H. Hampton,
Liberal Catholic Regionary Bishop for the United States
who on 22 June 1957 consecrated
Herman
Adrian Spruit,
who became Archbishop-Patriarch of the Church of Antioch
(Catholic Apostolic
Church of Antioch, Malabar Rite)
References
Bransom, C. N. (1990). Ordinations of U.S. Catholic Bishops 1790-1989.
Washington, D.C.: United States Catholic Conference, Inc.
Van Campenhout, W. J. K. (1993). Apostolic Succession in the Catholic
Apostolic Church of Antioch. Creswell, OR: Church of Antioch Press.
SYRO-JACOBITE SUCCESSION
The Christian Church in India claims to have been instituted
by the apostle Thomas, whose tomb is said to be located in Mylapore, now a suburb of the city of Madras in Southern India.
Tradition holds that St. Thomas landed in India at Malankara which is an island in the lagoon near Cranganore in Cochin.
It is believed he traveled all over Northern and Southern India but there is considerable evidence that the church now calling
itself the St. Thomas Christians was not founded by him.
The church of St. Thomas in all probability came into being
between the second and fourth decade of the third century. It was founded by a Syrian merchant know as Thomas of Cana
(Knai Thomas). Finding the Christian Church on the Malabar Coast to be in deplorable condition, on his return to Syria
he brought the matter to the attention to Patriarch Seleucia.
In order to strengthen the Malabar Church the Patriarch dispatched
Mar Joseph, Metropolitan of Urfu, and other unnamed clergy together with about 400 Syrians to the Malabar coast. Thomas
of Cana was among these settlers and set up business in the new colony. They arrived in Cranganore, Malabar, in 345.
Thomas of Cana established an extensive business in the new
colony and soon became its most influential member. He married twice raising a large family and as a result of frequent
intermarriage of his descendents with other Christians of the region the whole community soon came to regard Thomas of Cana,
by now called Mar Thomas, as their common ancestor. The community that resulted from this Syrian settlement has been
able to maintain itself to this day and its descendants are commonly called Christians of St. Thomas or Malabar Rite Christians.
The Jacobite Church was founded by Jacob Baradeus (500-578)
who was recognized as the head of the Syrian Monophisytes and hence the church is called the Syro-Jacobite Church. The
Patriarch of the Apostolic See of Antioch heads the church although his actual residence is in Syria.
The monohisytes argue that Jesus possessed a single nature
while its opponents held to the dual nature of Christ. At the Council of Chalcedon in 451 the Monophisytes conceded
to the composite nature of Christ but refused to acknowledge the two natures of Christ as proposed by their orthodox brethren.
The Council of Chalcedon rejected the Monophysite argument and declared their theology not to be orthodox. As a consequence
the Monophisytes withdrew and a whole new ecclesiastical structure arose side be side that of the orthodox churches.
The Monophysite Syrian Jacobite Church established its presence
on the Malabar Coast as early as the sixteenth century. It was to this church that Antonio Juilus Alvarez, Independent
Bishop of Ceylon and Goa, petitioned and from which he derived his consecration to the episcopate.
The fact that Bishop Alvarez’ Apostolic Succession
comes from a Monophysite jurisdiction does not affect its validity. This is clearly documented by the Augustinian principle
promulgated by St. Augustine that was confirmed by the Roman Catholic Council of Trent. (Sess. XXIII, Can. 7.) as they relate
to matter, form, intention and jurisdiction. Trent categorically declared that Episcopal powers come from God and cannot
be rescinded by any earthly power.
Thus, one jurisdiction may forbid bishops or priests of another
jurisdiction from exercising the powers given to them by God at the time of their ordination or consecration from practicing
them within that jurisdiction. However, that jurisdiction can in no way declare such powers invalid although they may,
as does the Roman Catholic Church, declare the powers of all Catholic bishops and priests ordained and consecrated outside
of the Roman jurisdiction to be illicit and irregular.
However, the proof that even the Roman Catholic Church accepts
that the priestly powers of these other Catholic clergy are completely valid is that when these clergy from the Old Catholic
Church, the Anglo-Catholic Church, and other non Roman Catholic Churches seek incardination as priests in the Roman Catholic
Church they do not have to be ordained to the priesthood again. There is a Ceremony of Incardination where the candidate
becomes one with the community of Roman Catholic priests but there is no question that he is already a priest.
SYRO-JACOBITE SUCCESSION
Succession from Peter to
(126) Mar Ignatius Peter III 1872
Who on December 4,
1877 consecrated
Paulose Mar Athanasius (Kadavil Kooran),
Syrian Antioch Bishop of Kottayam and Metropolitan of Malabar,
India
Who on July 28, 1889 consecrated
Under the authority and dispensation of
Mar Ignatius Peter III
Mar Julius I (Antonio Francis Xavier Alvares),
Archbishop of the Latin Rite Independent Catholic Church
of Ceylon, Goa and India
Who on May 29, 1892 in Colombia, Ceylon at Our Lady of Good
Death Cathedral
Under a Bull of Mar Ignatius Peter III consecrated
Joseph Rene Vilatte,
To serve as archbishop of the Old Catholic Church of North
America
Who in 1920 consecrated
Frederick E. Lloyd,
Bishop of the Old Catholic Church in America
Who in 1923 consecrated
Gregory Lines,
Schismatic Bishop of the Old Catholic Church of America
Who ca. 1925 consecrated
Robert Raleigh,
Schismatic Bishop of the Old Catholic Church of America
Who ca. 1927 consecrated
Lowell Paul Wadle,
An independent Catholic Bishop
In 1940 Bishop Wadle affiliated with
Bishop Percy Clarkson,
Bishop of the Liberal Catholic Church of Antioch
In 1957 Bishop Wadle was a co-consecrator of
Herman Adrian Spruit
Founder and Patriarch of the Catholic Apostolic Church of
Antioch - Malabar Rite
Priesthood in the Church of Antioch
CATHOLICISM OF THE CHURCH OF
ANTIOCH
The word Catholic means universal in the earliest traditions
of the church. Within the Church of Antioch we hold that our role within Catholicism is to perform the liturgy and distribute
the sacraments, while promoting individual freedom of choice and conscience. Our Catholicism encourages people to investigate
virtually all possible avenues of spiritual fulfillment and growth.
Our form of Catholicism promotes traditional sacramental
worship, while counseling individuals to seek to discover divinity within. We hold that no one should stand between the individual
and God, "in Whom we live, move, and have our being." The Church of Antioch is non-creedal and non-dogmatic, therefore we
encourage the freest possible interpretation of those teachings which are handed down to us, consistent with the revelation
of conscience.
We distinguish between spirituality and religion. Spirituality
is openness to transcendence. Religions are means of rendering divine worship. Thus, we distinguish between priests, whose
function is to perform the sacred rites, and spiritual guides, whose own personal experience qualifies them to assist others
on the path they have successfully trod.
THE CATHOLIC APOSTOLIC PRIESTHOOD
In both the Western Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions,
priests are ordained by bishops who have been consecrated by other bishops, in an unbroken line, going back to the original
apostles, and through them to Jesus Christ. This is known as "apostolic succession."
Churches are justified in calling themselves Catholic when
their orders are valid with respect to apostolic succession and their liturgies conform to the essentials of tradition. Because
of our well-recognized apostolic succession, and liturgies that accord with accepted tradition, the Church of Antioch can
claim to be truly Catholic in virtually every sense of the word. Our priests and bishops therefore validly administer the
traditional Catholic sacraments.
OPEN HOLY ORDERS
The Holy Orders of the Church of Antioch are open to all
regardless of gender, marital status, or sexual orientation. While we accept the priesthood of the laity, we put great stock
in the importance of apostolic succession. Our solution is to make Holy Orders available to qualified candidates who wish
to serve Christ. Such candidates are required to have a level of academic achievement and prior life experience which demonstrates
potential for successful completion of a program of priestly formation and for the professional practice of religion. Spiritual
and priestly formation is supervised by the church's seminary, Sophia Divinity School.
Men and women are equal spiritually. We do not believe that
the traditional bias against women in the priesthood can be justified. The Church of Antioch has been ordaining women to the
priesthood, as well as consecrating women to the episcopate, for many years.
Many Catholic and Orthodox rites permit their clergy to marry.
Even those rites which do not admit there is nothing in scripture to prevent it. Accordingly, we leave the option
of celibacy to the individual. This is bcasue we recognize that what may be spiritually helpful to one person may be an obstacle
for another.
The clergy of the Church of Antioch are self-directed and
self-supporting. You may make of your ministry whatever you desire and have the ability to achieve. We do not require that
you give up your current profession or life-style.
Your theological education, spiritual developmet energy,
intelligence, creativity, competence, and resources are your primary tools for ministry. The church exists as a spiritual
fellowship and community to provide support and assistance to self-sufficient individuals who assume responsibility for their
own lives and ministry.
FELLOWSHIP
Our church is a spiritual fellowship of followers of the
Spirit. We give ourselves and others encouragement to live the truth. To live the truth is to become ever more the Christ,
the true Self of all and the source of real happiness and abiding fellowship.
LOVE CENTERED
We are a church of love. We accept Saint John's testimony
that God is Love. For us, Christ's ministry is the law of love: Love the Lord, thy God, with thy whole heart, thy whole
mind and thy whole strength; and love thy neighbor as thyself. This is the whole of the Law and the prophets. Saint Augustine
epitomized Christian ethics in the precept, Love and do as you will.
UNIVERSAL
We maintain that the Holy Spirit acts through pure channels
everywhere, regardless of age, sex, race, creed or culture. There is only one true God, however this God is known or worshipped;
hence, there is eternally only one holy universal Church, regardless of the cultural form it happens to assume in a given
time and place. We revere the saints, sages, and holy ones of all ages and places.
MYSTICAL & SPIRITUAL
We seek to draw back the veil, first to discover the deeper
intellectual import and then the experiential dimension which is the true meaning of spiritual symbolism in scripture, ritual,
liturgy and theology.
We are a mystical church, keeping in mind the Old Testament
words, Be still and know I AM.
We give a primary place to Christ's saying, The kingdom of
heaven lies within you and the belief that love is spiritual knowledge par excellence. God is Love, and it is through our
love that we come to a real and abiding understanding of God and Christ.
You have not
chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that you should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain.
-
John 15:16
The Lord has
sworn, and he will not repent: "You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek"
- Psalm 109:4
As the Father
has sent Me, so I send you. Then He breathed on them and said: Receive the Holy Spirit.
- John 20:21-22
They presented
these men to the apostles, who first prayed over them and then imposed hands on them.
- Acts 6:6
Sophia Divinity School
Sophia Divinity School is the distance learning seminary of the
Catholic Apostolic Church of Antioch. Degrees offered are Associate in Divinity (A.S.), Batchelor of Divinity (B.D.),
and Master in Divinity (M.Div.) pursuant to an applicant's educational level. The curriculum consists of 70 credit hours
distributed among the disciplines of Biblical & Historical Research, Comparative Religions and Traditions, Ethics, History,
History of Christianity, Liturgy, Metaphysics, Mysticism, Pastoral Studies, Spirituality, Theological and Religious Studies,
and Practicum. In addition to the practicum course work all seminarians must attend a minimum of two practicum's in
liturgy held at our annual convocation prior to being ordained to the Deaconate. The seminary curriculum is divided
into five Minor Orders and three Major Orders. These are the Orders of historic Catholicism.
Minor Orders
Requirements for Server
Requirements for Server are baptism and confirmation. Although
server is not considered a Minor Order the position brings with it a special grace and awareness of the spiritual life.
Requirements for the Order of Cleric
Introduction to Independent Catholicism and the Church of Antioch
Introduction to Comparative Religion
Introduction to Jewish Mysticism
Hesychasm: The Jesus Prayer
Community Service Unit
Requirements for the Order of Doorkeeper
The Old Testament Scriptures
Introduction to Christian Theology
Introduction to Christian Mysticism
Introduction to Liturgy
Community Service Unit
Requirements for the Order of Reader
The New Testament Scriptures
Christian Anthropology
Introduction to Buddhist Mysticism or Introduction to Sufi Mysticism
Metaphysics: Classical and Popular Conceptions
Community Service Unit
Requirements for the Order of Healer
Sophia, The Divine Feminine
Jungian Spirituality
Introduction to Spiritual Healing
Death and Dying
Community Service Unit
Requirements for the Order of Acolyte
Christology
The Sacraments
The Eucharist
Scriptural Interpretation
Community Service Unit
Major Orders
Requirements for the Order of Subdeacon
History of Christianity
Public Ministry
Ecclesiology
Practicum in Homiletics
Reflections in Ministry I
Requirements for the Order of Deacon
Practicum in Liturgy
Church Administration
Ethics
Issues in Modern Theology
Reflections in Ministry II
Requirements for the Order of Priest
Liturgical Year
Christian Ethics
Introduction to Pastoral Counseling
Theology of the Sacraments
Reflections in Ministry III
Priesthood in the Church of Antioch
Priesthood in the Church of Antioch is open to all regardless of gender,
marital status, or sexual orientation. If you would like to investigate becoming a priest in the Church of Antioch, please
contact Archbishop Richard Gundrey at
1-(505)-988-4244 or send an email to: rgundrey@cybermesa.com | 
