I am repeatedly asked about my consecration as a bishop. For those interested from a canonical and historical point of view, here are the details.
Ordination
My ordination as a pastor according to early church traditions and Anglican rites took place on November 27, 1993 in London. It was performed by Bishop Robert H. Booth, Reformed Episcopal Church, USA, and Bishop Kenneth Powell, the Free Church of England [Document 1]. The Reformed Episcopal Church handed over to the Communio Christiana on March 9, 2016 (PDF), both a part of the so-called Continuing Anglican Movement and signatories to the 2008 GAFCON “Jerusalem Declaration”.
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- Ordination Certificate
Consecration as a Bishop
The subsequent Lord’s Supper.
My consecration as a bishop took place on October 1, 2015 in Orlando, Florida (USA) in Anglican Mission in America’s Church of the New Covenant (800 Tuskawilla Rd. Winter Springs, Florida 32707) according to early church traditions and according to Anglican rites (as is recognizable given the different colors of the liturgical robes). Bishop Carl Buffington, who was present for the consecration, is domiciled in the church. Immediately subsequent to the consecration, he celebrated the Lord’s Supper [mass] with me.
As is common according to early church canonical law, the three consecrating bishops (Council of Nicea I, Canon 4) who for their part exhibit a chain of consecration going back to the 1st century [historic apostolic succession], came from three continents and were Archbishop William Mikler, USA, Bishop Leonides de Menezes Ferreira, Brazil, and Bishop John Thomas Goodwin, Ghana.
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- The four archbishops and bishops who conducted the consecration or were witnesses to it.
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- The host Bishop † Carl Buffington, his deputy Pastor Christopher Caudle and in-house counsel Canon Kevin † Donlon witness the oath of consecration.
As a scholar of ecclesiastical law, Rev. Dr. Canon Kevin Donlon, In-house Counsel of the Anglican Mission in America, monitored the course of events. My consecration was heard by Donlon, host Bishop Buffington, and by his deputy Pastor Christopher Caudle as witnesses and were counter-signatories.
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- Ecumenical representative witness the signing of the bishop’s vows.
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- The bishop’s vows.
For me, the most important words of greeting came from Africa, from Archbishop Emmanuel Kolini, Archbishop of Rwanda and the rector of the College of Bishops of the Anglican Mission in the Americas College of Consultors (PDF), from Bishop Bizimana Léopold from Cameroon (PDF), and from Archbishop Sean E. Larkin (PDF).
Pastor Dr. Larry Selig, Presbyterian Church USA (blue robe in the photo above), Pastor Ronald P. Johnsone, Assemblies of God USA, and Pastor Richard Soto, St John’s Abbey (Roman Catholic), among others, participated as observers and witnesses.
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- Signatures of the ecumenical observers and witnesses.
The Liturgy of the Consecration Worship Service (PDF):
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- Liturgy
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- Liturgy
According to ecclesiastical law, I am canonically resident in the diocese in Recife since I serve Ordinary Bishop Leonides de Menezes Ferreira (Recife) as a theological advisor. I exercise my actual pastoral mandate in the Near East under the authority of our Archbishop William Mikler (Orlando), whereby details are being kept confidential for security purposes. Essentially, however, I have been given the freedom to be involved in ecumenical tasks, in affairs relating to the church itself as well as, above all, my tasks independent of the church within the framework of the World Evangelical Alliance under Bishop Efraim Tendero from Manila.
My Bishop’s Cross
My bishop’s cross is a unique creation by the American artist Lisa Mikler. It is based on a one meter long wooden original. In seven fields the cross shows Jesus’ “I am” words (from the top):
- “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End” (Revelation 22:13).
- “I am the vine; you are the branches” (John 15:5). “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener” (John 5:1).
- [= in the center: allusion to the Great Commission: the Greek X, representing Christ, superimposed upon the globe]
- (Lillies) “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25).
- (Oil lamp in front of the globe) “I am the light of the world …” (John 8:12).
- “I am the good shepherd” (John 10:11).
- (a road, a scroll, and a tree) “I am the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6).
