Worldwide Communion of Catholic Apostolic National Churches

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Dom Luis Fernando Castillo Méndez, patriarch of ICAN 1964-present
Dom Luis Fernando Castillo Méndez, patriarch of ICAN 1964-present

The Worldwide Communion of Catholic Apostolic National Churches (Portuguese Igrejas Católicas Apostólicas Nacionais) (ICAN), is a confederation of sixteen national Christian church bodies, founded in the 1950s by Dom Carlos Duarte Costa of the Brazilian Catholic Apostolic Church. The communion is currently headed by Dom Luis Fernando Castillo Méndez, who serves as Patriarch of the communion and Primate of the Brazilian church.

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[edit] History

Dom Carlos Duarte Costa was a Brazilian Roman Catholic bishop (from 1924-1937) who pressed for social justice and church reform at a faster pace than the Church was willing to adopt at that time. He was removed from leadership of his diocese in 1937, and in 1945 left the Roman Catholic Church completely to form the Brazilian Catholic Apostolic Church. Duarte Costa consecrated additional bishops who went on to found similar autonomous national churches in various other countries.

By 1964 there were eight national churches affiliated with ICAB, including Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela.[1] As of 2007 there are sixteen national churches in the ICAN communion.

In recent years the membership of the ICAN communion has fluctuated, with a number of member national churches coming and going. The United States affiliates are illustrative of this phenomenon. In 1949 Bishop Stephen Corradi-Scarella was consecrated by Dom Carlos Duarte Costa, and went to New Mexico in the United States to establish a work there. This group, which later became the Western Orthodox Church in America (WOCA), gradually fell out of relationship with the Brazilian church. In 1985 the relationship was re-established when Dom Luis Castillo Méndez of Brazil signed a concordat with WOCA under the leadership of Bishop C. David Luther. However, in 1990 the Brazilian church severed the relationship with WOCA for doctrinal and canonical reasons, and signed a concordat with an offshoot of WOCA, the Catholic Apostolic Church in North America (CACINA), led by Bishop Francis Jerome Joachim-Ladd.[2] By 1997 this relationship too had collapsed, and the Brazilian church entered that year into communion with the Charismatic Episcopal Church of the U.S., only to see this new relationship fail to materialize.[3] In 2005 a concordat was signed between ICAB and the Catholic Apostolic National Church (formerly known as the Old Catholic Church). Then in July 2007 a concordat was signed with the Communion of Christ the Redeemer, which is now the official ICAN presence in the U.S., although an official communication from the patriarch has granted to the Catholic Apostolic National Church "permanent communion" with the patriarchate, the Brazilian Church, and the Worldwide Communion.

[edit] Beliefs

While the various member churches of the Communion have some variety in their beliefs, all hold to certain key elements.

Member churches accept the Nicene, Apostles', and Athanasian creeds, and observe seven sacraments (baptism, Eucharist, confirmation, penance, unction, ordination, and matrimony).[4]

The churches practice open communion for all Christians who acknowledge the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist.

The Church acknowledges divorce as a reality of life which is permitted in Holy Scripture, and will marry divorced persons and baptize the children of divorced or single parents.[5]

The Communion maintains the historic three-fold ordained ministry of bishops, priests, and deacons. It holds that apostolic succession is maintained through the consecration of its bishops in unbroken personal succession back to the apostles. All bishops in the Communion trace their line of succession back to Bishop Carlos Duarte Costa, who was consecrated in the Roman Catholic Church. Every consecration strictly follows the Roman Pontifical.

Ordained clergy are allowed to marry.

[edit] Organization

The Communion maintains one official member church in each country where the Communion has a presence.

The Communion is governed by the International Bishops Council, consisting of the five members of Executive Council of the Communion, along with the Primates of each member church. The International Bishops Council meets every three years.

[edit] Member churches

Member churches of the Communion include:

  • Australia: Australian Catholic Church - joined 1992
  • Belgium: Gemeenschap van de Goede Herder[1]
  • Bolivia: Catholic Apostolic Church of Bolivia
  • Brazil: Igreja Católica Apostólica Brasileira - founded 1945
  • Canada: La Fraternité Sacerdotale Saint Jean l’Évangéliste - joined 1990
  • Colombia: Iglesia Católica Nacional - joined 2005
  • Costa Rica: The Catholic Apostolic Church of Costa Rica
  • Czech Republic: The Catholic Apostolic Church of the Czech Republic
  • Ecuador: The Catholic Apostolic Church of Ecuador
  • France: The Catholic Apostolic Church of France
  • Guatemala: Fr. Eduardo Aguirre received as of July 2007
  • Italy: The Catholic Apostolic Church of Italy
  • Mexico: Iglesia Católica Apostólica Mexicana
  • Philippines: Congregacao de Sao Carlos do Brasil - joined 1985
  • Spain: The Catholic Apostolic Church of Spain

[edit] References

  1. ^ Peter F. Anson, Bishops at Large, London: Faber & Faber, 1963, p. 6 Addenda
  2. ^ Randolph A. Brown, "A Concise History of the Western Orthodox Church in America"
  3. ^ William J. Tighe, "Anglican Taxonomy" in Touchstone Magazine website, Oct. 22, 2006
  4. ^ Santa Rita de Cassia church website
  5. ^ "Brazilian Catholic Apostolic Church" in Enciclopédia TioSam (copied July 6, 2007)

[edit] External links