“BUILD BRIDGES, NOT WALLS.”

(POPE FRANCIS I, BISHOP OF ROME 2013-2025)

“…BE A MISSIONARY CHURCH, BUILDING BRIDGES, [AND] DIALOGUE…”

(POPE LEO XIV, BISHOP OF ROME 2025-PRESENT)

THE ABBEY OF SAINT MARY THEOTOKOS

THE ORDER OF FRANCISCANS OF THE EUCHARIST

ALBANY, NEW YORK, USA

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ABBEY OF SAINT MARY THEOTOKOS ORDER OF FRANCISCANS OF THE EUCHARIST (O.F.E.)

WE ARE AN EASTERN AND ROMAN CATHOLIC FRANCISCAN RELIGIOUS ORDER, AN INTERNATIONAL ORDINARIATE. WE BOLDLY PROCLAIM OUR EASTERN AND ROMAN CATHOLIC IDENTITY. AS AN EASTERN RELIGIOUS ORDER, WE PROFESS TO BE A BRANCH OF THE EASTERN CHURCH AND, THEREFORE, A VALID BRANCH OF THE UNIVERSAL CHURCH.

WELCOME!

ABBEY OF SAINT MARY THEOTOKOS Donate Click Here

CHAPEL OF SAINT FRANCIS OF ASSISI

ORDER OF FRANCISCANS OF THE EUCHARIST (O.F.E.)

ORDER OF FRANCISCANS OF THE EUCHARIST SECULAR (O.F.E.S.)

SANTIFICATION OF FAMILIES UNION OF SAINT FRANCIS OF ASSISI (S.F.U.)

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF CATHOLIC & AUTOCEPHALOUS BISHOPS (I.C.C.A.B.)

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Order of Franciscans of the Eucharist Ministries:

Apostolic Episcopal Church Click Here

[Holy Eastern Catholic and Apostolic Orthodox Church]

Western Orthodox University Click Here

Mar +Joannes Edmundus, Titular Archbishop of Sardis and Primate and Presiding Bishop and Ecclesiastical Administrator of Metropolitan Synod of the Apostolic Episcopal Church, Catholicos of the West and British Patriarch.

THE APOSTOLIC EPISCOPAL CHURCH

“We profess to be a Branch of the Eastern Church and, therefore, a valid branch of the Universal Church, whose Symbol of Faith is the apostolic, eastern confession, and whose Orders through Episcopal Succession are derived from the ancient Eastern episcopate which is traced back to the primitive Church of the East and to the Apostles and to Our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Rt. Revd. Arthur Wolfort Brooks (1889-1948), Founder, Apostolic Episcopal Church)

We profess to be a Branch of the Eastern Church and, therefore, a valid branch of the Universal Church, whose Symbol of Faith is the apostolic, eastern confession, and whose Orders through Episcopal Succession are derived from the ancient Eastern episcopate which is traced back to the primitive Church of the East and to the Apostles and to Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Loyal to the Holy Scriptures, true to the orthodox Apostolic faith, diligent in service and broadminded in its attitude toward all scientific progress and intellectual approach to present day needs. In practice both sacramental and evangelical, rich in the possession of an unique liturgy which has come down through the ages from the undivided ancient Church, having the Ministry of Apostolic Succession – a combined spiritual heritage which qualifies her to minister in every community of the faithful of the Flock of Christ and to spread the Gospel by missionary effort for the salvation of mankind. United in the faith and fellowship of the Holy Apostles, wherein there has been preserved by the Word and Holy Sacraments, rites, orders and practices, the characteristic spiritual power and message of the Church of Christ for centuries – yet adapted to the spirit and needs of the present age.” (Official Statement of Metropolitan Synod, AEC, published by the Brooklyn City Mission and Tract Society (now Brooklyn Council of Churches), 1930s)

The Apostolic Episcopal Church (The Holy Eastern Catholic and Apostolic Orthodox Church), organized in 1925 and recognized by the Statutes of the State of New York in 1932, is an autonomous and fully independent Christian church that combines the heritage of the Chaldean Catholic Church (an Eastern Catholic Church in full communion with the Holy See), of which it is an extension, with that of traditional Anglicanism. It is thus one of the few communions not formed by way of a split or division in another Church body, and is the second oldest conservative or “continuing” Anglican denomination to have been formed in the United States (the first, the Reformed Episcopal Church, having been founded in 1873). The Apostolic Episcopal Church has been in intercommunion with the Catholicate of the West since the formation of the latter body in 1944, and is today a member jurisdiction of the Catholicate under the auspices of the Abbey-Principality of San Luigi.

OF THE FAITH

1. The Apostolic Episcopal Church regards the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as being the rule and ultimate standard of faith, and as containing all things necessary to salvation.

2. We accept the Apostles’ Creed, as the Baptismal symbol, and the Nicene Creed, as the sufficient statement of the Christian faith.

3. We accept seven sacraments: baptism, anointing (confirmation or chrismation), communion, penance, holy orders, marriage, and holy unction. The Eucharist (Holy Communion, Mass or Divine Mystery) is definitely regarded as a sacrifice.

4. We are guided by the Canon of St. Vincent of Lerins: that which has been believed everywhere, always and by all is truly Catholic (universal).

THE MISSION

The mission of the Apostolic Episcopal Church has not only been towards congregational outreach but has been specifically directed towards ecumenical reunion, firstly in respect of bringing together bishops of different denominations through its communion, and secondly by the creation and dissemination of an Ecumenical Apostolic Succession in pursuance of a resolution of the 1920 Lambeth Conference. This work was furthered through a formal concordat relationship with the Catholicate of the West, a British-originated union of the smaller Apostolic churches, from 1944 onwards, with the Catholicate eventually being absorbed into the Apostolic Episcopal Church. This mission leads the Apostolic Episcopal Church to be regarded by some as an “inner church”; a body whose work is as much directed towards the existing communities of Christians as outside them. It draws inspiration from the traditional “Broad Church” view of Anglicanism as a movement of unity, praying with Our Lord that “all may be as one” and seeking to prioritise that which unites the different branches of the Church over that which divides them.

ECUMENICAL

The Apostolic Episcopal Church is eager to co-operate and work in harmony with all, who believe in Personal Redemption through the Sacrifice on the Cross of our Divine Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who died, was buried and rose again for our Justification. It claims in this sense to be fully ecumenical. (Statement of Perry Nikolaus Cedarholm (1890-1979), AEC Archbishop of Scandinavia, 1970)

Apostolic Episcopal Church Pamphlet Click Here

Rt. Reverend Arthur Wolford Brooks (1889-1948)

Apostolic Episcopal Church

Founder

Canons Ecclesiastical of the Apostolic Episcopal Church Click Here

Apostolic Episcopal Church Metropolitan Synod Clergy List

Primate and Presiding Bishop

Ecclesiastical Administrator of Metropolitan Synod
The Most Revd. John Kersey, OCR, OA, OAM, DC, DD, SThD, (Mar Joannes Edmundus, Prince-Abbot Edmond III de San Luigi) Primate and Presiding Bishop,Titular Archbishop of Sardis; Catholicos of the West and British Patriarch

Deputy to the Primate and Co-adjutor with Right of Succession, Archbishop of Brazil
The Most Revd. Jacy Luis Rodriguez (Mar Bartholomews), OCR, OA, OAM, DD, BTh,
Exarch of the Catholicate of the West for the Americas and Exarch of the American World Patriarchates for the Americas, Dean of the Metropolitan Cathedral of St George and St Expedite, Aguas Lindas de Goais, Brazil

Deputy to the Primate, Provincial of the Western Province, USA, The Most Revd. Michael Cuozzo (Mar Francis), OCR, OFE, DD, STD, PhD, MA, Titular Archbishop of Epiphania, Patriarch of Malaga and Exarch of the Catholicate of the West for the United States of America.

Deputy to the Primate, Provincial of the Southern Province, USA, The Most Revd. Thomas Orville Gore (Mar Thoma), OCR, SSC, SFU, DD, MD, Titular Bishop of Acadia, Exarch of the Catholicate of the West for the United States of America.

The Western Orthodox University

Founded 1954

The Chancellor and Supreme Head of the University is the Most Revd. John Kersey, OCR, OA, OAM, DC, DD, SThD (Mar Joannes Edmundus; Prince-Abbot Edmond III de San Luigi) is the Prince-Abbot of San Luigi and Primate and Presiding Bishop of the Apostolic Episcopal Church, in his capacity as Catholicos of the Catholic Apostolic Church (Catholicate of the West)

The Western Orthodox University was originally founded in 1945 as a private international ecumenical Christian university without walls. Celebrating its seventy-fifth anniversary in 2020, it continues to deliver its programs around the globe by correspondence study and in certain cases, on the campuses of affiliated colleges. The University is an intentionally small and select institution, open to students worldwide (regardless of denominational affiliation) and dedicated to the Western intellectual tradition. Its study programs at associate, bachelor, master, and doctorate level are academically rigorous while allowing a high degree of individual customization.

The degree-granting authority of the Western Orthodox University comes from the State of Florida, USA, where the University is a religious institution that meets the requirements found in Section 1005.06(1)(f), Florida Statutes and Rule 6E-5.001, Florida Administrative Code.

The University was founded on 1 August 1945 by the Prince-Catholicos of the Catholicate of the West, and today continues to be managed by the Catholicate of the West in union with the Apostolic Episcopal Church, a traditionalist Anglican denomination. The Western Orthodox University is classified as a Pontifical University in that it is administered under episcopal authority. As a fully independent religious institution, the University greatly values its status as a private body controlled by a Church which has since its inception presented a distinctively Western Orthodox viewpoint and a determinedly ecumenical Christian witness.

Welcome to the Western Orthodox University Website Click Here

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