The Liberal Catholic Apostolic Church
An independent Catholic church in the liberal tradition

Mar Joannes III (The Most Revd. Archbishop John Kersey)
Metropolitan Primate and Titular Archbishop of Karim

Mar Joannes is 116th in direct Apostolic Succession from the Apostle St Thomas through the Chaldean Catholic line and 139th in direct Apostolic Succession from the Apostle St Peter through the Syrian-Orthodox Antiochian line. He is also in succession from the Apostles St James the Less and St Andrew.

After twelve years of lay work within the Anglican, Methodist and Roman Catholic Churches, Mar Joannes completed a course of studies in esoteric philosophy under the late Revd. Dr. H. John Zitko and was ordained as a minister in 2002. He was a founder member of the Religious Society of St Katharine and then a minister of the English Liberal Free Church in London until 2006, when that denomination became The Liberal Rite and he was elected and consecrated as one of its two Presiding Bishops.

In 2008, acting under special commission from the senior lay member of the Ancient Catholic Church, he brought the spiritual heritage of Mar Joannes I, Founder Primate of the Ancient Catholic Church, into union with The Liberal Rite and became the first Metropolitan Primate of the new Liberal Catholic Apostolic Church. He is a member of the Sophia Circle and administrator of the Independent Liberal Catholic Fellowship. He has published a number of books on independent church theology and history, including Apostolic Succession in The Liberal Rite, A History of the Central School of Religion and new editions of +C.W. Leadbeater's The Science of the Sacraments and An Introduction to Theosophy.

Further information can be found at the website of the John Kersey Foundation.

Details of Holy Orders received and bestowed by the Metropolitan Primate

Mar Andreas (The Most Revd. Archbishop Andrew Linley)
Primate and Titular Archbishop of Mount Carmel

Mar Andreas was ordained in the Free Church tradition in 2003 and incardinated into the Society of Free Christians as a minister in 2004. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in theology and other disciplines and the Diploma in European Humanities from the Open University, UK, as well as several diplomas and certificates in theology.

He was a minister of the English Liberal Free Church in London until 2006, when that denomination became The Liberal Rite and he was elected and consecrated as one of its two Presiding Bishops. In 2008, he was appointed Perpetual Co-Adjutor and Titular Archbishop of Mount Carmel in the new Liberal Catholic Apostolic Church.

Mar Andreas is an experienced liturgist and the editor of a number of liturgies used by the former English Liberal Free Church. As a certified funeral minister, he is listed as a Funeral Officiant in the Handbook of the Natural Death Centre.

Mar Alexei (The Rt. Revd. Alistair Herrick Bate, CCP)
Titular Bishop of Hebron and Administrator of the Province of Scotland

Mar Alexei's diverse spiritual heritage includes membership of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids alongside his ministry in the Catholic tradition. A former member of the Shaker community in Maine, USA, he subsequently became a priest in the Liberal Catholic Church International. In 2007, he formed the Companions of the Cross and Passion, now a dependent religious order of the LCAC, and was consecrated to the episcopate by Mar Joannes.

Based in Edinburgh, Mar Alexei has a busy ministry that includes leading study groups in esoteric theology (his Omega Course ran successfully during 2007), wedding, blessing and funeral ministry, alongside the daily Eucharistic worship at his oratory. He holds a Master's degree in Divinity from the University of Edinburgh.

Other clergy

The Very Revd. Mgr. Adrian Glover
Vicar General

Mgr. Glover was formerly an ordained Overseer of the Apostolic Faith Church, a position equivalent to that of bishop. He was subconditionally ordained to the minor orders, diaconate and priesthood by Mar Andreas in 2008 and now leads the LCAC mission in Bournemouth from his oratory there.

He has special responsibility for the Cross-Denominational Mission, an organisation set up to promote co-operation and shared understanding among the various denominations of Christ's Church.

The Revd. Fr. Dennis Donlon

Fr. Dennis was received as a bivocational priest by incardination into the LCAC in 2008. He was ordained for the Companions in Spirit Community in Washington, DC, in 2007. Companions in Spirit was founded in 1985 and is an Eucharistic, Ecumenical and Spiritually Eclectic and Inclusive Community in association with The Fraternity of Mercy, in which Fr. Dennis continues to serve under Bishop Michael Thomas.

Fr. Dennis is at present a Probationer in the Companions of the Cross and Passion, a Religious Order of LCAC. He is an artist, and the photograph shows him with one of his paintings.

The Revd. Fr. Dan L. Edmunds

Fr. Dan fulfils the specialist ministry of Pastor within the LCAC from his base in Pennsylvania, USA. He was ordained priest by Metropolitan Nicholas Valissoupolis of the Greek Orthodox Church (Old Calendar) and subsequently transferred to the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church, which was in communion with his previous denomination.

Fr. Dan served at the age of 16 as the youngest legislative aide in the State of Colorado. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Religion with minor in Sociology from the University of Florida, Master of Arts in Theology from the University of Scranton (Theta Alpha Kappa) and Doctor of Education in Pastoral Community Counseling from Argosy University. He holds the degree of Doctor of Divinity honoris causa from St James Theological Seminary in Florida, where he also serves as Dean of Faculty, as well as serving on faculty at European-American University.

Founder of the International Center for Humane Psychiatry, Fr. Dan is a leading child and family existential psychotherapist specialising in drug-free treatment. He is an advocate of the autistic rights movement and a critic of the psychiatric establishment, formerly hosting his own radio program dealing with these and other issues. He is Board Certified in Sexual Abuse issues through the American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress and has particular expertise in traumatology. Also active in research in India, he works at the Center for Advocacy in Mental Health, Pune. He is author of the book "Children Our Treasure: Meeting our Children's Needs Outside the Bio-Psychiatric Paradigm."

Further information is at the ICHP website.

The Revd. Fr. François Lepine

Fr. François fulfils the specialist ministry of Pastor in the LCAC and was ordained within The Liberal Rite by former Bishop for Canada the Most Revd. Mike Shaw.  He is based near Quebec, Canada.

Fr. François is simultaneously a priest in the LCAC and a bishop in the Buddhist Pure Land tradition. He is responsible for the Quantum Buddhism Association, and for Pureland Canada, the Canadian branch of the Hongaku Jodo Buddhist Association. His website Master Within offers access to spiritual teachings in the Kuji-In tradition., while Hermetic Soft concentrates on the Kabbalah and other magical aspects, explored further in Nagah. Dragons of Justice explores the symbolism of the dragon as a spiritual path. He is the proponent of the Mystic Knighthood, offering pathways towards the union of spirituality and the martial arts.

His book publications include Qi-Gong and Kuji-In, Advanced Kuji-In, Develop ESP and Supernatural Abilities, A Mystic Knight with a Crowned Heart, The Seven Seals and Self-Empowerment for Everyone. He has published further work on DVD.

His personal website contains links and information on these and other aspects of his spiritual work., as well as links to video presentations.

The Revd. Fr. Charles Reynolds

Fr. Charles received the minor orders, diaconate and priesthood at the hands of the Most Revd. Stephen Pfleiderer and was received into the LCAC by incardination in 2008. He is based in Dallas, Texas, USA.

Fr. Charles is convenor of the Sodalitas Sacerdotalis Mariae Vitae (SSMV), now a dependent sodality of the LCAC. He is a member of the Order of the Grail (Johannes Dee Commandery) and the Martinist Order of Unknown Philosophers (Rosa Mystica Chapter).

The Revd. Fr. Scott Shubert

Fr. Scott was ordained priest in the New Order of Glastonbury by Bishop Martha Schultz in 2004 and was received into the LCAC by incardination in 2008. He is based in Boulder, Colorado, USA. 

Fr. Scott is currently active in the Art of Living, a worldwide organization that offers stress relief through yogic breathing. He practices the Chinese form of healing and enlightenment, qigong. Another primary area of interest is personal development and subconscious reprogramming through NLP, hypnosis and other methods of communicating with the subconscious and super-conscious minds.

 

Fr. Scott was attracted to yoga and Western esotericism in 1981 when he became a student of the Self Realization Fellowship and a member of the Rosicrucian Order.  Later he was Initiated into the Martinist Order and Synarchy of Barbados, The Martinist Order of the Netherlands, and was a founding member of the Rose Croix Martinist Order. He was raised to the sublime degree of Master Mason of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, and subsequently received the degrees of Royal Arch Freemasons, Cryptic Masons and Knights Templar of the York Rite Freemasons. He was a student of the International College of Esoteric Studies and was deeply immersed in esoteric study and practice during the late eighties and early nineties.

 

Now his spiritual orientation is more of a fusion of Independent Catholicism, yoga, Vedic wisdom, and Taoism.  It is an important aspect of his mission in life to serve the Apostolic Sacramental Tradition of the Christian priesthood as every Mass or liturgy creates a fountain of healing light that shines into the world. 

The Revd. Fr. Eckhart Christopher Lee Sowers

Fr. Christopher was ordained priest by Bishop William Wise of the Gnostic Order of Mary Magdalene and was received into the LCAC by incardination in 2008. He is based in Portland, Oregon, USA, and is an accomplished taromancer. He is Father-Custodian of the LCAC's Order of Ave Maria.

Fr. Christopher leads All Saints and Angels Ancient Catholic Church (formerly The Vestry), a small dispersed parish working with the sacraments in an interfaith and experimental context. He is author of the blog Reflexion.

The Revd. Deacon David Upton, CCP

David is a professed brother of the Companions of the Cross and Passion currently in training for the Priesthood under Mar Alexei. He was admitted to the order of Deacon in September 2008.

Kay Ellen Krueger (Underdeacon)

Underdeacon Kay Ellen Krueger assists Fr. Christopher Sowers at All Saints and Angels Ancient Catholic Church in Portland, Oregon, USA.

Andy Hall (Cleric)

Andy was formerly and for many years a priest and missionary in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  He is studying on the A.Th. programme at European-American University under the mentorship of Mar Alexei.

Thomas Gayley (Cleric)

Thomas is under the supervision of Fr. Dan L. Edmunds and resides at Montrose, Pennsylvania, USA.

Robert Pieper (Postulant)

Robert is preparing for ordination to the Diaconate and Priesthood within the Companions of the Cross and Passion in 2009. He resides in Phoenix, Arizona, USA, and was formerly a member of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood.

Paul Maher (Postulant)

Paul is currently in training for the Diaconate under Fr. Colin Stebbing in Liverpool. His ministry is primarily to seafarers, and he is also writing a book on the role of hypnosis in spiritual experience.

The ILCF

For further clergy associated with the LCAC, please see the the Independent Liberal Catholic Fellowship.