National Anglican Catholic Church

The National Anglican Catholic Church of the United States is an independent fellowship which worships in the Anglican manner and in the Catholic tradition.

Chartered under the religious organization laws of the State of New Jersey, it had its formal foundation set in 2003 with the publication of its Principles, Positions and Practice handbook. The Church can trace its roots to an earlier association with the American Fellowship Church, a religious organization that has no doctrines but grants Doctor of Divinity degrees by mail for a $50 contribution and/or ordination as minister, priest, "or even rabbi" for $30.

The Church was also formerly associated with the Western Orthodox Church in America. It is from them that the priests of the Church, persons ordained within the Servants of the Resurrection, obtained their Apostolic line of succession from Bishop C. David Luther, SGS. Bishop Luther was the founder of the Western Orthodox Church in America and subsequently consecrated Bishop Nicholas Owens in September 1977 in Altoona, Pennsylvania. Bishop Owens, together with others, later established The National Anglican Catholic Church. The current Presiding Bishop of the Church is the Most Right Rev'd Michael Leaf, SR.

Both the Church and the Servants of the Resurrection recognize the Archbishop of Canterbury as spiritual leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion, but no ties exist between the National Anglican Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion.

Many theologically liberal positions are held by the National Anglican Catholic Church. These include the ordination of women and homosexuals, tolerance of divorce as not sufficient cause to separate a catholic from the sacraments, and support for euthanasia, homosexual relations, same-sex civil unions, and various other matters of scriptural inspiration and interpretation. The Church asserts that Jesus Christ leads today in an ever changing contemporary world and "is not locked away in the books of a first century theology or behind isolated marble walls." The Church claims to have been embraced by the gay and lesbian community, particularly in New Jersey and the New England states.

Priests ordained within the Church serve in a religious order known as The Servants of the Resurrection and usually are engaged in in hospital and hospice work, or as workers in community outreach programs. The National Anglican Catholic Church is unrelated to the Anglican Catholic Church and the Anglican Catholic Church of Canada.

External links

• Official Website^{[dead link]}