Why I Am an Independent Catholic and Why You Should Consider It As a Serious Spiritual Path
Copyright 2003 The Most Rev. Jon Ryner
Almost at the beginning of my life as an Independent Catholic, I asked myself, "Is this really any good?" Sure, the liturgies could be cool, and the vesture awesome, but I knew that there were a lot of attacks made on Independent Catholics and Orthodox by the "mainstream" churches and their clergy, and that some of these actually had some good points to consider.
The first thing I decided was that Independent Catholicism could serve two different roles: providing valid holy orders for those who needed them for their own spiritual development, and providing havens for those who sought community outside the often oppressive and narrow-minded "mainstream" jurisdictions.
Becoming One's Own Sacrament Dispenser
We live in quite a weird world, where Protestants successfully rewrote the Roman Catholic Mass, the arts are not considered important, great stress is placed on the human priest saying Mass rather than God, etc. The result is that some thoughtful prayerful seekers are concerned that their local mainstream churches may not profer valid sacraments. What is one to do?
Well, the people in question could get ordained and serve themselves (in a manner of speaking). If someone is ordained a priest, s/he can always consecrate the elements whenever s/he needs to. If called upon, s/he could also say Mass for others' intentions.
It seems to me that this is simply taking the idea of the rotating liturgical leader of the Bogamils or the highly-vaunted concept of "the priesthood of all believers" to its logical conclusion. Also, if the person is a humble modest one, the risk that s/he's a confidence person is greatly reduced. Home chapels which are not costly to maintain can proliferate, as they did in the days of the early Church. And it's just possible that visitors to the homes of such as these may be brought to Christ as a result!
At the risk of sounding terribly immodest (like I always really worry about that!), I believe that The Avalonian Catholic Church is the best place for people seeking something like this, for several reasons: 1) We're open to the idea in the first place. 2) Some of our founders lived this sacramental life and have known others who have. In short, we know it's not necessarily an easier way, and know how to work with the problems inherent in it. 3) The Avalonian Catholic Church is working to provide training and initiation in The Mysteries. We want someone we ordain to be not simply a cleric, but a psychopomp, a man or woman who is not afraid to go boldly into uncharted realms because we believe that is where the Church should be going.
Community: Building Something Bigger Than Yourself
That's a phrase my students hear a lot. That's because it's not just a catchy phrase. It reminds us how vital community is. It helps us keep a good perspective. And it helps to keep us humble. ;)
Everyone needs some kind of community: "It is not good for man to be alone." On our frantically fast-paced planet, we often have forsaken all community building but that of our immediate families, and often we neglect even them. (How often have you heard someone say that they need to work more hours so their children can have better things, when what the children really need is them?) What has been the result? Incredible crime growth, a callous disregard for the rights and properties of other people, and a cold and uncaring attitude to the continued rape and murder of our planet. Obviously, what we're doing isn't working. Why are we doing it? What should we be doing?
There are several answers to each of these questions.
Anyone Can Be a Priest (For a Price)!
One problem that has plagued Independent churches is ordaining unsuitable candidates. What is "unsuitable"? Well, simply put, someone who, after ordained, causes some scandal. This can be stealing people's money by fraud or some other manner, having inappropriate sexual contact with another person, preaching contrary to the belief system of the organization, etc. But this can also work another peril: a priest finds out that something is seriously wrong in the church and tries to fix it, but in the end, finds the majority in said church likes or accepts that others are committing grievous sins and illegal acts!
I should quickly state that I am quite well aware of instances where there was simply a difference of style, taste, opinion, or one of the parties was simply bonkers. But even sanity may be in the eye of the beholder, in the final analysis. After all, even Jesus was believed by many to be nuts!
At this point in my ministry, I believe it is vital to learn who a candidate is and what hir ministry should be. Then one can easily see what the person should be doing, whom they should be doing it for and with, what orders and faculties they should receive to do those things, etc. Getting to know candidates will "weed out" those which will not help the church or may even do serious damage to it and its members. It will make for better clergy, as they will be doing work which is suitable to them. Have you ever known someone who has gone into a profession to please their parents, only to lead a totally miserable life? We don't want that to happen in our Church.
Not all clergy of the same order serve in the same capacity. I remember reading how Vivaldi ("the red priest") adamantly didn't want to be ordained. He had such physical infirmity that he strongly felt he shouldn't be a priest. He was ordained anyway, so some hierarch obviously felt he had some sacramental worth. It may be that the individual in question really only needs some sacramental power to take care of hirself or hir immediate family. It seems to be to be callous and contrary to Christ's teaching to turn away such a candidate just because they won't be setting up an impressive physical church. But at the same time, a person shouldn't be given orders who won't actually be in a position to use them (casting pearls before swine). So my first question to someone who approaches me is, "Why do you want to be a priest (deacon, bishop, etc.)?" My second is, "What will you do after you receive such a burdensome blessing that you cannot now do?" The majority of people who shouldn't receive orders will just disappear without answering. There will be some who may have cleverly-worded responses, but in time, you'll be able to know if there's some serious impediment. Above all, a bishop needs to be wary of those who simply seek "the magic hands." There are even Satanists who seek the Christian sacraments for magical purposes, so just because someone tells you they want something (again!), doesn't mean they should have it.
Not all clergy think along these lines. Many mainstream churches that are losing lots of money and members are most concerned about only appearances and the bottom line in the short term. (It's that shortsightedness that is bankrupting them, spiritually and fiscally.) And in the back alleys of the Independent sphere, one can always find someone somewhere who will confer orders. I've heard stories of people seeking out bishops in nursing homes who didn't always remember their own names, others claiming they wanted to set up a new jurisdiction and needed their own clergy when they really wanted to get new titles to pull of more scams, etc. And these people are successful far too often, unfortunately. The bottom line, in my not-at-all humble opinion is to simply ask yourself: "It this person seeking power to serve or be served?" As you answer that question, you'll often learn some surprising things!
Of course, this serious discernment process takes more time and energy. But it's well worth it for the see in question, the people the cleric will serve and society as a whole. How many reasons do you need to do it?
The Costs
I believe that those seeking to be ordained should bear the bulk of the financial costs associated with starting their ministries themselves. No, I don't mean that they necessarily need to pay for everything out of their own pockets, but that they must not rely on their superiors. Their superiors have their own ministry expenses. If the candidate already has some support (and s/he should if that's what supposed to be done!), those members of hir community can and should provide much of the support. However, things should be kept in perspective: it is not necessary for a priest who lives in an inexpensive town where a really nice house can be bought for $20,000 or $30,000 to accept an $80,000/year personal package!
The candidate should be expected to undergo training to be able to be an effective servant of the Church and an effective leader in the Church. This will, of course, cost money. The candidate will need a place to minister (though this could be a room in hir house initially) and all the necessary accoutrements: vestments, altar(s), incense, music, etc. If the candidate is unwilling to spend hir own money at all, I would seriously question hir commitment. However, one should never rule against a candidate solely because of their inability to pay for everything. But at the same time, if a candidate is doing too poorly financially, it could well be that the person is right but the time is not. The person may not be ready for this burden.
In addition, there is a far greater burden that can come: derision and attacks by ignorant people or the mainstream clergy who are threatened by such an upstart "trying to taking their turf". In some locales, this might even adversely affect one's job applications, etc.