CONDITIONAL ORDINATION?

Over the past few weeks, several people have asked whether or not I would be ordained to the priesthood conditionally. Since so many have expressed interest in this aspect of my story, I thought it might be prudent to offer a brief statement regarding my understanding of the character of the orders that I received when I was ordained a priest within the Charismatic Episcopal Church.

1. After entering the Charismatic Episcopal Church, I came to recognize that - despite the good intentions of its founding bishop, Archbishop Randolph A. Adler - the validity of the apostolic credentials that the CEC had originally received could not be verified.

2. A thorough review of the CEC's apostolic credentials led me to conclude that there were at least three or four points in the CEC's apostolic succession that were either suspect or lacking in sufficient supporting documentation.

3. In the first six months of 1997, at the request of the Most Rev. Randolph W. Sly (then Archbishop of the Eastern and Central Province of the CEC), I developed two reports of my analysis. These reports were subsequently submitted to the CEC's House of Bishops.

*** The first of these reports included my analysis of the CEC's apostolic credentials. It also discouraged the CEC's bishops from receiving ordination at the hands of an American who claimed to have received episcopal orders through the Igreja Católica Apostólica Brasileira (ICAB). I had discouraged this action because I had become aware of the numerous dubious claims that many self-styled "independent Catholic bishops" made concerning their apostolic heritage.

*** The second report provided a similar analysis of the CEC's apostolic credentials, but recommended that the CEC's bishops make direct contact with the bishops of ICAB, share their predicament with them, and ask if they would reordain them.

4. Despite what must have been heart-wrenchingly difficult debate and discussions, the CEC's House of Bishops agreed to make contact with Dom Dom Luis Edward Fernando Castillo-Mendez, Primate of the Igreja Católica Apostólica Brasileira. After a few very important conversations, Dom Castillo-Mendez and the bishops of ICAB agreed to come to the USA and ordain the bishops of the CEC.

5. On November 7, 1997, I attended the episcopal ordination Mass in which Dom Fernando Luiz Castillo-Mendez, Primate of ICAB ordained five CEC bishops. The bishops so ordained included Archbishop Randolph A. Adler (Primate), the Most Rev. Randolph W. Sly (Eastern Province), the Most Rev. Frederick G. Fick (Great Lakes Province), the Most Rev. Richard W. Lipka (Hawaii, now Delmarva), and the Most Rev. Philip C. Zampino (Mid-Atlantic).

*** Note: The rite used for this Mass was a Portuguese translation of the same rite used by the Catholic Church prior to the new rite published in response to the Second Vatican Council. In the years since Bishop Costa had established ICAB only two small changes had been made to this rite: (1) the elimination of the Papal Mandatum, and (2) the deletion of the filioque phrase in the Nicene Creed.

6. The case of Bishop Salomão Barbosa Ferraz offers the clearest example of the Catholic Church's view of ICAB's apostolic credentials. The following is a summary of Dom Ferraz case.

(i) On the 5th of July 1945, Bishop Carlos Duarte Costa, one-time Bishop of Botucatu (Brazil), resigned from the Titular See of Maura. He had been excummnicated by the Catholic Church. It is within this context that he helped to found ICAB. Over the course of the next two decades Bishop Costa was to ordain four men to the episcopate.

(ii) On August 15, 1945 in Sao Paolo, Brazil, the now excommunicated Bishop Carlos Duarte Costa ordained Salomão Barbosa Ferraz to the episcopate. Less than thirty days prior, on July 18, 1945, Bishop Costa had ordained him to the priesthood. He was 65 years old.

(iii) In the late 1950's, Bishop Salomão Barbosa Ferraz sought to be reconciled to the Catholic Church.

(iv) In December 1959, Pope John XXIII received Salomão Barbosa Ferraz as a bishop of the Catholic Church. He did so without consecrating him in any manner - sub conditione or otherwise. At the time of his entry into the Church, Bishop Ferraz was both married and the father of seven children. Bishop Ferraz was one of the Council Fathers at the Second Vatican Council and made several interventions. On May 10, 1963, Salomão Barbosa Ferraz was named Titular Bishop of Eleutherna.

(v) In the mid-1960's, after a five or six year delay, entries for Bishop Salomão Barbosa Ferraz begin to appear in the Annuario Pontificio (the book that lists all living clerics of the Roman Catholic Church). However, the Annuario Pontificio provides no information regarding the ordaining prelate.

*** Note: Since the Catholic Church rarely offers public comment regarding the validity of the orders possessed by separated brethren, this kind of evidence is the best that can be offered in support of a claims regarding the validity of apostolic credentials.

7. Careful analysis of the way that the Catholic Church has treated Bishop Ferraz and other clerics who have received orders through Dom Costa and ICAB leads me to conclude that on November 5th, 1997, in Libertytown, Maryland, at Cathedral of the Resurrection, the CEC's bishops received valid apostolic orders from Dom Castillo-Mendez.

8. The above facts lead me to conclude that on Saturday, November 8th, 1997, when Archbishop Randolph W. Sly re-ordained me to the priesthood for the CEC, I was established as a true - even if unapproved - priest of Jesus Christ. In the language of the Code of Canon Law, I was validly, but illicitly ordained to the one priesthood of Christ (Cf. Canon 1024 and Canons 1050-1052).

With the above data in mind we can now turn our attention back to the question so many friends have asked me, "When you are ordained to the priesthood in the Catholic Church, will you be ordained unconditionally or conditionally?" And the answer is, "We'll have to wait and see."

ON THE JOURNEY HOME

On Monday, February 13th, I had the opportunity to be interviewed by Marcus Grodi on EWTN's "The Journey Home". If you'd like to hear the audio of that program via RealAudio go here. If you'd prefer the mp3 version, subscribe to The Journey Home's podcast.

Thanks for the idea Chad!

A SEMINARIAN'S JOURNEY

Since my days at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in the 1980's it has been my conviction that just about everything that I had learned in seminary could be - with profit - passed along to the people that God was calling me to serve. A decade of ministry within Protestantism and half a decade of service within the Catholic Church only strengthened that conviction. So, last September, when I began my studies in preparation for ordination to the Catholic priesthood, I invited the two group studies that I lead at Our Lady of Angels Catholic Church, Wodbridge, Virginia, to accompany me on my journey to the priesthood in a very particular way. I invited them to three years of biblical and theological studies that would trace the same path that I was following as a part of my priestly formation.

Last week, after launching this blog, it dawned on me that the material that I develop for those studies might benefit from the intellectual and spiritual fine tuning that a blog can facilitate. So, if you think you might be interested in assisting with the formation of a Catholic priest, check back every now and then and join in the fray.

ONE PERSISTENT DESIRE

Family Background

I was born and raised in Nassau, Bahamas. My parents, Herbert and Majorie Treco were both born and raised on Long Island in The Bahamas. They were baptized, confirmed and married within the Anglican Church. Although they attended church every Sunday throughout their childhood and young adult years, today they describe themselves as nominal Christians. In the mid-1950’s mom and dad both became born again Christians. Since that time they have lived consistently as devout Evangelical Protestants.

For many years, my father served as the leading Elder within Grace Community Church, the Plymouth Brethren congregation to which we belonged. My mother has assisted and led many evangelistic, catechetical and social ministries within the congregation. Together, they sought to nurture a love for Christ in the hearts of each of their eight children.

My parents have ten children: Gregory Daniel Treco (1952; Wife – Ola Mae Treco nee Matheny), Ramona Marjorie Treco Peet (1953; Husband – Cyril Ira Peet), Jacquelyn Grace Treco (1954 – Deceased), Joy Margarita Treco Coleby (1955; Husband – Gregory Coleby), Herbert Ricardo Glenmore Treco (1957; Wife – Jennifer Treco nee Knowles), David Jonathan Treco (1958 – Deceased), Melodie Erenie Treco Hanna (1960; Husband – Leroy Hanna), Timothy Appolos Treco (1961; Wife – Linda Treco nee Burrows), Vaughn Andrew Treco (1962; Wife – Norma Lorraine Treco nee Turner) and Daneen Petita Southworth Treco (1964; Husband – Robert Southworth).


Early Christian Experience

I grew up in a devout Evangelical Christian home. Our family life was characterized by a consistent desire to know and love the Lord Jesus Christ. Each morning my parents would awaken us for a time of Bible reading and family prayer. Frequently, my mother would gather the younger children about her and tell us stories of the saints of the Old and New Testament. Spiritual, moral and theological themes were center stage at many of our family meals. Each family gatherings was begun with prayer and more often than not, they closed with prayer.

Throughout my childhood I was constantly aware of my parents’ greatest desire for each of their children: that each of us would come to trust in Christ as our personal Saviour and Lord. I cannot recall a time when was not aware of the centrality of Christ to all of life or when I was unaware of his presence at home or at church. At about age five I gave my life to Christ. Several years later, my uncle, Rex Major, an evangelist and bible teacher among the Plymouth Brethren, baptized me.

High School Experience

During my high school years I remained actively involved in the youth ministries of our congregation. I helped to form “The Young and Free”, a youth singing group that performed at worship services and evangelistic outreaches on several of the islands of The Bahamas. Although I was not a model Christian youth, I helped to establish a group of Christian youth that traveled and hung out together at parties, dances and other high school events. “The Holy Rollers” – as we were nicknamed by our high school buddies – actively sought to keep each other accountable for living consistently with the Gospel. It was this group that sustained and nourished my continued growth in Christ. Several of our friends were won to Christ because of the witness of “The Holy Rollers”!

In addition to these specifically spiritual activities, my brother, Timothy, and I also helped to form and lead pop rock bands that represented our high schools in inter-high school musical competitions. Because of the prominence that these bands brought to us, Timothy and I were afforded many opportunities to give verbal and other witness to the claims of Christ and the wonder of the Gospel.

Later Christian Experience

Early in my university career I experienced a deeper conversion to Christ. This experience led me to study the Bible and examine more critically the specific claims of the Christian tradition within which I had been raised. As my studies progressed, I began to discover what I believed to be important inconsistencies between certain biblical texts, other historical facts and the claims made by the Plymouth Brethren.

After returning to Trinity College (now Trinity International University) and switching to a Biblical Studies and Psychology double major, I was introduced to Prof. William Moulder, a professor whose influence was to change the course of my spiritual life. Through Dr. Moulder’s encouragement, I began attending a high church Anglican parish in Northbrook, Illinois, Saint Giles’ Episcopal Church. Gradually, and within the context of a warm community, my wife and I were introduced to many things Catholic. The people of Saint Giles’ helped us to understand and to embrace two particularly difficult Catholic doctrines: baptismal regeneration and transubstantiation. Through their witness to Christ I was drawn to embrace the Ancient Faith as it had been received by the Anglican Communion and was confirmed shortly thereafter.

Despite my attraction to the Ancient Faith, however, I became increasingly uneasy about the growing moral confusion that seemed to pervade the Anglican Communion – and especially the Episcopal Church USA – at that time. As a result, I was unable to seek ordination within that communion.

Over the next few years I made a valiant effort to live as an Evangelical Christian. As an act of gratitude, I served as a Pastor-in-Training for Grace Community Church (hereafter GCC). After that time of service, GCC ordained me to the ministry and commissioned me as a church-planting pastor.

In November 1991, along with my co-founding pastor Clint Kemp, I helped give birth to New Providence Community Church (hereafter NPCC). Our vision was to establish a creedal Christian community with a radically contemporary approach to evangelism and Christian formation. Despite our noble intentions – and our efforts to capture this vision on paper – by the time of NPCC’s second anniversary it was becoming increasingly clear that Pastor Kemp and I were at odds concern that governing principle of the vision. In consequence, in the early days of January 1995, I resigned from the staff of NPCC.

From NPCC to the CEC

After resigning from NPCC, I made a commitment to enter an Apostolic Christian community. Despite this new commitment, my continued confidence that the Catholic Church was unfaithful to Christ kept me from even the slightest consideration of embracing its version of the Ancient Faith. As a result, in the company of a few families – Covenant Community Church – that had embraced this apostolic vision, I went in search of a community that was an orthodox expression of the Ancient Faith.

In the summer of the same year, I thought that we had found such a community, the Charismatic Episcopal Church of North America (hereafter CEC). After several months of correspondence and two personal visits to Kansas. Archbishop Randolph W. Sly invited the Covenant Community Church and I to enter the CEC together. Despite our apparent unity of mind and our previous commitment to enter an apostolic community together, however, each of the families with the Covenant Community Church found themselves divided concerning the decision to enter the CEC. As a result, we dissolved our community in order to allow each family to decide its future course.

Upon hearing of the congregation’s decision, Archbishop Sly invited me to relocate to Kansas and join his staff. In the summer of 1996, my wife, Norma, and our three children, Michael, Jacquelyn and Cathryn, sold our home and moved to Olathe, Kansas. In November 1996, I was ordained as a Deacon for the CEC, then in May of the following year I was ordained to the priesthood. Although I thought that I had finally found my place spiritually and theologically, my service to Archbishop Sly that was to be the final experience that would lead me home to the Catholic Church.

In January 1997, I began an examination of the apostolic credentials of the CEC. At first, this was an informal examination motivated by strictly personal concerns. Some time later, however, Archbishop Sly asked me if I would conduct a thorough examination of the CEC’s apostolic lineage and submit a report to him and to the CEC’s House of Bishops. I conducted the study as commissioned and discovered no less than three points at which the CEC’s apostolic lineage was either in dispute or unverifiable.

This study concluded with a recommendation that the CEC’s bishops seek re-ordination to the episcopate at the hands of the men known to be in possession of valid Catholic orders. On November 7, 1997, it culminated in the re-consecration of five of the CEC’s bishops by Dom Luis Fernando Castillo-Mendez, Primate of the Catholic Apostolic Church of Brazil (hereafter ICAB), and two other bishops of that communion. Although I was unaware of it at the time, my study of the CEC’s apostolic credentials was to pave the way for my eventual departure from the CEC.

Since I was among the better-trained clergy within the Eastern and Central Province of the Charismatic Episcopal Church, I was invited to serve as the principle lecturer and dean of the Kansas Satellite campus of the CEC’s theological training school, Saint Michael’s Seminary. I served in this capacity from September 1996 through May 1998, when I relocated along with Archbishop Sly and four other families to establish a cathedral parish in Northern Virginia. In this capacity, I was charged with the responsibility to educate and form CEC candidates for the deaconate and priesthood in the doctrine and spirituality of the Ancient Faith.

My tenure as dean and principle lecturer for Saint Michael’s Seminary compelled me to give concrete and specific answers to a number of critical questions regarding the fundamental dogmas of the Ancient Church. As I gave answer to these questions, my sense of uneasiness with regard to the Spirit of Eastern Christianity which many prelates of the CEC seemed to have a predisposition to accept. Simultaneously, I became increasingly convinced of the validity of the claims of the Roman Catholic Church. By the time we were preparing to relocate, I was beginning to ask the question, “If I believe so much of what the Roman Catholic Church believes, then what is keeping me from entering her?”

In August 1999, as the first year of our relocation came to a close, I asked Archbishop Sly if I might be given a few weeks to decide the question of my continued service within the CEC or my conversion to Roman Catholicism. Almost immediately after Archbishop Sly had granted my request, I felt a tremendous freedom of mind. Shortly thereafter I took the decision to answer Christ’s call to enter the Church. I resigned from the CEC in September 1999, and entered the RCIA class at Saint Catherine of Siena Catholic Church, Great Falls, Virginia.

As my CEC exit interview was coming to a close, Archbishop Sly said to me, “You’ll be a nobody in the Roman Catholic Church. In the CEC you were somebody, a priest and Canon Theologian!” When he said those words I remembered the words of the psalmist that my mother had often quoted to me as a child, “Better [to] be a doorkeeper in the house of my God...” (Psalm 84:10)

At Easter Vigil of the Great Jubilee Year, my family and I were received into the Catholic Church. For my wife and I it had been a long and costly journey. Today, we continue to revel in the incredible kindness that God has shown us in drawing us beyond well-formed theological prejudices into the fullness of the life of the Son of His Love.

What awesome gifts has he given! With the riches of the sacraments our Lord has made it possible for me to serve him in significant pastoral – if not priestly – positions. When I entered the Church, I had relinquished all hope of ever using my pastoral gifts. But, our Lord had other plans. For the past three years, I have had the honor of serving the Catholic Diocese of Arlington as the Program Director for Marriage Preparation and Enrichment, and Our Lady of Angels Catholic Church, Woodbridge, Virginia, as its Youth Minister.

Since young adulthood, I have understood myself to have been called to serve as a Minister of Christ in his Church. This call has compelled, animated and invigorated my search for an ever-deepening understanding of what it means to serve our Lord in this way. While I was serving in the CEC I came to understand that the gifts and calling of God are ecclesially discerned, they are worked within the fellowship of the People of God. As I entered the Church, I did so with the confidence that –whatever my self-understanding – through the Church and its bishops our Lord would make his will known to me.

Today, I wait with renewed hope as I prepare for priesthood within the Catholic Church.