Ecumenical Catholic Church

The Ecumenical Catholic Church (ECC) is a small Christian denomination, mainly oriented toward the LGBT community.

It adheres to a conventional Catholic Trinitarian theology, professes the Nicene Creed, and considers Jesus to be the Son of God and redeemer of humanity, uniting Christians through Baptism and the Eucharist. Its liturgy is also similar to that of the Roman Catholic Church, but it is independent and not under the jurisdiction of the Vatican or the Roman Catholic hierarchy; it is thus considered to be one of the Independent Catholic churches. It is also considered an offshoot of the Brazilian Catholic Apostolic Church.[1]

History

The Ecumenical Catholic Church was founded in Santa Ana, California, in 1987. The first edition of its canon law was completed and ratified on January 11, 1987.[2]: 27  It was incorporated in California on March 10, 1987.[3] The founders were Mark Steven Shirilau (a former member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Metropolitan Community Church) and Jeffrey Michael Lau (a former member of the Episcopal Church and the Metropolitan Community Church).[4]

"The ECC grew out of the Californian founder’s experiences in two larger churches: the Metropolitan Community Church (MCC) – an LGBTQ-focused church – and the Episcopal Church. For founder Mark Steven Shirilau, the latter church was not fully inclusive to people in same-sex unions due to its understanding of marriage, while he also found the MCC's lack of a full sacramental, episcopal dimension unsatisfying. An authentic 'gap' was therefore identified and the ECC was born."[5] Shirilau was ordained a priest for the Ecumenical Catholic Church at the chapel of the Claremont School of Theology on the December 27, 1987, by an independent Catholic bishop.[4]

The first public service (at St. John Ecumenical Catholic Church) was held on September 4, 1988, at the home chapel of Fr. Mark Shirilau and Deacon Jeffery Shirilau in Santa Ana. Nine persons attended. Robert Oscar Simpson became the first person baptized in the Ecumenical Catholic Church on July 10, 1989, at his house in Los Angeles. Simpson died of AIDS a few days later.[2]: 30 

Apostolic succession

Shirilau was consecrated bishop by Bishop Donald Lawrence Jolly of the Independent Catholic Church International in Pocatello, Idaho, on May 19, 1991.[4] At the service, Jeffery Shirilau, a non-ordained deacon of the Metropolitan Community Church, was ordained to the diaconate by Bishop Jolly. Bruce David LeBlanc, a community college professor, became the first priest ordained by Bishop Shirilau.[2]

Growth, and the death of Shirilau

The Ecumenical Catholic Church has consistently grown in the following years: as of 2011, it had activities in Mexico, Latin America and Italy.[4]

Shirilau died of complications from pneumonia on January 12, 2014, while traveling in Sicily.[6] Bishop David John Kalke was elected as new primate archbishop of the Ecumenical Catholic Church; however, some parishes did not accept Kalke's leadership and moved under the jurisdiction of Primate Archbishop Karl Rodig of the Ecumenical Catholic Church of Christ.[7]

References
  1. Edward Jarvis, God, Land & Freedom: the true story of ICAB, Apocryphile Press, Berkeley CA, pp. 169-170.
  2. Shirilau, Mark, History and Overview of the Ecumenical Catholic Church: The First Ten Years (1995. Riverside, CA: Healing Spirit Press, ISBN 1-881568-07-5)
  3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-04-02. Retrieved 2012-11-28.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link), California Secretary of State Website, Corporation number C1581615.
  4. "Mark Steven Shirilau". LGBTQ Religious Archives Network. Retrieved 2022-02-14.
  5. Edward Jarvis, God, Land & Freedom: the true story of ICAB, Apocryphile Press, Berkeley CA, p. 170.
  6. "The Most Rev. Mark Steven Shirey Shirilau – Independent Sacramental Movement Database". Retrieved 2022-02-14.
  7. "Leadership – Ecumenical Catholic Church" (in Mexican Spanish). Retrieved 2022-02-14.
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