As an Ordinariate priest, I find it both meaningful and providential that our North American jurisdiction is named the Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter. For those of us who are former Anglicans and Episcopalians, our journey into the fullness of the Catholic Church has come through a profound acknowledgment of the visible unity of the Church, found in the office of the Pope.
For many Protestants—particularly within the Anglican
Communion—recognizing not only the validity but the necessity of the Papal
office represents a significant theological and ecclesial hurdle. Yet for me,
the Papacy became the keystone in my transition from Protestantism into
communion with the Catholic Church.
In my own vocational journey as an ordained minister—first
as a Presbyterian pastor, then as an Anglican priest—I experienced a deep
yearning for historical and apostolic continuity. I often felt this longing
most acutely in what I came to call the “ethos of rupture,” a mindset still
prevalent in many Protestant denominations today. The split of the 16th-century
Reformation continues to echo in the fragmentation and individualism within
Protestant ecclesial life. The prevailing attitude seems to be: If I disagree with my church, I’ll
leave and start another. Division, splintering, and ecclesial
rupture have become normative.
Amidst this context, I was searching for the continuity of
faith and practice that stretched back to the Church Jesus Himself founded.
This led me to ask a critical question: Which Christian communion could I, in
good conscience and through prayerful discernment, join to find that apostolic
foundation? Would it be Catholicism, with its roots in the Christian West, or
Orthodoxy, preserving the legacy of the Christian East?
Throughout my years of ministry in both the Presbyterian
Church (USA) and the Anglican Church in North America, I dedicated myself to
studying the early Church: the writings of the Church Fathers, the Seven
Ecumenical Councils, and the works of great theologians—both Eastern and
Western. I read deeply from St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas, Orthodox
thinkers, and Catholic scholars. But no voice spoke more clearly to my heart
than that of St. John Paul II.
His encyclicals Veritatis Splendor and Ut Unum Sint were especially transformative for me.
Through them, I encountered not only the depth of his theological insight but
also the tenderness of his pastoral heart. He became a spiritual mentor to
me—both as theologian and as Pope.
What began as admiration for John Paul II led me to a
deeper reflection on the Papacy itself. I began to ask: Is the office of St.
Peter scriptural? Is it present in the earliest days of the Church? Is there an
unbroken line of Popes from Peter to today? To each of these questions, I
discovered the answer is unequivocally yes.
Unlike our Eastern Orthodox brothers and sisters, the
Catholic Church possesses visible unity in the person of the Pope—the Vicar of
Christ, the successor of Peter, the rock upon which Christ built His Church. It
was ultimately the Petrine office that led me to leave Protestantism and
embrace full communion with the Catholic Church. I had found the Barque of
Peter—and I climbed aboard.
Upon reception into the Church, I willingly laid down my
Anglican orders. Though I had loved my pastoral ministry, being united with
Christ’s true Church was the deepest joy of all. I was finally home.
Two years later, I received a grace I had not anticipated.
The Ordinariate reached out to ask if I would consider ordination as a Catholic
priest, to serve both as a pastor in an Ordinariate parish in Southern
California, as well as a Chaplin of Santiago Retreat Center, within the Diocese
of Orange. My response was immediate and wholehearted: Yes!
Today, I am honored to serve Christ’s Church as a priest
within the Ordinariate of
the Chair of St. Peter—the very name of the jurisdiction I serve is
at the center of my journey home!
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