Back to: The Anglican Independent Communion
The Bishop Ordinary of the Anglican Independent Communion
THE ANGLICAN INDEPENDENT COMMUNION
The Rt. Rev'd Robert Samuel Loiselle
+Robert Samuel Loiselle
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
WHO IS +ROBERT SAMUEL LOISELLE?
+Robert Samuel Loiselle is the Rector of St Paul's in Crownsville/Annapolis, Maryland. This is the "Mother Church" of the Anglican Independent Communion.
Fr. Robert Samuel has been in Holy Orders in the Anglican continuing movement for more than ten years. He was made both deacon and priest by +Peter Caputo and was called, examined and sent as a priest to serve the Blessed Trinity in a lawful, historical, and continuing PECUSA parish, according to the Tradition of the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church and the 39 Articles.
As a Catholic bishop, he was lawfully elected, and consecrated (1928 BCP) and was publicly recognized as such by the clergy , vestries and laity of the AIC as the lawful coadjutor to +Peter Caputo.
Before joining the faithful Anglican Tradition, +Robert Samuel was a Minister of Music and Minister of the Gospel for more than forty years in Presbyterian, ECUSA and Evangelical Churches.
He received "the calling" to Holy Catholic Orders while serving as the Minister of Music at St. Paul's.
+Robert Samuel was consecrated bishop by +Paget E.J. Mack (his main consecrator) of the Apostolic Episcopal Church, Archbishop E.J. Ryzy, of the National Orthodox Church of Belarus and +Peter for the continuing PECUSA jurisdiction of the Anglican Independent Communion.
St. Paul's Anglican Church, Parish of King Charles, the Martyr (continued from ECUSA in 1978) was originally part of ++ Dale Doren's, U.E.C., and then a member of a number of other Continuing organizations until +Peter Caputo established the A.I.C. in 1999 and became its first Ordinary.
We remain part of the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, Anglican Use. We are both Prayer Book Catholics and Evangelical Christians.
+Peter Caputo (R.I.P. 8/15/2001) was ordained a deacon in PECUSA before 1/1/77 . He became a priest under +Doren and then bishop in the continuing Anglican Episcopal movement in which he served for more than twenty years. +Peter was the prior Rector of St Paul's Anglican Church in Crownsville/Annapolis, Maryland.
DO YOU ORDAIN WOMEN?
The A.I.C. does NOT ordain women unto Holy Orders .
We do follow the Orthodox practice and the Chalcedon Council of 451AD and the Affirmation of St. Louis and set women aside as Deaconess.
The ECUSA ordination of women after 1/1/77 was considered by them to be a legitimate development of their new theology as introduced by a new Prayer Book liturgy. From their perspective, the +Chambers consecrations of bishop +Doren in Denver (and now +Rodgers and +Murphy in Singapore) would be considered lawless and unjustified. However, the ECUSA and CHURCH OF ENGLAND ordination of women from the perspective of the 2000 year Catholic tradition would be regarded as schismatic.
If ECUSA's ordination of women is invalid, from the vantage point of the Seven Oecumenical Councils and the teachings of the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, continuing Anglican churches would not be guilty of schism for continuing to operate under the 1928 Ordinal (or the 1662 C of E, BCP) by maintaining the orthodoxy of the doctrine of the 39 Articles of the Protestant Episcopal Church and by creating a new hierarchy.
HOW DO YOU WORSHIP?
Anglican Use, 1928 BCP, 1940 Hymnal.
+Robert Samuel is Anglican by doctrine and worship and stands by God's saving and forgiving grace in the middle of the "via media" lawfully and decently using the Anglican Use of the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.
The AIC would be considered "low church" by some and "high church" by others. We closely follow the rubrics of the 1928 Book of Common Prayer, the Priest faces the Lord's Table during Holy Communion, the clergy for the most part tend to wear surplice, cassock and stoles, and we say Morning Prayer frequently. In that sense, we are on the Reformed side of the road.
However, we also have Anglo-Catholic parishes and missions where their style of worship requires our clergy wear a more Roman Catholic style of vestment. Here we use a more classical Anglo-Catholic approach to worship. However, the 1928 BCP remains the essential unchanged structure for all Common worship in the A.I.C. and the 39 Articles and the rubrics of the Prayer Book determine both our Liturgy and practice.
We also have had Western Rite Orthodox missions.
Are you a "REAL COMMUNION?"
Following the Tradition of the Holy Catholic and Orthodox Church, the 1958 Canon Law of the PECUSA, and Article 23 of the 39 Articles, +Robert Samuel was "lawfully called and sent " as both deacon, priest and bishop by "men who have public authority given unto them by a Congregation" to serve faithful Christians in the Anglican and Episcopal Tradition. We have real Churches and real people serving and worshiping the Blessed Trinity in the beauty of holiness decently and in order.
Our bishop was lawfully: 1. Elected by the clergy of a continuing Classical Anglican jurisdiction, 2. approved and accepted by a lawful body, 3. duly consecrated in public before a congregation, in a Church, using the Ordinal of the 1928 Book Of Common Prayer of the Protestant Episcopal Church of North America. The consecration was regular and valid.
The A.I.C. is presently made up of 2 standing historic Classical Anglican churches. (St. Paul's Crownsville/Annapolis and Mt. Calvary, Lothian Maryland..) and the clergy that directly serve in these parishes. All of our previous Missioners have been called back (or dismissed) to concentrate on the building of the Body of Christ around these existing parishes. We have been a Communion of independent Anglican clergy, churches, and Christians since December 4th , 1999.
All the A.I.C. clergy are under the Apostolic and Episcopal authority of +Robert Samuel. However, the church buildings are owned by the Vestry of each individual church. We are NOT attempting to take the ownership of the buildings away from the Laity as was done in the ECUSA.
Some have asked why is there so much attention given to Apostolic Succession on this web site?
The answer is that if the Holy Sacraments are to be validly ministered to the faithful Body of Christ, then they must be administered by male clergy and by male bishops who are in a valid Apostolic Succession with the Holy Catholic Church.
+Robert Samuel's consecrators and co-consecrators are from both sides of the Anglican tradition and also from the Orthodox tradition. The A.I.C. believes this contributes to the spiritual authority of this episcopacy and continues the doctrinal importance of Apostolic Succession in the Anglican Independent Communion.
RHT+
+Robert Samuel Loiselle's Apostolic Lines
