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ST ANDREW'S EASTON Sunday Bulletin

Reflections on +Peter by +Joel Marcus Johnson, Bishop of the Chesapeake

 

AIC PRESS RELEASE 8/16/2001

 

THE DEATH OF BISHOP CAPUTO

On 8/15/2001, the much beloved founding bishop of the Anglican Independent Communion, the Rt. Rev'd Peter Caputo passed away from this world, but leaving the continuing classical Anglican movement much richer and stronger by his tireless proclamation of the Word of God and the unchanging Truth of Anglican and Catholic Faith.

+Peter Caputo was ordained a deacon in PECUSA before 1/1/77 . He studied for Holy Orders with Canon DeMille in the Diocese of Albany and was an ECUSA deacon for more than seven years.

He departed ECUSA because of his deeply held theological objections as to to their revision of the 1928 Book of Common Prayer and their departure from the essential Catholic faith once given. He became a priest under +Doren in the United Episcopal Church of North America and accepted the theological doctrine of the 1978 St. Louis Accords and the 39 Articles.

He then became a bishop on October 31st 1993 for the continuing Anglican Episcopal movement.

Recently, along with Bishop Jack Iker of ECUSA and two other Traditional Continuing Episcopal bishops, Father Peter answered and signed the historic Bladensburg Call to Catholic Faith and Order. (see AIC home page for the copy)

+Peter served for more than twenty years as an Anglo-Catholic priest and was most recently the rector of St Paul's Anglican Church, Parish of King Charles the Martyr, in Crownsville/Annapolis, Maryland since 1987.

Before his ordination as a deacon +Peter was a law enforcement officer, a city administrator, and an airman.

+Peter was also a third Order Franciscan under +DelGato who was one of the Traditional Anglican Bishops who sent a letter of consent for +Peter's consecration.

Fr. Peter continually stressed that Christian love always required "good manners"... regardless of divergences of theological opinion. He was well known in the continuing Anglican movement as a priest and bishop who stood in the middle of the via media, willing and able to maintain his positions without rancor . He also required this of all his priests.

With a lively sense of humor, often revealing his roots in his boy hood experiences in New York City, Fr Peter's wit was also well known. He was often want to say, that one of the major problems with the continuing Episcopal movement was , "Every time they have a firing squad they all stand around in a circle".

Fr. Peter was also long a fixture in the Annapolis area as a "street priest" who was constantly working with the poor and less fortunate in the area. Each year he would also bless the ships at the East Port Yacht Club and other marinas in the area. Because of his back ground in law enforcement, Fr. Peter continued to maintain close connections with that segment of society as well. He was greatly loved.

Survived by his wife Lady Catherine Compton-Caputo and his grand children, Fr. Peter will be sorely missed by his parish and by the priests and deacons of the Anglican Independent Communion .

The Anglican Independent Communion a traditional Anglican communion of clergy and laity would not have come into being without his tireless work and deep commitment to the continuing orthodox and catholic faith and theology made manifest in the English Use.

+Peter's body will be at St. Paul's on Sunday, the 19th, from 2:00pm until 10:00pm for a public viewing and for the prayers and respect of the community.

The funeral will be held at St. Paul's in Crownsville on Monday the 20th at 12:00PM

A Requiem Mass will be later held, celebrated by+Robert Samuel Loiselle, now the Ordinary of the AIC.

For more information contact:

the St Paul's Church Office at 410 923 0293

or Fr. R.H. Tregenza, Canon to the Ordinary at 410 963 1752