Convening Bishops
“A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.” -King Solomon Ecclesiastes 4:12
Christ’s Catholic Church is shepherded by three Convening Bishops rather than a single Patriarch, Pope, or Archbishop. This has been done deliberately to guard the conceptual freedom offered originally in the founding of the Communion. The early church found collegiality in ecumenical councils where no single jurisdiction governed or lorded over the others but where governing decisions were arrived at together in a spirit of unity and ecumenicism. The early church had no archbishops, primates, popes, or princes, but rather her authority was vested completely in the Holy Order of Bishops validly consecrated within the historic Apostolic Succession.
General day to day running of the Associate Member Jurisdictions is left to those local bishops who’s Episcopal See they belong to, but the communion as a whole is shepherded or administered by a board of three Convening Bishops. These Convening Bishops serve as a focal point for the communion, for communication, leadership, counsel, and support and have the authority to enter into Intercommunion Agreements and bring in other Associate Member Jurisdictions into Christ’s Catholic Church at large. Their authority is limited to their own Episcopal Sees and at the national level within Christ’s Catholic Church. They cannot and will not interfere locally unless invited to provide counsel or support by the local bishop.
The Council of Three: The Convening Bishops of Christ’s Catholic Church
Abbot-Bishop Brian E. Brown, OSH
Abbot-Bishop Brian and Sister Christina Brown have been married ten years and counting. They make their home in the Ozark Mountains of Missouri at Shepherd’s Heart Abbey with another member of the Order of the Shepherd’s Heart, Sr. Virginia, her two amazing children, and a lovely little cat named Rosemary, who by the way, is a regular attendee at Mass and or Daily Prayers.
For most of their life together they have made their living as glass artists and have owned a small gallery in Branson Missouri, Crystal Revelations. Ab. Brian made his first piece of glass art 17 years ago and embarked on glassblowing as a career some 15 years ago. Sr. Christina is the master painter who applies the glass stain coloring the piece of sculpted art. She has a flare for color and an eye for detail, not to mention a steady hand and the patience of Job. Bp. Brian often says, “I just make the glass but Christina makes it beautiful.” Together they make a good team and enjoy working with one another.
Prior to their life together Christina attended a local college and Brian traveled doing art and craft shows. Brian was an Episcopalian and Christina a Southern Baptist. Miracles do happen and they fell in love and were married at what has been called a “Bapt-piscopal” ceremony. Together they attended a local Episcopal Church, Shepherd of the Hills in Branson Missouri where they made their home.
Being drawn to Celtic Christianity they began their ministry at the beginning of their marriage within the Celtic Catholic Church. They had been tonsured within the Celtic church and sent out to form a mission. On an Easter morning many years ago they started a mission that continues to thrive here in the Ozarks to this day, Saint Melangell’s Catholic Church. It was during this time that they took vows in an ecumenical religious order sponsored by the Celtic Catholic Church, the Community of the Companions of God. For several years they shared ministry within this communion studying, learning, and putting their faith into practice.
At some point a difference in vision became clear and Br. Brian and Sr. Christina left the communion of the Celtic Catholic Church behind but not their love of Celtic Christianity nor their deep love of the folks of that jurisdiction. A local community had formed within their religious order, the Companions of God, here in the Ozarks over the years and it was decided that this “home grown” community or family would stay together seeking sponsorship and charter elsewhere but continue to follow the same rule, practice the very same liturgies they had for years, and continue to be the “Companions of God” they had always been.
It was during this time that Br. Brian happened upon an Old Catholic ministry also in the Ozarks, that of Christ Catholic Church headquartered in Highlandville Missouri at the “World’s Smallest Cathedral,” the Cathedral of the Prince of Peace. He felt a kindred spirit in Bp. Karl Pruter, the Presiding Archbishop of Christ Catholic Church and they became fast friends. It became apparent that while they shared ministry, worship, and often lunch, there were some differences of opinions as to theology, particularly in the acceptance of women in leadership positions throughout the church and in offering all of the sacraments to GLBTQ people. Fr. Karl was a little more conservative and Br. Brian not so much.
However, even with their differences they shared a great deal of commonality, a deep love and commitment to the Prince of Peace and the peace movement, a particular interest in mysticism and experiential theology, a dedication to prayer and reflection, a love of the Eucharist and liturgy, a love of monasticism, a quizzical curiosity in all things pertaining to the Christian Church and its history, and a love of printing and the spread of knowledge. They also shared a mutual affection towards one another and a respect of one another’s differences. While Br. Brian chose not to affiliate the Companions of God canonically with Christ Catholic Church, at the time, he personally accepted an official appointment by Bp. Pruter to serve as the Chaplain to the Cathedral of the Prince of Peace. From that point on Br. Brian held dual affiliation with Christ Catholic Church. Fr. Karl had become his mentor and role model as much as he had become his friend.
Seeking a more inclusive church body Br. Brian and Sr. Christina happened upon the United Catholic Church and made their home there. The United Catholic Church offered them autonomy to be who they felt God had called them to be and yet also the UCC offered a loose structure and a family unit or tribe of sorts, something very important to Celts. They were a church of peace, inclusivity, honesty, and love. It seemed a match made in heaven and has been. Bishop Lawrence Michael Cameron OAC, a bishop in the United Catholic Church and the Abbot of the Order of the Anamcara, was asked to serve as the Episcopal Visitor for the newly chartered CCG and accepted the position.
Br. Brian had been elected by the CCG during the General Chapter of the previous year to serve as an interim abbot and spokes person for the Companions until a charter could go into effect, after which time the Companions would reconvene and officially elect an abbot to head up the Community. The UCC accepted the charter as did the Companions of God, Br. Brian was officially elected as abbot to the Community and on October 16, 2004 on the Feast of Saint Gall, Br. Brian was ordained to the Holy Order of Deacons and given the abbatial blessing by Bishop Lawrence Michael Cameron to serve the Community of the Companions of God as a mitred abbot.
Dcn. Brian was later ordained to the Holy Priesthood on May 27, 2005, the Feast of Saint Melangell, the patron saint of his and Sr. Christina’s original ministry. The ordination took place at Shepherd of the Hills Episcopal Church surrounded by friends, family, and Companions from the four corners of the country.
In the late fall of 2005 seeking to better define who and what they were and to avoid any confusion with the original Community, the group, with the encouragement of the abbot, decided to change their name and broaden their focus and the Order of the Shepherd’s Heart was birthed.
Just prior to this, on the Feast of Saint Willibrord, November 7, 2005 a group of folks within the United Catholic Church gathered together in Springfield Missouri to form a new diocese, the Diocese of Saint Willibrord in the Ozarks, so named in recognition of their close association with Christ Catholic Church and Archbishop Karl Pruter and in celebration of their shared Old Catholic roots. Fr. Abbot Brian was elected to serve as the newly formed Diocese’s Bishop and appointed by Archbishop Robert Bowman as the Apostolic Administrator until such time as a proper consecration could take place. The proposed consecration was subsequently approved overwhelmingly by the House of Bishops, House of Laity, and House of Clergy within the United Catholic Church.
Possessing a little different vision and approach to being church, the diocese and its members left the United Catholic Church in the spring of 2006 seeking God’s will in their ministry. In early summer of 2006 on the Feast of Saint Kevin Fr. Abbot Brian, with the consent, support, and prayers of Bishop Larry Cameron and Archbishop Karl Pruter, was consecrated to the Office of Bishop. A unique and alternate jurisdiction was formed, the Ecumenical Free Catholic Communion which had a unique emphasis of and focus on the Free Catholic Movement which Archbishop Karl Pruter had participated in during the later years of his Congregational ministry. The local diocese was restructured and renamed as the Diocese of the Shepherd’s Heart and a new path was begun.
Most recently Abbot-Bishop Brian E. Brown, OSH was consecrated sub-conditionally by Bishop Karl Püter of blessed memory, the Presiding Archbishop of Christ Catholic Church, on the Feast of St. Ciaran of Clonmacnoise, September 9, 2007 at the Cathedral of the Prince of Peace in Highlandville Missouri. Bp. Prüter had himself been consecrated by Bp. Peter Zurawetsky on the Feast of St. Willibrord, November 7, 1967. Bishop Prüter then turned over his ministry at the Cathedral of the Prince of Peace, “The World’s Smallest Cathedral” to Abbot-Bishop Brian’s care and continued ministry.
Honoring the relationship that the Ecumenical Free Catholic Communion and Abbot-Bishop Brian had with Bp. Karl Pruter and in a strong acknowledgement of their very real continuance of his ministry the communion unanimously agreed to change the name of the Ecumenical Free Catholic Communion to that of Christ’s Catholic Church celebrating their rightful heritage and honoring the memory and ministry of one of the great bishops of the Free Catholic Movement in North America, Archbishop Karl Pruter.
The Browns continue to build and structure the venerable jurisdiction and young diocese, and help grow the Order of the Shepherd’s Heart following a God given vision that has been tested time and time again over the years. They love to share their faith and feelings with fellow seekers and often say, “we don’t have many answers but would love to share our questions!” Currently they hold services at the Cathedral of the Shepherd’s Heart located in Branson, MO.
Bishop Mary Ann Croisant
Bishop Mary Ann Croisant was consecrated by Abbot-Bishop Brian E. Brown, OSH on the Feast of St. Cogitosus of Kildare, April 18, 2009 at the Cathedral of the Prince of Peace in Highlandville Missouri. Bishop Mary Ann Croisant was installed as the Ordinary of the Diocese of the Road to Emmaus. During the fall of 2009 she was elected to serve Christ’s Catholic Church as one of its three Convening Bishops. She makes her home in Ashville, North Carolina.
A much more in-depth biography is coming soon!
Bishop Andrew Eugene Kyle, OSH
I was raised in a “high” Methodist Church where I was a member of the choir for many years, until puberty happened and my voice changed! During my time at that church I belonged to a Bible Club that met weekly to learn Scripture verses and that made a big impression on me. Like many young men, in my teen years I didn’t go to church very often until I started dating a beautiful young Roman Catholic girl. She asked me to go to mass with her and her parents and naturally I went. Wouldn’t you? I eventually broke up with her, but as God would have it, remained a devoted Catholic.
In 1968 I joined the United States Army and was stationed in Germany, where I was very active in parish programs on base. At that time the “Jesus People” movement was gaining popularity and I got involved with a Christian coffee shop off base that was staffed by both Germans and Americans. After I left active duty status with the Army in 1973, I dropped away from the Catholic church and attended various Protestant churches.
Later, I volunteered at El Camino Hospital as a Chaplain’s Aide for a couple years and it was then that I knew God had a calling for me to the ministry but I wasn’t sure where…
Fast forward several years…
I had been in the Army Reserve National Guard for a while when I decided to attend San Jose Bible College and changed my Military Occupational Specialty to Chaplain’s Assistant. Before I was to graduate and receive my degree, I moved to Massachusetts as God had other plans for my life.
One day read about the Servants of the Good Shepherd and subsequently joined them and the Western Orthodox Church in America, both autocephalous catholic organizations. Over the last two decades I have belonged to Western Orthodox Church in America and The Holy Eastern Orthodox Catholic and Apostolic Church in North America, where I was eventually trained, ordained, and consecrated a bishop on December 3, 1995.
After tiring of the infighting et cetera over the years I went on “sabbatical” for several years, still trying to discern God’s work, if any, for me to do. It was during this time that an informal meeting with my boss happened and I was reminded of the calling God had placed on my life. Through this meeting I ended up giving him some spiritual advice which caused him to say I sounded “like a priest.”after a few other instances of the sort I began to think that perhaps God still had a calling for me and I was reminded that I was still indeed a priest in His one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church.
Ultimately I contacted Abbot Brian and the Ecumenical Free Catholic Communion and the rest is history being made. I’m still very Orthodox in my personal devotions and I am honored to be allowed to serve Christ’s Catholic Church as one of its Convening Bishops. I serve as the Bishop Ordinary to the Diocese of Saint Brendan. I also serve on the Board of Trustees of Whithorn School of Theology as the Chair of Orthodox Studies. But perhaps of most importance to me, I have finally found a home as a simple brother in the Order of the Shepherd’s Heart, of which I hope to develop a local Chapter.
