Introduction Philip Hickman Dear Brother and Sisters in Christ, I am very sorry to read of Bp. Schwartz's passing. I had not seen him since I lived in Houston and he visited his priest Darrell Wood there (that's a very long story in itself). I have received the Sophia Circle and Young Rite e-mails for a long time but seeing the people and reading some of the church names I was leery of an involvement. But seeing the names I find now, I am interested in association and becoming a member of the Circle. I am a bishop. I have the Liberal Catholic Episcopal Church, a name to distinguish it from the hundreds of others, because it is ideally of that structure and because of my appreciation of the Anglican-Episcopal contributions made to Christianity. I was consecrated by Frederick Hirshman of Queens New York, in 1986 who had been consecrated by John Schwartz in 1982 and his succession is well known. My history is long and empty. I am and have been of an esoteric and Theosophical persuasion since 1968. I discovered the Church and Theosophy at the same time in Austin, Texas, in 1968, after I had been a student of Buddhism since around 1960 and of Roman Catholicism before that, since I was a "convert" at 12 around 1950. The LCC seemed a wonderful union of what I needed from both Buddhism and Catholicism and the TS and other western esoteric systems offered the interpretation I could relate to. I don't know what to say, what you might want to know. I am 71 now and have done very little over the decades except compose a Divine Office based on the LC outlook but not on its minor services which are impossible to recite daily, but rather on the forms and language of the Breviaria Romanum and Monasticum, with basic daily and yearly Propers. I abbreviated the LC Holy Eucharist by slimming down the Canon and including elements from the Wadle Rite--putting the Lux Dei where the Roman has Agnus Dei (while wondering why Bp. Wedgewood didn't do that--"Light of God who taketh away the darkness of the world, enlighten us"..... And I straightened out the confused theology in the second paragraph of the Gloria, "O Lord the alone-born Son, Indwelling Christ, O Lord God, Light of God, Son of the Father, who takest away the darkness of the world, enlighten us, thou, who takest away the darkness of the world receive our prayer; thou who sittest on the right hand of the Father, pour forth thy love." This takes it back to the traditional Roman and universal Christian form but asserts the relation of God the Son, to Christ, instead of being just a mindless worship of Jesus, the only son of God. I think it's important to try to understand that. That's all I've done in 35 years of love of the LCC. These like everything I have tried to do have been rejected--rather, just ignored. I was ordained to subdiaconate by Bp. Newton Dahl in 1970, and when the Austin church left the original Church for the LCCI under Bp. Daw, I was made deacon and priest by Bp. Donald Berry of the Liberal Catholic Church of Ontario in 1975. I left him when he forced the usage of the (then new) Roman Rite. After he became bishop I put myself under John Davis who had been a co-priest in Houston--in fact I and another man were ordained because he moved and the other priest became Roman Catholic. It's a complicated and meaningless history both my own and the LC Church history in Texas. Now at over 71 with Post-Polio Syndrome, and with little money, there's not much I can do as a bishop, or indeed even a priest, and there's not much practical use for me to you but I truly need the companionship, even if it is by e-mail. The Free Liberal Catholic Church, Bp. Davis' church, may still exist on paper but my friends who were its bishops have taken the Sacramental Catholic name I believe in San Antonio and North Carolina and quit the rites. I believe I am the last Liberal Catholic in Texas, though I have two bishop friends, one in San Antonio and another in Kerrville, one I have not seen in maybe 15 years, and the other for many months, they left the LCC, and have given up what makes the LCC unique. Yours in the Indwelling Christ, Rt. Rev. Phillip D. Hickman «Back» |