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International Secretary of the Anglican Church of India keynotes Synod. The Rev. Stephen Vattappara stepped in for the Archbishop of India to deliver the keynote address at the first session of the Jamestown Synod. The Archbishop, the Rt. Rev. Dr. Stephen Vattappara, at the last moment returned to India to handle a church emergency and later fell ill. He has since recovered. We were pleased, to have not only the International Secretary present, but also the Rt. Rev. Ebenezer Rajkishore of Chennai, Pamil Nadu, India. Arch Bishop Vattappara’s father was the first Archbishop of the ACI and Bishop Rajkishore’s great-grandfather was the first Indian ordained by the British during their rule in India. The ACI and ACOVA signed a “concordat” of full communion in January in Kerala during Bishop Johnson’s visit to India. The ACI founded in the early 1960’s by the present Archbishop’s father has grown to 800 parishes, more than 200 clergymen and 800,000 members. Bishop Johnson consecrated a new Seminary during his visit where the Anglican Seminary of Virginia curriculum is in use. The ACI holds a charter to administer the ASV of India and to train their priests. A donation of $24.00 per month will help educate one priest during his training. Email and ask how you can become a sponsor. Holy Communion celebrated on site of 1607 Service. Holy Communion and the consecration of a bishop were the order of service on the evening of June 23, 2007. The Rt. Rev. Melvin Pickering, New Mexico, preached and co-celebrated with the Rt. Rev. Martin Sigillito, Esq., Missouri. The Rt. Rev. Larry W. Johnson Officiated. St. Andrews Pipes and Drums of Richmond, Virginia led the procession to the historic Jamestown Church. The pipers are headed by Major Tim Lewis Batten and the Rev. Father Roscoe Porter, both of the Anglican Church of Virginia. New videos available for viewing of Jamestown historic events. Three brief video clips can be viewed at www.youtube.com. When you get to the site type in “Jamestown Anglican.” They are: Latin Gloria sung by the Cumbee family of Holy Redeemer Anglican Church, Montross, Virginia; the second video is of St. Andrews Legion of Pipes and Drums, known as the “Bishop’s Pipers;” and the third is a video of the service held at the church in June of 2006 giving a history of the Anglican Church’s beginning at Jamestown. These videos were shot and prepared by Larry W. Johnson, II and James L. Johnson, Esq. The videos on YouTube give us exposure we might otherwise not have. Thousands are viewing them. Watch for other videos to be added later. (Note: It can take some time for the videos to download and during that time, it appears they are struggling to play. Allow time for the entire short video to download (can take up to fifteen minutes) and then press the button to view it.) Fourteen Bishops from eleven provinces and dioceses attended the Synod. Attending the ACIC General Synod and Consecration were bishops from the Anglican Diocese of the Good Shepherd, Anglican Episcopal Church South, Orthodox Church of India, Independent Episcopal Church of Mexico, American Anglican Convocation, Orthodox Anglican Church of Haiti, Anglican National Church of the Dominican Republic, Catholic Apostolic Anglican Church Missionary Diocese of the Latino/Hispanic in the USA, Anglican Church of Virginia, the Anglican Church of India and the Episcopal Church Diocese of Quincy . Anglican Church International Communion (ACIC) adopts new plans, elects new officers and sets date of next Synod. The ACIC College of Bishops made bold strides during their meetings in Williamsburg. Over the course of many meeting hours they – □ Formalized a Council to accredit continuing Anglican schools, seminaries and colleges, □ Adopted standards and qualifications for selection, election and consecration of bishops. These much needed measures will provide guidance to bishops and dioceses throughout the world, □ Affirmed a strong pro-life position, by receiving and recommending a paper written by the Rt. Rev. George Conner on the “Culture of Death and Life.” The ACIC is an advocate for life for the unborn, babies and adults. (See the Declaration of Principles of the ACIC.) Bishop Conner’s paper is available to readers for the cost of postage, handling and shipping. (Contact Bishop Johnson at cgci@shentel.net or 540.635.5521.) □ Renewed support for Armed Forces Chaplain Corps. Three ACIC bishops are endorsers for the Armed Forces Chaplain Corps. This gives importance to finding military chaplains. They are Bishop Thakore, chief endorser, who presented a report on the recent meeting of Armed Forces Chaplain Corps in Washington, D.C. Bishops Johnson and Pickering serve as associate endorsers. □ Approved the credentials of two Bishops requesting membership in the College of Bishops. They are Rt. Rev. Dr. Lic I. Canot, Dominican Republic and the Rt. Rev. Dr. John Erbelding, M.D., Georgia. □ Elected Secretary General Larry W. Johnson, whose present term of office expires January 2008, for a new three year term. The Secretary General’s Office is at Front Royal near Washington, D.C. in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. □ Lengthened the terms office for the President and Vice President of the College from one year to three years. The President and Vice President terms will begin January 1, 2008. The Rt. Rev. Martin Sigillito, Esq. of St. Louis, Missouri, was elected President to replace the Rt. Rev. Larry W. Johnson. The new Vice President is the Rt. Rev. Mike Robertson of Edmond, Oklahoma. □ Set the date for the next General Synod which will be in 2010. ACIC Council on Accreditation accepts two seminary applications. The ACIC College of Bishops’ new council accredited the Anglican Seminary of Virginia and St. George’s School of Theology. St. George’s School of Theology located in San Antonio, Texas,headed by the Rt. Rev. Melvin Pickering; and the Anglican Seminary of Virginia (ASV), headed by the Rt. Rev. Larry W. Johnson is located at Front Royal, Virginia. The ASV educational program is used in India, South America, the Philippines, Australia and soon by Haiti. The name of the accrediting body is the Anglican Council on the Accreditation of Schools, Seminaries and Colleges. This body was established in Mexico City in 2005, during the Presidency of the Rt. Rev. Jorge Martinez of Mexico. Standards may be obtained from the Secretary General’s Office. Brochures and catalogues may be obtained from the respective seminaries in Texas and Virginia. (asv@shentel.net) New bishop consecrated in historic church on Jamestown Island. At sundown, the eve of the Third Sunday after Trinity, the Rev. Canon Sanjay Thakore was consecrated. Bishop Sanjay is the third in a line of bishops in his family. His grandfather was am Anglican bishop in India with a diocese of approximately 50,000 Anglicans. Young Bishop Thakore’s father, Bishop Vincent, came to the United States and served Bishop Benning until the latter died, at which time he replaced Bishop Benning. New bishop, the Rt. Rev Sanjay Thakore, is an electrical engineer and graduate of Georgia Tech. He received his theological training under Benning and his father. He has a calling to serve teens and teaches martial arts when not working in the church and as an IT specialist. He was made a bishop at the historic Church on Jamestown Island the last day of the Synod. The new Bishop Thakore will serve as Coadjutor of the Anglican Episcopal Diocese South (Bishop Benning’s former diocese) and the Orthodox Anglican Church of India. Four new Jurisdictions added to member list of the ACIC. The new jurisdictions and bishops who were received as member of the College of Bishops: The Anglican National Church of the Dominican Republic, the Catholic Apostolic Anglican Church/Missionary Diocese of the Latino/Hispanic in the USA and the Anglican Church of Georgia USA. The first two dioceses are headed by the Rt. Rev. Lic I. Canot and the latter by the Rt. Rev. Dr. John Erbelding. The fourth jurisdiction is a missionary diocese of the Anglican Church of Virginia founded in Cameroon some years ago. The Very Rev. Father Dieudonne Lissouck will be made a bishop sometime in the future. The Missionary Diocese of Cameroon is a member of the ACIC as a part of the Virginia Communion. There are now seventeen provinces and jurisdictions that are in communion with the Anglican Church of Virginia. An application for the eighteenth was received recently and will be reviewed soon and presented to the College. International Bishops elected as Vice Presidents of College. International bishops who are members of the ACIC were elected to be Vice Presidents of the ACIC College of Bishops. This will help to build a stronger ACIC Communion in all parts of the world. The new International Vice Presidents are: the Rt. Rev. Ernest Kelly, Australia, the Rt. Rev. Joseph B. Desir, Haiti; The Rt. Rev. Lic I. Canot, Dominican Republic, the Rt. Rev. Jorge Martinez, Mexico, the Rt. Rev. Victor Manuel Cruz-Blanco, New Granada and the Caribbean and Bishop-elect the Very Rev. Father Dieudonne Lissouck, Cameroon. Others will added during the year. Bishop of Virginia elected as Archbishop for provinces worldwide. The College of Bishops approved the election the Bishop of Virginia, the Rt. Rev. Larry W. Johnson, as the Archbishop for international provinces. This action will facilitate greater assistance and provide more leadership for growing international interests and for Anglicans seeking to join the ACIC from all corners of the earth. Archbishop Johnson says his efforts will be to improve communications, offer educational programs, give guidance to new forming dioceses, assist in the election and consecration of new bishops for various provinces and dioceses; and to create knowledge of resources available to develop and restore Anglican work around the world. Archbishop Johnson is seeking input from bishops relative to strengthening the ACIC. New symbol for ACIC and traditional Anglicanism is adopted. The College of Bishops approved a new crest for the ACIC to be used by member Provinces and Diocese showing their Communion with the ACIC. The emblem was designed by the Bishop of Virginia for the Synod and accepted at the business meetings of the College. The symbol consists of St. George’s Cross super-imposed on a golden globe of the world. “This symbol indicates our reach and mission to take Christ to the farthest parts of the world and to all peoples,” says Bishop Johnson. Qualifications for new bishops adopted. A document entitled "Standards and Qualifications for Making Bishops" was approved and applied for the first time at the Jamestown Synod. The ACIC College approved the consecration of the Rt. Rev. Sanjay Thakore of Atlanta, Georgia, according to the new standards. Bishop Thakore will serve as Coadjutor of the Anglican Episcopal Diocese South and the Orthodox Anglican Church of India. Anglican Church in the United States of America (ACUSA) founding goes forward for United States. Amalgamation Begins. This movement toward unity is a first at this level and scope. The ACIC Declaration of Principles drafted and agreed to in 2001 serves as the unifying instrument. Beginning with six American bishops of the ACIC, this historic body formed the Anglican Church in the United States of America (ACUSA) in 2006. It was incorporated in the Commonwealth of Virginia, the founding place of Anglicanism in the New World. The founding President is the Bishop of Virginia who, assisted by the Rt. Rev. Kenneth Walsh, Texas, is charged with directing the drafting of canons during the first year. A meeting of ACUSA to hold elections for new officers will occur at the next meeting. ACUSA will be in full communion with all jurisdictions and dioceses of the ACIC. Jurisdictions now members of the ACUSA are: American Anglican Convocation, Anglican Diocese of Good Shepherd, Anglican Episcopal Diocese South, Anglican Church of Georgia and the Anglican Church of Virginia. There are ten bishops who comprise ACUSA. In the ACIC and Virginia communion there are thirty-six bishops. First Houses of Clergy and Laity were active in historic meetings. Elections of the first Chairs of the Houses kicked off the deliberations. James Reeves of New Mexico was elected the first chair of the House of Laity. The Rev. Dr. Ralph Gardiner of Montross, Virginia was elected the chair of the House of Clergy. Following the meetings Mrs. Chopin Cusachs was selected to present the report for both Houses. Mrs. Cusachs is the wife of the Rt. Rev. Chopin Cusachs of Louisiana. ACIC President and General Secretary, the Rt. Rev. Larry W. Johnson, gave the Houses their charge in the opening sessions. He congratulated their work in the closing session saying, “This meeting will go down in history as the most significant meeting of Anglicans in modern times. Your dedicated work is most appreciated.” The Rt. Rev. Keith Ackerman, Bishop, Diocese of Quincy, Episcopal Church in Illinois, spoke to a joint session of the Houses and answered questions promising support for the work of the ACIC. He offered new clergy to help staff new parishes with priest if requested. His seminary has presently more than 20 men preparing for the priesthood. Clergy and laity of the ACOVA run a successful synod and celebration. The site and headquarters of the meeting was the Days Hotel, Williamsburg, Virginia. Congratulations by all Synod participants was unanimous for the people of Holy Redeemer Anglican Church of Montross and Holy Cross Anglican Church, Fredericksburg. The members of these parishes received accolades their hard work from all who came to Williamsburg/Jamestown. Limited copies of the General Synod Program and the Historic Holy Communion and Consecration Program of a Bishop are available for $10.00 each. A CD Rom for viewing on your computer of the 2006 Service at Jamestown is available for $12.50 each. It is 8 minutes and 30 seconds in length. For S/H add $4.50 for each order. E-mail orders to asv@shentel.net This will reach the Secretary General where orders will be filled. Master and Visa Credit Cards are accepted. For an order form email and one will be faxed to you. Please give fax number. 2007 Jamestown Celebration Video Soon Available. Larry Johnson II of Ohio and his brother, James Johnson, of Virginia, are working together to compile the various videos taken at the Jamestown celebration into a wonderful keepsake video of the occasion. This video will also be helpful in spreading the word of Anglicanism throughout the world. If you let us know ahead of time of your interest in receiving this video, it will help us know how many to make on the initial run, which could keep the cost down. To sign up, please e-mail to sondrabj@shentel.net your name, physical address, e-mail address and telephone number and tell us how many videos you think you will want to purchase. When the video is ready, we will contact you via e-mail with the price, which will include the cost of postage and shipping materials. As the Apostolic Church brought both religious and non-religious peoples to Christ, WE DECLARE that the Church of today must be a church on mission, reaching out to believers and non-believers with the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ. WE FURTHER DECLARE that we adhere wholly to biblical teaching and to the following principles, and thus shall not accept any action or compromise that would weaken or change the faith and traditions of these principles and beliefs, which we hold to be essential to an unimpaired relationship with Jesus Christ and His one holy catholic and apostolic church. 1. We believe in the authority of the HOLY SCRIPTURES as the inerrant Word of God, as summarized by the Creeds, taught by the Fathers, and defined in the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion, and the Authorized (King James) Version of The Holy Bible, it being the standard translation into the English language. 2. We believe the Nicene and Apostles' CREEDS are binding on every member of the Church as the expression of their specific personal commitment and conviction. 3.We believe HOLY BAPTISM as ordained by Christ, as set forth in the Book of Common Prayer, is the seal of our Salvation, and Confirmation by a bishop in the apostolic line is the means whereby we receive the strengthening gifts of the Holy Spirit in the Apostolic tradition. 4. We believe HOLY COMMUNION shall be validly celebrated by a bishop of the Apostolic line, or by a priest ordained by such a bishop, and properly received by those confirmed or ready and desirous to be confirmed. Holy Communion will not be refused to believing baptized Christians of other traditions. 5.We believe HOLY ORDERS of Bishop, Priest, and Deacon are open only to believing men, following Biblical practice, the universal practice of the holy catholic church, and as intended by our Book of Common Prayer. 6. We believe the integrity of the sacramental functions of the EPISCOPATE, and according to the Apostolic model, as evangelists, guardians of the faith, and caring shepherds of the flock, shall be placed above the administrative responsibilities that have so often caused mischief in the churches of former years. 7. We believe the historic BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER is regarded as a doctrinal standard and our common liturgy. We worship according to the 1928 American edition of the Book of Common Prayer, the 1962 Canadian edition, or the 1662 English Book of Common Prayer. We respect liturgical expression established by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer in 1549, and the 1552 version; and the Elizabethan Prayer Book of 1559 as set forth by the Act of Uniformity, and other national equivalents so far as the faith is kept entire by them. 8. We believe in the unique salvation of Jesus Christ and pledge our commitment to the words of Our Lord Jesus Christ about Himself: "I am the WAY, the Truth, and the Life: and no man cometh to the Father, but by me." WE GIVE OUR WITNESS BEFORE GOD, to all believers in Christ, unbelievers and those who claim the name of Christ for themselves while disdaining Our Lord's own words about Himself. ACIC How to Join Questions and Answers are found in a new publication for bishops. Email for yours, or click to read. |
| News to use. Opportunity: New Seminary is enrolling for next term now. Persons considering enrolling should contact the seminary at 1.540. 635.5521 for an interview. Interested men may email: asv@shentel.net The Anglican Seminary of Virginia (ASV) is a cooperative education study program. Six graduate diplomas and Licentiate in Theology are offered. An undergraduate program is offered for students with one and one-half years of college work completed. Click here for link to ASV's new Website. Haiti Anglicans continue to work to assist those suffering from problems related to the weather and change of government. Our teachers and principals in our schools in Haiti have helped as much as possible, but additional assistance is needed. Click here to find out more about ACOVA's special union with the Church of Haiti. Opportunity: Computers are needed to improve the children's learning. Donations would be welcomed for this purpose. Opportunity: ACOVA has developed a library of twenty-two publications and promotional brochures. Visit the web page that list these useful materials. You may call the Bishop's Office to order. Telephone: 1.540.635.5521. Join the Anglican Church of Virginia. Opportunity: ACOVA Ready to Receive New Communicants. Anglican Church of Virginia is prepared to receive "homeless priests and parishes". Application for parish and priest affiliation, or Email for affiliation information The Bishop welcomes disenfranchised Episcopalians to ACOVA. Click here to read news release. ACOVA makes the Front Page of a Virginia newspaper. Front Page of Virginia Daily on the consecration of the homosexual bishop. Click here to read it. |
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| The Anglican News of the First General Synod of the ACIC and Celebration at Jamestown |
| Bishops, Priests,Parishes and Dioceses DECLARATION OF PRINCIPLES To Join or to come into Communion Select and Download Appropriate Application Email: asv@shentel.net for assistance. |