Louis Wahl Falk III (born December 30, 1935) is the President of the House of Bishops of the

Anglican Church in America The Anglican Church in America (ACA) is a Continuing Anglican church body and the United States branch of the Traditional Anglican Communion (TAC). The ACA, which is separate from The Episcopal Church, is not a member of the Anglican Communion. ...

. Until 2002 he was the primate of the

Traditional Anglican Communion The Traditional Anglican Church (TAC), formerly the Traditional Anglican Communion, is an international church consisting of national provinces in the continuing Anglican movement, independent of the Anglican Communion and the Archbishop of Cant ...

, an international body of

continuing Anglican The Continuing Anglican Movement, also known as the Anglican Continuum, encompasses a number of Christian churches, principally based in North America, that have an Anglican identity and tradition but are not part of the Anglican Communion. Thes ...

churches. Falk was born in

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. In 1953 he graduated from the

University School of Milwaukee The University School of Milwaukee (often abbreviated to USM) is an independent pre-kindergarten through secondary preparatory school in River Hills and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It was founded as the result of the merger of three schools, Milwa ...

. On September 3, 1955, he married Carol Alice Froemming. In 1958, Falk graduated from

Lawrence College Lawrence University is a private liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Appleton, Wisconsin. Founded in 1847, its first classes were held on November 12, 1849. Lawrence was the second college in the U.S. to be founded as a coeducation ...

(now Lawrence University) with a major in philosophy and a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

degree awarded '' summa cum laude''. He is a member of

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ...

. In 1962, Falk graduated with a Master of Divinity degree awarded ''cum laude'' from

Nashotah House Nashotah House is an Anglican seminary in Nashotah, Wisconsin. The seminary opened in 1842 and received its official charter in 1847. The institution is independent and generally regarded as one of the more theologically conservative seminaries i ...

, a seminary of the Episcopal Church. On January 23, 1962, he was ordained a deacon, and on August 6, 1962, he was ordained a priest in the Episcopal Church. He went on to become a businessman and from 1976 to 1981 he was president of the General Growth Management Company in

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...

. In the late 1970s, Falk joined the

Anglican Catholic Church The Anglican Catholic Church (ACC), also known as the Anglican Catholic Church (Original Province), is a body of Christians in the continuing Anglican movement, which is separate from the Anglican Communion led by the Archbishop of Canterbur ...

. He became rector of Saint Aidan's Parish in Des Moines. In 1981 he was elected first bishop of the Diocese of the Missouri Valley. On February 14, 1981, in Des Moines, he was consecrated a bishop by

James Orin Mote James Orin Mote (January 27, 1922 – April 29, 2006) was a founding member of the Continuing Anglican movement. An alumnus of Canterbury College (Danville, Indiana) and Nashotah House Theological Seminary, he was consecrated in the Anglican Catholi ...

(Diocese of the Holy Trinity), Carmino de Cantanzaro ( Anglican Catholic Church of Canada), William F. Burns (Diocese of the Resurrection), William O. Lewis (Diocese of the Midwest), and William Dejarnette Rutherford (Diocese of the Mid-Atlantic). In 1983, Falk was elected archbishop and primate of the Anglican Catholic Church. In the late 1980s, under Falk's leadership, the Anglican Catholic Church entered into discussions with the

American Episcopal Church The Episcopal Church, based in the United States with additional dioceses elsewhere, is a member church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. It is a mainline Protestant denomination and is divided into nine provinces. The presiding bishop of ...

to effect a union between the two bodies. The two bodies united in October 1991 to form the Anglican Church in America of which Falk became the first primate. Falk helped convene and create the Traditional Anglican Communion, of which he also became the first primate. In 2002 Falk resigned as primate of the Traditional Anglican Communion and was succeeded by Archbishop

John Hepworth John Anthony Hepworth (23 March 1944 – 1 December 2021) was an Australian bishop. He was the ordinary of the Anglican Catholic Church in Australia and the archbishop and primate of the Traditional Anglican Communion, an international body o ...

. In 2005, Falk retired as primate of the Anglican Church in America and as bishop ordinary of the Diocese of the Missouri Valley. The church re-structured itself and decided not to have a primate, but instead a president of the House of Bishops. Falk was elected the first president of the House of Bishops. He was succeeded as bishop of the Diocese of the Missouri Valley by Bishop Stephen D. Strawn.

References

1935 births Living people Religious leaders from Milwaukee Lawrence University alumni American Continuing Anglicans Anglo-Catholic bishops 20th-century Anglican archbishops Primates of the Traditional Anglican Communion American Anglo-Catholics 21st-century Anglican archbishops 20th-century American clergy 21st-century American clergy {{US-Anglican-bishop-stub