Richard Walter Lipka (born 1940) is an American Anglican

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

. Lipka served as a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

and Episcopal priest before being consecrated in the

Charismatic Episcopal Church The Charismatic Episcopal Church (CEC), officially the International Communion of the Charismatic Episcopal Church (ICCEC), is a Christian denomination established in 1992. The ICCEC is a part of the Convergence Movement. Within North America, mos ...

. He has served since 2021 as bishop ordinary of the Missionary Diocese of All Saints, an

Anglo-Catholic Anglo-Catholicism comprises beliefs and practices that emphasise the Catholic heritage and identity of the various Anglican churches. The term was coined in the early 19th century, although movements emphasising the Catholic nature of Anglica ...

diocese in the

Anglican Church in North America The Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) is a Christian denomination in the Anglican tradition in the United States and Canada. It also includes ten congregations in Mexico, two mission churches in Guatemala, and a missionary diocese in Cuba ...

. He is a significant figure in the Episcopal

charismatic renewal The Catholic Charismatic Renewal is a movement within the Catholic Church that is part of the wider charismatic movement across historic Christian churches. The Renewal has been described as a "current of grace". It began in 1967 when Cath ...

movement and the

Anglican realignment The Anglican realignment is a movement among some Anglicans to align themselves under new or alternative oversight within or outside the Anglican Communion. This movement is primarily active in parts of the Episcopal Church in the United States ...

Early life and education

Lipka was born in Wilmington, Delaware, to Adam Lipka and Mary Deptula Lipka. He was raised in the Catholic Church at St. Hedwig's Parish in Wilmington. He graduated from St. Mary's College in Michigan and received an M.A. from St. Mary's Seminary. Lipka also earned an S.T.B. from the

Pontifical Gregorian University The Pontifical Gregorian University ( it, Pontificia Università Gregoriana; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana,) is a higher education ecclesiastical school ( pontifical university) located in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as ...

in Rome. While studying at the Pontifical North American College, Lipka was ordained to the Catholic priesthood in 1966, then returned to serve as a parish priest in the Diocese of Wilmington.

Move to Anglicanism

In 1971, Lipka was received by Harry Lee Doll as a priest in the

Episcopal Diocese of Maryland The Episcopal Diocese of Maryland forms part of Province 3 of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. Having been divided twice, it no longer includes all of Maryland and now consists of the central, northern, and western Maryland c ...

. He served as a curate at St. Margaret's Episcopal Church in Annapolis, one of the original 30 Episcopal parishes in Maryland. After leaving the Catholic priesthood, Lipka married Susan and they had four children. From 1972 to 1989, Lipka served as rector of St. Mary's Episcopal Church in the Hampden area of Baltimore. During this time, he became engaged in the charismatic renewal movement in the Episcopal Church. He also hosted Regeneration, a ministry to same-sex attracted Christians, and served on its board. In 1989, Lipka moved to Hawaii to serve as rector of St. Mary's Episcopal Church in Honolulu. In 1994, Lipka and a majority of St. Mary's members voted to leave the Episcopal Church as part of the then-nascent

and join the two-year-old Charismatic Episcopal Church, which was formed out of the

convergence movement The Convergence Movement, also known as the Ancient-Future Faith movement, is a Protestant Christian movement that began during the Fourth Great Awakening (1960–1980) in the United States. Largely a result of the ecumenical movement and its fo ...

blending charismatic and liturgical worship. "Over the last several years," he said at the time, "I and many of the members of St. Mary's n Honoluluhave felt more and more marginalized and disenfranchised from the mainstream of the Episcopal Church in the U.S.A. We no longer felt a part of the family."

Episcopal ministry

On 4 August 1995, Lipka was consecrated as a bishop in the Charismatic Episcopal Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of the Hawaiian Islands and the American Protectorates. On 5 November 1997, Lipka was conditionally re-consecrated by

Luis Fernando Castillo Mendez Luis Fernando Castillo Méndez (December 4, 1922 - October 29, 2009) was a Venezuelan Independent Catholic priest who rose to the leadership of the Brazilian Catholic Apostolic Church (ICAB). Castillo Méndez was arguably the second or third 'Pat ...

when the CEC entered into intercommunion with the

Brazilian Catholic Apostolic Church , image =Emblema da Igreja Católica Apostólica Brasileira.png , imagewidth = , caption =Emblem of the Brazilian Catholic Apostolic Church , main_classification = Western Christian , orientation =Independent Catholic , polity = Episcopa ...

. (All CEC clergy were reconsecrated and reordained by the Brazilian Catholic Apostolic Church through the

episcopal genealogy The historic or historical episcopate comprises all episcopates, that is, it is the collective body of all the bishops of a church who are in valid apostolic succession. This succession is transmitted from each bishop to their successors by the r ...

Carlos Duarte Costa Carlos Duarte Costa (July 21, 1888 – March 26, 1961) was a Brazilian Catholic bishop who became the founder of the Brazilian Catholic Apostolic Church, an independent Catholic church, and its international communion, which long after his ...

.) In 2006, as part of a schism in the CEC, Lipka and the Diocese of the Delmarva disassociated from the CEC and became part of the Communion of Christ the Redeemer, which was affiliated with the

Anglican Province of America The Anglican Province of America (APA) is a Continuing Anglican church in the United States. The church was founded by former members of the Episcopal Church in the United States in order to follow what they consider to be a more truly Christian ...

and seeking to be integrated into it as of 2008. Lipka served as president of the COCTR. By 2011, 15 of 21 COCTR congregations were no longer affiliated with the APA but had rather joined the newly formed ACNA Missionary Diocese of All Saints (MDAS), with Lipka being appointed bishop suffragan. In 2018, amid concerns that the relatively small size of MDAS might make it difficult to elect its own bishop when the sitting bishops retired and MDAS objections to women's ordination in other ACNA dioceses, Lipka held out the possibility of MDAS joining the

old Catholic The terms Old Catholic Church, Old Catholics, Old-Catholic churches or Old Catholic movement designate "any of the groups of Western Christians who believe themselves to maintain in complete loyalty the doctrine and traditions of the Great Chu ...

Union of Scranton The Union of Scranton is a communion of Old Catholic churches established in 2008 by the Polish National Catholic Church (PNCC) of the United States, after the Union of Utrecht began ordaining women and blessing same-sex unions. Since then, ...

alongside the Polish National Catholic Church and the

Nordic Catholic Church The Nordic Catholic Church ( no, den nordisk-katolske kirke) is a church body based in Norway of High Church Lutheran patrimony. The Nordic Catholic Church is a member of the Union of Scranton. The Nordic Catholic Church was founded in 1999 b ...

. In 2021, Lipka succeeded William Ilgenfritz as MDAS' bishop ordinary. He serves as vice president of Forward in Faith North America, which promotes Anglo-Catholic worship and opposes women's ordination. He also serves as rector of Holy Trinity Cathedral in Berlin, Maryland. In 2024, the Missionary Diocese of All Saints will elect a bishop coadjutor to succeed Lipka upon his retirement.

References

External links

Richard W. Lipka Biography at Missionary Diocese of All Saints Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lipka, Richard Walter 1940 births Living people Bishops of the Anglican Church in North America American Anglo-Catholics Anglo-Catholic bishops