The Ecumenical Catholic Church () (ECC/ICE) is an independent Catholic church established in Santa Ana,

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

by Mark Steven Shirilau and Jeffrey Michael Lau, in 1987., California Secretary of State Website, Corporation number C1581615. Adhering to conventional

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Trinitarian The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the Fa ...

theology and professing the Nicene Creed, the Ecumenical Catholic Church practices a liturgy similar to the Pauline Mass. Also considered an offshoot of the

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, the ECC differentiates from Roman Catholicism and independent Brazilian Catholicism through affirming and ordaining persons within the LGBT community.

History

The Ecumenical Catholic Church was founded in Santa Ana, California, in 1987 by Mark Steven Shirilau (a former member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the

Metropolitan Community Church The Metropolitan Community Church (MCC), also known as the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches (UFMCC), is an international LGBT-affirming mainline Protestant Christian denomination. There are 222 member congregations in 3 ...

) and Jeffrey Michael Lau (a former member of the Episcopal Church and the Metropolitan Community Church); Edward Jarvis, ''God, Land & Freedom: the true story of ICAB'', Apocryphile Press, Berkeley CA, p. 170. the first edition of its canon law was completed and ratified on January 11, 1987.Shirilau, Mark, ''History and Overview of the Ecumenical Catholic Church: The First Ten Years'' (1995. Riverside, CA: Healing Spirit Press, ) Shirilau was ordained a priest for the Ecumenical Catholic Church at the chapel of the

Claremont School of Theology Claremont School of Theology (CST) is an American graduate school focused on religion and theology and located in Claremont, California. CST is fully recognized and approved as one of thirteen official theological schools of the United Methodi ...

on the December 27, 1987, by an

independent Catholic Independent Catholicism is an independent sacramental movement of clergy and laity who self-identify as Catholic (most often as Old Catholic or as Independent Catholic) and form "micro-churches claiming apostolic succession and valid sacramen ...

bishop. The first public service (at St. John Ecumenical Catholic Church) was held on September 4, 1988, at the home chapel of Mark Shirilau and Jeffery Shirilau in Santa Ana. Robert Oscar Simpson became the first person baptized in the Ecumenical Catholic Church on July 10, 1989, at his house in Los Angeles. Simpson died of AIDS a few days later. Mark Shirilau was consecrated into the episcopacy by Bishop Donald Lawrence Jolly of the Independent Catholic Church International in

San Bernardino, CA San Bernardino (; Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other ...

, on May 19, 1991. At the service, Jeffery Shirilau—a non-ordained deacon of the Metropolitan Community Church—was ordained to the diaconate by Bishop Jolly. Bruce David LeBlanc—a community college professor—became the first priest ordained by Bishop Shirilau. As of 2011, the Ecumenical Catholic Church expanded with missions and churches throughout

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

, and Italy. Following the death of Bishop Shirilau from complications with

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...

on January 12, 2014 while traveling in

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, Bishop David John Kalke of Mexico was elected as new primate archbishop of the Ecumenical Catholic Church. Some parishes within the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and Italy did not accept Kalke's leadership and submitted themselves to the similarly-named jurisdiction of Archbishop Karl Rodig in the Ecumenical Catholic Church of Christ (founded in Florida during 1998).

References

{{reflist

External links

Official website
(Spanish) Independent Catholic denominations Christian organizations established in 1987 1987 establishments in California