Editing Episcopus vagans (section)

==Theological issues==

=== Catholic ===
A [[Latin Church]] or [[Eastern Catholic Churches|Eastern]] Catholic ordained to the episcopacy without a mandate from the [[Pope]] is [[Latae sententiae and ferendae sententiae|automatically]] [[Excommunication in the Catholic Church|excommunicated]] and is thereby forbidden to celebrate the sacraments under [[Catholic canon law]].<ref>[https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/__P54.HTM Code of Canon Law, canon 1382] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080327064146/https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/__P54.HTM |date=27 March 2008 }}</ref><ref>[https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/__P4X.HTM Code of Canon Law, canon 1331 §1] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080329021837/https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/__P4X.HTM |date=29 March 2008 }}</ref> However, in light of the [[sacramental character]] of the episcopacy in [[Catholic theology]] and of the doctrine of ''[[ex opere operato]]'' (according to which the efficacy of a sacrament does not depend on the merits of the person who performs or who receives the sacrament) such an ordination is considered "[[Validity and liceity (Catholic Church)|valid but illicit]]". This means that, although excommunicated and forbidden from carrying out any ministry under the authority of the Catholic Church, an individual thus ordained is regarded as having the full sacramental powers of a bishop, including the power to ordain other bishops.<ref>[[Ludwig Ott]], ''Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma'', 1952, p. 456. "Every validly consecrated bishop, including heretical, schismatic, simonistic, or excommunicated bishops, can validly dispense the Sacrament of Order, provided that he has the requisite intention, and follows the essential external rite (set. Certa). Cf. D 855, 860; [[1917 Code of Canon Law|CIC]] 2372."</ref>

On the other hand, the view expressed by the [[International Bishops' Conference]] of the [[Old Catholic Church]] with regard to the ordinations by [[Arnold Mathew]] is that the episcopacy exists for service within a specific Christian church and, therefore, that an ordination ceremony that concerns only the individual himself does not make him truly a bishop.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=rE3HEeoXJNsC&dq=Smit+%22truly+bishops%22&pg=PA197 Peter-Ben Smit, ''Old Catholic and Philippine Independent Ecclesiologies in History''] (BRILL 2011 {{ISBN|978-90-0420647-2}}), p. 197</ref> The [[Holy See|Vatican]] has not commented on whether it concurs with this interpretation, but it has declared with regard to ordinations of this kind carried out, for example, by [[Emmanuel Milingo]] upon [[Peter Paul Brennan]] and others, that the Catholic Church "does not recognize and does not intend to recognize in the future those ordinations or any of the ordinations derived from them and therefore the canonical state of the alleged bishops remains that in which they were before the ordination conferred by Mr Milingo".<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.vatican.va/archive/aas/documents/2010/gennaio%202010.pdf| title = ''Acta Apostolicae Sedis'' CII (2010), p. 58}}</ref>

===Eastern Orthodox===
Vlassios Pheidas, on an official [[Church of Greece]] site, uses the [[Canon law of the Eastern Orthodox Church|canonical]] language of the [[Eastern Orthodox Christian theology|Eastern Orthodox tradition]], to describe the conditions in ecclesial [[praxis (Eastern Orthodoxy)|praxis]] when [[sacraments]], including [[Holy Orders]], are real, valid, and efficacious. He notes language is itself part of the [[ecclesiological]] problem.<ref name="Pheidas">{{cite web
 |publisher=Online Cultural Center of the Church of Greece
 |series=Myriobiblos: The online library of the Church of Greece
 |work=The limits of the church in an orthodox perspective
 |title=Chapter I
 |last=Pheidas
 |first=Vlassios
 |url=http://www.myriobiblos.gr/texts/english/pheidas_limits_1.html
 |access-date=14 May 2013
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051030122810/http://www.myriobiblos.gr/texts/english/pheidas_limits_1.html
 |archive-date=30 October 2005
 |url-status=live
 |df=dmy
}}
{{cite web
 |title=Chapter II
 |url=http://www.myriobiblos.gr/texts/english/pheidas_limits_2.html
 |access-date=14 May 2013
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051030122835/http://www.myriobiblos.gr/texts/english/pheidas_limits_2.html
 |archive-date=30 October 2005
 |url-status=live
 |df=dmy
}}
</ref>{{rp|at=ch. 1}}
{{Blockquote|If […] [[Grace (Christianity)|divine grace]] is granted to all, […] then it stands to reason that it is bestowed also in those believers outside the [Eastern] Orthodox Church, even if such persons belong to a heresy of schism. Thus, the sacraments performed outside the Church are not only real ({{lang|el|υποστατά}}), but also valid ({{lang|el|έγκυρα}}), because they only lack the efficacy ({{lang|el|ενέργεια}}) of the bestowed divine grace, which is operative through the [[Holy Spirit (Christianity)|Holy Spirit]] only within the [Eastern] Orthodox Church.

[...]

Through such a teaching […] one finds himself face to face with the […] principle of "{{lang|la|[[Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus|extra Ecclesia nulla salus]]}}", which strictly determines the canonical limits of the Church. Thus, the  [Eastern] Orthodox Church, while accepting the canonical possibility of recognising the existence ({{lang|el|υποστατόν}}) of sacraments performed outside herself, it questions their validity ({{lang|el|έγκυρον}}) and certainly rejects their efficacy ({{lang|el|ενεργόν}}). It is already well-known that in the ecclesial praxis, the Orthodox Church moves, according to the specific circumstances, between canonical "[[akribeia|acribeia]]" and ecclesial [[economy (religion)|economy]], recognising by economy the validity ({{lang|el|κύρος}}) of the sacraments of those ecclesiastical bodies. Yet, such a practice of economy does not overthrow the canonical "acribeia", which also remains in force and expresses the exclusive character of orthodox ecclesiology.

This observation is really important, because it reveals that the canonical recognition ({{lang|el|αναγνώρισις}}) of the validity of sacraments performed outside the  [Eastern] Orthodox Church: (a) is done by economy, (b) covers only specific cases in certain given instances, and (c) refers to the validity of the sacraments only of those who join the  [Eastern] Orthodox Church, and not of the ecclesiastical bodies to which belong those who join the  [Eastern] Orthodox Church. There is, […] a variety of opinions or reservations concerning this question. No one, […] could propose or support the view that the mutual recognition of the validity of sacraments among the Churches is an ecclesiastical act consistent with orthodox ecclesiology, or an act which is not rejected by the [[Canon law of the Eastern Orthodox Church|orthodox canonical tradition]]. […]

[…]

[…] the mutual recognition of the validity of certain sacraments, […] is for an [Eastern] Orthodox an act of inconsistency, when it is assessed with orthodox ecclesiological principles. These ecclesiological principles manifest in a strict fashion the organic unity of the orthodox ecclesial body and differentiate those who do not belong to its body as either schismatics or heretics.

The relation of schismatics or heretics to the body of the [Eastern] Orthodox Church is strictly defined by the canonical tradition. However, orthodox canonical tradition and praxis appraises and classifies these ecclesiastical bodies into various categories, […] in which some form of ecclesiality is recognised. This type of ecclesiality is not easily determined, because the orthodox tradition […] does not recognise the efficacy of the divine grace outside the canonical boundaries of the [Eastern] Orthodox Church.<ref name="Pheidas" />{{rp|at=ch. 2}}}}

This applies to the validity and efficacy of the ordination of bishops and the other sacraments, not only of the [[Independent Catholic Churches|Independent Catholic churches]], but also of all other Christian churches, including the Roman Catholic Church, [[Oriental Orthodoxy]] and the [[Assyrian Church of the East]]. Through strict adherence to the law superseding economy by their Cyprian understanding, in this instance, there may be questionably valid sacraments outside of the Eastern Orthodox Church, yet they lack any efficacy. However, some mainstream Eastern Orthodox bodies recognize Roman Catholic orders and don't conditionally ordain clergy as each autocephalous church determines the validity and efficacy of another's ordination.<ref name="Pheidas" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Validity of Roman Catholic Orders - Questions & Answers |url=https://www.oca.org/questions/romancatholicism/validity-of-roman-catholic-orders |access-date=2023-08-11 |website=Orthodox Church in America}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=23 July 2011 |title=Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs {{!}} Ordination Joint Committee of Orthodox and Catholic Bishops, 1988 |url=http://www.usccb.org/seia/ordinati.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723002517/http://www.usccb.org/seia/ordinati.shtml |archive-date=23 July 2011}}</ref> There have also been several canonically disputed or independent Eastern Orthodox clergy received into the mainstream or canonical Eastern Orthodox Church in certain instances—also without conditional ordination, whose predecessors were either once part of or remained outside of canonical Eastern Orthodoxy—in contrast with Pheidas' statement on economy.<ref name="Anson2006">{{Cite book |last=Anson |first=Peter F |author-link=Peter Anson |url={{GBurl|lTD_PAAACAAJ}} |title=Bishops at large |publisher=Apocryphile Press |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-977146-18-5 |edition=1st Apocryphile |series=Independent Catholic Heritage |location=[[Berkeley, California]] |pages=504–506 |oclc=72443681 |orig-year=1964 |lang=en}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=History of the Western Rite Vicariate |url=https://www.orthodoxwest.com/history-wr-anderson |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250307180758/https://www.orthodoxwest.com/history-wr-anderson |archive-date=2025-03-07 |access-date=2025-03-07 |website=theorthodoxwest |language=en |quote=The Western Rite Vicariate of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America was founded in 1958 by Metropolitan Antony Bashir (1896–1966) with the Right Reverend Alexander Turner (1906–1971), and the Very Reverend Paul W. S. Schneirla. The Western Rite Vicariate (WRV) oversees parishes and missions within the Archdiocese that worship according to traditional Western Christian liturgical forms, derived either from the Latin-speaking Churches of the first millennium, or from certain later (post-schismatic) usages which are not contrary to the Orthodox Faith.}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Namee |first=Matthew |date=2011-03-15 |title=Bishop Joseph Zuk: A brief biographical overview |url=https://www.orthodoxhistory.org/2011/03/15/bishop-joseph-zuk-a-brief-biographical-overview/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250307181036/https://www.orthodoxhistory.org/2011/03/15/bishop-joseph-zuk-a-brief-biographical-overview/ |archive-date=2025-03-07 |access-date=2025-03-07 |website=Orthodox History |language=en-US}}</ref>

The [[Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople]] likewise teaches that through "extreme oikonomia [economy]", those who are [[Baptism|baptized]] in the [[Oriental Orthodox]], Roman Catholic, [[Lutheran]], [[Old Catholic]], [[Moravian Church|Moravian]], [[Anglican]], [[Methodist]], [[Reformed tradition|Reformed]], [[Presbyterian]], [[Church of the Brethren]], [[Assemblies of God]], or [[Baptists|Baptist]] traditions can be received into the Eastern Orthodox Church through the sacrament of [[Chrismation]] and not through [[re-baptism]].<ref name="Isaiah2000">{{cite web |author=Metropolitan Isaiah |date=9 May 2000 |title=Protocols 2000 |url=http://www.orthodoxresearchinstitute.org/encyclicals/goarch/isaiah/isaiah_protocols_2000.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101127075030/http://www.orthodoxresearchinstitute.org/encyclicals/goarch/isaiah/isaiah_protocols_2000.htm |archive-date=2010-11-27 |publisher=Orthodox Research Institute |language=English}}</ref>

The predominant view, however, continues to reject those raised to the episcopacy outside of the mainstream or canonical Eastern Orthodox Church as valid bishops in holy orders.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Damick |first=Fr Andrew Stephen |date=2013-03-05 |title=Media Discovers Episcopus Vagans at Vatican, Film at 11 |url=https://blogs.ancientfaith.com/orthodoxyandheterodoxy/2013/03/05/media-discovers-episcopus-vagans-at-vatican-film-at-11/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250308021841/https://blogs.ancientfaith.com/orthodoxyandheterodoxy/2013/03/05/media-discovers-episcopus-vagans-at-vatican-film-at-11/ |archive-date=2025-03-08 |access-date=2025-03-08 |website=Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy |language=en-US}}</ref>

===Lutheran===
The ''Concordia Theological Monthly'' stated that ''episcopi vagantes'' are a concern in [[Lutheranism]].<ref name="Piepkorn1963">{{cite journal |last1=Piepkorn |first1=Arthur Carl |title=Episcopi Vagantes and the Anglican Church |journal=Concordia Theological Monthly |date=1963 |volume=XXXIV |issue=4 |page=253}}</ref> The Lutheran priest Arthur Carl Piepkorn wrote that Gustavus Adolphus Glinz and Friedrich Heiler were consecrated bishops in 1930 by Pierre Gaston Vigué.<ref name="Piepkorn1963"/> Heiler then ordained several men as priests who sent on to serve in Lutheran parishes.<ref name="Piepkorn1963"/> ''Episcopi vagantes'', according to Piepkorn, approach clergy with a claim to be aligned with Lutheran doctrine and the promise of "incontestably valid and apostolic" priestly ordination or episcopal consecration.<ref name="Piepkorn1963"/>

===Anglican===
Anglican bishop [[Colin Buchanan (bishop)|Colin Buchanan]], in the ''Historical Dictionary of Anglicanism'', says that the [[Anglican Communion]] has held an Augustinian view of orders, by which "the validity of Episcopal ordinations (to whichever order) is based solely upon the historic succession in which the ordaining bishop stands, irrespective of their contemporary ecclesial context". He describes the circumstances of Archbishop [[Matthew Parker]]'s consecration as one of the reasons why this theory is "generally held".<ref name="Buchanan2006">
{{cite encyclopedia|location=Lanham, MD|publisher=The Scarecrow Press|series=Historical Dictionaries of Religions, Philosophies, and Movements|volume=62|encyclopedia=Historical Dictionary of Anglicanism|year=2006|isbn=0810853272|last=Buchanan|first=Colin O|author-link=Colin Buchanan (bishop)|title=Episcopus Vagans|pages=166&ndash;167|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G5Ig4SDJFgkC&q=Episcopus+Vagans&pg=PA166|access-date=24 May 2013}} {{cite encyclopedia|title=Old Catholics|page=335|isbn=9780810865068|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G5Ig4SDJFgkC&q=Arnold+Mathew&pg=PA335|access-date=24 May 2013|last1=Buchanan|first1=Colin|date=27 February 2006|publisher=Scarecrow Press }}
</ref> Parker was chosen by [[Queen regnant|Queen]] [[Elizabeth I of England]] to be the first [[Church of England]] [[Archbishop of Canterbury]] after the death of the previous office holder, [[Cardinal (Catholicism)|Cardinal]] [[Reginald Pole]], the last Roman Catholic Archbishop of Canterbury.<ref name="Smith1907">{{catholic|inline=1|volume=1|last=Smith|first=Sydney|wstitle=Anglican Orders}}</ref> Buchanan notes the Roman Catholic Church also focuses on issues of intention and not just breaks in historical succession.<ref name="Buchanan2006" /> He does not explain whether intention has an ecclesiological role, for Anglicans, in conferring or receiving sacraments.