A Brief History of the Anamchara Celtic Church

In December 1995 Father Thomas Faulkenbury, a former Episcopalian and Liberal Catholic Priest began a small ministry in Wills Point, Texas focused on Celtic Spirituality and the lives of the Celtic Saints. St. Brendan's Fellowship, as it was called, was a monthly meeting of people from a variety of Christian denominations who maintained membership in their respective churches while meeting to study, discuss, and practice Celtic Spirituality.

In January of 1996 Father Faulkenbury met Bishop Ivan MacKillop of the Church of the Culdees through an internet discussion group on Celtic Christianity. Through the group they discovered that they shared many views on ecclesiology, doctrine, and liturgy. A friendship was struck and they began formulating ideas for a Synod of Celtic Christian Communities in an effort to draw together various individuals and organizations interested in creating a substantive Celtic Christian body of worshipers.

Father Faulkenbury placed himself and St. Brendan's Fellowship under the episcopal covering of Bishop MacKillop.

Interest in the activities of St. Brendan's spread beyond the Wills Point area with inquiries regarding Celtic Spirituality coming from other parts of the state of Texas as well as Missouri and Tennessee. In April 1996 the Apostolate of Celtic Christian Communities was established under Father Faulkenbury's directorship. Bishop MacKillop made Father Faulkenbury his Vicar Apostolic and the Apostolate joined with the Church of the Culdees in the formal establishment of the Synod of Celtic Christian Communities. A Mission Statement and Covenant was drawn up and agreed to by both organizations.

Father Faulkenbury began to travel extensively in response to inquiries, meeting with individuals and communities. In June 1996 a Protocol of Election was submitted on behalf of the Apostolate requesting Bishop MacKillop to consecrate Father Faulkenbury to the Episcopate. Father Faulkenbury, accompanied by Brandi Avery of St. Brendan's and Scott Dennis of San Antonio, traveled to Springfield, Oregon and was consecrated to the Episcopate by Bishop MacKillop in services held at St. Brendan's Abbey Church on June 23, 1996 (the Feast of St. Morgan) making Bishop Faulkenbury the first Bishop consecrated in an independent Celtic Chuch in over 800 years.

Bishop Faulkenbury devoted himself to establishing new communities and recruiting qualified candidates for Holy Orders. In July 1996 Scott Dennis and James Allister were ordained to the Diaconate with ministries in San Antonio, Texas and Kansas City, Missouri, respectively. In October they were elevated to the Priesthood. During the October services John Chiaromonte was ordained to the Diaconate with ordination to the Priesthood following in January 1997 with ministry in Memphis, Tennessee.

During the late summer of 1996 the Synod of Celtic Christian Communities, consisting of the Church of the Culdees and the Apostolate of Celtic Christian Communities, was joined by Father Joseph Grenier's St. Ciaran's Celtic Christian Communities and the name of the Synod was changed to the Celtic Christian Communion. The Synod's Mission Statement and Covenant was maintained with slight modification to reflect the autonomous status of each member body. Bishop Ivan MacKillop was elected to serve as Archbishop of the Communion. In the fall of 1996 Father Grenier, a former Roman Catholic Priest, was consecrated to the Episcopate by Archbishop MacKillop.

The Apostolate continued to grow, holding its first annual Convocation in June 1997 in Mountain View, Arkansas. At this time the Apostolate was the largest body in the Celtic Christian Communion, comprising 67% of the ordained clergy and 75% of the congregations.

Controversy within the Celtic Christian Communion surfaced in August 1997. The CCC's Mission Statement and Covenant had fostered a broad definition of orthodoxy and promoted an "open" communion, i.e, any baptized Christian could receive the Sacrament of Holy Communion regardless of denominational background. The Church of the Culdees, under Archbishop MacKillop, sought to modify or reinterpret the Mission Statement and Covenant by promoting a more narrow definition of orthodoxy, restricting the Sacrament of Holy Communion to members of the Celtic Christian Communion, and defining members of the Celtic Christian Communion as those who were "in communion" with the personage of the Archbishop.

The Apostolate felt that this was a reversal of the founding principles of the Celtic Christian Communion and maintained a broader definition of orthodoxy (belief in the doctrinal principles of the Nicene Creed being the sole litmus test) and an "open" communion. Additionally, the Apostolate's position was that "membership" in the Celtic Christian Communion was defined by the Mission Statement and Covenant by assent to that document rather than any one personage. St. Ciaran's Celtic Christian Communities supported the Apostolate's position.

It became apparent that the division over these issues was irreparable and that, in fact, the Celtic Christian Communion had ceased to function. Rather than engage in continued controversy and dispute, Archbishop MacKillop, Bishop Faulkenbury, and Bishop Grenier agreed to amicably dissolve the Celtic Christian Communion.

With the dissolution of the Celtic Christian Communion in August 1997 the Apostolate changed its name to the Anamchara Celtic Church and entered a Concordat of Intercommunion with Bishop Grenier's group which was renamed the Celtic Christian Church.

The Anamchara Celtic Church's second annual Convocation in June 1998 at Little Portion Retreat Center in Eureka Springs, Arkansas was a momentous event. At an evening session of the Dalriadan Rosary the Lord established that in addition to being a "sacramental" church the ACC was also a "charismatic" church as the Holy Spirit descended on the prayer meeting and manifested the gift of tongues, slayings in the spirit, and healing.

In July 1998 Bishop Faulkenbury suffered a heart attack and immediate plans were put in place with a Protocol of Election for Father Philip Lemasters of St. Mary's in Abilene. Father Lemaster was consecrated to the Episcopate by Bishop Faulkenbury on November 14 with Bishop Grenier of the Celtic Christian Church and Mar Michael Melchizedek of the Mar Thoma Orthodox Church serving as co-consecrators.

Bishop Lemasters was instrumental in forging Concordats of Inter-communion with the Mar Thoma Orthodox Church, the American Church of the East, and the Antiochian Catholic Church in America. His ministry with St. Mary's epitomized the ecumenical orientation of the Anamchara Celtic Church.

In March 1999 the Anamchara Celtic Church divided into four administrative Provinces ~ the Province of St. Morgan (Southeast US), the Province of St. Mary (Southwest US), the Province of St. John (Northwest US including Western Canada), and an unnamed province (Northeast US). Protocols of Election were received pursuant to the Episcopal consecrations of Father Neil Jones of St. David's in Victoria, British Columbia and Father Scott Dennis of St. Aidan's in Austin, Texas.

On April 18, 1999 Bishop Faulkenbury announced his resignation as Presiding Bishop and Bishop of the Province of St. Morgan due to health concerns caused by his 1998 heart attack. He assumed the role of Bishop Emeritus, serving as a spiritual advisor to the ACC Bishops, maintaining the church's webpage, and editing the Celtic Fire Newsletter.

On June 27, 1999 (the Feast of St. John Chrysostom) Father Neil Jones and Father Scott Dennis were elevated to the Episcopacy during the 3rd Annual Convocation of the ACC. Bishop Faulkenbury was the chief consecrator, assisted by ACC Bishop Philip Lemasters and Mar Michael Melchizedek of the Mar Thoma Orthodox Church. Bishop Jones was given the episcopal name of Bartholomew and Bishop Dennis was given the episcopal name of Andrew.

The event was attended by representatives from three countries and solidified the Apostolic foundation of the ACC, ensuring valid episcopal oversight into the 21st Century.

From a monthly fellowship in Wills Point, Texas in 1995 the Anamchara Celtic Church has grown to 18 congregations in 9 states and 5 countries and includes two religous orders.

Addendum 

In September of 2000 retired Bishop Tom Faulkenbury and Father Abbot John Chiaromonte left The Anamchara Celtic Church because of changes in their own spiritual direction and it's incompatibility with the leadership of Bishop Andrew Scott Dennis. 

Bishop Philip Lemasters left the ACC during the summer of 2000.

Bishop Andrew Scott Dennis and some remaining communities of The Anamchara Celtic Church have recently become the Anglican Rite Archdiocese of the Americas-Celtic Rite under the jurisdiction of the Orthodox Church of Canada(Ukrainian Autocephalous Mission Archeparchy). Other communities have moved to other communions like the Evangelical Episcopal Church.

It is the view of ACC founding Bishop Faulkenbury and former OPC Abbot Chiaromonte that the continued work of Bishop Joseph Grenier with the Celtic Christian Church is reflective of the pastoral character of ancient Celtic Bishops and the familial nature of the ancient Celtic Church. For those seeking an ecclesiology which maintains the spirit of the now defunct Anamchara Celtic Church, Faulkenbury and Chiaromonte recommend the Celtic Christian Church as a viable means to express one's Celtic Christian spirituality.

ACC BISHOPS

Left to Right

Founding Bishop Tom Faulkenbery, Bishop Scott Dennis,

 Bishop Neil Jones, Bishop PhillipLemaster

OPC ABBOTS

Abba Dennis

Abba Chiaromonte

Abba Jones

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