The first principle of the Ordinariate is then about Christian unity. St. Basil the Great, the Church’s greatest ecumenist, literally expended his life on the work of building bridges between orthodox brethren who shared a common faith, but who had become separated from one another in a Church badly fragmented by heresy and controversy. He taught that the work of Christian unity requires deliberate and ceaseless effort...St. Basil often talked with yearning about the archaia agape, the ancient love of the apostolic community, so rarely seen in the Church of his day. This love, he taught, is a visible sign that the Holy Spirit is indeed present and active, and it is absolutely essential for the health of the Church.

- Msgr. Jeffrey Steenson, Homily on the Occasion of his Formal Institution as Ordinary

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Ordination to the diaconate for six Ordinariate clerics

Fr. Scott Hurd, Vicar General of the Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter, writes on Facebook:
I thank God for the last night's ordination as transitional deacon of six oustanding men in Fort Worth. As a former priest of the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth, I give thanks in a particular way for my friends and former colleagues. Of them, Deacon Chuck Hough Sr. was my first boss at St. Andrews', Grand Prairie, and his son was an altar server at Stephanie's and my wedding. And I had great joy assisting Deacon Christopher Stainbrook Stainbrook leading the diocesan youth ministry- which included a fine young woman named Kristina Steenson! And thanks you, Bishop Kevin Vann.
(left to right) Charles Hough IV, Timothy Perkins, Joshua Whitfield,
Christopher Stainbrook, Mark Cannaday, and Charles Hough III


See also the story on the Anglo-Catholic blog.

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