Episcopi vagantes (Episcopus vagans, singular) (Latin for "wandering bishops") are persons who have been consecrated as bishops in a Christian church in some irregular fashion, especially those claiming to have valid Roman Catholic orders although their consecrations were not authorized by that church, or those having orders that the Roman Catholic Church considers valid although the bishop in question is not a member of that church or any other communion. The Roman Catholic Church generally considers at least some such consecrations valid but illicit, following the principle of "once a bishop, always a bishop". The Roman Catholic Church distinguishes jurisdiction (the power to govern lawfully) from sacramental power (the priestly power to validly sanctify and ordain). Many episcopi vagantes are considered to have the latter sacramental power if they have been validly consecrated, even outside the Roman Catholic Church. Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in Latium, the region immediately surrounding Rome. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      This article is about... Christianity percentage by country, purple is highest, orange is lowest Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      As a Christian ecclesiastical... Valid but illicit, also known as valid but illegal, is a term used within Roman Catholicism to describe the ordination of a priest or consecration of a Bishop by a cardinal or bishop without the authority of the Holy See. ... According to the Tridentine dogmas of Catholicism, a sacramental character is an indelible supernatural mark made on a persons soul by any of three of the seven sacraments: baptism, confirmation, and Holy Orders. ...

Eastern Orthodoxy follows another view, considering any consecration outside of the church as a whole as spurious. This is because, unlike for Roman Catholics, Orthodoxy traditionally has considered apostolic succession to exist only within the church as a whole and not through any authority held by individual bishops. The normative view of the Roman Catholic Church, however, and the disagreements on "validity" by some Orthodox patriarchs, bishops and theologians, allows for the curious phenomeon of episcopi vagantes among Orthodox as well. ... In Christianity, the doctrine of Apostolic Succession (or the belief that the Church is apostolic) maintains that the Christian Church today is the spiritual successor to the original body of believers in Christ, composed of the Apostles. ...

Many episcopi vagantes claim succession from the Old Catholic See of Utrecht, or from Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, or Eastern Catholic Churches; a few others from Roman Catholic bishops that have consecrated their own bishops after disputes with the Vatican. The Old Catholic Church is not so much a religious denomination, as a community, part of whose member churches split from the Roman Catholic church in 1870. ... Utrecht ( (help· info)) is a municipality and the capital city of the Dutch province of Utrecht. ... Separate articles treat Eastern Orthodox Christianity and Orthodox Judaism. ... The term Oriental Orthodoxy refers to the churches of Eastern Christian traditions that keeps the faith of only the first three ecumenical councils of the undivided Church - the councils of Nicea, Constantinople and Ephesus. ... The Eastern Catholic Churches are autonomous particular Churches in full communion with the Pope of Rome. ...

Many, if not most, bishops so labelled are associated with Independent Catholic Churches. These bishops may be very liberal or very conservative, including a significant number of gay clerics. Episcopi vagantes also include a significant number of conservative "Continuing Anglicans" who have broken with the Anglican Communion over various issues such as Prayer Book revision, ordination of women and the ordination of unmarried, non-celibate individuals (including homosexuals). Independent Catholic Churches are, by and large, very small Churches, some of them consisting of one congregation, that claim valid Apostolic Succession of their bishops, though these are often dismissed in mainstream Catholic, Orthodox and Anglican circles as episcopi vagantes (wandering bishops). // The actual beginnings of the independent Catholic Churches... The Continuing Anglican Movement is a group of Christian churches which follow the Anglican tradition but which split from the Episcopal Church in the USA (ECUSA) and the Anglican Church of Canada because of what they viewed as a rejection of orthodoxy by those North American provinces of the Anglican... The Anglican Communion uses the compass rose as its symbol, signifying its worldwide reach and decentralized nature. ... For the novel by Joan Didion, see A Book of Common Prayer. ... In general religious use, ordination is the process by which one is consecrated (set apart for the undivided administration of various religious rites). ...

According to the normative position of Roman Catholicism the consecration of a bishop is valid even if outside the forms and norms of the church so long as the bishop is in an indisputable line of succession of bishops dating back to the Apostles and the rites of consecration are properly performed (see Apostolic succession). That is why Roman Catholics recognize the validity of consecrations in Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Old Catholic and the Assyrian Churches. Anglican ordinations, however, are not recognised as valid by the Roman Catholic Church due to defects of form and intention in the ordination rites used in the Church of England following the English Reformation. In recent times there have been some intimations from the Roman Catholic Church that the non-recognition of Anglican ordinations might be re-examined. The ordination of women in the Anglican Communion, however, has complicated this issue. The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ... For other uses, see Twelve Apostles (disambiguation). ... In Christianity, the doctrine of Apostolic Succession (or the belief that the Church is apostolic) maintains that the Christian Church today is the spiritual successor to the original body of believers in Christ, composed of the Apostles. ... The Church of England is the officially established Christian church[1] in England, and acts as the mother and senior branch of the worldwide Anglican Communion, as well as a founding member of the Porvoo Communion. ... King Henry VIII of England The English Reformation refers to the series of events in sixteenth century England by which the church in England broke away from the authority of the Pope and consequently the entire Catholic church; it formed part of the wider Protestant Reformation, a religious and political...

A minority of Roman Catholic theologians doubt the validity of ordinations of bishops or priests not for the service of a Christian community but for the individual's isolated personal advantage. This view is not supported by Rome's decrees. Nor is it rejected.

Some people have claimed consecration as bishop in situations where it is questionable whether the consecration ever actually took place, which is a separate issue.

The term episcopi vagantes is usually seen as a pejorative term by members and clergy of Independent Catholic, Old Catholic, Continuing Anglican and similar groups. Independent Catholic is a term used by many small groups who are not in communion with the Roman Catholic Church or other traditional Episcopally governed Churches such as Eastern and Oriental Orthodox, Anglican or Old Catholic; all of whom function as small (frequently tiny) episcopally-governed Church bodies in many... The Old Catholic Church is not so much a religious denomination, as a community, part of whose member churches split from the Roman Catholic church in 1870. ... The Continuing Anglican Movement is a group of Christian churches which follow the Anglican tradition but which split from the Episcopal Church in the USA (ECUSA) and the Anglican Church of Canada because of what they viewed as a rejection of orthodoxy by those North American provinces of the Anglican...

See also

• "Flying bishops"

...

Bibliography

• Episcopi Vagantes and the Anglican Church. Henry R.T. Brandreth. London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1947.
• Episcopi vagantes in church history. A.J. Macdonald. London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1945.
• Bishops at Large. Peter F. Anson. New York City: October House Publishing, 1963.
• The Wandering Bishops: Apostles of A New Spirituality by Lewis Keizer. 2000 edition.
• Independent Bishops: An International Directory, edited by Gary L. Ward, Bertil Persson, and Alan Bain. Apogee Books, 1990

see also "Episcopi Vagantes and the Challenge to Catholic Ministry" an MA thesis by James Ford, Pacific School of Religion, Berkeley, California, 1991.