Monday, July 21, 2008

Chavez's Church Not Recognized

Hugo Chavez’s "Anglican Church" is not a recognized part of the Anglican Communion, a spokesman for the Anglican Consultative Council said.

“We have no knowledge of them at all,” the Rev Canon James Rosenthal told ReligiousIntelligence.com on July 15, while the Episcopal Diocese of Venezuela denied any link to the self styled Iglesia Católica Reformada de Venezuela Rito Anglicano (ICARVEN).

Formed by clergy loyal to the regime of Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez by disgruntled Roman Catholic, Anglican and Lutheran clergy, ICARVEN consecrated Monseñor Jon Jen Siu-García as Bishop Coadjutor, Monseñor Enrique José Albornoz-Cano as Bishop and Monseñor Alexis José Bertis-Vargas as Suffragan Bishop last month.

Leaders of the new church pledged their loyalty to the regime and to its socialist “Bolivarian” principles. The Bolivarian church in Venezuela is modeled upon the 19th century Mexican Catholic Church.

ICARVEN uses the Spanish language version of the 1979 American Episcopal Book of Common Prayer, and is called the Reformed Catholic Church of Venezuela: Anglican Rite in English.

Source: Religious Intelligence

For earlier story on this go here.

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