MAIN MENU
RESEARCH
CENTERS
EAU at a glance
>> Over 30 affiliated
campuses situated in Africa and Asia
>> Online graduate school open to students worldwide
>> Online graduate school open to students worldwide
A distinctive approach
>> Flexible but
academically rigorous routes to a degree
>> Intended for mature, self-directed working adults
>> Internationally accredited
>> Intended for mature, self-directed working adults
>> Internationally accredited
Arnold Harris Mathew Center for the Study of the Independent Sacramental Movement
Statement of Edouard, Cardinal Gagnon, on the validity of Old Catholic Holy Orders
About Eduoard, Cardinal Gagnon
from Wikipedia
Édouard Gagnon (January 15, 1918 – August 25, 2007) was a Canadian Roman Catholic cardinal and President of the Pontifical Council for the Family for 16 years, from 1974 to 1990. He became a cardinal on May 25, 1985.
Édouard Gagnon was born in Port-Daniel, Quebec, one of 13 children. He attended a private school and studied art at the University of Montreal. He studied at the major seminary of Montreal, where he received a doctorate degree in theology in 1941. He was ordained in the Society of St Sulpice on 15 August 1940. He then studied at the University of Laval in Quebec from 1941 to 1944, receiving a doctorate in canon law.
He taught moral theology and canon law from 1945 to 1954. He was rector of the major seminary of Saint Boniface from 1954 to 1960, and then director of the major seminary in Manizales, Colombia. He attended the Second Vatican Council and was Provincial of the Society of Saint-Sulpice for Canada, Japan and Latin America from 1966 to 1970. He also became secretary of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications in 1966, and rector of the Pontifical Canadian College in 1969.
Gagnon was named Bishop of St. Paul, Alberta on 19 February 1969, and was consecrated on 25 March 1969. He became Archbishop of the titular see of Justiniana on 7 July 1983. He was then made a Cardinal by Pope John Paul II during the Consistory of 25 May 1985, becoming the Cardinal Priest of the Titulus S. Marcelli.
He held several important posts in the Roman Curia. He was vice-chancellor of the Pontifical College from 1972 to 1985. He fully supported the prohibition on contraception in Pope Paul VI's encyclical Humanae Vitae, and was vice-president and then president of the Pontifical Council for the Family from 1974 until he resigned in 1990. He was nominated President of the Pontifical Committee for International Eucharistic Congresses on 3 January 1991.
He attended the Synod of Bishops in 1985 and in 1987, and was given the task of seeking a rapprochement with Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre's ultra-traditionalist Society of St Pius X.
In 1993, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. He opposed the legalisation of same-sex marriage in Canada in 2005. He was also the Cardinal Patron of the Militia Templi, a group of Catholics based in Tuscany.
He died on August 25, 2007 in Montreal at the Saint-Sulpice Seminary. On hearing of his death, Pope Benedict XVI said that Cardinal Gagnon was a "faithful pastor who, with an evangelical spirit, consecrated his life in service to Christ and his Church."
Cardinal Gagnon's statement
In 2002, Cardinal Gagnon was invited to investigate documentation relating to the episcopal orders received by Bishop Andre Letellier, with a view to commenting on the validity of his consecration.
Bishop Letellier was consecrated on 23 May 1968 by the late Archbishop Andre Leon Zotique Barbeau of the Catholic Charismatic Church of Canada. Archbishop Barbeau had in turn been consecrated by Archbishop Charles (Ignatius Carolus) Brearley, an English Old Catholic bishop based in Sheffield, UK.
>>Copy of Cardinal Gagnon's statement
Transcript of the statement
À qui de droit :
Après avoir étudié la documentation relative à Mgr André Letellier et à ses prédécesseurs dans la succession épiscopale, je suis convaincu qu’il a été validement consacré évêque.
Il ne m’appartient pas de me prononcer sur les rapports de l’organisation, incorporée sous le nom de « Église Catholique Charismatique du Canada » avec les Conférences des Évêques Catholiques du Canada et du Québec.
Mais rien ne m’autorise à douter de la validité de l’ordination épiscopale de Mgr André Letellier par Mgr André Barbeau et de celle de Mgr Barbeau par l’Évêque Charles Ignace Brearley, Primat de l’Église des « Vieux Catholiques », ayant son siège en Angleterre. Les ordinations des « Vieux Catholiques » sont généralement considérées comme celles des évêques Orthodoxes.
J’ai connu Mgr Barbeau il y a plus de 60 ans au Grand Séminaire de Montréal. J’ai eu peu de contacts avec lui par la suite, ayant exercé mon ministère loin d’ici. Mais il m’a toujours été connu comme un homme de prière, un mystique. Et je crois que ses disciples sont aussi, avant tout, des hommes de prière.
+ Édouard Cardinal Gagnon, p.s.s.
Montréal, 6 mai 2002
Translation of the statement
To whom it may concern:
After having studied the documentation about Mgr André Letellier and his predecessors in episcopal succession, I am convinced that he has been validly consecrated a bishop.
It is not my intention to rule on the reports of the organization, incorporated under the name of Catholic Charismatic Church of Canada with the Conference of Catholic Bishops of Canada and of Québec.
But nothing allows me to doubt the validity of episcopal ordination of Mgr André Letellier by Archbishop André Barbeau and that of Archbishop Barbeau by Archbishop Ignatius Charles Brearley, Primate of the Church of the "Old Catholics" having its seat in England. The ordinations of the "Old Catholics " are generally considered to be the same as those of Orthodox bishops.
I have known Archbishop Barbeau for more than 60 years since our time at the Grand Seminary of Montreal. I have had little contact with him thereafter, having exercised my ministry far from here. But he has always been known to me as a man of prayer, a mystic. And I think that his disciples are also, above all, men of prayer.
+ Edouard Cardinal Gagnon, p.s.s.
Montreal, 6 May 2002
The Brearley successions
Archbishop Charles Brearley was first consecrated by Archbishop John Matthew Cooper of the Old Catholic Evangelical Church of God on 31 January 1954 in Sheffield. On 14 November 1954, Brearley was consecrated subconditionally by Philip Charles Stuart Singer, Primate of the New Catholic and Free Church, in an exchange of consecrations between the two bishops at Singer's chapel at 5, Bramshill Road, London N.10. Singer had himself been consecrated on 14 April 1952 at the Cathedral Church of the Good Shepherd, Chelsea, by Harold Percival Nicholson, Primate of the Ancient Catholic Church, assisted by Mar Georgius, Patriarch of Glastonbury and Catholicos of the West. Archbishop Nicholson had himself been consecrated by Mar Georgius assisted by Richard K. Hurgon on 27 May 1950 at the Cathedral in Chelsea.
The Apostolic descent of Mar Georgius via the English Old Catholic line of Archbishop Arnold Harris Mathew is given in the following publication: page 1; page 2. His full Apostolic descent, which included all then-known successions that had been transmitted to churches in the Free Catholic movement, is chronicled in a number of familiar reference works.
Brearley's first consecrator, Archbishop Cooper, had been consecrated on 22 June 1924 by Universal Patriarch James Bartholomew Banks, who is listed in the document referenced above. Brearley additionally exchanged consecrations with Alessandro Licastro de la Chastre Grimaldi-Lascaris, Prince of Deols, on 15 June 1957, who was also of the Nicholson/Mar Georgius lineage.
Brearley was, like many of his fellow Old Catholic clergy, a man of working-class origins, and was known for his strong evangelical fervour. He was born on December 13, 1894, and after a time with the Church Army, became minister of St Peter's Mission Chapel in the Sheffield district of Heeley. He then served briefly as bishop in charge of the Northern Province of the Old Catholic Evangelical Church of God. From 1955-56 he served as resident chaplain at Cusworth Hall, Doncaster. In 1955, Archbishop Cooper having meanwhile retired as Primate of the OCECG, Brearley revived that body as the Old Holy Catholic Church, in which he served as Primate and Archbishop of Danum (Doncaster) until his death on August 19, 1978, when he was succeeded by the late Bishop Clarence George Saunders. Brearley was also Grand Master of the Order of the Holy Cross of Jerusalem between 1955 and 1976.
Archbishops Barbeau and Letellier, and the CCCC
A history of the Catholic Charismatic Church of Canada, founded in 1968 by Archbishop Barbeau (Patriarch Andre I), with brief profiles of Archbishop Barbeau and his successor, Archbishop Letellier (Patriarch Andre II), can be found at http://bethanyccc.org/CCCChistory.htm The CCCC is a conservative denomination, accepting the Seven Ecumenical Councils and the Council of Trent, and doctrinally allied to the Roman Catholic Church, of which it regards itself as a supplemental Rite. It does not ordain women, but permits its clergy to marry.
Conclusion
Many Old Catholic bishops of today are in succession from Archbishops Brearley, Barbeau and Letellier, and Cardinal Gagnon's statement has clear implications for those who seek to establish the validity of their succession in the eyes of the Roman Catholic Church.
from Wikipedia
Édouard Gagnon (January 15, 1918 – August 25, 2007) was a Canadian Roman Catholic cardinal and President of the Pontifical Council for the Family for 16 years, from 1974 to 1990. He became a cardinal on May 25, 1985.
Édouard Gagnon was born in Port-Daniel, Quebec, one of 13 children. He attended a private school and studied art at the University of Montreal. He studied at the major seminary of Montreal, where he received a doctorate degree in theology in 1941. He was ordained in the Society of St Sulpice on 15 August 1940. He then studied at the University of Laval in Quebec from 1941 to 1944, receiving a doctorate in canon law.
He taught moral theology and canon law from 1945 to 1954. He was rector of the major seminary of Saint Boniface from 1954 to 1960, and then director of the major seminary in Manizales, Colombia. He attended the Second Vatican Council and was Provincial of the Society of Saint-Sulpice for Canada, Japan and Latin America from 1966 to 1970. He also became secretary of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications in 1966, and rector of the Pontifical Canadian College in 1969.
Gagnon was named Bishop of St. Paul, Alberta on 19 February 1969, and was consecrated on 25 March 1969. He became Archbishop of the titular see of Justiniana on 7 July 1983. He was then made a Cardinal by Pope John Paul II during the Consistory of 25 May 1985, becoming the Cardinal Priest of the Titulus S. Marcelli.
He held several important posts in the Roman Curia. He was vice-chancellor of the Pontifical College from 1972 to 1985. He fully supported the prohibition on contraception in Pope Paul VI's encyclical Humanae Vitae, and was vice-president and then president of the Pontifical Council for the Family from 1974 until he resigned in 1990. He was nominated President of the Pontifical Committee for International Eucharistic Congresses on 3 January 1991.
He attended the Synod of Bishops in 1985 and in 1987, and was given the task of seeking a rapprochement with Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre's ultra-traditionalist Society of St Pius X.
In 1993, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. He opposed the legalisation of same-sex marriage in Canada in 2005. He was also the Cardinal Patron of the Militia Templi, a group of Catholics based in Tuscany.
He died on August 25, 2007 in Montreal at the Saint-Sulpice Seminary. On hearing of his death, Pope Benedict XVI said that Cardinal Gagnon was a "faithful pastor who, with an evangelical spirit, consecrated his life in service to Christ and his Church."
Cardinal Gagnon's statement
In 2002, Cardinal Gagnon was invited to investigate documentation relating to the episcopal orders received by Bishop Andre Letellier, with a view to commenting on the validity of his consecration.
Bishop Letellier was consecrated on 23 May 1968 by the late Archbishop Andre Leon Zotique Barbeau of the Catholic Charismatic Church of Canada. Archbishop Barbeau had in turn been consecrated by Archbishop Charles (Ignatius Carolus) Brearley, an English Old Catholic bishop based in Sheffield, UK.
>>Copy of Cardinal Gagnon's statement
Transcript of the statement
À qui de droit :
Après avoir étudié la documentation relative à Mgr André Letellier et à ses prédécesseurs dans la succession épiscopale, je suis convaincu qu’il a été validement consacré évêque.
Il ne m’appartient pas de me prononcer sur les rapports de l’organisation, incorporée sous le nom de « Église Catholique Charismatique du Canada » avec les Conférences des Évêques Catholiques du Canada et du Québec.
Mais rien ne m’autorise à douter de la validité de l’ordination épiscopale de Mgr André Letellier par Mgr André Barbeau et de celle de Mgr Barbeau par l’Évêque Charles Ignace Brearley, Primat de l’Église des « Vieux Catholiques », ayant son siège en Angleterre. Les ordinations des « Vieux Catholiques » sont généralement considérées comme celles des évêques Orthodoxes.
J’ai connu Mgr Barbeau il y a plus de 60 ans au Grand Séminaire de Montréal. J’ai eu peu de contacts avec lui par la suite, ayant exercé mon ministère loin d’ici. Mais il m’a toujours été connu comme un homme de prière, un mystique. Et je crois que ses disciples sont aussi, avant tout, des hommes de prière.
+ Édouard Cardinal Gagnon, p.s.s.
Montréal, 6 mai 2002
Translation of the statement
To whom it may concern:
After having studied the documentation about Mgr André Letellier and his predecessors in episcopal succession, I am convinced that he has been validly consecrated a bishop.
It is not my intention to rule on the reports of the organization, incorporated under the name of Catholic Charismatic Church of Canada with the Conference of Catholic Bishops of Canada and of Québec.
But nothing allows me to doubt the validity of episcopal ordination of Mgr André Letellier by Archbishop André Barbeau and that of Archbishop Barbeau by Archbishop Ignatius Charles Brearley, Primate of the Church of the "Old Catholics" having its seat in England. The ordinations of the "Old Catholics " are generally considered to be the same as those of Orthodox bishops.
I have known Archbishop Barbeau for more than 60 years since our time at the Grand Seminary of Montreal. I have had little contact with him thereafter, having exercised my ministry far from here. But he has always been known to me as a man of prayer, a mystic. And I think that his disciples are also, above all, men of prayer.
+ Edouard Cardinal Gagnon, p.s.s.
Montreal, 6 May 2002
The Brearley successions
Archbishop Charles Brearley was first consecrated by Archbishop John Matthew Cooper of the Old Catholic Evangelical Church of God on 31 January 1954 in Sheffield. On 14 November 1954, Brearley was consecrated subconditionally by Philip Charles Stuart Singer, Primate of the New Catholic and Free Church, in an exchange of consecrations between the two bishops at Singer's chapel at 5, Bramshill Road, London N.10. Singer had himself been consecrated on 14 April 1952 at the Cathedral Church of the Good Shepherd, Chelsea, by Harold Percival Nicholson, Primate of the Ancient Catholic Church, assisted by Mar Georgius, Patriarch of Glastonbury and Catholicos of the West. Archbishop Nicholson had himself been consecrated by Mar Georgius assisted by Richard K. Hurgon on 27 May 1950 at the Cathedral in Chelsea.
The Apostolic descent of Mar Georgius via the English Old Catholic line of Archbishop Arnold Harris Mathew is given in the following publication: page 1; page 2. His full Apostolic descent, which included all then-known successions that had been transmitted to churches in the Free Catholic movement, is chronicled in a number of familiar reference works.
Brearley's first consecrator, Archbishop Cooper, had been consecrated on 22 June 1924 by Universal Patriarch James Bartholomew Banks, who is listed in the document referenced above. Brearley additionally exchanged consecrations with Alessandro Licastro de la Chastre Grimaldi-Lascaris, Prince of Deols, on 15 June 1957, who was also of the Nicholson/Mar Georgius lineage.
Brearley was, like many of his fellow Old Catholic clergy, a man of working-class origins, and was known for his strong evangelical fervour. He was born on December 13, 1894, and after a time with the Church Army, became minister of St Peter's Mission Chapel in the Sheffield district of Heeley. He then served briefly as bishop in charge of the Northern Province of the Old Catholic Evangelical Church of God. From 1955-56 he served as resident chaplain at Cusworth Hall, Doncaster. In 1955, Archbishop Cooper having meanwhile retired as Primate of the OCECG, Brearley revived that body as the Old Holy Catholic Church, in which he served as Primate and Archbishop of Danum (Doncaster) until his death on August 19, 1978, when he was succeeded by the late Bishop Clarence George Saunders. Brearley was also Grand Master of the Order of the Holy Cross of Jerusalem between 1955 and 1976.
Archbishops Barbeau and Letellier, and the CCCC
A history of the Catholic Charismatic Church of Canada, founded in 1968 by Archbishop Barbeau (Patriarch Andre I), with brief profiles of Archbishop Barbeau and his successor, Archbishop Letellier (Patriarch Andre II), can be found at http://bethanyccc.org/CCCChistory.htm The CCCC is a conservative denomination, accepting the Seven Ecumenical Councils and the Council of Trent, and doctrinally allied to the Roman Catholic Church, of which it regards itself as a supplemental Rite. It does not ordain women, but permits its clergy to marry.
Conclusion
Many Old Catholic bishops of today are in succession from Archbishops Brearley, Barbeau and Letellier, and Cardinal Gagnon's statement has clear implications for those who seek to establish the validity of their succession in the eyes of the Roman Catholic Church.
