"I Fought the Church, and the Church Won"

Jason Stellman

Jason Stellman served as a missionary with Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa in Uganda (’91-’92) and in Hungary (’94-’00). After becoming Reformed he went to Westminster Seminary California where he received an M.Div. in 2004. Upon graduation he was ordained by the Pacific Northwest Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church in America and called to plant Exile Presbyterian Church in the Seattle area, where he served from 2004 until resigning in the Spring of 2012. He is the author of Dual Citizens: Worship and Life Between the Already and the Not Yet (Reformation Trust, 2009), and The Destiny of the Species (forthcoming from Wipf and Stock Publications). In 2011 he served as the prosecutor in the heresy trial of Peter Leithart in the Pacific Northwest Presbytery of the PCA. He currently resides in the Seattle area with his wife and three children. He was received into full communion with the Catholic Church today, September 23, 2012. In the following article he explains how and why he went from Reformed pastor to Catholic.

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Making My Way to the Church Christ Founded

The Nolties

Fred Noltie was in the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) for twenty years, attending both Covenant College and Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia. On the Easter Vigil of 2005 he, his wife Sabryna, and their son were together received into full communion with the Catholic Church at St. Lawrence parish in Monett, Missouri, where they are presently members. In this article Fred tells the story how he and his family became Catholic. He writes:

In The Accidental Catholic I described how I realized that Protestantism’s proposed means for discerning revealed truth in the Bible do not afford us any basis for certainty about what that truth actually is. This fact, which struck me like a bolt out of the blue, forced me to realize that I could not remain a Protestant. But on the day that I decided that I was no longer Protestant I was equally certain that I would never become Catholic. I was just not interested in that at all, because – after all – it was the Catholic Church, and I just "knew" it was wrong! Why did I change my mind?

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An OPC Pastor Enters the Catholic Church

Jason Stewart was an ordained minister in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC), having earned his Master of Divinity from Mid-America Reformed Seminary (Dyer, IN) in 2005, and subsequently served for 5 1/2 years as pastor of Trinity OPC in eastern Pennsylvania. He and his wife Cindy were received into full communion with the Catholic Church on January 10, 2011 at St. Jane de Chantal Catholic Church in Easton, PA. Many people have asked Jason why he became Catholic. Here, in the following article, he explains why he became Catholic. He writes:

"I hope to tell my story simply, because it is genuinely uncomplicated. Complex, yes. Multi-layered, sure. Who's journey in the Christian faith isn't? But I do promise to keep the telling of it simple by concentrating on the main catalysts that gave my wife Cindy and me the courage to approach the doors of the Catholic Church and with confidence begin to knock...."

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Into the Half-Way House: The Story of an Episcopal Priest

The Renniers and Archbishop Carlson

At Yale, there used to be an auxiliary library buried underneath the green in front the Sterling Memorial Library. One fine fall day, I happened to find myself not out amongst the foliage but rather tucked away below the sunshine and the sod, reading a book. I suppose it was an odd choice. This was the ugliest space I know of on an otherwise beautiful campus. So ugly, in fact, that it was targeted for a remodel and is now gone. But there I was, and perhaps even more odd, I, a good Anglican-priest-in-training, was reading Cardinal Newman. Not the good parts that we Anglicans agreed with; the parts about the Oxford movement and the Church Fathers. No, I was reading the Apologia; the story of his conversion to the Catholic Church. I was particularly bothered by one specific bit. Continue reading

Rome's non-enemy seeks full communion with her

William Chellis

I first 'met' Bill Chellis through his blog De Regno Christi back in September of 2007. He was the pastor of Rochester Reformed Presbyterian Church in Rochester, New York, which is a member of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America. During the last two weeks of September of 2007, Bill hosted a two week discussion/debate between proponents and opponents of the theological position known as the Federal Vision, on De Regno Christi. I followed the discussion carefully, and commented there occasionally. The discussion prompted my post here titled "Darryl Hart on the Need for Sacramental Magisterial Authority," and a few days later "Protestantism "left only with opinions".

Two years later, in October of 2009, Bill published a post titled "Why Rome is not my enemy," which I wrote about in "William Chellis: Why Rome is not my enemy."

Then a few weeks ago Bill started a new blog named The Augustinian Anglo-Papist, on which, in a post titled "From Geneva to Rome," he announced that he is now seeking full communion with the Catholic Church. He writes:

This is a pilgrim's blog. It is the story of a journey in progress. I once took my stand with the militant Presbyterians. I served as a Pastor of small confessional, orthodox Presbyterian congregation in a small conservative and strident denomination. The Reformed Presbyterian Church was my home.

More than my home, she was my mother. She gave me life by pointing me to the riches of Christ. She fed and nourished my spiritual life on a steady diet of Word, sacrament and prayer. I will always love and honor her, as I will always love an honor my friends in Christ who remain within her.

If I am a catholic today, it is because she taught me to love the catholic faith. If she is not able to recognize the catholic faith in Rome, then I will lovingly disagree and pray for the unity of Christendom!

For, over time, my mind has changed. My search for the catholic faith has lead me to an unexpected place. Convinced that our Puritanism was another century's liberalism, my family began worshipping among the Anglicans. A fan of C.S. Lewis and T.S. Eliot, Anglicanism was an easy friend. The beauty of Anglo-Catholic liturgy and devotion, the wholesome goodness of the Book of Common Prayer, the Sermons of John Henry Newman were sources of great blessing. I even began to consider incardination into Anglican Holy Orders.

The more I prayed, however, the more restless I became. Anglicanism was an easy fit but was it the right fit? Could I really keep one foot in Geneva while having the other in Rome? Would I not be spewed out for being lukewarm?

After much prayer, sweat, blood, tears my Puritanism has transformed into Popery. From Geneva to Canterbury to Rome, this was my path. ... (continue reading)

Please pray for Bill and his family as they make this transition, and welcome them warmly into full communion with the Catholic Church.

Please Welcome David Meyer and his Family

In June I posted a note here that David Meyer had decided to seek full communion with the Catholic Church. Tomorrow (Dec 19), he and his wife and children will be received at Holy Family Catholic Church in St. Louis Park, MN. Please go to his blog and congratulate and welcome him.

A Lutheran Theology Professor and an Anglican Priest become Catholic

Rev. Giles Pinnock

Dr. Michael Root

Recently Dr. Michael Root, Professor of Systematic Theology at Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary in Columbia, South Carolina, announced that he will be received into the Catholic Church.

And today Giles Pinnock, Vicar of St Mary-the-Virgin, in Kenton, announced his intention to pursue full communion with the Catholic Church. (See also here.)


H/T Jeffry Steel

David Meyer and Christopher Lake seek full communion with the Catholic Church

Yesterday Christopher Lake and David Meyer independently announced their intention to seek full communion with the Catholic Church. Christopher was raised in the Catholic Church but has been a Protestant for fifteen years. David has never been Catholic; he has been a Reformed Protestant the past ten years.

Christopher wrote:

On Tuesday of this now-almost-past week, I met with a wonderful, orthodox, kind, wise, 80-year-old Catholic priest (with age, indeed, comes much wisdom!) and expressed my desire to return to the Church. We talked for 90 minutes, every single one for which I very grateful to God. Lord willing, he will hear my confession as soon as it can be arranged– and then, soon after, the Eucharist, the Real Presence of the Body and Blood of the one Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

David wrote a letter to the session of his PCA church explaining his decision. He posted his letter at New Christendom. Toward the end of his letter he writes:

The Catholic Church is the only option left. In many ways it is a bitter pill to swallow for me. I have been very critical of Catholic doctrine as a Protestant. Much that they believe I am not inclined to believe. But I will have to submit to the mind of what I must believe is the church Christ founded.

Read the rest of David's letter.

Please welcome them and pray for them.

Hadley Arkes becomes Catholic

Hadley Arkes and Michael Novak

In October of 2008 I sat in a large room in Boston College and listened to probably the wittiest-yet-substantive lecture I have ever heard. The lecturer was Hadley Arkes, the Edward Ney Professor of Jurisprudence and American Institutions at Amherst College, prolific author and frequent contributor to First Things. This past Saturday in Washington D.C., Hadley, who is Jewish, was received into the Catholic Church. Read more here and here.

UPDATE: Hadley tells his story here.








Photo courtesy of Frank Beckwith.

Tom Brown comes home

Regular readers of this blog know my friend Tom Brown (who also goes by 'Thos'), who has commented here for several years, and runs his own blog titled Ecumenicity, and is an editor at Called To Communion.

Tom and his family are being received into full communion with the Catholic Church tonight at the Easter Vigil. The Archdiocese of Seattle has the story.

To welcome and congratulate Tom and his wife, go here and leave a note in the combox.

Adoro Te Devote

Adoro te devote, latens Deitas, Quæ sub his figuris vere latitas; Tibi se cor meum totum subjicit, Quia te contemplans totum deficit. Visus, tactus, gustus in te fallitur, Sed auditu solo, tuto creditur: Credo quidquid dixit Dei Filius: Nil hoc verbo veritatis verius. In cruce latebat sola Deitas; At hic latet simul et humanitas: Ambo tamen credens, atque confitens, Peto quod petivit latro pœnitens. Plagas sicut Thomas, non intueor, Deum tamen meum te confiteor: Fac me tibi semper magis credere, In te spem habere, te diligere. O memoriale mortis Domini, Panis vivus vitam præstans homini, Præsta meæ menti de te vivere, Et te illi semper dulce sapere. Pie pellicane Jesu Domine, Me immundum munda tuo sanguine, Cujus una stilla salvum facere Totum mundum quit ab omni scelere. Jesu, quem velatum nunc aspicio, Oro fiat illud quod tam sitio, Ut te revelata cernens facie Visu sim beatus tuæ gloræ.

Devoutly I adore Thee, O hidden God, Truly hidden underneath these veils: To Thee my whole heart submits, Since in contemplating Thee it completely fails. Sight, touch, and taste, about Thee are deceived, But hearing only is sufficient to believe; I believe everything that God the Son has spoken; Nothing than this Word of Truth is truer. On the Cross only Thy Divinity was veiled, Here Thy humanity lieth hidden too; Yet both I believe and confess, I ask that, which asked the contrite thief. Thy wounds, not as Thomas do I see, But I confess Thee as my God: Make me more and more to believe in Thee, To Hope in Thee, and love Thee. O Memorial of the Lord's death, Living Bread, that givest life to man; Grant my soul on Thee to live, And always Thy sweetness to taste. Tender Pelican, Lord Jesus, Wash me clean in Thy blood, Of which a single drop can save the whole world from all that defiles. Jesus, whom now I see hidden, I ask, grant that for which I so thirst, That on seeing Thee face to face I may be happy in the vision of Thy glory.

Feast of St. Thomas Aquinas, 2010. (The words of Adore Te Devote are about Christ in the Eucharist.)

Is Rome the True Church?

Norman Geisler and Joshua Betancourt published a book by that title in November of 2008, arguing over the course of 240 pages that the answer to that question is "No." But it was brought to my attention today that Joshua Betancourt has since been received into the Catholic Church. See here.

Pope Benedict Creates a New Structure for Anglicans to Enter into Full Communion with the Catholic Church

Damian Thompson's report is here. Fr. Z's comments are here. See also the CNA report and the AP article. The CDF document is here. The Joint Statement by The Archbishop of Westminster and The Archbishop of Canterbury (both pictured at right) can be found here.

This action by the Holy See opens the way for the reception into the Catholic Church of at least 400,000 Anglicans who in 2007 had requested full visible communion with the Catholic Church. This is one significant step in healing the schism that took place under King Henry VIII in the 16th century, separating Anglicans from the Catholic Church for now almost five hundred years. As a former Anglican myself, I'm delighted by this news. For all those praying and working for the reconciliation of all Christians in full visible unity, this news is a cause for celebration.

UPDATE: The Primate of the TAC responds.

UPDATE 2: Video

H/T: Kansas Catholic

Introducing ... John Kincaid

I mentioned three weeks ago (here) that I had met John Kincaid, a fellow graduate of Covenant Theological Seminary, at the 2009 Letter and Spirit Summer Institute, and that he was joining our team at Called to Communion. Since then, I wrote this post introducing him to Called to Communion.

More recently he gave a fascinating in-depth interview explaining how he came into the Catholic Church. You can listen to the podcast here, and read here about his description of the process by which that transition occurred.

Archbishop Carlson's installation

Today I'll be at Archbishop Carlson's installation. Watch it live on EWTN starting around 1:30 pm (CST), or live stream it at the Archdiocese of St. Louis website. More than 50 bishops will be attending, including the current Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura Archbishop Raymond Burke, Cardinal Justin Rigali of Philadelphia, Cardinal Francis George of Chicago and Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York.

UPDATE: A photo of Archbishop Carlson with my family made the St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Fr. Jeffrey Steel jumps into the Tiber

Fr. Jeffrey Steel, a former Covenant Theological Seminary student, and former PCA pastor for 6.5 years, and more recently an Anglican priest, has decided to become Catholic. There he writes:

I am writing to make the announcement that I am becoming a Roman Catholic along with my wife Rhea and our six children. I realise that this decision is going to make some really happy, some very sad and others possibily angry. But, I have made the decision with the deepest sense of integrity and by conscience. I would like to share a bit of my faith journey though there are many gaps here, it is descriptive of my heart over the past few months. This is not particularly an academic account of what I have done in my studies but rather the spiritual wrestling that went on within me. The announcement was made this morning in all three parishes where I serve and is now a matter of public knowledge. My duties and licence in the parish end on 14 June 2009 (Corpus Christi Sunday) and my reception into Holy Mother Church is forthcoming.

My PhD studies really set me on my Catholic journey in a deep theological way though I did not realise it at the time. I have been looking at Bishop Lancelot Andrewes as a catalyst for ecumenism with the Catholic Church in the area of Eucharistic sacrifice. Andrewes was in regular dialogue with S. Robert Bellarmine SJ and it is in this dialogue and Andrewes’ other writings that I saw how Catholic he was with regards to the Eucharist being the Christian offering which consisted of more than a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving. It was and is propitiatory as well as other things.

Through my time of study in Catholic sacramental theology and viewing my own priestly ministry within this theological framework the question of communio began to frequently come to mind. I had fully embraced Catholic sacramental theology and believed that I could be a Catholic in the Church of England and planned on retirement from the C of E later in life. With all that is going on around the Anglican Communion presently, and particularly within the C of E and how she makes decisions on matters of doctrine, I began to ask questions about authority. As a theologian praying for reunion with the Holy See the question I was now asking was, ‘on whose terms does this reunion take place?’

Please pray for him and his family as he makes this transition.

The next Archbishop of St. Louis!

Most Rev. Robert J. Carlson

Pope Benedict has appointed the Most Rev. Robert J. Carlson to be the next bishop of the Archdiocese of St. Louis. More details can be found at the St. Louis Archdiocese website, and at American Papist here and here. Rocco Palmo links to Patricia Rice's article from the Beacon. The post on the well-known blog "Saint Louis Catholic" can be found here.

Bishop Carlson, St. Louis joyfully welcomes you, and assures you of our prayers!

UPDATE: Watch the press conference here.

Feast of St. John Lateran

Today is the Feast of the Dedication of St. John Lateran Cathedral Basilica in Rome. This cathedral was dedicated on November 9, 324 by Pope Sylvester I (314-335 AD). It was a gift from Constantine to the Christians. Because it is the cathedral, it is the seat of the bishop of Rome. And because the bishop of Rome is also the bishop of the Catholic Church, this cathedral is uniquely the parish of all Christians, and hence the tangible locus of communion for all Christians. This basilica is superior in rank even to St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. The popes resided here from the fourth century until St. Peter's was constructed in the 16th century. In the baldacchino are the skulls of the Apostles St. Peter and St. Paul. Shawn Tribe has some beautiful photos of this basilica here. Read more about it here.

H/T: Fr. Ray

Two years ago today

The Institution of the Eucharist
Joos van Wassenhove (1473-1475)

"Magnificat"
Composed by Arvo Pärt

On this day in 2006, my wife and two daughters and I were received into full communion with the Catholic Church, were all confirmed, and all received first communion. Seventeen days later I wrote the following:

"I am deeply moved in my soul at every mass. I find it to be extremely enriching, edifying, and profoundly beautiful. I sit in the very front, and after I partake, I kneel in prayer and I keep hearing the priest say over and over, "the body of Christ", as each person receives the Eucharist. I hear Christ given to each person; I hear Christ giving Himself to each person; I hear the body of Christ all around me, every beautiful person of all races and ages, all joined together by that act on Calvary and in that act on Calvary, all united in our love for Christ and sharing in His act of self-giving. I have never experienced anything more spiritually edifying and upbuilding in my entire life. In the Eucharist, I experience the love of Christ, that love than which no love is greater, the love shown in His giving up of His very body and blood for my salvation. In the Eucharist I am made a fellow participant in the sufferings of Christ; as I receive His body and blood I am so brought into union with Him that I feel as though I am also encountering His sufferings, the sufferings for which and by which my sins are removed. In the Eucharist I am raised up with Christ to where He is; I am assured of the resurrection of my body and life everlasting joined mysteriously but truly to Him who is Life Itself. In confession I am confronted with the gentleness and patience of Christ whose mercy is without limit. In Catholicism, particularly the mass and the sacraments, I encounter the living Christ, and am deeply and truly blessed and raised up in my faith and my love for God."

To all those who helped me find the way home, your gifts of courage, charity, gentleness, prayer and patient listening will always remain a part of me and my family. We are eternally indebted, and ever grateful. Thanks be to God.

Unity by humility

Saint Thérèse de Lisieux
(January 2, 1873 – September 30, 1897)

Today is the feast day of Saint Thérèse de Lisieux. She is known as the "Little Flower of Jesus", and she proposes for us the "Little Way" of following Jesus with great love in the simple things of daily life. She is also a Doctor of the Church, even though she had no formal theological training. She excelled greatly in love of God, and humility before God. Her heart is reflected in these Gospel passages:

At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, "Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" And He called a child to Himself and set him before them, and said, "Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. "Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. (St. Matthew 18:1-4)

"Permit the children to come to Me; do not hinder them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these." (Mark 10:14)

Too often dialogue between Christians of different traditions is characterized by pride and posturing and an attempt to save face, rather than a humble and open mutual pursuit of the truth. If we wish to pursue unity, we must then clothe ourselves in true humility. St. Thérèse is a beautiful example for us. Here are some selections from her writing:

"I have always wanted to become a saint. Unfortunately when I have compared myself with the saints, I have always found that there is the same difference between the saints and me as there is between a mountain whose summit is lost in the clouds and a humble grain of sand trodden underfoot by passers-by. Instead of being discouraged, I told myself: God would not make me wish for something impossible and so, in spite of my littleness, I can aim at being a saint. It is impossible for me to grow bigger, so I put up with myself as I am, with all my countless faults. But I will look for some means of going to heaven by a little way which is very short and very straight, a little way that is quite new."

"We live in an age of inventions. We need no longer climb laboriously up flights of stairs; in well-to-do houses there are lifts. And I was determined to find a lift to carry me to Jesus, for I was far too small to climb the steep stairs of perfection. So I sought in holy Scripture some idea of what this life I wanted would be, and I read these words: "Whosoever is a little one, come to me." It is your arms, Jesus, that are the lift to carry me to heaven. And so there is no need for me to grow up: I must stay little and become less and less."

"I feel in me the vocation of the Priest. I have the vocation of the Apostle. Martyrdom was the dream of my youth and this dream has grown with me. Considering the mystical body of the Church, I desired to see myself in them all. Charity gave me the key to my vocation. I understood that the Church had a Heart and that this Heart was burning with love. I understood that Love comprised all vocations, that Love was everything, that it embraced all times and places...in a word, that it was eternal! Then in the excess of my delirious joy, I cried out: O Jesus, my Love...my vocation, at last I have found it...My vocation is Love!"

Lord Jesus, help us to become like children in humility and trust and love. Enlarge our hearts to burn with love for You, and for each other for Your sake, as St. Thérèse loved. Let your great love grow in us, such that we cannot rest content with our divisions. Infuse all our efforts to bring unity with this child-like love and humility and trust in You. St. Thérèse, pray for us, that we may all be united as one family, with the same child-like spirit of love and humility that you showed to us. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.