www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall Question about a Vagante Bishop

Neil I am drawing on your knowledge here?

In the early 1980's I taught at Oklahoma State University. There was a vagante bishop living near a small town just south of Stillwater, OK who had married (interesting) a daughter of Clark Kerr the senator and oil millionaire. The bishop and his son who was a priest built a very beautiful chapel complete with an onion dome. They also had a very nice library (for their seminary) which had a large collection of vagante literature in in. The name of their church seemed to be a random collection of Orthodox and Catholic. They claimed succession through Alaskan Russian Orthodox. They were very feisty in defending their claim to legitimacy. Eventually they moved on I think and went back to Florida which was where they were originally from..

Does any of this strike a bell? I am interested in who they were and what happened to them.

Jim

Jim,

You're really stretching my mind and memory here. Firstly, I think you meant Robert Kerr, who was a Senator from OK (Clark Kerr was a university president, I believe - in the Univ of California system).

That said, I have a very, very vague recollection of a body out that way in the 80s. I tried to refresh my memory by hunting down Kerr's obit and checking for his daughter's married name - he had only one and she was Mrs Lowell Clark. Now, I've got to admit that Lowell Clark doesn't ring a bell with me, but you mention a claim to succession through the ROC's via Alaska. That's not a common route for claimed lineage, but it sounds vaguely familiar. I'll try and dig through some odds and ends and see if I can come up with anything more.

Do you remember where they were south of Stillwater?

Many years,

Neil

You are right I had the wrong first name. The town was Coyle OK. I have tried a lot of searches and cannot seem to find anything.

Jim

Neil

I finally found them. They apparently still are in Coyle but have given up their original franchise.

St. Francis of the Woods – Coyle, Oklahoma – Fr. Robert Adair, Knight Chevalier, O.B.S.S. and Deacon Christopher Contreras.

They have joined one of the many armed Ukrainian Vagante [ukrainianorthodoxchurchinexile.org] vagante groups. Robert Adair is the son. They probably still have a very interesting library with many vagante publications in it.

Thanks for getting me started again.

Jim

Jim,

Ah, when you referenced FL, I should have thought about the possibility of an affiliation with Archbishop Haralambos, since he's probably the most prominent of the 'Independents' (the term the vagante most prefer as a self-descriptor these days - albeit the Archbishop still asserts himself to be of the GOAA last I knew) in the Sunshine State.

Robert would most likely be the son of either Gregory or John Adair, brothers. (Gregory's given name was Robert, so he's the most likely, I suppose.) Both the Adairs were initially presbyters in the Holy Orthodox Church in America (HOCiA), a body that claimed its lineage from Aftimios Ofiesh, the Antiochian renegade. The brothers (both, I believe - Gregory, definitely) subsequently were consecrated bishops by John More-Moreno and were active in the 'Living Church' and one of its many offspring - the Eastern Orthodox Catholic Church in America.

Both were active participants in the lawsuit that the LC filed over what would be its cathedral in NYC. Gregory, back in the late 50s and into the 60s, published a journal that was highly critical in its writings of most of the canonical Orthodox hierarchy in the US - particularly the Antiochians. I vaguely recollect that he was based out of the Mid/Southwest but couldn't have told you that it was OK (not a hotbed of vagante activity, then or now.

Other than the lawsuit, the journal was the Adair claim to fame. They were never particularly prominent in the constellation of vagante episcopi from what I know.

I don't think they made it into Peter Anson's 'Bishops At Large' - but Karl Pruter likely lists one or both in his directory of independent bishops, being tireless in his efforts to document his fellow vagante. Bertil Persson, a Swedish vagante episcopi and cataloguer of the genre lists Gregory, but he - too tends to be exhaustive in his compilations. I don't think that Gregory consecrated any other episcopi vagante - at least not as principal consecrator, as I don't remember seeing him cited in anyone's lineage, and Persson doesn't attribute any to him. Gregory reposed in the mid-80s.

Many years,

Neil

While we're at it Neil, can you tell me where Archbishop Ambrose (Moran-Dolgorouky)has ended up since leaving the "True Orthodox Church"? His story seems to have petered out into the internet ether.

Ned,

I can tell you a fair bit about the gentleman's background, but I'm not sure where he's gone to ground. Last time that I heard his name was when he apparently departed the UAOC (Sobornoprava) and was ordained to the episcopate by Archbishop Gregory of the GOCA - that was about 3-4 years ago, as I remember. A quick check on-line just now produced nothing, as you noted.

Many years,

Neil

Because of my interest in Ukrainian jurisdictions I wondered if he got back into the UAOC but it seems not from what I can tell (disclaimer: please don't think I'm disparaging the UAOC).

Gregory reposed in 1998. He did not consecrate anyone as Bishop. I was ordained as Priest by Gregory in 1996.

After his repose I had no Bishop and became sort of an orphan of the Church. After he died I worked in the federal prison system for about 5 years as clergy. I was with "Kairos Prison Ministry" at the La "Tuna Federal Corrections facility" in Anthony Texas during that time.

Gregory did not have any children. Robert is the son of John not Gregory. I attended seminary at the EOCCIA church grounds back in the 1970's. This was the "Three Hierarchs Seminary" in Fern Park Florida. The Seminary is defunct. The journal that Gregory published was "American Review of Eastern Orthodoxy" or AREO. There is a library somewhere in Pennsylvania that has copies of AREO.

Gregory was consecrated by Bishop John More Merno who was consecrated by Bishop Sophronios. Sophronios was consecrated by Bishop Aftimios Ofiesh about six years before Aftimios went rouge and got married.

Just for clarification Gregory's given name was Richard not Robert. Robert was the given name of his brother Father John Adair.

Gregory had no connection with the Coyle,Oklahoma group under John. When I met John he was an Arch priest not a Bishop. Gregory was Bishop of EOCCIA at that time. There was a split in the church in the early 1970's. After the split Gregory moved to Ireland for several years.

I was reunited with Gregory after his return to the United States.

David Michael,

Welcome to the forum and thanks very much for the corrected info. It's tough to reconstruct things from the pre-internet days - it requires wading through much too much paper (something about which I once never thought twice, until the day arrived when so much of the info could be found online )

Many years,

Neil

Thanks for your efforts. All the history is really difficult to reconstruct. I just happen to have first hand knowledge of these people and thought I should share it here.

One more thought. Most of the information I have uncovered on the internet shows Bishop John Adair has having been consecrated by Bishop John More Mereno in 1958. John was a married Arch Priest,not a bishop when I met him in the early 1970's. He rose to the office of bishop later. I have no idea who consecrated him.

Thanks again for your work in this area.

Gregory was definitely consecrated by John More-Moreno. That's pretty well established and is consistent w/ his involvement with the Living Church. I don't think that I've ever seen anything definitive as to John's consecration - but, I've just tracked down a copy of one of Karl Pruter's publications on his fellow independent bishops. That may have some info in it, as Karl was notorious for pursuit of every detail relative to apostolic succession among the genre. When I receive my copy, I'll check and post what I find.

Many years,

Neil

This reminds me I haven't seen anything about Archbishop Alexander Swift Eagle Justice in a while.

You are speaking of his eminence;

His Eminence Sir Dr. Chief

Alexander Swift Eagle Justice

D.D., Ph.D., J.D. -Theologian, Academician

Metropolitan/Archbishop and Member of the Imperial Holy Orthodox Synod of the Holy Orthodox Church of All Russia and Appointed Chief Patriarch for United States of America - California, Mexico and for ALL Latin American Countries.

Metropolitan/Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Native Americans and President of the College of Bishops of the Mexican National Catholic Church

Metropolitan/Archbishop of the Holy Orthodox Native American Catholic Archdiocese and Chief Patriarch of the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Holy Orthodox Native American Catholic Church

Bishop of The National Pentecostal Overcoming Churches of the World Inc. View Certificate

(AKA - Keepers of Creation Church)

He apparently has not yet disclosed his reality as the second coming of all the great spiritual advisers of all time and the last in line of the patriarchs and the current owner of the Tabernacle of God having saved it from a gang of heathen Coptic Monks somewhere in the deserts of Ethiopia.