“THY KINGDOM COME”

INTRODUCTION

In an age of apostasy, moral confusion, and ecclesial fragmentation, where false identities and ideologies distort the Gospel, many Christians long for a faith that is ancient, orthodox, and radiant with Christ’s truth. The Ancient Church of the West (ACW) answers this longing - not as another denomination, but as a global movement of pastorally active, evangelistically vibrant communities, rooted in the unchanging teachings of the Early Church. Guided by a diverse Holy Synod of bishops from Asian, Anglo-American, British, African-American, Filipino, and African backgrounds, the ACW restores the theological, liturgical, and pastoral ethos of the undivided Church, grounded in the Celtic Church, the Nonjurors, the Concordat of Jerusalem, and the St. James of Jerusalem Prayerbook. This essay explores the motivations behind the establishment of many small communions, distinguishes the ACW’s faithful vision from corrupt distortions, and invites you to join us in a journey of repentance, truth, and mission.

THE CRISIS OF ECCLESIAL FRAGMENTATION

The proliferation of Christian denominations - some vast, others mere shadows - has created a chaotic landscape, where the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church is obscured by division and false moral identities. The so-called Independent Sacramental Movement exemplifies this, with tiny groups claiming apostolic succession, issuing grandiose titles, and reflecting personal agendas rather than Christ’s truth. Amid this confusion, a sincere longing persists for a purer, truer faith, free from apostasy and compromise. The ACW shines as a historical bastion, not to add to the chaos, but to restore the ancient faith in the apostate West, uniting thriving communities under the Holy Synod’s conciliar leadership, rooted in the Ancient Church’s missionary zeal and the English Patrimony’s biblical fidelity, held in tension with the conservative and accountable mentality of historic Eastern Orthodoxy. 

NOBLE MOTIVATIONS: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF ECCLESIAL FORMATION 

Many who form new communions are driven by noble desires: a hunger for authentic community, freedom to proclaim the Gospel without political compromise, and a commitment to honest Church history that acknowledges both saints and schisms. They seek to counter the apostasy of modern denominations, where dogma is negotiated to appease cultural trends, and clergy are silenced for upholding moral truth. The ACW embodies these aspirations, fostering spiritual hospitals where the wounded find healing through the Eucharist, the Apostolic Faith, and the Holy Spirit’s indwelling, as preserved through our unbroken Orthodox succession from the See of Canterbury and the Patriarchate of Antioch, regularized by our commitment to the Great Concordat of Jerusalem.

Our Church’s Official Catechism, Teaching the Faith of the Undivided Church, the Unique Patrimony of the Anglo-Celtic Church of the British Isles, and Faithful to the Seven Ecumenical Councils Recognized by Both East and West 

CORRUPT MOTIVATIONS: THE DANGERS OF ECCLESIAL DISTORTION 

Yet, not all new communions are godly. Some are driven by schism and pride, refusing correction and inflating minor issues into permanent divisions. Others stem from narcissism, with self-appointed “archbishops” chasing titles and vestments, masking personal ambition as spirituality. More troubling, some hide unresolved sin (sexual, financial, or spiritual), avoiding accountability by surrounding themselves with loyalists. Worst still, certain groups embrace false moral identities, cloaking apostasy in liturgical aesthetics or progressive ideologies, promoting lawlessness under the guise of “affirming” faith. The ACW, guided by its Synod, rejects these distortions, standing firm in the patristic consensus and the moral clarity of the early Church.

THE HISTORIC FOUNDATIONS: THE CELTIC CHURCH AND THE NONJURORS 

The ACW is no modern invention but a direct continuity with the Ancient Church, tracing its roots to the Celtic saints (Patrick, Columba, Hilda), who evangelized the British Isles with poetic theology and sacrificial love. This heritage was preserved by the English Church and the Scottish Nonjurors, whose refusal to compromise apostolic truth led to the 18th-century Concordat of Jerusalem with the Patriarchate of Jerusalem. Our Church has direct Apostolic Succession from the Scottish Nonjurors, and had this Succession regularized by the Ukrainian Church and affirmed by the reception of the World Federation of Orthodox and Apostolic Churches. This historic agreement formalized our unbroken Orthodox Apostolic Succession, our doctrinal commitments, and our authentic expression of the English Patrimony within the canonical recognition of Ancient Orthodoxy, and making the ACW an undeniable heir to this great spiritual legacy.

The Historic Concordat of Jerusalem is the Foundation of Our Faith, Practice, and Relationship with Other Orthodox Churches

THE SAINT JAMES OF JERUSALEM PRAYERBOOK: ANCIENT WORSHIP IN THE MODERN WORLD

Our worship is anchored in the St. James of Jerusalem Prayerbook, historically translated and republished in 2025, which preserves the most ancient Eucharistic anaphora, the Liturgy of Saint James, alongside restored Western rites like the St. Tikhon Mass, and the Gallican, Mozarabic, and Sarum Rites. Our 960-page missal, using the sacral English of the 1928 Book of Common Prayer, weaves scriptural poetry, patristic wisdom, and Celtic spirituality, inviting worshippers into Christ’s Real Presence. From parishes in Manila to Nottingham, Cincinnati to Singapore, our liturgies counter the confusion of modern worship, grounding believers in a typological worship that connects Israel’s festivals to the Messianic banquet, as the early Church did.

RED AND YELLOW, BLACK AND WHITE: A DIVERSE SYNOD LEADING A GLOBAL CHRISTIAN MOVEMENT 

The ACW’s strength lies in its Holy Synod, a conciliar body of bishops from Asian, Anglo-American, British, African-American, Filipino, and African backgrounds, ensuring our mission transcends cultural boundaries. Unlike communions driven by a single personality, our Synod models mutual accountability, shepherding 11 local churches within the World Federation of Orthodox and Apostolic Churches, a family of Churches united is history, doctrine, mission and morality. All around the world, our small, vibrant parishes foster intimacy, where strangers become family, and evangelism flows from love, countering the isolation and false identities of our day with the truth of the Imago Dei and the call to theosis.

COMMUNITIES THAT HEAL: CONFRONTING MORAL CONFUSION WITH APOSTOLIC CLARITY 

Our parishes are spiritual hospitals, offering healing in an age of moral confusion. Consider John, a skeptic in Southeast Asia who was drawn to false identities by cultural pressures. In an ACW parish, he found a community that lovingly guided him to repentance through confession and Scripture, leading him to serve the poor around him with love and service. Our Synod’s bishops ensure every parish upholds doctrinal fidelity, addressing apostasy with pastoral care, not judgment. By proclaiming Christ’s full divinity and humanity, as affirmed by the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed, we provide clarity amidst the chaos of modern moral distortions. By holding to the centrality of the Holy Trinity, we believe in a shared life that renews and reconciles us as we repent and commune with one another. 

Our Church is a Family, Full of Brothers and Sisters On Which You Can Depend for Accountability, Love, Mutual Respect, Orthodoxy of Doctrine, and Communion with Christ

A VIBRANT MISSION: ENGAGING A LOST AND DYING WORLD WITH THE MESSAGE OF CHRIST’S ORIGINAL GOSPEL 

The ACW is evangelistically dynamic, carrying the Celtic saints’ missionary zeal into a world lost in apostasy. In Asia, our parishes in Singapore, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Korea, with budding works in Mongolia and Japan, engage Confucianism and Buddhism through Logos theology, seeing Christ’s light in every culture without compromising truth. In the U.S., we serve the poor, mentor youth, and plant churches, rejecting both hyper-conservative and progressive ideologies that distort the Gospel. Our “Orthodox AWANA”, called “The Knights and Ladies of the Pantocrator” program, equips children with Scripture and service, fostering missionaries who proclaim Christ’s unchanging truth.

FORMATION FOR FAITHFUL LIVING: ROOTED IN THE DEPOSIT GIVEN ONCE AND FOR ALL

Formation is central to the ACW’s mission, grounding believers in the ancient faith to resist modern confusion. The St. Charles Seminary Institute trains clergy and laity in theology, liturgy, and sacred arts, drawing on the Nonjurors’ scholarship and the East Syriac tradition’s poetic exegesis. Monthly clericus education explores liturgical seasons and vestments, fostering incarnational worship. Catechumens craft prayer ropes, write icons, and learn mystagogical catechesis, embedding faith in daily life. Inspired by saints like Sts. Isaac of Nineveh and Bede, our formation equips believers to live as disciples in a world of false and immoral identities.

WHY THE ANCIENT CHURCH? ANSWERING OUR CRITICS WITH TRUTH, HOPE AND LOVE

Critics ask, “Why another communion?” The ACW is called to restore Western Orthodoxy, free from the nationalism of Eastern Orthodoxy or the ultramontanism of Rome, reviving the Celtic and English Patrimony through our Orthodox succession and the Concordat of Jerusalem. Eastern Orthodox fundamentalists and Roman Catholic traditionalists question our legitimacy, citing our rejection of Eastern exclusivism and phyletism or papal infallibility and universal jurisdiction as reasons why we are outside the grace of the Holy Spirit. Our Synod responds: our succession is validated by historical agreements, our theology mirrors the early Church’s Orthodoxy and liturgical pluriformity, and our mission reflects Christ’s command to make disciples. By the canonical definitions of the Undivided Church, we are fully Orthodox, Catholic, Apostolic and united to Christ’s One, Holy, and Universal Church. Inspired by Metropolitan Elias Zoghby and Metropolitan Kallistos Ware, we affirm that schism does not negate grace, but instead we seek to end schism through mutual submission and godly love. In seeking communion and reconciliation, we know that we have the Holy Spirit, who is present in our midst and transforming us through the work of the Holy Eucharist, and we seek mutual love and recognition with all other apostolic and orthodox churches that embrace the Undivided Faith of the Ancient Church.

A CALL TO REPENTANCE AND RENEWAL

The ACW stands as a signpost in an age of apostasy, offering a faith that is ancient without being archaic, orthodox without being triumphalist, and faithful without being sectarian. We reject the hubris of claiming to be the only Church, as well as the moral despair and canonical chaos of modern Protestantism. Our parishes, united by the St. James of Jerusalem Prayerbook and the Holy Synod’s leadership, are places of repentance, where the Holy Spirit transforms lives through the power of the Holy Sacraments. We invite you to join us, not to build our own kingdom, but to serve Christ’s, proclaiming His truth amidst the confusion of our day, learning how to “bloom where you are planted,” living lives of quietness, decency and honesty, and striving for peace and harmony with all men.

JOIN US ON THE JOURNEY, ON THE PATHWAY OF HOLINESS

The ACW is a global family of pilgrims, united by the Ancient Church’s faith, the Nonjurors’ courage, and our Orthodox Succession. If you seek a faith that is undeniably ancient, Orthodox, and heir to the British Patrimony, we invite you to experience our liturgy’s beauty and our community’s warmth, finding in us a family of friends who are committed to following the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Learn More: AncientChurchoftheWest.com

Connect Online: Explore our theology on ChineseOrthodoxy.Blogspot.com, follow us on Instagram (@theancientchurch), or watch services on YouTube (@ancientchristians).

Ask Questions: Email BpJoseph@theVicariate.com for a virtual Q&A with our clergy.

Serve with Us: Join our mission to feed the hungry, mentor youth, or plant churches.

As St. Cuthbert carried Christ’s light to Northumbria, come walk with us, united by the unchanging faith of the Ancient Church in the modern world! 

COLLECT PRAYER

O ALMIGHTY GOD, who didst cause thy holy apostles to proclaim the Gospel to all nations, and who, through thy servants in the ancient Church of Britain - Celtic, Northumbrian, Anglo-Saxon, Caroline, Nonjuring, and Western Orthodox - didst plant the seeds of thy truth in our hearts: Grant, we beseech thee, to thy faithful people of the Ancient Church of the West, thy abundant grace and protection; that, guarded by thy mercy, we may ever hold fast the vision of our fathers. Kindle in us, O Lord, a fervent mission to establish thy Church in every generation, steadfast in fidelity to thy holy Gospel, and zealous in evangelizing the whole world. Uphold us by thy Spirit, that we may walk in the footsteps of thy saints, and bring forth fruit to thy glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen.

Join Us on the Pathway to Holiness, As We Love and Serve Our Lord Jesus Christ!