Tag: Apostolic Succession

Women bishops increasing — at least in North America!

BIshop Katia Romanoff and Bishop Carol Parrish January 17, 2014. Don't mind the occult sign language there
Bishop Katia Romanoff & Bishop Carol Parrish. Don’t mind our occult sign language going on there…

Spent yesterday with Bishop Carol Parrish, one of my spiritual teachers from the 1990s.  She was consecrated an Independent Sacramental (Catholic) bishop a couple of years ago not long after my own consecration.  The ISM is still the only “catholic” movement allowing woman-bishops and priests, although the Anglicans finally have a few. The amount of female bishops is growing in North America, even if it is not in the rest of the world. Now if only my other favorite teacher, Margaret Starbird, would let us make her an Independent Sacramental Bishop….  hee hee. Time to join the episcopate, Margaret!

I often long for a feminine form of the word bishop we could use (just like I long for more feminine vestments and especially miters for us!).  In the Greek Bible the word for bishop is episkopo, right? So episkopa would be woman-bishop?

One of many things we talked about yesterday was the  Gospel of Mary Magdalene by Jean-Yves LeLoup which +Carol is currently reading.  It was a significant study for me and my own formation as a woman priest when I read it in 2004 — suggested by Margaret.  +Carol is just now discovering his work and says she really appreciates the way Leloup answers any naysayers and critics by putting the original text on one page, and the translation on the facing page. His translation and commentary are so inspiring.  I am going to have to go dig out my copy right now.

Bishop Carol is teaching a workshop tomorrow at the Temple of the Living God in St. Petersburg where she’s been coming every year for the past 40 years,  which is basically most of my life…  She really is amazing the way she keeps on working decade after decade.

Consecrated to the Episcopate

Thank you to all who have sent their congratulations and blessings on my consecration to the Episcopate (being made a bishop). It took place on Trinity Sunday, June 7, 2009, at the Chapel of Saint Sophia in New Jersey with family and friends in attendance. My eleven year old daughter even held the prayer book for the Archbishop. It was a wonderful thing, I am still “floating” so to speak, buoyed by the Holy Spirit.

Archbishop Christian Umberger, XP here crowns (aka “miters”) me with the miter near the end of the rite. The miter symbolizes the flames of the holy spirit, Divine Sophia, that descended and settled on the heads of the apostles at Pentecost. You can see my crosier and even my new bishop’s ring in the photo.  I wish you could see the detail of my bishop’s ring because it matches the Cathar stele monument symbol at Montsegur.

archbishopmiterskatiacropped19271

I took the ecclesiastical name +Sophia-Katarina.

Here we are outside the Chapel after the consecration

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Archbishop Christian-Thomas (Umberger) and I along with others founded a semi-Gnostic Catharist early Christian style seminary for those wanting to pursue Holy Orders with Apostolic Succession.  Come study with us as a seminarian, or if you can’t, perhaps join in the discussions here at the Seminary forum.

Peace…!

+Sophia-Katarina