College of Bishops

The Purpose of the College of Bishop

Each member of the College of Bishops is individually a Successor to all of the Apostles and exercises the authority committed by Christ to the Apostles to govern His Church.  In so doing it is the personal responsibility of each bishop to confer and consult with the people and clergy that (s)he shepherds and to represent them before the General Synod and or the College of Bishops, carrying with him/her the sensum fidei of his/her people when the bishop is exercising Apostolic Authority.  While the final authority to legislate, govern, and judge is properly that of the bishop, personally exercising his/her Apostolic role, it is the bishop’s sacred duty to inform and color his/her actions with prayer and the wisdom of his/her clergy and people, through whom the Holy Spirit speaks to the bishop.

 

The College of Bishops, exercising their authority as Successors of the Apostles, is the Guardian of the UACC. In this capacity the College of Bishops legislates for the Church as a whole, acting in national and inter-diocesan matters within the guidelines of the Canons of the Church.

 

Duties of the College of Bishops

• The duties of members of the College of Bishops include all those inherent in their office of Bishop.
• It is the sole right, duty, and privilege of the College of Bishops to define matters of Faith for the Church, approve Liturgies, guard the Apostolic Succession and to regulate the Holy Sacraments.
• It shall be the duty of the College of Bishops to supervise and adjudicate matters pertaining to the clerical discipline of those in the Order of Bishop.
• It is the duty of the College of Bishops to elect the Presiding Bishop.
• It is the duty of the College of Bishops to be the Supreme appellate judiciary of the UACC.
• It is the duty of the College of Bishops to selectively form formal intercommunion relationships and/or negotiate merger of the UACC with other Churches. Merger with any other Church shall only occur by subsuming that Church into the UACC, subjecting its membership to this Constitution. Prior to so doing, the College, through its respective members, shall solicit input from the members of the Clergy and the People of God as to the wisdom of such action.

Our Bishops

Most Rev. Anthony Hash, OSb

Consecrated Bishop June 1995

Elected First Presiding Bishop of the UACC September 2002

Re-elected Presiding Bishop February 2015 for a seven year term

 

Anthony Wayne Hash was born at Langley Air Force Base in Hampton, Virginia, and was raised in Roanoke, Virginia, where he was active at St. Andrew’s Roman Catholic Church. After attending a local community college, he entered the Benedictine Order, studying subsequently at St. Mary’s Seminary in Cortez, Colorado. He received his Master of Divinity degree in 1997 from Sanctus Theological Institute, which later awarded him an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree for his work in education and the Independent Sacramental Movement.

 

Ordained to the diaconate in 1993 by the Most Reverend Thomas Clary, Bishop Hash founded Saint Nicholas Giver of Gifts Parish and was co-founder of the Healing Light Center in Roanoke, now known as the Lifestream Center. Ordained to the priesthood in June of 1994 by the Most Reverend Catherine Adams, of New York, Bishop Hash held many posts in the Church, including Assistant to the Bishop, leading in June of 1995 to his consecration as bishop, also by Bishop Adams. Her co-consecrators were the Most Reverend Thomas Clary and the Most Reverend Carl Purvenas-Smith.

 

On July 1, 2002, Bishop Hash, with several other clergy across the Southeast, formed The United American Catholic Church. At the first Synod of the new jurisdiction, Bishop Hash was elected as the first Presiding Bishop and was later named Archbishop. His local parish—to honor the Bishop’s elevation to Archbishop and in recognition of his new jurisdiction—changed its name to Christ the Good Shepherd.

 

Bishop Hash has had a long career at the forefront of the Independent Catholic Movement, leading his jurisdiction to be one of the first—if not the first—to approve the Sacramentality of Same-Sex Marriage. He also approved the tithing to the poor and needy of ten percent of all Church income and extended a warm “welcome back to ministry” to former Roman Catholic priests who had left the church in order to marry.

 

Since 2005, the Bishop has lived in Virginia Beach, Virginia, where he founded Saint Joan of Arc, a local parish under the United American Catholic Church umbrella. Bishop Hash’s other activities include volunteering at several retirement facilities and participating in historical re-enactments for the Virginia Beach Historical Society. The Bishop is also a wedding officiant and a public speaker, campaigning   against bullying and violence in our schools.

 

The Most Reverend Tom Shortell, OSFC

Vicar of Mexico 2011 to Present

Consecrated Bishop August 2014

Chancellor of the UACC October 2014 to Present

 

Tom Shortell holds an undergraduate degree in Education and Spanish and a post-graduate degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Organizational Management.

 

Raised in New England, Bishop Shortell moved to North Carolina, where for twenty-two years he put both his education and business degrees to work in the telecommunications field and as a volunteer. In particular, Fr. Shortell worked to improve the lives and social status of those marginalized by society, especially immigrants and those battling HIV/AIDS. Eventually, his volunteer ministry led to a mission trip to Mexico where his discernment process culminated in a decision to enter the priesthood.

 

After completing his studies for ordination, Bishop Shortell continued his work with North Carolina’s Spanish-speaking immigrant community with an increased emphasis on responding to the spiritual needs of the community as well as to their social needs. Specifically, within the larger Spanish-speaking community, as a priest, Bishop Shortell established a pastoral relationship with a group from Peru.

 

When his corporate career ended in 2011, Bishop Shortell relocated to Mexico where he is the head of the UACC’s Mexican Vicariate.