The Young Rite was born with the consecration of Bishop Marcus van Alphen on 4 June 2006 by the independent bishops Johannes van Alphen, Mario Herrera Jorges and Benito Rodriguez Cruz using the rite of the Liberal Catholic Church.  + Marcus had been a priest in the Liberal Catholic Church, and his father + Johannes had been Presiding Bishop for the Liberal Catholic Church; however, Marcus started feeling a sense of incongruency with what he experienced and what was preached.  In “A Strange Vocation: Independent Bishops Tell Their Stories,” + Marcus writes, “In the various spiritual organizations I was involved in I started noticing the discrepancy between what was preached and how the individuals within those organisations dealt with one another.  That definitely stated getting to me.  The first thing one does in such a situation is to try to bring about change.  But soon I came to realise that the inertia of an organization is a pervasive thing – the tendency to avoid change is in-built in all nature, and so it is in people and organisations in which they serve.”

The Young Rite has its roots in the Liberal Catholic Church. Much of their tradition has been maintained. Yet there are many differences.  How we view authority, how we value inclusiveness, and how we honor diversity establish us in a league of our own.  These differences are what firmly establishes The Young Rite within The Mystical Body of Christ.  The Young Rite strives to practice what it preaches and the role of our Priesthood is expressed by Bishop Marcus, “The priest is not there to play intermediary between the individual and God, or to be the authority on matters spiritual, but to help people make their own connection, to empower them.”

Governance within The Young Rite is designed to promote our passionate commitment to freedom, universality and authenticity and as such we are governed by three Bishops working together through consensus to govern our Rite.  Bishop Marcus Van Alphen retired on September 29, 2015 leaving a vacancy on the Council of Three.  This left Bishops Aristid Havlicek and Domen Kocevar without a third colleague.  When there is a vacancy on the Council of Three it then falls upon the remaining bishops on the Council to select a bishop from within The Young Rite to fill the vacancy.

Bishops Aristid and Domen have selected Bishop David Oliver Kling to fill the vacancy on the Council of Three.  + David was consecrated to the episcopacy on September 25, 2004 by Bishops John Gilbert, Albert Stubblebine, and Rima Laibow and was incardinated into The Young Rite on November 23, 2014. 

The Council of Three welcomes Bishop David Oliver Kling.  May he serve The Young Rite with compassion and a dedication to fostering possibilities, and to empower others.  And may The Holy Trinity bless the work of the Council of Three to always seek to promote freedom, universality, and authenticity in the ministry of our Rite.

 Feast of the Ascension 2016,