Worship, Study and Action - The Diocese of Recife

This is the story of how a chance meeting changed the course of history. 

Eleven years ago, while attending a conference on the Holy Spirit, a youth group from St. Luke’s, Akron, Ohio met the Rev. Miguel Uchoa and his youth group from Church of the Holy Spirit, Recife, Brazil.  I had just turned 13 and was one of the youngest in the group – yet God does not limit His work to adults.  This encounter, in which Christ was the only common denominator, grew to become a flourishing exchange between our two churches.  Soon members of both congregations in Recife and Akron were traveling abroad and a relationship between our families and churches blossomed.

Three years later, in December of 1998, I traveled to Brazil for the first time, spending a month there.  Part of that time was spent in the Amazon jungle in churches with dirt floors, thatched roofs, and wooden log benches.  Several of these churches received visitations by a priest only one time per year; yet, lay leaders and devoted parishioners kept these churches not only alive, but vibrant.  I saw clearly that this joy and fervency for the Lord is one of the markers of the churches in Recife.  I then spent three weeks in Recife watching, learning, and praying.

In 2002, I returned to Recife and spent several months living in Brazil, teaching AlphaTeen, the adolescent equivalent of Alpha, and working at the House of Hope (Casa da Esperança).  I also had the privilege of co-leading a youth mission trip to Salvador, Brazil, 12 hours from Recife by bus.  There we painted and rebuilt a church.  We went door to door, did street evangelism, performed drama and dance, shared the Gospel and prayed for the needs of the community.  God was not confined to the church, but was shared openly and willingly wherever we went, including garbage dumps, where we had the privilege of sharing the gospel with the forgotten people living there.

A Bit of History

The Anglican presence in Brazil was established in the early 1800s under British chaplaincies serving Anglican expatriates in the country.  Late in the 19th century, revival fell upon Virginia Theological Seminary and in 1889, two students went to Brazil as missionaries; the Anglican Episcopal Church of Brazil (Igreja Episcopal Anglicana do Brasil, or IEAB), was officially formed in 1898.  These early evangelists soon realized that if Brazilians were to be won to Christianity, it must be done through Brazilians themselves, by establishing indigenous leadership.  The IEAB now covers 8.5 million square kilometers and includes over 186 million people in nine dioceses.

The Diocese of Recife was founded in 1976 with support of SAMS-UK by the American missionary The Rt. Rev. Edmund Knox Sherril, Recife’s first bishop.  The diocese, encompassing one of the poorest regions in Brazil, has long been known for its work among the poor, providing care in slums and garbage dumps, in cities and on beaches.

Standing Firm for Orthodoxy

The Rt. Rev. Robinson Cavalcanti was consecrated the third bishop of the Diocese of Recife in 1997.  Under Bishop Cavalcanti, the diocese grew from 10 to more than 50 congregations; 73 deacons and 62 priests were ordained; a seminary in Recife opened and grew to more than 70 seminarians.  In keeping with its ministry within the society of Recife, the diocese has also long supported and run day care centers, pre-schools and clinics; it works with street children and the homeless, in partnership with government and non-government organizations.

Recife is also the home of the largest Anglican parish in South America, Church of the Holy Spirit.  The church was planted 10 years ago by the Rev. Miguel Uchoa, a six-foot-six surfer, with some 30 people in a former night- club called “Babylon.”  Today, under the leadership of now Archdeacon Uchoa and Bishop Cavalcanti, the church has 1000 members, runs more than 50 ministries and has planted four churches in the last three years.

When I first walked into Church of the Holy Spirit (Paróquia do Espírito Santo) in Recife, the fifth largest city in Brazil with approximately 1.5 million people, I found myself in the midst of a worshiping community that took seriously both praising God and community outreach.  Everyone was welcome – the man from the street corner and the businessman in a suit.  They sang “I need you.  You need me.  We need God until the end” – and they meant it.  Their worship was expressed with the whole body, incorporating dance and movement, tears of laughter and joy.  God meant something to these people; He was all they had – and they were overjoyed.

A conspicuous ministry of the Church of the Holy Spirit is Casa da Esperança (House of Hope), an orphanage founded by the church.  Clergy, lay leaders and parishioners work in the orphanage, which provides the hope of Christ to those with little or no hope.  Oftentimes Casa da Esperança houses more than 70 children and provides food, day shelter, basic medical care, and computer training to adults.

Throughout his episcopate, Bishop Cavalcanti has advanced the Kingdom of God among the least and the lost, overcoming financial and social challenges with prayer and faith.  The mission of the diocese and its bishop remained steadfast to corporate and individual worship, study and action.

Cavalcanti Deposed

Because of the relationship that was built over time between Church of the Holy Spirit and St. Luke’s, Bishop Cavalcanti, together with five retired bishops of ECUSA, participated in a confirmation service of 110 people in Akron in March 2004.  The members of the Ohio congregations did not want the bishop of Ohio, whom they considered revisionist, to confirm them.  Because these bishops did not have the permission of the diocesan bishop of Ohio, they were seen as unwanted guests who crossed ecclesiastical borders without permission.

In reaction to Bishop Cavalcanti’s actions, the Most Rev. Orlando Santos de Oliveira, Primate of the Anglican Episcopal Church of Brazil, held a trial in which he ruled that by participating in the confirmation service in Ohio, Bishop Cavalcanti had violated the canons of both the church in Brazil and the church in the United States, thus rendering him incapable of functioning as the Bishop of Recife.  Bishop Cavalcanti was deposed on June 10, 2005, under the accusation of “breaking his vows of ordination,” and was quickly replaced by a different bishop.

The Diocese of Recife, however, held a special convention and unanimously stood in solidarity, in support of Bishop Cavalcanti, and declared impaired relationship with the national church of Brazil.  Thirty-two ordained clergy stood with their bishop and were ultimately “excommunicated” without trial, accusation or right of defense along with their bishop for “abandoning the communion of this Church.”  What humanity meant for evil, God meant for good, however, and the Most Rev. Gregory Venables, Primate of the Southern Cone of America, extended protection to Bishop Cavalcanti and his clergy in their unprecedented excommunication.  These clergy represent about 90% of the clergy in the Diocese of Recife and lead about 90% of the church.  The diocese is now a registered institution with the federal and state government, and considers itself in the interim status of non-provincial under the primatial authority of the Southern Cone.  In essence, there are now two Dioceses of Recife, one under the jurisdiction of t he Anglican Episcopal Church of Brazil, and one under Bishop Cavalcanti receiving oversight from the Primate of the Southern Cone.

The Work Continues

Bishop Cavalcanti has not allowed the events of the past several months to keep him from the call of God to bring healing and help to the people in his charge.  The bishop remains committed to a theology of integral mission of the church, summed up in this mission statement:  “No congregation without a social project; no social project without a congregation.”  This ethical and Christian philosophy speaks to the whole life, provoking change to the whole person, to the whole church, to the whole world by wholly accepting Jesus and his transforming power.  The mission statement also speaks volumes about the need for the church to be involved in communities and in every aspect of one’s life.

A significant contribution to the work of God in Brazil is Bishop Cavalcanti’s founding of two small seminaries (a two-room seminary in João Pessoa and a larger seminary in Recife), established in order to train lay ministers and evangelists and to prepare those for ordained ministry.  In retaliation to Cavalcanti’s actions in Ohio, the Primate of Brazil took over the provincial seminary located in Recife.  In response, most of the seminarians remained faithful to Bishop Cavalcanti and started a new seminary.  The seminary is small but growing.

Financial challenges continue for Bishop Cavalcanti and the Diocese of Recife.  When the Primate of Brazil deposed the bishop, funding for diocesan work was cut off.  (The Anglican Episcopal Church of Brazil receives over 70% of their financial support from The Episcopal Church in the United States and the Episcopal Church of Canada.)  This severing of ties means that the Diocese of Recife, under Bishop Cavalcanti, is not receiving any monies from The Episcopal Church, which has caused much financial discomfort, but it also means that the Episcopal Church has no financial hold over the diocese.

The dearth of funds has not prevented the continual spread of the Gospel and the integral mission of the diocese.  Many priests have had to search for employment in the secular arena to supplement their income.  Part-time ministers are commonplace.  Additionally, there is a lack of professors to supply the demand of the increasing seminary population.  Another challenge facing the diocese is overcoming the obstacles of evangelization of the rural areas and in other states.

Trinity’s Connections

Trinity School for Ministry currently is hosting a couple from Brazil: The Rev. Gustavo and Adriana Castello Branco.  Gustavo was one of the 32 clergy excommunicated in June 2005, but like his bishop, that has not deterred his commitment to the gospel.  Gustavo and Adriana have a vision for the Diocese of Recife which includes growing the new seminary in João Pessoa.  They are working with Trinity’s Extension Ministries and online education in order to facilitate the needs of Brazil.  Two Trinity students, Ron and Debby McKeon, have found their call to cross-cultural mission to Brazil.  They traveled with Gustavo and Adriana to Brazil in the summer of 2006 in order to lay the groundwork for further mission which would “focus on the identification and mentoring of indigenous leaders for ministry to the poor and outcasts of society.”

After receiving his degree from Trinity, Gustavo intends to develop his teaching ministry in the seminary and in a parish while working on his doctorate.  He and Adriana would also work as coordinators for short-term mission teams which Ron and Debby would mobilize in the United States.  Adriana may also help in the arts and drama ministries, as well as provide psychological services.  Ron and Debby are planning to coordinate logistical support for both long term missionaries and short term missionary teams from and to João Pessoa and Ambridge.  Their prayer is that they would be able to encourage indigenous church leaders and missionaries in the planting and nurturing of culturally appropriate evangelistic neighborhood outreaches in both locations.

Gustavo has been working with the Rev. Marcus Throup in João Pessoa in order to “build a major evangelical seminary in João Pessoa, to provide first class theological training for the equipping and strengthening of the national leadership of the Brazilian church in the North East region and beyond.”  They are committed to being evangelical and ecumenical while maintaining an Anglican identity.  They are committed to academic excellence without negotiating its orthodoxy; they are committed also to the spiritual formation – with a missional emphasis – of lay and ordained leaders.

Trinity would like to continue supporting the education of Brazilian lay and ordained leaders by providing financial means for students to come to Trinity, for Trinity professors to teach intensive courses in Brazil, and for Trinity’s online program to assist the seminaries in Brazil.  Trinity is also looking at the possibility of an outreach to Brazil under the leadership of Gustavo and the Rev. Canon John Macdonald, Trinity professor in Mission and Evangelism and the Director of the Stanway Institute.

Final Thoughts

As is well-known, the Diocese of Recife is not alone in its stand for orthodoxy.  Seven parishes and mission stations have sought alternative primatial oversight from Bishop Cavalcanti and the Diocese of Recife, which he has granted them saying that it is “a temporary pastoral response to an emergency.”  Bishop Cavalcanti now shepherds churches in Florida, Oregon and Washington – in addition to his diocese in Brazil.

The Diocese of Recife is unique in that it provides oversight for parishes in the United States while at the same time it is itself under oversight from the Primate of the Southern Cone.  Are, then, geographical dioceses dissipating?  Is there a movement into mission without borders?  Remembering that this is a “temporary pastoral response to an emergency,” what will be the more permanent response?  All of these questions are meritorious, yet have no immediate answer.

Nevertheless, we will not sit idly by; we will get up and do the work which God has prepared for us to do.  What will happen in Brazil and in the United States – in the world, for that matter – is unknown.  What is known, however, is that God is in control; to quote the simple yet profound children’s song, “He’s got the whole world in His hands,” and there’s no better place to be, than in His hands and arms of love.  Let us get on with the mission of the church, preaching the Good News of Christ Jesus, the Son of God.  If we focus on the secondary and tertiary issues then we have lost sight of our primary focus.  It is my prayer that while waiting for answers with patience, we can continue working in spreading the Gospel, making disciples, and serving a broken world.

Drew Schmotzer is a Middler MDiv student from Akron, Ohio and a candidate through the Diocese of Bolivia.  He also works part-time in the Development Office coordinating church relations and Theological Education Sundays.