Former Charismatic Episcopal archbishop joins Roman Catholic Church

Richmond, Va., Feb 19, 2007 / 09:18 am

A former archbishop of the Charismatic Episcopal Church (CEC), Randolph Sly, has been received into full communion with the Roman Catholic Church, along with his wife, Sandra.

Sly was a founder of the CEC in 1992. He recently shared how their decision to join the Roman Catholic Church came from an extended time of discernment. They were welcomed into the Church in November 2006 at St. Benedict Parish in Richmond. They currently reside in northern Virginia in Potomac Falls and are members of Our Lady of Hope Parish.

“We were at a point last summer, personally and ecclesiastically in the CEC, where I felt a change was coming,” he said in a statement released over the Christian Newswire. “Sandy and I had found ourselves moving deeper into catholic Christianity …. More recently, the draw toward full communion in the Roman Catholic Church had grown greater and became a very strong call in the six months prior to our conversion.”

Prior to his time with the CEC, Sly was an important voice of the “Convergence Movement”, which worked to draw together the evangelical, charismatic, and liturgical/sacramental streams of the church.

He has been in active pastoral ministry for more than 30 years, first with the Wesleyan (Methodist) Church and then with the Charismatic Episcopal Church, where he last served as archbishop of the eastern province.

Currently, Sly is president of Common Good, a movement dedicated to the Church’s social teachings. A published author and communications specialist, he is working on several book and media projects.