Information and Guidance for Bishops

Ordination of Bishops has been resumed. The Patriarch of the Church will temporarily exercise this authority until such time as UCTAA (the separate membership organization) develops its own policy and procedures and takes over responsibility.

Ordination as a Bishop

As far as the Apathetic Agnostic Church is concerned, ordination as a Bishop is for life. As in basic ordination, there is no process to revoke an ordination. However, a Bishop may be declared to be no longer in communion with the Church in the event of:

• an extended period of no apparent performance of responsibilities, or
• actions which would bring the Church into disrepute, or
• lapsed membership in UCTAA

Functions of Bishops

Bishops have the same functions as Clergy. They are expected to take a more active role in introducing others to the teachings of the Church, and in addition to those ceremonies which may be conducted by clergy, they may ordain others into the church at the basic level.

Further, bishops should be prepared to provide guidance, on request, to ordained clergy in their area.

Bishops are also authorized to formally seek recognition of the Church in their State / Province where there is no Patriarch actively seeking such recognition, if recognition is required to perform ceremonies.

If the See in which their Diocese is located has a Synod, then Bishops are ex-officio members of that body.

Ordination of Others

Bishops may ordain others online in a process similar to the one used at the main site. Such a process should not be fully automated, and the Bishop should be personally involved in the approval of ordination documentation prior to issue. A similar process can be used through regular mail.

Alternatively a Bishop may chose to conduct ordinations in person. In this case, Bishops may design their own Ceremony of Ordination. (Examples)

The Ceremony should confirm that the ordainee understands the Articles of Faith; and confirm the willingness of the ordainee to pass the teachings of the Church on to others.

It is suggested the ceremony conclude with: "By the powers vested in me by the Elders of the Apathetic Agnostic Church, I, [your name], Bishop of [Diocese] hereby ordain you, [ordainee's name], as a [minister, rabbi, priest, etc.] in the Church. Go forth and preach the word of Agnosticism.'

You may model the ordination certificate on the one you initially received from the Church. (You may request a document outline from the Patriarch of the Church.) Substitute your name and position where applicable as approving authority. Also, provide a real address for yourself on the certificate so that you can confirm the validity of the ordination to others as necessary.

You must keep records of your ordinations in order to confirm validity of ordinations.

Your personal responsibility to confirm validity of ordinations remains even if you subsequently leave the Church. In this case, you may be able to find another active Bishop to assume this responsibility on your behalf and your concluding responsibilities would be to advise all those you have ordained of the new contact information, and to turn your records over to your replacement.

You should advise those you ordain of the web addresses for this Clergy Resource Site, the Apathetic Agnostic Church home page, and the home page of UCTAA.org.

Reporting

The Patriarch of the Church would appreciate a brief report of your activities in support of the church e-mailed to him quarterly, but no less than annually. Periodically confirming you are out there promoting the Church would make it much less likely that your position be declared vacant.

Application to be a Bishop

If you wish to apply to be a bishop, please be aware of the following requirements.

• You must be at least 21 years of age;
• You must have been ordained in the Church for at least twelve months;
• You must be a member of UCTAA;
• You must have been active in the Church by:
  • having officiated over at least two ceremonies;
  • having actively participated on one of the Church's message boards (at least 25 posts);
  • having supported ApatheticAgnostic.com by writing at least one major or three minor articles;
• You must specify how you intend to further contribute to the Church as a Bishop;
• If you are applying to be a Bishop in a jurisdiction which has an active Patriarch / Matriarch, then your application will be sent to the incumbent for review and recommendation, and in some cases approval. Additional substantiation may be requested by that Patriarch / Matriarch;
• A financial contribution of at least $100.00 US towards the operation of the ApatheticAgnostic.com web site will be required to finalize your application.
  • No more than 12 Bishops will be ordained a year (not that a quarter that many is likely) to avoid this becoming profit making.
  • When UCTAA assumes responsibility, the contribution (if then required) will be for that organization.

If you wish to apply, then send a message to the Patriarch of the Church via the ApatheticAgnostic.com contact form specifying how you have met the all the above requirements (except the $100.00.) If your application is considered satisfactory, then you will be advised that you have preliminary approval. Your financial contribution will then be required to complete the process. You will then have the option of receiving original signed documentation by mail, or standard emailed pdf documentation.

Advancement to Matriarch / Patriarch

Details are on the duties of Patriarchs and Matriarchs page, but in brief, there will be no new elections until UCTAA takes over responsibility - unless UCTAA as an organization formally requests the Patriarch of th church resume responsibility for the election of Matriarchs and Patriarchs.