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Early days
The Church traces its origins to Buenos Aires, Argentina, where the movement’s founder, Archbishop Romulo Antonio Braschi, was born in 1941. Ordained priest in the Roman Catholic Church in 1966, he embarked upon the early years of his priesthood against the backdrop of the political turbulence and social upheavals of Latin America in the 1960s and the repressive "National Security" governments of the 1970s. The radical stance of Romulo Braschi and his companions dates back to this time, when they were associated with the Third World Priests Movement (Movimiento de Sacerdotes para el Tercer Mundo), itself boasting radical left-wing and Peronist factions. Archbishop Braschi himself was arrested and detained for political reasons during the "Dirty War" of the 70s.
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From Dictatorship to Liberation
In this context Father Braschi’s response to the message of Vatican II, the 1968 Medellin conference, and the growing Charismatic Movement was to try to introduce a new form of church mission unit, calling on his experience of the Base Communities – Comunidades de Base – associated with Liberation Theology. An experimental church - Santa Ana - that started in Buenos Aires in 1975 became, in 1978, the Catholic Apostolic Charismatic Church of "Jesus the King." With this move, Father Braschi visibly distanced himself from the institutional Roman Catholic Church, whose high-level collusion with the Military Junta was to become one of the most widely debated aspects of the "Proceso" (Dictatorship) between 1976 and 1983. Parts of the Roman Catholic Church did, however, form the very vanguard in the fight against repression, and subsequently endured the persecution, detention, torture and even assassination of their own dissident members, such as the late Bishop Enrique Angelelli, to name just one famous case.
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Expansion - Jesus the King goes International
In its early years in Argentina, the Church of Jesus the King achieved only modest success, due to the overwhelmingly conservative character of Argentinean Catholicism, but the toehold of a future mission in Salvador, Brazil, was established, through friendship with Father - later Bishop - Roberto Garrido Padin of the Independent Catholic Churches there. The Church's missions would later spread to Zurich, Switzerland, and Munich, Germany. In 1998, in the Greek Orthodox Basilica in Munich, Father Braschi was consecrated Bishop by Roberto Garrido Padin of brazil and Bishop Hilarios Ungerer of the Free Catholic Church of Germany. Bishop Braschi now divides his time between the various small communities in Europe and Latin America. Here is a link to the article about Jesus the King in the online encyclopedia Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_Apostolic_Charismatic_Church_of_%E2%80%9CJesus_the_King%E2%80%9D
Daily Biblical Commentary and Theology Notes!
Servicios Koinonia - Agenda Latinoamericana - is a site that offers excellent daily Bible commentary, notes from theologians, and writings of Archbishop Oscar Romero, Pedro Casaldaliga, day-to-day Christian diary, and lots more. Choose to read in Spanish, Portuguese, or Italian: click below!
http://www.servicioskoinonia.org/
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Archbishop Braschi
Episcopally Consecrated in the Greek Orthodox Basilica in Munich, Germany, the Archbishop provides the sacramental link with all Catholic Churches across the world |
Buenos Aires - Argentina
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