Browse Items (113 total)

Newspaper clipping from Our Town (October 22, 1978) describing the ordination of Fathers Mark, Paul, Victor, Gabriel, and Philip by Bishop Robert Mary Clement at the Church of the Beloved Disciple. The article recounts how the five men—many of whom…

Robert M. Clement and John Darcy Noble stand in Sheep Meadow following the first Christopher Street Liberation Day March on June 28, 1970, beneath a hand-painted sign proclaiming, "Gay People, This Is Your Church." Earlier that day, Clement carried…

The cover of the June 15, 1976, issue of FLASH: The International Guide to Gay Living features Bishop Robert Mary Clement under the headline, "A Candid Interview with Bishop Robert Clement – New York's Gay Patriarch." Published during a period of…

Press release issued by the Church of the Beloved Disciple, authored by Robert Bradley, announcing the ordination of John Darcy Noble and Leo M. Joseph on April 20, 1974. The statement proclaimed the ordinations as the first known instance of two…

This pamphlet encourages gay and lesbian Christians who feel alienated from their churches to embrace an affirming spiritual identity rather than remain, in its words, in "spiritual closets." It presents the Church of the Beloved Disciple as a…

This illustrated brochure introduces the Church of the Beloved Disciple, presenting it as an independent Catholic congregation founded to provide a sacramental and affirming spiritual home for LGBTQ people at a time when few churches welcomed them.…

Two unidentified acolytes of the Church of the Beloved Disciple pose together before a liturgical service. Wearing white albs with red shoulder orphreys and crosses designed by the congregation, they represent the lay ministers who assisted at the…

Two unidentified acolytes of the Church of the Beloved Disciple pose together in white liturgical albs and simple wooden crosses before a service. The photograph preserves a rare glimpse of the congregation's lay ministry and the diverse community…

Fr. Leo speaks with a member of the Church of the Beloved Disciple in Sheep Meadow following the Fifth Annual Christopher Street Liberation Day March on June 30, 1974. Surrounding them are the church's processional banners and heraldic standard,…

This Certificate of Incorporation, executed on March 12, 1969, formally established the American Orthodox Church of the United States (Western Orthodox) as a religious corporation under New York law and named Robert Mary Clement as its presiding…

Clergy and bishops process westward through Manhattan following the consecration of Bishop Robert Mary Clement. The procession includes Archbishop Martin Luther Williams, Archbishop Richard Arthur Marchenna, Bishop Robert Clement, and clergy of the…

This Byzantine antimension is a consecrated liturgical cloth that serves as the bishop's authorization for the celebration of the Divine Liturgy. Depicting the Lamentation (Entombment) of Christ and inscribed in Church Slavonic with an English…

Archbishop George Augustine Hyde delivers the homily during the celebration of the first anniversary of Archbishop Robert Mary Clement's episcopal consecration at the Church of the Beloved Disciple in October 1975. Hyde, Archbishop of the…

Archbishop Richard Arthur Marchenna, Primate of the Old Roman Catholic Church in North America and principal consecrator of Bishop Robert Clement, walks between Father Leo (left) and Father John Darcy Noble (right) during the procession to the Church…

Archbishop Robert Mary Clement smiles during the Los Angeles Pride Parade on June 8, 2008, nearly four decades after carrying a sign proclaiming "Gay People, This Is Your Church" at New York's first Christopher Street Liberation Day March in 1970.…

Hyde, Archbishop of the Orthodox-Catholic Church of America, and Marchenna, Primate of the Old Roman Catholic Church in North America, were both instrumental in providing apostolic succession and sacramental ministry to emerging independent Catholic…

One of the last known photographs of Bishop Robert Mary Clement at the altar, concelebrating the Eucharist with Bishop Ravarour in Los Angeles around 2010. Although the Church of the Beloved Disciple NYC had ceased to exist as an active parish…

Bishop George Augustine Hyde stands at the altar with two unidentified priests, reflecting the traditional sacramental setting of his ministry.

Bishop George Augustine Hyde is pictured in his study, surrounded by books and religious materials.

Photograph of Bishop John Darcy Noble (1923–2003) in episcopal vestments holding his crozier, taken during or shortly after his consecration and enthronement as the second bishop of the Church of the Beloved Disciple on October 5, 1980. A founding…