Irl A. Gladfelter
Irl A. Gladfelter (born 1944) was the founder and first Metropolitan Archbishop of the Anglo-Lutheran Catholic Church (ALCC) until his resignation from that position and from the ALCC on December 1, 2011.
Biography
Gladfelter was ordained a deacon and a priest by Archbishop Peter Paul Brennan, O.C.R. of the Ecumenical Catholic Diocese of the Americas. He was ordained a bishop by Archbishop Brennan as well as Francis Cajetan Spataro, O.C.R., and Paget Elkinah James Mack, O.S.B.M., both of the Apostolic Episcopal Church. Gladfelter was also a life professed priest of the ALCC's Augustinian Order.[1]
On December 1, 2011, Gladfelter also resigned as the first Metropolitan of the Augustana Catholic Communion, which is a completely separate association of "Evangelical Catholic" Lutheran and "Anglo-Catholic" Anglican churches which have apostolic orders (i.e. whose bishops are believed to have been ordained into a tactile lineal succession leading back to one or more of Christ's apostles) and share the goal of visible and corporate reunion with the Roman Catholic Church in whichever form is determined by that church to be the most practical. Upon his resignation, Gladfelter returned to the Roman Catholic Church as a layman.
Gladfelter received the degree of Doctor of Dental Surgery "with distinction" from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Dentistry and was a career officer in the Dental Corps of the United States Army, retiring as a lieutenant colonel after serving more than 20 years on active duty. He is a graduate (with honors) of the United States Army Command and General Staff College. His military decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal with one oak leaf cluster, the Army Commendation Medal with one oak leaf cluster, the Army Achievement Medal, the National Defense Service Medal with one bronze service star, the Korea Defense Service Medal, the Army Overseas Service Ribbon, and the Army Service Ribbon. Gladfelter holds a commission as a Kentucky colonel.