Why Consider the Independent Sacramental Movement?

Why the Independent Sacramental Movement Exists

Rooted in Apostolic Faith. Committed to Sacramental Grace. Serving All God’s People, Without Barriers.

The Independent Sacramental Movement (ISM) exists because the Church’s sacramental life—the grace of Christ made visible in word, worship, and community—belongs to the whole People of God, not just to institutions. Across history, the Spirit has raised up new communities when established structures became too narrow to hold the fullness of the Gospel’s reach. The ISM is one such renewal: a living expression of the ancient apostolic faith, freely offered to the world in love.

A Movement of Renewal, Not Rebellion

The ISM is often misunderstood. It is not a protest against Rome, Canterbury, or Constantinople. It is a movement of renewal that seeks to make the sacraments available wherever people hunger for grace.

In a world where many have been excluded, forgotten, or disillusioned, the ISM offers a spiritual home—a place where faith and conscience are honored together, and where no one’s dignity is denied.

We honor our roots in the historic Catholic and Orthodox traditions, maintaining valid apostolic succession, sacramental theology, and liturgical worship, while embracing a pastoral openness that meets people where they are. Our mission is simple: to bring the beauty and depth of the Catholic and Apostolic faith into every heart and home willing to receive it.

Ancient Continuity Meets Modern Compassion

ISM communities celebrate the same Eucharist, baptize with the same water, anoint with the same oil, and proclaim the same Gospel that the Church has cherished for two millennia. What differs is not the substance of our faith, but the freedom with which we live it.
We are communities where:

Women and men serve equally at the altar.
Married, single, and LGBTQ+ clergy minister faithfully.
The divorced, remarried, and marginalized are welcomed without judgment.
Conservative and progressive believers find room to pray together.

This is not innovation for its own sake—it is faithfulness to the inclusive spirit of Christ, who broke bread with all.

The Church Without Walls

Many who find the ISM do so after being told they no longer belong—by hierarchy, doctrine, or circumstance. Yet in Christ’s eyes, no one is ever outside the reach of grace.

The Independent Sacramental Movement exists to make that truth visible. Whether worshiping in cathedrals or home chapels, online gatherings or local missions, ISM clergy and communities embody the ancient Church’s simplicity: a Church of presence, prayer, and pastoral care.

We believe the sacraments are not the possession of any one institution but the inheritance of all God’s people. We exist so that the means of grace will never be withheld, and the message of Christ’s unconditional love will always be proclaimed.

A Living Witness

The ISM is a mosaic of jurisdictions and communities—Old Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican, and Independent Catholic—all united by a shared calling:
to keep the apostolic flame burning in every age, and to ensure that the sacraments of Christ remain a living reality for all.

This is our “why.”

We exist because the world still needs the Church’s sacraments, and because the Church still needs the world’s renewal.