Episcopi vagantes (Latin for "wandering bishops") are persons who have been consecrated as bishops in a Christian church in some irregular fashion, especially those claiming to have valid Roman Catholic orders although their consecrations were not authorized by the Roman Catholic Church. The Catholic Church generally considers at least some such consecrations valid but unlawful, following the principle of "once a bishop, always a bishop" and therefore, "once having the authority of a bishop, always having the authority of a bishop." On the other hand, Eastern Orthodoxy follows another view, considering any consecration outside of the church as a whole as spurious. This is because, unlike for Roman Catholics, Orthodoxy

Many episcopi vagantes claim succession from the Old Catholic See of Utrecht, or from Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, or Eastern-Rite Catholic churches; others from Roman Catholic bishops that have consecrated their own bishops after disputes with the Vatican.

Many, if not most, bishops so labelled are associated with Independent Catholic Churches. These bishops are both very liberal and very conservative, including a large number of gay and lesbian clerics. Episcopi vagantes include a significant number of conservative "Continuing Anglicans," who have broken with the Anglican Communion over various issues such as prayer book revision,

According to the normative position of Roman Catholicism, the consecration of a bishop is valid, even if outside the forms and norms of the church, so long as the bishop is in an indisputable line of succession of bishops dating back to the Apostles and the rites of consecration are properly performed (see Apostolic succession). That is why Roman Catholics maintain that they recognize the validity of consecrations in Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Old Catholic, and the Assyrian Churches but do not recognize Anglican consecrations. Some Roman Catholic theologians doubt, however, the validity of ordinations of bishops or priests not for the service of a Christian community, but for the individual's isolated personal advantage.

Some people have claimed consecration as bishop in situations where it is questionable whether the consecration ever actually took place, which is a separate issue.

The term episcopi vagantes is sometimes seen as a pejorative term by members and clergy of Independent Catholic, Old Catholic, Continuing Anglican and similar sects.

Bibliography

• Episcopi Vagantes and the Anglican Church. Henry R.T. Brandreth. London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1947.
• Episcopi vagantes in church history. A.J. Macdonald. London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1945.
• Bishops at Large. Peter F. Anson. New York City: October House Publishing, 1963.
• The Wandering Bishops: Apostles of A New Spirituality by Lewis Keizer. 2000 edition.
• Independent Bishops: An International Directory, edited by Gary L. Ward, Bertil Persson, and Alan Bain. Apogee Books, 1990

see also "Episcopi Vagantes and the Challenge to Catholic Ministry" an MA thesis by James Ford, Pacific School of Religion, Berkeley, California, 1991.