John Charles Vockler FODC (22 July 19246 February 2014) was an Australian
bishop
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...
and Franciscan friar. He was originally a bishop in the
Anglican Church of Australia
The Anglican Church of Australia, formerly known as the Church of England in Australia and Tasmania, is a Christian church in Australia and an autonomous church of the Anglican Communion. It is the second largest church in Australia after the ...
but later become the primate of the
Anglican Catholic Church
The Anglican Catholic Church (ACC), also known as the Anglican Catholic Church (Original Province), is a body of Christians in the continuing Anglican movement, which is separate from the Anglican Communion led by the Archbishop of Canterbury ...
, a
Continuing Anglican
The Continuing Anglican Movement, also known as the Anglican Continuum, encompasses a number of Christian churches, principally based in North America, that have an Anglican identity and tradition but are not part of the Anglican Communion.
The ...
church.
Vockler was educated at the
University of Adelaide
The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on ...
ordained
Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform var ...
as an Anglican priest in 1948. He was an assistant priest at
Christ Church Cathedral, Newcastle
The Cathedral Church of Christ the King, also called Christ Church Cathedral, is an Australian cathedral in Newcastle, New South Wales. It is the cathedral church of the Diocese of Newcastle in the Anglican Church of Australia. The building, des ...
St John's College, University of Queensland
There are eleven residential colleges of the University of Queensland.
Colleges
Cromwell College
* On the St Lucia campus. Was the first of the Colleges on the St Lucia campus in June 1954, and admitted men only until it became co-ed in 1973.
* ...
. After a short time in New York he was a lecturer in
theology
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing th ...
at St John's Theological College, Morpeth, New South Wales. Later he was
Archdeacon
An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denominations, above that of m ...
of the
Eyre Peninsula
The Eyre Peninsula is a triangular peninsula in South Australia. It is bounded by the Spencer Gulf on the east, the Great Australian Bight on the west, and the Gawler Ranges to the north.
Originally called Eyre’s Peninsula, it was named af ...
and an
assistant bishop
An assistant bishop in the Anglican Communion is a bishop appointed to assist a diocesan bishop.
Church of England
In the established Church of England, assistant bishops are usually retired (diocesan or suffragan) bishops – in which case th ...
in the Diocese of Adelaide: he was consecrated a bishop in November 1959. In 1963 he became the
Bishop of Polynesia
The Diocese of Polynesia, or the Tikanga Pasefika serves Anglicans in Fiji, Tonga, Samoa and the Cook Islands, within the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia. The diocese's first bishop was consecrated in 1908. The diocese's c ...
, a post he held for five years. After resigning as Bishop of Polynesia in 1968, he was professed as an Anglican Franciscan friar (as Brother John-Charles) and was later a member of the more conservative Franciscan Order of the Divine Compassion. He served as an
Assistant Bishop of Chelmsford
The Bishop of Chelmsford is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chelmsford in the Province of Canterbury.'' Crockford's Clerical Directory 2008/2009 (100th edition)'', Church House Publishing ().
The current bishop is Guli Francis-D ...
from 1972 until 1974, and
Assistant Bishop of Southwark
The Bishop of Southwark ( ) is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Southwark in the Province of Canterbury. After moving to the United States he was initially an assistant bishop in the
Episcopal Diocese of Quincy
The Diocese of Quincy was a diocese of the Episcopal Church in western Illinois from 1877 to 2013. The cathedral seat (home of the diocese) was originally in Quincy, Illinois but was moved to St. Paul's Cathedral in Peoria in 1963. In order to ...
.
He was received into the
Anglican Catholic Church
The Anglican Catholic Church (ACC), also known as the Anglican Catholic Church (Original Province), is a body of Christians in the continuing Anglican movement, which is separate from the Anglican Communion led by the Archbishop of Canterbury ...
in 1994. He initially resided at Holyrood Seminary in Liberty, New York, but was appointed bishop of the Anglican Catholic Church's Diocese of New Orleans in 1999 in succession to Dean Stephens who had died suddenly earlier that year. He was the archbishop of the Anglican Catholic Church from 2001 to 2005. He retired as both archbishop of the ACC and Bishop of New Orleans in 2005 and moved to his native Australia.
As an author he wrote several books, including ''Can Anglicans Believe Anything: The Nature and Spirit of Anglicanism'', ''One Man’s Journey'' (1972); and ''Two Paths to Holiness''.
Vockler died peacefully at his home in Australia, early in the morning of the old Feast of St. Titus, on 6 February 2014.