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Mar Martin Severius (Bishop Craig Davis) |
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Diocesan Bishop in East Central Indiana |
| A Brief Autobiography | ||
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Also known by his religious name +Mar Martin Severius, Bishop Craig M. Davis, is the eldest of the five children of Major Howard (USAF, Retired) and Sylvia Davis. As a result of his father's 20-year Air Force career, Craig spent 8 of his first 14 years overseas, in Japan (1957-60) and on Okinawa (1963-68). Stateside locations included Louisiana, South Carolina, and finally Indiana. In 1974 Davis graduated as valedictorian of the last class of Thorntown High School, Thorntown, Indiana. He subsequently attended the University of Notre Dame, graduating in 1978 with a Bachelor of Arts degree, with a major in theology. Davis returned to the University of Notre Dame, completed his studies for professional ministry at Moreau Seminary, and graduated in 1981 with a Master of Divinity degree. In 2002 St. Moses the Black Theological Seminary Seminary awarded Bishop Davis a Doctor of Philosophy degree, with a specialty in pastoral ministry. On 11 April 1981 Bishop Raymond J. Gallagher of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lafayette-in-Indiana ordained Davis as a deacon and thereafter assigned him to an internship at St. Ann Parish, Lafayette, IN. Upon completion of his diaconate internship, Rev. Davis was ordained as a presbyter (priest) by the same Bishop Gallagher on 5 June 1982 at St. Mary Cathedral, Lafayette, IN. During his tenure as a presbyter in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lafayette-in-Indiana, Father Craig served in the following pastoral assignments: associate pastor at St. Patrick Parish, Kokomo (1982-87); associate pastor at St. Elizabeth Seton Parish, Carmel (1987-90); founding dean of the Southern (later Carmel) Deanery in Boone and Hamilton Counties (1988-90); advocate for the Diocesan Tribunal (1987-91); elected representative and vice-chairman of the Presbyteral Council (1990-91); associate pastor, later briefly pastor, of St. Francis of Assisi Parish and Newman Center at Ball State University (1990-91). After a leave of absence from active ministry and marriage in 1991, requests for weddings generated not only opportunities for pastoral ministry but also momentum for the establishment of the independent American Catholic Mission of St. Clare of Assisi, located near Mount Summit, IN, in May 1993. After serving in a couple of independent Catholic ecclesiastical jurisdictions, Father Craig was incardinated into the Old Catholic Orthodox Church in March 2001. Later in September 2001 the Acting Primate (Presiding Bishop), Archbishop Leland Lannoye, consecrated Davis as a bishop and appointed him as coadjutor bishop of Indianapolis. In September 2002 Archbishop Lannoye appointed +Davis as diocesan bishop of Indianapolis. In 2005 the diocese was re-designated as the Diocese of Indiana under the patronage of Mary the blessed Theotokos under the title of Our Lady of Medjugorje. During Archbishop Lannoye's illness in autumn 2004, +Davis served momentarily as Acting Primate of the Old Catholic Orthodox Church. Currently Bishop Davis continues to serve in pastoral ministry, operating out of the Anglo-Syriac-rite Christian Mission of the Ascension, Hagerstown, IN (cf. www.freewebs.com/oocossac). During 2004-2008 he served as the first presiding bishop for the "daughter" autocephalous jurisdiction known as the Christian Church, Synod of St. Timothy (cf. website at www.christiansynod.org). At the present time Mar Martin is engaged in the following ministries: (1) serving as proud father to his son Joshua, now a junior-high-school student; (2) conducting parish and episcopal ministry, primarily in east central Indiana; (3) for the Old Catholic Orthodox Church, serving as jurisdictional Chancellor (CAO) since April 2005 and as Vicar General (COO) since November 2005; (4) also for the Old Catholic Orthodox Church, chairing the Canonical Commission that receives and/or drafts proposed revisions for the Canonical Norms of Church Order, originally drafted by Bishop Davis and promulgated by Archbishop Jorge Rodriguez-Villa, effective on 15 May 2005; (5) supervising the implementation and development of the eastern-rite Divine Liturgy of St. Titus (patterned after Syriac-rite liturgies), currently adopted for use in the local Syriac-rite Christian Mission of the Ascension, east central Indiana (cf. www.freewebs.com/oocossac); (6) seeking to establish dialogue and covenants of intercommunion with like-spirited and -minded Christocephalous ecclesial jurisdictions; (7) conducting ongoing maintenance of the various websites under his management. In addition to his episcopal ministries, Mar Martin has been a "tent-making" (bivocational) pastor, serving in several professional positions, including the following: counselor/case-manager at the Youth Opportunity Center, Muncie, IN (1992-94); therapist at Wernle Children's Home, Richmond, IN (1995-96 and 1999-2000); executive director of Westminster Community Center, New Castle, IN (1996-99); chaplain for HospiceCare, Inc., New Castle, IN (1997-2000 and 2001-2002); manager of chaplaincy services at Wishard Memorial Hospital, Indianapolis, IN (2000-2001); chaplain for Covenant and New Hope Hospices, New Castle and Marion, IN (2002-2004); chaplain, bereavement coordinator, and director of volunteer services for Best Choice Hospice Care, Indianapolis, IN (2004-2005); therapist at Healing Hearts Counseling Center, Richmond, IN (2005-2006); substitute teacher for the Nettle Creek School Corporation, Hagerstown, IN (2005 to Present) and for the New Castle, Centerville-Abington, South Henry, and Blue River School Corporations (2006 to 2008); tutor for the Tools of Empowerment Education program (autumn 2006), special-education assistant at Centerville-Abington Schools (2007-2008), chaplain at Family Hospice & Palliative Care, Berne, IN (2008-Present). Community service has included graduating in the 1998 class of the Henry County Academy for Community Leadership and membership in the following organizations: Henry County Ministerial Association (1993-2004), membership on the Henry County Child Abuse Prevention Council (1993-99), membership on the Henry County Child Protection Team (1993-94), Crescens Lodge 33 of the Knights of Pythias since 1994, listing in the Who's Who of Professionals 1997-98. Finally, on a personal note, +Mar Martin's life and ministry have been richly blessed by the gift of his son Joshua. Ordained ministry and family life can and do coexist, certainly not without ups and downs nor without challenges (including marital turmoil that may culminate in divorce and subsequent remarriage), but nonetheless with faith, hope, and love. Brief personal commentary: Those who insist that ordained ministry should be exclusively a celibate phenomenon perhaps do well to recall the following: (1) that celibacy has been mandatory in the western rites of the Church only since the First Lateran Council in 1123, (2) that the eastern rites of the Church to this day is still served by married clergy, (3) that the imposition and enforcement of mandatory celibacy has proven to be difficult at best, and (4) [as demonstrated in my own pastoral experience] that engaged and married Christians have tended more easily to realize an emotional-experiential identification in counseling with clergy who have shared in the married state of life, actually and personally experiencing the fullness of life in a way that probably more readily resembles that of most of their parishioners. Related to the above, June 2008 proved to be an eventful month, as I married a lovely and godly woman from Talbot, Victoria, Australia, Pamela Munroe Bright (whom I subsequently ordained to the order of deaconess). Upon Pam's return to the United States (hopefully very soon), she will serve as my partner in both matrimony and ministry.
Our wedding day was a beautiful day, including a beautiful and happy bride!
As we greeted our witnesses, we looked forward to our shared ministry yet to come.
With my partner in both matrimony and ministry, I look forward to blessed and fruitful days of labor in the God's vineyard, fortified by the comfort and consolation of the Holy Spirit, as we invite others to join us in pilgrimage unto the fullness of the kingdom that God's Son, our Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus, won for us through his death and resurrection. All praise to the most holy and glorious Trinity: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Holy Spirit now, always, and forever! Amen! Updated 05-08-2009 |
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| Contact Information | ||
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You may reach +Mar Martin Severius at the following mailing address, telephone, or email: +Mar Martin Severius (Bishop Craig M. Davis) Christian Mission of the Ascension 590-M West Main Street Hagerstown, IN 47346 Telephone: 765-489-5775 (answering service available) Email: mar.martin2005@gmail.com
Updated 05-08-2009 |
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| ©2008 +Craig M Davis |
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