Deacon John LesCallett was ordained a priest in the Anglican Church on Thursday, June 18, at the Anglican Cathedral of All Saints in Tulsa, Okla.

The Right Reverend Fredrick Morrison Bishop of the Diocese of the Southwestern States and six priest laid hands on John in the ancient tradition of the Apostles of Jesus Christ. Father John has served at Church of the Atonement in Fountain Hills since 2009, first as Lay Pastor then Deacon and now as Priest in charge.

Anglicans trace their Christian roots back to the early Church, and their specifically Anglican identity to the post-Reformation expansion of the Church of England and other Episcopal or Anglican Churches. Historically, there were two main stages in the development and spread of the Communion.

Beginning with the 17th Century, Anglicanism was established alongside colonization in the United States, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa. The second state began in the 18th Century when missionaries worked to establish Anglican churches in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

As a worldwide family of churches, the Anglican Communion has more than 70 million adherents in 38 Provinces spreading across 161 countries. Located on every continent, Anglicans speak many languages and come from different races and cultures.

Although the churches are autonomous, they are also uniquely unified through their history, their theology, their worship and their relationship to the ancient See of Canterbury.

Anglicans uphold the Catholic and Apostolic faith. Following the teachings of Jesus Christ, the Churches are committed to the proclamation of the good news of the Gospel to the whole creation. In practice this is based on the revelation contained in Holy Scripture and the Catholic creeds, and is interpreted in light of Christian tradition, scholarship, reason and experience.