The autocephalous church movement, even from its humble founding by St. René Vilatte, has been at the confluence of the so-called "canonical" apostolic-succession churches: The Roman Catholic communion, the Constantinople-centered Orthodox communion, the Anglican communion and the Utrecht-centered Old Catholic communion. This page tries to document some of the more interesting known connections between the autocephalous church movement and the so-called "canonical" churches.
The autocephalous church movement is also occasionally seen to be involved in some of the major events in the ebb and flow of history.
In no particular order (the numbers are merely for my convenience as editor) ...
1. May 2001.The autocephalous movement gets involved in the Medjugorje situation. The priests of a Roman Catholic Medjugorje parish stick it to the local bishop (Diocese of Mostar-Duvno) by bringing in an outsider to administer the Sacrament of Confirmation. In that diocese, per an older Roman custom, the bishop gets paid per sacrament administered. (This was apparently meant to be a financial snub, too.) Rather than administer the sacrament themselves -- which they could have lawfully done during the Easter Vigil under current Roman Canon Law, these Roman priests brought in an outsider: Srecko Franjo Novak. Novak represented himself as an autocephalous bishop, but some research performed by the Roman diocese shows that Novak never made it past the diaconate.
2. July 2001. Autocephalous priest and parish absorbed by a "canonical" church. Fr. Jon-Brian Paprock of Hadrian Mar Elijah's "Apostolic Christian Church of the East" (and Paprock's parish in Madison, Wisconsin USA) were absored whole into The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church in North America. [Article]
3. 1972. "Canonical" Church absorbs entire 10,000-member autocephalous church. In 1972, The Orthodox Church of America created a Mexican Exarchate based on the absorption of the entire Mexican National Catholic Church. [Article]
4. Coming soon: An autocephalous movement diocese signs intercommunion agreements with a number of the Orthodox Churches in India.
5. Coming soon: The absorption of a priest into The Episcopal Church (PECUSA).
6. Coming soon: An autocephalous-movement priest serves as pastor of an Episcopal Church (PECUSA) parish in Massachusettes.
7. Coming soon: The absorption of a married bishop into The Roman Catholic Church, and he brings his wife to the Vatican II council.
8. Coming soon: The Polish National Catholic Church (PNCC) sends a seminarian to an autocephalous-movement seminary.
9. Coming soon: A PNCC priest serves as pastor of an Episcopal Church (PECUSA) parish in San Diego, California.
10. Coming soon: An autocephalous-movement parish in Ohio signs an full-intercommunion agreement with a United Methodist parish.
11. Coming soon: Evidence of some ties between the autocephalous church movement and the tragic assassinaton of U.S. President John F. Kennedy.
12. Coming soon: The Unification Church shows appreciation for the preaching of certain autocephalous clergy by displaying their homilies on Unification-controlled web sites.
13. Coming soon: Certain clergy of the movement are heavily involved in a "scandal" involving a Roman Catholic cardinal archbishop who resigns to marry, then leaves his wife and begs for Rome's forgiveness.
14. Coming soon: A number of clergy in the movement maintain their membership as clergy or leadership-role-laity in their original denominations: The Roman Catholic Church, The Lutheran Church (ELCA), Church of God in Christ (COGIC) and others.
15. Coming soon: A movement parish in Mesquite, Texas USA, and its clergy are absorbed whole into the "canonical" Antiochian Patriarchate.