Editing Evangelical Orthodox Church (section)

=== Foundation ===
On January 14, 1979, the six members of the General Apostolic Council of the [[New Covenant Apostolic Order]] (NCAO)[[Peter Gillquist|&mdash;Peter Gillquist]], Jack Sparks, [[Jon Braun]], J. R. Ballew, Gordon Walker, and Kenneth Berven&mdash;stood in a circle and self-ordained and proclaimed each other bishops.<ref>{{cite magazine | last=Walker | first=Gordon | title=Odyssey to Orthodoxy | magazine=Again | volume=6 | number=3 | date=September 1983 | page=10}}</ref> The following day they announced the formation of a new denomination—the Evangelical Orthodox Church&mdash;consisting of congregations following the NCAO.<ref>{{cite thesis | last=Stiling | first=Ruth L. | title=An Examination of the Evangelical Orthodox Church | type=MA | location=Dallas, TX | publisher=Dallas Theological Seminary | date=1980 | page=25}}</ref> According to NCAO leaders, the EOC was launched with 2,500 members in fifty churches organized into seventeen dioceses.<ref>{{cite magazine | last=Hitt | first=Russell T. | title=Go East, Young Men | magazine=Eternity | volume=31 | number=3 | date=March 1980 | page=13}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine | last=Vecsey | first=George | title=New Group Combines Evangelism and Orthodoxy | magazine=The New York Times | date=March 11, 1979 | page=25}}</ref> However, former members reported the membership as less than 1,000.<ref>{{cite report | last=Counts | first=Bill | title=The Evangelical Orthodox Church and the New Covenant Apostolic Order | location=Berkeley, CA | publisher=Spiritual Counterfeits Project | date=November 2, 1979 | page=1}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Dart |first=John |date=November 15, 1986 |title=The Evangelical Orthodox Church, a tiny denomination... |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-11-15-me-3728-story.html |access-date=February 20, 2024 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref>