The
Old Catholic Church is a
ChristianChristianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented by the revelations in the New Testament....
denomination originating with mainly
GermanGerman is a West Germanic language, thus related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. It is one of the world's major languages and the most widely spoken first language in the European Union. Around the world, German is spoken by approximately 105 million native speakers and also by...
-speaking groups that split from the
Holy SeeThe Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome, commonly known as the Pope, and is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and speaks for the whole Catholic...
in the 1870s because they disagreed with the solemn declaration of the doctrine of
papal infallibilityPapal infallibility is the dogma in Catholic theology that, by action of the Holy Spirit, the Pope is preserved from even the possibility of error when he solemnly declares or promulgates to the universal Church a dogmatic teaching on faith or morals as being contained in divine revelation, or at...
promulgated by the
First Vatican CouncilThe First Vatican Council was convoked by Pope Pius IX on 29 June 1868, after a period of planning and preparation that began on 6 December 1864. This twentieth ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church, held three centuries after the Council of Trent, opened on 8 December 1869 and adjourned...
(1869–1870). The Old Catholic Church holds close to ideas of ecclesiastical
liberalismLiberalism is the belief in the importance of individual freedom. This belief is widely accepted today throughout the world, and was recognized as an important value by many philosophers throughout history...
(
Liberal ChristianityLiberal Christianity, sometimes called liberal theology, is an umbrella term covering diverse, philosophically informed religious movements and ideas within Christianity from the late 18th century and onwards...
). As a Breakaway Catholic Church, the church is not in communion with the Holy See, though the Union of Utrecht of Old Catholic Churches is in full communion with the
Anglican CommunionThe Anglican Communion is an international association of national Anglican churches. There is no single "Anglican Church" with universal juridical authority as each national or regional church has full autonomy...
.
The term "Old Catholic" was first used in 1853 to describe the members of the
See of UtrechtThe Bishopric of Utrecht was a Diocese based in the Dutch city of Utrecht. It was one of the Prince-Bishoprics of the Holy Roman Empire.The Bishopric of Utrecht continued as a state of the Holy Roman Empire from 1024 until 1528, when the secular authority and territorial possessions of the...
who were not under papal authority. As the groups that split from the
Holy SeeThe Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome, commonly known as the Pope, and is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and speaks for the whole Catholic...
in the 1870s had no bishop, they joined Utrecht to form the Union of Utrecht. The Old Catholic Churches which form the Union of Utrecht are not in communion with any of the various groups which style themselves Independent (Old) Catholic.
Beliefs
Old Catholics reject papal infallibility, instead proposing that only the Church in Ecumenical Council may speak infallibly. For Old Catholics, the fullness of authoritative power in the Church is vested in the Bishopric, and a Council of the Bishops as a whole alone may speak infallibly. Old Catholics view the Pope as
primus inter pares or "First Among Equals". Old Catholics usually refer to the Church Father St. Vincent of Lerins in his saying: "We must hold fast to that faith which has been believed everywhere, always, and by all the Faithful."
The Netherlands
St. Willibrord was consecrated to the episcopacy by
Pope Sergius IPope Saint Sergius I was Pope from 687–701. Selected to end a schism between Antipope Paschal and Antipope Theodore, Sergius I ended the last disputed sede vacante of the Byzantine Papacy....
in 696 at
RomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated municipality , with over 2.7 million residents in , while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat to be 3.46 million. The metropolitan area of Rome is estimated by OECD to have a population of 3.7 million...
. Upon his return to the
NetherlandsThe Netherlands is a country in Northwestern Europe, constituting the major portion of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy. The Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east...
, he established his see at
UtrechtUtrecht city and municipality is the capital and most populous city of the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern end of the Randstad, and is the fourth largest city of the Netherlands, with a population of 300,030 in 2007...
. In addition, he established the dioceses at
DeventerDeventer is a municipality and city in the Salland region of the Dutch province of Overijssel. Deventer is largely situated on the east bank of the river IJssel, but also has a small part of its territory on the west bank. In 2005 the municipality of Bathmen Deventer is a municipality and city in...
and
Haarlem', in the past usually Harlem in English, is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands. It is also the capital of the province of North Holland, the northern half of Holland, which at one time was the most powerful of the seven provinces of the Dutch Republic.Haarlem had a total population 148...
. The Diocese of Utrecht provided the only Dutch pope Adrian VI in 1552 and two prominent writers on the spiritual life,
Geert GrooteGeert Groote , otherwise Gerrit or Gerhard Groet, in Latin Gerardus Magnus, was a Dutch preacher and founder of the Brethren of the Common Life.- Birth and education :...
, who founded the
Brethren of the Common LifeThe Brethren of the Common Life was a Roman Catholic religious community founded in the 14th century by Gerard Groote, formerly a successful and worldly educator who had had a religious experience and preached a life of simple devotion to Jesus Christ.-The Brethren and the Devotio Moderna:The...
, and
Thomas à KempisThomas à Kempis was the latinized name of Thomas Haemerken a late Medieval Catholic monk and probable author of The Imitation of Christ, one of the best known Christian books on devotion....
, who wrote the
Imitation of Christ.
In 1125, at the request of the
Holy Roman EmperorThe Holy Roman Emperor is a term used by historians to denote a Middle Ages ruler, who as German King had in addition received the title of "Emperor of the Romans" from the Pope of the Holy Roman Church, and after the 16th century, the elected monarch governing the Holy Roman Empire, a Central...
,
Conrad IIConrad II was the son of a mid-level nobleman in Franconia, Count Henry of Speyer and Adelaide of Alsace, who inherited the titles of count of Speyer and of Worms as an infant when Henry died at age twenty...
, and Bishop Heribert of Utrecht,
Pope Eugene IIIPope Blessed Eugene III , born Bernardo da Pisa, was Pope from 1145 to 1153. He was the first Cistercian to become Pope.-Early life:...
gave Utrecht the right to elect its own bishops. This was affirmed by the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215. In 1520,
Pope Leo XPope Leo X was Pope from 1513 to his death. He was the last non-priest to be elected Pope. He is known primarily for the sale of indulgences to reconstruct St. Peter's Basilica and his challenging of Martin Luther's 95 theses. He was the second son of Lorenzo de' Medici, the most famous ruler of...
granted to the then Bishop of Utrecht (Philip of Burgundy) that no clergy or laity from Utrecht would ever be tried by a Roman tribunal. During the
ReformationThe Protestant Reformation was a Christian reform movement in Europe which is generally deemed to have begun with Martin Luther's Ninety-Five Theses in 1517 although a number of precursors such as Jan Hus predate that event...
the Catholic Church was persecuted and the Dutch dioceses north of the
RhineThe Rhine is one of the longest and most important rivers in Europe, at , with an average discharge of more than ....
and
WaalRiver Waal is the main distributary branch of river Rhine flowing to the central Netherlands for about 80 km before joining the Meuse near Woudrichem to form the Boven Merwede. It is a major river which serves as the main waterway connecting the Rotterdam harbor and Germany. Nijmegen, Tiel,...
were suspended by the
Holy SeeThe Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome, commonly known as the Pope, and is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and speaks for the whole Catholic...
. Protestants occupied most church buildings, and those remaining were confiscated by the government of the
Dutch RepublicThe Republic of the Seven United Netherlands was a European republic between 1581 and 1795, in about the same location as the modern Kingdom of the Netherlands,...
of Seven Provinces, which favoured
CalvinismCalvinism is a theological system and an approach to the Christian life...
.
However, about one third of the population in the northern Netherlands remained Catholic and the
popeThe pope is the Bishop of Rome and, as such, is leader of the worldwide Catholic Church...
s appointed apostolic vicars (based in Utrecht) to care for these people. Clergy secretly celebrated the sacraments in a variety of places and were cared for by German and
FlemishFlanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France, and the Netherlands...
missionaries. The person named as apostolic vicar was also called
Archbishop of Utrecht in partibus infidelium (i.e., archbishop in the land of unbelievers).
In 1691, the Jesuits accused
Petrus CoddePetrus Codde was a Dutch Roman Catholic bishop and theologian. He was vicar apostolic to the Dutch Mission from 1688 to 1702.-Life:...
, the then apostolic vicar, of favouring the Jansenist
heresyHeresy is proposing some unorthodox change to an established system of belief, especially a religion, that conflicts with the previously established opinion of scholars of that belief such as canon. It is sometimes confused with apostasy which is disaffiliation from orthodoxy and blasphemy which is...
.
Pope Innocent XIIPope Innocent XII , born Antonio Pignatelli was Pope from 1691 to 1700. He was the successor of Pope Alexander VIII .-Biography:...
appointed a commission of
cardinalsA cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually a bishop, of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and making themselves available...
to investigate the accusations - apparently violating the exemption granted in 1520. The commission concluded that the accusations were groundless.
In 1700 a new
popeThe pope is the Bishop of Rome and, as such, is leader of the worldwide Catholic Church...
, Clement XI, summoned Codde to Rome in order to participate in the Jubilee Year, whereupon a second commission was appointed to try Codde. The result of this second proceeding was again acquittal. However, in 1701 Clement XI decided to suspend Codde and appoint a successor. The Church in Utrecht refused to accept the replacement and Codde continued in office until 1703, when he resigned.
After Codde's resignation, the Diocese of Utrecht chose Cornelius van Steenoven as bishop. He was consecrated by Dominique Marie Varlet, the bishop of Babylon (1678-1742), who was visiting the Netherlands. Van Steenoven appointed and ordained bishops to the sees of
DeventerDeventer is a municipality and city in the Salland region of the Dutch province of Overijssel. Deventer is largely situated on the east bank of the river IJssel, but also has a small part of its territory on the west bank. In 2005 the municipality of Bathmen Deventer is a municipality and city in...
,
Haarlem', in the past usually Harlem in English, is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands. It is also the capital of the province of North Holland, the northern half of Holland, which at one time was the most powerful of the seven provinces of the Dutch Republic.Haarlem had a total population 148...
and
Groningen||-| |-| |-| |-| |-| |-| |-| |-| |}Groningen is the capital city of the province of Groningen in the Netherlands. With a population of 185,000, it is by far the largest city in the north of the Netherlands....
. Although the pope was duly notified of all proceedings, the Holy See still regarded these dioceses as vacant due to papal permission not being sought. The pope, therefore, continued to appoint apostolic vicars for the Netherlands. Van Steenoven and the other bishops were excommunicated and thus began the
Old Catholic Church in the Netherlands.
Most Dutch Catholics remained in
full communionFull communion is a term used in Christian ecclesiology to describe the relationship of communion, with mutually recognized sharing of the same essential doctrines, between a Christian community and other communities or between that community and individuals....
with the
popeThe pope is the Bishop of Rome and, as such, is leader of the worldwide Catholic Church...
and with the apostolic vicars appointed by him. However, due to prevailing anti-papal feeling among the powerful Dutch Calvinists, the Church of Utrecht was tolerated and even praised by the government of the
Dutch RepublicThe Republic of the Seven United Netherlands was a European republic between 1581 and 1795, in about the same location as the modern Kingdom of the Netherlands,...
.
In 1853
Pope Pius IXPope Blessed Pius IX , born Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti, was the longest reigning Pope in Church history, serving from 16 June 1846 until his death, a period of nearly 32 years. During his pontificate, he convened the First Vatican Council in 1869, which decreed Papal infallibility...
received guarantees of religious freedom from the Dutch King
Willem IIWillem II may refer to:People*William II, Prince of Orange , stadtholder of the United Provinces of the Netherlands*William II of the Netherlands , King of the NetherlandsOther*Willem II , a Dutch football club...
and established a Catholic hierarchy, loyal to the pope, in the
NetherlandsThe Netherlands is a country in Northwestern Europe, constituting the major portion of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy. The Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east...
. This existed alongside that of the Old Catholic See of Utrecht. Thereafter in the Netherlands the Utrecht hierarchy was referred to as the 'Old Catholic Church' to distinguish it from those in union with the pope. In the mind of the Holy See, the Old Catholic Church of Utrecht had maintained
apostolic successionApostolic succession is the doctrine in some of the more ancient Christian communions that the succession of bishops, in uninterrupted lines, is historically traceable back to the original Twelve Apostles. Apostolic succession is not the same as the Petrine supremacy . As a general rule,...
and its clergy thus celebrated valid sacraments in every respect. The Diocese of Utrecht was considered schismatic but not in heresy.
Impact of the First Vatican Council
After the
First Vatican CouncilThe First Vatican Council was convoked by Pope Pius IX on 29 June 1868, after a period of planning and preparation that began on 6 December 1864. This twentieth ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church, held three centuries after the Council of Trent, opened on 8 December 1869 and adjourned...
(1869-1870), several groups of
AustrianAustria–Hungary, also known as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the k.u.k. Monarchy, or Dual State, was a monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in Central Europe...
, German and
SwissThe Swiss are citizens of the Swiss Confederation, natives of Switzerland. The demonym derives from the toponym of Schwyz and has been in widespread use to refer to the Old Swiss Confederacy since the 16th century....
Catholics rejected the solemn declaration concerning papal infallibility in matters of faith and morals and left to form their own churches. These were supported by the `Old Catholic´
Archbishop of UtrechtThe Bishopric of Utrecht was a Diocese based in the Dutch city of Utrecht. It was one of the Prince-Bishoprics of the Holy Roman Empire.The Bishopric of Utrecht continued as a state of the Holy Roman Empire from 1024 until 1528, when the secular authority and territorial possessions of the...
, who ordained priests and bishops for them. Later the Dutch were united more formally with many of these groups under the name "
Utrecht Union of ChurchesThe Union of Utrecht is a federation of Old Catholic Churches, not in communion with Rome, that seceded from the Roman Catholic Church over the issue of Papal infallibility. The Declaration of Utrecht solidified this movement in 1889...
".
In the spring of 1871 a convention in
MunichMunich is the capital city of Bavaria, Germany. It is located on the River Isar north of the Bavarian Alps. Munich is the third largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Hamburg...
attracted several hundred participants, including
Church of EnglandThe Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England, the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the oldest among the communion's thirty-eight independent national and regional churches...
and Protestant observers. The most notable leader of the movement, though maintaining a certain distance from the Old Catholic Church as an institution, was the renowned church historian and priest
Johann Joseph Ignaz von DöllingerJohann Joseph Ignaz von Döllinger was a German theologian, Catholic priest and church historian who rejected the dogma of papal infallibility...
(1799–1890), who had been excommunicated by the pope because of his support for the affair.
The convention decided to form the "Old Catholic Church" in order to distinguish its members from what they saw as the novel teaching of papal infallibility in the Catholic Church. Although it had continued to use the
Roman RiteThe liturgical rite of the Catholic Church of Rome is called the Roman Rite. The quite distinct term Latin Rite usually refers not to a liturgical rite but to the particular Church within the Roman Catholic Church that was sometimes referred to also as the Patriarchate of the West...
, from the middle of the 18th century, the Dutch Old Catholic See of Utrecht had increasingly used the
vernacularVernacular is the native language of a country or a locality. In general linguistics, it is used to describe local languages as opposed to lingua francas, official standards or global languages. It is sometimes applied to nonstandard dialects of a global language...
instead of Latin. The churches which broke from the Holy See in 1870 and subsequently entered into union with the Old Catholic See of Utrecht gradually introduced the vernacular into the
LiturgyA liturgy is the customary public worship done by a specific religious group, according to its particular traditions. The word may refer to an elaborate formal ritual such as the Eastern Orthodox Divine Liturgy and Catholic Mass, or a daily activity such as the Muslim salat and Jewish services...
until it completely replaced Latin in 1877. In 1874 Old Catholics removed the requirement of
clerical celibacyClerical celibacy is the practice in various religious traditions, in which clergy, monastics and those in religious orders adopt a celibate life, refraining from marriage and sexual relationships, including masturbation and "impure thoughts"...
.
The Old Catholic Church in Germany received some support from the new German Empire of
Otto von BismarckOtto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck was a Prussian German statesman and aristocrat of the 19th century. As Ministerpräsident of Prussia from 1862–1890, he oversaw the unification of Germany. In 1867 he became Chancellor of the North German Confederation...
, whose policy was increasingly hostile towards the Catholic Church in the 1870s and 1880s. In
AustrianAustria–Hungary, also known as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the k.u.k. Monarchy, or Dual State, was a monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in Central Europe...
territories, pan-Germanic nationalist groups, like those of
Georg Ritter von SchönererGeorg Ritter von Schönerer was an Austrian politician active in the late 1800s and early 1900s.Born in Vienna as Georg Heinrich Schönerer, when his father was knighted in 1860 Georg too was entitled to add the noble particle von to his surname, and unofficially but by custom, also the knightly...
, promoted the conversion to Old Catholicism or Lutheranism of those Catholics loyal to the Holy See.
Doctrine
The Old Catholic Church shares much doctrine and liturgy with the
Roman Catholic ChurchThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church. With more than a billion members, over half of all Christians and more than one-sixth of the world's population, the Catholic Church is a communion of the Western, or Latin Rite Church, and...
, but has a more liberal stance on most issues, such as the ordination of women, the morality of homosexual acts, artificial contraception and liturgical reforms such as
open communionOpen communion is the practice of Christian churches that allow individuals other than members of that church to receive Holy Communion...
. Its liturgy has departed significantly from the
Tridentine MassThe Tridentine Mass is a common name for the form of the Roman Rite Mass contained in the typical editions of the Roman Missal that were published from 1570 to 1962. In this time period, it was the most widely celebrated form of the Catholic liturgy in the world.The term "Tridentine" is derived...
, as is shown in the
English translation of the German Altarbook (
missalA missal is a liturgical book containing all instructions and texts necessary for the celebration of Mass throughout the year.-History:Before the compilation of such books, several books were used when celebrating Mass...
). In 1994 the German bishops decided to ordain women as priests, and put this into practice on 27 May 1996; similar decisions and practices followed in Austria, Switzerland and the Netherlands. The Utrecht Union allows those who are divorced to have a new religious marriage and upholds no teaching on birth control, leaving such decisions to the married couple.
The "Catholic Diocese of the Old Catholics in Germany" (Katholisches Bistum der Alt-Katholiken in Deutschland) is
autonomous,
episcopallyEpiscopal polity is a form of church governance which is hierarchical in structure with the chief authority over a local Christian church resting in a bishop . This episcopal structure is found most often in the various churches of Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and other Eastern Church, and...
,
synodallyA synod is a council of a church, usually a Christian church, convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application...
structured,
catholic
The word Catholic is derived from the Greek adjective , meaning "universal". In the context of Christian ecclesiology, it has a rich history and several usages. For some, the term "Catholic Church" refers to the church in full communion with the Bishop of Rome, made up of the Latin Rite and the 22...
a church, which acknowledges the diversity and the essential teaching and institutions of the early, undivided church during the first millennium. Its origins lie in various Catholic reform movements.
United States
Soon after Old Catholicism's events at the end of the 19th century, Old Catholic missionaries came to the United States.
On 28 April 1908, Arnold Harris Mathew, a suspended Catholic priest who had joined the Old Catholic Church, was ordained to the episcopacy by Utrecht Archbishop Gerhardus Gul, assisted by the Old Catholic bishops of Deventer and Berne, in St. Gertrude's Old Catholic Cathedral, Utrecht. Mathew had been ordained a bishop as the Old Catholic Church believed that he had a significant following, and wished to establish a mission in the United Kingdom. Only two years later, Mathew declared his autonomy from the Union of Utrecht, with which he had experienced tension from the beginning. Thus began the Independent Old Catholic movement.
Mathew sent missionaries to the United States, including the theosophist Bishop J. I. Wedgwood (1892 - 1950) and Bishop Rudolph de Landas Berghes et de Rache (1873–1920). De Landas arrived in the United States on 7 November 1914, hoping to unite the various independent Old Catholic jurisdictions under Archbishop Mathew. He ordained a significant number of priests and consecrated others including William Francis Brothers and Carmel Henry Carfora.
In the area of Green Bay, Wisconsin,
Joseph René VilatteJoseph René Vilatte was, at different times, a Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Episcopalian, Russian Orthodox and Jacobite...
began working with Catholics of Belgian ancestry, who tended to be isolated influence due to their geographical position. Vilatte was ordained a deacon on 6 June 1885 and priest on 7 June 1885 by the Most Rev. Eduard Herzog, bishop of the Old Catholic Church of Switzerland. Vilatte's work provided the only sacramental presence in that particular part of rural Wisconsin.
In time, Vilatte asked the Old Catholic Archbishop of Utrecht to be ordained a bishop so that he might confirm, but his petition was not granted. Vilatte sought opportunities for consecration in the Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Churches. He was ordained a bishop in India on the 28 May 1892 under the jurisdiction of the Syriac Orthodox
Patriarch of AntiochPatriarch of Antioch is a traditional title held by the Bishop of Antioch. As the traditional "overseer" of the first gentile Christian community, the position has been of prime importance in the church from its earliest period...
. Over the years, literally hundreds of people in the United States have come to claim apostolic succession from Vilatte; none are in communion with, nor recognised by, the Old Catholic See of Utrecht.
Polish National Catholic Church
The
Polish National Catholic ChurchThe Polish National Catholic Church is a Christian church founded and based in the United States by Polish-Americans who were Roman Catholic. The PNCC is a Breakaway Catholic Church in dialogue with the Roman Catholic Church and has sought full communion with the Holy See although it differs...
(PNCC) is not in communion with any other body, and it is the largest of the Old Catholic communities in the United States. The Polish National Catholic Church began in the late 19th century over issues concerning the ownership of church property and the domination of the U.S. hierarchy by Irish prelates. The church traces its apostolic succession directly to the Utrecht Union and thus possesses orders and sacraments which are recognised by the Holy See. In 2003 the church withdrew from the Utrecht Union due to Utrecht's acceptance of the ordination of women and open attitude towards homosexuality, both of which the Polish Church rejects.
Conference of North American Old Catholic Bishops
With the PNCC no longer a member of the Union of Utrecht, the Union's International Bishops Conference (IBC) asked the Episcopal Church - its ecumenical partner in the United States - to initiate discussions among various groups identifying as Old Catholics. The purpose was to find out how they identify as Old Catholics, their understanding of Old Catholic ecclesiology, and whether they ordain women. The Episcopal Church, after having gathered this information, reported to the IBC the summary of the various experiences of those Old Catholic churches that responded. The report was given at the annual meeting of the IBC in August 2005. The IBC then asked the Episcopal Church to host a consultation of these American bishops.
In May 2006, from the Old Catholic bishops who initially responded, four American Old Catholic bishops gathered at the Bethsaida Spirituality Center in Queens Village, New York: the Most Rev. Peter Hickman, the Most Rev. Peter Paul Brennan, the Most Rev. Charles Leigh, and the Most Rev. Robert T. Fuentes. Along with these four bishops, also in attendance was the liaison of the Episcopal Church to the IBC, the Rt. Rev. Michie Klusmeyer, Bishop of West Virginia, the deputy for ecumenical and interfaith relations, Dr. Tom Ferguson and Fr. Bjorn Marcussen, an Episcopal priest who had been ordained in the Old Catholic Church of Austria and who is an Old Catholic theologian, himself having been consecrated a Bishop December 27, 1970, by Bishop Helmut Norbert Maas, assisted by Bishop Henry Marciniak and Bishop Jacob Rokitta. The IBC sent as an observer to this consulation, Fr. Gunther Esser, Director of Old Catholic Studies at the University of Bonn, Germany. Key to the discussions was the ecclesiology of the Old Catholic Church, highlighted in the Preamble to the Statutes of the International Bishops Conference. After three days of discussions, the American bishops agreed to the formation of the Conference of North American Old Catholic Bishops, agreeing to pattern itself after the IBC. The CNAOCB has as its central goal the tangible, organic unity among American Old Catholic jurisdictions. The bishops also agreed to meet at least twice a year.
In November 2006, the two bishops who remained engaged to the development and formation of the CNAOCB, met in Los Angeles, to develop the Conference's Unity Statement, to fashion its rules of order, and to set forth the criteria for joining the Conference itself. The Unity Statement incorporated the ecclesiological understanding of the Union of Utrecht; all new members must subscribe to it.
The original signers of the Unity Statement (Nov. 2006) are Bishop Charles Leigh (Apostolic Catholic Church of Florida) and Bishop Robert T. Fuentes (Old Catholic Diocese of Napa).
The American Catholic Church of New England joined the Conference in July 2007 and the Ecumenical Catholic Communion (Peter Hickman) joined in September 2007. Heartland Old Catholic Communion joins on September 13 , 2008 (cfr
website). Both the Apostolic Catholic Church (Leigh) and the Ecumenical Catholic Church (Hickman) left the Conference in 2008.
The present members of the conference (as of November 2008) are the Old Catholic Diocese of Napa, the American Catholic Church of New England, and the Heartland Old Catholic Church.
Although there have been various attempts at unity among Old Catholic jurisdictions since the turn of the 20th century, none have had the participation or the indirect support of either the Episcopal Church or the Union of Utrecht. Both the Episcopal Church and the Union of Utrecht agree to remain engaged with the Conference.
See also
- List of Old Catholic Churches
- Old Catholic Church of America
The Old Catholic Church of America is an autocephalous Old Catholic Church, founded in the United States of America in 1925 by Bishop Paul Francis Cope...
- North American Old Catholic Church
The North American Old Catholic Church is an Independent Catholic denomination in the United States.- Background :The North American Old Catholic Church was founded in January of 2007 at a meeting in Louisville, KY...
- American Catholic Church in the United States
The American Catholic Church in the United States is a small Independent Catholic denomination originating from the Old Catholic Christian denomination. The ACCUS holds similar theological beliefs and practices to the Roman Catholic Church...
- Old Catholic Church in Europe
The Old Catholic Church in Europe or OCCE is a traditionalist Church in the Old Catholic/Independent Catholic tradition, based in the United Kingdom. The denomination changed its name to The Catholic Apostolic Church in Europe or CACE in October 2009.The OCCE/CACE is a Eucharistic community in that...
- German Catholics
The German Catholics were a schismatic sect formed in December 1844 by German dissidents from the Roman Catholic Church, under the leadership of Johannes von Ronge.-History:...
- Old Catholic Church of the Netherlands
The Old Catholic Church of the Netherlands is the mother church related to the Old Catholic Churches. It is sometimes called Ancient Catholic Church, Church of Utrecht or Dutch Roman Catholic Church of the Old Episcopal Order...
- Free Church of Antioch
The Free Church of Antioch is one of several Malabar Rite Independent Catholic Churches which claims valid lines of Apostolic Succession in the historical episcopate. The Free Church of Antioch received several lines of this succession through its founder, the late Archbishop Warren Prall Watters...
- Catholic Charismatic Church of Canada
-History:The apostolic lineage of the Catholic Charismatic Rite was founded on August 15, 1968. From 1693 to the present day, the Union of Utrecht Church has expanded throughout Western Europe, North America, Central America, and South America...
- Old Catholic Church in the Philippines
The Philippine Independent Church, The Philippine Independent Church, The Philippine Independent Church, (officially the ir the IFI, also known as the Philippine Independent Catholic Church or the Ilocano: Siwayawaya a Simbaan nga ti Filipinas (sometimes also know as ), is a Christian denomination...
- Apostolic Catholic Church in the Philippines
The Apostolic Catholic Church is a self-governing church that traces its faith and worship from the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church that Jesus Christ and his Apostles established. The church believes the Trinitarian Doctrine that states that the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit are three...
- Liberal Catholic Movement
The Liberal Catholic Movement refers to those Churches whose foundation traces back to the founding bishops of the Liberal Catholic Church. The Liberal Catholic Movement is one of the most recognized Old Catholic groups in the United States, with an estimated total worldwide membership of...
- Independent Catholic Churches
Independent Catholic churches are Catholic congregations that are not in communion with the Roman Catholic Church or any other churches whose sacraments are recognized by the Roman Catholic Church . Some groups in the Independent Catholic movement claim to have valid apostolic succession for their...
- King's Family of Churches
The King's Family of Churches is an apostolic family of churches with its origins in the Evangelical missions in Spain, particularly in Friends of God mission society, that came to embrace the Convergence Movement of Christianity...
- The Liberal Catholic Church
- The Evangelical Old Catholic Communion
The Evangelical Old Catholic Communion is a Catholic communion founded in 2006 associated with the Old Catholic Church, which cut broke with Rome in 1870...
- Episcopi vagantes
Episcopi vagantes are persons who have been consecrated as Christian bishops outside the structures and canon law of the established churches and are in communion with no generally recognized diocese...
- Arnold Harris Mathew
- Franz Heinrich Reusch
Franz Heinrich Reusch was an Old Catholic theologian.He was born at Brilon, in Westphalia, studied general literature at Paderborn, and theology at Bonn, Tübingen and Munich. The friend and pupil of Döllinger, he took his degree of Doctor in Theology at Munich. He was ordained a priest in 1849,...
- Warren Prall Watters
Warren Prall Watters was the founding Archbishop of the Free Church of Antioch , one of several Independent Catholic Churches with valid Apostolic succession. Watters was born in Imperial, Nebraska in 1890...
- Willibrord Society
The Willibrord Society is an umbrella term for a group of national societies with the aim of promoting awareness and cooperation between Anglicans and Old Catholics. There are currently active Willibrord Societies in England, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, the Czech...
External links
Official pages of the Old Catholic Churches
Other links