The Nordic Catholic Church ( no, den nordisk-katolske kirke) is a church body based in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of ...

of High Church Lutheran patrimony. The Nordic Catholic Church is a member of the Union of Scranton. The Nordic Catholic Church was founded in 1999 by a group of traditional-minded people belonging to the “orthodox opposition” in the

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched ...

state

Church of Norway The Church of Norway ( nb, Den norske kirke, nn, Den norske kyrkja, se, Norgga girku, sma, Nöörjen gærhkoe) is an evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. The church ...

when they left the

state church A state religion (also called religious state or official religion) is a religion or creed officially endorsed by a sovereign state. A state with an official religion (also known as confessional state), while not secular, is not necessarily a t ...

due to, for example, the

ordination of women The ordination of women to ministerial or priestly office is an increasingly common practice among some contemporary major religious groups. It remains a controversial issue in certain Christian traditions and most denominations in which "ordin ...

to the priesthood and episcopate. During the process both the Free Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran

Church of Sweden The Church of Sweden ( sv, Svenska kyrkan) is an Evangelical Lutheran national church in Sweden. A former state church, headquartered in Uppsala, with around 5.6 million members at year end 2021, it is the largest Christian denomination in Sw ...

and the Anglican

Forward in Faith Forward in Faith (FiF) is an organisation operating in the Church of England and the Scottish Episcopal Church. It represents a traditionalist strand of Anglo-Catholicism and is characterised by its opposition to the ordination of women to the pr ...

organisation were kept fully informed. In Sweden it was paralleled by the foundation of the

Mission Province The Mission Province ( sv, Missionsprovinsen ) is a Swedish independent ecclesiastical province founded by members of the Church of Sweden who are opposed to the ordination of women to the priesthood and episcopate. The province, which aligns ...

of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Sweden. Bishop Roald Nikolai, with respect to the name of the denomination, emphasized that Lutherans have historically referred to themselves as "catholic": The "Statement of Faith" of the Nordic Catholic Church states that it adheres to its Lutheran heritage to the extent that it has embraced and transmitted the orthodox and

catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

faith of the undivided church, therefore also embracing the

Old Catholic The terms Old Catholic Church, Old Catholics, Old-Catholic churches or Old Catholic movement designate "any of the groups of Western Christians who believe themselves to maintain in complete loyalty the doctrine and traditions of the Great Chu ...

faith as taught by the

Polish National Catholic Church The Polish National Catholic Church (PNCC) is an independent Old Catholic church based in the United States and founded by Polish-Americans. The PNCC is not in communion with the Roman Catholic Church.http://www.saplv.com/wp-content/uploads/202 ...

. The bishop of the Nordic Catholic Church in Scandinavia is Ottar Mikael Myrseth. Along with the Polish National Catholic Church, the is a member church of the Union of Scranton.

Old Catholic Church in Italy (Nordic Catholic Church vicariate)

In 2011, a fraction of the Orthodox Church in Italy was organized as an association in memory of its deceased primate,

Antonio De Rosso Antonio De Rosso (Farra di Soligo, 8 February 1941 – Aprilia, Lazio, 20 February 2009) was an Italian priest and Christian leader who successively belonged to various Christian denominations. After initial priestly service in the Catholic Churc ...

, under the name Association of Metropolitan Antonio ( it, Associazione "Metropolita Antonio"). In 2013, the association was reorganized as the Old Catholic Church in Italy and in 2015 it became a vicariate of the Nordic Catholic Church.

References

External links

Official website

Out on a Limb in Norway
by William J. Tighe (Touchstone July/August, 2002)

- The National Assembly of Forward in Faith UK on 6 and 7 October 2006 * {{Authority control Christian denominations established in the 20th century Christian organizations established in 2000 Lutheranism in Norway Old Catholic denominations

Old Catholic Church in Italy (Nordic Catholic Church vicariate)

See also

References

External links