The Old Catholic Church of the Netherlands ( nl, Oud-Katholieke Kerk van Nederland), sometimes known as the Dutch Roman Catholic Church of the Old Episcopal Order, the Church of Utrecht (Ultrajectine Church), or Jansenist Church of Holland, is an

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 ...

jurisdiction originating from the

Archdiocese of Utrecht (695–1580) Archdiocese of Utrecht or Diocese of Utrecht may refer to: * Diocese of Utrecht (695–1580), the historic diocese and after 1559 archdiocese before and during the Protestant Reformation :* Prince-Bishopric of Utrecht (1024–1528), the temporal j ...

. The Old Catholic Church of the Netherlands is the mother church of the Old Catholic Union of Utrecht. The jurisdiction is currently led by Archbishop Metropolitan Bernd Wallet.

History

Early history

St.

Willibrord Willibrord (; 658 – 7 November AD 739) was an Anglo-Saxon missionary and saint, known as the "Apostle to the Frisians" in the modern Netherlands. He became the first bishop of Utrecht and died at Echternach, Luxembourg. Early life His fathe ...

evangelised the northern parts of the Netherlands (above the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , source ...

), bringing

Roman Catholicism 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 ...

in the 7th century. The southern parts of the now so-called

Benelux The Benelux Union ( nl, Benelux Unie; french: Union Benelux; lb, Benelux-Unioun), also known as simply Benelux, is a politico- economic union and formal international intergovernmental cooperation of three neighboring states in western Europe ...

were already evangelised from the 4th century, beginning with St. Servatius, Bishop of

Maastricht Maastricht ( , , ; li, Mestreech ; french: Maestricht ; es, Mastrique ) is a city and a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital and largest city of the province of Limburg. Maastricht is located on both sides of the ...

. Willibrord had been consecrated by

Pope Sergius I Pope Sergius I (8 September 701) was the bishop of Rome from 15 December 687 to his death, and is revered as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church. He was elected at a time when two rivals, Paschal and Theodore, were locked in dispute about wh ...

in circa 696 in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. In 1145, Pope Eugene III restricted the electorate to the chapters of the five

collegiate church In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons: a non-monastic or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, which may be presided over by ...

es in the diocese. The

Fourth Lateran Council The Fourth Council of the Lateran or Lateran IV was convoked by Pope Innocent III in April 1213 and opened at the Lateran Palace in Rome on 11 November 1215. Due to the great length of time between the Council's convocation and meeting, many ...

confirmed this in 1215. In 1517,

Pope Leo X Pope Leo X ( it, Leone X; born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, 11 December 14751 December 1521) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 March 1513 to his death in December 1521. Born into the prominent political an ...

prohibited, in ', the Archbishop-Elector of Cologne, Hermann of Wied, as ', to summon to a court of first instance in Cologne, Philip of Burgundy, his treasurer, and his ecclesiastical and secular subjects. John Mason Neale explained that Leo X only confirmed a right of the church but Leo X's confirmation "was providential" in respect to the future schism.

Reformation and Jansenism

Forced into hiding as a result of the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and i ...

, the diocesan structures of the Catholic Church of the Netherlands were dissolved. The Holland Mission started when

Pope Clement VIII Pope Clement VIII ( la, Clemens VIII; it, Clemente VIII; 24 February 1536 – 3 March 1605), born Ippolito Aldobrandini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 February 1592 to his death in March 1605. Born ...

erected the Apostolic Vicariate of Batavia in 1592. Eventually, the church obtained a comfortable enough status with the local authorities so as to allow it to practice Catholicism as long as this did not take place in public or semi-public buildings and areas. However, conflicts arose between

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

missionaries sent from Rome and the local clergy. This was augmented by an influx of

Jansenist Jansenism was an early modern theological movement within Catholicism, primarily active in the Kingdom of France, that emphasized original sin, human depravity, the necessity of divine grace, and predestination. It was declared a heresy by th ...

priests from

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

. The Jesuits accused Archbishop

Petrus Codde Pieter Codde also known as Petrus Codde (27 November 1648, in Amsterdam – 18 December 1710, in Utrecht) was apostolic vicar of the Catholic Church's Vicariate Apostolic of Batavia, also known as the Dutch Mission, from 1688 to 1702. He ser ...

, apostolic vicar, of Jansenism.

Pope Innocent XII Pope Innocent XII ( la, Innocentius XII; it, Innocenzo XII; 13 March 1615 – 27 September 1700), born Antonio Pignatelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 July 1691 to his death in September 1700. He ...

appointed a commission of

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **'' Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **'' Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, t ...

s who started an investigation of Codde, ending in exoneration. In 1700, Codde was summoned to Rome and brought before a second commission appointed by

Pope Clement XI Pope Clement XI ( la, Clemens XI; it, Clemente XI; 23 July 1649 – 19 March 1721), born Giovanni Francesco Albani, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 23 November 1700 to his death in March 1721. Clement XI w ...

. When Codde refused assent to the ''

Formula of Submission for the Jansenists ' is an apostolic constitution in the form of a papal bull promulgated by Pope Alexander VII in 1665 which required, according to the '' Enchiridion symbolorum'', "all ecclesiastical personnel and teachers" to subscribe to an included '' form ...

'', Clement XI suspended Codde in 1701 and appointed a successor, , as apostolic vicar. This decision was not popular among the Dutch clergy, who demanded the return of Codde. Codde returned to Utrecht in June 1703 and formally resigned—protesting the circumstances—in a pastoral letter of March 19, 1704. He died on December 18, 1710. Although the historic archdiocese was suppressed in 1580, and its replacement, the apostolic vicariate, was erected in 1592, the chapter of the suppressed archdiocese arranged for Luke Fagan,

Bishop of Meath The Bishop of Meath is an episcopal title which takes its name after the ancient Kingdom of Meath. In the Roman Catholic Church it remains as a separate title, but in the Church of Ireland it has been united with another bishopric. History Un ...

, to ordain priests for the suppressed archdiocese in 1716. The canonical matters arising from the supposed Roman violations of ' led to the case being brought before the Pontifical Catholic University of Leuven in May 1717, which found in favour of the chapter of the suppressed archdiocese, but was unable to resolve the matter with Rome; this led to a ''de facto'' autonomous Catholic church in the Netherlands. Finally in 1723, dissatisfied Dutch clergy elected as archbishop of the suppressed Archdiocese of Utrecht. He was consecrated in 1724 without a papal mandate by suspended Bishop Dominique Marie Varlet, who had been living in Amsterdam since 1721. Both Varlet and Steenoven were suspended for illicit episcopal consecration, and excommunicated for claiming a diocesan see of jurisdiction without the permission of the

Roman Pontiff Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

. Varlet later reconciled with the Catholic Church, but subsequently consecrated, again without a papal mandate, four more bishops for the independent Ultrajectine church, which would become known as "Old Catholic" after 1853.

Petrus Johannes Meindaerts Petrus Johannes Meindaerts (Groningen, 7 November 1684 — 31 October 1767) served as the tenth Archbishop of Utrecht from 1739 to 1767. After the death of his consecrator, Bishop Dominique Marie Varlet, Meindaerts consecrated other bishops, such ...

, after his consecration by Varlet without a papal mandate in 1739, consecrated bishops to the suppressed dioceses of

Deventer Deventer (; Sallands: ) is a city and municipality in the Salland historical region of the province of Overijssel, Netherlands. In 2020, Deventer had a population of 100,913. The city is largely situated on the east bank of the river IJssel, ...

Haarlem Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English) is a city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of North Holland. Haarlem is situated at the northern edge of the Randstad, one of the most populated metropoli ...

, and The apostolic vicariate was reduced to a mission ''sui iuris'' by Pope Benedict XIII in 1727. Most Dutch Catholics nevertheless continued to follow the

pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

, first under missionary administrative structures and, from 1853, under the reestablished episcopal hierarchy in the Netherlands, when Catholics were permitted to worship publicly after two and a half centuries of secret and private religious worship.

Vatican I

After reestablishment of the episcopal hierarchy in the Netherlands in 1853 by

Pope Pius IX Pope Pius IX ( it, Pio IX, ''Pio Nono''; born Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878, the longest verified papal reign. He was notable for convoking the First Vatican ...

, the breakaway Church of Utrecht adopted the name "Old Catholic Church" to distinguish itself from the newly created Roman hierarchy by its seniority in the Netherlands. In 1870 the

First Vatican Council The First Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the First Vatican Council or Vatican I was convoked by Pope Pius IX on 29 June 1868, after a period of planning and preparation that began on 6 December 1864. This, the twentieth ecu ...

was convened, and the bishops of the Church of Utrecht were not invited because they were not seen as being in communion with the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

. At the First Vatican Council, papal primacy in jurisdiction and the Catholic dogma of

papal infallibility Papal infallibility is a dogma of the Catholic Church which states that, in virtue of the promise of Jesus to Peter, the Pope when he speaks '' ex cathedra'' is preserved from the possibility of error on doctrine "initially given to the apos ...

were defined, to the objection of the Old Catholic Church of the Netherlands and some communities in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

and

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. Several separate communities were formed at this time and sought apostolic succession from the Old Catholic Archbishop of Utrecht, eventually forming the

Union of Utrecht of the Old Catholic Churches The Union of Utrecht of the Old Catholic Churches, most commonly referred to by the short form Union of Utrecht, is a federation of Old Catholic churches, nationally organized from schisms which rejected Roman Catholic doctrines of the First Va ...

, and these German speaking communities adopted the name ''Old Catholic''. The schism was able to continue.

Doctrine

Old Catholics have celebrated

Mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different ele ...

in the vernacular virtually since their foundation, even if not everywhere, doing so as early as the 18th century in Utrecht. They reject the Catholic dogmas of the

Immaculate Conception The Immaculate Conception is the belief that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception. It is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church, meaning that it is held to be a divinely revealed truth w ...

and

Assumption of Mary The Assumption of Mary is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Pope Pius XII defined it in 1950 in his apostolic constitution '' Munificentissimus Deus'' as follows: We proclaim and define it to be a dogma revealed by ...

as well as papal infallibility. Old Catholics believe they preserve ancient Catholic doctrine through adherence to the "ancient Catholic faith". Their practice of private

confession A confession is a statement – made by a person or by a group of persons – acknowledging some personal fact that the person (or the group) would ostensibly prefer to keep hidden. The term presumes that the speaker is providing information th ...

has fallen into disuse in most areas. Since 1878, Old Catholic clergy have been allowed to marry at any time. It would also seem that, by the beginning of the 20th century, the

Eucharist The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was institu ...

fast Fast or FAST may refer to: * Fast (noun), high speed or velocity * Fast (noun, verb), to practice fasting, abstaining from food and/or water for a certain period of time Acronyms and coded Computing and software * ''Faceted Application of Subje ...

had been abandoned, along with Benediction of the

Blessed Sacrament The Blessed Sacrament, also Most Blessed Sacrament, is a devotional name to refer to the body and blood of Christ in the form of consecrated sacramental bread and wine at a celebration of the Eucharist. The term is used in the Latin Church of th ...

and the veneration of the saints; in his declaration of ecclesial independence of December 29, 1910,

Arnold Harris Mathew Arnold Harris Mathew, self-styled of Thomastown (7 August 1852 – 19 December 1919), was the founder and first bishop of the Old Roman Catholic Church in the United Kingdom and a noted author on ecclesiastical subjects. Mathew had been bot ...

wrote to the Old Catholics of Utrecht deploring the lack of these practices among Old Catholics on the European continent.

Old Catholic Archbishops of Utrecht

The Metropolitan Archbishop of Utrecht (not to be confused with the Catholic prelate who holds the same title) is the leader of the Old Catholic Church of the Netherlands, and chairman of its governing bodies. He is also ''ex officio'' the

primate Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simians ( monkeys and apes, the latter includin ...

(''primus inter pares'' leader) of the entire Old Catholic Church. The current archbishop is Bernd Wallet. Individual national or regional Old Catholic churches maintain a degree of autonomy, similar to the practice of the

Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion after the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Founded in 1867 in London, the communion has more than 85 million members within the Church of England and other ...

, so that each

diocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associ ...

of the Old Catholic Union of Utrecht has a diocesan bishop, and countries with more than one diocese have a bishop who is appointed "bishop in charge" (or similar title). All, however, recognise the Archbishop of Utrecht as primate. * Cornelius van Steenoven (1723–1725) *

Cornelius Johannes Barchman Wuytiers Cornelius Johannes Barchman Wuytiers (died 13 May 1733 at Rhynwyck, Netherlands) served as the Old Catholic Archbishop of Utrecht from 1725 to 1733. Early life and schooling Barchman Wuytiers was born into a noble family. He was educated at the ...

(1725–1733) *

Theodorus van der Croon Theodorus van der Croon (1668-1739) served as the ninth Archbishop of Utrecht from 1734 to 1739. Early Ministry & Association with the Chapter of Utrecht Van der Croon was a parish priest in Gouda, Netherlands and was associated with the Chap ...

(1734–1739) *

(1739–1767) *

Walter van Nieuwenhuisen Walter Michael van Nieuwenhuisen served as the eleventh Archbishop of Utrecht from 1768 to 1797. Early ministry Before serving as Archbishop of Utrecht, van Nieuwenhuisen served as a parish priest in Dordrecht. Archbishop of Utrecht Following ...

(1768–1797) *

Johannes Jacobus van Rhijn Johannes Jacobus van Rhijn served as the twelfth Archbishop of Utrecht from 1797 to 1808. Early Ministry Before serving as Archbishop of Utrecht, van Rhijn served as a parish priest in Utrecht. Archbishop of Utrecht Following the death of W ...

(1797–1808) * Willibrord van Os (1814–1825) *

Johannes van Santen Johannes van Santen served as the fourteenth Archbishop of Utrecht from 1825 to 1858. He was part of the last attempt of the Church of Utrecht to reconcile with the Roman Catholic Church at that time. Early Ministry Before serving as Archbish ...

(1825–1858) *

Henricus Loos Henricus Loos served as the fifteenth Archbishop of Utrecht from 1858 to 1873. Together with Bishop Hermann Heykamp of Deventer, Loos is known as one of only two bishops whose orders were recognized by the Roman Catholic Church, but who were not ...

(1858–1873) * Johannes Heijkamp (1875–1892) *

Gerardus Gul Gerardus Gul (27 October 1847 – 9 February 1920) served as the seventeenth Archbishop of Utrecht from 1892 to 1920. He is known for his role in assisting the persons who would later found the Polish National Catholic Church in the United States ...

(1892–1920) * Franciscus Kenninck (1920–1937) *

Andreas Rinkel Andreas Rinkel (10 January 1889 – 25 March 1979) was a Dutch priest who served as the nineteenth Archbishop of Utrecht from 1937 to 1970. Early ministry Before serving as Archbishop of Utrecht, Rinkel served as a parish priest in Amersfoort, ...

(1937–1970) * Marinus Kok (1970–1982) *

Antonius Jan Glazemaker Antonius Jan Glazemaker (19 April 1931 – 20 January 2018) served as the twenty-first Old Catholic Archbishop of Utrecht, from 1982 to 2000. Born on April 19, 1931 to Old Catholic parents, Glazemaker was raised in the Netherlands during a p ...

(1982–2000) * Joris Vercammen (2000–2020) * Bernd Wallet (2020–present)

Old Catholic Bishops of Haarlem

The Old Catholic Bishops of Haarlem continue to govern the see first overseen by Bishops Nicolas van Nieuwland (1560-1569) and Godfrey van Mierlo (1569-1578) of the Catholic Church. * Hieronymus de Bock (1742-1744) * Johannes an Stiphout (1745-1777) * Adrianus Johannes Broekman (1778-1800) * Johannes Nieuwenhuis (1801-1810) * Johannes Bon (1819-1841) * Henricus Johannes van Buul (1843-1862) * Lambertus de Jong (1865-1867) * Gaspardus Johannes Rinkel (1873-1906) * Johannes Jacobus van Thiel (1906-1912) * Nicolas Prins (1912-1916) * Henricus Johannes Theodorus van Vlijmen (1916-1945) * Jacobus van der Oord (1945-1967) * Gerhardus van Kleef (1967-1987) * Teunis Johannes Horstman (1987-1994) * Jan Lambert Wirix-Speetjens (1994-2008) * Dirk Jan Schoon (2008-)

Old Catholic Bishops of Deventer

The Old Catholic Bishops of Deventer continue to govern the see first overseen by Bishops Johannes Mahusius (1560-1570) and Egidius van den Berge de Monte (1570-1577) of the Catholic Church. * Bartholomaeus Johannes Byeveld (1758-1778) * Nicolas Nellemans (1778-1805) * Gisbertus de Jong (1805-1824) * William Vet (1825-1853) * Hermannus Heykamp (1853-1874) * Cornelius Diependaal (1875-1893) * Nicolas Bartholomaeus Petrus Spit (1894-1929) * Johannes Hermannus Berends (1873-1906) * Johannes Jacobus van Thiel (1929-1940) * Engelbert Lagerwey (1940-1959) * Petrus Josephus Jans (1959-1979) *

(1979-1982)