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
undivided church but who separated from the
See of Rome
See or SEE may refer to:
* Visual perception
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Music:
** ''See'' (album), studio album by rock band The Rascals
*** "See", song by The Rascals, on the album ''See''
** "See" (Tycho song), song by Tycho
* Televisio ...
after the
First Vatican Council
The First Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the First Vatican Council or Vatican I, was the 20th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church, held three centuries after the preceding Council of Trent which was adjourned in 156 ...
of 1869–70".
The expression Old Catholic has been used from the 1850s by communions separated from the
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
over certain doctrines, primarily concerned with
papal authority and
infallibility
Infallibility refers to unerring judgment, being absolutely correct in all matters and having an immunity from being wrong in even the smallest matter. It can be applied within a specific domain, or it can be used as a more general adjective. Th ...
. Some of these groups, especially in the
Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
, had already existed long before the term. The Old Catholic Church is separate and distinct from
Traditionalist Catholicism
Traditionalist Catholicism is a movement that emphasizes beliefs, practices, customs, traditions, liturgical forms, devotions and presentations of teaching associated with the Catholic Church before the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965). Tr ...
.
Two groups of Old Catholic churches currently exist: the
Union of Utrecht
The Union of Utrecht () was an alliance based on an agreement concluded on 23 January 1579 between a number of Habsburg Netherlands, Dutch provinces and cities, to reach a joint commitment against the king, Philip II of Spain. By joining forces ...
(UU, not to be confused with
Unitarian Universalism) and the
Union of Scranton (US). Neither group is in
full communion
Full communion is a communion or relationship of full agreement among different Christian denominations or Christian individuals that share certain essential principles of Christian theology. Views vary among denominations on exactly what constit ...
with the
Holy See
The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...
. Member churches of the Union of Utrecht are in full communion with the
Anglican Communion
The Anglican Communion is a Christian Full communion, communion consisting of the Church of England and other autocephalous national and regional churches in full communion. The archbishop of Canterbury in England acts as a focus of unity, ...
as well as the
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Sweden and the
Philippine Independent Church
The Philippine Independent Church (; ), officially referred to by its Philippine Spanish name (IFI) and colloquially called the Aglipayan Church, is an independent catholic Christian denomination, in the form of a nationalist church, in the ...
and many UU churches are members of the
World Council of Churches
The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, most jurisdictions of the Eastern Orthodo ...
.
Both groups trace their beginning to the 18th century when members of the
See of Utrecht refused to obey papal authority and were
excommunicated
Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to deprive, suspend, or limit membership in a religious community or to restrict certain rights within it, in particular those of being in communion with other members of the con ...
. Later Catholics who disagreed with the Roman
Catholic dogma of
papal infallibility
Papal infallibility is a Dogma in the Catholic Church, dogma of the Catholic Church which states that, in virtue of the promise of Jesus to Saint Peter, Peter, the Pope when he speaks is preserved from the possibility of error on doctrine "in ...
, as defined by the
First Vatican Council
The First Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the First Vatican Council or Vatican I, was the 20th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church, held three centuries after the preceding Council of Trent which was adjourned in 156 ...
(1870), were thereafter without a bishop and joined with the See of Utrecht to form the Union of Utrecht of the Old Catholic Churches. Today, Utrechter Union churches are found chiefly in Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, and the Czech Republic.
In 2008, the
Polish National Catholic Church created the Union of Scranton and separated from the Union of Utrecht. This was done in protest of the older Union's decision to
ordain women and bless
same-sex marriages
Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 billion people (20% ...
. The
Nordic Catholic Church
The Nordic Catholic Church (NCC; ), formerly known as the Lutheran Free Synod of Norway, is an Old Catholic church body of High church Lutheranism, high church Lutheran patrimony, that is based in Norway. The church is a member of the Union of Sc ...
later joined the Union of Scranton as well.
History
Pre-Reformation diocese and archdiocese of Utrecht
In the pre-
Reformation
The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...
era, there were already disputes that set the stage for an independent bishopric of Utrecht between the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
and the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...
, notably during between the 11th to 15th centuries.
Post-Reformation Netherlands
The northern provinces that revolted against the
Spanish Netherlands
The Spanish Netherlands (; ; ; ) (historically in Spanish: , the name "Flanders" was used as a '' pars pro toto'') was the Habsburg Netherlands ruled by the Spanish branch of the Habsburgs from 1556 to 1714. They were a collection of States of t ...
and signed the 1579
Union of Utrecht
The Union of Utrecht () was an alliance based on an agreement concluded on 23 January 1579 between a number of Habsburg Netherlands, Dutch provinces and cities, to reach a joint commitment against the king, Philip II of Spain. By joining forces ...
, persecuted the Roman Catholic Church, confiscated church property, expelled monks and nuns from convents and monasteries, and made it illegal to receive the
Catholic sacraments
There are seven sacraments of the Catholic Church, which according to Catholic theology were instituted by Jesus Christ and entrusted to the Church. Sacraments are visible rites seen as signs and efficacious channels of the Grace in Christiani ...
. However, Catholicism did not die, rather priests and communities went underground. Groups would meet for the
sacraments
A sacrament is a Christian rite which is recognized as being particularly important and significant. There are various views on the existence, number and meaning of such rites. Many Christians consider the sacraments to be a visible symbol of ...
in the attics of private homes at the risk of arrest. Priests identified themselves by wearing
all black clothing with
very simple collars.
All the
episcopal sees of the area, including that of Utrecht, had fallen vacant by 1580, because the
Spanish crown
The monarchy of Spain or Spanish monarchy () is the constitutional form of government of Spain. It consists of a Hereditary monarchy, hereditary monarch who reigns as the head of state, being the highest office of the country.
The Spanish ...
, which since 1559
had patronal rights over all bishoprics in the Netherlands, refused to make appointments for what it saw as
heretical territories, and the nomination of an
apostolic vicar
Apostolic may refer to:
The Apostles
An Apostle meaning one sent on a mission:
*The Twelve Apostles of Jesus, or something related to them, such as the Church of the Holy Apostles
*Apostolic succession, the doctrine connecting the Christian Churc ...
was seen as a way of avoiding direct violation of the privilege granted to the crown.
The appointment of an apostolic vicar, the first after many centuries, for what came to be called the
Holland Mission was followed by similar appointments for other Protestant-ruled countries, such as
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
, which likewise became mission territories.
The disarray of the Roman Catholic Church in the Netherlands between 1572 and about 1610 was followed by a period of expansion of Roman Catholicism under the apostolic vicars, leading to Protestant protests.
The initial shortage of Roman Catholic priests in the Netherlands resulted in increased pastoral activity of
religious
Religion is a range of social- cultural systems, including designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relate humanity to supernatural ...
clergy, among whom
Jesuits
The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
formed a considerable minority, coming to represent between 10 and 15 percent of all the Dutch clergy in the 1600–1650 period. Conflicts arose between these, and the apostolic vicars and
secular clergy
In Christianity, the term secular clergy refers to deacons and priests who are not monastics or otherwise members of religious life. Secular priests (sometimes known as diocesan priests) are priests who commit themselves to a certain geograph ...
. In 1629, there were 321 Roman Catholic priests in the United Provinces, 250 secular and 71 religious, with Jesuits at 34 forming almost half of the religious. By the middle of the 17th century the secular priests were 442, the religious 142, of whom 62 were Jesuits.
The sixth apostolic vicar of the
Dutch/Holland Mission,
Petrus Codde, was appointed in 1688. In 1691, the Jesuits accused him of favouring the
Jansenist
Jansenism was a 17th- and 18th-century theological movement within Roman Catholicism, primarily active in France, which arose as an attempt to reconcile the theological concepts of free will and divine grace in response to certain development ...
heresy
Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, particularly the accepted beliefs or religious law of a religious organization. A heretic is a proponent of heresy.
Heresy in Heresy in Christian ...
.
Pope Innocent XII
Pope Innocent 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 took a hard stance against nepotism ...
appointed a commission of
cardinals to investigate the accusations against Codde. The commission concluded that the accusations were groundless.
In 1702,
Pope Clement XI
Pope Clement 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 was a patron of the arts an ...
deposed Codde, to which Codde obeyed.
While the religious clergy remained loyal to the Holy See, three-quarters of the secular clergy at first followed Codde, but by 1706 over two-thirds of these returned to Roman Catholic allegiance. Of the laity, the overwhelming majority sided with the Holy See.
[ Thus, most Dutch Catholics remained in full communion with the pope and with the apostolic vicars appointed by him.
After Codde's resignation, the Diocese of Utrecht elected Cornelius Steenoven as ]bishop
A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...
. The See of Utrecht declared the right to elect its own archbishop in 1724, after being accused of Jansenism
Jansenism was a 17th- and 18th-century Christian theology, theological movement within Roman Catholicism, primarily active in Kingdom of France, France, which arose as an attempt to reconcile the theological concepts of Free will in theology, f ...
. Following consultation with both canon lawyers and theologians in France and Germany, Dominique Marie Varlet, a Catholic bishop of the French Oratorian Society of Foreign Missions, consecrated Steenoven as a bishop without a papal mandate. What had been ''de jure'' autonomous became ''de facto'' an independent Catholic church. Although the pope was notified of all proceedings, the Holy See still regarded the diocese as vacant due to papal permission not being sought. The pope, therefore, continued to appoint apostolic vicars for the Netherlands. Steenoven and the other bishops were excommunicated
Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to deprive, suspend, or limit membership in a religious community or to restrict certain rights within it, in particular those of being in communion with other members of the con ...
by the Roman Catholic Church, and thus began the Old Catholic Church in the Netherlands. Subsequent bishops were then appointed and ordained to the sees of Deventer
Deventer (; Sallaans dialect, Sallands: ) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Salland historical region of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Overijssel, ...
, Haarlem
Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English language, English) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the Provinces of the Nether ...
and Groningen
Groningen ( , ; ; or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. Dubbed the "capital of the north", Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of ...
under the See of Utrecht in later years.
Due to prevailing anti-papal feeling among the powerful Dutch Calvinists
Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Christian, Presbyterian, ...
, the Church of Utrecht was tolerated and even praised by the government of the Dutch Republic
The United Provinces of the Netherlands, commonly referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation that existed from 1579 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherlands ...
.
In 1853 Pope Pius IX
Pope Pius IX (; born Giovanni Maria Battista Pietro Pellegrino Isidoro Mastai-Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878. His reign of nearly 32 years is the longest verified of any pope in hist ...
received guarantees of religious freedom
Freedom of religion or religious liberty, also known as freedom of religion or belief (FoRB), is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice ...
from King William II of the Netherlands
William II (; English: William Frederick George Louis; 6 December 1792 – 17 March 1849), known as Koning Willem de Tweede or Koning Willem II in the Netherlands, was King of the Netherlands, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, and Duke of Limburg.
Wi ...
and re-established the Roman Catholic hierarchy in the Netherlands. The Holy See considers the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Utrecht
The Archdiocese of Utrecht (; ) is an archdiocese of the Latin Church (or Western Church) of the Catholic Church in the Netherlands. The Archbishop of Utrecht is the metropolitan of the ecclesiastical province of Utrecht. There are six Suffragan ...
as the continuation of the episcopal see
An episcopal see is the area of a bishop's ecclesiastical jurisdiction.
Phrases concerning actions occurring within or outside an episcopal see are indicative of the geographical significance of the term, making it synonymous with ''diocese'' ...
founded in the 7th century and raised to metropolitan status on 12 May 1559, thus not recognizing any legitimacy of Old Catholics.
First Vatican Council, Old Catholic Union of Utrecht
After the First Vatican Council
The First Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the First Vatican Council or Vatican I, was the 20th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church, held three centuries after the preceding Council of Trent which was adjourned in 156 ...
(1869–1870), several groups of Roman Catholics in Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...
, Imperial Germany
The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...
, and Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
rejected the Roman Catholic dogma of papal infallibility in matters of faith and morals and left to form their own churches. The formation of the Old Catholic communion of Germans, Austrians and Swiss began under the leadership of Ignaz von Döllinger
Johann Joseph Ignaz von Döllinger (; 28 February 179914 January 1890), also Doellinger in English, was a German theologian, Catholic priest and church historian who rejected the dogma of papal infallibility. Among his writings which proved c ...
, following the First Vatican Council. These were supported by the Old Catholic Archbishop of Utrecht, 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 Churches".
In the spring of 1871, a convention in Munich
Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...
attracted several hundred participants, including Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
and Protestant observers. Döllinger, an excommunicated Roman Catholic priest and church historian, was a notable leader of the movement but was never a member of an Old Catholic church.
The convention decided to form the "Old Catholic Church" in order to distinguish its members from what they saw as the novel teaching in the Roman Catholic dogma of papal infallibility. Although it had continued to use the Roman Rite
The Roman Rite () is the most common ritual family for performing the ecclesiastical services of the Latin Church, the largest of the ''sui iuris'' particular churches that comprise the Catholic Church. The Roman Rite governs Rite (Christianity) ...
, from the middle of the 18th century the Dutch Old Catholic See of Utrecht had increasingly used the vernacular
Vernacular is the ordinary, informal, spoken language, spoken form of language, particularly when perceptual dialectology, perceived as having lower social status or less Prestige (sociolinguistics), prestige than standard language, which is mor ...
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 liturgy
Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and participation in the sacred through activities reflecting praise, thanksgiving, remembra ...
until it completely replaced Latin in 1877. In 1874, the Old Catholics removed the requirement of clerical celibacy
Clerical celibacy is the requirement in certain religions that some or all members of the clergy be unmarried. Clerical celibacy also requires abstention from deliberately indulging in sexual thoughts and behavior outside of marriage, because thes ...
.
The Catholic Diocese of the Old Catholics in Germany received support from the government of Otto von Bismarck
Otto, Prince of Bismarck, Count of Bismarck-Schönhausen, Duke of Lauenburg (; born ''Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck''; 1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898) was a German statesman and diplomat who oversaw the unification of Germany and served as ...
, whose 1870s ''Kulturkampf
In the history of Germany, the ''Kulturkampf'' (Cultural Struggle) was the seven-year political conflict (1871–1878) between the Catholic Church in Germany led by Pope Pius IX and the Kingdom of Prussia led by chancellor Otto von Bismarck. Th ...
'' policies persecuted the Roman Catholic Church. In Austria-Hungary, pan-Germanic nationalist groups, like those of Georg Ritter von Schönerer, promoted the conversion of all German speaking Catholics to Old Catholicism and Lutheranism, with poor results.
Spread of Old Catholicism throughout the world
In 1897 a group of Polish migrants in the United States broke away from the Holy See due to theological and liturgical issues; their leader, Franciszek Hodur, was consecrated a bishop by Old Catholic Archbishop of Utrecht Gerardus Gul, establishing the Polish National Catholic Church, which joined the Union of Utrecht.
Split of Old Roman Catholics and Liberal Catholics
In 1910, Arnold Mathew
Arnold Harris Mathew, self-styled of Thomastown, County Kilkenny, Thomastown (7 August 1852 – 19 December 1919), was the founder and first bishop of the Old Roman Catholic Church in Great Britain and a noted author on ecclesiastical subjects.
...
—a former British Catholic and Anglican, who was consecrated by Old Catholic Archbishop Gul in 1908—split away from the Union of Utrecht, establishing the Old Roman Catholic Church in Great Britain. In 1914, he consecrated Rudolph de Landas Berghes, who emigrated to the United States in 1914 and planted the seed of Old Roman Catholicism in the Americas. Mathew also consecrated an excommunicated Capuchin Franciscan priest as bishop: Carmel Henry Carfora. Various Christian denominations
A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...
claiming apostolic succession
Apostolic succession is the method whereby the Christian ministry, ministry of the Christian Church is considered by some Christian denominations to be derived from the Twelve Apostles, apostles by a continuous succession, which has usually been ...
from Mathew were founded in the world through Berghes, Carfora, and others including James Wedgwood—founder of the Liberal Catholic Church. Such groups' apostolic succession is deemed to be invalid by both the Holy See
The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...
, the Union of Utrecht
The Union of Utrecht () was an alliance based on an agreement concluded on 23 January 1579 between a number of Habsburg Netherlands, Dutch provinces and cities, to reach a joint commitment against the king, Philip II of Spain. By joining forces ...
and the Anglican Communion
The Anglican Communion is a Christian Full communion, communion consisting of the Church of England and other autocephalous national and regional churches in full communion. The archbishop of Canterbury in England acts as a focus of unity, ...
. Mathew himself was excommunicated
Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to deprive, suspend, or limit membership in a religious community or to restrict certain rights within it, in particular those of being in communion with other members of the con ...
and declared a "pseudo-bishop" by Pope Pius X
Pope Pius X (; born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto; 2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914) was head of the Catholic Church from 4 August 1903 to his death in August 1914. Pius X is known for vigorously opposing Modernism in the Catholic Church, modern ...
, while the International Old Catholic Bishops' Conference declared his consecration to be null and void, obtained mala fide.
Another significant figure, Joseph René Vilatte, who was ordained a deacon and priest by Bishop Eduard Herzog, of the Christian Catholic Church of Switzerland
The Christian Catholic Church of Switzerland is an Old Catholic denomination in Switzerland. This denomination is part of the Union of Utrecht.
History
In 1871 the Zürich Catholic community planned to build a church to commemorate the 1270s ...
; he worked with Catholics of Belgian ancestry living on the Door Peninsula of Wisconsin
Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...
, with the knowledge and blessing of the Union of Utrecht and under the full jurisdiction of the local Episcopal Bishop of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin
Fond du Lac () is a city in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the southern end of Lake Winnebago and had a population of 44,678 at the 2020 census. The city forms the core of the Fond du Lac met ...
. However, he subsequently left the Old Catholics and was later consecrated a bishop by Patriarch Mar Julius I of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church
The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church (MOSC) also known as the Indian Orthodox Church (IOC) or simply as the Malankara Church, is an Autocephaly, autocephalous Oriental Orthodox Churches, Oriental Orthodox church headquartered in #Catholicate ...
, though the validity of such consecration is disputed. He proceeded to establish a number of Christian denominations before eventually reconciling with the Holy See.
Polish National Catholic schism from Utrecht
In 2003, the Polish National Catholic Church voted itself out of the due to the Utrechter Union's acceptance of female ordination, and their attitude towards homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexu ...
, both of which the Polish National Catholic Church rejects. Prior, in 1994, the German Old Catholic bishops of the Utrechter Union 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. By 2020, the Swiss church also voted in favour of same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...
. Marriages between two men and two women were conducted in the same manner as heterosexual marriages.
Old Catholic Church of Slovakia
The Old Catholic Church of Slovakia was accepted in 2000 as a member of the Union of Utrecht. As early as 2001 some issues arose concerning future consecration of Augustin Bacinsky as old-catholic bishop of Slovakia, and the matter was postponed. The Old Catholic Church of Slovakia was expelled from the Union of Utrecht in 2004, because the episcopal administrator Augustin Bacinsky had been consecrated by an '' episcopus vagans''.
At present, the only recognized Christian church in America that is in communion with the Union of Utrecht is the Episcopal Church.
Statistics
, there are 115,000 members of Old Catholic churches.
Doctrine
Old Catholic theology views the Eucharist
The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christianity, Christian Rite (Christianity), rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an Ordinance (Christianity), ordinance in ...
as the core of the Christian Church
In ecclesiology, the Christian Church is what different Christian denominations conceive of as being the true body of Christians or the original institution established by Jesus Christ. "Christian Church" has also been used in academia as a syn ...
; from this point of view, the church is a community of believers. All are in communion with one another around the sacrifice of Jesus Christ
Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...
, as the highest expression of the love of God
In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...
. Therefore, the celebration of the Eucharist is understood as the experience of Christ's triumph over sin
In religious context, sin is a transgression against divine law or a law of the deities. Each culture has its own interpretation of what it means to commit a sin. While sins are generally considered actions, any thought, word, or act considered ...
. The defeat of sin consists in bringing together that which is divided.
An active contributor to the Declaration of the Catholic Congress of Munich, 1871—and all later assemblies—was Johann Friedrich von Schulte, professor of dogmatics at Prague
Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
. Von Schulte summed up the results of the congress as follows:
* adherence to the ancient Catholic faith;
* maintenance of the rights of Catholics;
* rejection of new Roman Catholic dogmas;
* adherence to the constitutions of the ancient Church with repudiation of every dogma of faith not in harmony with the by-then established conscience of the Church;
* reform of the Church with constitutional participation of the laity;
* preparation of the way for reunion of the Christian confessions;
* reform of the training and position of the clergy;
* adherence to the State against the attacks of Ultramontanism
Ultramontanism is a clerical political conception within the Catholic Church that places strong emphasis on the prerogatives and powers of the Pope. It contrasts with Gallicanism, the belief that popular civil authority—often represented b ...
;
* rejection of the Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 ...
;
* claim to the real property of the Church
The 1889 states the Union of Utrecht believes in Vincent of Lérins
Vincent of Lérins (; died ) was a Gallic monk and author of early Christian writings. One example was the '' Commonitorium'', c.434, which offers guidance in the orthodox teaching of Christianity. Suspected of semi-Pelagianism, he opposed ...
following quote from his '' Commonitory'': "all possible care must be taken, that we hold that faith which has been believed everywhere, always, by all; for this is truly what is catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
". The allows those who are divorced to have a new religious marriage in the church, and Old Catholics had gradually replaced the Latin mass with the vernacular by 1877. In 1989, the Union of Utrecht opposed abortion
Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...
, but " usual exceptions should be made in consultation with a priest".
Apostolic succession
Old Catholicism values apostolic succession
Apostolic succession is the method whereby the Christian ministry, ministry of the Christian Church is considered by some Christian denominations to be derived from the Twelve Apostles, apostles by a continuous succession, which has usually been ...
by which they mean both the uninterrupted laying on of hands by bishops through time (the historic episcopate), and the continuation of the whole life of the church community by word and sacrament over the years and ages. Old Catholics consider apostolic succession to be the handing on of belief in which the whole Church is involved. In this process the ministry has a special responsibility and task, caring for the continuation in time of the mission of Jesus Christ and his apostles.
According to the principle of '' ex opere operato'', certain ordinations by bishops not in communion with Rome are still recognised as being valid by the Holy See, and the ordinations of and by Old Catholic bishops in the Union of Utrecht churches has never been formally questioned by the Holy See until the more recent ordinations of women as priests.
Ecumenism
The Union of Utrecht considers that the reunion of the churches has to be based on a re-actualization of the decisions of faith made by the undivided Church. In that way, they claim, the original unity of the Church could be made visible again. Following these principles, later bishops and theologians of the Union of Utrechts churches stayed in contact with Russian Orthodox
The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The Primate (bishop), p ...
, Lutheran
Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...
and Anglican
Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...
representatives.
Old Catholic involvement in the multilateral ecumenical
Ecumenism ( ; alternatively spelled oecumenism)also called interdenominationalism, or ecumenicalismis the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships ...
movement formally began with the participation of two bishops, from the Netherlands and Switzerland, at the Lausanne Faith and Order (F&O) conference (1927). This side of ecumenism has always remained a major interest for Old Catholics who have never missed an F&O conference. Old Catholics also participate in other activities of the WCC and of national councils of churches. By active participation in the ecumenical movement since its very beginning, the OCC demonstrates its belief in this work.
See also
Movements
* Independent Catholicism
Independent Catholicism is an independent sacramental movement of clergy and laity who self-identify as Catholic (most often as Old Catholic or as Independent Catholic) and form "micro-churches claiming apostolic succession and valid sacr ...
* Liberal Catholic Church
* Willibrord Society
* German Catholics (sect)
People
* Franz Heinrich Reusch
* Warren Prall Watters
* Gerard Shelley
* Amalie von Lasaulx
Notes
References
Sources
*
Further reading
* ''Episcopi Vagantes and the Anglican Church''. Henry R.T. Brandreth. London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1947.
* ''Episcopi vagantes in church history.'' A.J. Macdonald. London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1945.
* ''The Old Catholic Church: A History and Chronology'' (The Autocephalous Orthodox Churches, No. 3). Karl Pruter. Highlandville, Missouri: St. Willibrord's Press, 1996.
* ''The Old Catholic Sourcebook'' (Garland Reference Library of Social Science). Karl Pruter and J. Gordon Melton. New York: Garland Publishers, 1983.
* ''The Old Catholic Churches and Anglican Orders''. C.B. Moss. The Christian East, January, 1926.
* ''The Old Catholic Movement''. C.B. Moss. London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1964.
* "La Sainte Trinité dans la théologie de Dominique Varlet, aux origines du vieux-catholicisme". Serge A. Thériault. ''Internationale Kirchliche Zeitschrift'', Jahr 73, Heft 4 (Okt.-Dez. 1983), p. 234-245.
External links
{{Authority control
Christian denominations established in the 19th century