The Old Catholic Church:
Essays and Documents from Various Sources
Essays and Documents from Various Sources
A Brief Essay of the Old Catholic Phenomenon in Europe and its Past and Current Relationship with North America.
By: Rev. Fr. Philip Brookover, MTh (NACEC)
Introduction:
As the Old Catholic Movement combines the tradition of the great spiritual leaders of the latter ages of the Christian
Church, it has also effectively united the factors in Catholic Christendom that Hague untiringly labored to preserve: the first administrative principles of the Apostolic Church -- to hold inviolate “the faith once for all delivered to the Saints.” The undaunted spirits of the great Christian revolutionaries, the Port Royalists, the so-called Jansenists, the Mariavites and many others have served to prove by their struggle against ecclesiastical intolerance and phariseeism, that in every age within the church they loved the same struggle has been manifest in the lives of but a handful of people at all times. The torch they
carried from age to age may have been dimmed at times, but it has always been carried forward, never dropped, never entirely extinguished. Today their efforts are merged in handfuls of many people in almost every part of the world to whom
the sympathetic hands of the great Christian Church lends strength.
What are the significant differences between the OCC phenomenon of Europe and in North America.
A brief understanding of Europe’s history as it pertains to the movement is helpful: The Old Catholic Church (in Switzerland Christian Catholic Church) is not so much a religious denomination, as a community, part of whose member churches split from the Roman Catholic church in 1870. The German-speaking communities in Austria, Germany,
Switzerland, and Czechoslovakia were deeply disturbed by the promulgation of the dogma of Papal Infallibility at the First Vatican Councilof 1869-1870.
The Union of Utrecht consists of the Dutch Church of Utrecht (Ancient Catholic Church), the Old Catholic Church in Germany, the Christian Catholic Church of Switzerland, and similar movements in Austria, the Czech Republic, and elsewhere, organized into the Utrecht Union. The Utrecht Union is in full communionwith the Anglican Communion, as per the Bonn Agreement of 1931. The Polish National Catholic Church in the United States was in a state of "impaired communion" with the Utrecht Union from 1997-2003, since they do not accept the validity of ordaining women to the priesthood, which both the Anglicans and the European Old Catholics (and some US Old Catholic groups not in communion with Utrecht) have been doing for the last several years.
The Pope later, in 1853, established his own Catholic hierarchy in the Netherlands, to rival the hierarchy established by
the see of Utrecht. Thereafter in the Netherlands the Utrecht hierarchy was referred to as the "Old Catholic Church", to distinguish it from the "new" Catholic Church established by the Pope. Under Roman Catholic Canon Law, the line of apostolic succession in the Utrecht church remains "valid, but not licit".
After the First Vatican Council in 1870, many Austrian, German and Swiss Catholics rejected the teaching on papal infallibility, and left to form their own churches. These churches were supported by the Archbishop of Utrecht, who ordained their priests and bishops; later the Dutch were united more formally with many of these Austrian, German and Swiss Catholics under the name "Utrecht Union of Churches".
The convention decided to form a new church, to be called the "Old Catholic Church" to distinguish them from what they saw as novelty in the Roman Catholic Church. At their second convention, they elected the first Old Catholic bishop, who was
ordained by the Archbishop of Utrecht in the Netherlands. In 1874 they abandoned the requirement of priestly celibacy. The church received some support from the government of the new German Empire of Otto von Bismarck, whose policy was increasingly hostile towards the Roman Catholic Church in the 1870s and 1880s, especially during the Kulturkampf period from 1871-1877.
There are other distinctives by which Old Catholic communities are differentiated from Roman Catholic parishes. The matter
of papal infallibility defined by Vatican Council I is a non-issue for Old Catholics, since we are independent of papal jurisdiction. All Old Catholic communities accord the Holy Father that respect due him as Successor of St. Peter, Prince of the Apostles and Patriarch of the West. Old Catholics adhere to the teaching from apostolic times that the Church in General Council is
infallible. Another difference is that divorced people who remarry are treated in a pastoral manner and not excluded from the sacramental life of the Church. Further, the matter of contraception is treated as a matter of personal conscience between husband and wife. Old Catholic theology recognizes that the Church's teaching magisterium has no less than two objects: the formation of conscience, in which case authority has an instructive quality; and the nurturing of an informed conscience to full maturity, in which case authority is guiding but not directive.
In North America we see more development of new methods and ideas with an emphasis on community, and Catholicism, which
expresses a warmth and interest in the total person, Old Catholic communities are able to address the needs of today's society in the waning years of the Twentieth Century. For the contemporary Catholic searching to maintain his/her Faith but desiring to do so without excessive institutionalism that often loses contact with the individual; for those with a Catholic background who feel
impeded from full participation in the life and Sacraments of the Church; for the many unchurched who desire the joy and peace of Our Lord's Word and His Holy Sacraments, Old Catholic communities provide available alternative and allow a person to be a part of Christ's Church, and be at peace with his/her conscience. Old Catholic communities, because of their size, can give individual attention to the individual spiritual needs of the faithful and, where necessary, develop unique ministries to meet those needs.
Do we see any significant similarities?
There are, however, several Old Catholic groups in the United States, not affiliated with the European Old Catholics, who
have credible communities and real churches. The European Old Catholics, being in Communion with the Church of England, are not willing to antagonize their Anglican cohorts by recognizing a competing English-speaking Old Catholic movement. Old Catholics conduct church services in the vernacular. Priests are allowed to marry. Intercommunion with the Church of England was accomplished at a conference in Bonn in July 1931; the concordat was ratified later by the Vienna congress of the Old Catholic church and by the convocations of Canterbury and York of the Church of England.
The term 'Old Catholic' is used often by many splinter groups, ranging from 'Continuing' or 'Traditionalist' to 'New Age'. Many of
these so-called Old Catholic Churches are gatherings of clergy without congregations, and some exist only on the Internet. Although the Bishops of many of these groups can trace lines of Apostolic Succession through Old Catholic Churches, most of these are regarded as Episcopi vagantesby the churches of the Utrecht Union.
The Old Catholic Communities are not without their own conflicts. Because of this refusal to ordain women, the 2003
International Old Catholic Bishops' Conference stated that "...full communion, as determined in the statute of the IBC, could not be restored and that therefore, as a consequence, the separation of our Churches follows." In effect, the PNCC was expelled from the Union of Utrecht not because it refused to ordain women, but because it continued to refuse full communion with those Churches in the Union which do ordain women.
Which do we perceive as a better model for The Ecumenical Catholic Community? And Why?
A truly “communal church’, one that is self regulated, “in a circle” versus a “triangle” speaks more deeply to the core
principles of Christianity as opposed to the traditional “hierarchy”,from the “top down” rule. Through communion, discrepancies between people are reconciled, what was scattered brought together. As communion belongs to the core of human
life, so we can see in the relation of Jesus with all men and women the restoration of human community. Therefore the Eucharist can be seen as a symbol which prefigures the total restoration of all creation in a new covenant with God. It prefigures the reconciliation of all that and who have been broken in one way or another.
In the Old Catholic theology, “Church” means reconciliation. “Church” means the restoration of broken relations between God and men and men with each other. It is the leading to a new communion in which the old differences and discriminations between people are removed. Distinctions in position and places are there to manifest the unity in differences and reflect in that way the being of the triune God.
The independent Catholic movement can be viewed as a further fracturing of the Roman monolith. Yet in truth, it represents an attempt to bring back the pieces, laying the basis for true unity by discarding demands for uniformity. The Old Catholic Church does not consider communion as uniformity, but unity in diversity. Communion aims at personal human well being, so that reciprocally individual persons enrich the community at large. And what is said of believers is true for churches as well. Individual churches are too restrained to reflect the richness of Gods love, therefore it is necessary that they are also in communion with one another. It is the communion of churches that can reflect – unified as they are in diversity – the
creativity of the Lord’s care about humanity.
How do we account for these differences?
Until the year 1054 AD when the first unhappy division took place, the Church was as it should be, ‘One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic.’ What happened after the division of course appears differently to the mind of every individual and the truth becomes hard to discern. It is safe to say then, that the only way of proving the truth of any contemporary interpretation of Christianity, is to submit it to the examination of the common mind of the Christian Church before its division took place.
Truth, unlike words, remains unchanging. What was truth in the Apostolic Church is truth today. All Christians should readily admit that the test of any principle of the Christian faith is to present it to the mind of the early Christian Church. It is certain that for the first nine hundred years at least, the Christian world was united in a common bond of faith. We know that the
Church was one, that its faith was Catholic in the sense best described by St. Vincent of Lerinz, “Such teaching is truly Catholic as has been believed in all places, at all times, and by all the faithful.” By this test of universality, antiquity, and consent, all controversial points in belief must be tried. Was it believed by all Christians everywhere, at all times before the year 1054
A.D.? -- is the test every question of faith should meet.
By: Rev. Fr. Philip Brookover, MTh (NACEC)
Introduction:
As the Old Catholic Movement combines the tradition of the great spiritual leaders of the latter ages of the Christian
Church, it has also effectively united the factors in Catholic Christendom that Hague untiringly labored to preserve: the first administrative principles of the Apostolic Church -- to hold inviolate “the faith once for all delivered to the Saints.” The undaunted spirits of the great Christian revolutionaries, the Port Royalists, the so-called Jansenists, the Mariavites and many others have served to prove by their struggle against ecclesiastical intolerance and phariseeism, that in every age within the church they loved the same struggle has been manifest in the lives of but a handful of people at all times. The torch they
carried from age to age may have been dimmed at times, but it has always been carried forward, never dropped, never entirely extinguished. Today their efforts are merged in handfuls of many people in almost every part of the world to whom
the sympathetic hands of the great Christian Church lends strength.
What are the significant differences between the OCC phenomenon of Europe and in North America.
A brief understanding of Europe’s history as it pertains to the movement is helpful: The Old Catholic Church (in Switzerland Christian Catholic Church) is not so much a religious denomination, as a community, part of whose member churches split from the Roman Catholic church in 1870. The German-speaking communities in Austria, Germany,
Switzerland, and Czechoslovakia were deeply disturbed by the promulgation of the dogma of Papal Infallibility at the First Vatican Councilof 1869-1870.
The Union of Utrecht consists of the Dutch Church of Utrecht (Ancient Catholic Church), the Old Catholic Church in Germany, the Christian Catholic Church of Switzerland, and similar movements in Austria, the Czech Republic, and elsewhere, organized into the Utrecht Union. The Utrecht Union is in full communionwith the Anglican Communion, as per the Bonn Agreement of 1931. The Polish National Catholic Church in the United States was in a state of "impaired communion" with the Utrecht Union from 1997-2003, since they do not accept the validity of ordaining women to the priesthood, which both the Anglicans and the European Old Catholics (and some US Old Catholic groups not in communion with Utrecht) have been doing for the last several years.
The Pope later, in 1853, established his own Catholic hierarchy in the Netherlands, to rival the hierarchy established by
the see of Utrecht. Thereafter in the Netherlands the Utrecht hierarchy was referred to as the "Old Catholic Church", to distinguish it from the "new" Catholic Church established by the Pope. Under Roman Catholic Canon Law, the line of apostolic succession in the Utrecht church remains "valid, but not licit".
After the First Vatican Council in 1870, many Austrian, German and Swiss Catholics rejected the teaching on papal infallibility, and left to form their own churches. These churches were supported by the Archbishop of Utrecht, who ordained their priests and bishops; later the Dutch were united more formally with many of these Austrian, German and Swiss Catholics under the name "Utrecht Union of Churches".
The convention decided to form a new church, to be called the "Old Catholic Church" to distinguish them from what they saw as novelty in the Roman Catholic Church. At their second convention, they elected the first Old Catholic bishop, who was
ordained by the Archbishop of Utrecht in the Netherlands. In 1874 they abandoned the requirement of priestly celibacy. The church received some support from the government of the new German Empire of Otto von Bismarck, whose policy was increasingly hostile towards the Roman Catholic Church in the 1870s and 1880s, especially during the Kulturkampf period from 1871-1877.
There are other distinctives by which Old Catholic communities are differentiated from Roman Catholic parishes. The matter
of papal infallibility defined by Vatican Council I is a non-issue for Old Catholics, since we are independent of papal jurisdiction. All Old Catholic communities accord the Holy Father that respect due him as Successor of St. Peter, Prince of the Apostles and Patriarch of the West. Old Catholics adhere to the teaching from apostolic times that the Church in General Council is
infallible. Another difference is that divorced people who remarry are treated in a pastoral manner and not excluded from the sacramental life of the Church. Further, the matter of contraception is treated as a matter of personal conscience between husband and wife. Old Catholic theology recognizes that the Church's teaching magisterium has no less than two objects: the formation of conscience, in which case authority has an instructive quality; and the nurturing of an informed conscience to full maturity, in which case authority is guiding but not directive.
In North America we see more development of new methods and ideas with an emphasis on community, and Catholicism, which
expresses a warmth and interest in the total person, Old Catholic communities are able to address the needs of today's society in the waning years of the Twentieth Century. For the contemporary Catholic searching to maintain his/her Faith but desiring to do so without excessive institutionalism that often loses contact with the individual; for those with a Catholic background who feel
impeded from full participation in the life and Sacraments of the Church; for the many unchurched who desire the joy and peace of Our Lord's Word and His Holy Sacraments, Old Catholic communities provide available alternative and allow a person to be a part of Christ's Church, and be at peace with his/her conscience. Old Catholic communities, because of their size, can give individual attention to the individual spiritual needs of the faithful and, where necessary, develop unique ministries to meet those needs.
Do we see any significant similarities?
There are, however, several Old Catholic groups in the United States, not affiliated with the European Old Catholics, who
have credible communities and real churches. The European Old Catholics, being in Communion with the Church of England, are not willing to antagonize their Anglican cohorts by recognizing a competing English-speaking Old Catholic movement. Old Catholics conduct church services in the vernacular. Priests are allowed to marry. Intercommunion with the Church of England was accomplished at a conference in Bonn in July 1931; the concordat was ratified later by the Vienna congress of the Old Catholic church and by the convocations of Canterbury and York of the Church of England.
The term 'Old Catholic' is used often by many splinter groups, ranging from 'Continuing' or 'Traditionalist' to 'New Age'. Many of
these so-called Old Catholic Churches are gatherings of clergy without congregations, and some exist only on the Internet. Although the Bishops of many of these groups can trace lines of Apostolic Succession through Old Catholic Churches, most of these are regarded as Episcopi vagantesby the churches of the Utrecht Union.
The Old Catholic Communities are not without their own conflicts. Because of this refusal to ordain women, the 2003
International Old Catholic Bishops' Conference stated that "...full communion, as determined in the statute of the IBC, could not be restored and that therefore, as a consequence, the separation of our Churches follows." In effect, the PNCC was expelled from the Union of Utrecht not because it refused to ordain women, but because it continued to refuse full communion with those Churches in the Union which do ordain women.
Which do we perceive as a better model for The Ecumenical Catholic Community? And Why?
A truly “communal church’, one that is self regulated, “in a circle” versus a “triangle” speaks more deeply to the core
principles of Christianity as opposed to the traditional “hierarchy”,from the “top down” rule. Through communion, discrepancies between people are reconciled, what was scattered brought together. As communion belongs to the core of human
life, so we can see in the relation of Jesus with all men and women the restoration of human community. Therefore the Eucharist can be seen as a symbol which prefigures the total restoration of all creation in a new covenant with God. It prefigures the reconciliation of all that and who have been broken in one way or another.
In the Old Catholic theology, “Church” means reconciliation. “Church” means the restoration of broken relations between God and men and men with each other. It is the leading to a new communion in which the old differences and discriminations between people are removed. Distinctions in position and places are there to manifest the unity in differences and reflect in that way the being of the triune God.
The independent Catholic movement can be viewed as a further fracturing of the Roman monolith. Yet in truth, it represents an attempt to bring back the pieces, laying the basis for true unity by discarding demands for uniformity. The Old Catholic Church does not consider communion as uniformity, but unity in diversity. Communion aims at personal human well being, so that reciprocally individual persons enrich the community at large. And what is said of believers is true for churches as well. Individual churches are too restrained to reflect the richness of Gods love, therefore it is necessary that they are also in communion with one another. It is the communion of churches that can reflect – unified as they are in diversity – the
creativity of the Lord’s care about humanity.
How do we account for these differences?
Until the year 1054 AD when the first unhappy division took place, the Church was as it should be, ‘One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic.’ What happened after the division of course appears differently to the mind of every individual and the truth becomes hard to discern. It is safe to say then, that the only way of proving the truth of any contemporary interpretation of Christianity, is to submit it to the examination of the common mind of the Christian Church before its division took place.
Truth, unlike words, remains unchanging. What was truth in the Apostolic Church is truth today. All Christians should readily admit that the test of any principle of the Christian faith is to present it to the mind of the early Christian Church. It is certain that for the first nine hundred years at least, the Christian world was united in a common bond of faith. We know that the
Church was one, that its faith was Catholic in the sense best described by St. Vincent of Lerinz, “Such teaching is truly Catholic as has been believed in all places, at all times, and by all the faithful.” By this test of universality, antiquity, and consent, all controversial points in belief must be tried. Was it believed by all Christians everywhere, at all times before the year 1054
A.D.? -- is the test every question of faith should meet.
A History of Independent Catholicism and
The North American Catholic Ecumenical Church
The tradition of Independent Catholicism, although not well known, especially in North America, extends back to the earliest Christian Church. The Church, after the deaths of the Apostles was composed of autocephalous Bishops; that is, independent Bishops each with his own geographical Church and jurisdiction. Later, toward the close of the second century, the diocesan church came into being where the Bishop had under his authority several dependent churches, each of which was headed by a Presbyter [Priest]. Yet even during this period the
Bishops remained independent of each other both in doctrine and in liturgy. The only tie between these independent Churches was their participation in Church Councils, which were regional or international meetings of bishops to discuss matters of faith and morals, the most important of which have become known as
the Great or Ecumenical Councils.
Over time, these councils gave rise to a more unified Church structure under the leadership of the Patriarchies, the most influential of which were Rome in the West, and Constantinople in the East. However not all validly consecrated Bishops accepted the claims of supremacy of the Bishop of Rome or the Patriarch of
Constantinople, or agreed with all of the doctrines proclaimed by the various Councils. Consequently there have always been Independent Rite Catholic Bishops and clergy; who, although holding valid Apostolic Succession and Holy Orders are not a part of the Roman Catholic or Eastern Orthodox Churches.
The great majority of contemporary Independent Catholic bishops and clergy in the West derive their valid succession from the Old Catholic Churches of Europe. These Churches derive their succession from the "Oud
Katholieke" or Jansenist Church of Utrecht in the Netherlands, which separated from Rome in AD 1724. The Old Catholic Churches came into being at the time of the First Vatican Council in AD 1870. The primary issue that precipitated the foundation of these Churches was opposition to the doctrine of “papal infallibility” promulgated by the aforementioned Council. This doctrine asserts that the Bishop of Rome, when speaking as supreme teacher and lawgiver of the Roman Catholic Church on a matter of faith or morals is preserved by the
Holy Spirit from the possibility of error. After its proclamation, a considerable number of Roman Catholic theologians, priests and lay persons formed independent Catholic Churches in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and France; and in 1897 the Polish National Catholic Church was established in the United States and Canada. Collectively, these Catholic Churches outside of the jurisdiction of Rome have become known as the "Old Catholic Churches."
Together with most major Independent (or Autocephalous, that is: not under Roman Catholic or Papal authority) Catholic Churches, the North American Catholic Ecumenical Church has a strong and valid Apostolic Succession derived from the Roman Catholic Church and various Eastern Orthodox bishops thus allowing a valid and efficacious celebration of the traditional seven sacraments. The North American Catholic Ecumenical Church, which was canonically erected on august 19, 2009, as well as most other Independent and Old Catholic Churches acknowledges seven Great or Ecumenical Councils. These are: Nicaea I, AD 325, Constantinople I, AD
381, Ephesus, AD 431, Chalcedon, AD 451, Constantinople II, AD 553, Constantinople III, AD 680, Nicaea II, AD 787. The North American Catholic Ecumenical Church also acknowledges the doctrinal teachings of the undivided Church prior to the Great Schism of AD 1054.
As part of our pastoral reform efforts, the North American Catholic Ecumenical Catholic Church has eliminated the biased-based "traditional" impediments to Holy Orders. Bishops, Priests and Deacons who have opted not to embrace celibacy can exercise the option to enter into the Sacrament of Marriage. In addition, candidacies for Holy Orders are now open to all qualified persons regardless of gender, orientation, marital status or racial/ethnic background. Candidacies for those with a vocation to enter into religious life are also open to those without prejudice to their orientation, gender or racial/ethnic background. Women religious may also, depending on the charism of their community, enter into Holy Orders.
The Catholic Ecumenical Church has also implemented pastoral reforms affecting the celebration of the Sacrament of Marriage. Our Catholic Church welcomes all couples wishing to enter into Marriage regardless of previous marriages or divorced status. Our Church also recognizes and celebrates same-sex marriages,
preparing all couples who meet the criteria and are free to marry. This Catholic jurisdiction supports and advocates for Marriage Equality.
The Catholic Ecumenical Church endorses the concept of family planning and supports families to choose who and when to bring children into the world, or to not if that is their choice. We believe that birth control is a matter of conscience between a woman, her physician, and her God. We do not endorse abortion, but we also acknowledge that no one knows the mind and heart of a woman who sees no other way. We will not condemn or banish any woman or couple that makes the choice of abortion, but welcome them and all to the healing Table of the Lord.
The intentions of the pastoral reforms of the North American Catholic Ecumenical Church are very simple: We wish to bring to the Lord's Table ALL persons who have been denied their rightful place because of the sins of social and theocratic prejudice, and all who wish to worship the Lord in an environment of acceptance and non-discrimination.
Thus, we at the North American Catholic Ecumenical Church have committed ourselves to celebrating Catholicism WITHOUT any sinful acts of exclusion and WITH complete and unconditional inclusion. We recognize we are members of the Kingdom of God on Earth and the catholic doctrine of social justice and peace demands that we celebrate our Catholicism as an inclusive community.
Declaration of the Catholic Congress, Munich, 1871
- Conscious of our religious duties, we hold fast to the Old Catholic creed and worship, as attested in scripture, and in tradition. We regard ourselves, therefore, as actual members of the Catholic Church, and will not be deprived of communion with the Church, nor of the rights, which through this communion, accrue to us in Church and State.
- We declare the ecclesiastical penalties decreed against us, on account of our fidelity to our creed,to be unjustifiable and tyrannical; and we will not allow ourselves to be daunted or hindered by these censures in availing ourselves of our communion with the Church according to our conscience.
From the point of view of the confession of faith contained in the so-called Tridentine Creed, we repudiate the dogmas introduced under the pontificate of Pius IX in contradiction to the doctrine of the Church, and to the principles continuously followed since the Council of Jerusalem, especially the dogmas of the Pope's infallible teaching, and of his supreme episcopal and immediate jurisdiction - We rely on the old constitution of the Church. We protest against every attempt to oust the bishops from the immediate and independent control of the separate Churches. We repudiate, as in conflict with the Tridentine Canon, according to which there exists a God-appointed hierarchy of bishops, priests, and deacons, the doctrine embodied in the Vatican doctrine, that the Pope is the sole God-appointed depositary of all ecclesiastical authority and power. We recognise the primacy of the Bishop of Rome as it was acknowledged, on authority of Scripture, by Fathers and Councils in the old undivided Christian Church.
(a.) We declare that articles of belief cannot be defined merely by the utterance of the Pope for the time being, and the express or tacit assent of the bishops, bound as they are by oath to unqualified obedience to the Pope; but only in accordance with Holy Scripture and the old tradition of the Church, as it is set forth in the recognised Fathers and Councils. Moreover a council which was not, as the Vatican Council was, deficient in the actual external conditions of oecuminicity, but which, in the general sentiment of its members, exhibited a disregard of the fundamental principles and of the past history of the Church, could not issue decrees binding upon the consciences of the members of the Church.
(b.) We lay stress upon this principle that the conformity of the doctrinal decisions of a council, with the primitive and traditional creed of the Church, must be determined by the consciousness of belief of the Catholic people and by theological science. We maintain for the Catholic laity and the clergy, as well as for theological sciences, the right of testifying and of objecting on the occasion of establishing articles of belief. - We aim at a reform in the Church in cooperation with the sciences of theology and canon law, which shall, in the spirit of the ancient Church, remove the present defects and abuses, and in particular shall fulfil the legitimate decrees of the Catholic people for a constitutionally regulated participation in Church business, whereby, without risk to doctrinal unity or doctrine, national considerations and needs may be taken account of.
We declare that the charge of Jansenism against the Church of Utrecht is unfounded, and that consequently no opposition in dogma exists between it and us. We hope for a re-union with the Greco-oriental and Russian Church, the separation of which had no sufficient origin, and depends upon no insuperable difference in dogma. Whilst pursuing the desired reforms in the path of science and a progressive Christian culture, we hope gradually to bring about a good understanding with the Protestant and Episcopal churches - We hold scientific study indispensable for the training of the clergy. We consider that the artificial seclusion of the clergy from the intellectual culture of the present century (as in the seminaries and higher schools under the sole conduct of the bishops) is dangerous, from the great influence which the clergy possess over the culture of the people, and that it is altogether unsuited to give the clergy such an education and training as shall combine piety and morality, intellectual culture and patriotic feeling. We claim for the lower order of clergy a suitable position of consideration, protected against all hierarchical tyranny. We protest against the arbitrary removal of secular priests, amovibilitas ad nutum, a practice introduced through the French Code, and latterly imposed everywhere.
- We support the constitutions of our countries, which secure us civil freedom and culture. Therefore we repudiate on national and historical grounds the dangerous dogma of Papal supremacy; and promise to stand faithfully and resolutely by our respective Governments in the struggle against that ultramontanism which assumes the form of dogma in the Syllabus.
- Since manifestly the present miserable confusion in the Church has been occasioned by the society called that of Jesus; since this order abuses its influence to spread and cherish among the hierarchy, clergy, and people, tendencies hostile to culture, dangerous to the State and to the nation; since it teaches and encourages a false and corrupting morality: we declare it as our conviction that peace and prosperity, unity in the Church, and just relations between her and civil society, will only be possible when the pernicious activity of this order is put an end to.
- As members of the Catholic Church, to which - not yet altered by the Vatican decrees - Government had guaranteed political recognition and public protection, we maintain our claims to all the real property and legal rights of the Church.
§§§
DOCUMENTS AND COMMENTS SUPPORTING VALIDITY OF OLD CATHOLIC SACRAMENTS
DOMINUS IESUS
"On the Unicity and Salvific Universality of Jesus Christ and the Church"
This declaration was approved by Pope John Paul II in June, 2000, and was published on August 6, 2000 by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and signed by its then Prefect, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, later Pope Benedict XVI. It is most widely known for its elaboration of the Catholic dogma that the Catholic Church is the sole true Church of Christ. For the NACEC, Dominus Iesus confirms that the Old Catholic Church is a valid (though illicit) Catholic Church due to our Apostolic Succession and Episcopate and celebration of the Seven Sacraments, especially the Holy Eucharist and Real Presence of our Savior Jesus Christ. Rome sees the NACEC and all Old Catholic Churches illicit due to our not recognizing the Pontiff as head of the universal Church, only the Roman Catholic Church. The Pope retains the honorific “Vicar of Christ” and “Successor of St. Peter.” The NACEC does not seek approval from the Roman Catholic Church or the Pope, but is happy to see that even the Roman Catholic Church acknowledges the validity of our Church and Sacraments. For Old Catholics and us in the NACEC, the Pope is “primus inter pares,” or First Among Equals. He is not supreme. The Pope in Rome is the Primate and Patriarch of the West (the Latin Catholic Church) due to his being Bishop of Rome, or the first among all Catholic bishops. As a side note DOMINUS IESUS does not accept any Protestant Church as a “Church” at all, due to their rejection of Apostolic Succession and the Real Presence in the Holy Eucharist and Mass and downgrades Protestants to “ecclesial communities.”
+++
You are invited to read the English translation of DOMINUS IESUS at the following link:
http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20000806_dominus-iesus_en.html
Note: When reading this Vatican document, please remember the phrase “the Catholic” means “the ROMAN Catholic...” Of particular importance is Section IV, Paragraph 17: see below:
Dominus Iesus, August 6, 2000
IV. UNICITY AND UNITY OF THE CHURCH
Paragraph 17: Churches that maintain apostolic succession are true local Churches. The Church of Christ is present and operative in these local Churches. “Therefore, there exists a single Church of Christ, which subsists in the Catholic Church, governed by the Successor of Peter and by the Bishops in communion with him.58 The Churches which, while not existing in perfect communion with the Catholic Church, remain united to her by means of the closest bonds, that is, by apostolic succession and a valid (Real Presence, emphasis mine) Eucharist, are true particular Churches.59 Therefore, the Church of Christ is present and operative also in these Churches, even though they lack full communion with the Catholic Church, since they do not accept the Catholic doctrine of the Primacy (the Pope is the actual head of all Catholics and the worldwide One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church, emphasis mine), which, according to the will of God, the Bishop of Rome objectively has and exercises over the entire Church.” Communities without apostolic succession (ie: Protestant Churches, emphasis mine) are not truly Churches. “On the other hand, the ecclesial communities which have not preserved the valid Episcopate and the genuine and integral substance of the Eucharistic mystery,are not Churches in the proper sense; however, those who are baptized in these communities are, by Baptism, incorporated in Christ and thus are in a certain communion, albeit imperfect, with the Church.Baptism in fact tends per se toward the full development of life in Christ, through the integral profession of faith, the Eucharist, and full communion in the Church.”
+++
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/pope-francis-reaches-out-to-schismatic-old-catholic-church-28251
+++
CATHOLIC ANSWERS: Fr. Charles Grondin May 03, 2017
Full Question
What should I do about an Old Catholic Church in my city? It makes several claims on its website about its sacraments being valid.
Answer
The Old Catholic Church is a schismatic communion of churches that broke away from the Catholic Church in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries over the issue of papal authority.
Because its bishops had been validly ordained, they retained the ability to ordain other bishops and priests.
This was confirmed on January 3, 1987, by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (Prot. no. 795/68):
Among the churches which are in the same situation as the oriental churches named in can. 844 § 3 we include the Old Catholic churches in Europe and the Polish National Church in the United States of America.
The Catholic Church has recognized the sacraments of the Old Catholic Church as valid and in the same category as the sacraments of the Eastern Orthodox Churches. However, the Old Catholic Church in more recent times has begun ordaining women. Since such ordinations are invalid, the Catholic Church cannot recognize any sacraments (other than baptism) as valid that a female priest performs.
This issue also presents problems when it comes to valid lines of apostolic succession. A female bishop can impart ordination to neither priests nor bishops, thus rendering their ordination and sacraments also invalid (except for baptisms). As of now, I am unaware that the Old Catholic Church has ordained any female bishops, and thus its line of apostolic succession appears to still be valid.
Even though the sacraments of these churches are valid (when performed by a validly ordained priest), they are still illicit, and therefore Catholics should avoid them outside a danger-of-death situation.
+++
In November, 1996 the Roman Catholic National Conference of Catholic Bishops issued Guidelines for the Reception of Communion for Catholics. In this document is the following statement. “According to Roman Catholic discipline, the Code of Canon Law does not object to the reception of communion by Christians of these Churches (canon 844 §3).” The Churches referred to are the Orthodox Churches, the Assyrian Church of the East, and the Polish National Catholic Church. (The “ Assyrian Church of the East” is the Church of this apostolic line with Mar Dinkha IV as Catholicos Patriarch.)
"Canon 844
§1. Catholic ministers administer the sacraments licitly to Catholic members of the Christian faithful alone, who likewise receive them licitly from Catholic ministers alone, without prejudice to the prescripts of §§2, 3, and 4 of this canon, and canon 861, §2.
"§2. Whenever necessity requires it or true spiritual advantage suggests it, and provided that danger of error or of indifferentism is avoided, the Christian faithful for whom it is physically or morally impossible to approach a Catholic minister are permitted to receive the sacraments of penance, Eucharist, and anointing of the sick from non-Catholic ministers in whose Churches these sacraments are valid.
"§3. Catholic ministers administer the sacraments of penance, Eucharist, and anointing of the sick licitly to members of Eastern Churches which do not have full communion with the Catholic Church if they seek such on their own accord and are properly disposed. This is also valid for members of other Churches which in the judgment of the Apostolic See are in the same condition in regard to the sacraments as these Eastern Churches.
"§4. If the danger of death is present or if, in the judgment of the diocesan bishop or conference of bishops, some other grave necessity urges it, Catholic ministers administer these same sacraments licitly also to other Christians not having full communion with the Catholic Church, who cannot approach a minister of their own community and who seek such on their own accord, provided that they manifest Catholic faith in respect to these sacraments and are properly disposed.
"§5. For the cases mentioned in §§2, 3, and 4, the diocesan bishop or conference of bishops is not to issue general norms except after consultation at least with the local competent authority of the interested non-Catholic Church or community."
+++
I. Letter of the Archbishop of Utrecht to the Archbishop of Canterbury-
II. Resolution of the Tenth International Congress of Old Catholic Bishops, Berne, 1925, as regards relations with the Church of England.
(1) The Congress is glad to be able to state that friendly relations, with the Church of England have been renewed. The question of the Apostolic Succession does not hinder a closer contact of both churches, as the Church of England did not wish to interrupt that succession. The ordinal of King Edward the Sixth can be accepted as a valid rite of consecration.
(2) The Congress requests the supreme ecclesiastical authorities of all Old Catholic Churches to pass a general resolution regarding the validity of the Anglican rite of ordination.
III. Statement of the Conference of Old Catholic Bishops regarding the Validity of Anglican Ordination.
The Conference of Old Catholic Bishops united in the Convention of Utrecht, assembled in their session of Sept. 2nd, 1925, at Berne, in taking notice of the acceptance of the Orders of the Church of England by the Church of Utrecht, fully stands to that decision, which corresponds to former declarations made by Old Catholic Bishops and savants of Germany and Switzerland, and gives expression to the fervent hope of a future more intimate and powerful contact with the Church of England and her daughter churches on a truly Catholic basis.
By order of the Secretary of the Conference,
(Signed) BISHOP ADOLF KURY, D.D Berne, Sept. 2nd, 1925.
+++
Full Question
What should I do about an Old Catholic Church in my city? It makes several claims on its website about its sacraments being valid.
Answer
The Old Catholic Church is a schismatic communion of churches that broke away from the Catholic Church in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries over the issue of papal authority.
Because its bishops had been validly ordained, they retained the ability to ordain other bishops and priests.
This was confirmed on January 3, 1987, by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (Prot. no. 795/68):
Among the churches which are in the same situation as the oriental churches named in can. 844 § 3 we include the Old Catholic churches in Europe and the Polish National Church in the United States of America.
The Catholic Church has recognized the sacraments of the Old Catholic Church as valid and in the same category as the sacraments of the Eastern Orthodox Churches. However, the Old Catholic Church in more recent times has begun ordaining women. Since such ordinations are invalid, the Catholic Church cannot recognize any sacraments (other than baptism) as valid that a female priest performs.
This issue also presents problems when it comes to valid lines of apostolic succession. A female bishop can impart ordination to neither priests nor bishops, thus rendering their ordination and sacraments also invalid (except for baptisms). As of now, I am unaware that the Old Catholic Church has ordained any female bishops, and thus its line of apostolic succession appears to still be valid.
+++
Old Catholic Validity of Holy Orders and SacramentsIt is fundamental that some Christian sects that have separated from Roman Catholicism have retained valid Sacraments, including the Sacrament of Orders:
“Every validly consecrated bishop, including heretical, schismatic, simonistic or excommunicated bishops, can validly dispense the Sacrament of Order, provided that he has the requisite intention, and follows the essential external rite (set. Certa). Cf. D 855, 860; CIC 2372.” Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma by Dr. Ludwig Ott, 1952, p. 456.
The fact that the Old Catholic Church has valid Sacramental Orders is virtually contested by no one conversant with sacramental theology and in possession of even a modicum of neutrality:
"A validly consecrated bishop can validly confer all orders from the minor orders to the episcopate inclusively ... For this reason the ordinations performed by the bishops of the Old Catholics are consider valid." A Practical Commentary on the Code of Canon Law, revised and enlarged edition, by Rev. Stanislaw Woywod, OFM, LLB. Vol. 1, Sec. 881 P. 558, 1948.
"They [Old Catholics] have received valid orders." Roman Catholic Dictionary, by Addison Arnold.
"The Old Catholic Church has received valid episcopal consecration." Christian Denominations, by Rev. Konrad Algermissen, 1945.
"Their [Old Catholic] Orders and Sacraments are valid." A Catholic Dictionary, by Donald Attwater, 1958, 1997.
"These [Old Catholics] Orders are valid." The Far East Magazin, June, 1928, published by the Saint Columban Fathers of St. Columbans, Nebraska, in reply to any inquiry about the Old Catholic Church.
"The Roman Church recognizes the validity of Old Catholic Orders and other Sacraments." 1974 Catholic Almanac, by Felician A. Roy, OFM, page 368.
“Ordinations conferred by dissident Oriental bishops, Jansenists and Old Catholics are generally valid, because of a validly consecrated hierarchy. (cf. Pius IX, Ency. Etsi multa, 21 November 1873)” – Halligan, Rev. Nicholas, O.P., The Administration of the Sacraments, 1963, p. 393, footnote 19.
“In our days, certain Anglicans have gone to Holland to be ordained by the Jansenist [Old Catholic] bishop, which ordination is almost certainly valid...” Synopsis Theologiae Dogmaticae, Tanquerey, Vol. II, 1905, p. 618.
"We have no reason to doubt that the Old Catholic Orders are valid. The Apostolic Succession does not depend on obedience to the See of Peter but rather on the objective line of succession from Apostolic sources, the proper matter and form, and the proper intention ... likewise Old Catholic bishops are bishops in Apostolic Succession ... The Old Catholics, like the Orthodox, posses a valid priesthood." Separated Brethren, William J. Whalen, 1958, 1966, pp. 204, 248.
+++
The founder of the Old Roman Catholic Church, Arnold Mathew, obtained his episcopal Orders in 1908 from an archbishop of the Old Catholic Church, Gerardus Gils. Assisting and co-consecrating with Gils were two other Old Catholic Bishops, J.J. Van Thiel and J. Dremmel.
In 1910, Arnold Mathew declared autonomy from the Old Catholic Church and founded his own church, the Old Roman Catholic Church. He then published his declaration of beliefs which adhered very closely to the doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church, excepting, among other things, papal infallibility and the primacy of Rome:
- “[W]e hold and declare that there are Seven Holy Mysteries or Sacraments instituted by Our Divine Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, therefore all of them necessary for the salvation of mankind, though all are not necessarily to be received by every individual, e.g. Holy Orders and Matrimony.”
- “[W]e adhere to the doctrine of the Communion of Saints by invoking and venerating the Blessed Virgin Mary, and those who have received the crown of glory in heaven, as well as the Holy Angels of God.”
- “[W]e consider it a duty on the part of Western Christians to remember His Holiness the Pope as their Patriarch in their prayers and sacrifices. The name of His Holiness should, therefore, retain its position in the Canon of the Mass…”
- “Following the example of our Catholic forefathers, we venerate the adorable Sacrifice of the Mass as the supreme act of Christian worship instituted by Christ Himself.”
- “In accordance with Catholic custom and with the decrees of the Ecumenical Councils, we hold that the honor and glory of God are promoted and increased by the devout and religious use of holy pictures, statues, symbols, relics, and the like, as aids to devotion, and that, in relations to those they represent, they are to be held in veneration.”
- “We consider that the Holy Sacraments should be administered only to those who are members of the Holy Catholic Church, not only by Baptism, but by the profession of the Catholic Faith in its integrity.”
“When a Catholic sacred minister is unavailable and there is urgent spiritual necessity, Catholics may receive the Eucharist, penance, or anointing from sacred ministers of non-Catholic denomination whose holy orders are considered valid by the Catholic Church. This includes all Eastern Orthodox priests, as well as priests of the Old Catholic or Polish National Church.” Rights and Responsibilities, A Catholics’ Guide to the New Code of Canon Law, Thomas P. Doyle, O.P., page 44.
§§§
The Bonn Agreement of 1931
The Bonn agreement reads as follows:
What does this mean in practice?Lay people
The members of both churches may participate in each other's pastoral, congregational and sacramental life.
Priests
Since the orders of each church are recognised by the other, priests and deacons of Anglican and Old Catholic Churches can fully participate in each other's ministries. Old Catholic clergy can serve Anglican congregations and vice versa.
Bishops
Bishops participate in the consecrations of bishops of both churches and have regular consultations at many levels. They also administer the sacrament of confirmation in each other's churches.
The Union of Utrecht is represented at the Lambeth Conference and in the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC).
The Bonn agreement reads as follows:
- Each Communion recognises the Catholicity and independence of the other, and maintains its own.
- Each Communion agrees to admit members of the other Communion to participate in the Sacraments.
- Intercommunion does not require from either Communion the acceptance of all doctrinal opinion, sacramental devotion or liturgical practice characteristic of the other, but implies that each believes the other to hold all the essentials of the Christian Faith.
What does this mean in practice?Lay people
The members of both churches may participate in each other's pastoral, congregational and sacramental life.
Priests
Since the orders of each church are recognised by the other, priests and deacons of Anglican and Old Catholic Churches can fully participate in each other's ministries. Old Catholic clergy can serve Anglican congregations and vice versa.
Bishops
Bishops participate in the consecrations of bishops of both churches and have regular consultations at many levels. They also administer the sacrament of confirmation in each other's churches.
The Union of Utrecht is represented at the Lambeth Conference and in the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC).