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{{Short description|Major Christian denomination}}
] Church in ], ] (now Jablonec nad Nisou, ]). A considerable number of ethnic German Catholics supported Döllinger in his rejection of the dogma of ].]]
{{distinguish|History of the Catholic Church}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2020}}
{{Infobox Christian denomination
| name = Old Catholic Church
| imagewidth = 200px
| polity = ]
| division_type = ]
| division =
* ]<ref name="UUpage139">{{cite web|title=Member Churches|website=utrechter-union.org|location=Utrecht, NL|publisher=Utrechter Union der Altkatholischen Kirchen|url=http://www.utrechter-union.org/page/139/member_churches|access-date=2016-04-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160410090744/http://www.utrechter-union.org/page/139/member_churches|archive-date=2016-04-10|url-status=dead}}</ref>
** ]
* ]<ref name="UUpage139" />{{efn|The organization ''Polish Catholic Church in Poland'', a member church of the {{abbr|UU|Union of Utrecht of the Old Catholic Churches}}, is not to be confused with the ] or confused with the ], a former member church of the {{abbr|UU|Union of Utrecht of the Old Catholic Churches}}.}}
* ]<ref name="UUpage139" />
* ]<ref name="UUpage139" />
** ]
* ]<ref name="UUpage139" />
** ]
* ]<ref name="UUpage139" />
| division_type1 = ]
| division1 =
* ]<ref name="UnionScranton">{{cite web|title=The Union of Scranton: a union of churches in communion with the Polish National Catholic Church|website=unionofscranton.org|location=Scranton, PA|publisher=Union of Scranton|url=http://unionofscranton.org/|access-date=2016-05-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160321085242/http://unionofscranton.org/|archive-date=2016-03-21|url-status=live}}</ref>
* ]<ref name="UnionScranton"/>
** ]
| associations = ] (Union of Utrecht only)
| full_communion = ] (Union of Utrecht only)<br />] (Union of Utrecht only)<ref name="utrechter-union0">{{cite web |title=Agreement |publisher=Union of Utrecht |date=23 November 2016 |url=https://www.utrechter-union.org/fman/851.pdf |access-date=27 March 2021}}</ref><br />] (Union of Utrecht only)
| separated_from = ]
| footnotes = ''Also known as Old Catholics or Old-Catholic churches''
}}
{{Christianity|expanded=hide}}
The terms '''Old Catholic Church''', '''Old Catholics''', '''Old-Catholic churches''',<ref name="WCC">{{cite web|title=Old-Catholic churches|url=https://www.oikoumene.org/church-families/old-catholic-churches|access-date=27 March 2021|publisher=]}}</ref> or '''Old Catholic movement''',<ref>{{Cite book |last=James R. |first=Lewis |title=The Encyclopedia of Cults, Sects, and New Religions |publisher=Prometheus Books |year=1998 |isbn=1-57392-222-6 |edition=1st |location=United States |pages=367 |chapter=Old Catholic Movement}}</ref> designate "any of the groups of ] who believe themselves to maintain in complete loyalty the doctrine and traditions of the ] but who separated from the ] after the ] of 1869–70".<ref>{{Cite web|title=Old Catholic church {{!}} Christianity {{!}} Britannica|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Old-Catholic-church|access-date=2021-11-18|website=www.britannica.com|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Beyschlag |first=Willibald |date=1898 |title=The Origin and Development of the Old Catholic Movement |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3153434 |journal=The American Journal of Theology |volume=2 |issue=3 |pages=481–526 |issn=1550-3283}}</ref>


The expression Old Catholic has been used from the 1850s by communions separated from the ] over certain doctrines, primarily concerned with ] and ]. Some of these groups, especially in the ], had already existed long before the term. The Old Catholic Church is separate and distinct from ].
The '''Old Catholic Church''' is a ] denomination originating with mainly ]-speaking groups that split from the ] because they disagreed with the claim of universal papal jurisdiction and the solemn declaration of the doctrine of ] promulgated by the ] (1871).<ref name="oldcatholichistory1">{{cite web|url=http://www.oldcatholichistory.org/pages/history/Congress1.html |title=A Study of the First Old Catholic Congresses |publisher=Oldcatholichistory.org |date= |accessdate=2010-04-25}}</ref> The church is not in formal ] with the Holy See, though the ] is in full communion with the ]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.europe.anglican.org/partners/partners_incommunion.htm |title=Churches in Communion with the Church of England |publisher=Europe.anglican.org |date=2009-04-08 |accessdate=2010-04-25}}</ref> and a member of the ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oikoumene.org/en/member-churches/regions/europe/netherlands/old-catholic-church-in-the-netherlands.html |title=Old-Catholic Church in the Netherlands |publisher=Oikoumene.org |date= |accessdate=2010-04-25}}</ref>


Two groups of Old Catholic churches currently exist: the ] (UU) and the ] (US). Neither group is in ] with the ]. Member churches of the Union of Utrecht are in full communion with the ] as well as the ] and the ]<ref>{{cite web |title=Bilateral Relations |url=https://www.svenskakyrkan.se/bilateral-relations |publisher=] |access-date=27 March 2021 |date=24 September 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=2009-04-08|title=Churches in Communion with the Church of England|url=http://www.europe.anglican.org/partners/partners_incommunion.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100325133000/http://www.europe.anglican.org/partners/partners_incommunion.htm|archive-date=25 March 2010|access-date=2010-04-25|publisher=Europe.anglican.org}}</ref> and many UU churches are members of the ].<ref>{{cite web|title=Old-Catholic Church in the Netherlands|url=http://www.oikoumene.org/en/member-churches/regions/europe/netherlands/old-catholic-church-in-the-netherlands.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110521145425/http://www.oikoumene.org/en/member-churches/regions/europe/netherlands/old-catholic-church-in-the-netherlands.html |archive-date=21 May 2011 |access-date=2010-04-25|publisher=Oikoumene.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Old-Catholic churches {{!}} World Council of Churches|url=https://www.oikoumene.org/church-families/old-catholic-churches |access-date=2021-03-31|website=www.oikoumene.org}}</ref>
The term "Old Catholic" was first used in 1853 to describe the members of the ] who, as with the earliest Catholic communities, did not recognise any claimed 'infallible' papal authority.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://newsroom.naoldcatholic.com/?page_id=5 |title=External Communications - The North American Old Catholic Church » What are Old Catholics? |publisher=Newsroom.naoldcatholic.com |date=2008-05-28 |accessdate=2010-04-25}}</ref> As the groups that split from the ] in the 1870s had no bishop, they joined Utrecht to form the Union of Utrecht.


Both groups trace their beginning to the 18th century when members of the ] refused to obey papal authority and were ]. Later Catholics who disagreed with the Roman ] of ], as defined by the ] (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.
==Beliefs==
With its particular view of the Church, the Old Catholic theology joins those theologians who see the ] as the core of being a Church. From that point the church is a communion of believers. All are in communion with one another around the surrender of life by ], as the highest expression of the love of God. Therefore in the celebration of the Eucharist, the faithful experience of how the Lord prevailed by the surrender of his life to sin. Sin is that power that divides life in all of its dimensions. The defeat of sin consists in bringing together that what is divided.<ref name="utrechter-union1">{{dead link|date=April 2010}}</ref>


In 2008, the ] created the Union of Scranton and separated from the Union of Utrecht. This was done in protest of the older Union's decision to ] and bless ]. The ] later joined the Union of Scranton as well.
Discrepancies between people are reconciled, what was dispersed 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 or another way.


{{TOC limit|3}}
“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.


==History==
Communion is not 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 restrainted 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.
===Pre-Reformation diocese and archdiocese of Utrecht===
{{Main article|Archdiocese of Utrecht (695–1580)}}
In the pre-] era, there were already disputes that set the stage for an independent bishopric of Utrecht between the ] and the ], notably during between the 11th to 15th centuries.


===Post-Reformation Netherlands===
This ecclesiological opinion, then can be carried back to orthodox theologians and to the Church fathers is recently more and more elaborated by Old Catholic theologians as the special mark of Old Catholic ecclesiology Old Catholics usually refer to the Church Father ] in his saying: "We must hold fast to that faith which has been believed everywhere, always, and by all the Faithful."<ref name="ancient-future1">{{cite web|url=http://www.ancient-future.net/vcanon.html |title=The Vincentian Canon of St. Vincent of Lerins |publisher=Ancient-future.net |date= |accessdate=2010-04-25}}</ref>
{{Main article|Old Catholic Church of the Netherlands|Old Catholic Archdiocese of Utrecht}}
The northern provinces that revolted against the ] and signed the 1579 ], persecuted the Roman Catholic Church, confiscated church property, expelled monks and nuns from convents and monasteries, and made it illegal to receive the ].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Kaplan|first=Benjamin J.|date=Autumn 1994|title={{thinsp}}'Remnants of the papal yoke': apathy and opposition in the Dutch reformation |journal=]|volume=25|issue=3 |pages=653–669|jstor=2542640|issn=0361-0160|doi=10.2307/2542640|s2cid=163784117 }}</ref> However, Catholicism did not die, rather priests and communities went underground. Groups would meet for the ] in the attics of private homes at the risk of arrest.{{sfn|Neale|1858}} Priests identified themselves by wearing ] with ].<ref name="Parker" />


All the ] of the area, including that of Utrecht, had fallen vacant by 1580, because the ], which since 1559 ], refused to make appointments for what it saw as ] territories, and the nomination of an ] was seen as a way of avoiding direct violation of the privilege granted to the crown.<ref name="Parker">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O1uRGuEWx3UC&pg=PA30 |pages=30–31|title=Faith on the Margins: Catholics and Catholicism in the Dutch Golden Age |isbn=9780674033719|last1=Parker|first1=Charles H.|date=July 2009|publisher=Harvard University Press }}</ref> The appointment of an apostolic vicar, the first after many centuries, for what came to be called the ] was followed by similar appointments for other Protestant-ruled countries, such as ], which likewise became mission territories.<ref name="Parker" /> 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,<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZUrFh6pSd3MC&pg=PA48 |pages=48–49|title=Calvinists and Catholics During Holland's Golden Age: Heretics and Idolaters |isbn=9781107023246|last1=Kooi|first1=Christine|date=30 April 2012|publisher=Cambridge University Press }}</ref> leading to Protestant protests.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DxWUCtuXAlQC&pg=PA168 |page=168|title=The Low Countries as a Crossroads of Religious Beliefs|isbn=9004122885|last1=Gelderblom|first1=Arie Jan|last2=De Jong|first2=Jan L. |last3=Vaeck|first3=Marc Van|date=January 2004|publisher=BRILL }}</ref>
==History==
===Three periods===


The initial shortage of Roman Catholic priests in the Netherlands resulted in increased pastoral activity of ] clergy, among whom ] 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 ].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Zachman |first1=Randall C. |date=September 2008 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wSza_fU2yI4C&pg=PA124 |page=124 |title=John Calvin and Roman Catholicism: Critique and Engagement, then and Now |publisher=Baker Academic |isbn=9780801035975}}</ref> 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.<ref name=Parker39>{{cite book|last1=Parker |first1=Charles H. |date=July 2009 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O1uRGuEWx3UC&pg=PA39 |page=39|title=Faith on the Margins: Catholics and Catholicism in the Dutch Golden Age|publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=9780674033719}}</ref>
Old Catholicism originated when various Catholic churches separated from Roman Catholicism over the issue of Papal authority after the Protestant Reformation. The initial separation from Rome occurred in Holland in 1724 which formed the first Old Catholic Church. The churches of Germany, Austria, Czech Republic and Switzerland created the Union of Utrecht after Vatican I (1871) over the Dogma of Papal Infallibility. In the early 1900s the movement included England, Canada, Croatia, France, Denmark, Italy, North America, the Philippines, China, and Hungry. The Union of Utrecht has not welcomed any non-continental European community to join the Union with the exception of the ].


The sixth apostolic vicar of the ], ], was appointed in 1688. In 1691, the Jesuits accused him of favouring the ] ].<ref>{{cite journal |title=Civic Humanism in Clerical Garb: Gallican Memories of the Early Church and the Project of Primitivist Reform 1719-1791 |last=Van Kley |first=Dale K. |volume=200 |issue=1 |pages=77–120 |journal=Past & Present |date=August 2008 |doi=10.1093/pastj/gtm055}}</ref> ] appointed a commission of ] to investigate the accusations against Codde. The commission concluded that the accusations were groundless.<ref name=Vissera>{{cite journal |last=Vissera|first=Jan|date=2003|title=The Old Catholic churches of the Union of Utrecht|journal=International Journal for the Study of the Christian Church|volume=3|issue=1|pages=68–84 |doi=10.1080/14742250308574025 |s2cid=144732215|issn=1474-225X}}</ref> In 1702, ] deposed Codde, to which Codde obeyed.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hardon |first=John A. |url=http://archive.org/details/religionsofworld0000hard |title=Religions of the World |date=1963 |publisher=Newman Press |others=Internet Archive |location=Westminster, Md. |pages=470 |chapter=17. Old Catholic Churches}}</ref>
===Independent bishopric===
{{main|Old Catholic Church of the Netherlands|Ultrajectine}}
<!-- Deleted image removed: ] -->


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.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bakvis |first1=Herman |url=https://archive.org/details/catholicpowerinn00bakv |url-access=registration |page= |title=Catholic Power in the Netherlands |publisher=McGill-Queen's Press |isbn=9780773503618 |year=1981}}</ref> Of the laity, the overwhelming majority sided with the Holy See.<ref name=Parker39/> Thus, most Dutch Catholics remained in full communion with the pope and with the ] appointed by him.
These disputes set the stage for an independent Bishopric of Utrecht: the ], the ] and ], and the concession of ]''.


After Codde's resignation, the Diocese of Utrecht elected ] as ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayJournal?jid=ELJ |title=Cambridge Journals Online - Ecclesiastical Law Journal |publisher=Journals.cambridge.org |access-date=2010-04-25}}</ref> The See of Utrecht declared the right to elect its own archbishop in 1724, after being accused of ]. Following consultation with both canon lawyers and theologians in France and Germany, ], a Catholic bishop of the French Oratorian Society of Foreign Missions, consecrated Steenoven as a bishop without a papal mandate.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KpwfAAAAIAAJ&pg=PP13 |title=Domestic Correspondence of Dominique-Marie Varlet |year=1986 |access-date=2010-04-25|isbn=9004076719 |last1=Varlet |first1=Dominique-Marie|publisher=BRILL }}</ref> 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 ] by the Roman Catholic Church, and thus began the ].{{sfn|Neale|1858}} Subsequent bishops were then appointed and ordained to the sees of ], ] and ] under the ] in later years.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l79xM4Cxde0C&pg=PA4|title=The Old Catholic Church|date=October 2006|edition=3rd|access-date=2010-04-25 |isbn=9780912134413 |last1=Pruter |first1=Karl|publisher=Wildside Press LLC }}</ref>
In the 12th century, there was a great ] where the ] and the ] fought over who could appoint Bishops. In 1122, the ''']<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/worms1.html |title=Medieval Sourcebook: The Concordat of Worms 1122 |publisher=Fordham.edu |date= |accessdate=2010-04-25}}</ref>''' was signed making peace. The Emperor renounced the right to invest ecclesiastics with ring and crosier, the symbols of their spiritual power, and guaranteed election by the canons of cathedral or abbey and free consecration. The Emperor ] and ] ended the feud by granting one another peace.The Concordat was confirmed by the ''']<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/lateran1.html |title=Medieval Sourcebook: First Lateran Council 1123 |publisher=Fordham.edu |date= |accessdate=2010-04-25}}</ref>''' in 1123.


Due to prevailing anti-papal feeling among the powerful Dutch ], the Church of Utrecht was tolerated and even praised by the government of the ].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6qchh2SrClcC&pg=PP10 |title=Aspects of European history, 1494-1789 |access-date=2010-04-25 |isbn=9780415027847 |last1=Lee |first1=Stephen J. |year=1984|publisher=Routledge }}</ref>
The ''']<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/lateran4.html |title=Medieval Sourcebook: Twelfth Ecumenical Council: Lateran IV 1215 |publisher=Fordham.edu |date= |accessdate=2010-04-25}}</ref>''' in 1215 re-enforced the right of all Cathedral Chapters to elect their bishops. ], 57th Bishop of Utrecht (1517–1524), through a family connection with ], secured a significant '''concession''' from ], granting internal autonomy in both church and temporal affairs for himself and his successors without interference from outside their jurisdictional region. This greatly promoted the independence of the ], so that no clergy or laity from Utrecht would ever be tried by a Roman tribunal.


In 1853 ] received guarantees of ] from King ] and ].<ref>{{cite web |author=Algis Ratnikas |title=Timeline Netherlands |url=http://timelines.ws/countries/NETHERLANDS.HTML |publisher=Timelines.ws |access-date=2010-04-25 |archive-date=2 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100402040722/http://timelines.ws/countries/NETHERLANDS.HTML |url-status=dead }}</ref> The Holy See considers the ] as the continuation of the ] founded in the 7th century and raised to metropolitan status on 12 May 1559, thus not recognizing any legitimacy of Old Catholics.<ref>''Annuario Pontificio 2013'' (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2013 {{ISBN|978-88-209-9070-1}}), p. 769</ref>
===Post Reformation Holland - first period===


===First Vatican Council, Old Catholic Union of Utrecht===
During the ] the ] was persecuted and the Dutch dioceses north of the ] and ] were suspended by the ]. Protestants occupied most church buildings, and those remaining were confiscated by the government of the ] of Seven Provinces, which favoured ].<ref>http://www.jstor.org/pss/3679072</ref>
{{Papal primacy and infallibility|expanded=objections}}


After the ] (1869–1870), several groups of Roman Catholics in ], ], and ] rejected the ] of ] and left to form their own churches.<ref>{{cite web|title=Old Catholic Conference |url=http://www.oldcatholichistory.org/pages/documents/Dollinger.html|access-date=2010-04-25 |website=oldcatholichistory.org}} {{Dead link|date=September 2010|bot=H3llBot}}{{cbignore}}</ref> The formation of the Old Catholic communion of Germans, Austrians and Swiss began under the leadership of ], following the First Vatican Council.<ref name="WCC" /> These were supported by the ], who ordained priests and bishops for them. Later the Dutch were united more formally with many of these groups under the name "]".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oldcatholichistory.org/pages/documents/Congress.html |title=Declaration of the Catholic Congress |website=oldcatholichistory.org |access-date=2010-04-25}} {{Dead link|date=September 2010|bot=H3llBot}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
In 1580, the ] occurred in Holland and the institutionalized Catholic Church was persecuted. The ] confiscated Church property, forced Religious Sisters and Brothers out of convents and monasteries, and made it illegal to receive the Sacraments of the Church.<ref>http://www.jstor.org/pss/2542640</ref> However, the Church did not die, rather priests and communities went underground. Groups would meet for the ] in the attics of private homes at the risk of arrest.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=k5nZTvWMMPAC&oi=fnd&pg=PA1&dq=hidden+church+holland&ots=V6PdoBcIoG&sig=JbqlLYLZaD5gaRk2TrxfRrYrhLo#v=onepage&q=&f=false |title=A History of the So-Called Jansenist ... - Google Books |publisher=Books.google.com |date= |accessdate=2010-04-25}}</ref> Priests identified themselves by wearing all black clothing with very simple collars. At the same time as there were local underground priests and bishops, the Pope considered the Catholic Church in Holland to be mission territory and no longer the traditional Bishopric of Utrecht. The ] suspended the Dutch dioceses north of the Rhine and Waal.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thedegree.org/OChistory.html |title=European-American University :: Education beyond boundaries |publisher=Thedegree.org |date=1908-04-28 |accessdate=2010-04-25}}</ref>


In the spring of 1871, a convention in ] attracted several hundred participants, including ] and Protestant observers.<ref>{{cite web |title=A Study of the First Old Catholic Congresses |url=http://www.oldcatholichistory.org/pages/history/Congress1.html |website=oldcatholichistory.org|access-date=2010-04-25}} {{Dead link|date=September 2010|bot=H3llBot}}{{cbignore}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web |title=Father Johann Joseph Ignaz von Dollinger |website=oldcatholichistory.org |url=http://www.oldcatholichistory.org/pages/clergy/Dollinger.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727142139/http://www.oldcatholichistory.org/pages/clergy/Dollinger.pdf |archive-date=27 July 2011 |url-status=dead |access-date=23 March 2010 }}</ref>
Protestants occupied most church buildings, and those remaining were confiscated by the government of the Dutch Republic of Seven Provinces, which favoured ].As part of the ], there were attempts to "re-Romanize" the Dutch Church.<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web|author=Allen Jimenez |url=http://old_catholic.tripod.com/history.html |title=Old Catholic Oratory |publisher=Old_catholic.tripod.com |date= |accessdate=2010-04-25}}</ref> The Dutch resisted strongly. Contrary to prior guarantees, Papal forces intervened on the side of the Counter-reformists (]). The Pope sent Roman priests to reestablish the Church in Holland. The Catholics persecution in the 17th century, was exacerbated by theological disputes which divided the Church. One of the contentious issues was, whether the Catholic Church in the Netherlands after the Reformation was a continuous church or a mission of Rome and governed by the Pope. If Holland were no longer a continuous Church, the ] and the concession of ] were no longer applicable. The popes took advantage of the failure of Utrecht, and the person named as ] was called by Rome the Archbishop of Utrecht in ''partibus infidelium'' (i.e., archbishop in the land of unbelievers). As countries and dioceses collapsed across Europe since the 4th century, Rome had bailed out the communities but as a result, the Churches became subject to Roman jurisdiction. Many clergy and lay people of Utrecht did not want to become one more formerly autonomous jurisdiction now under Roman control, however, many did.


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 ], from the middle of the 18th century the Dutch Old Catholic See of Utrecht had increasingly used the ] 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 ] until it completely replaced Latin in 1877.<ref name=":0">{{cite journal |issn=0735-8318 |author=James S. Pula |date=Summer 2009 |volume=27 |issue=3 |pages=1–19 |url=http://muse.jhu.edu/login?uri=/journals/us_catholic_historian/v027/27.3.pula.html |via=Project MUSE |journal=U.S. Catholic Historian |title=Polish-American Catholicism: A Case Study in Cultural Determinism |doi=10.1353/cht.0.0014 |s2cid=154139236 |access-date=2010-04-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110608014459/http://muse.jhu.edu/login?uri=%2Fjournals%2Fus_catholic_historian%2Fv027%2F27.3.pula.html |archive-date=8 June 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 1874, the Old Catholics removed the requirement of ].<ref name="Vissera" />
In 1691, the ] accused ], the then ], of favouring the ] ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://past.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/pdf_extract/200/1/77?etoc= |title=Civic Humanism in Clerical Garb: Gallican Memories of the Early Church and the Project of Primitivist Reform 1719-1791 - Van Kley 200 (1): 77 - Past & Present |doi=10.1093/pastj/gtm055 |publisher=Past.oxfordjournals.org |date= |accessdate=2010-04-25}}</ref> ] appointed a commission of ] to investigate the accusations - apparently violating the exemption granted in 1520. The commission concluded that the accusations were groundless.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a793904868&db=all |title=The Old Catholic churches of the Union of Utrecht - International journal for the Study of the Christian Church |publisher=Informaworld.com |date= |accessdate=2010-04-25}}</ref>


The ] received support from the government of ], whose 1870s '']'' policies persecuted the Roman Catholic Church.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Davis |first=Derek H.|date=Autumn 1998|title=Editorial: Religious persecution in today's Germany: old habits renewed|journal=Journal of Church and State|volume=40|issue=4|location=Waco, TX |publisher=J. M. Dawson Institute of Church-State Studies at Baylor University|pages=741–756 |doi=10.1093/jcs/40.4.741|issn=0021-969X}}</ref> In Austria-Hungary, ], like those of ], ] to Old Catholicism and Lutheranism, with poor results.<ref>{{cite book|last=Jensen|first=John H.|year=1971|title=Forces of change|series=The European experience, topics in modern history|volume=1|location=Wellington|publisher=Reed|isbn=9780589040635 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f9AOAAAAQAAJ}}{{Page needed|date=February 2016}}</ref>
In 1700 a new ], ], summoned ] to Rome in order to participate in the Jubilee Year, whereupon a second commission was appointed to try Codde.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.therealpresence.org/archives/Protestantism/Protestantism_036.htm |title=Fr. Hardon Archives - Religions of the World - Chapter 17. Old Catholic Churches |publisher=Therealpresence.org |date= |accessdate=2010-04-25}}</ref> The result of this second proceeding was again acquittal. However, in 1701 ] decided to suspend Codde and appoint a successor. The Church in Utrecht refused to accept the replacement and Codde continued in office until 1703, when he resigned.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eglise-catholique.org/ApostolicSuccession.pdf |title=The Liberal Catholic |format=PDF |date= |accessdate=2010-04-25}}</ref>


=== Spread of Old Catholicism throughout the world ===
After Codde's resignation, the Diocese of Utrecht elected ] as bishop.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayJournal?jid=ELJ |title=Cambridge Journals Online - Ecclesiastical Law Journal |publisher=Journals.cambridge.org |date= |accessdate=2010-04-25}}</ref> After consultation with both canon lawyers and theologians in France and Germany. ] (1678–1742), a Roman Catholic Bishop of the French Oratorian Society of Foreign Missions, ordained Bishop Steenoven.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=KpwfAAAAIAAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP13&dq=Dominique+Marie+Varlet&ots=AwzHaB4orW&sig=O8MRUQJxZb8DoCdFecqAwQlXdpA#v=onepage&q=&f=false |title=Domestic correspondence of Dominique ... - Google Books |publisher=Books.google.com |date= |accessdate=2010-04-25}}</ref> What had been de jure autonomous became de facto an independent Catholic Church. Van Steenoven appointed and ordained bishops to the sees of ], ] and ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=l79xM4Cxde0C&oi=fnd&pg=PA4&dq=Steenoven+appointed+and+ordained+bishops&ots=AtHuNHDXwg&sig=g-nnA8h-MaDwls7jzastdo05j0A#v=onepage&q=&f=false |title=The Old Catholic Church, Third Edition - Google Books |publisher=Books.google.com |date= |accessdate=2010-04-25}}</ref> Although the pope was duly notified of all proceedings, the ] still regarded these dioceses as vacant due to papal permission not being sought. The pope, therefore, continued to appoint apostolic vicars for the Netherlands.<ref name=apostolic>{{cite web|url=http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=98MAAAAAcAAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA1&dq=The+pope,+therefore,+continued+to+appoint+apostolic+vicars+for+the+Netherlands+Steenoven&ots=hMC9OUhTkr&sig=OmlrJjdSR2nQj4uEKAUtD5DbpwA#v=onepage&q=&f=false |title=A history of the so-called Jansenist ... - Google Books |publisher=Books.google.com |date= |accessdate=2010-04-25}}</ref> Van Steenoven and the other bishops were excommunicated and thus began the Old Catholic Church in the Netherlands.<ref name=apostolic/>
] church in ], ] (now Jablonec nad Nisou, ]). Some ethnic German Roman Catholics supported Döllinger in his rejection of the Roman Catholic dogma of papal infallibility.]]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, ], was consecrated a bishop by Old Catholic Archbishop of Utrecht ], establishing the ], which joined the Union of Utrecht.


==== Split of Old Roman Catholics and Liberal Catholics ====
Most Dutch Catholics remained in ] with the ] and with the apostolic vicars appointed by him. However, due to prevailing ] feeling among the powerful Dutch ], the Church of Utrecht was tolerated and even praised by the government of the ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=6qchh2SrClcC&oi=fnd&pg=PP10&dq=However,+due+to+prevailing+anti-papal+feeling+among+the+powerful+Dutch+Calvinists+the+Church+of+Utrecht+was+tolerated+and+even+praised+by+the+government+of+the+Dutch+Republic&ots=3WsNkLeBqI&sig=cSrq3X8hfwgf62ybZh0EP-DhtTU#v=onepage&q=&f=false |title=Aspects of European history, 1494-1789 - Google Books |publisher=Books.google.com |date= |accessdate=2010-04-25}}</ref>
In 1910, ]—a former ] and Anglican, who was consecrated by Old Catholic Archbishop Gul in 1908—split away from the Union of Utrecht, establishing the ]. In 1914, he consecrated ], 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: ].<ref>{{cite web|title=Independent and Old Catholic Churches |publisher=Novelguide.com|url=http://www.novelguide.com/a/discover/ear_01/ear_01_00043.html|access-date=2010-04-25|url-status=dead|archive-date=2008-09-29|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080929060718/http://www.novelguide.com/a/discover/ear_01/ear_01_00043.html}}</ref> Various ] claiming ] from Mathew were founded in the world through Berghes, Carfora, and others including ]—founder of the ]. Such groups' apostolic succession is deemed to be invalid by both the ], the ] and the ]. Mathew himself was ] and declared a "pseudo-bishop" by ],<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Pius X Papa |date=15 February 1911 |title=Sacerdotes Arnoldus Harris Mathew Herbertus Ignatius Beale Et Arthurus Guilelmus Howarth Nominatim Excommunicantur |url=https://archive.org/details/sacerdotes-arnoldus-harris-mathew-herbertus-ignatius-beale-et-arthurus-guilelmus |journal=] |volume=3 |issue=2 |pages=53–54}}</ref> while the ] declared his consecration to be ], obtained ].<ref name="Brandreth19872">{{Cite book |last=Brandreth |first=Henry R. T. |title=Episcopi vagantes and the Anglican Church |publisher=Borgo Press |year=1987 |isbn=0-89370-558-6 |location=San Bernardino, CA |orig-year=First published in 1947}}</ref>


Another significant figure, ], who was ordained a deacon and priest by Bishop ], of the ];<ref>{{cite web|last=Weeks|first=Donald M.|title=A partial chronological history of pioneer Old Catholics in the United States|website=oldcatholichistory.org|url=http://www.oldcatholichistory.org/pages/timetable/timetable.pdf|access-date=2010-04-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727142221/http://www.oldcatholichistory.org/pages/timetable/timetable.pdf|archive-date=2011-07-27|url-status=dead}}</ref> he worked with Catholics of Belgian ancestry living on the ] of ], with the knowledge and blessing of the Union of Utrecht and under the full jurisdiction of the local Episcopal Bishop of ].<ref>C.B. Moss (1964) "The Old Catholic Movement" p.&nbsp;291, middle paragraph</ref> However, he subsequently left the Old Catholics and was later consecrated a bishop by Patriarch ] of the ], though the validity of such consecration is disputed.<ref name="Brandreth19872" /> He proceeded to establish a number of Christian denominations before eventually reconciling with the Holy See.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=23 June 1925 |title=Une grande conversion |url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k2621873 |access-date= |website=] |language=}}</ref>
In 1853 ] received guarantees of religious freedom from the Dutch King ] and established a Catholic <ref>{{cite web|author=Algis Ratnikas |url=http://timelines.ws/countries/NETHERLANDS.HTML |title=Timeline Netherlands |publisher=Timelines.ws |date= |accessdate=2010-04-25}}</ref> hierarchy, loyal to the pope, in the ]. This existed alongside that of the Old Catholic See of Utrecht. Thereafter in the Netherlands the Utrecht hierarchy was referred to as the 'Old Catholic Church' to distinguish it from those in union with the pope. In the mind of the Holy See, the Old Catholic Church of Utrecht had maintained ] and its clergy thus celebrated valid sacraments in every respect.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.americancatholicchurch.org/Education_Apostolic_Succession.htm |title=Education Apostolic Sucession |publisher=Americancatholicchurch.org |date= |accessdate=2010-04-25}}</ref> The Diocese of Utrecht was considered schismatic but not in heresy.


=== Polish National Catholic schism from Utrecht ===
===Impact of the First Vatican Council - second period===
In 2003, the Polish National Catholic Church voted itself out of the {{abbr|UU|Union of Utrecht of the Old Catholic Churches}} due to the Utrechter Union's acceptance of female ordination, and their attitude towards ], both of which the Polish National Catholic Church rejects.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pncc.org/?page_id=6 |title=Our History |publisher=PNCC.org |access-date=13 August 2014 |archive-date=1 November 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141101215550/http://www.pncc.org/?page_id=6 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.utrechter-union.org/page/24/history|title=Utrechter Union - History |website=www.utrechter-union.org}}</ref> Prior, in 1994, the German Old Catholic bishops of the Utrechter Union decided to ], and put this into practice on 27 May 1996. Similar decisions and practices followed in Austria, Switzerland and the Netherlands.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.alt-katholisch.de/information/frauenordination.html|title=Information&nbsp; > &nbsp;Frauenordination&nbsp;• Katholisches Bistum der Alt-Katholiken in Deutschland|website=www.alt-katholisch.de|access-date=22 January 2018|archive-date=3 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180303090743/http://www.alt-katholisch.de/information/frauenordination.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> By 2020, the Swiss church also voted in favour of ]. Marriages between two men and two women were conducted in the same manner as heterosexual marriages.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=James |first1=Roberts |last2=Teague |first2=Ellen |date=1 September 2020 |title=News Briefing: Church in the World |url=https://www.thetablet.co.uk/news/13319/news-briefing-church-in-the-world |access-date=2023-04-21 |website=The Tablet |language=en}}</ref>
After the ] (1869–1870), several groups of ], ] and ] Catholics rejected the solemn declaration concerning papal infallibility in matters of faith and morals and left to form their own churches.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oldcatholichistory.org/pages/documents/Dollinger.html |title=Old Catholic Conference |publisher=Oldcatholichistory.org |date= |accessdate=2010-04-25}}</ref> These were supported by the Old Catholic ], who ordained priests and bishops for them. Later the Dutch were united more formally with many of these groups under the name "]."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oldcatholichistory.org/pages/documents/Congress.html |title=Declaration of the Catholic Congress |publisher=Oldcatholichistory.org |date= |accessdate=2010-04-25}}</ref>


=== Old Catholic Church of Slovakia ===
In the spring of 1871 a convention in ] attracted several hundred participants, including ] and Protestant observers.<ref name="oldcatholichistory1"/> The most notable leader of the movement, though maintaining a certain distance from the Old Catholic Church as an institution, was the renowned church historian and priest ] (1799–1890), who had been excommunicated by the pope because of his support for the affair.<ref>http://www.oldcatholichistory.org/pages/clergy/Dollinger.pdf</ref>
The Old Catholic Church of Slovakia was accepted in 2000 as a member of the Union of Utrecht.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.utrechter-union.org/page/171/communiqu%C3%A9_of_the_ibc_meeting_in|title=Utrechter Union - Communiqué of the IBC meeting in Breslau/PL 2000|website=www.utrechter-union.org|access-date=22 January 2018|archive-date=2 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160502203117/http://www.utrechter-union.org/page/171/communiqu%C3%A9_of_the_ibc_meeting_in|url-status=dead}}</ref> As early as 2001 some issues arose concerning future consecration of Augustin Bacinsky as old-catholic bishop of Slovakia, and the matter was postponed.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.utrechter-union.org/page/172/communiqu%C3%A9_of_the_ibc_meeting_in|title=Utrechter Union - Communiqué of the IBC meeting in Bendorf/D, 2001|website=www.utrechter-union.org|access-date=22 January 2018|archive-date=29 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170729213151/http://www.utrechter-union.org/page/172/communiqu%C3%A9_of_the_ibc_meeting_in|url-status=dead}}</ref> 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 '']''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.utrechter-union.org/pagina/139/member_churches|title=Utrechter Union - Member Churches|website=www.utrechter-union.org|access-date=22 January 2018|archive-date=13 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180613210645/http://www.utrechter-union.org/pagina/139/member_churches|url-status=dead}}</ref>


At present, the only recognized Christian church in America that is in communion with the Union of Utrecht is the ].<ref>{{cite web |author=Thaddeus A. Schnitker |date=July 1999 |title=The Old Catholic Churches of the Union of Utrecht |url=http://www.tec-europe.org/partners/Utrecht_partners.htm |access-date=2013-08-05 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120417223214/http://www.tec-europe.org/partners/Utrecht_partners.htm |archive-date=17 April 2012 }}</ref>
The convention decided to form the "Old Catholic Church" in order to distinguish its members from what they saw as the novel teaching of papal infallibility in the ]. Although it had continued to use the ], from the middle of the 18th century, the Dutch Old Catholic See of Utrecht had increasingly used the ] 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 ] until it completely replaced Latin in 1877.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://muse.jhu.edu/login?uri=/journals/us_catholic_historian/v027/27.3.pula.html |title=Project MUSE - U.S. Catholic Historian - Polish-American Catholicism: A Case Study in Cultural Determinism |publisher=Muse.jhu.edu |date= |accessdate=2010-04-25}}</ref> In 1874 Old Catholics removed the requirement of ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.informaworld.com/ampp/siteindex?request=%2Findex%2F793904868.pdf&referer=http%3A%2F%2Fscholar.google.com%2Fscholar%3Fhl%3Den%26q%3D1874%2Bcelibacy%2Bold%2Bcatholic%26btnG%3DSearch%26as_sdt%3D2000%26as_ylo%3D%26as_vis%3D0 |title=The Old Catholic churches of the Union of Utrecht - International journal for the Study of the Christian Church |publisher=Informaworld.com |date= |accessdate=2010-04-25}}</ref>


== Statistics ==
The Old Catholic Church in Germany received some support from the new German Empire of ], whose policy was increasingly hostile towards the Catholic Church in the 1870s and 1880s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://jcs.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/pdf_extract/40/4/741 |title=Editorial: Religious Persecution in Today's Germany: Old Habits Renewed - Davis 40 (4): 741 - Journal of Church and State |doi=10.1093/jcs/40.4.741 |publisher=Jcs.oxfordjournals.org |date= |accessdate=2010-04-25}}</ref> In ] territories, pan-Germanic nationalist groups, like those of ], promoted the conversion to Old Catholicism or Lutheranism of those Catholics loyal to the Holy See.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=f9AOAAAAQAAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA39&dq=%22Georg+Ritter+von+Sch%C3%B6nerer%22+Old+Catholic&ots=3-lRr-0XwA&sig=62Bt8Um48Q7iFdMoFRuSmYkkT8I#v=onepage&q=&f=false |title=The European Experience: Forces of ... - Google Books |publisher=Books.google.com |date= |accessdate=2010-04-25}}</ref>
{{As of|2016}}, there are 115,000 members of Old Catholic churches.<ref>{{cite web|title=International Old-Catholic Bishops' Conference|website=oikoumene.org|location=Geneva|publisher=World Council of Churches|url=http://www.oikoumene.org/en/church-families/old-catholic-churches/ibk|access-date=2016-02-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160216041819/https://www.oikoumene.org/en/church-families/old-catholic-churches/ibk|archive-date=2016-02-16|url-status=live}}</ref>


{| class="wikitable sortable"
===United States - third period===
|-
The Archbishop of Utrecht ], consecrated Father ], a former Roman Catholic priest, as Regionary Bishop for England.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=uL5Ff-XYGRMC&oi=fnd&pg=PP12&dq=The+Archbishop+of+Utrecht+Gerardus+Gul,+consecrated+Father+Arnold+Harris+Mathew,+a+former+Roman+Catholic+priest,+as+Regionary+Bishop+for+England.+His+mission+was+to+establish+a+community+for+Anglo-Catholics+and+Roman+Catholics.&ots=x9ijcnR7DJ&sig=UGrDfrA4aMOEY0oMDQgG_Nokre8#v=onepage&q=&f=false |title=Old Catholic: History, Ministry ... - Google Books |publisher=Books.google.com |date= |accessdate=2010-04-25}}</ref> His mission was to establish a community for ] and ]. In 1913, Bishop Mathew with permission of the Continental Old Catholic bishops consecrated ] as a bishop to work among the Scottish.<ref name="autogenerated1"/>
! Church !! Membership
|-
|]||15,500<ref>{{cite web|title=Catholic Diocese of the Old-Catholics in Germany|website=oikoumene.org|date=January 1948 |location=Geneva|publisher=World Council of Churches|url=http://www.oikoumene.org/en/member-churches/catholic-diocese-of-the-old-catholics-in-germany|access-date=2016-02-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160220154418/https://www.oikoumene.org/en/member-churches/catholic-diocese-of-the-old-catholics-in-germany|archive-date=2016-02-20|url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
|]||14,621<ref>{{cite web|title=Old-Catholic Church in Austria|website=oikoumene.org|date=January 1967 |location=Geneva|publisher=World Council of Churches|url=http://www.oikoumene.org/en/member-churches/old-catholic-church-in-austria|access-date=2016-02-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160229200712/http://www.oikoumene.org/en/member-churches/old-catholic-church-in-austria/|archive-date=2016-02-29|url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
|]||10,000<ref>{{cite web|title=Old-Catholic Church in the Netherlands|website=oikoumene.org|date=January 1948 |location=Geneva|publisher=World Council of Churches|url=http://www.oikoumene.org/en/member-churches/old-catholic-church-in-the-netherlands|access-date=2016-02-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160229201429/http://www.oikoumene.org/en/member-churches/old-catholic-church-in-the-netherlands|archive-date=2016-02-29|url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
|]||13,500<ref>{{cite web|title=Old-Catholic Church of Switzerland|website=oikoumene.org|date=January 1948 |location=Geneva|publisher=World Council of Churches|url=http://www.oikoumene.org/en/member-churches/old-catholic-church-of-switzerland|access-date=2016-02-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160229201658/http://www.oikoumene.org/en/member-churches/old-catholic-church-of-switzerland|archive-date=2016-02-29|url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
|]||29,000<ref>{{cite web|title=Old-Catholic Mariavite Church in Poland|website=oikoumene.org|date=January 1969 |location=Geneva|publisher=World Council of Churches|url=http://www.oikoumene.org/en/member-churches/old-catholic-mariavite-church-in-poland|access-date=2016-02-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160229201910/http://www.oikoumene.org/en/member-churches/old-catholic-mariavite-church-in-poland|archive-date=2016-02-29|url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
|]{{efn|], a member church of the {{abbr|UU|Union of Utrecht of the Old Catholic Churches}}, is not to be confused with the ] or confused with the {{abbr|PNCC|Polish National Catholic Church}}, a former member church of the {{abbr|UU|Union of Utrecht of the Old Catholic Churches}}.}}||20,000<ref>{{cite web|title=Polish Catholic Church in Poland|website=oikoumene.org|date=January 1948 |location=Geneva|publisher=World Council of Churches|url=http://www.oikoumene.org/en/member-churches/polish-catholic-church-in-poland|access-date=2016-02-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160229202155/http://www.oikoumene.org/en/member-churches/polish-catholic-church-in-poland|archive-date=2016-02-29|url-status=live}}</ref>
|}


==Doctrine==
Bishop de Berghes was frequently called "the Prince".<ref name="autogenerated1"/> He was of noble birth but had never claimed the title for himself. The title of "Prince" was rightfully that of his older brother who had died. When Bishop de Berghes became eligible to inherit he was in a religious community and could not accept the title.<ref name="autogenerated1"/> At the beginning of ], Bishop de Berghes went to the United States at the suggestion of the ] (Anglican). Bishop Mathew later declared his autonomy from the Union of Utrecht, finding them too "protestant oriented".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oldcatholichistory.org/pages/documents/Autonomy.html |title=Declaration of Autonomy |publisher=Oldcatholichistory.org |date=1910-12-29 |accessdate=2010-04-25}}</ref>
Old Catholic theology views the ] as the core of the ]; from this point of view, the church is a community of believers. All are in ] with one another around the sacrifice of ], as the highest expression of the love of ]. Therefore, the celebration of the Eucharist is understood as the experience of Christ's triumph over ]. The defeat of sin consists in bringing together that which is divided.<ref name="utrechter-union1">{{cite web |title=A theological and spiritual vision |url=http://www.utrechter-union.org/english/faith001.htm |publisher=Union of Utrecht of The Old Catholic Churches |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100417153746/http://www.utrechter-union.org/english/faith001.htm |archive-date=17 April 2010 |access-date=23 March 2010 }}</ref>


An active contributor to the Declaration of the Catholic Congress of Munich, 1871—and all later assemblies—was ], professor of ] at ]. Von Schulte summed up the results of the congress as follows:<ref name="Baumgarten1911">{{Catholic|inline=1|last=Baumgarten|first=Paul Maria|wstitle=Old Catholics|volume=11}}</ref>
Mathew sent missionaries to the United States, including the theosophist ] (1892–1950) and ] (1873–1920).<ref>http://www.hometemple.org/WanBishWeb%20Complete.pdf</ref> De Berghes arrived in the United States on 7 November 1914, hoping to unite the various independent Old Catholic jurisdictions under Archbishop Mathew.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=EpXjAAAAMAAJ&q=De+Berghes+arrived+in+the+United+States+on+7+November+1914&dq=De+Berghes+arrived+in+the+United+States+on+7+November+1914&ei=_TmpS9WHFZnozATepfxL&cd=2 |title=Independent bishops: an ... - Google Books |publisher=Books.google.com |date=1914-11-07 |accessdate=2010-04-25}}</ref> Bishop de Berghes, in spite of his isolation, was able to plant the seed of Old Catholicism in the Americas. He consecrated a Capuchin Franciscan priest as bishop: ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.novelguide.com/a/discover/ear_01/ear_01_00043.html |title=Independent and Old Catholic Churches |publisher=Novelguide.com |date= |accessdate=2010-04-25}}</ref> From this the Old Catholic Church in the United States evolved into local and regional self-governing dioceses and provinces along the design of St. Ignatius of Antioch - a network of Communities.<ref name="autogenerated1"/>


* adherence to the ancient Catholic faith;
In the area of ], ] began working with Catholics of Belgian ancestry, who tended to be isolated influence due to their geographical position. Vilatte was ordained a deacon on 6 June 1885 and priest on 7 June 1885 by the Most Rev. ], bishop of the Old Catholic Church of Switzerland.<ref name="oldcatholichistory2">{{cite web|url=http://www.oldcatholichistory.org/pages/timetable/timetable.pdf |title=· |format=PDF |date= |accessdate=2010-04-25}}</ref> Vilatte's work provided the only sacramental presence in that particular part of rural Wisconsin.
* 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 ];
* rejection of the ];
* claim to the real property of the Church


The 1889 {{visible anchor|Declaration of Utrecht}} states the Union of Utrecht believes in ]{{'s}} following quote from his '']'': "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 ]".<ref name=":02">{{Cite book|last=|first=|url=|title=Dictionnaire des religions|date=1984|publisher=Presses universitaires de France|isbn=2-13-037978-8|pages=1771–2|language=fr|chapter=VIEUX-CATHOLIQUES|oclc=10588473}}</ref><ref>{{Source-attribution|{{cite book|location=Grand Rapids|publisher=B. Eerdmans|series=A select library of the Nicene and post-Nicene fathers of the Christian Church. Second series |volume=11|editor1-last=Schaff|editor1-first=Philip|editor1-link=Philip Schaff|editor2-last=Wace|editor2-first=Henry|editor2-link=Henry Wace (priest)|title=Sulpitius Severus, Vincent of Lerins, John Cassian |edition=Reprint |year=1955|orig-year=1894 by various publishers |oclc=16266414|author1=Vincent of Lérins|translator=Charles A. Heurtley |chapter=The ''Commonitory'' of Vincent of Lérins, for the antiquity and universality of the catholic faith against the profane novelties of all heresies|pages=127–130 |chapter-url=http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf211.iii.html |via=]}}}}</ref> The {{abbr|UU|Union of Utrecht of the Old Catholic Churches}} allows those who are ] to have a new religious marriage in the church,<ref> {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090202212757/http://www.alt-katholisch.de/information/haeufig_gestellte_fragen/ehe_scheidung_wiederheirat/index.html |date=2 February 2009 }}</ref> and Old Catholics had gradually replaced the Latin mass with the vernacular by 1877.<ref name=":0" /> In 1989, the Union of Utrecht opposed ], but "nusual exceptions should be made in consultation with a priest".<ref name="Deseret News 1989">{{cite web |date=1989-04-15 |title='OLD CATHOLICS' SAY CHRIST IS THEIR LEADER |url=https://www.deseret.com/1989/4/15/18802956/old-catholics-say-christ-is-their-leader |access-date=2023-01-27 |website=Deseret News}}</ref>
In time, Vilatte asked the Old Catholic Archbishop of Utrecht to be ordained a bishop so that he might confirm, but his petition was not granted. Vilatte sought opportunities for consecration in the ] and ]es. He was ordained a bishop in India on the 28 May 1892 under the jurisdiction of the ] ].<ref name="oldcatholichistory2"/> Over the years, literally hundreds of people in the United States have come to claim apostolic succession from Vilatte; none are in communion with, nor recognised by, the Old Catholic See of Utrecht.


====Polish National Catholic Church==== === Apostolic succession ===
Old Catholicism values ] by which they mean both the uninterrupted laying on of hands by bishops through time (the ]), 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.<ref name="utrechter-union1" />
The ] (PNCC) is not in communion with any other body, and it is the largest of the Old Catholic communities in the United States.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pncc.org/who.htm |title=Who We Are |publisher=PNCC.org |date= |accessdate=2010-04-25}}</ref> The Polish National Catholic Church began in the late 19th century over issues concerning the ownership of church property and the domination of the U.S. hierarchy by Irish prelates. The church traces its apostolic succession directly to the Utrecht Union and thus possesses orders and sacraments which are recognised by the Holy See. In 2003 the church withdrew from the Utrecht Union due to Utrecht's acceptance of the ordination of women and open attitude towards homosexuality, both of which the Polish Church rejects.<ref>{{dead link|date=April 2010}}</ref>


According to the principle of '']'', certain ordinations by bishops not in communion with Rome are ], 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.<ref>{{cite web|title=Edward McNamara, "The Old Catholic and Polish National Churches"|url=http://www.ewtn.com/library/liturgy/zlitur395.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190622191447/http://www.ewtn.com/library/liturgy/zlitur395.htm|archive-date=22 June 2019|access-date=22 January 2018}}</ref>
====Conference of North American Old Catholic Bishops====
With the PNCC no longer a member of the Union of Utrecht, the Union's International Bishops Conference (IBC) asked the Episcopal Church - its ecumenical partner in the United States - to initiate discussions among various groups identifying as Old Catholics. The purpose was to find out how they identify as Old Catholics, their understanding of Old Catholic ecclesiology, and whether they ordain women.

The Episcopal Church, after having gathered this information, reported to the IBC the summary of the various experiences of those Old Catholic churches that responded. The report was given at the annual meeting of the IBC in August 2005. The IBC then asked the Episcopal Church to host a consultation of these American bishops. The Episcopal mediator from West Virginia, did little to locate viable Old Catholic communities within the United States and without an open dialogue, declared that there was not enough interest to form an American Old Catholic Church which could be a member of the Union of Utrecht. Many jurisdictions within the United States would like the Union to reconsider their decision but there is also a valid belief that given the different nature of our charisms, Union might not be feasible.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.conferenceofoldcatholicbishops.org/ |title=Conference of Old Catholic Bishops |publisher=Conference of Old Catholic Bishops |date= |accessdate=2010-04-25}}</ref>


==Ecumenism== ==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 ] could be made visible again. Following these principles, later bishops and theologians of the Union of Utrechts churches stayed in contact with ], ] and ] representatives.<ref name="utrechter-union0" /><ref name="utrechter-union2">{{cite web |title=The Old Catholic Ecumenical Commitment |publisher=Union of Utrecht of The Old Catholic Churches |url=http://www.utrechter-union.org/english/ecumenical.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090812021030/http://www.utrechter-union.org/english/ecumenical.htm |archive-date=12 August 2009}}</ref>
Immediately after forming the ], the Old Catholic theologians dedicated themselves to a reunion of the Christian churches. The Conferences of Reunion in Bonn in 1874 and 1875 convoked by ] who was the source of inspiration and a guide of the Old Catholic Movement, are famous. Representatives of the Orthodox, Anglican and Lutheran Churches were invited. The aim was to discuss the denominational differences in view of a theological consensus as the ground for restoring the church communion. The participants choose another way to restore the Catholic Church communion as Rome has done: it influenced the climate. The Conferences did not have an immediate measurable effect, but still set the course for the later Old Catholic involvement in ecumenical affairs. The basic assumptions for participation were the following principles:
The acceptance of the Christological dogmata's of ] and ]; Christ's foundation of the Church; the Holy Bible, the doctrine of the undivided Church and the Church fathers of the first ten centuries as the genuine sources of belief; and as criterion the famous sentence of ]: ''"id teneamus, quod ubique, semper et ab omnibus creditum est"''<ref name="ancient-future1"/> (The true faith is what everywhere, always and by everybody has been believed.) as a preferred method for historical research.
Reunion of the Churches had to be based on a re-actualization of the decisions of faith made by the undivided Church. One may conclude that this option implies a hermeneutical theological approach by which the fundamental decisions of the Councils and the early Church structure are accepted in their importance for the actual situation. In that way the original unity of the Church could be made visible again. According to these principles the later bishops and theologians of the Old Catholic Churches stayed in contact with (Russian) Orthodox and Anglican representatives in order to restore Church union.<ref name="utrechter-union2">{{dead link|date=April 2010}}</ref>


Old Catholic involvement in the multilateral ecumenical 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. The OCC believes the unity which the ecumenical movement seeks for the churches is one which needs to exist as a reconciled diversity of all, rooted in the common faith and order of the early church of the first centuries. To the ongoing study process of Faith and Order Christendom owes a number of initiatives that could lead to a breakthrough of stalemates. By its active participation in the ecumenical movement since its very beginning then, the OCC demonstrates its belief in the necessity of the continuation of this work.<ref name="utrechter-union2"/> Old Catholic involvement in the multilateral ] 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.<ref name="utrechter-union2" />
==See also==
{{portal|Catholicism|Christianity|Religion}}


===Movements===
==Apostolic succession==
* ]
Besides being catholic in terms of communion in space, one of the marks of the Church is its apostolicity as connectedness in time. In the Old Catholic belief this mark is guaranteed by the apostolic succession. What do the Old Catholics understand as such? Not only the uninterrupted laying on of hands by bishops as such, making it seem as if the succession was merely dependent on this consecration.
* ]
The apostolic succession contains more: it deals with the continuation of the whole life of the church community by word and sacrament through the years and ages. So we consider the apostolic succession as the process of the handing over 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.<ref name="utrechter-union1"/>
* ]
A reference to the Old Catholic Movement from:
* ]


===People===
===1978 ''Our Sunday Visitor'' Catholic magazine===
* ]
Old Catholic-several groups, including: (1) the Church of Utrecht, which severed relations with Rome in 1724; (2) The National Polish Church in the U.S., which has its origin near the end of the 19th century; (3) German, Austrian and Swiss Old Catholics, who broke away from union with Rome following the First Vatican Council in 1870 because they objected to the dogma of papal infallibility.
* ]
* ]


==Notes==
The formation of the Old Catholic communion of Germans, Austrians and Swiss began in 1870 at a public meeting held in Nuremberg under the leadership of A. Döllinger. Four years later Episcopal succession was established with ordination of an Old Catholic German bishop by a prelate of the Church of Utrecht. In line with the "Declaration of Utrecht" of 1889, they accept the first seven ecumenical councils and doctrine formulated before 1054, but reject communion with the pope and a number of other Roman Catholic doctrines and practices. They have a valid priesthood and valid sacraments. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church notes that they have recognized Anglican ordinations since 1925, that they have full communion with the Church of England since 1932, and have taken part in ordination of Anglican Bishops.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.osv.com/ |title=Our Sunday Visitor Catholic Newspaper, Magazines, Books, Offering Envelopes |publisher=Osv.com |date= |accessdate=2010-04-25}}</ref>
{{notelist}}


==Doctrine== ==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}
The Old Catholic Church shares most of the same doctrine and liturgy with the ], ], and ] ]. Old Catholics hold an open approach to most issues, including the role of women in the Church, the role of married people within ordained ministry, the immorality of same sex relationships, the use of ones conscience when deciding to use artificial contraception and liturgical reforms such as ]. Its liturgy has not significantly departed from the ], as is shown in the (]). In 1994 the German bishops decided to ordain women as priests, and put this into practice on 27 May 1996; similar decisions and practices followed in Austria, Switzerland and the Netherlands.<ref>{{dead link|date=April 2010}}</ref> The Utrecht Union allows those who are divorced to have a new religious marriage and upholds no teaching on birth control, leaving such decisions to the married couple.<ref>{{dead link|date=April 2010}}</ref>


=== Sources ===
The moving spirit in The Declaration of the Catholic Congress, Munich, 1871 and all later assemblies for organization was ], the professor of dogma at ]. Von Schulte summed up the results of the congress as follows:


* {{Source-attribution|{{cite book|location=Oxford; London|publisher=John Henry and James Parker|last=Neale|first=John M|author-link=John Mason Neale|title=History of the so-called Jansenist church of Holland; with a sketch of its earlier annals, and some account of the Brothers of the common life|year=1858|oclc=600855086|hdl=2027/mdp.39015067974389}}}}
* Adherence to the ancient Catholic faith;
* maintenance of the rights of Catholics as such;
* rejection of the new dogmas,
* adherence to the constitutions of the ancient Church with repudiation of every dogma of faith not in harmony with the actual consciousness 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 ];
* rejection of the ];
* solemn assertion of the claims of Catholics as such to the real property of the Church and to the title to it.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11235b.htm |title=CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Old Catholics |publisher=Newadvent.org |date=1911-02-01 |accessdate=2010-04-25}}</ref>


==See also== == Further reading ==
* ''Episcopi Vagantes and the Anglican Church''. ]. 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). ]. Highlandville, Missouri: St. Willibrord's Press, 1996.
*** ]
* ''The Old Catholic Sourcebook'' (Garland Reference Library of Social Science). Karl Pruter and ]. 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.
** ]
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* "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.&nbsp;234-245.
===Other links===
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==References==
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}


==External links== ==External links==
{{EB1911 poster|Old Catholics}}
'''Official pages of the Union of Utrecht'''
{{NIE poster|Old Catholics}}{{Union of Utrecht}}{{Union of Scranton}}{{Western Christianity footer}}{{Religion topics}}
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{{Authority control}}
'''Official pages of Dependent Churches in the Union of Utrecht'''
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* Old-Catholic Church in Croatia


==Bibliography==
* 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.
* History of the So-Called Jansenist Church of Holland. John M. Neale. New York: AMS Press, 1958.
* Old Catholic: History, Ministry, Faith & Mission. Andre J. Queen. iUniverse title, 2003.
* The Old Catholic Church: A History and Chronology (The Autocephalous Orthodox Churches, No. 3). ]. 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.
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Latest revision as of 15:54, 25 November 2024

Major Christian denomination Not to be confused with History of the Catholic Church. For other uses, see Old Catholic Church (disambiguation).

Old Catholic Church
PolityEpiscopal
Union of Utrecht
Union of Scranton
AssociationsWorld Council of Churches (Union of Utrecht only)
Full communionAnglican Communion (Union of Utrecht only)
Church of Sweden (Union of Utrecht only)
Philippine Independent Church (Union of Utrecht only)
Separated fromCatholic Church
Also known as Old Catholics or Old-Catholic churches
Part of a series on
Christianity
Principal symbol of Christianity
Theology
Nicene
Restorationist
Related topics

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 after the First Vatican council of 1869–70".

The expression Old Catholic has been used from the 1850s by communions separated from the Roman Catholic Church over certain doctrines, primarily concerned with papal authority and infallibility. Some of these groups, especially in the Netherlands, had already existed long before the term. The Old Catholic Church is separate and distinct from Traditionalist Catholicism.

Two groups of Old Catholic churches currently exist: the Union of Utrecht (UU) and the Union of Scranton (US). Neither group is in full communion with the Holy See. Member churches of the Union of Utrecht are in full communion with the Anglican Communion as well as the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Sweden and the Philippine Independent Church and many UU churches are members of the World Council of Churches.

Both groups trace their beginning to the 18th century when members of the See of Utrecht refused to obey papal authority and were excommunicated. Later Catholics who disagreed with the Roman Catholic dogma of papal infallibility, as defined by the First Vatican Council (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. The Nordic Catholic Church later joined the Union of Scranton as well.

History

Pre-Reformation diocese and archdiocese of Utrecht

Main article: Archdiocese of Utrecht (695–1580)

In the pre-Reformation era, there were already disputes that set the stage for an independent bishopric of Utrecht between the Catholic Church and the Holy Roman Empire, notably during between the 11th to 15th centuries.

Post-Reformation Netherlands

Main articles: Old Catholic Church of the Netherlands and Old Catholic Archdiocese of Utrecht

The northern provinces that revolted against the Spanish Netherlands and signed the 1579 Union of Utrecht, 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. However, Catholicism did not die, rather priests and communities went underground. Groups would meet for the sacraments 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, 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 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, 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 clergy, among whom Jesuits 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 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 heresy. Pope Innocent XII appointed a commission of cardinals to investigate the accusations against Codde. The commission concluded that the accusations were groundless. In 1702, Pope Clement XI 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. The See of Utrecht declared the right to elect its own archbishop in 1724, after being accused of Jansenism. 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 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, Haarlem and Groningen under the See of Utrecht in later years.

Due to prevailing anti-papal feeling among the powerful Dutch Calvinists, the Church of Utrecht was tolerated and even praised by the government of the Dutch Republic.

In 1853 Pope Pius IX received guarantees of religious freedom from King William II of the Netherlands and re-established the Roman Catholic hierarchy in the Netherlands. The Holy See considers the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Utrecht as the continuation of the episcopal see 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

Papal primacy, supremacy and infallibility
Overview
Patriarchs
compared to popes
Ecumenical councils
compared to popes
Catholic episcopal councils
compared to popes
Political rulers
compared to popes
Existing dogma
compared to popes
Objections and controversy

After the First Vatican Council (1869–1870), several groups of Roman Catholics in Austria-Hungary, Imperial Germany, and 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, 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 attracted several hundred participants, including Church of England 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, from the middle of the 18th century the Dutch Old Catholic See of Utrecht had increasingly used the vernacular 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 until it completely replaced Latin in 1877. In 1874, the Old Catholics removed the requirement of clerical celibacy.

The Catholic Diocese of the Old Catholics in Germany received support from the government of Otto von Bismarck, whose 1870s Kulturkampf 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

Old Catholic parish church in Gablonz an der Neiße, Austria-Hungary (now Jablonec nad Nisou, Czech Republic). Some ethnic German Roman Catholics supported Döllinger in his rejection of the Roman Catholic dogma of papal infallibility.

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—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 claiming apostolic succession 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 Union of Utrecht and the Anglican Communion. Mathew himself was excommunicated and declared a "pseudo-bishop" by Pope Pius X, 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; he worked with Catholics of Belgian ancestry living on the Door Peninsula of Wisconsin, 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. However, he subsequently left the Old Catholics and was later consecrated a bishop by Patriarch Mar Julius I of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, 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 UU due to the Utrechter Union's acceptance of female ordination, and their attitude towards homosexuality, 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. 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

As of 2016, there are 115,000 members of Old Catholic churches.

Church Membership
Catholic Diocese of the Old-Catholics in Germany 15,500
Old Catholic Church of Austria 14,621
Old Catholic Church of the Netherlands 10,000
Christian Catholic Church of Switzerland 13,500
Old Catholic Mariavite Church in Poland 29,000
Polish Catholic Church in Poland 20,000

Doctrine

Old Catholic theology views the Eucharist as the core of the Christian Church; 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, as the highest expression of the love of God. Therefore, the celebration of the Eucharist is understood as the experience of Christ's triumph over sin. 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. 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;
  • rejection of the Society of Jesus;
  • claim to the real property of the Church

The 1889 Declaration of Utrecht states the Union of Utrecht believes in Vincent of Lérins's 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 UU 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, but "nusual exceptions should be made in consultation with a priest".

Apostolic succession

Old Catholicism values apostolic succession 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, Lutheran and Anglican representatives.

Old Catholic involvement in the multilateral ecumenical 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

People

Notes

  1. The organization Polish Catholic Church in Poland, a member church of the UU, is not to be confused with the Catholic Church in Poland or confused with the Polish National Catholic Church, a former member church of the UU.
  2. Polish Catholic Church in Poland, a member church of the UU, is not to be confused with the Catholic Church in Poland or confused with the PNCC, a former member church of the UU.

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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.

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