The Christ Catholic Church of the Americas and Europe (also called Old Orthodox Catholic Patriarchate of America) was an

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

denomination. The denomination was founded in 1937 when several churches merged. The denomination has also been called Christ Orthodox Catholic Patriarchate, Byelorussian National Catholic Church, and Orthodox Catholic Patriarchate of America.{{Cite book , title=Independent Bishops: An International Directory , date=1990 , publisher=Apogee Books , others=Preface by

J. Gordon Melton John Gordon Melton (born September 19, 1942) is an American religious scholar who was the founding director of the Institute for the Study of American Religion and is currently the Distinguished Professor of American Religious History with the Ins ...

, isbn=978-1-55888-307-9 , editor-last=Ward , editor-first=Gary L. , pages=446 , language=en , chapter=Zhurawetsky, Peter Andreas , editor-last2=Persson , editor-first2=Bertil , editor-last3=Bain , editor-first3=Alan

History

Several Polish Old Catholic churches and some

Lithuanian Lithuanian may refer to: * Lithuanians * Lithuanian language * The country of Lithuania * Grand Duchy of Lithuania * Culture of Lithuania * Lithuanian cuisine * Lithuanian Jews as often called "Lithuanians" (''Lita'im'' or ''Litvaks'') by other Jew ...

churches in the state of

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

incorporated together and elected bishop Joseph Zielonka as their leader in 1937, thus forming a denomination called the ''Polish Old Catholic Church''. In 1961, at Zielonka's death, the denomination had 22

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

es. It is also possible Zielonka died on December 17, 1960. After Zielonka's death, Peter A. Zurawetsky, Zielonka's

suffragan bishop A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Anglican Communion, a suffragan bishop is a bishop who is subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop (bishop ordinary) and so is not normally jurisdiction ...

, succeeded him as the leader of the Polish Old Catholic Church. One of Zurawetsky first acts as leader was to change the name of the denomination to ''Christ Catholic Church of the

Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...

and Europe''. This name change was done in order to go beyond the denomination's previous

ethnic An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...

and

linguistic Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...

limitations and to show that all people were welcome in the denomination. Also, Zurawetsky took the title of "

Patriarch The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and in certai ...

in America", and took the

religious name A religious name is a type of given name bestowed for a religious purposes, and which is generally used in such contexts. Christianity Catholic Church Baptismal name In baptism, Catholic Church, Catholics are given a Christian name, which should ...

Peter II. In 1965, the denomination had been "reduced to a handful

communicants The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christianity, Christian Rite (Christianity), rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an Ordinance (Christianity), ordinance in ot ...

and clergy". It is at this moment that

Karl Pruter Karl Hugo Prüter, commonly referred to as Karl Pruter (July 3, 1920 – November 18, 2007), was an Old Catholic bishop in the United States. He founded the Christ Catholic Church. Pruter was raised in a Lutheran church and served as a Congrega ...

was consecrated archbishop by Zurawetsky; Pruter had accepted the consecration on the condition that his

jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, areas of jurisdiction apply to local, state, and federal levels. Jur ...

could be an independent denomination under the name "Christ Catholic Church, Diocese of Boston". Pruter's denomination later became known simply as the Christ Catholic Church. By the mid-1980s, Zurawetsky had no parish within his jurisdiction, yet he continued to work to expand his denomination. By 1990, Zurawetsky maintained a

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

Vineland, New Jersey Vineland is a city in Cumberland County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city had a total population of 60,780. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 61,156 ...

, called the Church of the Visitation. The 8th edition (2009) of ''

Melton's encyclopedia of American religions ''Encyclopedia of American Religions'', renamed ''Melton's Encyclopedia of American Religions'' in the eighth edition, is a reference book by J. Gordon Melton first published in 1978, by Consortium Books, A McGrath publishing company. It is curren ...

'' marks the Christ Catholic Church of the Americas and Europe as defunct.

References

Christian organizations established in 1937 Old Catholic denominations in the United States Christian denominations established in the 20th century 1937 establishments in New Jersey Former Christian denominations

History

See also

References