The Old Catholic Church of Croatia or Croatian Old Catholic Church ( Croatian: ''Hrvatska starokatolička crkva'') consists of the

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

n parishes in full communion with the

Union of Utrecht The Union of Utrecht ( nl, Unie van Utrecht) was a treaty signed on 23 January 1579 in Utrecht, Netherlands, unifying the northern provinces of the Netherlands, until then under the control of Habsburg Spain. History The Union of Utrecht is r ...

of the

Old Catholic Church 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 ...

es. Since 2018, it is administered by Bishop Heinz Lederleitner. It should not be confused with some alternative organizations of Old Catholic tradition in Croatia, like the ''Old Catholic General vicariate of St. Method in Croatia''.

History

Old Catholic Church of Croatia was created after

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and was recognized by state authorities of

Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchy ruled by a king or queen * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and media Television * ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...

(Yugoslavia) in 1923. Its first bishop was Marko Kalogjera (1924–1956). During

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the Old Catholic Church was banned by the

Ustaše The Ustaše (), also known by anglicised versions Ustasha or Ustashe, was a Croats, Croatian Fascism, fascist and ultranationalism, ultranationalist organization active, as one organization, between 1929 and 1945, formally known as the Ustaš ...

regime. Among executed Old-Catholic clerics were: Ante Donković, Davorin Ivanović, Josip Ivelić, Ivan Cigula and Luka Malinarić. The Church also suffered from several internal divisions (since 1933), and for a long time it was split in two groups that were finally united in 1974. In spite of that, the Church never recovered fully, and it was placed by the

under a delegated administration of Bishop

Nikolaus Hummel Nicholas is a male given name and a surname. The Eastern Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Anglican Churches celebrate Saint Nicholas every year on December 6, which is the name day for "Nicholas". In Greece, the name and its ...

of the

Old Catholic Church of Austria The Old Catholic Church of Austria (german: Altkatholische Kirche Österreichs) is the Austrian member church of the Union of Utrecht of the Old Catholic Churches. In 1997, the church began ordaining women. In 2007, the church elected as its hea ...

(1975–1994), and his successors. Since 18 November 2018, the administrating Bishop is Heinz Lederleitner, current bishop of the Old Catholic Church of Austria.Hrvatska starokatolička crkva (2018): Primopredaja biskupske službe u našoj crkvi
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Croatian Old-Catholic bishops

* Marko Kalogjera (1924–1933–1956) *

Ante Donković Ante or Antes may refer to: * Ante (cards), an initial stake paid in a card game * Ante (poker), a forced bet in the game of poker * Ante (name), Croatian form of the given name Anthony * The Latin word ''ante'', meaning "before", which is used as ...

elected bishop (1933–1943) * Vladimir Kos (died 1959) *

Vilim Huzjak Vilim is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include: Given name * William Vilim Feller (1906–1970), Croatian-American mathematician *Vilim Harangozo (1925–1975), Yugoslavia tennis player *Vilim Herman Vilim Herma ...

(1961–1974) Administrators: *

(1975–1994) *

Bernhard Heitz Bernhard is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name * Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar (1604–1639), Duke of Saxe-Weimar *Bernhard, Prince of Saxe-Meiningen (1901–1984), head of the House of Saxe-Meiningen 194 ...

(1994–2010) * John Okoro (2010–2018) * Heinz Lederleitner (2018–)

References

Sources

* * * * *

External links

Across Croatia and Bosnia with two bishops

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

Catholicism in Croatia {{Christian-denomination-stub