![Union of Utrecht](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/01/Union_of_Utrecht.png)
The Union of Utrecht of the Old Catholic Churches, most commonly referred to by the short form Union of Utrecht, is a federation of
Old Catholic churches
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 ...
, nationally organized from
schism
A schism ( , , or, less commonly, ) is a division between people, usually belonging to an organization, movement, or religious denomination. The word is most frequently applied to a split in what had previously been a single religious body, suc ...
s which rejected
Roman Catholic doctrine
Catholic theology is the understanding of Catholic doctrine or teachings, and results from the studies of theologians. It is based on canonical scripture, and sacred tradition, as interpreted authoritatively by the magisterium of the Catholic ...
s of the
First Vatican Council
The First Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the First Vatican Council or Vatican I was convoked by Pope Pius IX on 29 June 1868, after a period of planning and preparation that began on 6 December 1864. This, the twentieth ecu ...
in 1870; its member churches are not in communion with the
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
.
The 1889 ''
Declaration of Utrecht
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 ...
'' is one of three founding documents together called the Convention of Utrecht.
Many provinces of the Union of Utrecht of the Old Catholic Churches are members of the
World Council of Churches
The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, most juri ...
.
The is in
full communion
Full communion is a communion or relationship of full agreement among different Christian denominations that share certain essential principles of Christian theology. Views vary among denominations on exactly what constitutes full communion, but ...
with the
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Sweden, the
Anglican Communion
The Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion after the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Founded in 1867 in London, the communion has more than 85 million members within the Church of England and other ...
through the 1931
Bonn Agreement; and, with the
Philippine Independent Church
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, image ...
, the
Spanish Reformed Episcopal Church
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, alt =
, caption = Seal of Spanish Reformed Episcopal Church
, abbreviation = SREC
, ty ...
, and the
Lusitanian Catholic Apostolic Evangelical Church
The Lusitanian Catholic Apostolic Evangelical Church ( pt, Igreja Lusitana Católica Apostólica Evangélica) in Portugal is a member church of the Anglican Communion.
Membership
The church has around 5,000 members.
Structure
As an Episcopal den ...
through a 1965 extension of the Bonn Agreement.
the includes six member churches: the
Old Catholic Church of the Netherlands
The Old Catholic Church of the Netherlands ( nl, Oud-Katholieke Kerk van Nederland), sometimes known as the Dutch Roman Catholic Church of the Old Episcopal Order, the Church of Utrecht (Ultrajectine Church), or Jansenist Church of Holland, is an ...
(OKKN), the
Catholic Diocese of the Old Catholics in Germany
The Catholic Diocese of the Old Catholics in Germany is the German member body of the Union of Utrecht of Old Catholic Churches, which follow Ultrajectine theology. It is permitted to levy the German church tax on its members. Its episcopal see is ...
, the
Christian Catholic Church of Switzerland
The Christian Catholic Church of Switzerland is an Old Catholic denomination in Switzerland. This denomination is part of the Union of Utrecht (Old Catholic).
Recent developments
In 1871 the Zürich Catholic community planned to build a chu ...
, 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 ...
, the
Old Catholic Church of the Czech Republic
The Old Catholic Church of the Czech Republic consists of the Czech Republic, Czech parishes in full communion with the Union of Utrecht of the Old Catholic Churches. The church is also a member of the National Ecumenical Council, the World Council ...
, and the
Polish Catholic Church in Poland
Church of Poland, also called Polish Catholic Church ( pl, Kościół Polski, Kościół Polskokatolicki w Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej) is a Polish Old Catholic church in Poland, which is part of the Union of Utrecht. It is a member of the World ...
.
Theology and practices
The Old Catholic churches reject the universal jurisdiction of the pope, as well as the
Roman Catholic dogma of
papal infallibility
Papal infallibility is a dogma of the Catholic Church which states that, in virtue of the promise of Jesus to Peter, the Pope when he speaks ''ex cathedra'' is preserved from the possibility of error on doctrine "initially given to the aposto ...
(1870), which was used to proclaim the Roman Catholic dogmas of the
Assumption of Mary
The Assumption of Mary is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Pope Pius XII defined it in 1950 in his apostolic constitution ''Munificentissimus Deus'' as follows:
We proclaim and define it to be a dogma revealed by Go ...
(1950). While Old Catholics affirm the
Real Presence
The real presence of Christ in the Eucharist is the Christian doctrine that Jesus Christ is present in the Eucharist, not merely symbolically or metaphorically, but in a true, real and substantial way.
There are a number of Christian denominati ...
of Christ in the Eucharist, they do not emphasize
transubstantiation
Transubstantiation (Latin: ''transubstantiatio''; Greek: μετουσίωσις ''metousiosis'') is, according to the teaching of the Catholic Church, "the change of the whole substance of bread into the substance of the Body of Christ and of th ...
as the sole dogmatic explanation for this presence. Old Catholics generally refrain from using the ' and ' clauses in the
Nicene Creed
The original Nicene Creed (; grc-gre, Σύμβολον τῆς Νικαίας; la, Symbolum Nicaenum) was first adopted at the First Council of Nicaea in 325. In 381, it was amended at the First Council of Constantinople. The amended form is a ...
and also reject a dogmatic understanding of
Purgatory
Purgatory (, borrowed into English via Anglo-Norman and Old French) is, according to the belief of some Christian denominations (mostly Catholic), an intermediate state after physical death for expiatory purification. The process of purgatory ...
; however, they generally do recognize a purification by Christ's grace after death and include prayers for the dead in their liturgy and devotions. They maintain such basic western Catholic practices as
baptism
Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...
by
affusion
Affusion ( la. ''affusio'') is a method of baptism where water is poured on the head of the person being baptized. The word "affusion" comes from the Latin ''affusio'', meaning "to pour on". Affusion is one of four methods of baptism used by Chri ...
(pouring of water) and the use of unleavened bread in the Eucharist. Additionally, they have many aspects in common with the Orthodox, Lutheran and Anglican churches, such as optional
clerical celibacy
Clerical celibacy is the requirement in certain religions that some or all members of the clergy be unmarried. Clerical celibacy also requires abstention from deliberately indulging in sexual thoughts and behavior outside of marriage, because the ...
.
[https://www.utrechter-union.org/fman/851.pdf ] The Old Catholic Church accepts the doctrines of the Christian Church prior to the
Great Schism of A.D. 1054.
Leadership
Individual Union of Utrecht member churches maintain a degree of autonomy, similar to the practice of the
Anglican Communion
The Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion after the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Founded in 1867 in London, the communion has more than 85 million members within the Church of England and other ...
. Each
diocese
In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
History
In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...
of the member churches has a diocesan
bishop
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
, and countries with more than one diocese have a bishop who is appointed as "bishop in charge" or a similar title. The
primate
Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simians (monkeys and apes, the latter including huma ...
(' leader) of the union is the
Archbishop of Utrecht
List of bishops and archbishops of the diocese and archdioceses of Utrecht.
Medieval diocese from 695 to 1580
Founders of the Utrecht diocese
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(not to be confused with the
Roman Catholic Archbishop of Utrecht
The Archdiocese of Utrecht ( la, Archidioecesis Ultraiectensis) is an archdiocese of the Catholic Church in the Netherlands. The Archbishop of Utrecht is the Metropolitan of the Ecclesiastical province of Utrecht. There are six suffragan diocese ...
). From 2000 to 2020, the archbishop was
Joris Vercammen
Joris August Odilius Ludovicus Vercammen (born 14 October 1952) served as the Old Catholic Archbishop of Utrecht of the Old Catholic Church of the Netherlands from 1 July 2000 to 11 January 2020.
Life and career
Vercammen was born in Lier, Bel ...
, a former Roman Catholic who served on the central committee of the
World Council of Churches
The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, most juri ...
. In 2020, Joris Vercammen was succeeded by
Bernd Wallet
Bernd Wallet serves as the 84th Archbishop of Utrecht of the Old Catholic Church of the Netherlands. Elected on 15 February 2020, he was consecrated on 18 September 2021, after two delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Life and career
The son of ...
.
History
The mother church, the Old Catholic Church of the Netherlands, was established in the 18th century as a result of tensions between the local Catholic hierarchy and the
Roman Curia. The other churches, such as the Catholic Diocese of the Old Catholics in Germany, and the Christian Catholic Church of Switzerland, followed suit after the First Vatican Council, which defined the dogma of papal infallibility.
Former member churches
In former
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
, the union had three organized Old Catholic episcopal jurisdictions:
Old Catholic Church of Croatia
The Old Catholic Church of Croatia or Croatian Old Catholic Church (Croatian language, Croatian: ''Hrvatska starokatolička crkva'') consists of the Croatian parishes in full communion with the Union of Utrecht of the Old Catholic Churches, Union o ...
(created in 1922-1923, first bishop Marko Kalojera consecrated in 1924 in Utrecht), Old Catholic Church of Slovenia (with bishops Radovan Jošt and Anton Kovačevič), and Old Catholic Church of Serbia (with bishop Milan Dobrovoljac (1954-1966). Three churches formed "Union of Old-Catholic Churches in Yugoslavia" (1954). The Union eventually ceased to exist with break-up of Yugoslavia (1991-1992) and even before that, old-catholic bishopric in Serbia was extinguished, and same happened with bishoprics in Slovenia and Croatia. Finally, remaining old-catholic parishes in Croatia and other parts of former Yugoslavia were placed under jurisdiction 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 ...
.
The International Old Catholic Bishops' Conference stated in 1997 that the
Polish National Catholic Church
The Polish National Catholic Church (PNCC) is an independent Old Catholic church based in the United States and founded by Polish-Americans.
The PNCC is not in communion with the Roman Catholic Church.http://www.saplv.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/ ...
(PNCC) was not full communion with other Union of Utrecht churches because the PNCC did not accept the
ordination of women
The ordination of women to ministerial or priestly office is an increasingly common practice among some contemporary major religious groups. It remains a controversial issue in certain Christian traditions and most denominations in which "ordina ...
.
Since 1998, the did not permit bishops to participate in episcopal consecrations.
The stated in 2003 that full communion "could not be restored" and "effectively expelled" the .
The "refused to repudiate" a 1976 statement opposing the ordination of women and the "indicated that any attempt to admit women to the ministerial priesthood would lead to a break in full communion with churches that adopted the practice."
The Old Catholic Church of Austria approved the blessing of same-sex unions in 1998 without deliberation; in contrast, the disapproved the blessing of same sex unions in 2002 and "described
homosexual practice as sinful".
The Polish National Catholic Church established the
Union of Scranton
The Union of Scranton is a communion of Old Catholic churches established in 2008 by the Polish National Catholic Church (PNCC) of the United States, after the Union of Utrecht began ordaining women and blessing same-sex unions. Since then, ...
in 2008. No other North American body has been recognized by the IBC.
The Old Catholic Church of Slovakia was a member church of the Union of Utrecht from 2000 but it was removed from membership in 2004.
Former missions
In July 2011, the Old Catholic Church of Switzerland ended its
mission
Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to:
Organised activities Religion
*Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity
*Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...
to
Old Catholic parishes in Italy. "In cooperation with ecumenical partner churches" the parishes were "offered a model that guarantees their continued
pastoral care
Pastoral care is an ancient model of emotional, social and spiritual support that can be found in all cultures and traditions.
The term is considered inclusive of distinctly non-religious forms of support, as well as support for people from rel ...
".
See also
*
Willibrord Society The Willibrord Society is an umbrella term for a group of national societies with the aim of promoting awareness and cooperation between Anglicans and Old Catholics.''The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church'', article "Willibrord", Oxford Uni ...
Notes
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Union Of Utrecht (Old Catholic)
Union of Utrecht of the Old Catholic Churches
Religious organizations established in 1889
Christian denominations established in the 19th century
History of Utrecht (city)