The International Old Catholic Bishops' Conference or simply International Bishops' Conference (IBC) is the

synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the Ancient Greek () ; the term is analogous with the Latin word . Originally, ...

of bishops of Union of Utrecht of the Old Catholic Churches (UU) member churches.

Background

The International Old Catholic Bishops' Conference was founded in 1889 by the bishops of the Old Catholic Church of the Netherlands, the Catholic Diocese of the Old Catholics in Germany, and 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. History In 1871 the Zürich Catholic community planned to build a church to commemorate the 1270s ...

. It is analogous to but not a metropolia. It is similar to the

Lambeth Conference The Lambeth Conference convenes as the Archbishop of Canterbury summons an assembly of Anglican bishops every ten years. The first took place at Lambeth in 1867. As regional and national churches freely associate with the Anglican Communion, ...

of the

Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is a Christian Full communion, communion consisting of the Church of England and other autocephalous national and regional churches in full communion. The archbishop of Canterbury in England acts as a focus of unity, ...

. Like the Lambeth Conference, it is not a legislative body. According to the UU, the responsibilities of the IBC include: * maintaining community between member churches of the UU *"tak nga stand in controversial questions of faith and related ethical behaviours as well as in church order" *making formal authoritative UU statements about faith and principles *regulating ecumenical "relationships with other churches and religious communities" *accepting churches into the UU *accepting bishops into the IBC The archbishop of the Old Catholic Archdiocese of Utrecht is ' president of the IBC. The bishops of UU member churches meet yearly.

References

* *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:International Old Catholic Bishops' Conference Episcopacy Union of Utrecht of the Old Catholic Churches Christian organizations established in 1889 1889 establishments in the Netherlands