Our History

Old Catholicism is based on Christian community life as it was practiced in the early, unified Church, before the first of several schisms tore Christianity apart.

Aspects of early  Christian community life
	The Gospels are the definitive word on faith and morals.
	When major questions of faith (dogma) do arise, they are decided in general councils of  bishops from all of Christendom.  This happens rarely.
	The local bishop decides on liturgy and ordination practices.
	Women are ordained to the priesthood and serve as bishop (more).
	Clergy may marry, as the apostles had.

We do not presume to be the only Christians to practice this, however.  We are merely Christians who do.  Our distinct identity as "Old Catholics" comes from our Catholic tradition and the history of Christianity in western Europe, which colors our church life.

The first historical event that gives Old Catholics their distinctiveness is the first schism in Christian history:  the split into the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches in A.D. 1054.  Until that time there was only one Christian Church and it was led by five patriarchs:  the bishops of Jerusalem, Antioch, Alexandria, Rome and Constantinople.  On rare occasions they would gather together with other bishops to consider major questions of faith.  

Unfortunately, the schism of 1054 ended that unity.  Four of the five patriarchs would lead what is now the Eastern Orthodox Church.  One patriarch, the Bishop of Rome, became head of the Roman Catholic Church.  The roots of what is now the Old Catholic Church are in the Roman Church.

As time passed, though, and the papacy became as much a worldly political power as a spiritual one, the popes ended these practices and denied the rights of bishops. There was one bastion of the old ways, however:  the See of Utrecht in the Netherlands.  This came to be known as the "Old Catholic" Church.  Adhering to the old ways, the Church of Utrecht persevered and flourished independent of Rome.  It maintained the Apostolic Succession in its successive bishops.  How the Church of Utrecht came to be independent of Rome is covered in our detailed history of Old Catholicism.

In 1870, Utrecht became the nucleus for reform.  In Rome that year, the Pope declared himself infallible and that his decisions did not require "consent of the Church."  Many Roman Catholic bishops argued that this was not how the Church had been governed by the Apostles and early church leaders.  They also protested other changes in dogma since 1054.  These bishops therefore turned to the Church of Utrecht (Old Catholic) to organize themselves in the way the Apostles and their early successors had done.

The Old Catholics of 1870 wished to have friendship and dialogue with all Catholic Christians.  Shortly after the events of 1870, the Old Catholic Church approached the Anglican Church to seek full communion between the two churches.  This was realized in 1931.  As a result, there is a very close and collaborative relationship between the Anglican/Episcopal and Old Catholic Churches here in the United States and around the world.

An outside observer of the Old Catholic Church might describe it as undogmatic, unorganized, unled, and always in search of an identity.  It is true we have very little dogma.  There is little need for it since all that is necessary for our salvation is described in Scripture.  Although we have no one person making decisions for the whole Old Catholic Church, our local bishops make any necessary decisions and provide guidance, always working within the Gospel and the Catholic tradition of the early, unified Church.  Financial matters and the assignment of clergy to parishes are decided in most parishes by both the laity and clergy.

As a result of this decentralization, there can be differences in liturgical and ordination practices from one Old Catholic bishop's see to another.  This was also true in the early church, which produced many brave martyrs, accomplished saints, and entire nations of converts. 

St. Augustine wrote:

This is an excellent expression of Old Catholicism.