ABOUT US

The Old Catholic tradition dates from the 17th Century Jansenists in Europe through France and The Netherlands, specifically Utrecht. When members of the Roman Catholic Church encounter Old Catholic Churches for the first time, they are often surprised to learn that Catholic denominations exist apart from Rome. Understandably, questions are raised about the validity of Orders and Sacraments administered by Old Catholics. Assenting to a petition made by the Holy Roman Emperor Conrad III and Bishop Heribert of Utrecht, Pope Eugene III, in 1145 A.D. granted the Cathedral Chapter of Utrecht the right to elect successors to the See in times of vacancy. The Fourth Lateran Council confirmed this privilege in 1215, known at "the Leonine Privilege" after Pope Leo. The autonomous character of the Catholic Church in the Netherlands was further demonstrated when a second grant by Pope Leo X, Debitum Pastoralis, conceded to Philip of Burgundy, 57th Bishop of Utrecht, that neither he nor his successors, nor any of their clergy or laity, should ever, in the first instance, have his cause evoked to any external tribunal, not even under pretense of any apostolic letters whatever; and that all such proceedings should be, ipso facto, null and void. This papal concession, in 1520 reconfirmed in 1717, was of the greatest importance in defense of the rights of the Church.

The emergence of the Utrecht Succession from which the Old Catholic bishops descend commenced with the consecration of Abp. Petrus Johannes Meindaerts of Utrecht on October 17, 1739, following the Jansenist break with Rome that reached its culmination in The Netherlands in 1724. The name “Old” Catholic came from the view that Old Catholics were remaining with the "old" original teachings of the undivided catholic and apostolic church – as a way of denying the “new dogmas”, which were viewed as a break with the continuity of tradition and orthodoxy and could not be regarded as truly catholic in any sense.

German, Austrian and Swiss Old Catholics, broke away from union with Rome following the First Vatican Council in 1870 because they objected to the dogma of papal infallibility. The formation of the Old Catholic communion of Germans, Austrians and Swiss began in 1870 at a public meeting held in Nuremberg under the leadership of A. Dolinger. Four years later episcopal succession was established with ordination of an Old Catholic German bishop by a prelate of the Church of Utrecht. In line with the later "Declaration of Utrecht" of 1889, they accepted the first seven oecumenical councils and doctrine formulated before 1054, but rejected subjection to the pope and a number of Roman Catholic doctrines and practices. This position is later summarized in the Declaration of Utrecht of 1889:

 

THE DECLARATION OF UTRECHT. A TRANSLATION OF THE PROFESSION OF FAITH, OR DECLARATION, FORMULATED BY THE OLD CATHOLIC BISHOPS ASSEMBLED AT UTRECHT. SEPTEMBER 24TH, 1889

1. We adhere faithfully to the Rule of Faith laid down by St. Vincent of Lerins in these terms: "Id teneamus, ubique quod semper, quod ab onmibus creditum est; hoc est etenim vere pro-prieque catholicum." For this reason we persevere in professing the faith of the primitive Church, as formulated in the ecumenical symbols and specified precisely by the unanimously accepted decisions of the Ecumenical Councils held in the undivided Church of the first thousand years.

2. We therefore reject the decrees of the so-called Council of the Vatican, which were promulgated on July 18th, 1870 concerning the infallibility and the universal Episcopate of the Bishop of Rome, decrees which contradict the faith of the ancient canonical constitution by attributing to the Pope the plenitude of ecclesiastical powers over all Dioceses and over all the faithful. By denial of his primatial jurisdiction, we do not wish to deny the historic primacy which several Ecumenical Councils and the Fathers of the ancient Church have attributed to the Bishop of Rome by recognizing him as the Primus inter pares.

3. We also reject the dogma of the Immaculate Conception promulgated by Pius IX in 1854 in defiance of the Holy Scriptures and the contradiction to the tradition of the first centuries.

4. As for other Encyclicals published by the Bishops of Rome in recent times; for example, the Bulls Unigenitus and Auctorem fidei, and the Syllabus of 1864, we reject them on all such points as are in the contradiction of the doctrine of the primitive Church, and we do not recognize them as binding on the conscience of the faithful. We also renew the ancient protest of the Catholic Church of Holland against the errors of the Roman Curia, and against its attacks upon the rights of national Churches.

5. We refuse to accept the decrees of the Council of Trent in matters of discipline, and as for the dogmatic decisions of that Council, accept them only so far as they are in harmony with the teaching of the primitive Church.

6. Considering that the Holy Eucharist has always been the true central point of Catholic worship, we consider it our duty to declare that we maintain with perfect fidelity the ancient Catholic doctrine concerning the Sacrament of the Altar, by believing that we receive the Body and Blood of our Savior Jesus Christ under the species of bread and wine. The Eucharistic celebration in the church is neither a continual repetition nor a renewal of the expiatory sacrifice which Jesus offered once for all upon the Cross, and it is the act by which we represent upon earth and appropriate to ourselves the one offering which Jesus Christ makes in Heaven, according to the Epistle to the Hebrews ix.11, 12 for the salvation of redeemed humanity, by appearing for us in the presence of God (Heb. ix. 24). The character of the Holy Eucharist being thus understood, it is, at the same time, a sacrificial feast, by means of which the faithful, in receiving the Body and Blood of our Savior, enter into communion with one another (I Cor. x. 17).

7. We hope that Catholic theologians, in maintaining the faith of the undivided Church, will succeed in establishing an agreement upon all such questions as caused controversy ever since the Churches became divided. We exhort the priests under our jurisdiction to teach, both by preaching and by instruction of the young, especially the essential Christian truths professed by all Christian confessions, to avoid, in discussing controversial doctrines, any violation of truth or charity, and in word and deed to set an example to the members of our churches in accordance with the spirit of Jesus Christ our Savior.

8. By maintaining and professing faithfully the doctrine of Jesus Christ, by refusing to admit those errors which by the fault of men have crept into the Catholic Church, by laying aside the abuses in ecclesiastical matters, together with the worldly tendencies of hierarchy, we believe that we shall be able to combat efficaciously the great evils of our day, which are unbelief and indifference in matters of religion.

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In more recent times, the principal question has been related to the validity of the orders of Old Catholic clergy, rather than focusing on doctrinal issues. Commencing in the 1970's, it became clear that the Holy See, as a matter of oecumenism, recognized the validity of Old Catholic orders, commencing with a Concordat between Pope Paul VI and Archbishop Glazmaker of Utrecht, in which each recognized the Catholic validity of each other's churches and the validity of one another's Holy Sacraments. This was followed in the publication in August 2000 of the Declaration of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith Dominum Iesus, dated June 16, 2000, ratified by Pope John Paul II and signed by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger which impliedly recognized the validity of the Old Catholic orders in the following terms:

The Churches which, while not existing in perfect communion with the Catholic Church, remain united to her by means of the closest bonds, that is, by apostolic succession and a valid Eucharist, are true particular Churches".

"Therefore, these separated Churches and communities as such ... have by no means been deprived of significance and importance in the mystery of salvation. For the Spirit of Christ has not refrained from using them as means of salvation which derive their efficacy from the very fullness of grace and truth entrusted to the Catholic Church." IV. Unicity and Unity of the Church

One noted Roman Catholic commentator and canon lawyer, Thomas P. Doyle, O.P., has written:

"When a Catholic sacred minister is unavailable and there is urgent spiritual necessity, Catholics may receive the Eucharist, penance, or anointing from sacred ministers of non-Catholic denominations whose Holy Orders are considered valid by the Catholic Church. This includes all Eastern Orthodox priests, as well as priests of the Old Catholic or Polish National Church." Rights and Responsibilities, A Catholics' Guide to the New Code of Canon Law, p. 44.

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In 2002, Edouard Cardinal Gagnon, issued a statement regarding Old Catholic orders:

Statement of Edouard, Cardinal Gagnon, on the validity of Old Catholic Holy Orders

 

À qui de droit :

 

Après avoir étudié la documentation relative à Mgr André Letellier et à ses prédécesseurs dans la succession épiscopale, je suis convaincu qu’il a été validement consacré évêque.

 

Il ne m’appartient pas de me prononcer sur les rapports de l’organisation, incorporée sous le nom de « Église Catholique Charismatique du Canada » avec les Conférences des Évêques Catholiques du Canada et du Québec.

 

Mais rien ne m’autorise à douter de la validité de l’ordination épiscopale de Mgr André Letellier par Mgr André Barbeau et de celle de Mgr Barbeau par l’Évêque Charles Ignace Brearley, Primat de l’Église des « Vieux Catholiques », ayant son siège en Angleterre. Les ordinations des « Vieux Catholiques » sont généralement considérées comme celles des évêques Orthodoxes.

 

J’ai connu Mgr Barbeau il y a plus de 60 ans au Grand Séminaire de Montréal. J’ai eu peu de contacts avec lui par la suite, ayant exercé mon ministère loin d’ici. Mais il m’a toujours été connu comme un homme de prière, un mystique. Et je crois que ses disciples sont aussi, avant tout, des hommes de prière.

 

+ Édouard Cardinal Gagnon, p.s.s.

Montréal, 6 mai 2002

 

Translation:

 

To whom it may concern:

 

After having studied the documentation about Mgr André Letellier and his predecessors in episcopal succession, I am convinced that he has been validly consecrated a bishop.  

 

It is not my intention to rule on the reports of the organization, incorporated under the name of Catholic Charismatic Church of Canada with the Conference of Catholic Bishops of Canada and of Québec.

 

But nothing allows me to doubt the validity of episcopal ordination of Mgr André Letellier by Archbishop André Barbeau and that of Archbishop Barbeau by Archbishop Ignatius Charles Brearley, Primate of the Church of the "Old Catholics" having its seat in England. The ordinations of the "Old Catholics " are generally considered to be the same as those of Orthodox bishops.

 

I have known Archbishop Barbeau for more than 60 years since our time at the Grand Seminary of Montreal.  I have had little contact with him thereafter, having exercised my ministry far from here.  But he has always been known to me as a man of prayer, a mystic.  And I think that his disciples are also, above all, men of prayer. 

 

+ Edouard Cardinal Gagnon, p.s.s.

Montreal, 6 May 20