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A Caveat: Who is in Communion with Utrecht? PDF Print E-mail
Written by The Most Rev. Samuel B. Bassett   
Monday, 16 January 2006

Who is in Communion with Utrecht?

The Short Answer: No Old Catholic Body in the United States.

    Up until very recently, the only Old Catholic body in the United States and  Canada  which was in Communion with Utrecht (and part of the Utrecht Union) was the Polish National Catholic Church.  None of the Jurisdictions descended from Mathew, de Landes Berghes, Carfora, Vilatte, or any of the various Orthodox sources of Orders are or have been in Commnion with Utrecht, nor were any of them ever part of the Utrecht Union.

    Beginning in 1975, the PNCC began to distance themselves from Anglicans, and later the Union, over the issue of women's Ordination.  They first distanced themselves from ECUSA, with whom thay had had a very close relationship;  then from the Church of England; and then from each of the European Old Catholic Churches, as they ordained women.  Recently, the members of the Utrecht Union voted to suspend the PNCC from membership until such time as the PNCC can see their way clear to accepting the current policies and actions of the Union.

    Over the course of the last half-century or so, various smaller Old Catholic bodies have announced that they were in Communion (or, more often, in negotiations) with Utrecht.  Successive Archbishops of Utrecht, however, have repeated that the only bodies they are willing to enter into serious negotiations with are unified, stable, professional churches, with established communities and real estate.  The only group in the U. S. which met those criteria was the PNCC.

    If Old Catholics in the Americas are going to be recognized by Utrecht (or anyone else for that matter), we are going to have to build parishes, with priests, deacons, and laity working together.   We are going to have to build active outreach ministries -- both social welfare and religious evangelism.  We are going to have to learn to work together, instead of fighting incessantly -- we need many, many more good priests, and fewer bishops of any sort.

Last Updated ( Saturday, 15 July 2006 )
 
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