The perfect Church for imperfect people / La Iglesia perfecta para gente imperfecta
PATRIARCHATE of The Old Catholic Church
IN THE UNITED KINGDOM AND AMERICA
PATRIARCADO
IGLESIA CATOLICA ANTIGUA
‘Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven’.(St Matthew 5: 16)
World Presence
WORLD PRESENCE
United Kingdom
United States of America
Colombia
Brazil
Italy
France
Indonesia
D.R. Congo
Cameroon
Nigeria
Venezuela
México
Ancient, Western and Orthodox
"The perfect church for imperfect people"
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine!
ISAIAH 43:1
'THE OLD CATHOLIC CHURCH is the best kept secret in Christendom.
'The fact that there is a valid form of Catholicism that is independent of Rome and that values local control seems scandalous to some and cause delight or even relief to others. The Old Catholic Church have branches all over the world. They constitute one of the most interesting and diverse movements in Christian history, a movement worthy of greater visibility and academic attention'.
('The Old Catholic Movement, Its Origins and History' Apocryphile Press, Berkeley, CA.)
As a mission statement we take a quotation from St. Paul’s Epistle to the Ephesians 1:17-19
'I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and His incomparably great power for us who believe'.
Catholic but not Roman, Orthodox but not Eastern, Evangelical but not Protestant.
What has become known, over the centuries, as The Old Catholic Church, has existed since it was founded by our Lord Jesus Christ, developed by the benedictine Saints Willibrord and Boniface (730 AD), and has been an autocephalous Church authorized by the II Ecumenical Council of Letran in 1139 AD. Papal Decree since 1145, later ratified by the IV Lateran Council of 1215 and authorized to be free of any judgement outside of its own jurisdiction by the Papal Bula "Debitum Pastoralis" of 1520 AD. It is, therefore, valid and licit, part of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.
It is fully Catholic but not Roman, fully Orthodox but not Eastern.
www.theoldcatholicuniversity.com
Part of One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church
On August 5th 1911, a conference took place in Bredon’s Norton, Worcestershire, attended by Arb. Arnold Harris Mathew, other members of the Old Catholic Church, Metropolitan Gerassimos Messarra, Archbishop of Beirut, Legate of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch, and his companions. After a long and full discussion, the faith of the Old Catholic Church under Archbishop Mathew was considered in full accord with that of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Archbishop Mathew was then solemnly received by Mgr. Messarra on behalf of Gregory IV (Haddad) and The Old Catholic (Western Orthodox) Church, into union with the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch as an Autocephalous Jurisdiction of the Holy Synod.
1912—February 26th, His Holiness, Pope and Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria, Photius, also accepted and recognised the union with Orthodoxy of the Old Catholics headed by Arb. Mathew
Members of
WAOCB
WAOCB
WAOCB
World Assembly of Old Catholic Bishops
AMOCA
WAOCB
WAOCB
Asamblea Mundial de Obispos Catolicos Antiguos