Western Orthodoxy
Catholic but not Roman · Orthodox but not Eastern
✠ WELCOME
The Patriarchate of The Old Catholic Church bears solemn witness to the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church, grounded in the undivided faith of the primitive Church and continuing in obedience to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
We are Catholic, but not Roman—faithful to the universal Church and the Apostolic Tradition, without submission to papal supremacy.
We are Orthodox, but not Eastern—preserving the fullness of the faith in the Western expression of ancient orthodoxy.
We stand as Western Orthodox—heirs of the Church as it existed in the first millennium, within the life of the ancient Pentarchy, before the Great Schism of A.D. 1054—faithfully preserving the sacred deposit of faith through reverent liturgy, apostolic succession, and conciliar governance.
Christ is the center and head of our Church.
We proclaim Jesus Christ as the sole foundation of our faith and the unifying source of our ecclesial identity.
In fidelity to Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition, and the teachings of the Seven Ecumenical Councils, we seek not novelty, but continuity—to live and proclaim the faith once delivered to the saints (cf. Jude 1:3). Ours is not a faith reimagined, but a faith received, preserved, and lived with humility, conviction, and love.
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 more deeply. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and His immeasurable power at work in us who believe.”
(Ephesians 1:17–19)
The Church, as the Body of Christ, is called to reflect the divine harmony of truth, beauty, and holiness. In fidelity to this calling, we affirm a conciliar model of ecclesial life, wherein the College of Bishops, in communion with one another and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, discerns and safeguards the will of Christ for His Church.
We reject both the centralization of juridical absolutism and the fragmentation of doctrinal innovation. Instead, we remain anchored in the spiritual integrity of the undivided Church, rooted in the authentic traditions of the Christian West and illumined by the unchanging light of Christ.
In this fidelity, we are guided by the enduring principle articulated by Saint Vincent of Lérins:
“We hold that faith which has been believed everywhere, always, and by all.”
Western in Tradition, Apostolic in Faith
✠ Historical Continuity and Ecclesial Identity
What has come to be known over the centuries as The Old Catholic Church does not claim origin in a later movement, but continuity with the Church founded by our Lord Jesus Christ. Within the Western Church, this continuity was shaped in a decisive manner through the missionary and Benedictine labors of Saints Willibrord and Boniface in the eighth century, who gave enduring pastoral and ecclesial form to the Church in the regions of present-day Northern Europe.
Over time, the Church in these lands exercised and defended its ancient rights of local governance. These liberties were recognized and affirmed through a series of ecclesiastical acts, including conciliar and papal confirmations during the medieval period. Among these were decisions of the Second Lateran Council (1139) concerning episcopal governance, subsequent papal recognitions beginning in 1145, and later reaffirmations at the Fourth Lateran Council (1215). The bull Debitum Pastoralis (1520) further confirmed the Church’s freedom from external juridical interference, affirming that its bishops were not subject to judgment outside their proper ecclesial jurisdiction.
On this historical and canonical foundation, The Old Catholic Church understands herself to be valid and licit, possessing apostolic succession, sacramental integrity, and full participation in the life of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church, while exercising legitimate autonomy in governance.
✠ Mission and Witness
Through the celebration of the Holy Sacraments, the preaching of the Word, and the consecration of lives to prayer, service, and holiness, the Patriarchate of The Old Catholic Church seeks to live as a true continuation of the ancient Church within the modern world—offering sanctuary amid turmoil, clarity amid confusion, and truth grounded in charity.
✠ Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam
To the Greater Glory of God.
✠ Scholarly Perspective
“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 causes delight or even relief to others. The Old Catholic Church has 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.