Independent Catholic Churches

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Independent Catholic Churches are, by and large, very small Churches that claim valid Apostolic Succession of their bishops, though these are often dismissed in mainstream Catholic, Orthodox and Anglican circles as episcopi vagantes ("wandering bishops").

Contents

[edit] History

The actual beginnings of the independent Catholic Churches are very difficult to pin down. Almost all derive their Apostolic Succession from the Old Catholic Churches. Some have grown to fairly decent-sized Churches, but most of them consist only of a bishop or two, a few priests and deacons, and a small number of faithful. One Anglican scholar, writing in the early twentieth century, referred to them as "frivolous bishops." However, in 1996, another scholar, Dr. Gregory Singleton, concluded, "Decentralization of religious organizations in the US is a likely trend in the future (we can see some signs of it now). It may be that these Independent movements may provide us with models, both of what has not worked, and what might work, if taken seriously."[1]

Many of these Churches are offshoots of either the Old Catholic movement, the Indian Orthodox Church, the Russian Orthodox Church, the Brazilian Catholic Apostolic Church, or some combination of these. In the past, independent Catholic bishops often received multiple consecrations to assure uncontested "apostolic succession." Though perhaps less prevalent than in the past, the practice still persists. Thus Bishop Peter Paul Brennan of the "African Orthodox Church" and the "Ecumenical Catholic Diocese of the Americas", one of the four who were consecrated as bishops by Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo on 24 September 2006, was, according to one Web site, first consecrated a bishop on 10 June 1978, and subsequently reconsecrated in October 1979 and twice more in March 1987.[1]

Most independent Catholic Churches split off from or were expelled directly from the Roman Catholic Church or the Eastern Orthodox Church. Others, however, began life as Protestant Charismatic congregations, such as the Charismatic Episcopal Church, that rediscovered both sacramentalism and the historical apostolic succession. At least one, the former Evangelical Orthodox Church, found its way into mainstream Eastern Orthodoxy. Still others are offshoots of the Theosophical movement, often generating long-term authentic congregations. Currently, these more theosophical or New Age or Gnostic congregations tend to be the largest independent bodies. Another of the larger independent Catholic Churches is the African Orthodox Church, founded by former Episcopalians intending to directly serve the African-American community. This seems to have spawned a group called the Anglican Church Worldwide which is allied with the Continuing Anglican Movement. However, the largest independent Catholic body today is the Charismatic Episcopal Church. One of the largest[citation needed] and fastest growing[citation needed] communities, however, is the Reformed Catholic Church centered in Columbus, Ohio.

Continuing Anglican Churches are sometimes included in this grouping, but this is controversial, especially with regard to the larger Continuing Anglican bodies, as is the inclusion of some of the Traditionalist Catholic groups. The same could be said of the larger Old Calendar Eastern Orthodox jurisdictions, to include the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church and bodies which split from mainstream Orthodoxy specifically in order to maintain the Old Calendar.

The Polish National Catholic Church is sometimes considered an independent Catholic Church, but the PNCC itself rejects this association. The PNCC derives its Holy Orders from the Old Catholic Union of Utrecht, but is no longer in communion with Utrecht nor with the Episcopal Church in the United States. These relationships were ended because the PNCC rejects the ordination of women and sexually active gay men. While no longer in communion with any other body, it remains a relatively substantial denomination recognized as such not only within Catholic and Eastern Orthodox circles but also by Protestant Churches.

[edit] Ecclesiology

This situation has created the phenomenon of bishops who claim to be legitimate bishops of the Christian Church, but who have no organizational connections to any communion, historical or newly-formed.

Their claim is based on an understanding of the "validity" of apostolic succession that has been commonly accepted in Western Christianity at least since the time of the Donatist controversy. According to this understanding, a bishop is a true bishop if consecrated in a valid rite by a bishop even outside the boundaries and against the wishes of the Catholic Church as defined and represented by the Pope. However, some question whether all such consecrations have effect, on the grounds that, since an ordination is to a service within a concrete Christian community, an ordination ceremony that concerns only the individual himself does not correspond to the definition of an ordination and is invalid, perhaps because of defect of matter or of intention.

The Holy See itself has made no declaration about the correctness or erroneousness of this theory of the necessity of being ordained within and for an existing community. While it has more than once declared that certain episcopal consecrations have no canonical effect, it has explicitly stated that it was not thereby expressing a judgement on the validity, in itself, of those consecrations.

Thus, when it declared devoid of canonical effect the consecration ceremony conducted by Archbishop Pierre Martin Ngô Đình Thục for the Carmelite Order of the Holy Face group at midnight of 31 December 1975, it refrained from pronouncing on its validity. It made the same statement with regard also to later ordinations by those bishops, saying that, "as for those who have already thus unlawfully received ordination or any who may yet accept ordination from these, whatever may be the validity of the orders (quidquid sit de ordinum validitate), the Church does not and will not recognize their ordination (ipsorum ordinationem), and will consider them, for all legal effects, as still in the state in which they were before, except that the ... penalties remain until they repent" (Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Decree Episcopi qui alios of 17 September 1976 - Acta Apostolicae Sedis 1976, page 623).

A similar declaration was issued with regard to Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo's conferring of episcopal ordination on four men - all of whom, by virtue of previous Independent Catholic consecrations, claimed already to be bishops - on 24 September 2006: the Holy See stated not only that all five involved were automatically excommunicated in accordance with canon 1382 of the Code of Canon Law, but also that "the Church does not recognize and does not intend in the future to recognize these ordinations or any ordinations derived from them, and she holds that the canonical state of the four alleged bishops is the same as it was prior to the ordination."[2]

In contrast, the Holy See questioned neither the validity nor the canonical effect of the consecrations that the late Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre performed in 1988 for the service of the relatively numerous followers of the traditionalist Roman Catholic Society of St. Pius X that he had founded. However, there is no proof that the numerical size of the group was the reason for this difference in attitude: it would presumably be possible to formulate other hypotheses also to explain it, including the fact that Lefebvre was obviously capable of forming the necessary intention.

Some have questioned the mental capacity of Archbishops Ngô and Milingo to form the requisite intention to consecrate. On this question it would be extremely difficult to obtain a definitive objective judgement, especially in the case of Milingo. Ngô was advanced in age and was reportedly experiencing a dementia at the time of his actions in question.

"While accepting the canonical possibility of recognising the existence (υποστατόν) of sacraments performed outside herself, (the Eastern Orthodox Church) questions their validity (έγκυρον) and certainly rejects their efficacy (ενεργόν)."[2] It sees "the canonical recognition (αναγνώρισις) of the validity of sacraments performed outside the Orthodox Church (as referring) to the validity of the sacraments only of those who join the Orthodox Church (individually or as a body)."[3] This applies to the validity and efficacy of the ordination of bishops and the other sacraments, not only of the Independent Catholic Churches, but also of all other Christian Churches, including the Roman Catholic Church, Oriental Orthodoxy, and the Assyrian Church of the East.

However, if the perspectives discussed here question the sacramental validity of these consecrations on grounds other than those of proper minister (or ministers), intention, form, and matter, they raise, at least for those who do not accept the view of the Eastern Orthodox Churches, issues concerning the objective nature of the sacraments in general and of episcopal consecrations in particular[citation needed][4] and therefore, create at least as many problems as they might resolve, as critiques of the Eastern view, based upon the classical Western Catholic perspective, would clearly demonstrate.[citation needed]

[edit] Faith and practice

Virtually all independent Catholic Churches worship according to a set liturgy, usually derived from a mainstream historical Christian rite, such as the Syriac, Byzantine, or Roman. Sometimes they use a liturgy that is some combination of two or more of these historical liturgies or one that is unique to the Church in question. By definition, all such Churches are episcopal in polity, being led by bishops and priests who are assisted by deacons. Virtually all hold to some type of sacramental understanding of the Christian faith closely related to that broadly held in common by the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Assyrian, and Anglican Churches. Virtually all also affirm the text of the Nicene Creed, usually with the filioque, but interpretations vary widely.

However, they disagree on ordination of women, ordination of sexually active gays and lesbians, acceptability of same-sex marital unions, abortion, contraception, divorce, and other issues that are controversial also in more mainstream sections of Christianity, whether Roman Catholic, Protestant, Anglican, or Orthodox. However, unlike most of their more conventional counterparts, these Churches, usually being quite small, tend to be internally fairly homogeneous on these and other issues; in other words, divisions on these and other questions are between these Churches, not so much within them.

These Churches represent a variety of doctrine. Some independent Catholic Churches, such as the Liberal Catholic Church and the Catholic Apostolic Church of Antioch – Malabar Rite (the "Church of Antioch") are characterized by a theosophical or New Age orientation. Others are quite conservative, following extremely traditionalist Catholic or Old Calendar Orthodox positions. Others describe themselves as "Evangelical Catholic" and are more or less High Church Lutherans.

Many of these Churches, possibly turning necessity into virtue, have intentionally embraced an "Ignatian" model of parish organization, in which a bishop, not a priest, is the pastor of a parish and is assisted by a group of priests, an intraparish presbyterium, as well as by one or more deacons. This model was often prevalent during the first centuries of the Christian Church.

Given this, it is rare, while nonetheless possible, to find independent Catholic clergy who are supported financially in their work. Most are "tentmakers," pursuing their ministry as a part-time, volunteer calling, while engaging in some other occupation in order to support themselves and their families.

[edit] Formation

Many independent Catholic clergy are not prepared for their positions in the customary academic manner. Some even lack undergraduate degrees. Nevertheless there are others who have earned degrees in theology/divinity, others who have Placement Equivalency Degrees (PEDs or, as the Anglican Communion calls them, GOEs), and still others who have professional or other advanced degrees. There are also a few highly educated and/or successful persons (published authors, composers, college professors, seasoned clergy who were ordained originally as Roman Catholic or Orthodox priests, and former Roman Catholic women religious and lay parish administrators) among the clergy of these Churches. And lack of formal education does not necessarily preclude adequate theological knowledge and expertise in pastoral care: the academic preparation that now prevails in mainstream Churches is a relatively recent development. Some networking groups within the movement are working to establish standards of clergy formation, including education, that would make for relatively simple exchange of clergy with, for example, the Old-Catholic Union of Utrecht or certain denominations in North America that have voiced interest in returning to the Historic Episcopate. The Independent Catholic Churches International (an umbrella organization) has, among other options, a formal training agreement with Wisdom University (the University of Creation Spirituality) in Oakland, California.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Dr. Greg Singleton's Interim Research Notes on Independent/Old Catholic Churches Dr. Singleton is a Professor Emeritus of History at Northeastern Illinois University
  2. ^ Professor Dr. Vlassios Pheidas: Τhe limits of the church in an orthodox perspective
  3. ^ ibidem
  4. ^ Catholic Encyclopedia "Sacraments" (relevant citation from this lengthy article is needed)

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] Umbrella organizations

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