Edited By the Most Rev. Fr. +STEPHEN Pfleiderer, OSM
Just what is the Old Catholic Church? Because we are called Catholic, Protestants usually conclude that we are part of the "Roman Church". And members of the Roman church, learning that we are not under authority of the "Bishop of Rome" (the Pope), conclude that we are Protestants. But we are quite distinctively neither Protestant nor Roman. This information sheet is a brief profile - contrast picture of the Old Catholic Church, listing the major points, which distinguish us from either or both groups. A (p) at the end of a section indicates a difference from Protestantism; an (r) a difference from the Church of Rome; and a (pr) a difference from both.
1: Adhering to the Apostolic principle that no Scripture can be privately interpreted (II Peter 1:20), Old Catholics base their beliefs and practices on the Apostolic Tradition [of which the Bible is a part] which has been transmitted by the Church unchanged through these nearly twenty centuries. (p)
2: The Bible is understood by Old Catholics to be an instrument of teaching which was complied and authorized by the sole spiritual authority established and ratified by Christ: The Church (Matt. 18:17) (p)
3: The Salvation of which Christ has made the Church the "Treasury", is an evolving, dynamic state which must be attained. Therefore the Church never characterizes anyone but the saints (whose status we, too, must reach) as "saved". The Salvation of Christ is not an instant, in - and - out matter, but is a living, unfolding process. Therefore the Old Catholic Church urges upon her members the necessity for personal, mystical union with God through a total, inner transformation, and refuses to serve as merely a policeman to enforce Heavenly "law and order", a fire escape from Hell, or a realtor for Heavenly mansions. (pr)
4: Baptism is held by the Old Catholic Church to be essential for Salvation, as it is the means given by Christ for the cleansing from sins, and not a mere symbol. (Mark 16:16; John 3:5; Acts 2:38 & 22:16) (some p)
5: Because of human weakness, sin is usually incurred after Baptism. For the remission of these sins Christ gave the Apostles and through them the Church the power to forgive sins (John 20:23). This Grace of remission of sins is administered in the Old Catholic Church through the Sacrament of Confession. The Old Catholic Church does not command that anyone receive that which can be effective only when it is approached voluntarily, therefore the Sacrament of Confession is administered only by request. The priest councils and prays with the penitent in a fully open manner, with emphasis placed on the Sacrament as a mode of spiritual council and regeneration rather than a mere recitation of sins and granting of absolution. (pr)
6: The Old Catholic Church possesses the Sacraments instituted by Christ: (Baptism, Confirmation, Confession, Holy Eucharist, Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders, and Matrimony) through which the Grace of God is continually imparted to the Soul. (p)
7: The Old Catholic Church has a documented, unbroken line of priestly ordination, known as "Apostolic Succession", traceable back to the Apostles and the Savior Himself instituted by Christ as the means by which the spiritual gifts necessary for administering the Sacraments is imparted to our bishops. (p)
8: In fulfillment of the prophecy of Malachi (1:11), the Old Catholic Church offers daily the "sacrifice" of the Mass, in which the "clean oblation" is offered up to the Glory of God. Indeed, the heart and source of life of the Old Catholic Church is the continual physical Presence of Jesus Christ, which is effected by the Holy Eucharist, or Mass, the sacramental mode of worship which was bequeathed to the Church by Christ and His Apostles. This Divine form of worship has, with few exceptions, been maintained by the Church unchanged these nearly 2000 years. Therefore the Old Catholic Church maintains as the essential mark of her Catholicity the Divine and Holy Mass in its correct, unchanged form; for this sacred rite cannot be relinquished without loss of Catholicity and spiritual annihilation. The Sacraments and Sacramentals are also retained for the same reason. (pr)
9: Continuing her custom from Apostolic times, The Old Catholic Church has both male and female, married and unmarried Clergy. (r)
10: God has endowed the Church with the inestimable privilege and blessing of the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Saints, who aid by their prayers and presence all Christians in their spiritual pilgrimage on the earth. (p)
11: Knowing that "the just man shall scarcely be saved" (I Peter 4:18), the Old Catholic Church understands that the Saints have no "supererogatory merits" to be dispensed in "indulgences" to others. Rather the Church informs us of the Truth that each person must labor for his own Salvation (Philippians 2:12). (r)
12: Being a source of life, the Old Catholic Church condemns murder under the form of Abortion. (some p)
13: The Old Catholics enjoy the eternal patronage, care, and intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary as essential to their Salvation. In fulfillment of the prophecy spoken by the Holy Spirit through the Holy Virgin Mary (Luke 1:48), the Old Catholic Church constantly venerates her, calling upon her as "Blessed", and as the antithesis of Antichrist, who denies that Jesus was truly born in the Flesh (I John 4:2,3) of the Virgin Mary, the Old Catholic Church affirms the reality of the Incarnation by honoring the Blessed Virgin as "Mother of God". (Luke 1:43) (p)
14: God has appeared on earth as Jesus, making the invisible God visible to men. And through the Death and Resurrection of His truly human Body He has glorified even the bodies of His Saints, thus becoming "glorious in His Saints". (Psalm 88:8) Hence the Old Catholic Church greatly venerates images and pictures of the Savior, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the Saints which have been sanctified by prayer and blessing. For by the Holy Spirit, Whose Temples they are and Whose omnipresence they share, the Saints are present in a Mystical manner wherever their (blessed) images and pictures are kept, though the actual images and pictures are merely wood, paint, stone, etc. And whenever we stand before these sacred images, the holy ones are aware of us, hear our prayers, and accept our offerings in the form of candles, incense, etc. The Church carefully and precisely differentiates between worship, which may be lawfully offered to God alone, and veneration, which may be offered to sacred persons and articles. (p)
15: Being baptized by the Holy Spirit into One Body (I Corinthians 12:12), the Church, we are never separated from one another, not even by death which Christ conquered for us. Therefore Old Catholics continue to pray for the spiritual welfare of those "who are gone before us with the sign of Faith." For even after this life the Soul continues to grow in the Grace of God, as there is no end to the progression of the Soul, which has entered Eternity. (p)
16: The Old Catholic Church retains the Bible in its original form which includes those seven books, known as the Apocrypha, which are omitted by the Protestant Bibles. Also, our Bibles contain much material in the books of Ester and Daniel, which are missing from Protestant versions. The Dead Sea Scrolls have established the accuracy and authenticity of these sections. (p)
