Why I follow the Old Catholic Tradition

Last weekend, my bishop came to celebrate a convalidation liturgy with my family. The liturgy was well-attended and included many elements of the Syriac tradition.  My father-in-law loves history of all sorts and was intrigued; after the liturgy concluded, he asked my bishop to explain the history of the Old Catholic Movement.  The bishop said he would provide something between a brief elevator speech and Old Catholicism 101 and proceeded to speak eloquently about the prerogatives of the Church at Utrecht, the underground church there, the competition between the formerly underground church and the newly sent missionaries, through the rejection of the First Vatican Council.  It was an excellent summary and this history is important to members of the Old Catholic Tradition.  I have come to embrace the Old Catholic Tradition as my own, but my reasoning is beyond historical reasons.  In fact, certain historical reasons (the privileges previously granted to Utrecht) are insufficient because they can be revoked.

I want to provide a bit of an apologia for the Old Catholic Tradition.  I think the tradition is often misunderstood; the fragmentation and extreme liberalism of certain segments of the movement have caused many to simply dismiss the movement all together.  These are my opinions, and I tend to be rather conservative by nature.  I want to build bridges between Catholics and the Orthodox and as such tend to be reserved when it comes to issues that would undermine unity.

Why do I follow the Old Catholic Tradition?

1)      Scholarship

2)      Ecumenical

3)      Primacy of Conscience

I will explain each of these three points.  First, scholarship has been there from the very beginning.  Long before I broke with Rome, I found myself reading figures associated with Old Catholicism and the modernist movement from the church of the Middle Ages and after Trent.  Old Catholicism has an openness to new ideas but wanted to follow them in ways faithful to the early church, There was a sincere desire to return to ideas found in the undivided early church.  While I did not always agree with some conclusions or the methods employed, there was a sincere love for truth.  Rather than simply defending a position and circling the wagons, Old Catholics reviewed sources both East and West to harmonize, explain, and challenge ideas.  This love of scholarship provided a home for people who wanted to know their faith and who found Catholicism too stifling and appeals from authority too restrictive.

My bishop did an excellent job of bringing people together.  There were Lutherans, Presbyterians, Catholics, and Greek Orthodox members of the family who all felt comfortable and at home.  At the very beginning, Old Catholicism was seen as a bridge between the Orthodox, Catholic and the Anglican tradition.  There is good reason for this as I noted the scholarship above.  Old Catholics led the way for bringing people from other traditions to better understand one another.  One could argue that Old Catholicism was the pioneer of the Ecumenical movement.

Finally, the primacy of conscience is important as often churches are seen as telling people what they can and cannot do.  Old Catholicism recognizes the faithful in the church struggle with moral issues.  The church wants to provide guidance and assistance rather than being a judge.  The church is more appropriately seen as a community working out its salvation rather than as the perfect bride here on earth.  Old Catholicism recognizes that people in church struggle but there is a reason why they are at church.  People could be anywhere – going to the movies, watching a sports game, and so on.  We will presume good will of the faithful who are seeking God and the graces the church provides.  While this can be seen as individualistic, I argue that it is not.  The life of the church is a foretaste of the unity that we hope we will one day experience in the Kingdom of God.  The church as a responsibility to bring people together but never infringing on the dignity of each individual.  The persons of the Trinity give themselves over to each other without the loss of their autonomy. 

I could write much more and have thought about attempting to write an apologia for the Old Catholic Tradition.  I think we need to spread the news of what we believe and why we believe.  My bishop and I spoke about this a great deal last Saturday over lunch.  We cannot simply take books from other traditions and scratch out what we do not agree with.  Old Catholics need books and resources of their own.  It makes the movement more authentic, it promotes needed theological discussions, and it develops an identity.  Old Catholicism needs to become more Dominican with the ideal of contemplation and sharing the fruits of our contemplation.  There are so many excellent ministries being done but we need to theologically reflect and share the work we are doing.

Peace,

Ben