Old Catholics Explained in 2 Minutes

Old Catholics - They aren't in communion with the Catholic Church, but they do have valid sacraments. It's an interesting case, and this video discusses them, both the Union of Utrecht and the Union of Scranton.

[Marbof]

Well I have to say Gay Marriage, Female Priests, and Universal Salvation aren’t the first things one assumes when thinking on why a group would call themselves “Old Catholics”.

[sureshmukhi]

I didn't even know such a denomination existed. Thanks for the information.

[markgraham]

I am remarkably pleased with the objectivity with which you report on the differences between denominations in Christianity, which is not easy.
This topic can be highly emotionally charged, and presenting your analysis dispassionately is a great source of information for those who listen.

[MAMoreno]

By this standard, maybe Lutherans and Anglicans should call themselves "Even Older Catholics." 😉

[ronaldbobeck]

I Grew up in the Wyoming Valley of NEPA. The Polish National Church started in the Valley when the Irish controlled Diocese of Scranton, treated many of the Parishes of predominantly Polish immigrants " poorly " before WW1. They broke with Rome and formed their own Churches . Scattered throughout the towns of Wilkes Barre and Scranton and Hazleton there still parishes. Also Detroit and Buffalo NY. I had friends who were Polish National.

[jg]

Thanks for sharing as a Roman Catholic I didn't know this existed.

[jendreg]

It's important to know that PNCC operates mainly in the US and originated there. They have a very small presence in Poland itself. The other Old Catholic Church is the Mariavite Church, they mainly operate in Poland and are the biggest Old Catholic Church in the country if I'm not mistaken.

[xp_studios]

Ah, the forgotten strand of high church Protestantism; always been fascinated with them

[theDUKE-yt]

Crazy that one step away from the Church you fall into the bottomless abyss very quickly

[etinarcadiaego]

Fascinating slice of history, and brillant presentation as usual, thanks a lot! I think they were also called "la petite Eglise" in French ("the small-or little- Church").

[Jsmith]

I love these 2 minute videos. Thank you.

[texasyojimbo]

I was going to say, the Union of Utrecht sounds a lot like Anglicanism. Not only am I not surprised that they're in full communion with the Anglican Communion, I'm actually a little surprised there hasn't been a full-on merger.

[lilajagears]

I always learn something new watching your videos, thank you.

[classicallpvault]

The basis for the split was way before the 1700s and was closely intertwined with Dutch politics, and can be traced back to the work of theologian Cornelius Jansen. The main differences to mainstream Catholicism are the teaching of total depravity, irresistible divine grace, and predestination, which is why the Jansenists were being accused of being crypto-Calvinists. It was only 80 years after Jansen's death that the Catholic Church in Utrecht consecrated a bishop without permission from Rome, and this was after decades of Jansenism being actively supported by the Dutch Republic.

The Dutch Republic sought to cut loose its Catholic population from papal influence and at the same time the fact that some of the Jansenist theology is closer to Calvinism made them more sympathetic towards it. They didn't gain any real traction though, the vast majority of Roman Catholics in the Netherlands preferred celebrating Mass in clandestine churches and staying in full communion with Rome and were given equal rights to Protestants in 1848.

[wolfscott]

I used to live in the Las Vegas area and there was a PNCC parish founded there very recently. A priest, Father Adam, was on loan to the Diocese of Las Vegas from the Diocese of Santa Rosa and he went back there once that time was up. However he eventually came back to Vegas, although it was after he had left his parish in Northern California to join the Polish National Catholic Church. Father Adam was really popular with the parishioners at Holy Family Catholic Church where he was previously assigned to and a lot of them followed him to his new schismatic parish. The Bishop of Santa Rosa issued a statement to the Diocese of Las Vegas when he found out about this and it was in the bulletins at my parish for a couple of months.

[fmcevoy]

In one of Garry Wills's books, he wrote that when Papal Infallibility was announced at Vatican I, some cardinals got hysterical. To be fair, that chestnut's only been used once, in 1950, about the BVM's Assumption.

[FirstNameLastName-isyb]

Old Catholics are very strange. Some of them now identify with Gnosticism and have gone completly off the rails, some of them are just old fashioned Catholics. Many believe in white and black magic and practice it. They also like to constantly re-ordained people, it's almost a hobby to see how many different times you can be ordained. The spectrum of followers of Old Catholicism are either very very far left or very very far right people, there is seemingly no inbetween, and they all hate each other. Some more conservative old catholics also identify with the heresy called Jansenism, which is a sort of Catholicisiced Calvinism.

The beliefs have gone completly out of whack since the first generation of Old Catholics and honestly the name just pays lip service. They are all over the place theologically.

I think a video on the Sedevacantist/ Conclavist Cult in Palmer de Troya would be an interesting video topic if you haven't covered it already.

[atmalewis]

This is great, just the information I've been looking for. I am a recent member of an Anglican church (Anglican Province of America) that is a continuation of Old Catholics. I did not understand what our priest and Bishop was meaning by this, and they mentioned the communion with Utrecht. Now, I understand what they meant.

[steveg]

As a member of the Old Catholic Church of the Netherlands (OKKN) I very much appreciate this summary. I would love to hear you speak in more detail on the origins of the Old Catholic movement (especially its relationship to Jansenism and Gallicanism, and its reaction against Ultramontanism), but also an overview of the many Independent Catholic movements that sprang out of, but are not in communion with, the UU churches. Thanks for all your great videos!

[marriagelife]

That was super interesting. Thanks for the info.