Old Catholic Apostolic Church

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Old Catholic Apostolic Church

The Old Catholic Apostolic Church (abbreviated to OCAC) is a Catholic and Apostolic denomination of Christianity, with a presence in many countries around the world;.. It is Trinitarian, Episcopal, and Sacramental yet with an open outreach. The Church seeks to be relevant to people today and yet is based on the early church principles and uses the phrase "Ancient in Faith, Modern in Vision".

The Church belongs to the Liberal Catholic tradition of Christianity, but with an emphasis on apostolic serving (going out into the world) which leads the clergy to have an outward expression of ministry – for example workplace and street chaplaincy, health and care sector chaplaincy, street preaching, visiting preachers, and Christian broadcasters.

Name

The official name is the Old Catholic Apostolic Church, and was principally shaped by the coming together of various Liberal Catholic and Free Church strands to form the Liberal Catholic Apostolic Church (LCAC), the previous name of the Church. The Church name was changed to Old Catholic Apostolic Church in 2012 although the Liberal Catholic ethos is retained.

History

The history of the Old Catholic Apostolic Church and the Liberal Catholic Apostolic Church before it is in one sense the history of Christian liberalism throughout the ages, from the earliest pre-Constantinian times, through to the major liberal resurgence in the nineteenth-century and the twentieth-century independent liberal churches. Often marginalised and misunderstood, Christian liberals stand for the unity of the church not through the restricting influence of dogma but through the embracing and reconciliation of diverse approaches to faith. These qualities were present in the earliest church; yet somehow were lost with the spread of the church in the West

The Old Catholics in Utrecht divided from Rome but retained the apostolic succession. They in turn embraced the unfolding liberality and freedoms of expression of the time to be "liberal catholics". The Liberal Catholic Movement came into being. The present-day Old Catholic Apostolic Church stems from the Liberal Catholic Apostolic Church (LCAC) which came into being through the union of the Ancient Catholic Church and The Liberal Rite in March 2008. That same year, the then Metropolitan of the LCAC was enthroned, and its bishops consecrated, by the Emeritus Primate of the Apostolic Episcopal Church, the same church whose 1943 mandate had provided the impetus for the establishment of the Catholic Apostolic Church (Catholicate of the West) and thus in turn for the Ancient Catholic Church. Our heritage includes great Liberal Catholics like James Ingall Wedgwood and Charles W Leadbeater, Johannes van Alphen, Eric Sollick Taylor, and Harold Percival Nicholson. We also have direct influences from Apostolic Evangelists like William Oliver Hutchison and Anglicans and Methodists. These strands were joined by God to form the Liberal Catholic Apostolic Church, and, as the "Old Catholics" outnumbered the "Liberal Catholics", the Church's name changed in 2012 to reflect this.

Organisation

The Old Catholic Apostolic Church is made up of several legal entities in various parts of the world and are technically separate. The Church works in a federated manner with each national Church looking to the Patriarch for spiritual leadership, in much the same way as the Anglican Communion looks to the Archbishop of Canterbury. Although each OCAC national Church can and does have variations in doctrine and belief, the overall Church family has much in common and respects the differences of approach due to culture or tradition.

Each national Church is autocephalous and is overseen by a bishop, and where dioceses exist they are also overseen in this way, but each individual ministry is led by the clergy person in the charism and direction that they are called to by Christ. In places where a national Church is not yet registered, the Church functions as a province of the main Church entity directly under the Patriarch. The church does not micro-manage these ministries but provides spiritual and moral guidance and direction. If the individual ministry is suitably incorporated it can receive monetary value, but the overarching church entities are set up to not be able to receive or give money as set out in Canon Law.

Canons

The Old Catholic Apostolic Church uses its own internal Canon Law to give structure and organisational authority to clerical decisions and ministry. The Church strives towards a positive charism rather than a restrictive dogmatic approach. There are a number of Codes of Practice and Codes of Conduct alongside the Canon Law document. Where a ministry or serving is conducted inside a Religious Order or Society within the Church, they too have rules and obligations based on the example of their structure and often a patronal saint. Each Religious Order or Society has its own constitution and rules within the wider Church.

Ministry

The Old Catholic Apostolic Church is a dispersed, outward facing mission Church, where each clergy person has an active expression of ministry to the outside world, be that chaplaincy (hospital, service, or industrial chaplains) or street pastors, street preachers, visiting preachers (those who are invited to preach in other denominations), Christian broadcasters, as well as those who serve in Religious Orders. The model of a church building and a worshipping congregation is not the principal pattern of ministry in this Church, although buildings and congregations are prominent in OCAC African churches.

Synod

Being a worldwide and dispersed Church following federal lines for administration, there is no overall synod where discipline matters are discussed or policies made. Some OCAC national and pan-national churches have synods (OCAC United Kingdom, OCAC Nigeria, etc) although in most cases these are principal services of ordinations and appointments rather than decision-making assemblies.

Provinces

In the Old Catholic Apostolic Church, the national Churches equate to other denominations "provinces". For example the Old Catholic Apostolic Church Canada functions within the wider Church as a province would in say, the Anglican Communion. This is often because the laws of each land vary and because their situations require different approaches.

Dioceses

The Old Catholic Apostolic Church is first and foremost a dispersed church, which functions to allow clergy to exercise an outward facing ministry of chaplaincy, street preaching, Christian broadcasting, street pastors, etc. The Church does have sacramental worship but the main emphasis is on Christ’s direction to the Apostles to go out into the world. Other denominations are organised into dioceses of worshipping congregations, whereas OCAC is organised as dioceses of practical ministries [11].

Holy Orders

The Church holds a system of Minor Orders as well as Holy (or Major) Orders, as the early Christian churches did.  Today OCAC has the following Minor Orders:

• Cleric
• Doorkeeper
• Reader
• Exorcist (Healer)
• Acolyte
• Subdeacon

and the following Holy Orders:

• Deacon
• Priest
• Bishop

OCAC has no formal title of Archbishop.

The role of Pastor exists for those joining  from a non-episcopal church such as if a Methodist minister joins OCAC. Equally, where someone wishes to express a ministry towards a group uncomfortable with a Catholic background, the role of Pastor is available.

There are no lay ministers in the Church as it has no laity, and each person who serves in a part-time and unpaid ministry is in a Minor Order, often Cleric, unless they are ordained in a Holy Order.

The Church recognises and respects the ordinations of other churches and will therefore incardinate clergy from other denominations even if they are not in the Apostolic Succession, for example a Methodist, Baptist, or URC minister incardinating to serve under OCAC in the role of Pastor. Where appropriate, joining clergy can be ordained sub-conditionally to impart Apostolic Succession or add to their pastoral authority.

Religious Orders and Societies

The church has a number of Religious Orders and Societies which help members to focus on their calling in a charism they feel comfortable with as they serve in their ministries.

• Order of Saints Francis & Clare – Franciscan
• Benedictine Order of the Holy Spirit – Benedictine
• Order of Our Lady of Mount Carmel – Carmelite
• Order of Ave Maria – Marian

There are also Redemptorist, Augustinian, and other orders too, open to members of other denominations as well as OCAC.

Doctrine

The Old Catholic Apostolic Church believes that:

• God is Love;
• God is expressed as Trinity: God the Creator, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. Three, but One and Indivisible;
• The Bible is the central and most important scripture;
• Sacraments are an outward sign of inner grace. Mass (also called Eucharist) is the most important, the others being baptism, confirmation, unction, matrimony, absolution, and Holy Orders;
• We should forgive sins, as Jesus said: "Seventy times seven..."
• Evil exists and is of Satan;
• Prayer is central to our daily lives;
• Each one of us must have an active expression of ministry;
• No one of us is able to judge another person; that is for God. We are called to judge situations and circumstances and always act as we believe Christ would want us to;
• We must treat others, at all times, no matter who they are, with respect and love; and
• We are Christian and Catholic in the widest sense and stand alongside all our Christian brothers and sisters.

Sacraments

Sacraments are central to all that the Church does, but the emphasis of their serving is an outward expression of faith. Clergy celebrate sacraments in their own private oratories or chapels, or in buildings rented for the purpose or used by other denominations. The "public facing" part of their ministry is essentially in places that are not consecrated worship spaces; as in hospital chaplaincy, industrial or service chaplaincy, street preaching, Christian broadcasting, etc. Celebrant type services are held involving sacraments, and sometimes shared sacraments are held when clergy are invited to visit other denominations' services.

OCAC is a broad Church with some clergy coming from a High Church or Catholic or Orthodox background, and others coming from an Apostolic church background – more a free church background and this is reflected in the sacraments each clergy member holds. The Church welcomes the use of the historic Liberal Catholic Mass, as well as modern and contemporary liturgies. OCAC offers sacraments appropriate to the circumstances in chaplaincy situations and respects and accepts the sacraments of other denominations even where they vary in form as long as the sacrament was enacted and received in faith and clear conscience.

Liturgy

The church allows, encourages even, the use of a wide range of liturgy and it is up to the clergy celebrating to choose the liturgy they feel most appropriate for their circumstances. OCAC has resources available on the Church website which are available for the public to use as well as OCAC clergy, but does not have an "official" service book or missal as some other churches do.

Social and cultural issues

The Old Catholic Apostolic Church brings the Christian faith to today’s world as the first Apostles did in Acts 2 of the Bible. The clergy of the Church are all non-stipendiary and for the most part, part-time, holding other interests or secular work, and are well placed to engage with and challenge social and cultural issues. The clergy of the Church are experienced in many disciplines and situations. They come from many backgrounds and the clergy are diverse: male, female, married, and of many backgrounds and orientations. The Church prays with and advises on numerous matters affecting people, especially Christians in today's world. OCAC identifies as a Christian body without restricting ‘narrow’ definitions like "Protestant" or "Catholic" and has clergy from a wide range of traditions and theological views.

References

This article "Old Catholic Apostolic Church" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Old Catholic Apostolic Church. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.

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