Old Catholic Church of the Netherlands

See the article on Ultrajectinism
Ultrajectine
Ultrajectine defines the tradition of the Old Catholic Church of the Netherlands headquartered at the city of Utrecht in the Netherlands. It is used to describe the anti-Papal-Primacy and Jansenist tendency of that independent church and its sister churches, which were founded in later centuries ....

for a more detailed description of historical and theological events.

The Old Catholic Church of the Netherlands; , is the mother church related to the Old Catholic Church

Old Catholic Church

The term Old Catholic Church is commonly used to describe a number of Ultrajectine Christian churches that originated with groups that split from the Roman Catholic Church over certain doctrines, most importantly that of Papal Infallibility...

es. It is sometimes called Ancient Catholic Church, Church of Utrecht (Ultrajectine Church
Ultrajectine
Ultrajectine defines the tradition of the Old Catholic Church of the Netherlands headquartered at the city of Utrecht in the Netherlands. It is used to describe the anti-Papal-Primacy and Jansenist tendency of that independent church and its sister churches, which were founded in later centuries ....

) or Dutch Roman Catholic Church of the Old Episcopal Order. In the past Roman Catholic and Jesuit, critics tended to call it the Jansenist Church of Holland.

Early history

St. Willibrord

Willibrord

__notoc__Willibrord was a Northumbrian missionary saint, known as the "Apostle to the Frisians" in the modern Netherlands...

evangelized the Netherlands, bringing Catholicism

Catholicism

Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....

to the country, in the 7th century. Willibrord had been consecrated by Pope Sergius I

Pope Sergius I

Pope Saint Sergius I was pope from 687 to 701. Selected to end a schism between Antipope Paschal and Antipope Theodore, Sergius I ended the last disputed sede vacante of the Byzantine Papacy....

in 696 in Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

. In 1145 Pope Eugene III

Pope Eugene III

Pope Blessed Eugene III , born Bernardo da Pisa, was Pope from 1145 to 1153. He was the first Cistercian to become Pope.-Early life:...

granted the Cathedral Chapter of Utrecht

Utrecht (city)

Utrecht city and municipality is the capital and most populous city of the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, and is the fourth largest city of the Netherlands with a population of 312,634 on 1 Jan 2011.Utrecht's ancient city centre features...

the right to elect bishop

Bishop

A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...

s, after such had been requested by the Holy Roman Emperor

Holy Roman Emperor

The Holy Roman Emperor is a term used by historians to denote a medieval ruler who, as German King, had also received the title of "Emperor of the Romans" from the Pope...

Conrad III

Conrad III of Germany

Conrad III was the first King of Germany of the Hohenstaufen dynasty. He was the son of Frederick I, Duke of Swabia, and Agnes, a daughter of the Salian Emperor Henry IV.-Life and reign:...

and Bishop Heribert of Utrecht. The Fourth Lateran Council confirmed this in 1215. Pope Leo X

Pope Leo X

Pope Leo X , born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, was the Pope from 1513 to his death in 1521. He was the last non-priest to be elected Pope. He is known for granting indulgences for those who donated to reconstruct St. Peter's Basilica and his challenging of Martin Luther's 95 Theses...

issued the papal bull

Papal bull

A Papal bull is a particular type of letters patent or charter issued by a Pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the bulla that was appended to the end in order to authenticate it....

Debitum Pastoralis in 1520 giving extraordinary powers to Philip of Burgundy, 57th Bishop of Utrecht, essentially removing the ability of any external authority to "in the first instance, have his cause evoked to any external tribunal, not even under pretense of any apostolic letters whatever; and that all such proceedings should be, ipso facto, null and void".

Reformation and Jansenism

Forced into hiding during the Reformation

Protestant Reformation

The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...

, the Roman Catholic Church of the Netherlands continued to thrive, even eventually obtaining a comfortable enough status with the local authorities so as to allow it to practice Catholicism as long as this did not take place in public or semi-public buildings and areas. The popes appointed Apostolic Vicars to Utrecht

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Utrecht

The Archdiocese of Utrecht is an archdiocese of the Catholic Church in the Netherlands. The archdiocese is the metropolitan for 6 suffragans, the dioceses of Breda, Groningen-Leeuwarden, Haarlem-Amsterdam, Roermond, Rotterdam, and 's-Hertogenbosch....

, while the other sees remained vacant since the dissolution of diocesan structures due to the reformation. Strangely, despite the Debitum Pastoralis and the waivers it provided, in 1692 the Dutch ancient Church came under persecution from counter-reformist Jesuits, who, despite opposition to this from Rome, accused Petrus Codde, Apostolic Vicar of Utrecht and the Dutch Republic, of favouring the Jansenist heresy

Heresy

Heresy is a controversial or novel change to a system of beliefs, especially a religion, that conflicts with established dogma. It is distinct from apostasy, which is the formal denunciation of one's religion, principles or cause, and blasphemy, which is irreverence toward religion...

. Pope Innocent XII

Pope Innocent XII

Pope Innocent XII , born Antonio Pignatelli, was Pope from 1691 to 1700.-Biography:He was born in Spinazzola to one of the most aristocratic families of the Kingdom of Naples, which included many Viceroys, and ministers to the crown, and was educated at the Jesuit college in Rome.In his twentieth...

appointed a Commission of Cardinal

Cardinal (Catholicism)

A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...

s who started an investigation of Archbishop Codde, ending in exoneration. In 1700 Archbishop Codde was summoned to Rome and brought before a second commission appointed by Pope Clement XI

Pope Clement XI

Pope Clement XI , born Giovanni Francesco Albani, was Pope from 1700 until his death in 1721.-Early life:...

. After another acquittal, Clement XI suspended Codde in 1701 and appointed a successor, Gerard Potcamp, to the See of Utrecht.

This was not a popular decision in Holland, culminating in a demand by the Dutch for the return of Codde, and the refusal to accept his successor by a large part of the clergy. Codde returned to Utrecht in June of 1703 and formally resigned — protesting the circumstance — in a pastoral letter of March 19, 1704. He died on December 18, 1710.

Shortly before the controversy concerning Codde, the Netherlands and its Catholic clergy had become a refuge for a number of well-known dissenting priests from France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

and Belgium

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

, who were persecuted due to accusations of Jansenism

Jansenism

Jansenism was a Christian theological movement, primarily in France, that emphasized original sin, human depravity, the necessity of divine grace, and predestination. The movement originated from the posthumously published work of the Dutch theologian Cornelius Otto Jansen, who died in 1638...

and because of their anti-Roman views on jurisdiction.

Lacking an archbishop in partibus infidelium, the Dutch Church was able to arrange for an Irish

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

bishop, Luke Fagan, Bishop of Meath

Bishop of Meath

The Bishop of Meath is an episcopal title which takes its name after the ancient Kingdom of Meath. In the Roman Catholic Church it remains as a separate title, but in the Church of Ireland it has been united with another bishopric.-History:...

(later Archbishop of Dublin

Archbishop of Dublin (Roman Catholic)

The Archbishop of Dublin is the title of the senior cleric who presides over the Archdiocese of Dublin. The Church of Ireland has a similar role, heading the United Dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough. In both cases, the Archbishop is also Primate of Ireland...

), to ordain priests for the see of Utrecht. The canonical matters arising from the supposed Roman violations of Debitum Pastoralis led to the case being brought before the Pontifical Roman Catholic University of Leuven (Southern Brabant

Duchy of Brabant

The Duchy of Brabant was a historical region in the Low Countries. Its territory consisted essentially of the three modern-day Belgian provinces of Flemish Brabant, Walloon Brabant and Antwerp, the Brussels-Capital Region and most of the present-day Dutch province of North Brabant.The Flag of...

) in May of 1717, which found in favour of Utrecht, but was unable to resolve the matter with Rome; this led to a de facto autonomous Catholic church in the Netherlands. Finally in 1723 dissatisfied Dutch clergy elected Cornelius van Steenoven as Archbishop of Utrecht

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Utrecht

. He was consecrated (without a papal mandate) by Dominique Marie Varlet, who had been consecrated by the pope as Coadjutor Bishop of Babylon, (a titular see i.e. a diocese in name only), who was visiting the Netherlands

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

. Varlet also agreed to confirm

Chrismation

Chrismation is the name given in Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Catholic churches, as well as in the Assyrian Church of the East, Anglican, and in Lutheran initiation rites, to the Sacrament or Sacred Mystery more commonly known in the West as confirmation, although Italian...

children and to support the Dutch clergy, as he was sympathetic to their position. Both consecrator and consecrated incurred the penalty of suspension and excommunication for illicit episcopal consecration (only punished by a suspension at the time and until 1950), and because of illegitimately claiming a diocesan see of jurisdiction without the permission of the Roman Pontiff (punished by excommunication). Bishop Varlet was later reconciled to Rome

Rome

, even though he subsequently consecrated four bishops for the Independent Ultrajectine

Ultrajectine

Ultrajectine defines the tradition of the Old Catholic Church of the Netherlands headquartered at the city of Utrecht in the Netherlands. It is used to describe the anti-Papal-Primacy and Jansenist tendency of that independent church and its sister churches, which were founded in later centuries ....

Church, which would become known as 'Old Catholic' after 1853. Van Steenoven after his consecration autonomously, and from the Roman view point illegitimately, appointed bishops to the vacant Dutch sees of Deventer

Deventer

Deventer is a municipality and city in the Salland region of the Dutch province of Overijssel. Deventer is largely situated on the east bank of the river IJssel, but also has a small part of its territory on the west bank. In 2005 the municipality of Bathmen Deventer is a municipality and city in...

, Haarlem

Haarlem

Haarlem is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of North Holland, the northern half of Holland, which at one time was the most powerful of the seven provinces of the Dutch Republic...

and Groningen.

Most Dutch Catholics nevertheless continued to follow the pope

Pope

The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...

and accepted his newly appointed Apostolic Vicars at Utrecht

Utrecht (city)

as well as the later official Roman Catholic hierarchy established in 1853, when Catholicism was allowed in the public sphere again after two and a half centuries of secret and private religious worship.

Vatican I

After Pope Pius IX

Pope Pius IX

Blessed Pope Pius IX , born Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti, was the longest-reigning elected Pope in the history of the Catholic Church, serving from 16 June 1846 until his death, a period of nearly 32 years. During his pontificate, he convened the First Vatican Council in 1869, which decreed papal...

reestablished a Catholic hierarchy in Holland in 1853, the breakaway Church of Utrecht adopted the name "Old Catholic Church" to distinguish itself from the newly created Roman hierarchy by its seniority in Holland. In 1870 Vatican I was convened, and the bishops of the Church of Utrecht were not invited because they were not seen as being in communion with the Holy See

Holy See

The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...

. At the Vatican I, papal primacy in jurisdiction and the dogma of papal infallibility

Papal infallibility

Papal infallibility is a dogma of the Catholic Church which states that, by action of the Holy Spirit, the Pope is preserved from even the possibility of error when in his official capacity he solemnly declares or promulgates to the universal Church a dogmatic teaching on faith or morals...

were defined, to the objection of the Old Catholic Church of Utrecht and some communities in Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

and Switzerland

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

. Several separate communities were formed at this time, seeking to practice pre-Vatican I Catholic ideas. Since no Roman Catholic bishops left over the issues, these communities sought apostolic succession from the Old Catholic Archbishop of Utrecht, thus leading to the formation of the Utrecht Union of Churches

Utrecht Union

The Union of Utrecht is a federation of Old Catholic Churches, not in communion with Rome, that seceded from the Roman Catholic Church over the issue of Papal infallibility. The Declaration of Utrecht solidified this movement in 1889...

, and the final adoption of the name "Old Catholic" by these German speaking communities.

Doctrine

Perhaps the most fundamental positions of the Old Catholic Church are its claim to apostolic succession

Apostolic Succession

Apostolic succession is a doctrine, held by some Christian denominations, which asserts that the chosen successors of the Twelve Apostles, from the first century to the present day, have inherited the spiritual, ecclesiastical and sacramental authority, power, and responsibility that were...

and to being legally separate from the Roman Catholic Church

Roman Catholic Church

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

.

The churches of the Union of Utrecht have been in communion with the Church of England

Church of England

The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...

since 1931. The Polish National Catholic Church

Polish National Catholic Church

The Polish National Catholic Church is a Christian church founded and based in the United States by Polish-Americans who were Roman Catholic. The PNCC is a breakaway Catholic Church in dialogue with the Catholic Church; it seeks full communion with the Holy See although it differs theologically...

was part of the Union and also in communion with the Episcopal Church in the United States. The PNCC left the Union of Utrecht and broke communion with the Episcopal Church over the issues of the ordination of women and openly gay clergy.

Old Catholics have celebrated Mass in the vernacular virtually since their foundation, even if not everywhere, doing so as early as the 18th century in Utrecht. They reject the Roman Catholic dogmas of the Immaculate Conception

Immaculate Conception

The Immaculate Conception of Mary is a dogma of the Roman Catholic Church, according to which the Virgin Mary was conceived without any stain of original sin. It is one of the four dogmata in Roman Catholic Mariology...

and Assumption of Mary

Assumption of Mary

According to the belief of Christians of the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, and parts of the Anglican Communion and Continuing Anglicanism, the Assumption of Mary was the bodily taking up of the Virgin Mary into Heaven at the end of her life...

as well as papal infallibility. Their practice of private confession

Confession

This article is for the religious practice of confessing one's sins.Confession is the acknowledgment of sin or wrongs...

has fallen into disuse in most areas. Since 1878 Old Catholic clergy have been allowed to marry at any time. It would also seem that, by the beginning of the 20th century, the Eucharist

Eucharist

The Eucharist , also called Holy Communion, the Sacrament of the Altar, the Blessed Sacrament, the Lord's Supper, and other names, is a Christian sacrament or ordinance...

ic fast

FAST

-Primary meanings:Fast may refer to:* Fast as in high speed or velocity, may be used with anything that has a speed.* Fasting, abstaining from foodSlang:* Fast, a slang term for someone who is sexually promiscuous-Sports:...

had been abandoned, along with Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament

Blessed Sacrament

The Blessed Sacrament, or the Body and Blood of Christ, is a devotional name used in the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Catholic Churches, Old Catholic, Anglican, and Lutheran churches, to refer to the Host after it has been consecrated in the sacrament of the Eucharist...

and the veneration of the saints: in his declaration of ecclesial independence of December 29, 1910 Arnold Harris Mathew wrote to the Old Catholics of Utrecht deploring the lack of these practices amongst Old Catholics on the European continent.

The main bodies of the Old Catholics are theologically progressive

Progressivism

Progressivism is an umbrella term for a political ideology advocating or favoring social, political, and economic reform or changes. Progressivism is often viewed by some conservatives, constitutionalists, and libertarians to be in opposition to conservative or reactionary ideologies.The...

. The Dutch Old Catholics since 1998 have allowed women to enter the priesthood and, for a long time, have allowed divorce

Divorce

Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...

. Since the beginning of the 20th century, some Roman Catholic priests who have been unable to accept certain Roman Catholic disciplines or doctrines have joined the Old Catholic Church, often in order to marry.

Whilst the vernacular

Vernacular

A vernacular is the native language or native dialect of a specific population, as opposed to a language of wider communication that is not native to the population, such as a national language or lingua franca.- Etymology :The term is not a recent one...

was introduced at a very early stage, external rites remained very Catholic, and the prayers of Mass

Mass

Mass can be defined as a quantitive measure of the resistance an object has to change in its velocity.In physics, mass commonly refers to any of the following three properties of matter, which have been shown experimentally to be equivalent:...

still emphasized sacrificial intention. Although distinct from the Roman Catholic Church

Roman Catholic Church

, since the 1960s most Old Catholics in communion with Utrecht have followed the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council

Second Vatican Council

The Second Vatican Council addressed relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the modern world. It was the twenty-first Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church and the second to be held at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. It opened under Pope John XXIII on 11 October 1962 and closed...

, which met periodically from 1962 to 1965.

Old Catholic Archbishops of Utrecht

The Metropolitan Archbishop of Utrecht (not to be confused with the Roman Catholic prelate

Prelate

A prelate is a high-ranking member of the clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin prælatus, the past participle of præferre, which means "carry before", "be set above or over" or "prefer"; hence, a prelate is one set over others.-Related...

who holds the same title) is the leader of the Old Catholic Church of the Netherlands, and chairman of its governing bodies. He is also ex-officio the Primate

Primate

A primate is a mammal of the order Primates , which contains prosimians and simians. Primates arose from ancestors that lived in the trees of tropical forests; many primate characteristics represent adaptations to life in this challenging three-dimensional environment...

(primes inter pares leader) of the entire Old Catholic Church. The current Archbishop is Joris Vercammen

Joris Vercammen

Archbishop Joris Vercammen is the current Old Catholic Primate and Archbishop of Utrecht of the Old Catholic Church of the Netherlands.-Life and career:Joris August Odilius Ludovicus Vercammen was born in Lier, Belgium, in 1952....

, a former Roman Catholic, and a prominent churchman who serves on the central committee of the World Council of Churches

World Council of Churches

The World Council of Churches is a worldwide fellowship of 349 global, regional and sub-regional, national and local churches seeking unity, a common witness and Christian service. It is a Christian ecumenical organization that is based in the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, Switzerland...

. Individual national or regional Old Catholic churches maintain a degree of autonomy, similar to the practice of the Anglican Communion

Anglican Communion

The Anglican Communion is an international association of national and regional Anglican churches in full communion with the Church of England and specifically with its principal primate, the Archbishop of Canterbury...

, so that each diocese

Diocese

A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...

of the Old Catholic Union of Utrecht has a diocesan bishop

Bishop

, and countries with more than one diocese have a bishop who is appointed 'bishop in charge' (or similar title). All, however, recognise the Archbishop of Utrecht as Primate.

Cornelius van Steenoven (1723–25)
Cornelius Johannes Barchman Wuytiers (1725–33)
Theodorus van der Croon (1734–39)
Petrus Johannes Meindaerts (1739–67)
Walter van Nieuwenhuisen (1768–97)
Johannes Jacobus van Rhijn (1797–1808)
Willibrord van Os (1814–25)
Johannes van Santen (1825–58)
Henricus Loos (1858–73)
Johannes Heijkamp (1875–92)
Gerardus Gul
Gerardus Gul
Gerardus Gul was a bishop of the Old Catholic Church of the Netherlands. He was consecrated Archbishop of Utrecht 11 May 1892. Many Old Catholics and Independent Catholics trace the lineage of their orders through him....

(1892–1920)
Franciscus Kenninck (1920–37)
Andreas Rinkel (1937–70)
Marinus Kok (1970–82)
Antonius Jan Glazemaker (1982–2000)
Joris August Odilius Ludovicus Vercammen (2000–pres.)

External links

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