Christ Our Savior Old Catholic Cathedral Parish

THE OLD CATHOLIC DIOCESE OF MICHIGAN

Christ Our Savior Old Catholic Cathedral Parish is a valid Christian Catholic Alternative. The Old Catholic Church is very much a part of of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic faith referenced in the Nicene Creed. The Old Catholic Church is One, as its member communities believe in the One Triune God and in Jesus Christ, Who is the Head of the Church. It is Holy because its Founder, Our Lord Jesus Christ is Holy. Furthermore, its mission, the salvation of humankind is Holy, achieved through the Sacraments, which are Holy institutions. This Church is Catholic or Universal, as it adheres to and teaches the entire Gospel of Jesus Christ as He left it. This Gospel is everlasting and unchanging. Finally, the Old Catholic Church is Apostolic, as its spirit of instruction, authority and institutions are founded in Apostolic traditions.

Old Catholics are a historic part of the Ancient Catholic Church of the Netherlands. The area of Europe known as the Low Countries was missionized by St. Willibrord in the Seventh Century. who firmly established the Catholic Faith and tradition in the Netherlands and other countries in that region. Initially, three principle dioceses were established in the cities of Utrecht, Deventer and Haarlem to administer the affairs of the Church in the territory. Utrecht eventually became the archepiscopal See with supervision over Deventer and Haarlem.

Following the First Vatican Council in 1870, a considerable dissent arose among Catholics, especially in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, over the dogma of papal infallibility. These dissenters, while holding the Church in General Council to be infallible, could not accept the position that the Pope, acting alone, in matters of faith and morals is infallible. As a result, many formed independent communities that came to be known as Old Catholic. They are called Old Catholic because they sought to adhere to the beliefs and practices of the Catholic Church reflected in the post-Apostolic era, that is, the first two centuries of the early church. The Old Catholic communities came under the authority of the Archbishop of Utrecht who consecrated their first bishops.

The Rule of Faith of the Old Catholics is steadfast devotion to the Sacred Scripture, Apostolic Tradition, and the declarations and doctrinal formulations of the Ecumenical Councils held prior to the Great Schism between the Churches of the West (Rome) and East (Constantinople) in 1054 AD. The main dogmas of these Councils focus on the Trinity and the human and divine nature of Christ.

In order for the Church to perform its salvific mission, Christ entrusted the ministry to His Apostles. This is a divine right. This ministry is transmitted by the imposition of hands and with the invocation of the Holy Spirit. All the faithful participate in a in a general priesthood which they receive through Baptism and Confirmation.

We believe that Christ's death and resurrection liberate us from sin. His actions enable us to enter into a divine alliance. The Sacramental life of the Church continues Christ's salvific work on our behalf. Through the action of the Holy Spirit, we become co-operators with God, on Whose authority we share in His life and divine action, and are made holy. We comply with salvation through faith, faith which manifests itself in love.

All members of the Church are saints by the grace of Christ. Among these are individuals who have distinguished themselves and attained a level of perfection. The Church venerates them, celebrates their memory, and turns to them for their intercession for the Church on earth. In particular, we profess the doctrine proclaimed by the third ecumenical council that Mary is the virgin Mother of God, entitling her to special veneration and love.

The Sacraments of the Old Catholic Church are: Baptism, Confirmation, the Holy Eucharist, Penance, Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders, and Matrimony. The most important of these are Baptism and the Holy Eucharist. Baptism is the sacrament in which the redemptive death of Christ remits our sins and regenerates us into a new life with God by the action of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Eucharist is a sacred meal through which the unique sacrifice of Christ is represented and brought to the present. The faithful who receive this sacrament partake in the Body and Blood of Christ. In the Eucharist species, Christ is totally present. The person who receives the Eucharist with faith, enters into communion with Christ and all those who are redeemed.

Penance is the sacrament through which those who have faith and desire to repent, receive pardon for all sins committed since their Baptism. This sacrament is administered in the form of a general confession of the people in the presence of a priest, or in private confession between penitent and a priest.

In matters of discipline, administration and procedure, Old Catholics differ from the Roman Catholic Church in a number of salient ways. For example, clerical celibacy is optional among the old Catholic communities. Celibacy was not mandatory in the Roman Church until the turn of the first millenium. At that time, it began to be promoted as a means of ensuring priestly piety and zeal for the Church. It was also encouraged so clergy would not be hesitant to follow a call to ministry if it would be difficult to take a family along. Priestly celibacy does not arise from some scriptural mandate. Jesus healed Peter's mother-in-law, consequently Peter must have been married. Old Catholics choose to follow the example of the Apostles as recorded in the Bible, and allow individuals to respond to God's call fully in the case of both marriage and ministry.

Second Vatican Council, while still maintaining a Tridentine Liturgy. Eastern Rite Old Catholic Parishes exist as well, and follow the ancient liturgies of Sts. John Chrysostom, Basil the Great and Tikhon.

As many Old Catholic communities are small, they are able to successfully implement the Ignatian model of the Church. St. Ignatius viewed the faithful with their clergy and bishop as a community or family in loving concern for each other, and working together to fulfill the Scriptural commands in their daily lives as Christians, bringing the love of Christ to others. Old Catholic communities utilize their size and lack of highly detailed structure to the very best advantage organizationally by their ability to expedite decisions affecting the sacramental and community life of the faithful; within the revelation and authority of Holy Scripture and Apostolic Tradition.

There are other administrative and procedural elements which differentiate Old Catholic communities from their Roman Catholic brethren. As a number of Old Catholic clergy are gainfully employed in a profession or trade, they contribute substantially to their own financial support and rely less on their respective congregations for such. This is consistent with the Apostolic practices of the early Christian Church up to the fourth century. The matter of papal infallibility and jurisdictional power, as defined by the First Vatican Council in 1870, is really a non-issue for Old Catholics, since we are independent of papal jurisdiction. Old Catholics accord the Holy Father that respect due him as the successor of St. Peter, Patriarch of the West, the "first among equals" of all Catholic Bishops. We adhere to the teaching from Apostolic times that the Church in General Council is infallible. We believe that divorced individuals who remarry should be treated in a pastoral manner and not excluded from the sacramental life of the Church. The matter of contraception is treated as an issue of personal conscience between husband, wife and God. Old Catholic theology recognizes that the Church's teaching authority has two fundamental objectives: the formulation of conscience, in which case, authority is guiding but not directive.

As Catholic Christians and as members of the Mystical Body of Christ, we find that we cannot in good conscience confess the following disciplines as essential to Catholic Faith, morals, and practices: for a more detailed explanation of these as well as added information about the Cathedral Parish, the presiding Bishop, and the range of services provided (with photographs) click here.