We of Christ's Apostolic Old Catholic Church of the Americas and the Polish Old Catholic Rite of North America, acknowledging the expediency of formally setting forth for the benefit of all inquirers the fundamental tenets of our belief and practice, offer the following statements as representative of the consensus among our members:
The first and foremost objective and aim of this Church is the salvation and sanctification of its people. A person is sanctified when he/she follows the guidance of the Church and uses the spiritual means which the Church receives from God through Jesus Christ our Lord, "for there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus" (1 Timothy 2:5).
By divine imperative the sacred mission of this Church is to carry the light of Jesus Christ before the people, constantly reminding them that their aim is to live in the spirit of God, in truth, love and righteousness, seeking the truth by reading and studying the Holy Scriptures with the aid of the accumulated wisdom of the ages.
The most fervent desire and prayer of this Church is to emulate Jesus Christ in fulfilling obligations toward God, family, nation and society. This Church's ideal and dream is to build for its people and all others united with them a hearth around which they can rally, warm and strengthen themselves in their religious belief.
The principles of this Church are an expression of the convictions of those who believe that the salvation of mankind and their personal realtionship to God cannot be the object of bargaining and cannot be forced upon mankind but must flow from the free conscience of the individual.
This Church is a voluntary union of those who recognize the religious principles of this Church as the norms and rules of their lives. This Church teaches and professes all of the religious truths which God revealed, Jesus proclaimed, and the Apostles and their successors established as the foundation of the Christian Catholic Faith, namely: that God created the world; that each person needs for his/her perfection, happiness and salvation God's gift of divine grace; that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world; that the human soul is immortal; and that through the Holy Spirit God governs the Church and enables it to regenerate and convert human society and to unite it under one Shepherd, Christ Jesus our Lord. In this manner the kingdom of God on earth is realized.
The religious principle of this Church is the teaching that the Church cannot save a person without his/her sincere, personal cooperation with God. This Church teaches that the wisdom of God sanctifies and helps humanity in the fulfillment of its mission and the attainment of its goal on earth. A living faith in God and good works flowing from that faith will save human kind. The Church of Christ leads us to know the Truth and to salvation.
The most important objective of this Church, as the Catholic Church of Christ, is to maintain, enrich and develop the life of God in the soul of its people. To help persons know God and His holy Being so that from this knowledge and understanding may flow blessing, light, love, strength and inner satisfaction which no individual or thing can give, except God.
As a nucleus of Christ's revelation, the above statements are to us worthy religious truths concerning God, the individual, state, nation, and all mankind. It is therefore, necessary to know and fulfill them. These Christian truths recorded and expounded by the prophets and taught by the Apostles and other great disciples of the Divine Master of Nazareth were adhered to by saintly and noble people for over two thousand years.
The Apostolic Succession of our Bishop is of unquestionable validity and is derived from Rome through the Episcopacy of the Old Catholic Church, The Orthodox Church of Antioch, and the Catholic Apostolic Church of Brazil.
We declare our belief in the necessity of the government of the Church by Apostolic Succession. The primacy of Episcopal Government being Conciliar rather than Papal, as it was in the Ancient and Undivided Christian Church prior to 1054AD. That is, to say, all bishops are equal in authority. One bishop cannot speak for all others; all bishops must speak for themselves; with only a synod or council able to silence an individual bishop. As St. Jerome, an early Father of the Church says; "We must not believe that the city of Rome is a different Church than that of the whole world. Gaul, Britain, Africa, Persia, the East, India, all the barbarous nations, adore Jesus Christ and observe one and the same rule of truth. If one is looking for authority, the world is greater than one city. Wherever there is a bishop, be it at Rome or at Eugubium, at Constantinople or at Rhegium, at Alexandria or at Tanis, he has the same authority, the same merit, because he has the same priesthood. The power that riches give, and the lowest state to which poverty reduces, render a bishop neither greater or less."
We revere the Pope as Bishop of Rome, Patriarch of the West and First among Equals. Of this there is no doubt. However, there is a great deal of difference between primacy and infallibility and in universal episcopacy. Hence, this Church does not accept the doctrines of Papal Infallibility or Papal Universal Episcopacy. We do not accept these errors because they were not proclaimed by the whole of Christendom in full Ecumenical Council, but only proclaimed by councils of Rome and therefore only binding on Roman Catholics. We give due honor and respect to the office and authority of the Holy Father as do all other Bishops and Patriarchs of Christendom.
1 We believe in Almighty God, the cause of all existence, in a Being who permeates the universe and is the source of its life and development, both material as well as spiritual and moral. In relation to humanity, God reveals Himself through His creative power, His inexpressable wisdom, His provident influence on the formation of the destiny of individual man, nations, states and all of humanity. In a more particular way, God as the Spirit of Life, Light and Goodness, influences chosen spirits of nations, who in a given epoch of human development, are the creative agents in the building of God's kingdom on earth. This direct influence of God is not limited to one nation, to one epoch, but is directed to all nations and times - for the purpose of stimulating life, progress and the attainment of the highest degree of culture by individual nations and all mankind.
2 We believe in Jesus Christ, the Savior and Spiritual Regenerator of the World.
3 We believe that Christ the Lord, was the Emissary of God, of one substance with Him, and as to humanity born of the humble woman Mary. We believe that this Nazarene Master revealed His divine mission on earth through His life, an unsurpassed ideal of goodness, wisdom and self sacrifice for others, especially for sinful and disinherited people; that by His work, teaching and sacrificial death, He became the glowing ember of a new life of mankind, taking its beginning and deriving its strength and fullness in knowing God, loving Him and fulfilling His Holy Will.
4 We believe that the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, rules the world in the natural as well as in the moral order; that all the laws of the universe, as well as those by which the soul of each individual and humanity as a whole are guided, are an emination of the will, goodness and righteousness of the Divine Being.
5 We believe that from the Holy Spirit flows grace, that is an invisible power which brings it to pass that, when a person cooperates and works in harmony with it, he/she becomes better, more perfect, better fitted for his/her tasks, a participant in the peace of heart and soul, until one day, through union with God in Eternity he/she finds infinite bliss and the fulfillment of his/her own being.
6 We believe in the need of uniting all followers of Christ's religion into the one body of God's Church, and that the Church of Christ, Apostolic and Universal, is the representation of this Divine community of mankind, which the Savior proclaimed for the realization of which all noble minded people labored, are still laboring and for which the soul of every person yearns, desiring truth, light, love, justice and consolation in God.
7 We believe that the Church of Christ is the true teacher of both individual person as well as of all human society, that it is, a steward of Divine Graces, a guide and a light in man's temporal pilgrimage to God and salvation; in so far as the followers and members of this Church, both Lay and Clergy, are united with the Divine Founder through faith and life proceeding from this faith.
8 We believe that every true Christian should take an active and vital part in the spiritual life of the Church, through the hearing of the Word of God, through receiving of the Holy Sacraments, through fulfilling the laws and regulations established by Christ and His Apostles, as defined and given to us by the Church.
9 We believe that all people as children of one Father, God, are equal in themselves; that privileges arising from differences in rank, from posession of immense riches or from differences of faith, sex and race, are a great wrong for they are a violation of the rights of men and women which they posess by their nature and the dignity of their divine origin, and are a barrier to the purposeful development of humanity.
10 We believe that all people have an equal right to life, happiness and those ways and means which lead to the preservation of existence, to advancement and salvation. We also believe, that all people have sacred obligations toward God, themselves, their nation and all of human society.
11 We believe in the ultimate justice of God, in a future life beyond the grave, which will be a continuation of this temporal life and which, as to its condition and degree of perfection and happiness is dependent on our present life, but above all on the state of our soul in the final hour before death.
12 We believe in immortality and everlasting happiness in eternity, in the union with God of all people, races and ages, because we believe in the Divine power of love, mercy and justice.
13 Ancient Christianity testifies that all Catholic Bishops are the true and equal successors of the Apostles.
(a) St. Augustine states the following: "Cum dicitur Petro, ad omnes dicitur, Pasce oves meas." (De Agone Christi 30). "When it is said to Peter, it is said to all: FEED MY SHEEP."
(b) St. Basil: "Omnes pastores et doctores ex aeque et ligant, et absolvunt, quem ad modum ille (Petrus). (In libello de Vita Soltaria cap. 23 II 755. Cfr. Jewel. Vol. II, p. 170). "All pastors (here is to be understood the bishops) and doctors equally have the same power to bind and absolve in the same manner as he (Peter)."
(c) St. Ambrose: "Tibi inquit, dabo claves regni coelorum, et ut solvas et ligas . . . quod Petro dicitur, apostolis dicitur" (PS. XXVIII n. 37). "To you he says, I will give the keys of the kingdom of heaven, so that you can bind and unbind . . . what he said to Peter, he said to the Apostles."
(d) St. Cyprian: "Hoc erant et caeteri apostoli quod fuit Petrus, pari consortio praediti et honoris et potestatis. Apostolis omnibus post resurrectionem suam postestatem tribuat." (Cyp. de Eln. Ecel. B., p. 93). "Be it understood, that the other Apostles were, just as Peter was, endowed with an equal fellowship of honor and power. After His resurrection, He gave equal power to all the Apostles."
(e) St. Cyril: "Petros kai loan nos isoti moi allelois." (Cnf. Papal Supremacy, p. 93 seq.). "Peter and John are equal to each other in honor."
(f) St. Chrysostom: "Poimaine ta' pro' bati mou . . ou' pros ieze'as touto monon eiretai, alla' kai pros ecaston emon ton kai micron, empepis teumenon poimnion." (In Mtt. Hom. LXXVIII, p. 749 B). "Feed my sheep is spoken not just to the hierarchy, but to every one of us to whom is entrusted a small flock."
14 Recognizing that absolute power leads inevitably to abuse of authority, the clergy of Christ's Apostolic Old Catholic Church of the Americas and the Polish Old Catholic Rite of North America is committed to a leadership of service rather than to one characterized by domination and control. To this end, we are dedicated to the establishment of and maintenance of a collegial ecclesiastical structure which, while preserving the traditional orders of Church governance, will allow for greater equality, for a more democratic process, for diversity in unity and unity in diversity, and which will allow the sensus fidelium to be heard. We are committed to an ecclesiastical policy which will genuinely allow the laity to take their rightful place in the government of the Church and which will give due respect to their gifts, to their intelligence, and to their human rights.
15 While acknowledging that celibacy is a great and noble gift, we affirm that this discipline need not be imposed upon those who desire to engage in sacrerdotal ministry. We observe that the discipline of mandatory clerical celibacy is an obstacle to the service of Christ and that this discipline prevents many from following the calling of our Lord. Therfore, in keeping with the practice of the early Church, we affirm the priestly vocations of married persons and freely admit married individuals into all ranks of the clergy.
16 In keeping with our affirmation of the full and equal dignity of all human persons, we are committed to a policy of admitting women to all ranks of the clergy. We cannot in any way accept either in a sacramental theology which declares that women cannot be a sacramental sign of Christ or an incarnational Christology which implicitly or explicitly declares maleness to be essential to the human nature of Jesus Christ. Such a theology not only questions the fullness of our Lord's humanity, it calls into question the humanity of women, the fullness of their baptism into Christ, even their very salvation. The discipline of excluding women from the sacerdotal ministry has caused many to lose their Christian faith entirely and is a policy which is no longer accepted.
17 Also in keeping with our respect for the full human dignity of all persons, we are committed to a policy which is more inclusive and which erects no artificial or illegitimate barriers to the reception of the Sacraments on the basis not only of gender but also of age, race, ethnic background or disability. We seek to embrace and to reconcile rather than to condemn and to alienate further those whose circumstances have caused them to experience rejection by the Church and by society at large. Thus, in accordance with our general policy of ecumenical openness and compassion for our sisters and brothers in Christ, we do not withhold the reception of sacraments from any qualified person who desires to receive them. In particular, we place no artificial barriers in the way to the reception of the Sacrament of Baptism when a parent sincerely desires that through this Sacrament a child be received into the Mystical Body of Christ.
18 Although we recognize the holiness of human sexuality and strongly affirm that children are a blessing to married life, we also recognize the sanctity of all life and the importance of remaining sensitive to the concerns of those who warn of the devastating effects of human overpopulation upon the entire ecology of the earth. In addition, we recognize the extreme hardship placed upon those whose resources are insufficient to provide adequately for additional family members. Therefore, mindful of those most in need of compassion and convinced that humankind must take responsibility for the overall quality of life on this planet, we cannot accept prohibitions on the use of medical means available for the prevention of unwanted pregnancy in the exercise of prudent family planning.
19 While we strongly affirm the sanctity of human life, we also affirm universal human rights as well as a person's individual responsibility before God concerning the quality of that life. We deplore the use of abortion as a means of birth control. We recognize unwanted pregnancy as a grave pastoral problem which must be handled with the utmost sensitivity and compassion.
20 We believe in the sanctity of human life, from conception to the grave. We therefore condemn the practice of euthanasia and capital punishment as murder and a grave offense to Almighty God. We also condemn the procedure known as Partial Birth Abortion as murder.
21 We agree with the Roman Catholic Church and the Greek Orthodox Churches that the psychosexual state of homosexuality, is morally neutral. We however teach without equivocation, as do both the Roman Catholic Church and Greek Orthodoxy that homosexual behavior is "objectively disordered" and against the will of God and places the soul in a sinful state. We recognize that this Catholic truth is very difficult for some homosexual persons who are Christians to accept and observe.
22 We affirm, honor and venerate the Blessed Mother. We defend, as did the Third Ecumenical Council, her right to be revered as the Mother of God. We celebrate the feast of her Dormition. We believe that she was cleansed of original sin and all sin at the moment the Holy Spirit overshadowed her. Regarding the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception and the Assumption which the Roman Catholic Church unilaterally and under the canon of papal infallibility declared to be dogmas, the Catholic Churches independent of the papacy - including Greek Orthodoxy - reject these beliefs as dogmas necessary for salvation. We therefore state that a personal belief in these doctrines is a matter of individual conscience and theological preference.
23 Scriptural basis for the doctrine of purgatory is not defended by the Orthodox. However, within the theological sense that purgatory is best understood as a process by which we are purged of our residual selfishness so that we can really become one with God who is totally oriented to others, belief in such a doctrine is a matter of individual conscience and spiritual preference.
24 We believe that the veneration (not worship) of sacred images and icons is in keeping with the practice and tradition of the Early Church, as defined by the Seventh Ecumenical Council (Nicea II 787AD). We therefore allow such veneration and honor by the faithful of sacred icons and images in the Church without fear of idolatry.
25 We believe that the Gifts of the Holy Spirit can be manifested in the lives of all Christians today in the same way as was evidenced in the lives of the Blessed Apostles and Disciples on the day of Pentecost. However, to say that these Gifts must necessarily be manifested on a regular basis and in common fashion in order to be indicative of personal salvation or the in-dwelling of the Holy Spirit is contrary to proper interpretation of the Scriptures and we summarily reject all such notions.
26 Christ's Apostolic Old Catholic Church of the Americas and the Polish Old Catholic Rite of North America celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass following the Gul-Mathew Tridentine Liturgy.
27 We affirm that the Church has power to decree Rights and Ceremonies, and authority in controversies of Faith; and yet it is not lawful for the Church to ordain anything that is contrary to God's written Word, neither may it so expound one place to Scripture that it may be repugnant to another. Wherefore, although the Church is a witness and a keeper of Holy Writ, yet, as it ought not to decree anything against the same, so besides the same ought it not to enforce anything to be believed for necessity of salvation.
In no respect do we intend in these or in any future statements to separate ourselves from the Mystical Body of Christ. We earnestly hope and pray that a time will soon come when authentic Christian unity may be achieved. In the meantime, we are building a Church which strongly affirms the equal human dignity of all persons, one which recognizes the importance of adopting a more humanitarian pastoral approach, one which honors both tradition and contemporary thought. We desire to focus upon the positive values shared by others and are more interested in being for someone rather than against something. It is thus with a sense of hopefulness that we look toward the future and embrace the challenges of the twenty-first century as we strive to uphold the essentials of our Catholic Faith and heritage.
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