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. The Union of Utrecht is in full communion with the Anglican Communion, as per the Bonn Agreement of 1931, and with the Philippine Independent Church. The Old Catholic Church is a community of Christian churches. ... In Catholic theology, papal infallibility is the dogma that, by action of the Holy Spirit, the Pope is preserved from even the possibility of error when he solemnly declares or promulgates to the Church a dogmatic teaching on faith or morals as being contained in divine revelation, or at least... Full communion is completeness of that relationship between Christian individuals and groups which is known as communion. ... The Anglican Communion uses the compass rose as its symbol, signifying its worldwide reach and decentralized nature. ... The Bonn Agreement of 1931 is a document that established full communion between the Anglican churches and the Old Catholic Churches of the Union of Utrecht, including the Old Catholic Church of the Netherlands. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Theology and practices

The Old Catholic Churches reject the doctrine of papal infallibility. Thus they reject doctrines which have been promulgated in the Roman Catholic Church by such means, including the Immaculate Conception and Assumption of Mary. Regarding the Eucharist, they believe that "we receive the Body and Blood of our Saviour Jesus Christ under the species of bread and wine". Mary, mother of Jesus as the Immaculate Conception. ... The Assumption has been a subject of Christian art for centuries. ...

The Old Catholic Churches tend to be more liberal than the Roman Catholic Church. Many churches of the Union ordain women to the priesthood. Dr. Angela Berlis was the first woman priest in the Union, ordained in 1996. In addition, the churches of the Netherlands, Germany, Austria and Switzerland offer the blessing of same-sex unions. The individual's conscience in ethical matters is stressed. Private confession is not mandatory and contraception is discretionary. The blessing of same-sex unions is a practice officially sanctioned in some parishes of the Anglican Church of Canada and the Episcopal Church in the USA. It is also, according to the current Anglican Primate of Canada, widely practised in parishes of other churches of the Anglican Communion, without...

History

The mother church, the Old Catholic Church of the Netherlands, was established in the 18th century as a result of tensions between the local Catholic hierarchy and the Roman Curia. The other churches, such as the Catholic Diocese of the Old Catholics in Germany, and the Christian Catholic Church of Switzerland, followed suit after the First Vatican Council, which defined the dogma of papal infallibility. The Old Catholic Church of the Netherlands is the mother church related to the Old Catholic Churches, closely related to (and arguable the ancestor of) the Liberal Catholic Church. ... The Roman Curia — usually called the Vatican — is the administrative apparatus of the Holy See, coordinating and providing the necessary organisation for the correct functioning of the Catholic Church and the achievement of its goals. ... The Catholic Diocese of the Old Catholics in Germany is the German member body of the Union of Utrecht of the Old Catholic Churches. ... The Christian Catholic Church of Switzerland is the Swiss member church of the Union of Utrecht. ... The First Vatican Council was summoned by Pope Pius IX by the bull Aeterni Patris of June 29, 1868. ...

The Polish National Catholic Church in North America and the Old Catholic Church in Slovakia seceded from the Union in 2004 over the ordination of women and the blessing of same-sex unions. The Polish National Catholic Church (PNCC) is a former member of the Old Catholic Union of Utrecht and for much of that period was the only member church of the Union of Utrecht based outside Western or Central Europe (although it was not so when the Philippine Independent Church, also... In general religious use, ordination is the process by which one is consecrated (set apart for the undivided administration of various religious rites). ... The blessing of same-sex unions is a practice officially sanctioned in some parishes of the Anglican Church of Canada and the Episcopal Church in the USA. It is also, according to the current Anglican Primate of Canada, widely practised in parishes of other churches of the Anglican Communion, without...

External links

• Union of Utrecht of the Old Catholic Churches