About This Directory
Who is included?
The Editorial Committee lists those clerics and jurisdictions that are recognised Old Roman Catholic in history and continued practice. Credible sources are used in making decisions of inclusion.
What about a "single" directory of clergy?
It is left to the discretion of each jurisdiction to determine if and how to list their own clergy. There is no single, official, and complete directory of Old Roman Catholic clergy on the internet or in print.
How to I register a cleric or jurisdiction for inclusion?
The Editorial Committee periodically updates the list as new information becomes available from credible sources. Submissions and updates may be submitted to the Editorial Committee.
What does the name "Old Roman Catholic" mean?
About Old Roman Catholicism
What does the name "Old Roman Catholic" mean?
Old Roman Catholicism is a continuation of the original Roman Catholic Church descended through the authentic historic See of Utrecht. It maintains the Catholic Faith as it had always been believed by Western Catholics. The recent dogmas of the Immaculate Conception, Papal Infallibility, and the Assumption of Mary are accepted by authentic Old Roman Catholics. (See "Do Old Roman Catholics accept Papal authority?" below.)
How did Old Roman Catholicism come to exist?
In 1145, Blessed Pope Eugene III granted the Cathedral Chapter of Utrecht the perpetual right to elect their own bishops. This right was confirmed in 1215 at the Fourth Lateran Council (Canons 23 and 24). In 1520, Pope Leo X decreed in his papal bull Debitum Pastoralis that the Bishop of Utrecht, his successors, his clergy, and his laity were exempt from trial by an external tribunal of canon law in perpetuity, and that any such proceedings would be ipso facto null and void. This autonomy became known as Leonine privilege.
This peaceful arrangement lasted for centuries. Then, however, in 1691, the Jesuits falsely accused Mgr Peter Codde, Archbishop of Utrecht, of favoring the Jansenist heresy. The Archbishop was proven innocent of the charges of heresy, but the strong influence of the Jesuits persuaded the Pope to issue a brief that suspended and deposed the Archbishop anyway. He was never permitted to offer any defence, and all this happened in contravention of the special privileges granted by Popes and Councils to the See of Utrecht. Though Pope Clement XIV was sympathetic and favourably disposed towards the grievously wronged See of Utrecht, the situation created tension that persists to this day.
Despite repeated attempts by the See of Utrecht to have made right the wrong that was done to them, in 1853, Pope Pius IX established another Roman Catholic hierarchy in the Netherlands. This existed alongside that of the original Roman Catholic See of Utrecht, whose members called themselves Roman Catholics of the Old Episcopal Order. Even with two parallel jurisdictions existing in Utrecht, in the mind of the Holy See, the Old Roman Catholic Church of Utrecht maintained true and valid Apostolic Succession and its clergy thus celebrated valid sacraments in every regard.
What about the 1870 schism that created Old Catholicism?
In 1870, "Old Catholicism" was brought into being in Utrecht to offer resistance to the dogma of Papal Infallibility and the First Vatican Council. Eventually the influence of Old Catholicism and its more modern, protestant beliefs would dominate Utrecht. The modern Utrecht Union of Old Catholic Churches is not Old Roman Catholic, but in this "new" Old Catholic tradition. Old Roman Catholicism is the authentic continuation of Roman Catholicism of the ancient See of Utrecht.
What happened to Old Roman Catholicism?
Mgr Arnold Harris Mathew of England was consecrated to the Episcopate by Archbishop Gerard Gul of Utrecht in 1909. Mgr. Mathew was to build a jurisdiction in England, primarily for Catholic-minded members of the Church of England. At the time of Archbishop Mathew's consecration at Utrecht, no serious destruction of Catholic doctrine or tradition had yet taken place within the Church of Utrecht. By the end of 1910, however, the Old Catholic influence overwhelmed Utrecht, and so Archbishop Mathew was forced to withdraw the Old Roman Catholic Church in England from Communion with Utrecht in order to preserve its orthodoxy and tradition intact. Thus the successor of the Englishman Saint Willibrord, Apostle to the Dutch and first Bishop of Utrecht, was an Englishman himself.
Who are the true successors of the Old Roman Catholic Church of Utrecht?
Archbishop Mathew left a legacy of faithful Catholicism in belief and practice. The true successors of the Old Roman Catholic Church of Utrecht are those jurisdictions in Apostolic Succession from Archbishop Mathew who maintain Roman Catholic doctrine, tradition, and practice. These jurisdictions are the living legacy of Archbishop Mathew and a living example of the true Catholic Faith.
Are Old Roman Catholics "Episcopi Vagantes"?
An often misused and misapplied term regarding Old Roman Catholics is the term "Episcopi Vagantes." This term literally means "wandering bishops" and is often used as a derogatory term both by the ignorant and those who ought to know better alike. Old Roman Catholics are not episcopi vagantes. An Episopus vagans is a man consecrated validly but irregularly or illicitly (unlawfully). Old Roman Catholics maintain canonical licitness and regularity because of the Leonine Privilege granted to Utrecht. The later canonical dispute between the Holy See and the See of Utrecht was never itself licit because it contradicted the perpetual rights granted to Utrecht by several Popes and Councils. The presence of the parallel hierarchy set up by Pope Pius IX also could not and did not undo those rights.
An often misused and misapplied term regarding Old Roman Catholics is the term "Episcopi Vagantes." This term literally means "wandering bishops" and is often used as a derogatory term both by the ignorant and those who ought to know better alike. Old Roman Catholics are not episcopi vagantes. An Episopus vagans is a man consecrated validly but irregularly or illicitly (unlawfully). Old Roman Catholics maintain canonical licitness and regularity because of the Leonine Privilege granted to Utrecht. The later canonical dispute between the Holy See and the See of Utrecht was never itself licit because it contradicted the perpetual rights granted to Utrecht by several Popes and Councils. The presence of the parallel hierarchy set up by Pope Pius IX also could not and did not undo those rights.
Furthermore, on August 5th 1911, Archbishop Mathew, as the shepherd of the continuation of the ancient Roman Catholic See of Utrecht, was received by His Eminence Archbishop Gearrasimos Messara of Beruit into the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and the East. Intercommunion was thus established between the second-most ancient See of Christendom (and first "Chair" of the Apostle Peter) and the Old Roman Catholic Church, and the Old Roman Catholic Church was recognised as an autocephalous, i.e. self-governing, jurisdiction. A similar intercommunion was established with the Patriarchate of Alexandria in 1912.
It is thus not just for the term "Episcopi Vagantes" to be applied to either Archbishop Mathew or any of his successors in the various Old Roman Catholic Churches today.
Do Old Roman Catholics accept Papal authority?
According to traditional Catholic doctrine, the Pope has "universal ordinary jurisdiction" everywhere in the world as Supreme Pontiff. Each Bishop is an Apostle of Christ, and as such has supreme authority for that portion of Christ's flock entrusted to his care, the Bishop and his flock are the Church in that locality. Rules and procedures for appointing Bishops have changed over the years in the Roman Catholic Church, with all Bishops now being appointed or confirmed by the Pope. However, Old Roman Catholics continue to have Leonine Privilege, and so lawfully continue to elect their own Bishops.
Do Old Roman Catholics accept Papal authority?
According to traditional Catholic doctrine, the Pope has "universal ordinary jurisdiction" everywhere in the world as Supreme Pontiff. Each Bishop is an Apostle of Christ, and as such has supreme authority for that portion of Christ's flock entrusted to his care, the Bishop and his flock are the Church in that locality. Rules and procedures for appointing Bishops have changed over the years in the Roman Catholic Church, with all Bishops now being appointed or confirmed by the Pope. However, Old Roman Catholics continue to have Leonine Privilege, and so lawfully continue to elect their own Bishops.
Old Roman Catholics acknowledge the Pope as the Bishop of Rome and by his other titles, including Patriarch of the West, Vicar of Christ, and Servant of the Servants of God. Old Roman Catholic priests pray for the Pope in the Canon of their Masses just as all Catholics do. Authentic Old Roman Catholicism does not reject papal authority, for to do so would be to reject the very authority that granted the privileges enjoyed by Old Roman Catholics.
Do Old Roman Catholics practice Clerical Celibacy?
Even the Vatican openly admits that celibacy is a matter of discipline and not doctrine. Old Roman Catholic clergy perpetuate the practice of the first millenium Church and are permitted to marry with permission and in accordance with canon law.
Are you schismatic Roman Catholics?
Old Roman Catholicism is not a sect or schism. The autonomy enjoyed by Old Roman Catholic jurisdictions under Leonine Privilege was granted in perpetuity by several Popes and Councils. Old Roman Catholicism continues to teach and practice the authentic Catholic faith.
