Theology of Old Catholicism
By ++Gabriel O. Obiano
Old Catholic theology is often misunderstood because people assume that “Old Catholic” simply means Roman Catholic without the Pope. That is not an accurate description. Neither is Old Catholicism a Protestant attempt to preserve Catholic ceremonies. Old Catholicism is, at its heart, an appeal to the faith, order and sacramental life of the ancient and undivided Church.
As Old Catholics, we do not believe that the Church becomes more catholic merely because new doctrines are declared centuries after the Apostles. Nor do we believe that the answer to every historical development is to throw away the Church's ancient worship, episcopal ministry and sacramental life. Our concern is to remain faithful to what the Church received from Christ and the Apostles and what was preserved in the common faith of the ancient Church.
The Declaration of Utrecht of 1889 expresses this principle by appealing to the ancient Church, the ecumenical creeds and the universally accepted dogmatic decisions of the ecumenical synods of the undivided Church of the first millennium.
Scripture and the Ancient Rule of Faith
Old Catholic theology is firmly Christian, biblical and catholic. Holy Scripture is not an optional addition to tradition. It is the inspired witness through which the Church hears the apostolic Gospel.
At the same time, we do not believe that every Christian should become his own final authority for interpreting Scripture. The Bible belongs to the Church, and the Church has received the responsibility of preserving and proclaiming the apostolic faith.
This is why Old Catholicism has traditionally valued the famous principle associated with St. Vincent of Lérins: the catholic faith is that which has been believed everywhere, always and by all. The principle does not mean that every Christian in every century agreed about every minor question. Rather, it directs us toward the common and enduring faith of the Church rather than private innovations or late doctrinal additions.
For us, the ancient Church is not a museum to be admired from a distance. It is a witness to the faith we have received.
This principle also explains why Old Catholics have historically been cautious about doctrines that were imposed as binding articles of faith many centuries after the apostolic age. The question is not simply whether a doctrine is popular, ancient-looking or supported by a particular church authority. The question is whether it truly belongs to the apostolic and catholic faith.
The Holy Trinity and the Person of Christ
At the centre of Old Catholic theology is the confession of the Triune God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
We believe in one God in three distinct Persons. The Father is God, the Son is God and the Holy Spirit is God, yet there are not three gods but one God.
This faith was defended and clarified through the great struggles of the early Church. The ancient councils rejected teachings that reduced Christ to a created being or denied the full divinity of the Holy Spirit.
We therefore confess Jesus Christ as truly God and truly man.
He is not merely a great teacher, prophet or specially chosen human being. The eternal Son truly became flesh. At the same time, His humanity was not an illusion. He was genuinely born, lived among us, suffered, died and rose again.
This is one of the foundations of Catholic Christianity.
Old Catholic theology therefore stands firmly within the historic Nicene and Chalcedonian faith. Christ is one Person, the eternal Son of God, possessing both a true divine nature and a true human nature.
The truth of Christ matters because salvation is not merely about receiving religious information. God Himself came to save humanity.
The Church and Apostolic Ministry
Old Catholicism is episcopal and apostolic in its understanding of the Church.
We believe that the Church is not merely an invisible collection of individual believers. It is the Body of Christ, gathered around the Gospel, the sacraments and the apostolic ministry.
Bishops have an important role in preserving the unity, order and continuity of the Church. They are not simply administrators or religious politicians. Their ministry is connected with teaching, pastoral oversight and the sacramental life of the Church.
However, Old Catholicism rejects the idea that one bishop possesses universal and absolute jurisdiction over the entire Church.
The Declaration of Utrecht specifically rejected the Vatican I definitions concerning papal infallibility and universal papal jurisdiction, while still recognizing the historic primacy of the Bishop of Rome as primus inter pares—first among equals.
This distinction is essential.
Old Catholics do not reject the importance of the historic episcopate. We reject the transformation of episcopal primacy into universal domination.
The ancient Church was governed through bishops acting within their local churches and through councils and synods. Old Catholic ecclesiology therefore places great value on synodality and shared responsibility.
No bishop, including a metropolitan or primate, should become the Church itself.
Christ is the Head of the Church.
The Ecumenical Councils
The Old Catholic tradition looks to the ecumenical faith of the undivided Church as a major witness to catholic doctrine. The Utrecht tradition has commonly identified this inheritance with the faith expressed through the seven Ecumenical Councils, especially their Trinitarian and Christological teaching.
These councils defended fundamental truths concerning the Trinity and the Person of Christ.
They taught that:
the Son is truly God;
the Holy Spirit is truly divine;
Christ is one Person;
Christ is truly God and truly man;
Christ possesses the fullness of His divine and human reality.
These matters are not secondary theological arguments. They protect the heart of the Christian Gospel.
At the same time, Old Catholic theology should never treat historical councils as though Christians are forbidden to examine their decisions in the light of Scripture and the wider apostolic faith. The purpose of a council is to serve the truth of Christ, not to replace Christ.
The ancient councils are important because they bear witness to the Church's struggle to confess faithfully who Christ is.
The Eucharist
The Eucharist stands at the centre of Old Catholic worship.
The Declaration of Utrecht describes the Holy Eucharist as the true focal point of worship in the Catholic Church and affirms that believers truly receive the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ under the species of bread and wine.
Old Catholic theology therefore rejects the idea that the Eucharist is merely a symbolic meal.
Christ is truly present.
Yet we do not believe that one particular medieval philosophical explanation must necessarily be imposed as the only possible way of explaining that mystery. The Church can confess the reality of Christ's presence without pretending that human language has exhausted the mystery of the sacrament.
The Eucharist also directs us back to the sacrifice of Christ.
Christ died once for all. His sacrifice is not repeatedly offered because His death was somehow insufficient. The Eucharist is the perpetual commemoration and sacramental representation of the one saving sacrifice of Christ.
The Eucharist is therefore both sacrificial and communal. We are united with Christ and, through Christ, united with one another.
The Sacraments
Old Catholicism values the sacramental life of the Church.
Baptism incorporates us into Christ. In the Eucharist, Christ feeds His people. Ordination sets apart ministers for the service of the Church. Other sacramental rites mark the Church's pastoral care and participation in God's grace.
However, Old Catholic theology has historically resisted treating later theological systems as though they were automatically identical with apostolic Christianity.
The Church has developed its language and theological explanations over time. Not every later classification should automatically be confused with an unchangeable doctrine of Christ.
What matters is that the Church continues to administer faithfully the means of grace entrusted to her.
Sacraments are not magic.
Water, bread, wine and the actions of the Church are not independent sources of divine power. God is the One who saves and sanctifies. The sacramental life points us to Christ rather than away from Him.
Salvation and Grace
Old Catholic theology is centred upon the grace of God.
We are not saved because we can purchase salvation, earn heaven or accumulate enough religious merit to place God under obligation to us.
Salvation begins with God.
Christ died for us. Christ rose for us. Christ calls us to repentance and faith.
Good works matter because Christians are called to live the life they have received from God. Faith that never produces love, obedience or transformation is not the living faith described in the New Testament.
But our confidence is not in ourselves.
Our confidence is in Christ.
Old Catholic theology therefore has reason to be cautious about theological systems that make salvation appear to operate like a spiritual financial account in which merits can be accumulated, transferred or exchanged.
The grace of God is not merchandise.
Mary and the Saints
As Old Catholics, we honour Mary because of her place in the mystery of Christ.
The ancient title Theotokos, “Mother of God,” is fundamentally a confession about Jesus Christ. It does not mean that Mary existed before God or created the divine nature. It means that the One whom she bore is truly God incarnate.
We can honour the saints as faithful witnesses to Christ and remember the lives of those who served God before us.
Yet Old Catholic theology must always maintain the central truth that Jesus Christ is the Saviour and Mediator of His people.
No saint replaces Christ.
No devotion should obscure Christ.
No Christian practice should become so central that the Gospel itself is pushed into the background.
The same principle applies to relics, sacred objects and religious images. Christians must be honest about the difference between historical Christian practices, theological symbolism and the danger of superstition.
Anything that begins to function as a rival to Christ must be challenged.
The Church exists to point people to Jesus.
Rejecting Later Roman Dogmas
Old Catholicism became historically distinct in its opposition to certain Roman Catholic dogmas and developments.
The Declaration of Utrecht rejects papal infallibility and universal papal jurisdiction as defined by Vatican I. It also rejects the Roman dogma of the Immaculate Conception as lacking foundation in Scripture and the tradition of the early centuries.
It also refuses to accept the disciplinary decisions of the Council of Trent as automatically binding and accepts Tridentine dogmatic decisions only insofar as they agree with the teaching of the ancient Church.
This does not mean Old Catholics reject everything Roman Catholics believe.
We share much of the ancient catholic faith.
The difference is that we do not accept the claim that every later Roman development can be imposed upon the entire Church as a necessary article of faith.
Ecumenism and Christian Unity
Old Catholicism is ecumenical by its very nature.
Our purpose is not to create another isolated denomination that spends its time attacking everyone else.
We believe that divisions among Christians are a scandal and that unity should be sought without sacrificing truth.
The Declaration of Utrecht specifically calls Old Catholic clergy to emphasize the essential Christian truths held in common and to deal with differences without violating either truth or charity.
That remains a necessary principle today.
We can disagree without hatred.
We can reject an error without insulting those who hold it.
We can defend the ancient faith without pretending that we alone possess every virtue.
Christian unity cannot be built on falsehood, but neither can it be built on arrogance.
Conclusion
Theology of Old Catholicism is, above all, an attempt to remain catholic without becoming enslaved to later innovations.
We are ancient in faith but not trapped in the past. We are sacramental without believing that rituals save us apart from Christ. We are episcopal without accepting absolute papal monarchy. We honour the Church's history without believing that every historical development is automatically apostolic.
Our faith is centred on the Triune God.
Our salvation is found in Jesus Christ.
Our worship finds its centre in the Eucharistic life of the Church.
Our ministry remains rooted in apostolic continuity and synodal responsibility.
And our standard remains the faith of the ancient and undivided Church, tested by the Gospel and faithfully handed down through the centuries.
To be Old Catholic is not simply to be “old.”
It is to ask whether what we believe truly belongs to the faith once delivered to the saints.
And where human traditions, ecclesiastical ambitions or later doctrines attempt to stand above Christ and His Gospel, our duty is not to follow them blindly.
Our duty is to return to Christ.
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