Liberal Catholic Church

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Coat of arms of the Liberal Catholic Church

The Liberal Catholic Church (LKK) is a small religious community, strongly influenced by theosophy in its theology , which calls itself "Church" and uses a Catholic symbol structure.

distribution

The Liberal Catholic Church has several thousand members worldwide, most of them in the US, UK, Australia and French-speaking Africa.

It currently has three municipalities in Germany ( Bonn , Dietenhofen and Lebach ) and one municipality in Austria (in Vienna ).

The religious scholar Georg Schmid gives 200 members for Germany.

history

The purely theosophical esoteric church was founded in England in 1916 by the two theosophists James Ingall Wedgwood (1883–1951) and Charles Webster Leadbeater . The concept of an occult-esoteric association with a church structure came from Éliphas Lévi , who died before the founding of theosophy in 1875, but still had a great influence on modern esotericism and occultism. The motive for founding the church was the endeavor to win church supporters despite the attitude of the Theosophical Society Adyar towards the churches. Wedgwood, who was part of the Anglican Church from 1900 to 1904 and wanted to become a clergyman there, was ordained by Arnold Harris Mathew in the Old Catholic Church in England on July 22, 1913 , and together with him prepared the basis for today's LAC.

At a synod on September 6, 1918 in London, the priests and bishops present, including Wedgwood as the presiding bishop, agreed on a new name for their reorganized Old Catholic Church, which they eventually called The Liberal Catholic Church (German: Liberal-Katholische Kirche) , LKK). In the years that followed, Wedgwood traveled extensively, consecrating numerous priests and bishops, and opening centers for the growing LCC.

Presiding Bishops of the Liberal Catholic Church
Period Surname
September 6, 1918 - April 2, 1923 James Ingall Wedgwood
April 2, 1923 - March 1, 1934 Charles Webster Leadbeater
July 26, 1934 - January 26, 1956 Frank Waters Pigott
May 10, 1956 - November 1, 1964 Adriaan Gerard Vreede
November 9, 1964 - June 8, 1973 Hugh Baronnet Sykes
June 8, 1973 - September 9, 1984 Sten Herman Philip from Krusenstierna
September 9, 1984 - April 16, 1992 Eric Scollick Taylor
April 16, 1992 - April 15, 1999 Johannes Cornelius van Alphen
conservative branch reformed branch
Period Surname Period Surname
April 18, 2000 - December 25, 2005 Ian Richard Hooker June 9, 2003 - June 14, 2005 Tom Degenaars
since December 25, 2005 Graham Sidney James Wale June 25, 2005 - 2011 Maurice Henri Joseph Ghislain Warnon
2011 - July 2016 James Zinzow
since July 2016 Michael Warnon

In Germany, the LKK called itself from 1933 until it was banned under National Socialism in 1937, the “Free Catholic Church”.

Since 1945 there have been two branches, the Liberal Catholic Church International (LCCI), which is mainly represented in the USA, and the Liberal Catholic Church (LCC), mainly based in Europe.

The Old Catholic Church of Great Britain - Archbishop Mathew

Arnold Harris Mathew was born in 1853 and ordained a priest in the Roman Church in 1877. A few years later he retired from priestly work because he was dissatisfied with the Roman Church as an organization. He came into contact with the Old Catholic Church through a former Roman Catholic priest who was convinced that if an Old Catholic Church was founded in England, converts from the Roman Catholic clergy would flock from all sides. Because of this, Mathew wrote to the Archbishop of Utrecht about the establishment of such a mission. For this purpose he was ordained bishop in Utrecht on April 28, 1908 by the local archbishop. He began holding services and ordaining priests in and around London. However, the expected high number of converts from the Roman clergy did not materialize. A salient feature of Archbishop Mathew's work was complete freedom from the dogmas of Roman Catholicism and the Anglican State Church, which resonated with some people with spiritual needs but a rejection of the traditional teachings of these churches.

After a disagreement with the episcopal see of Utrecht, Bishop Mathew was elected Archbishop by his community in 1911 and therefore accepted that title. When James Ingall Wedgwood came into contact with Archbishop Mathew in 1913, he was surprised at the low success of the missionary work, measured by the increase in membership. Disputes with Utrecht ultimately led to a break in relations. There were also disagreements, including hostility, with the Anglican community and the Archbishop of Canterbury because he offered to regulate their ordinations. There were also conflicts with the Theosophists in his movement and even with his own auxiliary bishop Willoughby.

Following a suggestion in 1914 to Bishop Mathews that he would retire, an election for an auxiliary bishop was held. The priest elected as auxiliary bishop became FS Willoughby, former Anglican priest and contemporary vicar in Stock-ton-on-Tees. He founded St. Chad's Hostel, which became the source of one of the colleges of Durham University. He was ordained bishop by Archbishop Mathew in 1914. Soon after, there was a dispute between Archbishop Mathew and Bishop Willoughby, and both men decided to submit to the Roman Church again. This was preceded by a call by Mathew in a pastoral letter (August 6, 1915) to the priests and lay people of the Old Catholic Church in Great Britain that membership in this and at the same time in the Theosophical Society were mutually exclusive, whereupon the majority of the priests publicly contradicted him. The dissident priests then elected two of them, Robert King and Rupert Gauntlett, as bishops in 1915, who were ordained by Mathew's co-adjutor Willoughby. Archbishop Mathew had offered his submission to Rome in late 1915 and tried to dissolve his movement. However, he was not re-accepted into the Roman Church and died in 1919.

Transition to the Liberal Catholic Church - Bishop Wedgwood

James Ingall Wedgwood, a former student of the organist of York Minster, Tertius Noble, had become an authority in the field of organ building and had published an encyclopedia on organ registers, which is still used today. He studied theology with the intention of receiving Anglican ordinations, but showed a deeper interest in the theosophical movement and society and was consequently expelled from the Church of York, where he received his training. On July 22nd, 1913 he was ordained a priest of the Old Catholic Church in England by Archbishop Mathew, like several other theosophists in the following years. Returning from Australia from a visit, Canon Wedgwood was ordained bishop by Bishop Willoughby on February 13, 1916, assisted by Bishops King and Gauntlett. He was appointed presiding bishop of the Old Catholic Church in England shortly thereafter.

Bishop Wedgwood was more successful in his missionary work than Archbishop Mathew, and the movement actually gained a considerable number of followers. During the next few years he toured the world spreading the concept of the new church. Furthermore, he formulated the liturgy as it is still in use today by the LCC.

On December 1 and 2, 1917, an important clergy synod of the Old Catholic Church was held in London. It has now been considered that, in view of the deep gulf that existed between the Church of London and the Mother Church in Utrecht, the church under Bishop Wedgwood should be renamed. After much discussion it was therefore decided to name it "Liberal Christian Church". At that meeting it was agreed that the clergy should wear purple instead of black cassocks, and that clergymen should not wear clerical robes when they were not attending church services; further that the title of Reverend should only be used by clergymen with the rank of deacon or above. In a subsequent synod in September 1918, the name of the church was finally changed to "Liberal Catholic Church". This should also make it clear that the church regards itself as Catholic, but independent of the compulsion of dogmas of conventional Christianity and ready to take up any new knowledge of the present.

In Australia, Bishop Wedgwood ordained and ordained the theosophist Charles Webster Leadbeater sub conditione to a priest. Leadbeater had been a priest of the Anglican Church until 1883. Together they revised the mass and put together a liturgy. This was done on the basis of the Roman liturgy, although it was modernized in their eyes. So was z. B. the closing gospel omitted. The missal was translated into the national language (first into English).

While in Sydney, Bishop Wedgwood consecrated JA Mazel, who expanded the Church to Indonesia. On his return trip, he ordained priests for work in the United States. On later trips he transferred the office of bishop to a number of priests who were to be able to expand the Church in their countries. The first priest ordained using the new liturgy was Irving Cooper, Bishop-designate of the United States.

Further development

According to Platt (1982), the early years were of enormous importance because they were the basis of official liturgy, doctrine, and constitutional documents, and Leadbeater and Wedgwood wrote numerous writings that were increasingly normative. In addition, the episcopal community system was determined and the theosophical orientation of the church worked out, which also gave rise to an ambivalent relationship to the Theosophical Society.

Much of the LKK's activities in London had hitherto been done in a private chapel in Red Lion Square and also in Upper Woburn Place, with various larger halls being occasionally used for special ceremonies. In 1925 a church building on Caledonian Road was purchased to serve as a parish church. It was consecrated as the parish church of St. Mary on July 4, 1926. In 1927 a permanent office was acquired for the Church at 30 Gordon Street. A church building was also purchased in Sydney, Australia, from which regular church radio programs were later broadcast. In 1922, Bishop Wedgwood resigned as Presiding Bishop and Bishop for Great Britain and Ireland for personal reasons.

He was succeeded as presiding bishop by Bishop Leadbeater and by Frank Waters Pigott, a former Anglican priest, as bishop for Great Britain. In 1934 Bishop Pigott succeeded Bishop Leadbeater, and after his death in 1956 Bishop AG Vreede of the Netherlands was elected Presiding Bishop. Sir Hugh Sykes was ordained an auxiliary bishop for Great Britain and Ireland in 1953. In 1956 he was - as successor to Bishop Pigott - regional bishop for Great Britain and Ireland and in 1964 successor to Bishop Vreede as chairman bishop of the church.

The Liberal Catholic Church was divided into 14 ecclesiastical provinces. For some years now, part of the Liberal Catholic Church has also approved the ordination of women and this is also practiced in the Central German Province (Germany, Austria, Hungary).

Directions

Liberal Catholic Church USA (LCCI)

In the LCCI, the theosophical beliefs such as reincarnation are optional, as is a vegetarian diet. Grape juice and wine can be used in the liturgy. Women can hold all church offices through the approval of women's ordination , homosexual people can become priests and priests can receive a salary.

Liberal Catholic Church Europe (LCC) [Conservative branch]

The theosophical beliefs are an integral part of teaching in the LCC. There is no ordination of women, and priests are not allowed to receive salaries. Vegetarian diet and grape juice in the liturgy are mandatory.

Liberal Catholic Church Europe (LCC) [progressive branch]

The theosophical beliefs are an integral part of teaching in the LCC. There is ordination of women for all offices, homosexual people can become priests and the entire clergy is active on a voluntary basis. The Liberal Catholic Church in Germany and Austria belongs to this branch.

Teaching

  • The existence of God is assumed to be infinite, eternal, transcendent and immanent and is considered to be the trinity of "Father", "Son" and "Holy Spirit".
  • Man, created in the image of God, is essentially divine, which is interpreted as a participation in the nature of God.
  • Christ always lives as a powerful and spiritually understood presence in the world, which runs according to an orderly plan. Interpreted, it shows the supporters of the LKK a leadership in their current life. In their understanding, this leads to an approximation of its state, which is interpreted as perfection.
  • In the LCC the rebirth is represented, which is influenced by the action in the present life and a possible purification in an intermediate world.
  • Man is a link in a great hierarchical chain of life. A “free gift of grace” from “above” is therefore a gift that is understood as a reward for an action towards a being under one.
  • There is a “community of saints” of righteous, perfected people, or saints, who help humanity; there is also a servant ministry of angels.
  • Man has ethical duties towards himself and others, which is derived from Mt. 22, 37-40, as well as the duty to spiritual development / growth. (Joh. 1,9).
  • Christ instituted various sacraments in which, through an external and visible sign, internal and spiritual grace is given. There are seven such rites that are considered sacraments, namely: Baptism, Confirmation, the Holy Eucharist, absolution, Holy Unction, Holy Marriage and Holy Orders . The teaching of these sacraments is set out in the authorized liturgy of the Liberal Catholic Church. Christ, the living head of the Church which he founded, is considered to be the true giver of all sacraments.

Recognized creeds

  • Act of Faith (Leadbeater)
  • Confession of Nicaea (325 AD)
  • Nicano-Constantinopolitanum
  • Act of faith (Wedgwood)
  • Pauline Creed (or hymn of Christ)
  • the apostolic (in ecumenical services)
  • the Christological creed of Chalcedon (Chalcedonense)

classification

The teaching content of the Liberal Catholic Church comes from the ideas of various religions, especially from Catholicism and Buddhism . The theosophist Franz Hartmann had a decisive influence on the doctrine of the LCC through his work “Was ist Theosophie”, in which he gave Catholicism a certain form of a secret school of theosophy . The deity of the Liberal Catholic Church is essential to the all-pervading Brahman of the Vedas and is revealed through the “2. Person “of the deity in the imagined figure of the Logos or Demiurgus , who is regarded as the builder and maintainer of the universe.

Gnostic Church

The Liberal Catholic Church is counted among the Gnostic Churches . "Gnostic churches" are churches of more recent establishment that refer to Gnostic ideas and often contradict the views of the conventional churches. The self-image of being a “Gnostic Church” is also expressed in the claim of the Liberal Catholic Church to belong to a “community of liberated saints”. The members of this community of the liberated, which is also referred to as the "White Brotherhood", have emerged from the cycle of incarnations , but at certain times send already liberated members of this "White Brotherhood" to earth. The task of these voluntarily incarnated is to lead people on the path of liberation. The own members are promised help and assistance on their way to perfection, in order to give them the certainty of salvation and the knowledge of the “true Gnosis”.

Structure and ethics

The LCC recognizes the contents of the Christian religion that are designated as basic truths, but tries to recognize the deeper meaning hidden behind the doctrines and to bring it closer to contemporary people. Even though it tries to convey a deeper esoteric side of Christianity to its interested parties and members in this way, it does not require the acceptance of these views, since it takes the view that true faith must be the result of one's own reflection and knowledge. Outward approval can never replace the value of one's own deeper insight. Therefore the Liberal Catholic Church does not require unconditional approval from its members for its teaching. Everyone is free to accept this teaching.

The Liberal Catholic Church attaches particular importance to a lively, sympathetic and uplifting liturgy. It recognizes and administers the seven sacraments of the Christian church, namely baptism, confirmation, absolution, the Eucharist, unction, marriage and holy consecration. For all church service activities, it uses an independent version of the liturgy, which is composed of parts of the Trident, Roman as well as the Old Catholic and Anglican liturgy, whereby the traditional sacramental forms were retained as essential characteristics. The admission to the services, which are held in the respective national language, as well as the dispensing of the sacraments is not bound to any obligation.

The Liberal Catholic Church allows participation in its activities without having to leave a previous religious community. In this context, too, she accepts new members into her community. The means necessary to maintain the church are raised through voluntary contributions and donations by parishioners and the clergy.

The clergy of the church are not subject to celibacy and work on a voluntary basis. Because the priestly functions are carried out on an honorary basis and are free of charge, no payments are generally required for church service activities. The highest organ of the Liberal Catholic Church is the episcopal general synod, headed by the presiding bishop. He leads the church in general and the episcopal general assemblies, but has no other privileges. Thus, the church is directed by the individual bishops in their area and the generally binding regulations are determined by the respective episcopal general synods. The parishes are responsible for all the secular institutions of the Church. Every adult parishioner has the right to vote in the administration of this parish.

Ordination of women

The Liberal Catholic Church (progressive branch) sees no difference in the determination of women and men. One cannot exist without the other ( Yin and Yang ) and forms the whole. Therefore, in the LCC (progressive branch) all women who show the willingness and aptitude for it have the opportunity to receive all lower and higher ordinations.

education

Theoretical training of minor ordination clergy and clergy is currently offered as part of an online course in Dutch and English. The training path runs parallel to the community activities and can extend over several years. The training of altar servers (children and young people) and altar servers (adults) takes place in the congregations and is offered by the respective clergy on site.

Current church leadership

In Germany, Daniel Becker leads the church operationally in the role of vicar general. Regional Bishop Evert Anders Sundien (Sweden) is in charge of the Diocese of Germany.

Apostolic succession

The apostolic succession in the LCC is derived from the Old Catholic Church of the Netherlands, which is sometimes called the "Jansenist". The Dutch people have granted asylum to many Jansenist refugees who fled France and Belgium to avoid persecution by the Jesuits. As a result, the Dutch Church itself has been charged with complicity in the Jansenist heresy, an indictment that it has repeatedly claimed to have exonerated itself from.

When the Vatican Council of 1870 declared the Pope's infallibility, a number of leading scholars, under the leadership of Ignaz von Döllinger, an eminent contemporary church historian, refused to accept a doctrinal innovation of so far-reaching significance. Independent congregations were formed and they took on the title of "Old Catholics" in order to differentiate themselves from an alleged "New Catholicism". This movement succeeded in winning the episcopal succession from the above. To secure the Dutch Church, which is united with her today.

The Apostolic Succession 1739–1916

Surname consecration
1. Dominic Marie Varlet
2. Petrus Johannes Meindaart 1739 Archbishop of Utrecht
3. Johannes van Stiphout 1745 Bishop of Haarlem
4th Gualtherus Michael van Nieuwenhuizen 1768 Archbishop of Utrecht
5 Johannes Broekman 1778 Bishop of Haarlem
6th Johannes Jacobus van Rhijn 1797 Archbishop of Utrecht
7th Gijsbertus Cornelius de Jong 1805 Bishop of Deventer
8th. Willibrordus van Os 1814 Archbishop of Utrecht
9. Johannes Bon 1819 Bishop of Haarlem
10. Johannes van Santen 1825 Archbishop of Utrecht
11. Hermanus Heijkamp 1853 Bishop of Deventer
12. Casparus Johannes Rinkel 1873 Bishop of Haarlem
13. Gerardus Gul 1892 Archbishop of Utrecht
14th Arnold Harris Mathew 28 April 1908 Bishop of Great Britain and Ireland, 1911 Archbishop; +1919
15th Frederick Samuel Willoughby, MA (Cantab.) October 28, 1914 Bishop
16. Rupert Gauntlett Ordained bishop in London on September 26, 1915
17th Robert King 26.09.1915 bishop, 1916 assistant bishop in England, +1954
18th James Ingall Wedgwood Ordained as a priest in London in 1913 by Bishop Mathew, ordained as presiding bishop in London on February 13, 1916 under Bishop Willoughby, Bishop King and Bishop Gauntlett, in 1923 he resigned as presiding bishop, in 1926 acting bishop for parts of Europe. + 1951
All subsequently ordained bishops of the LCC derive their ordinations from Bishop Wedgwood.

Regional Bishops of Central Europe

Term of office Surname Life history consecration
1935-1937 Nyssens, Ernest W. * August 10th, 1868, † March 14th, 1956 08/15/1930
1938-1946 Nazi era - LKK prohibited
1946-1955 Vreede, Adriaan G. * June 2nd, 1877, † May 24th, 1966 08/15/1928
1955-1962 Lauppert, Norbert E. * August 15th, 1906, † May 25th, 2005 09/28/1952
1962-1985 Ringer, Gustav * October 23, 1907, † October 28, 1985 08/14/1960
1985-1986 Taylor, Eric * April 16th, 1918, † June 4th, 1995 05/26/1977
1986-2001 Hammer, Rudolf L. * April 18th, 1928, † December 6th, 2001 05/14/1978
2001-2005 Hooker, Ian Richard * December 25th, 1930 06/03/1990
2005-2011 Warnon, Maurice Henri Joseph G. * April 5th, 1937, † March 23rd, 2011 06/07/1976
since 2011 Sundien, Anders Evert * October 21, 1944 05/16/2005

Relationship to Christianity, ecumenism and the theosophical society

There are no connections between the Liberal Catholic Church and the known churches. The latter see their task in preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ and not in passing on theosophical knowledge. In the LAC, for example, the Christian doctrine of original sin and justification is frowned upon because of their understanding of grace .

The Liberal Catholic Church does not belong to any ecumenical community like the Working Group of Christian Churches in Germany . However, it sees itself as ecumenical insofar as non-members are also admitted to the sacraments.

Platt (1982) sums up the relationship to the Theosophical Society by saying - in part with the words Wedgwoods - that: "The contemporary Liberal Catholic Church follows its founders insights that the Church, while established by theosophists as a place wherein they could worship sacramentally, was tobe an entity distinct from the Theosophical Society. Wedgwood delineated the tone of the Church's ethos when he stressed that theosophy "as a coherent system of thought brings a new meaning into Christian teaching [...] Theosophy is a systematised scheme of thought, singularly inclusive and coherent [...] Its supreme value is that it takes many otherwise isolated facts of life and fits them into an ordered and comprehensive world-schema ".

("The contemporary Liberal Catholic Church follows the insights of its founders that although the Church was established by the Theosophists as a place of sacramental worship, it should be a distinct entity from Theosophical Society. Wedgwood outlined the tone of the Church's ethos as he emphasized that theosophy: "as a coherent system of thought gives Christian teaching a new meaning [...] Theosophy is a systematic schema of thought that is uniquely inclusive and coherent [...] Its greatest merit is that it contains many otherwise isolated facts of life and insert it into an orderly and comprehensive world scheme ".)

See also

Web links

literature

  • Edmund W. Sheehan: Teaching and worship of the Liberal Catholic church. Calif .: St. Alban Press, Los Angeles 1925. (early presentation from theosophical context)
  • Warren C. Platt: THE LIBERAL CATHOLIC CHURCH: AN ANALYSIS OF A HYBRID SECT. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, New York 1982. (mainly concerns the US branch)

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Elisabeth Livingstone: Liberal Catholic Church . In: The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church . 3. Edition. Oxford University Press, 2013, ISBN 978-0-19-965962-3 .
  2. ^ Liberal Catholic Church in Germany
  3. ^ Georg Schmid: Churches, sects, religions. 2003.
  4. ↑ Horst E. Miers : Lexicon of secret knowledge. Goldmann Verlag, Munich 1993, ISBN 3-442-12179-5 . Pp. 380 and 382.
  5. ↑ Rudolf Passian: Light and shadow of esotericism. Droemersche Verlagsanstalt Th. Knaur Nachf. Munich 1991, p. 72.
  6. ↑ Liberal Catholic Apostolic Succession: http://liberal-katholische-kirche.de/grundsaetze/apostolische-nachhaben/
  7. ↑ The Liberal Catholic, Magazine: Archived copy ( Memento of the original from March 5, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / theliberalcatholicchurch.org
  8. ↑ a b c Horst E. Miers: Lexicon of secret knowledge. Goldmann Verlag, Munich 1993, ISBN 3-442-12179-5 . P. 380 and p. 382-383.
  9. ↑ On the differences between LCCI and LCC ( Memento of July 18, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) (English)
  10. ↑ Warren C. Platt: THE LIBERAL CATHOLIC CHURCH: AN ANALYSIS OF A HYBRID SECT. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, New York 1982. pp. 29-31.
  11. ^ Karl RH Frick: Light and Darkness. Gnostic-theosophical and Masonic-occult secret societies up to the turn of the 20th century. Marix Verlag GmbH Wiesbaden 2005. ISBN 3-86539-044-7 . P. 314.
  12. ↑ a b Gasper, Müller, Valentin: Encyclopedia of sects, special groups and philosophies. Verlag Herder Freiburg im Breisgau 1994, ISBN 3-451-04271-1 , p. 606.
  13. ↑ Rudolf Passian: Light and shadow of esotericism. Droemersche Verlagsanstalt Th. Knaur Nachf. Munich 1991, pp. 72 and 167.