What Is Independent Catholicism?
The Independent Catholic movement is a loose group of hundreds of Catholic jurisdictions (denominations) around the world that are separate from mainstream Christian denominations, including the Roman Catholic Church and canonical Eastern Orthodoxy. Most are very small, with each denomination having hundreds or dozens of members and many parishes having only a handful of members. Independent Catholic communities run the gamut from very conservative to very liberal, with a variety of different theologies and liturgical traditions.
For a more detailed look at the whole movement, I recommend The Many Paths of the Independent Sacramental Movement by John Plummer. Apocryphile Press has recently reprinted a number of books significant in the movement’s history, including Leadbeater’s Science of the Sacraments, Moss’s The Old Catholic Movement, and so on. (See the catalog here.)
Many Jurisdictions
You might notice that the term “Independent Catholic Church” is never used to describe the movement on these pages. That is because no one denominational structure or organization exists to encompass the whole of Independent Catholicism. Rather, there exist hundreds of denominations and other bodies, some large (the Polish National Catholic Church has tens of thousands of members and claims over 100,000) and some very small (fewer than a dozen members).
This is both a strength and a weakness of the movement. On the one hand, small individual communities can be very responsive to their environment and provide a home for unchurched and underchurched people. Clergy and laity often have a great deal of autonomy and the freedom to explore numerous paths to God. On the other hand, the situation of numerous small churches is often the result of fractitiousness, with priests choosing to leave one bishop’s jurisdiction for another (or they obtain episcopal consecration and thus autonomy) rather than staying and working out differences.
So it can be difficult to speak generally of the movement because of these divisions. No one can give even a ballpark figure for how many denominations exist or how many people are involved in the movement — when speaking about Independent Catholicism as a whole, words like “some” and “many” are more common than “most” and “all” (as the reader will no doubt note on this site). A large number of churches exhibit the features described on this site, but one must still be careful about over-generalizing.
Rome and the Pope
As one might expect from the label “Independent,” the Independent Catholic movement does not come under the authority of the Pope or the Roman Catholic Church. However, independent churches still claim the label Catholic, which comes from a Greek word, katholikos. This word means ‘universal’ and describes any community that takes part in the universal church under Jesus Christ. It also often suggests a particular approach to Christianity — sacramental, ecclesial, led by bishops, and concerned with tradition in addition to Scripture. There are several precedents for this kind of autonomous Catholicism, not least of which being Eastern Orthodoxy. The Orthodox claim to be (part of) the “one holy catholic and apostolic church” by confessing the Nicene Creed, and they are self-governed, looking to several significant Patriarchs (especially the Patriarch of Constantinople) for guidance. The Anglican Church, which began as the Church of England under Henry VIII, is also part of the Catholic tradition and has a long history of independence from any one governing authority.
Many churches in the Independent Catholic movement trace their history to the Utrecht Union in the Netherlands. This church began walking apart from Rome in the 18th century over the election of bishops, which previous Popes had allowed them to choose themselves. The split became final during the years leading up to Vatican I in the 19th century, and many independent churches were formed by the Old Catholics of Utrecht or obtained episcopal consecrations from that church.
Christian unity is an important concern to Independent Catholic communities, by and large, so eucharistic fellowship with Roman Catholics is something those communities hope for. However, very few Independent Catholics are willing to give up their doctrinal and liturgical freedom to be accepted by the Roman Catholic Church. Typically, churches in the movement welcome individual Roman Catholics to participate in Communion and other sacraments, but unity with the Roman Catholic Church as an institution is unlikely to occur.
The Independent Sacramental Movement
Independent Catholicism is part of a much larger movement which includes Independent Orthodox and Independent Anglican churches. This is often called the independent sacramental movement. All three groupings are very broad, including traditionalist groups that have left Roman Catholicism, canonical Orthodoxy, or the Anglican Communion because they believe these churches have drifted too far to the left, and including churches very far to the left, some of whom identify as Gnostic or Pagan. Just as with Independent Catholicism, there are no authorities accepted by the movements as a whole, so a great deal of diversity can be found among the churches that identify with Independent Orthodoxy or Independent Anglicanism.
It is also important to note that the barriers between Independent Catholicism, Independent Orthodoxy, and Independent Anglicanism are much more permeable than the borders between their canonical cousins. It is not uncommon to find priests who began as Independent Anglicans but now practice as Catholics under Independent Catholic bishops. There are also some jurisdictions and parishes that straddle the line, describing themselves as “Catholic Orthodox” and incorporating elements from both liturgical or theological traditions.
Mysticism
Although it is difficult to speak categorically about the whole movement, a large percentage of Independent Catholic churches have what might best be described as a mystical orientation. The percentage is probably a minority, but much larger than in mainstream Christian denominations. Because Independent Catholic priests typically have broad theological and liturgical freedom, they often incorporate mystical elements from Christianity and other religious traditions. Some churches describe themselves as Gnostic. Others, such as the Liberal Catholic Church, are involved in theosophy. Still others are best described as Pagan-Catholic, melding Catholic liturgies with earth-based spiritualities.
