Old Catholic group in the Netherlands
The
Old Catholic Church of the Netherlands
(
Dutch
:
Oud-Katholieke Kerk van Nederland
), sometimes
Jansenist Church of Holland
,
[1]
is an
Old Catholic
jurisdiction originating from the
Archdiocese of Utrecht (695?1580)
. The Old Catholic Church of the Netherlands is the mother church of the
Old Catholic Union of Utrecht
.
The jurisdiction is currently led by Archbishop Metropolitan
Bernd Wallet
.
[2]
History
[
edit
]
Early history
[
edit
]
St.
Willibrord
evangelised the northern parts of the Netherlands (above the
Rhine
), bringing
Roman Catholicism
in the 7th century. The southern parts of the now so-called
Benelux
were already evangelised from the 4th century, beginning with
St. Servatius
, Bishop of
Maastricht
.
[3]
Willibrord had been consecrated by
Pope Sergius I
in circa 696 in
Rome
.
[4]
[5]
In 1145,
Pope Eugene III
restricted the electorate to the
chapters
of the five
collegiate churches
in the diocese.
[1]
: 64
[a]
The
Fourth Lateran Council
confirmed this in 1215. In 1517,
Pope Leo X
prohibited, in
Debitum pastoralis officii nobis
, the
Archbishop-Elector of Cologne
,
Hermann of Wied
, as
legatus natus
,
[b]
to summon to a court of first instance in Cologne,
Philip of Burgundy
, his treasurer, and his ecclesiastical and secular subjects.
[7]
[c]
John Mason Neale
explained that Leo X only confirmed a right of the church but Leo X's confirmation "was providential" in respect to the future schism.
[1]
: 72
Reformation and Jansenism
[
edit
]
Further information on the missionary district of the Catholic Church during and after the Protestant Reformation (1592?1853):
Holland Mission
Forced into hiding as a result of the
Protestant Reformation
, the diocesan structures of the
Catholic Church of the Netherlands
were dissolved.
[d]
The Holland Mission started when
Pope Clement VIII
erected the
Apostolic Vicariate of Batavia
in 1592.
[9]
The Jesuits accused Archbishop
Petrus Codde
, apostolic vicar, of Jansenism.
Pope Innocent XII
appointed a commission of
cardinals
who started an investigation of Codde, ending in exoneration.
[
citation needed
]
In 1700, Codde was summoned to Rome and brought before a second commission appointed by
Pope Clement XI
. When Codde refused assent to the
Formula of Submission for the Jansenists
, Clement XI suspended Codde in 1701 and appointed a successor,
Gerard Potcamp
[
nl
]
, as apostolic vicar.
[
citation needed
]
Although the historic archdiocese was suppressed in 1580, and its replacement, the
apostolic vicariate
, was erected in 1592, the chapter of the suppressed archdiocese arranged for
Luke Fagan
,
Bishop of Meath
, to ordain priests for the suppressed archdiocese in 1716.
[1]
: 235?236, 282
Finally in 1723, dissatisfied Dutch clergy elected
Cornelius Steenoven
[
nl
]
as archbishop of the suppressed Archdiocese of Utrecht.
[d]
He was consecrated in 1724 without a papal mandate by suspended Bishop
Dominique Marie Varlet
, who had been living in Amsterdam since 1721.
[1]
: 246, 256
[e]
Both Varlet and Steenoven were suspended for illicit episcopal consecration, and excommunicated for claiming a diocesan see of jurisdiction without the permission of the
Roman Pontiff
. Varlet later reconciled with the Catholic Church, but subsequently consecrated, again without a papal mandate, three more bishops for the independent Ultrajectine church, which would later become known as "Old Catholic" after 1853. Among the three bishops was
Petrus Johannes Meindaerts
who consecrated several other bishops, becoming the source of apostolic succession for all Old Catholic bishops, after he was consecrated by Varlet in 1739 which had no papal mandate.
[1]
: 282
The apostolic vicariate was reduced to a
mission
sui iuris
by
Pope Benedict XIII
in 1727.
[9]
In 1853, under the
reestablished episcopal hierarchy in the Netherlands
, Catholics were permitted to worship publicly after two and a half centuries of
secret
and private religious worship. After reestablishment of the episcopal hierarchy in the Netherlands in 1853 by
Pope Pius IX
, the breakaway Church of Utrecht adopted the name "Old Catholic Church" to distinguish itself from the newly created Roman hierarchy by its seniority in the Netherlands.
[
citation needed
]
Vatican I
[
edit
]
In 1870 the
First Vatican Council
was convened, and the bishops of the Church of Utrecht were not invited because they were not seen as being in communion with the
Holy See
. At the First Vatican Council,
papal supremacy in jurisdiction
and the
Catholic dogma
of
papal infallibility
were defined.
Several separate communities were formed at this time and sought apostolic succession from the Old Catholic Archbishop of Utrecht, eventually forming the
Union of Utrecht of the Old Catholic Churches
, and these German speaking communities adopted the name
Old Catholic
. The schism was able to continue.
Doctrine
[
edit
]
Old Catholics believe they preserve ancient Catholic doctrine through adherence to the "ancient Catholic faith".
[11]
Their practice of private
confession
has fallen into disuse in most areas. Since 1878, Old Catholic clergy have been allowed to marry at any time. It would also seem that, by the beginning of the 20th century, the
Eucharistic
fast
had been abandoned, along with Benediction of the
Blessed Sacrament
and the veneration of the saints.
[12]
Old Catholic Archbishops of Utrecht
[
edit
]
The Metropolitan
Archbishop of Utrecht
(not to be confused with the Catholic prelate who
holds the same title
) is the leader of the Old Catholic Church of the Netherlands, and chairman of its governing bodies.
The current archbishop is
Bernd Wallet
.
[13]
Old Catholic Bishops of Deventer
[
edit
]
- ^
Elections prior to Heribert, election of bishops in the diocese was by popular vote and included laity in the electorate.
[1]
: 64
- ^
"As papal power increased after the middle of the eleventh century these legates came to have less and less real authority and eventually the
legatus natus
was hardly more than a title."
[6]
- ^
Joosting and Muller noted that Leo X also promulgated another bull, in which he commissioned that the Bishop of Utrecht, his treasurer and his subjects informed that they were empowered to disregard privileges formerly granted to others and to prosecute offenders while setting aside formerly specified legal process.
[7]
- ^
a
b
The Archdiocese of Utrecht (695?1580) was suppressed in 1580.
[8]
- ^
Varlet was suspended and removed from office in 1719 for administering the
Sacrament of Confirmation
in 1718 outside of his jurisdiction while travelling through Amsterdam.
[1]
: 241?245
[10]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the
public domain
:
Neale, John M (1858).
History of the so-called Jansenist church of Holland; with a sketch of its earlier annals, and some account of the Brothers of the common life
. Oxford; London: John Henry and James Parker.
hdl
:
2027/mdp.39015067974389
.
OCLC
600855086
.
- ^
"Bernd Wallet verkozen tot nieuwe aartsbisschop Oud-Katholieke Kerk"
.
frieschdagblad.nl
. Archived from
the original
on 2021-05-21
. Retrieved
2021-05-21
.
- ^
"Sint Servatius project - Archeologie - Universiteit van Amsterdam"
.
archive.is
. 2012-05-30.
Archived
from the original on 2012-05-30
. Retrieved
2021-05-21
.
- ^
"Saint Willibrord"
.
CatholicSaints.Info
. Retrieved
2021-05-21
.
- ^
"Bishop St. Willibrord's Record of Succession"
.
catholic-hierarchy.org
. Retrieved
2021-05-21
.
- ^
La Monte, John L (1949).
The world of the Middle Ages: a reorientation of medieval history
. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts. p. 393.
hdl
:
2027/mdp.39015024887880
.
OCLC
568161011
.
- ^
a
b
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the
public domain
:
Pope Leo X.
Debitum pastoralis officii nobis
(in Latin).
From
Joosting, Jan G. C.; Muller, Samuel (1912). "Verbod van Paus Leo X aan den aartsbisschop van Keulen als legatus natus, Philips bisschop van Utrecht, diens fiscus en diens kerkelijke en wereldlijke onderdanen in eerste instantie naar keulen te doen dagvaarden".
Bronnen voor de geschiedenis der kerkelijke rechtspraak in het bisdom Utrecht in di middeleeuwen
. Oude vaderlandsche rechtsbronnen (in Dutch). 's-Gravenhage: Martinus Nijhoff. pp. 59?62.
hdl
:
2027/mdp.35112103682300
. Retrieved
2014-01-09
.
This book contains documents relating to the limit of the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Utrecht. This book was published in
Werken der Vereeniging tot Uitgaaf der Bronnen van het Oud-Vaderlandsche Recht
. 's-Gravenhage: Martinus Nijhoff.
2
(14).
OCLC
765196601
.
- ^
"Archdiocese of Utrecht"
.
Catholic-Hierarchy.org
. David M. Cheney. Archived from
the original
on 2016-03-04
. Retrieved
2014-01-14
.
- ^
a
b
"Mission "Sui Iuris" of Batavia (Holland Mission)"
.
Catholic-Hierarchy.org
. David M. Cheney. Archived from
the original
on 2015-09-05
. Retrieved
2014-01-14
.
- ^
"Bishop Dominique-Marie Varlet"
.
Catholic-Hierarchy.org
. David M. Cheney. Archived from
the original
on 2016-01-12
. Retrieved
2016-03-04
.
- ^
Churches, the Union of Utrecht of the Old Catholic.
Declaration of Utrecht
.
- ^
"
"Old Catholic Church History"
"
. Archived from
the original
on 2006-08-23
. Retrieved
2006-08-09
.
- ^
"Bernd Wallet verkozen tot nieuwe aartsbisschop van Utrecht"
.
oudkatholiek.nl
(in Dutch). Oud-Katholieke Kerk van Nederland. 15 February 2020
. Retrieved
6 March
2021
.
External links
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