A first?
From The Northwestern: Judy Russell: Emmaus ordination called a ‘first’ for Oshkosh
For what is called the first in Oshkosh history, a married person will be ordained a “Catholic Presbyter,” to serve the new Emmaus Ecumenical Catholic Community.
Thomas Altepeter, pastor of Emmaus, will be ordained to the priesthood at 6 p.m. Friday at First Congregational Church, according to information from the Christian community and Stan Kline, chairman of the Emmaus Steering Committee. Altepeter will be ordained by Bishop Peter Hickman, presiding bishop of the Ecumenical Catholic Communion. Also present will be Rev. Frank Krebs, vicar for the Midwest region of the ECC; and George von Stamwitz, ECC chancellor. The ordination ceremony is open to all.
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“There are many ways to express the Catholic faith, some which are not in full communion with Rome,” Altepeter said. “The ECC and the Polish National Catholic Church are two examples. As a member of the ECC, Emmaus shares common theology, sacramental and liturgical traditions with the Roman Catholic Church. Our deacons, priests and bishops participate in the same historic apostolic succession as do those of the Roman Catholic Church.”
This is the second recent article where the PNCC has been mentioned by folks who report on or are part of the ECC. It should be noted that while the ECC calls itself Catholic what it is is no more than another congregation ‘affirming’ whatever its members want to do.
Gregory Holmes Singleton writes on the Church’s website:
…if we are to honor our diversity there are Catholic perspectives and not a singular Catholic perspective. That is true whether we are talking about the Church Catholic writ large, the Ecumenical Catholic Communion, or a given congregation. Lest anyone think that the plurality of perspectives indicates that —anything goes,—
The unique part of Catholicism is an agreement on core issues, and the fact the the Church is indeed open to all who wish to come and pray (the real definition of diversity). The Churches that are Catholic agree that core issues are infallibly defined dogmas (by the Church, not just one bishop), Liturgy, and Tradition. Those things are not changeable in their essence. We cannot have ‘alternate marriages’ or women priests any more than we can use beer and pretzels for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass (which discussion we had in my R.C. seminary days focused on exploring the differences between things that are licit vs. valid). We cannot have a liturgy that consists of banjo picking and hymn singing alone. We cannot say that Jesus was just a fun guy who faced down evil rulers.
No first here. The ECC is yet another anything goes Protestant denomination catering to the whims and desires of its flock. They define dogma as whatever may go at the moment.
The ECC appears to be headed by a former American Baptist pastor who somehow obtained “orders” through the Mathew line. They seem to have a strong tie to CORPUS.
Fair warning: although they seem to relish grouping themselves with the PNCC don’t be fooled, there is no relationship there. PNCC parishes in Wisconsin are listed here.
On the issue raised above regarding married (male) clergy, not something infallible, merely a discipline in Catholic Churches. Having married and celibate clergy vs. primarily celibate clergy doesn’t make one Catholic. Adhering to defined, infallible dogma and Tradition does.
Wow…the PNCC really needs to do some heavy duty PR so that people don’t get confused in the sea of ‘indy catholics’.
How do you respond to those who say that a Church or any organization
defines who its members are? For example, the Catholic Church or Eastern
Orthodox Church or Jewish faith or Hindu priests decide who its members
are, NOT just anyone who says “I am a Catholic, Orthodox, Jew or Hindu.”
Otherwise, I can decide to call myself a Buddhist, a Baptist, a Muslim,
a Methodist or whatever – but I am NOT recognized as such by the
leaders or members of those faiths. Who decides that PNCC members are
Catholic (except PNCC members themselves) even though they do NOT belong
to the original and recognized Catholic Church, the Roman Catholic one?
Calling myself Catholic does not make me Catholic; calling myself an
Old Catholic or Old Roman Catholic or Mariavite Catholic does not make
me Catholic; calling myself a Messianic Jew does not make me a Jew, etc.
Each religion has its own rules. The general requirement for Roman Catholics is a professed unity with the Bishop of Rome and baptism. In the PNCC it’s baptism and membership. Jews can’t decide on who is really Jewish and a person’s membership in a certain synagogue (liberal/conservative/orthodox) allegedly defines how Jewish you are.
In the end a person sets the definition based on a their conscious decision to faithfully join to a faith and take part in its practice. I like the way the Orthodox view this – it is an entry into a path of becoming, a path toward Theosis. Similarly in PNCC, as Bishop Hodur said: those who wish to join themselves to what we believe and enter into our way of life are welcome to do so.
Of course nothing in life is so simple/clean/easy. While many R.C.’s outwardly profess a unity with the Bishop of Rome, some couldn’t care less for anything he says or requires including the vast majority of R.C.’s that ignore Humanae Vitae (also here) or neocon Catholics who ignored (and continue to ignore) the popes on the Iraq war. People join themselves to a religious body for a whole host of reasons, some having nothing to do with a conscious decision to faithfully practice and abide by the faith. It could be cultural, familial, or even based on a selfish interest. Luckily, as Catholics, the PNCC believes that the action of grace, transmitted through the sacraments, brings all those who come to us into closer unity and eventually true regeneration.
I think that by the logic you use (the oft used, you can’t call yourself Catholic unless you’re Roman Catholic) you exclude all the Roman Church itself considers Catholic (including the Orthodox and the PNCC) but allegedly not perfectly so. Of course everyone can say, “we are, your aren’t,” but nothing has ever been resolved that way. It’s just an exercise in name calling.
As I noted, the Catholic Churches have set a series of markers by which we can recognize catholicity, even if we are not in perfect unity. Vagantes and “indy Catholics” do not meet those criteria regardless of how they go on about their orders.
The Deacon Blogger writes:
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Agreed–but what there is not common agreement about is what that core is. Seven Councils, a Great Schism, and the continuing problem of division (See Ephraim Radner’s THE END OF THE CHURCH) give witness to that sad reality. However, to say that the ECC is yet another Protestant Church is a difficult proposition to maintain unless one completely ignores the Constitution and Canons and James Farris’ “Unity and Diversity,” found through the “History” link on the ECC web site. While there, check out “Discerning Our Unity / Embracing Our Diversity.” Only a deductive logic would sustain the premise put forward in the blog.