Now if the sight of even an earthly king is desired by all men (except those persons that are spiritual, who look upon all his glory as nothing through their having experientially known another heavenly glory); if, I say, the men of this world are so desirous to behold an earthly king, with his splendour and glory, how much more are those upon whom that dew of the Spirit of life has dropped, and wounded their hearts with love for Christ, bound fast to that beauty and unspeakable glory, and the inconceivable riches of the true and eternal King; with desire and long-suffering after whom they are captivated, turning wholly to him, to obtain those unspeakable good things, which through the Spirit they actually behold already; and for whose sake they esteem all the glories, honours, and riches of earthly kings as nothing?
For they are wounded with the divine beauty; their desire is towards the heavenly King; and placing him only before their eyes in the abundance of their affection, they, for his sake, disengage themselves from all love of the world, and draw back from every earthly clog, that so they may be able ever to retain in their hearts that only desire. And they that are Christians in truth and power, rejoice at their departure out of the flesh, because they have “that house which is not made with hands.” And therefore, if the house of the body be destroyed, they are in no fear; for they have the heavenly “house of the Spirit” and that “glory which is incorruptible.” — Homily 4, para 5-6: There is a wide difference between Christians and the men of this world.
For in this do true Christians differ from the whole race of mankind besides: they have their heart and mind constantly taken up with the thoughts of heaven; and, through the presence and participation of the Holy Spirit, do behold, as in a glass, the good things which are eternal, being born of God from above, and thought worthy to become the children of God in truth and power; and being arrived, through many conflicts and labours, to a settled and fixed state, to an exemption from trouble, to perfect rest, are never sifted more by unsettled and vain thoughts. Herein are they greater and better than the world. Their mind and the desire of their soul are in the peace of Christ, and the love of the Spirit; and they have passed from death to life. Wherefore the alteration peculiar to Christians does not consist in any outward fashions, but in the renovation of the mind, and the peace of the thoughts, and the love of the Lord, even the heavenly love. Herein Christians differ from all men besides. The Lord has given them truly to believe on him, and to be worthy of those spiritual good things. For the glory, and the beauty, and the heavenly riches of Christians are inexpressible, and purchased only with labour, and pains, and trials, and many conflicts. But the whole is owing to the grace of God. — Homily 4, para 4: There is a wide difference between Christians and the men of this world.
The world of Christians, and their way of life, and their mind, and discourse, and practice, is one thing; and that of the men of this world, another. And the difference between them is very wide. For the children of this world are tossed to and fro by unsettled seasonings, by earthly desires, and a variety of gross imaginations, whereby Satan is continually sifting the whole sinful race of men.
For the word that was spoken to Cain by his Maker, “You shall go mourning and trembling, and be tossed about upon the earth”, is a type and image of all sinners, as to their inward state. For thus is the race of Adam tossed about with the incessant suggestions of fear and dread, and every kind of disturbance, the prince of this world tossing to and fro the soul that is not born of God; and variously disturbing the thoughts of mankind, as corn that is continually shifted about in a sieve; and shaking and ensnaring them all in worldly deceits, and the lusts of the flesh, with fears and troubles.
As from one Adam the whole race of mankind was spread over the earth, so one taint in the affections was derived down into the sinful stock of men; and the prince of malice is sufficiently able to shift them all in restless, and gross, and vain, and troublesome reflections. For as one and the same wind is enough to stir, and shake all plants and seeds whatever, so the prince of wickedness, as an hidden and blustering wind, tosseth to and fro all the race of men upon earth, and, carrying them about with unsettled thoughts, enticing them with the lusts of the world, fills every soul with ignorance, blindness, and oblivion, if it is not born from above. — Homily 4, para 1-3: There is a wide difference between Christians and the men of this world.
As in a dark and cloudy night a boisterous wind blows, and searches and shakes every plant and seed, so man also, when he is fallen under the power of the devil, and is in the midst of the night and darkness, is ruffled, and shocked, and tossed about by the dreadful wind of sin that blows. It moreover searches his whole nature, his soul, his thoughts, and mind. And all the members of his body share in the commotion; and nothing is left free from it; neither is there the least part, either of soul or body, but what suffers from the sin that dwells in us. There is also the day of light, and the divine wind of the Holy Spirit, that breathes upon souls, and refreshes them that are in the light; and pierces through the whole substance of the soul and its thoughts; and withal gently fans and refreshes all the members of the body with divine and inexpressible rest.
The Lord has also put on them the raiment of the kingdom of light, surpassing all description — the garments of faith, of hope, of love, of joy, of peace, of goodness, of kindness — and all the other robes of light and life; the divine, living robes of that rest which is unspeakable: that as God himself is love, and joy, and peace, and kindness, and goodness, so may the new man be through grace.
And as the kingdom of darkness and sin are hid in the souls of sinners, until the day of the resurrection, at which time their very bodies also shall be covered over with the darkness which lies now hid in the soul, thus also does the kingdom of light now enlighten and reign in the souls of the saints; but is hid from the eyes of men ’til the day of the resurrection; at which time the body itself shall be covered and glorified by the light of the Lord, that the body may reign together with the soul; which even now is actually refreshed and enlightened with the light eternal, Glory be to his mercies and tender compassion, for that he has pity on his servants, and enlighteneth and delivers them out of the kingdom of darkness, and vouchsafes his own light to them, and his own kingdom: to whom be glory and power, for ages! Amen. — Homily 2, para. 4-6, That God alone is able to deliver us out of the bondage of the wicked ruler.
Let us beseech God that he would divest us of the old man, because he alone is able to take away sin from us, they being stronger than us that have taken us captive, and detain us prisoners in their own kingdom. But he has promised to rescue us from this sore bondage. As when the sun shines, and the wind blows, the sun indeed has a distinct nature of his own, and the wind likewise another nature, and yet no man is able to make an actual separation of the wind from the sun unless God alone shall make the wind to cease, that it may blow no longer; even so is sin blended with the soul, although both retain their own nature. It is impossible therefore to separate the soul from sin, unless God make a calm and put a stop to this evil wind which dwells in the soul and body.
And again, as a man that sees a bird flying may desire also to fly himself, but not having wings, it is impossible he should fly; just so a man may be willing to be pure, and without blame, and without spot, and to be always with God; but he has not wherewithal to compass it. He is willing to fly up into the divine air, and into the liberty of the Holy Spirit; but, unless he receive wings for his purpose, he can never do it.
Let us therefore beseech GOD that he would give us “the wings of the dove”, his Holy Spirit, that so “we may fly to him and be at rest”; and that he would separate the evil wind, and cause it to cease from us both in soul and body: for he only is able to bring it to pass. It is only ” he Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.” He alone it is that showed this mercy to them that believe in him, that they are redeemed from sin. And for those that wait for him, and hope in him, and seek after him, will he work this unspeakable salvation. — Homily 2, para. 1-3, That God alone is able to deliver us out of the bondage of the wicked ruler.
This is my 2,001st posting. It took 2 years and 10 months to get here.
All-in-all I feel pretty good about this accomplishment and the fact that I have been strengthened in my knowledge and love of the Church through this effort. Of course there are things I’ve said that could have been said better – and at times not at all. It’s definitely been a lesson in charity and focus. I pray that our Lord will act mercifully toward me, will wash away my sins, and recognize the love I bear for Him even though my efforts in witnessing to Him are poor.
I would like to thank you, my readers, and all who have written to me personally expressing support, entering into discussion, or who have asked questions about the PNCC. I pray that vocations have been and will be fostered through these efforts and that many will come to know and love the Polish National Catholic Church as a bulwark of Christian faith, both in these uncertain times and into the future.
As can be seen in its content, the Declaration of Scranton of 2008 is modeled heavily on the Declaration of Utrecht written in 1889 by the Old Catholic Churches. This is true not only in its content, but also in the reason for its coming to fruition.
The Declaration of Utrecht was written in 1889 as a statement of faith for the Old Catholic Churches. The Churches that were involved in its writing were the Old Catholic Churches of Holland, Germany and Switzerland. Its decisions were later accepted by the Church of Austria which was also in existence at the time. The Declaration of Utrecht served as a model of union for these Churches and from it the Union of Utrecht was born. From that point forward, the Declaration of Utrecht served as a point of focus for those churches which approached the Old Catholics for acceptance into the Union of Utrecht as well as to seek consecration of bishops to become new national Churches.
In 1907 before his consecration, Bishop Francis Hodur was required to assent to the tenets of the Declaration of Utrecht and subsequently it has served as a basis of the faith for Polish National Catholics up to the present time.
Unfortunately, many of the Old Catholic Churches have begun to look upon the Declaration of Utrecht as merely a historical artifact and not as a document of faith. This view has led to these Churches deviating from the faith of the ancient church, which was expounded in the Declaration of Utrecht, by the ordination of women to the priesthood and the solemnization of same-sex marriages.
Because of this situation within the Union of Utrecht, the Polish National Catholic Church is now separated from the other Churches of the Union. As it would seem, the Polish National Catholic Church is the only remaining Church that still holds the Declaration of Utrecht as a true document of faith for Old Catholics.
In the time period around this separation from the Union of Utrecht, the Polish National Catholic Church had been approached by other Church bodies that wished to retain the traditional Catholic beliefs and practices of the ancient church including the Polish National Catholic view of the papal office. In doing so they are hoping to become new national Churches.
The Polish National Catholic Church now finds itself much in the same position the Church of Holland did in 1889. That Church had existed since 1724 and had remained constant in their profession of the traditional catholic faith. When they were faced with other Churches that wished to unite with them in that understanding but have separate autonomous churches, they needed a document that would formulate this understanding between them.
In the same way the Polish National Catholic Church has been in existence since 1897 and has always stood strong in its acceptance of the traditional catholic faith. Now that we are being faced with other churches and ecclesial bodies that are approaching the Polish National Catholic Church to share in its understanding of the faith and seeking to have separate autonomous national churches of their own, the Polish National Catholic Church found it necessary to expand the Declaration of Utrecht to make clear some points of catholic understanding that were not a part of the original declaration, especially those dealing with the issues that brought about the fracture in the Union of Utrecht. It was for this reason that the Polish National Catholic Bishops have accepted this present Declaration of Scranton and hold it as a point for future agreements with those who wish to share our understanding of the traditional catholic faith…
A Profession of Faith and Declaration formulated by the Polish National Catholic Bishops Assembled at Lancaster, New York April 28, 2008
We faithfully adhere to the Rule of Faith laid down by St. Vincent of Lerins in these terms: “Id teneamus, ubique, quod semper, quod ab omnibus creditum est; hoc est etenim vere proprieque catholicum.” (We hold that which has been believed everywhere, always, and of all people; for that is truly and properly Catholic.) For this reason we persevere in professing the faith of the primitive Church, as formulated in the ecumenical symbols and specified precisely by the unanimously accepted decisions of the Ecumenical Councils held in the undivided Church of the first thousand years.
Therefore, we reject the innovations of the First Vatican Council that on July 18, 1870 promulgated the dogma of papal infallibility and the universal Episcopate of the Bishop of Rome, which contradict the Faith of the ancient Church and which destroy its ancient canonical constitution by attributing to the Pope the plenitude of ecclesiastical powers over all dioceses and over all the faithful. By denial of his primatial jurisdiction we do not wish to deny the historic primacy which several Ecumenical Councils and the Fathers of the ancient Church have attributed to the Bishop of Rome by recognizing him as the Primus inter pares (first among equals).
We also reject the dogma of the Immaculate Conception promulgated by Pius IX in 1854 in defiance of the Holy Scriptures and in contradiction to the Tradition of the first centuries.
We further reject the dogmatization of the Catholic teaching of the bodily Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary by Pius XII in 1950 as being in defiance of the Holy Scriptures.
We reject the contemporary innovations promulgated by the Anglican Communion and the Old Catholic Churches of the Union of Utrecht. We also regard these innovations as being in defiance of the Holy Scriptures and in contradiction to the Tradition of the first centuries, namely: the ordination of women to the Holy Priesthood, the consecration of women to the Episcopate and the blessing of same-sex unions.
Considering that the Holy Eucharist (Holy Mass) has always been the central point of Catholic worship, we consider it our duty to declare that we maintain with perfect fidelity the ancient Catholic doctrine concerning the Sacrament of the Altar, by believing that we receive the Body and the Blood of our Savior Jesus Christ under the species of bread and wine. The Eucharistic celebration in the Church is neither a continual repetition nor a renewal of the expiatory sacrifice which Jesus offered once for all upon the Cross, but it is a sacrifice because it is the perpetual commemoration of the sacrifice offered upon the Cross; and it is the act by which we represent upon earth and appropriate to ourselves the one offering which Jesus Christ makes in Heaven, according to the Epistle to the Hebrews 9:11,12, for the salvation of redeemed humanity, by appearing for us in the presence of God (Hebrews 9:24). The character of the Holy Eucharist being thus understood, it is at the same time, a sacrificial feast by means of which the faithful in receiving the Body and Blood of our Savior enter into communion with one another (1 Corinthians 10:17).
We hope that Catholic theologians, by maintaining the faith of the undivided Church, will succeed in establishing an agreement in regard to all such questions that have caused controversy ever since the Church became divided.
We exhort the priests under our jurisdiction: to teach the essential Christian truths by the proclamation of the Word of God and by the instruction of the faithful; to seek and practice charity when discussing controversial doctrines; and in word and deed to set, in accordance with the teachings of our Savior Jesus Christ, an example for the faithful of the Church.
By faithfully maintaining and professing the doctrine of Jesus Christ, by refusing to accept those errors that have crept into the Church by human fault, and by repudiating the abuses in ecclesiastical matters and the tendency of some Church leaders to seek temporal wealth and power, we believe that we will effectively combat the great evils of our day, which are unbelief and indifference in matters of faith.
Most Rev. Robert M. Nemkovich
Rt. Rev. Thomas J. Gnat
Rt. Rev. Thaddeus S. Peplowski
Rt. Rev. Jan Dawidziuk
Rt. Rev. Sylvester Bigaj
Rt. Rev. Anthony Mikovsky
Rt. Rev. Anthony D. Kopka
Rt. Rev. John E. Mack
June 18 – St. Constantine the Great, A prayer that all may be Christians, but that none be compelled
My own desire is, for the common good of the world and the advantage of all mankind, that thy people should enjoy a life of peace and undisturbed concord. Let those, therefore, who still delight in error, be made welcome to the same degree of peace and tranquillity which they have who believe. For it may be that this restoration of equal privileges to all will prevail to lead them into the straight path. Let no one molest another, but let every one do as his soul desires. Only let men of sound judgment be assured of this, that those only can live a life of holiness and purity, whom thou callest to a reliance on thy holy laws. With regard to those who will hold themselves aloof from us, let them have, if they please, their temples of lies: we have the glorious edifice of thy truth, which thou hast given us as our native home. We pray, however, that they too may receive the same blessing, and thus experience that heartfelt joy which unity of sentiment inspires.
O God and Lord of the Powers, and Maker of all creation, Who, because of Thy clemency and incomparable mercy, didst send Thine Only-Begotten Son and our Lord Jesus Christ for the salvation of mankind, and with His venerable Cross didst tear asunder the record of our sins, and thereby didst conquer the rulers and powers of darkness;
Receive from us sinful people, O merciful Master, these prayers of gratitude and supplication, and deliver us from every destructive and gloomy transgression, and from all visible and invisible enemies who seek to injure us.
Nail down our flesh with fear of Thee, and let not our hearts be inclined to words or thoughts of evil, but pierce our souls with Thy love, that ever contemplating Thee, being enlightened by Thee, and discerning Thee, the unapproachable and everlasting Light, we may unceasingly render confession and gratitude to Thee: The eternal Father, with Thine Only-Begotten Son, and with Thine All-Holy, Gracious, and Life-Giving Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.