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Some recent conversations

Had a few interesting conversations recently with brother clergy.

The main topic was the PNCC – RC dialog and a few of the questions rising out of the recent Motu Proprio and the and the other more recent statements from Rome concerning the Roman Catholic Church’s understanding of itself.

As I pointed out at the time of both, I agree with the Motu Proprio in that it reconnects the Roman Church to its liturgical tradition, the riches the PNCC never lost. I also agree with others who saw the Roman Church’s statement on its self definition as exactly that. The Roman Church, as with the Orthodox, believe that they are the one and only true Church. The Roman Church said so – which is not surprising.

The two interesting things I took away from those conversations were that fellow clergy saw the Motu as a break in the Church’s teaching on the role of the Bishop as the overseer of the liturgical life in his diocese and the fact that this restatement of the Roman Church’s self understanding was difficult for some.

As to the Motu, in an address to the Institut Supérieur de Liturgie of the Institut Catholique de Paris Cardinal Francis Arinze stated:

Obviously ecclesial communion has to mean “communion” with the diocesan bishop and between bishops and the Pope. In the diocese, the bishop is the first steward of the mysteries of Christ. He is the moderator, promoter and guardian of the entire liturgical life of the diocesan Church (cf. “Christus Dominus,” No. 15; Code of Canon Law, Canon 387; “Redemptionis Sacramentum,” No. 19). The bishop directs the administration of the sacraments and especially of the holy Eucharist. When he concelebrates in his cathedral church with his priests, with the assistance of deacons and minor assistants, and with the participation of the holy people of God, “the Church reveals herself most clearly” (“Sacrosanctum Concilium,” No. 41).

The Motu’s delegation of authority of parish priests breaks the bond between the priest and the diocesan bishop, and would seem to negate the role of bishop as “first steward”.

While the Motu has a worthy purpose, this end run may be a vexing problem in Catholic ecumenical circles. It strengthens the role of the Bishop of Rome as the actual bishop of every diocese; the full, immediate, and universal jurisdiction issue.

Prime Bishop Emeritus of the Polish National Catholic Church, the Most Rev. John Swantek wrote extensivly on this issue in the most recent edition of God’s Field (God’s Field, Vol. 85, No. 22, October 30, 2007). Therin he quoted Canon II of the First Council of Constantinople:

Diocesan bishops are not to intrude in churches beyond their own boundaries nor are they to confuse the churches… Unless invited bishops are not to go outside their diocese to perform an ordination or any other ecclesiastical business.

Now, I imagine that an argument could be made stating that diocesan bishops are so out of control, and universally so, that the Bishop of Rome had to act. Yet that begs the question of the Roman Church’s own discipline.

There are all types of approaches that could be used, but what it seems to have come down to is a choice between correcting those who have wandered far afield, or taking direct control from everyone.

An interesting discussion.

As to the Roman Church’s self understanding, what I found most heartening was an affirmation of our own self understanding – that the PNCC fully believes that we have it right.

For someone who has not been a lifelong PNCC member that affirmation of our conviction was something I had longed to hear – and I have. Something that does not negate our brotherhood with all who proclaim the name of Jesus Christ as Lord, and something that does not diminish our commitment to dialog, nor our prayer for unity.

Christian Witness, PNCC,

PNCC – Roman Catholic Dialog

From the USCCB website: Vatican Documents Focus Of Recent Roman Catholic, Polish National Church Dialogue

The fall Roman Catholic —“ Polish National Catholic Dialogue in Buffalo, September 25-26, focused on recent Vatican documents on the Mass in Latin and the way the Catholic Church views other church groups.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Buffalo hosted the meeting, which was presided over by Bishop Edward U. Kmiec of Buffalo and Bishop Anthony Mikovsky of the Polish National Catholic Church (PNCC) Central Diocese.

Part of the session centered on old business, including a discussion of the relations between Catholic and PNCC military chaplains, the possibility of further incremental steps towards unity, and a proposal regarding Canadian participation in the dialogue. The bulk of the meeting was devoted to two recent Vatican documents.

Bishop Kmiec offered a summary of Summorum Pontificum, the —motu proprio— Pope Benedict XVI issued in July regarding the use of the Roman liturgy prior to the 1970 reform, and reflected on its implications for the life of the Church.

Msgr. John Strynkowski presented —Responses to Some Questions Regarding Certain Aspects of the Doctrine of the Church,— the document of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith that was released in August. The second document in particular provided an occasion for an in-depth discussion of the way our churches view one another.

The meeting concluded with a presentation by Father Robert Nemkovich Jr. on the new PNCC Missal. There was also a discussion of the status of former Roman Catholic laity and clergy who belong to the PNCC, a question to be revisited at the next meeting. Sessions of the dialogue in 2008 are slated for May 19-20 in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and November 6-7 in Baltimore…

The USCCB now features a webpage with links to PNCC-RC dialog documents as well as citations.

One little mistake, Bishop Mikovsky is the Rt. Rev. Dr. Anthony Mikovsky not the Most Rev. Anthony Mikovsky. Most Reverend is the title proper to the Prime Bishop of the Polish National Catholic Church.

Christian Witness, Saints and Martyrs

Happy El-Nayrouz 1724

Coptic Cross

Today marks the Feast of El-Nayrouz, the Coptic New Year 1724. More information is available from the St. Takla website.

In the feast of El-Nayrouz we behold the opened gates of Paradise. We see our Christ coming to carry us on the clouds, together with those who already entered the Paradise. All of us will enjoy the divine throne in heaven.

The following is a prayer for the feast.

O Lord, grant us to celebrate El-Nayrouz,
So that we may ask for a blessed year for all mankind.
And that every believer has the experience of Your marvelous Day.
Thus, all will enjoy the brightness of Your glory.

Yes, Come quickly O Lord Jesus.
Our hearts are enflamed with Your love.
Our hearts ask for none except You.

Let me, O God, celebrate the Feast of El-Nayrouz unceasingly.
Let me experience this joyful gospel, the gospel of everlasting unity with You.

Wondrous is the Son who paid the price of my trip to Your divine bosoms,
And Your Holy Spirit who forms me to become a heavenly bride,
Carrying me as if with the wings of a dove that heaven may celebrate my wedding!

I see You my beloved Christ, coming to me personally,
You have chosen me to share in Your glory,
You offered Yourself, a joyful sacrifice of love.

Grant me to become an icon of You,
With a big heart, full of love to all humans,
That, I may become a source of joy to everyone.

Your dwelling in me, O Holy Spirit renews my nature,
He transforms my dark tomb into a holy sanctuary,
He converts my darkness into exceeding brightness!

Grant me with all my brethren, to fly and be with You in heaven!
Let me celebrate the feast of the martyrs as fit, that I may practice witnessing for You.
Change my life to be full of joy with You, even at the moments of my daily repentance.

You see me my Lord rejoicing in You, and You become delighted in me.
The heavenly angels see me coming to You, and they welcome me.
They receive me with exceeding joy to join them in praising You.

The sinners see me full of joy, and they get filled with hope.
They see me rejoicing, and they join me in my continuous repentance.

The prophets and the apostles and all the martyrs see me.
And they praise You for letting me accompany them in Your kingdom!

What a wonderful thing, You delight in me,
And so do all Your creation, in heaven and on earth!

But the devil runs away in front of me
As he sees Your divine joy enlightens me and shines upon my face!

Glory is to You, the source of joy and victory.

Grant me O Lord that I may celebrate the feast of the martyrs all my life,
That, I may witness to Your joyful gospel,
That, I may always be in touch with Your tremendous fatherly love,

I see You anticipating with longing for me too.

PNCC, Poland - Polish - Polonia

Communique of the Polish Catholic Church

The Curia of the Polish Catholic Church issued this communique (excerpted below) after the July 10, 2007 meeting between the Polish Catholic Church and the Roman Catholic Church:

Poruszono m.in. zagadnienie udzielania kobietom święceń kapłańskich i błogosławienia związków homoseksualnych.

W tych kwestiach Kościół Polskokatolicki , tak jak Polski Narodowy Kościół Katolicki w USA i Kanadzie podziela tradycyjne stanowisko Kościoła Rzymskokatolickiego. Za udzielaniem święceń kapłańskich wyłącznie mężczyznom wypowiedziały się synody Kościoła Polskokatolickiego w 1998 i 2003 roku.

Very loosely translated, this says that discussion was held surrounding the issue of the ordination of women and the blessing of same sex relationships.

The Polish Catholic Church confirmed that it holds the same traditional understanding as the Polish National Catholic Church in regard to these subjects, and that such was confirmed at its synods of 1998 and 2003.

I imagine that this will eventually put them on a collision course with the balance of the Union of Utrecht such as that experienced between Utrecht and the PNCC.

Christian Witness, Current Events, PNCC,

Who is Catholic

Bishop Hodur, the founder and first Prime Bishop of the Polish National Catholic Church saidAn address given in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania in 1902 as compiled in Bishop Francis Hodur, Sermon Outlines and Occasional Speeches 1899 – 1922, (c) 1999 Theodore L. Zawistowski, Polish National Catholic Church, Central Diocese

When a person travels across the wide world he notices pratically everywhere, especially in large cities, splendid churches erected to the glory of Jesus Christ. Some are in the Greek style or basilicas, others are Gothic or Baroque.

These churches claim that they believe in God and Jesus Christ, that Christ the Lord is their master and Savior, but nevertheless they hate each other…

Are all of these priests, all these votaries, truly worshipers of the same God, adherents and disciples of the same Master, Jesus Christ?

If Christ should find Himself once again on earth, He would deny those who have hatred, who turn away from a brother only because he folds his hands differently in prayer or prays from a different book.

When Christ gathered His disciples before the bloody Passion, He said to them these memorable words: A new commandment I give you, that you love one another …. By this will all men know you are My disciples, if you have love [for] one another.

Already the prophet Malachi called: Have we not all one Father? Has not one God created us? And St. John in the thought of Christ says, that God is love and whosoever loves his brother, humanity, is a child of God, and anyone who says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar.

It is necessary to love not only those who are of the same political, social, religious conviction. We have proof in the parable of Christ about the Samaritan, a person hated by Jews, but who brings help to his neighbor attacked by robbers.

And today?

Today it is not love that characterizes the various Churches and the people of the various Churches, but hatred and contempt…

In Bishop Hodur’s words I see both a condemnation of our weakness and our sinfulness, and at the same time a call to rise above that weakness.

Many are condemning the Roman Church’s recent proclamation (really just a restatement of what it has always believed), that it is the one, true Church, all others beginning either defective or not Churches at allSee: Responses to Some Questions Regarding Certain Aspects of the Doctrine of the Church.

The condemnation is uncalled for. Condemnation cannot affect change, and even greater charity is called for. The Roman Church can declare what it pleases without affecting one hair upon anyone else’s head.

Imagine (hehe…) I condemn them, they condemn me, we condemn those over there. Then we bring John Lennon’s silly song to reality.

What we must do is continue to witness the fact that Christ lives in His Church in the manner the Spirit provides for. We must witness our faith, not in documents and pronouncements, but in a life lived in accordance with the teachings of Christ.

We do that by dialog, we do it by immense charity, we do it by lives lived in, for, and with Jesus.

May it ever be so.
May the Lord have mercy on us, for we are weak.
Lord send forth Your Spirit and renew the face of the earth.

PNCC

Polish National Catholic-Roman Catholic dialogue held

From the USCCB Website: Focus was current relationship and the validity of PNCC Sacraments

WASHINGTON (June 18, 2007)–The spring session of the Polish National Catholic-Roman Catholic dialogue took place on May 30 and 31, 2007, at the Four Points Sheraton hotel in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It was hosted by the PNCC, and organized by the Very Rev. John Z. Kraus, pastor of St. Mary’s parish in West Allis, Wisconsin. The meeting was co-chaired by Bishop Edward U. Kmiec of Buffalo, and by Bishop Anthony Mikovsky of the PNCC Central Diocese. This was the first meeting co-chaired by Bishop Mikovsky, who was ordained to the episcopate on November 30, 2006. The session was also attended by Auxiliary Bishop Richard J. Sklba of Milwaukee, Chairman of the Bishops’ Committee for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).

The main focus of this meeting was the current relationship between the two churches, and a review of the correspondence with the Holy See since 1991 concerning the validity of PNCC sacraments, sacramental sharing, and the extent to which the Catholic Church considers the PNCC to be in the same state as the Orthodox churches in these and other matters. The members were encouraged by the general direction of these discussions, which was brought forward by the dialogue’s Joint Declaration on Unity of May 2006. There was a consensus that the Joint Declaration has created a new context in which further incremental steps towards unity might be explored (xref. the full text of the Joint Declaration).

In addition, the members heard a presentation by Msgr. John Strynkowski of the document issued earlier this year by the International Theological Commission, —The Hope of Salvation for Infants Who Die Without Being Baptized.— The text resonated with the PNCC delegation, since their church has always taught that unbaptized children can be saved.

Later in the same session, Rev. Ronald G. Roberson, CSP, Associate Director of the Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs of the USCCB, offered a brief overview of the new book by Cardinal Walter Kasper, A Handbook of Spiritual Ecumenism. The cardinal’s book offers a host of ways in which the churches can express the unity shared in various forms of spiritual activity. There was also a discussion of the new English translation of the Roman liturgy that is being prepared by the Holy See.

The next meeting of the dialogue is scheduled to take place in Buffalo, New York, on September 25 and 26, 2007.

The dialogue between the Polish National Catholic Church and the Roman Catholic Church has been meeting semiannually since 1984. The present PNCC members include Bishop Anthony Mikovsky (Co-Chairman), Bishop John E. Mack, Very Rev. Marcell W. Pytlarz, Very Rev. John Z. Kraus, Very Rev. Paul Sobiechowski, and Rev. Robert M. Nemkovich, Jr. The Roman Catholic participants include Bishop Edward U. Kmiec (Co-Chairman), Bishop Thomas G. Wenski, Msgr. John Strynkowski, Msgr. Thomas J. Green, Rev. Phillip Altavilla, and Rev. Ronald G. Roberson, CSP (staff).

Perspective, ,

Pontifically Ecumenical

I’m not really sure as to what happened to Fr. Al Kimel’s Ponifications Blog, but it appears to be gone. He had a temporary space at WordPress.com, and perhaps, that is where he’s going, but who knows.

I recall reading that he was planning on moving the blog – and he well may have, but I’m not going to perform an exhaustive search for it.

As one of my web design mentors, Dean, at Heal Your Church Website might say, mystery meat navigation is bad enough, but non-navigation is completely wrong. If you are going to move a site, at least leave clues (Col. Mustard in the library with a pipe 😉 ).

I searched a few of the usual suspects like Sacramentum Vitae, but no news. While there I did find a pointer to an argument Fr. Kimel and his Orthodox correspondents were engaged in (see: Not talking about God) which pointed to Not Yet Ecumenical from Energetic Procession.

It was the typical point and counter-point of the filioque, the Immaculate Conception, the Assumption, etc. Nothing I want to cover in this post though. The PNCC and Orthodoxy are on the same page on these issues anyway.

The quote from Not Yet Ecumenical that struck me was as follows:

Third, Fr. Kimel’s —ecumenical— approach isn’t yet ecumenical. To be ecumenical he needs to recognize the legitimacy of the other in terms of the other. Orthodoxy has to be seen to be legitimate on its own terms. It cannot be ecumenically engaged by either reducing its teachings to some other Latin expression in a dismissive fashion or arguing contrary to fact that its distinctives don’t hold the weight of the teaching authority of the Orthodox Church. These are both strategies that Fr. Kimel has employed rather routinely.

Nor is it ecumenical to dismiss Orthodox commentators as —polemicists— who are only interested in seeing Rome as heterodox. It never enters Fr. Kimel’s mind that they might have some measure of rational justification for thinking so. And yet the Orthodox are supposed to take seriously the dogmatic claim by Rome that the Orthodox are at least materially heterodox. What Fr. Kimel’s whine amounts to is the old canard that the Orthodox are just instrinisically [sic] sinful and schismatic. To even speak of the same common faith that we are to work towards presupposes the Catholic view of things, that we do in fact have a common faith. That has to be demonstrated, from the Orthodox view, rather than assumed. And this I think picks out a major difference between us. Communion for the Orthodox will depend on a demonstration and not the judgment of a singular authority.

That’s it in a nutshell. That is why great care must be taken when speaking of dialog with the Roman Church.

The table you sit at, with the Roman Church, allows for the dialog – it is conducive to that. The table allows for on-going grievances and difficulties to be aired, but the table, regardless of its shape, still represents sides and positions.

The Roman Church, by its sheer size, weight, and attachment to certain stumbling block dogmas, while at the same time adhering to (albeit in an unspoken way) extra ecclesiam nulla salus is not in a position to bind up wounds and heal divisions. All of us, in the Catholic fold, excepting Rome, are inherently schismatic in their eyes, and anyone who lives apart from the Pope is not fully Catholic.

I’m not saying these things because of Fr. Kimel’s positions. He is certainly a top notch apologist and polemicist. He has personal axes to grind with the folks in TEC that let him down. He found solace in the strictures and rule books of Roman Catholicism, which is fine for him. At some point the hurt will lessen, the polemics and staunchness will wear down, and faith, the core element of hope will come out on top.

As to the general theme of dialog, the final quote from the Not Yet Ecumenical post sums up the problem of ecumenical dialog with Rome:

And to even ask when Orthodoxy dogmatized this question is to measure Orthodoxy by [Roman] Catholic standards. It didn’t and doesn’t need too because it is in the Fathers and the Liturgy. It’s called Tradition, not a dictionary.

Indeed the Roman Church’s sine qua non for unity is adherence to its terms, conditions, and definitions.

When the PNCC, or Orthodoxy for that matter, are admitted in the door as full living Churches with their own character and practices, which are at heart fully Catholic, then I’ll believe it is otherwise. Else wise we must continue to pray and talk.

Christian Witness, Perspective, PNCC, , , ,

So much in blogland

I’ve been keeping up with my daily blog reads and there’s so much going on that I wanted to mention a few of the highlights to my readers.

From the Conservative Blog for Peace

The Young Fogey posts on the reunification of the Russian Orthodox Church. This is joyous news for all who long for the reunification of the Catholic faithful.

He’s been posting so many good links and reads of late that it’s difficult to keep up. Even so, keep up I do. I highly recommend people read what he posts. The combination of his genteel, classically liberal style, and his balanced and studied Christian witness make his the first site I visit each day.

From blogs4God

They’re back.

Dean Peters has done a remarkable job or re-engineering blogs4God. He found the technology (Pligg) and the style best suited to capturing Christian witness in bloggerland.

No doubt its taken awhile, but the wait has been worth it!

Dean’s other site, Heal Your Church Website has also been revamped.

Whether you are a church or a witness, if you care about your on-line presence, take heed.

His recent posts on Bab’tist Churches was funny (sort of in a sad sense) and a wake-up call to the church webmasters among us (yes, I’m one) who fail to proof and re-proof their work. I’ve taken Dean’s counsel seriously (as far as I’m able with my technical skills) and our parish has benefited.

I also offer up my prayers for Dean and his family. Dean’s father was called home to the Lord last week. Eternal rest grant unto him O Lord!

From Faith and Theology

Who knew?

Say theology and a flood of images pass through your mind (or maybe not). Anyway, the images I get are of disaffected academics with some relationship to God, trying to disprove Him, disrupt all else, and de-construct so they can reconstruct.

It is easy to think that way, if you rely on a caricature modeled after folks like Hans Kung. But anyway…

Benjamin Myers of the Faith and Theology Blog sets all that to rest.

What he and his collaborators post is amazing, insightful, easily digestible, and actually provides some insight, some glimpse of God, to common folks like me.

His postings come at you in layers, from the first insight to the deep pondering.

I can’t get enough of Propositions by Kim Fabricius, and the recent Prayer in a time of war by George Hunsinger is something that should be said daily.

Think theology is for academicians? Read Ben Myers blog, and you may very well see our Lord in ways you haven’t yet experienced.

And the rest

My other daily reads come from different Catholic traditions, and represent a cross section of what I see as very good, wholesome, and positive in blogs. They are:

They all fit into the model proposed in the recent posts on blog level ecumenism.

No one denies who they are, their faith or tradition, yet they are open to discussion, understanding, and to common witness.

Technology is not immune to God, and in the hands of His servants can do amazing things. Let’s pray that it continues to work for the building up of the one body of Christ.

Perspective, PNCC,

Take me home, EWTN road…

With my apologies to John Denver.

Anyway, I read a post that Ben Johnson put up on his Western Orthodoxy site, regarding an Orthodox deacon who became Roman Catholic. This clergyman appeared on the EWTN show “The Journey Home.”

This show drags out various people who have come over to the Roman Church, primarily from other Christian Churches, but not only. In the past it has featured Jews who have converted as well as people of various non-Christian backgrounds.

It is a tortured show that exposes all the ‘faults’ of the person’s prior church, how the opinion of family and friends is unimportant, how much resistance the person received in making the changeover (yes, they are all martyrs), and how some family and friends now accept the person’s choice. It also highlights their moment of conversion, you know, the one they failed to discuss with their spiritual father. Didn’t St. John warn us:

Beloved, do not trust every spirit but test the spirits to see whether they belong to God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

I think that if you added a little bling and spiced up the set a bit you’d have an infomercial for Roman Catholicism.

You don’t want to shop there, their Eucharist is hokey, shop here and you’ll not only receive the reeeeeal Jeeeesus, but eternal life as well. Listen to how Bob found the truth… 100% guaranteed, some restrictions apply. Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus, Inc.

What I find particularly sick is that the show flies in the face of the Roman Church’s teaching on Orthodoxy and other Catholic Churches, which the Roman Church deems to be “true particular churches” like the PNCCsee DOMINUS IESUS.

But ultramontanes, neo-conservative Catholics, and EWTN have never been ones not to foist their beliefs upon the Pope or the Vatican. They obviously know the way far better than those whose office is to teach.

For us, in the PNCC, we follow Bishop Hodur’s message – simply, allow God to enlighten and direct you:

The National Church does not recognize any anathemas. We are a group of free people and if, therefore, someone comes to know that our principles appeal to his soul, his education, and temperament, then we acknowledge him as our brother or our sister. In the same manner, if a person changes his conviction and leaves us, we do not condemn him because this is his free and Christian right. When new religious groups emerge, we do not curse them but acknowledge them as brothers. We, therefore, invite all the people of good will to our Church and if they do not come to our side, we will not degrade or ridicule them.

Something to be said for trusting in God.

PNCC, ,

Faith, conscience, and religion

In the life of a free Christian the voice of conscience is important and is the only healthy standard of human actions. Our conscience, therefore, is our master, our judge and our chastiser. This voice cannot be muffled with impunity. Human conscience can only be influenced by good example, that means, that humanity should be educated in moral matters not by the threat of punishment in hell, not only anathemas or torture but only by the proper education of man. I strongly believe in Divine light, the light of man’s reason and the light of humanity. Therefore, if a man errs one should not cast him off, punish or maltreat him, but he should be helped in a brotherly way, instructed, inclined to improve himself and in the end gained for God’s cause. Let us remember to forgive one another, even our enemies. It often happens to a priest raised in the Roman Church that he meets up with a rough soul and is ready to bar such a man from the confessional or the altar for the simple reason that he doesn’t like him.

It is not only among the priests of the Church but also among the lay brethren that a parish or organization, for any insignificant reason will exclude a person or a group of persons from its ranks thus causing great harm to itself. During the 32 years of the existence of my parish in Scranton, only one person was ever excluded and that was at the very beginning. Even though the parish said that this or that person should be thrown out, I always interceded for him and in this way, patiently awaiting his regeneration, I won him over to my side. Therefore, we are going to ask both the clergy and laity of the National Church in Poland to work according to this divine principle, that is, not to condemn, expel or place interdicts on someone but to forgive and love one another.

The National Church does not recognize any anathemas. We are a group of free people and if, therefore, someone comes to know that our principles appeal to his soul, his education, and temperament, then we acknowledge him as our brother or our sister. In the same manner, if a person changes his conviction and leaves us, we do not condemn him because this is his free and Christian right. When new religious groups emerge, we do not curse them but acknowledge them as brothers. We, therefore, invite all the people of good will to our Church and if they do not come to our side, we will not degrade or ridicule them. We firmly believe that if not in this generation then in the next a large majority of the present Roman Church adherents will throw off the papal shackles and will secure for themselves truth and spiritual freedom. The National Church recognizes religious freedom on par with political freedom. We take cognizance of the fact that man’s conscience cannot be coerced.

The Most Rev. Franciszek Hodur, from a lecture on the Creed of the Polish National Catholic Church at the 1928 Synod in Warsaw, Poland. Translated by the Very Rev. Louis Orzech.

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