Polish National Catholic Church
Polish National Catholic Church | |
---|---|
Roman Catholic Church | |
Branched from | Union of Utrecht |
Congregations | 128 |
Members | 30,000 |
Official website | https://pncc.org/ |
The Polish National Catholic Church (PNCC;
The PNCC is not in communion with the
The church has around 30,000 members in five dioceses in the United States and Canada.[3] The church is part of Polish Old Catholicism.[4]
History
During the late 19th century, many
A leader in this struggle was Fr.
The church began
In 2002, Robert M. Nemkovich was elected by the twenty-first general synod to be the sixth prime bishop of the Polish National Catholic Church.
In 2010, Anthony Mikovsky was elected by the twenty-third general synod to be the seventh prime bishop of the Polish National Catholic Church. Bishop Mikovsky has been bishop of the Central Diocese and pastor of St. Stanislaus Cathedral since 2006. Before becoming a bishop, he served as the assistant pastor at St. Stanislaus, the mother church of the denomination, beginning in 1997.[8]
Beliefs
Marriage and divorce
The church believes that "
Governance
The PNCC is governed in accordance with its Constitution and Laws.[11]
The chief legislative body is a general synod, which normally convenes every four years. The composition of the PNCC General Synod includes clergy and laity. Each parish is entitled to send one lay delegate for each 50 active members.[12] While its constitution and canon laws provide that the PNCC General Synod holds the authority to remove bishops,[13] the Prime Bishop purported to remove the bishop of the Polish National Catholic Church of Canada in January 2013.[14][15]
Ecumenical relationships
The PNCC is a member of the National Council of Churches and the World Council of Churches.
In the 1970s the PNCC's relationship with the Utrecht Union grew strained as there was a gradual shift towards what was regarded as liberalism in the rest of Utrecht Union churches while the PNCC was becoming more conservative. The PNCC in the United States and Canada entered into a state of "impaired communion" with the Utrecht Union in 1997, since the PNCC did not accept the validity of ordaining women to the priesthood, which most other Utrecht Union churches had been doing for several years. The PNCC continued to refuse full communion with those churches that ordained women; thus, in 2003 the International Old Catholic Bishops' Conference expelled the PNCC from the Utrecht Union, determining that "full communion, as determined in the statute of the IBC, could not be restored and that therefore, as a consequence, the separation of our Churches follows".[16]
Dialogue with the
The PNCC has been also in ecumenical dialogue since 2018 with numerous jurisdictions from the continuing Anglican movement: the Anglican Catholic Church, the Anglican Province of America, and the Anglican Church in America—commonly referred to as the G-3. Progress has been steady, and the potential for full communion is on the horizon and nearing quickly. [18]
List of prime bishops
# | Tenure | Portrait | Name | Place of birth |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1904–1953 | Bishop Franciszek Hodur
|
Zarki, Poland, Austrian Empire | |
2 | 1953–1968 | Bishop Leon Grochowski | Skupie, Poland, Russian Empire | |
3 | 1968–1978 | Bishop Thaddeus Zielinski | Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, United States | |
4 | 1978–1985 | Bishop Francis Rowiński
|
Dickson City, Pennsylvania, United States | |
5 | 1985–2002 | Bishop John Swantek | Wallingford, Connecticut, United States | |
6 | 2002–2010 | Bishop Robert Nemkovich | Grove City, Pennsylvania, United States | |
7 | 2010–present | Bishop Anthony Mikovsky | Trenton, New Jersey, United States |
See also
- Central Diocese of the Polish National Catholic Church
- Historical list of the bishops of the Polish National Catholic Church
- List of the Bishops of the Polish National Catholic Church
- St. John's Cathedral (Toronto)
- Union of Scranton
References
- ^ http://www.saplv.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2021-0819-Kotas-Diocesan-Parish-Website-Posting.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ a b Orzell, Laurence J. (May 2004). "Disunion of Utrecht". Touchstone Magazine. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
- ^ "Polish National Catholic Church". World Council of Churches. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
- ISSN 0239-2550.
- ISBN 0-687-01478-6
- ^ "Our Organizer – Polish National Catholic Church". www.pncc.org. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
- ^ (Mead 1995, p. 222)
- ^ WRITER), BY LAURA LEGERE (STAFF. "Regional PNCC head elected church's seventh prime bishop". Retrieved 15 November 2017.
- ^ "General Synod paper 2002" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-02-07. Retrieved 2009-01-23.
- ^ Official Church website: Beliefs and Principles
- ^ The Constitution and Laws of the Polish National Catholic Church (PDF). Scranton: Polish National Catholic Church. 2006. Retrieved 26 January 2013.
- ^ Official Church website: Structure
- ^ The Constitution and Laws of the Polish National Catholic Church (PDF). Scranton: Polish National Catholic Church. 2006. p. 29. Retrieved 26 January 2013.
- ^ "Resolution regarding bp. Sylvester Bigaj, accessed January 25, 2013". Archived from the original on 16 February 2013. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
- ^ Legere, Laura (26 January 2013). "Canadian bishop's removal creates backlash for PNCC". The Citizens' Voice. Retrieved 26 January 2013.
- ^ "Communiqué of the IBC meeting in Prague/CZ, 2003". Utrechter Union. 29 November 2003. Retrieved 2016-08-22.
- ^ "Joint Declaration on Unity". www.usccb.org. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
- ^ "G-3 and PNCC Continue Ecumenical Dialogue".
Further reading
- The Constitution and Laws of the Polish National Catholic Church (Scranton: PNCC, 2006)
- Richard J. Mammana Jr. (editor), Intercommunion between the Episcopal Church and the Polish National Catholic Church: An Introduction and Sourcebook (Resica Falls: ISBN 9798402891548
- Journeying Together in Christ: The Journey Continues: The Report of the Polish National Catholic-Roman Catholic Dialogue 1989-2002 (Our Sunday Visitor, 2004) ISBN 9781592760381
- Works and Writings of First Bishop Franciszek Hodur (Scranton: PNCC, 1984)
- Gordon Huelin (editor), Old Catholics and Anglicans, 1931-1981 (ISBN 0199201293