About us

Old Catholics are Catholic Christians for the modern age. We strive for a church that respects freedom of conscience, is governed synodally and democratically, and takes an open and liberal view of humanity and society. We believe that faith and tradition must be alive, but at the same time should be meaningful and fair to everyone.

History and origins

The Old Catholic movement arose as a reaction to papal centralism, which gained strength in the 18th and 19th centuries. In the Netherlands, the Church rejected the Pope's interference in its internal affairs and broke off relations with Rome as early as 1723. In German-speaking countries, the Old Catholic movement arose in response to the First Vatican Council of 1870, which introduced into the Church the obligatory belief in the infallibility of the Pope in matters of faith and morals and his universal rule over the entire Church. Catholics who rejected these new dogmatic claims and instead sought a return to the early Christian faith and tradition gradually formed independent churches, which eventually joined forces with the existing Dutch Church in the Union of Utrecht, which today is a Europe-wide Old Catholic church family.

In the Czech lands, the Old Catholic Church has had a tradition since the second half of the 19th century, having been formally recognized by law as early as 1877, during the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Until World War II, the vast majority of Old Catholics were Czech Germans. The center of Old Catholicism's spread was northern Bohemia and northern Moravia. The center of the Czech speaking Old Catholics was in Prague. Until 1918, the diocese responsible for Old Catholics throughout the whole Austria was located in Varnsdorf in northern Bohemia. After the founding of the republic, the diocese remained responsible for Czechoslovakia, and a new diocese was established in Austria.

The Church after World War II

After 1945, the Old Catholic Church in our country was severely affected by the so-called Beneš Decrees, and almost 95% of all believers and clergy had to leave the country. However, the Church did not disappear, and its administration and leadership was taken over by the Czech minority. Soon after, however, a second blow followed in the form of the communist coup in 1948. During the communist era, the church was suppressed, operated partly underground, and was monitored by the StB (State Security), which even had agents among some of its clergy. In 1989, the church started almost from scratch—it restored some historic parishes, founded new ones, and continues to develop dynamically.

The Old Catholic Church is still a relatively small community with about 20 parishes throughout the country, but it is one of the few Christian churches that is growing year by year, founding new communities and building new churches.

The name of the church

The word 'Old Catholic' does not mean 'outdated' or 'conservative', but expresses the connection to the ancient, unified Catholic Church of the first millennium — to the roots that preceded later ecclesiastical disputes and dogmatic innovations. We want to be a church that returns to the sources of faith, rejects restrictive dogmatic interpretations, and at the same time lives in constant contact with the world.

Other names are also used for Old Catholics around the world: in Switzerland, the Old Catholic Church is known as the Christian Catholic Church, and in Poland it uses the name Polish Catholic Church. In our country, due to the historical heritage of Utraquism from the period of the Bohemian Reformation, to which we acknowledge our affiliation, the alternative name of the Old Catholic Church as the Czech Catholic Church sub utraque is sometimes used. We are also connected to the Utraquist tradition by the consistent use of chalice communion for both laity and clergy.

Ecumenical openness and community

The Old Catholic Church is firmly anchored in the ecumenical movement. We are a member of the Ecumenical Council of Churches in the Czech Republic, the Conference of European Churches, and we also participate in the work of the World Council of Churches.

We are in full ecclesial communion with several other churches— this means that we are not organizationally merged, but believers and clergy of one church can freely transfer to another with similar rights and obligations. These churches include:

• The Anglican Communion, i.e., the entire Anglican Church, which is the third largest Christian community in the world,
• The Philippine Independent Church (Iglesia Filipina Independiente), which is mainly found in the Philippines and the USA,
• The Mar Thoma Church, which is active in India,
• The Church of Sweden, which belongs to the Lutheran tradition and is the largest church in Sweden.

The Old Catholic Church is engaged in active dialogue with the Roman Catholic Church at the highest level. The result of this dialogue is the document Church and Ecclesial Communion, which describes the separation between the Roman Catholic and Old Catholic traditions as an 'inner-Catholic problem.' This dialogue finds far-reaching agreements in faith and church practice between the two churches and attempts to find a hopeful way to overcome the division in the future.

Church administration

The Old Catholic Church follows an episcopal-synodal model of leadership: at the head is a bishop who bears spiritual responsibility and pastoral leadership, but at the same time, the synod, a democratic body of clergy and laity representing the parishes, and the synodal council, which decides on fundamental questions of church life, also play an essential role.

In the parishes, the faithful elect their parish priest and are involved in decisions about the direction and activities of the community through their representation in the synod. The bishop is then elected by the synod.

A church for all

The Old Catholic Church is open to all people, regardless of their skin color, nationality, political affiliation, or sexual orientation. The Old Catholic Church is expressly dedicated to ministering to LGBTQ+ believers. The Old Catholic Church has introduced the possibility of blessing partnerships, including same-sex partnerships. Since January 1, 2025, the Old Catholic Church in the Czech Republic has been the first church to allow same-sex partnerships to be legally validated in the form of a church ceremony.

The clergy of the Old Catholic Church—bishops, priests, and deacons—are not required to live in celibacy, and the ministry is open to men and women on equal terms. Old Catholic parishes therefore have both male and female priests. For example, a female Old Catholic bishop was elected by the Old Catholic Church in Austria in 2023.

The Old Catholic Church also treats divorced persons with pastoral sensitivity. Once the previous marriage and the associated obligations have been settled, it allows remarriage in the form of a church ceremony.

Simply put, Old Catholics strive to be open, free, and respectful Catholics who come from the long ecclesiastical tradition of Catholic Christianity but want to live in the world and for the world.