Welcome to the Old Catholic Church

Differentiation is to be unique	Communion is to be related	Autopoiesis is to be a center of activity

is a branch of the Old Catholic community in the United States of America with an active presence in Alabama, Florida, Minnesota, and New York.   We also have relations with several other communities throughout Central, North and South America as well as the Carribean basin.   This part of the Catholic Church encourages formal and informal relations with other branches of the Church as well as with other religious bodies.   Ecumenical outreach is one of the mission goals.   The Oratory centers most of its activity upon caring for the disenfranchised, forgotten and rejected in society without regard to religious affiliation or non-affiliation as the case may be.

Our community is a direct descendent of the European (Utrecht Union) Old Catholic community through bishop Arnold H. Mathew and bishop Rudolph de Landis Berghes (Apostle to the Americas); however, we are not members of the Utrecht Union of Churches.   We strive to gain "reconciliation" among Old Catholics throughout the world and in particular with the Utrecht Union as well as with the Anglican Communion. .  The Apostolic lines of succession in addition to origination from the Archdiocese of Utrecht (Old Catholic / Utrecht Union) also derive from Anglican, Orthodox and Roman sources.   These have been reviewed by Catholic scholars (Yves Marie Joseph Cardinal Congar among others) and pronounced a "valid succession of orders" and a "valid transfer of powers".   The Oratory of the Common Life is affirming, inclusive and welcoming.

"Old Catholic" is a way of being "catholic" and practicing the "catholic faith".  Whereas, the Utrecht Union (Old Catholic) and its partner, the Anglican Communion (Anglican), are ways of governing the affairs of particular "catholic" communities.  There are other ways of governing besides these two.   The "Old Catholic Church", therefore, is composed of communities that embrace, in matters of faith: 1) christian scriptures; 2) the teachings of the early church fathers and mothers; 3) the guidance of the seven (7) ecumenical councils; and 4) the canons of the Council of Trent in so far as these do not contradict the preceeding three.

The "Common Life" communities of the Late Middle Age period in the Netherlands were most assuredly centered on the "House Church" and were the predessor of the modern "House Church" movement.   At that time the concept was called "Devotio Moderna", Latin for "Modern Devotion".  This development in Western christianity happened coincidental to the Reformation Era and in fact many of the Reforming Churches developed from this "Common Life" idea.  The Old Catholic experience has its roots among the "House Churches" that formed in the Netherlands during the Reformation period of Western Europe when the reformers forbade any High Church (liturgical) expression.   The Catholics of the Netherlands were forced to retreat into "House Churches" in order to hide their religious practices.  For a more detailed outline of the Old Catholics see:  A Brief Background and History Statement.

The Oratory of the Common Life patterns itself along the lines of the Common Life Communities that developed in the Low Countries.  While each Oratory has at its core the Imitation of Christ and daily readings (breviary), it also has its own particular charism derived from the talents and characteristics of the members and the challenges of the locality.  Membership is open to all who come in peace regardless of church affiliation.   There are no vows as are found among the traditional religious communities.   Members must only obey the rule of the community:  in all things be moderate; differentiation is to be unique; communion is to be related; autopoiesis is to be a center of activity.  Due to this absense of vows in the traditional sense, the Oratory of the Common Life is not a mendicant order.  Members work for their daily bread.

While there are no classes of membership in the Oratory of the Common Life, we embrace the need for Holy Orders (Apostolic Succession) to be a sacramental community.  Whether already ordained or seeking ordination, we require that a candidate complete our formation program which you can access here:  Formation Program.  After reading our formation outline, those who are interested in exploring the formation program further are encouraged to contact the formations director:  Formations