Why don all the small independent Catholic churches get together as one big church?
A. When an outsider looks at the independent Catholic movement, he or she is often surprised to see that churches are separated by what appear to be outwardly minor matters of doctrine and practice. The closer one gets to these issues, the more one realises that they are bigger than they appear at first sight. In most cases they are the direct outcome of the expression of faith in conscience, and constitute a statement of essential identity for the church and those within it. Such churches may in turn have their past in a difficult and painful decision to leave another church that was no longer prepared to accommodate these views. For their members, it may be preferable to be in a small, even tiny, community where God is worshipped as they see fit than to be a continual dissident minority in a larger church. Attempts at dogmatic unity within the independent Catholic movement – which runs the entire gamut from ultra-traditionalist to ultra-liberal with every possible shade of variation
Related Questions
- You say that the Order of the Most Holy Mary Theotokos is an independent jurisdiction in the tradition of the Old Catholic Church. What does that mean?
- Does the Roman Catholic Church recognize the Sacraments of the Independent/Old Catholic Church?
- MAJOR POINTS OF COMPARISON What is the Independent/Old Catholic Church?
