The Old Catholic churches reject the universal jurisdiction of the pope, as well as the Roman Catholic dogma of papal infallibility, which was used to proclaim the Roman Catholic dogmas of the Assumption of Mary. While Old Catholics affirm the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, they do not emphasize transubstantiation as the sole dogmatic explanation for this presence. Old Catholics generally refrain from using the filioque and deum de deo clauses in the Nicene Creed and also reject a dogmatic understanding of Purgatory; however, they generally do recognize a purification by Christ's grace after death and include prayers for the dead in their liturgy and devotions. They maintain such basic western Catholic practices as baptism by affusion and the use of unleavened bread in the Eucharist. Additionally, they have many aspects in common with the Orthodox and Anglican churches, such as optional clerical celibacy.
Leadership
Individual member churches maintain a degree of autonomy, similar to the practice of the Anglican Communion. Each diocese of member churches has a diocesan bishop, and countries with more than one diocese have a bishop who is appointed as "bishop in charge" or a similar title. The primate of the is the Archbishop of Utrecht. The current primate, is Joris Vercammen, a former Roman Catholic who serves on the central committee of the World Council of Churches.
History
The mother church, the, was established in the 18th century as a result of tensions between the local Catholic hierarchy and the Roman Curia. The other churches, such as the Catholic Diocese of the Old Catholics in Germany, and the Christian Catholic Church of Switzerland, followed suit after the First Vatican Council, which defined the dogma of papal infallibility.
Former member churches
In former Yugoslavia, had three organized old-catholic episcopal jurisdictions: Old Catholic Church of Croatia, Old Catholic Church of Slovenia, and Old Catholic Church of Serbia. Three churches formed "Union of Old-Catholic Churches in Yugoslavia". The Union eventually ceased to exist with break-up of Yugoslavia and even before that, old-catholic bishopric in Serbia was extinguished, and same happened with bishoprics in Slovenia and Croatia. Finally, remaining old-catholic parishes in Croatia and other parts of former Yugoslavia were placed under jurisdiction of the Old Catholic Church of Austria. The stated in 1997 that the Polish National Catholic Church was not full communion with other member churches because the did not accept the ordination of women. Since 1998, the did not permit bishops to participate in episcopal consecrations. The stated in 2003 that full communion "could not be restored" and "effectively expelled" the. The "refused to repudiate" a 1976 statement opposing the ordination of women and the "indicated that any attempt to admit women to the ministerial priesthood would lead to a break in full communion with churches that adopted the practice." The Old Catholic Church of Austria approved the blessing of same-sex unions in 1998 without deliberation; in contrast, the disapproved the blessing of same sex unions in 2002 and "described homosexual practice as sinful". The established the Union of Scranton in 2008. No other North American body has been recognized by the IBC.
Former missions
In July 2011, the Old Catholic Church of Switzerland ended its mission to Old Catholic parishes in Italy. "In cooperation with ecumenical partner churches" the parishes were "offered a model that guarantees their continued pastoral care".
