Ecumenical Catholic Communion

The Ecumenical Catholic Communion (ECC) is an Independent Catholic Church, its members understand themselves as following the Catholic tradition without being in communion with the Roman Catholic Church. The ECC is a confederation of independent communities based in the United States.^[1] It differs from Roman Catholic practice in a number of key areas such as: the ordination of women, ordination of married men to the priesthood and episcopacy, its inclusive attitude toward people of a homosexual orientation and those seeking marriage after divorce^[2].

The ECC has been identified as being distinct from numbers of other independent Catholic movements because of its number of affiliated communities and the ratio of clergy to laity. Many independent Catholic churches have few communities and consist manly of bishops and priests with few lay members^[3]. In contrast, the ECC has a wider geographic spread and will only incardinate ordained ministers or ordain new ministers if those people have a community in which to minister[1]. The membership of the ECC, in the order of 2500^[4], includes 2 bishops^[5], 30 communities across 12 states^[6] and more than 60 priests and deacons.^[7]

History

The Ecumenical Catholic Communion has roots in the Old Catholic Church and counts the The Declaration of Utrecht among its foundational sources.^[8] This link with the Old Catholic Church largely underpins the communion's claims of Catholic identity, apostolic succession, validity of ordained ministry and sacraments.

Peter Elder Hickman, the current Presiding Bishop of the ECC, has been key to the evolution of the communion. Originally ordained for the American Baptists, Hickman was drawn to the liturgical elements of the Catholic tradition but had difficulties with some elements of the structure and disciplines of Roman Catholicism.^[9]^[10] Hickman found a compromise between Catholic sacramental practice and the authority of Rome in an Old Catholic Church community in East Los Angeles.^[11] After being ordained a priest in the Old Catholic Church, Hickman saw the potential to start a new community and founded St Matthew Church in Orange County at the end of 1985^[12].

Over time, the St Matthew community grew in members and changed locations, including mortuary and wedding chapels, before being able to acquire their own building. A number of former Roman Catholic priests joined St Matthew and new communities began to grow from that community.^[13] In 1995, the St Matthew community decided to seek episcopal ordination for their pastor, Hickman. To this end, Hickman was put forward as a candidate for the episcopacy to the bishops of the Ecumenical Communion of Catholic and Apostolic Churches.^[14]In May of 1996, Hickman was ordained a bishop by three Old Catholic bishops^[15] and, as a result, was considered to have apostolic succession. The ECC was formally established as an national ecclesial organization on September 19, 2003.^[16]

As seen below, a number of communities have sought, firstly affiliation with the St Matthew community, and after 2003 membership of the ECC. The new communities have required ordained leadership and this has resulted in a number of ordinations of women and men.^[17] In 1997, Patricia McElroy became the first woman to be ordained a deacon by Bishop Hickman.^[18] In 2000, Hickman ordained Kathy McCarthy to the priesthood, the first female priest for the communion.^[19] In the following year, the high profile ordination of Mary Anne Whitfield Ramerman cause controversy with the Roman Catholic hierarchy and was supported by advocates of women's ordination in the Catholic tradition.^[20]

Belief

The constitution of the Ecumenical Catholic Communion affirms faith in elements common to other adherents of the Catholic tradition.^[21]

These elements include:

The person of Jesus Christ
The place of the one catholic and apostolic church
The Christian Scriptures considered canonical by the historical Catholic Church
The Sacraments
The Nicene Creed

As mentioned above, the ECC affirms The Declaration of Utrecht (1889) of the Old Catholic Church which rejected papal jurisdiction and papal infallibility. The ECC does not completely reject the place of the Bishop of Rome.^[22] However, it would seem that reconciliation with Rome would be difficult without Roman reform in key areas of disagreement.

The ECC also have their own Distinctive Foundational Teachings of the Ecumenical Catholic Communion, which are seen as an application of Gospel teaching to a contemporary context:

Invitation to the Sacramental Life

The ECC is open to Christians from other denominations participating in the sacramental life of the communion. In contrast, Roman Catholic practice precludes other Christians from participating in sacraments such as the eucharist.

Invitation to Co-equal Ministry

While affirming the value of ministry of people whether they are lay or ordained, single or celibate people, the ECC allows the ordination of women and people who are married.

Invitation to Intimate Commitment

While acknowledging the trauma of divorce, the ECC allows the marriage of people who have been divorced without an annulment process.

Invitation to follow Conscience

Members of the ECC are encouraged to be guided by their consciences when making ethical decisions concerning issues such as artificial birth control.^[23]

Governance

The Ecumenical Catholic Communion has a synodal model of governance. The synod of the communion consists of, "the Presiding Bishop in collaboration with the House of Laity, the House of Pastors, and the Episcopal Council."^[24] When the synod is not is session the governance of the communion is carried by the Leadership Council except where authority is reserved to the Presiding Bishop, the Episcopal Council, the House of Laity or the House of Pastors. The Leadership Council, "is a group comprised of the Presiding Bishop and an equal number of representatives from each of the House of Laity and House of Pastors, who shall normally be the elected officers of those Houses."^[25]

Bishop Hickman was the only bishop of the communion until late 2009 when the Ecumenical Anglican Church (EAC) joined the ECC.^[26] At that stage, Bishop Richard Hollingsworth of the EAC also joined the communion, but relinquished juridical authority within the ECC. Should another diocese of the communion be established, Bishop Hollingsworth is eligible to be elected to this role.^[27]

Catholicity and Apostolic Authority

It is not within the scope of this article to address all of the theological matters concerning the Ecumenical Catholic Communion. Even less appropriate for this article, is any attempt to make theological conclusions about controversial issues. However there is a place for bringing to notice some important questions. One of the most significant theological questions raised by the existence of the ECC is its claim of catholicity. For some, the term Catholic may only be used by those in communion with the Church of Rome. Some find it unhelpful to use the term Roman Catholic to distinguish the churches in communion with Rome, because they all have their own cultural nuances.^[28] Members of many other churches within the Christian tradition, take very seriously their claim to catholicity as they recite the words of the Nicene Creed and affirm belief in “one holy catholic and apostolic church.” These churches may not even have the word ‘Catholic’ in their official titles.^[29]

For individuals, the question of Catholic identity may be very personal. There are many people who deeply identify themselves as Catholic, but can no longer accept the rulings of the papacy with it comes to matters of homosexuality and women's participation. Churches such as the ECC have played a role in the lives of some people who come from this experience.^[30]^[31]

The Roman Catholic Church itself, recognizes that there are churches not in communion with Rome which possess apostolic succession and valid eucharist.^[32] However, when referring to apostolic succession, a distinction can be drawn between a minimalist understanding or a broader understanding of the term. A minimalist understanding highlights that bishops can trace their own ordination back to the apostles and a broader understanding speaks of handing on the faith of the apostles.^[33] What remains then are questions about how the apostolic faith is to be interpreted in contemporary contexts.

Throughout the history of Christianity, there have been a number of schisms brought about by various circumstances. These have included the Great Schism between Eastern and Western Christianity, the Protestant Reformation and the English Reformation. Other events have involved the Roman Catholic Church and Old Catholics or the Society of St. Pius X. The Ecumenical movement has been an attempt to reconcile some of these divisions. These attempts at reconciliation are further complicated by divergent approaches to questions such as the ordination of women.

From one perspective, the catholicity of a church may be seen as dependant on that church having valid sacraments celebrated by a validly ordained minister. Some groupings within Christianity are accepted to celebrate sacraments that, from a Roman Catholic perspective are valid but illicit. Old Catholic orders and sacraments are generally considered valid by Roman Catholics.^[34] With the case of the ECC there are some issues which go beyond the relationship of the Roman Catholic Church and the Old Catholic Church. In the case of the ECC, what is being considered is a communion that is no longer in full communion with the Old Catholic Church. There is also the additional question of the ordination of women, which the papacy does not consider to be valid.^[35] Further, it should be noted that perspectives that that put papal authority as the final arbiter of what is valid have be questioned. The schisms that have occurred in the history of Christianity can often be attributed to disputes about what has been a valid exercise of papal authority. Papal authority has evolved over time and not all of these developments has gained assent from all Christians^[36] In the finally analysis, the issues of catholicity and authority are complex, not only for the ECC. The judgements that are made about these issues are often based on one's particular bias or position within various Christian traditions.