Old Catholics left Rome in 1870 because they could not accept that the Pope is infallible.
Catholic1870 / 1889grew out of Catholic Church
Catholics in Germany, Switzerland and Austria who could not accept the First Vatican Council's definition of papal infallibility (1870) organised their own dioceses, and in 1889 joined the archbishopric of Utrecht, independent of Rome since 1723, in the Union of Utrecht. The Union of Utrecht entered full communion with Anglican churches through the Bonn Agreement of 1931.
Old Catholics are Catholics who could not accept what the First Vatican Council defined in 1870: that the Pope is infallible when he teaches on faith and morals, and that his authority reaches directly into every diocese. They kept the Mass, the seven sacraments and bishops, and left the papacy behind.
The objection came first from scholars. Ignaz von Döllinger, the most respected church historian in Germany, argued that the definition could not be squared with the history of the Church, and he was excommunicated in 1871 for refusing it; he never joined the church that formed around his argument 8,6,13. Congresses at Munich and Cologne in 1871 and 1872 organised those who agreed, and in 1873 Joseph Hubert Reinkens was elected their first bishop 9,6.
For that they needed a bishop to consecrate him, and one was already outside Rome's obedience. The archbishopric of Utrecht in the Netherlands had chosen its own archbishop in 1723 without papal approval, during the long quarrel over Jansenism, and had been in schism ever since while remaining entirely Catholic in worship and doctrine 6,7. Utrecht consecrated Reinkens, and in 1889 the Dutch, German, Swiss and Austrian bishops formed the Union of Utrecht and published the Declaration of Utrecht, which is still the movement's doctrinal charter 7,2,6. It accepts the faith of the undivided Church of the first thousand years and the seven ecumenical councils, and rejects the papal definitions of 1870 along with the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of 1854 as additions the whole Church never agreed 6,2,7.
Old Catholics hold what they take to be the Catholic faith of the first thousand years: the creeds, seven sacraments, bishops in succession, and the Eucharist as the body and blood of Christ. What they do not hold is that any bishop, including the bishop of Rome, may define doctrine for the whole Church on his own.
The Declaration of Utrecht sets the standard as what has been believed everywhere, always and by everyone, meaning the faith of the undivided Church, and it names the seven councils as the point of reference 6,7,2. From that follows the objection to 1870: a definition made by one see without the agreement of the whole Church cannot bind the whole Church, however ancient the see 6,13.
Two consequences show in practice. Authority is synodal: each church is governed by a synod in which lay people and clergy vote alongside the bishop, and bishops are elected rather than appointed 3,4,5. And discipline is its own: compulsory celibacy was abolished in the 1870s, so priests may marry, the liturgy was in German, Dutch and French long before the Second Vatican Council allowed it in Rome, and confession may be made privately or in a general form 3,4,6. Most churches of the Union of Utrecht have ordained women as priests since the 1990s and bless same-sex couples, decisions that divided them from some who had once been with them 6,11.
Worship and practice
An Old Catholic Mass looks and sounds Catholic, in the language of the country, with a married priest as likely as an unmarried one and a congregation that elects its own bishop. Anglicans may receive communion there and Old Catholics in Anglican churches.
The rite descends from the Roman one, revised in the vernacular from the 1870s onwards, so it reached in the nineteenth century a place the Roman rite reached in the twentieth 6,3. Baptism, confirmation, communion, marriage, ordination, anointing and reconciliation are all kept, and the Eucharist is central 2,4. The Bonn Agreement of 1931 established full communion with the Anglican churches, meaning members of each may receive the sacraments in the other while each keeps its own discipline, and that relationship has held for nearly a century 10,6. Old Catholic churches also share close relations with the Orthodox and take part in the World Council of Churches 2,6.
Scripture and Bible translations
Old Catholics read the ordinary Catholic Bible of their own language: the Einheitsübersetzung in German, the Willibrord translation in Dutch. The canon is the Catholic one of seventy-three books, and the readings follow a lectionary close to the Roman.
Because these churches were formed by scholars, biblical and historical scholarship has never been treated as a threat in them, and their theological faculties at Bonn, Bern and Utrecht are university faculties working in the open 3,4,5. Scripture is read in the language people speak, as it has been since the 1870s 6,3. The verse most often quoted in their own account of themselves is Paul's report that he opposed Peter to his face at Antioch, which they take as evidence that even the first among the apostles could be wrong and be corrected 14,6. Read here: the WEB Catholic Edition and the Douay-Rheims 1899, both carrying the seventy-three-book Catholic canon, and the Reina-Valera 1909 in Spanish. The versions guide sets out what Catholic churches read.
Liturgical status
In the United States, the Roman Catholic lectionary is based on the New American Bible tradition. England and Wales began using the ESV Catholic Edition with the Abbey Psalms and Canticles in Advent 2024.
Approved study
The US bishops list the NABRE, the NRSV Catholic Edition and Updated Edition, the Good News Translation and other texts as approved for private prayer and study. This approval list does not measure their relative popularity.
Old Catholic
The Old Catholic churches of the Union of Utrecht, separate from Rome since 1870 over papal infallibility, read the ordinary Catholic Bibles of their languages: the Einheitsübersetzung in German, the Willibrord translation in Dutch.
These passages illustrate themes discussed in this profile; they are not a survey of members' favorite verses. Each is quoted from the World English Bible (Catholic) and links to its chapter. You can explore the text for study or personal reflection; memorization is optional.
But when Peter came to Antioch, I resisted him to his face, because he stood condemned. For before some people came from James, he ate with the Gentiles. But when they came, he drew back and separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision.
Paul resisted Peter to his face. No verse is quoted more often by Old Catholics, who read it as showing that the first of the apostles could be wrong and be told so.
Now these were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.
They examined the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so. A church founded by historians has a fondness for the Bereans.
For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in the middle of them.”
Where two or three are gathered together. A hundred thousand people in a handful of countries take this more personally than most.
People
Ignaz von Döllinger1799 to 1890 Germany's foremost church historian, excommunicated in 1871 for refusing the definition of papal infallibility; he gave the movement its argument but never joined it.8
Joseph Hubert Reinkens1821 to 1896 Professor at Breslau, elected the first Old Catholic bishop in Germany in 1873 and consecrated by Hermanus Heykamp, bishop of Deventer 16.9
Cornelius Steenovendied 1725 Elected archbishop of Utrecht in 1723 without papal approval and consecrated in 1724, beginning the independent line of bishops that later made the Old Catholic churches possible.7
Eduard Herzog1841 to 1924 First bishop of the Christian Catholic Church of Switzerland, who built its theological faculty at Bern and worked for its relations with the Anglicans and the Orthodox.4
Andreas Rinkel1889 to 1979 Archbishop of Utrecht for thirty-five years, who led the Union through the middle of the twentieth century and its dialogues with the other churches.7
Marinus Kok1916 to 1999 Archbishop of Utrecht who pressed for the ordination of women, a question his churches decided after his retirement and which divided them from some former partners.6
Today
The Union of Utrecht is small, perhaps a hundred thousand members in the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, the Czech Republic and Poland. Its influence has come through its relationships rather than its size.
The member churches are the Old Catholic churches of the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Austria and the Czech Republic, with the Polish Catholic Church, and each is led by a bishop with a synod 2,6. Full communion with the Anglican Communion since 1931 means Old Catholic parishes often serve Anglicans on the continent and the reverse, and the two families have worked closely for a century 10,6,15. The Polish National Catholic Church in the United States, which had been part of the Union since 1907, left it in 2003 over the ordination of women, and is now a separate body 11,6. Old Catholic churches take part in the World Council of Churches and in dialogue with Rome and the Orthodox, and Old Catholic observers attended the installation of the present Pope 2,1.
The movement began in excommunication and has been small ever since: perhaps fifty thousand German Catholics left with it out of many millions, and the churches have declined through the twentieth century 6,13,3. The decisions to ordain women and to bless same-sex couples cost it partners, and the Polish National Catholic Church left the Union in 2003 11,6. Its name has also been taken: a large number of small independent bodies unconnected with the Union of Utrecht call themselves Old Catholic, which has caused enough confusion that the Union's churches now say plainly which churches are theirs 12,6,2.
Words to know
sacrament
A sacred act Christians believe carries God's grace, such as baptism and communion. Traditions count and understand them differently.
council
A gathering of bishops to settle what the Church teaches. The first, at Nicaea in 325, gave the Church its creed.
bishop
The leader of the Christians of a city or region, who ordains priests and teaches the faith. Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican and some Lutheran and Methodist churches keep bishops.
creed
A short statement of belief said together in worship. The Nicene Creed is shared by nearly every Christian tradition.
schism
A formal parting between churches. The Great Schism of 1054 divided Catholic West from Orthodox East.
liturgy
The set form of a service: its prayers, readings and actions in their usual order. The Orthodox call their main service the Divine Liturgy.
canon
The list of books a community counts as Scripture. Jewish, Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox canons overlap almost entirely and differ at the edges.
excommunication
Being formally cut off from a church, so that one may no longer receive its sacraments. Luther was excommunicated in 1521.
Questions people ask
Why did they leave in 1870?
The First Vatican Council defined that the Pope teaches infallibly when he speaks on faith and morals for the whole Church, and that his jurisdiction is immediate in every diocese. A minority of Catholic scholars and clergy in Germany, Switzerland and Austria held that no such doctrine had been taught by the undivided Church, and would not accept it. They were excommunicated and organised their own dioceses 13,6,8.
Are Old Catholics Protestant?
No. They keep seven sacraments, bishops in apostolic succession, the Mass and prayers for the dead, and understand themselves as Catholics who did not accept a nineteenth-century definition. Their differences from Rome are about authority rather than about the sacraments 2,6,3.
What is the Union of Utrecht?
The federation of Old Catholic churches formed in 1889 around the Declaration of Utrecht, which sets out what they hold. Each church governs itself with its own bishop and synod, and the bishops meet as an international conference. It is the body that decides which churches are Old Catholic 2,6.
Why are Old Catholics in communion with Anglicans?
The Bonn Agreement of 1931 established full communion between the Union of Utrecht and the Anglican Communion: each recognises the other's sacraments and welcomes its members to communion, while neither takes on the other's doctrine wholesale. It has lasted nearly a century and is a model other churches have studied 10,6.
Why do so many small groups call themselves Old Catholic?
Because the name is not protected and the Utrecht line of bishops has been passed on by individuals outside any church's control. Many independent bodies, some tiny, use the name without belonging to the Union of Utrecht, which is why the Union publishes the list of churches that actually are its members 12,2,6.
Sources
Numbered references link the account above to its sources. These include the tradition's own documents and outside reference works. The review status below distinguishes source checking from completed member and scholarly review.
BibleVerse. “Old Catholic Church: where they came from, what they hold, and the Bible they read.” bibleverse.site, version 2026-09-09, https://bibleverse.site/denominations/oldcatholic/
Awaiting review by a member of the tradition. First published 2026-09-07; last changed 2026-09-09. Years before the common era are written BC, and later years plainly, as the site's Christian pages do.
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But when Peter came to Antioch, I resisted him to his face, because he stood condemned. For before some people came from James, he ate with the Gentiles. But when they came, he drew back and separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision.
