The Old Catholic Church movement had its origins in the church of the Netherlands. Through the centuries the church in the Netherlands enjoyed relative autonomy from Rome. The Cathedral Chapter in Utrecht was formally granted authority to elect its own bishops in 1145. Furthermore, Utrecht had the freedom to conduct its own affairs confirmed by Rome in 1215 and again in 1520. In 1723, however, a definitive break with Rome took place over the imposition of a bishop from Rome. At the same time there were also challenges to freedom of religious inquiry and conscience. These religious freedoms were highly valued by the Dutch Church and they resisted strongly.
The formal beginning and subsequent spread of the Old Catholic Church came out of the reform movement that arose from two major issues raised at the first Vatican Council (1869-70). The Dutch representatives were not admitted to the council. During the proceedings, a number of European delegations left the council. Those who left the council disagreed with the proposal to centralize authority in Rome (the origin of the Roman curia) and the promulgation the doctrine of papal infallibility. Both of these matters were being promoted by Pope Pius IX.
During the next three years, a series of meetings were held under the leadership of Dr. Ignatz von Dollinger, Germany's foremost Roman Catholic theologian. From these meetings, came about the formation of a group of autonomous Catholic churches with Apostolic Succession who agreed that they would relate with one another in collegial cooperation.
The bishops elected by the newly forming churches received episcopal consecration from the Church in the Netherlands, based in Utrecht, which had now been a fully autonomous Catholic church for some 150 years. The new jurisdictions came to be known as "Old Catholic" in reference to their insistence to adhere to the basic tenets of Apostolic Christianity including collegial style of relationships, as defined by the seven Ecumenical Councils of the undivided eastern and western Christian churches. The beliefs of the Old Catholic churches were spelled out in a series of Statements beginning in 1874.
The Old Catholic church movement came to the United States in the 1880s through the work of missionaries from both England and Europe, as well as from autonomous eastern churches. Bishop DeLandes Berghes, an Austrian nobleman, was ordained in the Old Catholic Church of Austria. He was consecrated a bishop by the head of the Old Catholic Church of England, Bishop Arnold Harris Mathew and he was sent to North America in 1914. He actively built the church on this continent and engaged in ecumenical ministry, serving for instance as a co-consecrator of the first Episcopal bishop of Cuba. In 1916 he consecrated two other bishops to expand the ministries, William Francis Brothers and Carmel Henry Carfora. Archbishop Carfora energetically expanded the movement in North America until his death in 1958.
The sister churches of today in North America have diverse liturgical and ministerial styles. The autonomous North American churches of Old Catholic heritage relate to one another by such means as conferences of churches, intercommunion agreements, and cooperative outreach in ministry. The leadership and representatives of the churches of the European (Utrecht) Union meet on a regular basis in collegial dialogues focusing on pastoral and theological issues of common concern.
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