Old Catholic Church Bishop to be ordained

The Rev. Thomas E. Ayotte will be elevated to the rank of bishop of the Old Catholic Church in a Sacred Ceremony on Oct. 9 at 10 a.m. 

His full title will be His Excellency, the Right Reverend Bishop of the Old Catholic Diocese of California.

The ordination will take place at Christ Episcopal Church, 15th and H streets in Eureka. The community is invited to attend. A reception will be held at his home afterward.

Locally, Ayotte said, this is the beginning of the Reconciliation Old Catholic Church.

”Since we do not have a permanent place to worship yet, Christ Episcopal Church ... has graciously invited us to use their church for the ceremony,” said Ayotte. “We are most grateful to this congregation and their leadership for this honor.”

The Old Catholic Church is a Christian denomination that originated with groups who split from the Holy See -- the jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome -- because they disagreed with essential doctrines. 

The church is not in communion with the Holy See, though the Union of Utrecht of Old Catholic Churches is in full communion with the Anglican Communion and a member of the World Council of Churches, according to Wikipedia.

It is estimated to have 10,000 adherents (presently).

The term “Old Catholic” dates back to 1853 when it was used to describe the members of the See of Utrecht who didn't recognize an “infallible” papal authority. 

As the groups that split from the Holy See in the 1870s had no bishop, they joined Utrecht to form the Union of Utrecht. 

The Old Catholic Church shares much of the same doctrine and liturgy with the Roman Catholic Church, Orthodox Christianity and High Church Protestants. 

Old Catholics could be seen as holding a more “open approach” to some issues, including the role of women in the church, married people within the ordained ministry, the morality of same-sex relationships, the use of one's conscience when deciding to use artificial contraception, and liturgical reforms such as open communion. 

In 1994, the German bishops decided to ordain women as priests, and put it into practice in May 1996. 

The Utrecht Union allows those who are divorced to have a new religious marriage and upholds no teaching on birth control, leaving such decisions to the married couple. 

Pope John Paul II ratified and ordered the publication of the “Declaration of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith” in 2000. 

In it, the Roman Catholic Church recognizes the validity of orders and sacraments of Old Catholic denominations.

Ayotte, who lives in McKinleyville, is a former Roman Catholic priest and was most recently an assistant administrator at Mad River Community Hospital in Arcata prior to his retirement.

More information about the Old Catholic Church can be found at www.oldcatholicchurch.org and other online references.

SIC: TL/USA