Western Rite Orthodox Catholic Church

The Western Rite Orthodox Catholic Church, also known as the Old Roman Catholic Church was founded by Arnold Harris Mathew, Old Catholic bishop for England, on 29 December 1910.
The Western Rite Orthodox Catholic Church theology views the Eucharist as the core of the Church. From that perspective the Church is a community of believers. All are in communion with one another around the sacrifice of Jesus Christ as the highest expression of the love of God. Therefore, the celebration of the Eucharist is considered the experience of Christ's triumph over sin and that the defeat of sin consists in bringing together that which is divided.
It is believed that, through communion, differences between people are reconciled and that which was scattered is brought together. In Old Catholic theology “Church” means reconciliation. “Church” means the restoration of broken relations between God and humanity and humanity with each other. The Western Rite Orthodox Catholic Church holds exactly the same understanding of ecclesiology as the Eastern Orthodox; from the Orthodox perspective, the Church is one even though it is manifested in many places. Orthodox ecclesiology operates with a plurality in unity and a unity in plurality. For Orthodoxy there is no "either" / "or" between the one and the many. No attempt is made to subordinate the many to the one (the Roman Catholic model), nor the one to the many (the Protestant model). It is considered as both canonically and theologically correct to speak of the Church and the churches, and vice versa. Thus, within the Western Rite Orthodox Catholic Church individual local churches retain their autonomy in self-governance, but subscribe to the same basic understanding of the Church and of the faith as a communion expressing "one Church".
The Western Rite Orthodox Catholic Church believes in unity in diversity. As a result, some diversity of belief and practice is to be found among its churches than is characteristic of the Roman Catholic Church or the Eastern Orthodox churches. For example, some of the churches hold to the Roman dogmatic definition of the Immaculate Conception, others regard it as a doctrine worthy of pious belief but not necessary to believe for salvation and may hold to an Orthodox understanding of the nature of Mary; but all member churches commemorate the Feast of the Conception whether as a holyday of obligation or not. Western Rite Orthodox Catholic Church often refers to the Church Father St. Vincent of Lerins and his saying: "We must hold fast to that faith which has been believed everywhere, always, and by all the Faithful" as a basis for discerning and as an arbitrary tool in defining, faith and praxis. For this reason the Western Rite Orthodox Catholic Church does not ordain women to the Sacred Ministry nor does it condone same-gender marriage and in various other ways is differentiated from the contemporary praxis and teaching of the Utrecht Union.
Bishop Mathew issued a declaration of independence of his followers from what he called "Continental Old Catholics" (Utrecht Union) and listed "nine points of difference" between the two groups.
These groups, and others like them, are among those that are called Independent Catholic denominations, which are neither in full communion with the Holy See of Rome nor with the Utrecht Union of Old Catholics. While the term "Old Roman Catholic Church" is sometimes treated as synonymous with "Old Catholic Church", the Old Roman Catholic Church, unlike the Old Catholic churches, does not fully reject the dogmas of papal infallibility and primacy of the Roman Pontiff. Old Roman Catholic churches do not require clerical celibacy and ordain married men to the priesthood. The Old Roman Catholic jurisdictions are not open to the ordination of homosexuals and women, being more conservative on these issues in comparison with the Old Catholic churches.
The Old Roman Catholic Church in Italy and Western Europe is led by Mons. Alessandro Landerset (who represents the Orthodox Church in Italy).

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