Foundation Principles of our Com

Foundation Principles of our Communion Unity of Faith and Apostolic Heritage

Calls Us All to “Unity In Communion”

The Mexican Catholic Church together with the English National Catholic Church invites the Old Catholic Church in Slovakia, Bishops Clergy, Ecclesial Communities and Individuals who share our vision to join with us. We are a “Communion”, a “Seraphic Order”, of autonomous bishops and ecclesial communities whose hearts burn with the fiery Love of God. We are “In Communion” with one another, a communion rooted in three fundamental unitive principles:

1. Eucharistic Unity: Centered in the One Loaf and the One Cup of Holy Communion whereby we are all drawn up together into the ONE body of our Lord, Savior and God, Jesus Christ - within His Body and His Blood. We witness to and believe that the Holy Eucharist is the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ, as confirmed and taught by the Fourth Lateran Council in the year 1215. The distinction and marvel of the Holy Eucharist being precisely that it is actual and substantial and thus an extension of the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ in the present world.

2. Unity in Faith: Centred in God, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Holy Scriptures and the historic and traditional Seven Sacraments of the Church and the spiritual understandings of the First Seven Ecumenical Councils.

3. Collegial Unity: Centred around each autonomous local bishop and that bishop’s community joined with other bishops and their communities in a consensus of faith, Eucharist and synodical collegiality. These three principles together form a "Core Understanding and Foundation of Unity“, in our view, for the future of the Church toward which we must strive with all of our abilities and efforts to restore to “Unity in Communion” our sister jurisdictions and churches of the Ancient, Undivided, One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.

We leave to each Jurisdiction or Church within this “Communion”, the loving freedom and diversity to implement their own ministry and outreach, realizing that there are unique administrative and local necessities, customs, local canons and traditions that vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction according to the needs of their own flocks and clergy. We know and affirm that the gift of diversity in our abilities to minister to the needs of individual groups of the faithful in many and varying locations must be maintained by the local Bishop Ordinary of each member Jurisdiction or Church comprising our “Communion.”

All of us agree to make no claim over any other jurisdiction within this “Communion”. Neither does any member claim or have any right of interference with the internal affairs of another jurisdiction belonging to this “Communion”. Only an infraction of the agreement we have entered into will be considered a breach of our “Communion” together.

We hold absolutely, and preach without variation, the faith of the One Holy, Catholic, Apostolic Christian Church of our Lord, Saviour and God Jesus Christ as defined by the Spirit of the first Seven Ecumenical Councils and expressed within the historic and unchanging Catholic Creeds. We acknowledge the absolute validity of all 7 traditional Sacraments as celebrated within the various jurisdictions comprising our “Communion”.

Unity which is founded in the faithful trust, love and freedom of our Lord Jesus Christ does not require from any of the members of this “Communion” the acceptance of all doctrinal options, sacramental devotions, or liturgical practices characteristic of the others, but implies that each believes the others to hold all the essentials of the One Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Faith of our Lord Jesus Christ.

We echo St. Augustine's classical statement of ecumenicity: In essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty, in all things love“. While celebrating the diversity within orthodoxy, we also strive to avoid a schismatic spirit which would elevate non-essentials or non-consensual beliefs and practices above the Father‹s will that there be a spiritual and visible unity of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.

We commit ourselves to the continuing growth and the extension of this unity through brotherly love, respect and agreement upon the core foundations of our “Communion”.

We remove all barriers and divisions between ourselves, while at the same time respecting absolutely the jurisdictional integrity and Episcopal authority of each member. We also agree that our clergy will seek the official permission of the Bishops involved before asking to celebrate any of the Sacraments or function in any clerical capacity in another Bishop’s Chapels, Missions or Churches and that normal Letters of Incardination and Excardination will be utilized for clerical transfers of any kind between member jurisdictions.

We proclaim ourselves, our clergy and all our faithful people to be free to participate and share in the sacramental life of each and every member jurisdiction represented by its Bishop in the International Free Catholic Communion.

With much prayer for the Unity that will come, we offer this paradigm as a foundation for all who wish to Unite with us through mutual recognition and joining together in “Free and Full Communion,” while at the same time retaining complete respect for one another’s jurisdictional integrity.

Join us. Together “in one accord” we CAN change the World!

Jesus said: “Again I tell you, if two of you on earth agree (harmonize together, make a symphony together) about whatever [anything and everything] they may ask, it will come to pass and be done for them by My Father in heaven.” St. Matthew 18:19 Amplified Bible

Each member Community (jurisdiction) recognizes the catholicity and independence of the others and maintains its own.

Each member Community (jurisdiction) agrees to admit members of the other Communities to participate in the Sacraments.

“Being in Communion” does not require from the member Communities (jurisdictions) the acceptance of all doctrine, sacramental devotion, or liturgical practice characteristic of the others but implies that each Ecclesial Community believes the others to hold all the essentials of the Catholic Christian faith.

THE GREAT PRAYER FOR UNITY

“Unite Us All”

Unite us all, who partake of the Holy Gifts:

Unite us all, who partake together from the ONE LOAF and CUP,

one with another in the Communion of the one Holy Spirit;

and let no one among us receive the Body and Blood of Thy Christ

for judgment or condemnation, but may we find mercy and grace

with all Thy Saints since the beginning of time. AMEN

Deed of Communion

Be it known that we do declare by these our letters canonical:

THAT WE: Each being the senior jurisdictional Bishop Ordinary, and leaders of our own Catholic jurisdictions; recognizing and confirming our valid Apostolic Succession and authority within the One Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church of our Lord Jesus Christ - do agree and unite ourselves and our jurisdictions within the following articles of apostolic understanding as the firm and loving basis for recognizing and declaring that our jurisdictions of the Church find ourselves to be in peace, in harmony, and in unity of the Faith, in the understanding of the undivided Church. And therefore declare and establish, as witnessed by our signature that we in a state of Communion and Apostolic Fellowship.

It is our very Eucharistic understanding, our ecclesiology, if you would, which implies and confirms for, and to, us all a very basic threefold unity.

Eucharistic unity, that is, unity in the One Loaf and the One Cup of Holy Communion where we are all drawn up together into the ONE body of our Lord, Saviour and God Jesus Christ - within His Body and His Blood. For we witness and believe that the Holy Eucharist is the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ, as confirmed and taught by the Fourth Lateran Council in the year 1215. The distinction and marvel of the Holy Eucharist being precisely that it is actual and substantial; thus an extension of the Incarnation.

Unity in Faith (i.e. The Holy Scriptures, the historic and traditional seven sacraments of the Church and the spiritual understandings of the First Seven Ecumenical Councils) and -

Unity as centred around each local bishop and the bishops joining together in unity of faith, unity in Eucharistic belief and celebration, and forming thereby collegial synodical unity.

These three things together form a ›Core Understanding and Foundation of Unity,“ in our humble estimation, for the future of the Church toward which we must all strive with the fullness of our abilities and efforts to restore to “Unity in Communion” our sister jurisdictions and churches of the Ancient, Undivided, One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.

We leave to each individual jurisdiction and Church within this Communion, the loving freedom and diversity of implementing their own ministry and outreach, realizing the unique administrative and local necessities, customs, local canons and traditions that may, and do, vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction - as may be unique to the needs of their own flocks and clergy under their own jurisdictional authority; knowing that the gift of diversity in our abilities to minister to the needs of individual groups of the faithful in many and varying locations must, and should, be maintained by the local Jurisdictional Ordinary of each of the member Jurisdictions and Churches comprising our “Communion.”

We further declare that

Said power and authority is exercised rightly within each participating jurisdiction, and all agree to make no claim over any other jurisdiction within this Communion. Neither does any signatory claim or have any right of interference in the internal affairs of another jurisdiction belonging to this Communion. Only an infraction of the agreement herewith signed and sealed will be considered a breach of this Communion.

We each and severally hold absolutely, and preach without variation, the faith of the One Holy, Catholic, Apostolic Christian Church of our Lord, Saviour and God Jesus Christ as defined by the spirit of the first Seven Ecumenical Councils and expressed within the historic and unchanging Catholic Creeds. We each and severally acknowledge the absolute validity of all 7 traditional Sacraments as celebrated within our jurisdictions.

Unity which is founded in the faithful trust, love and freedom of our Lord Jesus Christ does not require from any of the members of this Communion the acceptance of all doctrinal options, sacramental devotions, or liturgical practices characteristic of the other, but implies that each believes the other to hold all the essentials of the One Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Christian of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore:

We commit ourselves to the continuing growth and the extension of this unity through brotherly love, respect and agreement upon the core foundations of this Deed of Communion.

We remove all barriers and divisions between ourselves, while at the same time respecting absolutely the aforesaid jurisdictional integrity and Episcopal authority of each member jurisdiction. We also agree that the clergy will seek official permission of the Bishop before asking to celebrate any of the Sacraments or function in any clerical capacity in any of the others Chapels, Missions or Churches and that normal Letters of Incardination and Excardination will be utilized for clerical transfers of any kind between member jurisdictions.

We proclaim ourselves, our clergy and all our faithful people to be free to participate and share in the sacramental life of each and every member jurisdiction represented by its Bishop’s signature below.

Given and confirmed under our hands and seals, and with much prayer for the eventual further Unity that comes from, and through, recognition and joining together in free and full “Communion,” while at the same time retaining full and complete respect for the jurisdictional integrity of its members - confirmed and witnessed through the mutually held Faith as defined above, as its foundation for all who may eventually come to embrace this “Communion,” with us - as full and participating brothers and sister jurisdictions in our Lord, Saviour and God Jesus Christ and his Church.