Polish National Catholic Church

The Polish National Catholic Church (PNCC) is a Christian church founded and based in the United States by Polish-Americans who were Roman Catholic. However, the PNCC is not in full communion with the Roman Catholic Church, and differs with it theologically in several important respects. While the PNCC continues to affirm its Polish heritage, many parishes now refer to themselves as "National Catholic" churches.

As of November 2006, the PNCC has 126 parishes in the United States and Canada, with membership of 60,000, according to its report to the National Council of Churches. [http://www.ncccusa.org/news/061102updatedstats.htm]

Beliefs

The doctrine of the PNCC is largely consistent with Roman Catholic doctrine, with some notable exceptions. The PNCC rejects, as dogmatic in character, a number of Roman Catholic dogmas insisting that they are theological novelties, including the infallibility of the Pope, the Assumption and Immaculate Conception of Mary the Mother of God, and the Augustinian version of the doctrine of original sin. The PNCC has more or less abolished the practice of private confession for adults; though they may request it from a priest, the norm is for adults to receive general absolution during Mass. Although, the PNCC has seven sacraments, Baptism and Confirmation have been combined; the seventh sacrament is the Word of God being preached to, and heard by, the people. This development was alluded to in the recent joint statement (May 2006) of the Roman Catholic - PNCC Commission, but was considered a difference in emphasis rather than an obstacle to reunion. Authority in faith, morals and discipline rests with the Prime Bishop and clergy, whilst economic, financial and social matters are handled by the laity. In terms of morality, the PNCC is considered to be conservative in some areas (e.g. forbidding homosexual behaviour and abortion) and liberal in others (e.g. permitting artificial contraception, re-marriage after divorce, and a simplified annulment process).

The chief legislative body is the General Synod; each parish is entitled to send one delegate for each 50 active members.

The PNCC accepts the Old and New Testaments, the Ecumenical councils of the undivided church, and the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds. The church believes faith is necessary for salvation, and that from faith flow good works. The church hopes and prays for the salvation of all people through Jesus Christ. Sin is a "misunderstanding of the being and purpose of God on the part of the individual, the nation, and even all humanity."Harv | Mead | 1995 | p=221

History

During the late 19th century many new Polish immigrants to the U.S. became dismayed with the Catholic Church hierarchy in the U.S. The American Church had no Polish bishops and few Polish priests, and would not allow the Polish language to be taught in parish schools. Even though the mainly Irish and German bishops helped establish hundreds of parishes for Poles, it was often the case that parish priests were unable to speak the language of the people. There were also disputes over who owned church property, particularly in Buffalo and Scranton, with the parishioners demanding greater control. Many Polish-Americans came to believe that these conditions were a manifestation of "political and social exploitation of the Polish people."Harv | Mead | 1995 | pp=220-222

A leader of this struggle was Fr. Franciszek Hodur (1866-1953), a Polish immigrant to the United States and a Roman Catholic priest. Born near Krakow, he emigrated to the U.S. in 1893 and was ordained that year; in 1897, he became pastor of St. Stanislaus Cathedral in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Continued discontent led to an open rupture with the Catholic Church in 1897, when an independent Polish body was formed, headquartered in Scranton, with approximately 20,000 members initially. Hodur was consecrated a bishop in 1907 in Utrecht, Holland, by three Old Catholic bishops. He is considered by the PNCC to be its founder and first bishop. [http://www.pncc.org/who_founder.htm] . There was another schism which resulted in the formation of the small Lithuanian National Catholic Church in 1914; it later merged with the PNCC

Following the PNCC's first synod in 1904, the vernacular (first Polish, then English) gradually replaced Latin as the language of the liturgy. All orders of its clergy (including bishops) have been allowed to marry since 1921. However, if a person is unmarried at the time of ordination, he must remain so for a period of 2 years afterwards.

The PNCC was a member of the Old Catholic Union of Utrecht from 1907-2003, and for much of that period was the only member church of the Union based outside Europe (although it was not so when the Philippine Independent Church, also known as the Aglipayan Church, briefly joined the Union of Utrecht).

Missionary work was begun in Poland in 1919, and at the beginning of World War II there were more than 50 parishes in that country, along with a theological seminary in Krakow. During post-war Communist rule of Poland the church there suffered severe persecution, but it survived and is now an autocephalous body in communion with the PNCC.Harv | Mead | 1995 | p=222

Relations with other denominations

The PNCC is a longstanding member of the National Council of Churches and the World Council of Churches.

From 1907 until 2003 the PNCC was a member of the Old Catholic Union of Utrecht, and for much of that time was the only member church of the Union based outside Europe. However, in the 1970s this relationship grew strained, as there was a gradual shift towards liberalism in the rest of Utrecht Union churches, as opposed to a trend towards conservatism in the PNCC. [http://www.touchstonemag.com/docs/issues/17.4docs/17-04-056.html] The PNCC in the United States and Canada entered into a state of "impaired communion" with the Utrecht Union in 1997, since the PNCC did not accept the validity of ordaining women to the priesthood, which most other Utrecht Union churches had been doing for the past several years. The PNCC continued to refuse full communion with those churches that ordained women; thus, in 2003 the International Old Catholic Bishops' Conference expelled the PNCC from the Utrecht Union, determining that "full communion, as determined in the statute of the IBC, could not be restored and that therefore, as a consequence, the separation of our Churches follows." (The following year the [http://www.slovenski-katolici.sk Old Catholic Church in Slovakia] seceded from the Union over similar issues.) However, in 2004 the cathedral of the PNCC's Canadian diocese (St. John's Cathedral, Toronto) was reconciled with the Union and is once again in full communion with the Anglican Diocese of Toronto.

For some years the PNCC had inter-communion with the Episcopal Church in the United States, but in 1978 the PNCC terminated this relationship in response to the latter's decision to ordain women to the priesthood.

Although the PNCC has entered into tentative negotiations with Orthodox Churches in North America, no union has resulted due to the PNCC's substantial adherence to the Roman Catholic view of the sacraments and other issues.

Dialogue with the Roman Catholic Church led in 1996 to an arrangement of "limited inter-communion" between the two churches. [http://touchstonemag.com/archives/article.php?id=17-04-056-r] Subsequent dialogue has been affected by the PNCC reception of some former Roman Catholic clergy, and this was acknowledged in a 2006 joint statement between the two groups. Other obstacles to full communion cited in the 2006 statement include different views of the role of the Pope, and the level of involvement of the laity in church governance. [http://www.nccbuscc.org/comm/archives/2006/06-103.shtml]

A group of Catholics in Norway who split from the Lutheran state Church of Norway, who go by the name Nordic Catholic Church, are under the auspices of the Polish National Catholic Church, and according to some articles will have a bishop consecrated by the PNCC soon.

External links

* [http://www.pncc.org/ Official Website of the Polish National Catholic Church of the United States and Canada]
* [http://www.polskokatolicki.pl/ Official Website of the Polish Catholic Church (Poland)]
* [http://www.nordiskkatolsk.no/ Official Website of the Nordic Catholic Church]
* [http://www.utrechter-union.org/ Official Website of the Old Catholic Union of Utrecht]

Diocesan/Cathedral Links:
* [http://www.centraldiocesepncc.org/ Central Diocese]
* [http://www.saintstanislauspncc.org/ St. Stanislaus Bishop and Martyr Cathedral, Scranton PA]
* [http://www.buffalopittsburghdiocesepncc.org/ Buffalo-Pittsburgh Diocese]
* [http://www.hmrcncc.org/ Holy Mother of the Rosary PNCC Cathedral, Lancaster NY]
* [http://pnccofcanada.com// Canadian Diocese]
* [http://www.westerndiocesepncc.org/ Western Diocese]
* [http://www.forministry.com/USNHPONCCPNCCE/ Eastern Diocese]

References

*fnb|1 Encyclopedia of American Religions, J. Gordon Melton, editor. 6th Ed., 1999. pp 93-94.
*Citation | last=Mead | first=Frank S. | chapter=Polish National Catholic Church of America | title=Handbook of Denominations in the United States (10th Edition) | publisher=Abingdon Press | publication-date=1995 | isbn=0-687-01478-6.