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The Reformed Catholic Church

The Reformed Catholic Church a fifth pillar of Catholicism, is an independent Catholic denomination with historical ties to the Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Anglican and Old Catholic churches. However, due to differences in theology and polity, The RCC is not affiliated nor it is in communion with the Roman Church and it is not a member of the Utrecht Union.

Reformed Catholic Church Teachings and Beliefs

The Reformed Catholic belief system is similar to that of churches in the Catholic Tradition, even though there are unique features of worship, theological understanding and polity.

The Reformed Catholics:

Do not believe in the infallibility of the Pope as they believe that only Jesus Christ can be infallible.

Do not believe that the Pope is the Supreme Pontiff of the Church, but they consider him as being the Bishop of Rome, a bishop first among equals.

Do not believe that any person or church has the right to withhold any of the sacraments from any person for any reason, Marriage, Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Eucharist, Holy Unction, Holy Orders or Absolution.

Believes in allowing Holy Orders for women and men, gays and lesbians; believes in celibacy as a matter of divine calling but not a requirement to be clergy. Many clergy are couples, and some even have children.

Believes in the Nicene Creed, the Catholic prayers, transsubstantiation, the Holy Trinity, and that which marks a ‘Catholic identity.’

Church Structure

The Church’s highest leading clerics are the bishops organized into the College of Bishops, which in turn is led by the Presiding Bishop, Archbishop Phillip Zimmerman.

Subordinate to the Bishops are those who have been granted the honorific office of Monsignor. Monsignors are priests selected by the Presiding Bishop to serve as Chaplains for that person. A Monsignor is normally not a title of authority, but in the RCC community they are granted this authority. The monsignors in the RCC wear a pectoral cross signifying their office.

The Church does not have cardinals as such, the Presiding Bishop currently possesses the dignity of Archbishop. He has named Bishop +Bill Quinlan, Bishop +David Frazee, and Bishop +Patrick Batuyong to the dignity of Archbishop to assist in the governance of the church and its ever increasing size.

RCC Religious Orders

The RCC has a diverse group of religious orders:

Benedictines in the RCC: There are three Benedictine orders: Order of Benedictine Reformed (OSBR) in Atlanta, Georgia Benedictines in Western United States, Lubbock, Texas and The Benedictine Community of Australia (OSBR)

Franciscans in the RCC: The "umbrella" organization of the church's Franciscans is called the Reformed Catholic Franciscans (RCF); there are also specific other Franciscan orders as well, Divine Mercy Franciscans. (DMF)

Jesuits in the RCC: The Society of Jesus also has an order in the Reformed Catholic Church; it is overseen by Archbishop Zimmerman; it is called the Reformed Society of Jesus. (RSJ)

Dominicans in the RCC: The Order of Preachers also has an order in the Church; it is called the Order of Preachers St. John the Beloved (OPJB)

Church Background

The Reformed Catholic Church is a catholic denomination with historical ties to the Independent Catholic Movement. The Independent Catholic Movement has its roots in the Old Catholic Church of Utrecht.

The church belongs to the Worker-Priest Movement as its clergy do not receive salaries for their clerical duties. The church is a grass roots movement that embraces the micro-church vision of intimate communities.

The Reformed Catholic Church was founded in 2000 by the Most Rev. Robert Allmen, OP, a former Roman Catholic. Bishop Allmen resigned from the church in 2004. Archbishop Phillip Zimmerman, SJ becames the 2nd and current Presiding Bishop of the church. The church is currently headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, United States of America.

Church Demographics

As of November 2006, the website of the Reformed Catholic Church lists 10 bishops, 33 parish or religious communities in 19 US States and multiple communities in other countries; 16 in Africa, 3 in Asia, 7 in Europe, 2 in Mexico/Caribbean, and 1 in Australia.

Currently, most of these communities are small missions and chapels dedicated to developing intimate connections between members. The RCC parishes celebrate the unique joys found in that of a small church as a reaction and an antidote to the mega-church movement. However, the number of communities and the number of church members seems to be growing rapidly.

Position in relation to other churches

The Reformed Catholic Church celebrates the liturgy according to Orthodox, Roman Catholic rites and Anglican Rites, with many communities celebrating the Novus Ordo Mass of Pope Paul VI. The Reformed Catholic Church has a valid line of apostolic succession which can be traced back to St. Peter.

The Statement of Principles of The Reformed Catholic Church identifies significant differences from Roman Catholic doctrine and practice. The Reformed Catholic Church ordains women as priests and, since 2007, as bishops. The Church also allows priests to marry before or after ordination.

Furthermore, The Reformed Catholic Church accepts same-sex Holy Unions as sacramental, and accepts gays and lesbians as candidates for ordination. Several of the clergy are in life-long same-sex relationships, and in some cases both of the partners are clergy in the Church. The Church has no objection to birth control on moral grounds, and regards abortion a personal matter that must be prayerfully considered, and as acceptable in limited circumstances.

In the Reformed Catholic Church's view, and in the viewpoint of most Independent Catholics not in communion with Rome, a confirmation of our identity as "catholic" can be found in the Vatican document Dominus Iesus, written by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI) and ratified by Pope John Paul II. While many churches in independent catholicism hold this viewof the document Dominus Iesus, official Roman Catholic sources apply the relevant passage only to the historic churches of Eastern Christianity.

The Reformed Catholic Church's Presiding Bishop, Archbishop Zimmerman, recently has issued a rebuttal of the denunciation of the Church by Roman Catholic authorities in Africa who allegedly have spoken of the Reformed Catholic Church as schismatic and its clergy as invalid. Despite this and differences of doctrine and practice between the two churches on such issues as the role of women, the Reformed Catholic Church has spoken of Vatican personnel as “Roman Brothers" and states it does not permit its clergy or lay leadership to make negative remarks towards Roman church or any other church.

Recent developments

Currently, there are ten bishops, of which three were ordained on October 6, 2006, during the church's autumn synod: Patrick Batuyong of Atlanta, David Frazee of Columbus, Ohio and (the late) Peter Posthumus of Grand Rapids, Michigan. In addition, two other bishops were ordained during the 2007 spring synod; Raelynn Scott of Dallas, Texas; and Eduardo Gonzalez of Colorado. The next synod will be held in spring 2008 in Atlanta, Georgia.

Since the church has been growing rapidly, the new bishops will help govern the affairs of the Church and continue church growth efforts. Also, Bishop James Martino of Denver, Colorado and Bishop James Reed of Hemet, California were incardinated in March, 2008.

Other communication innovations include: The PaxRadio was introduced last year, as well as the PaxPress. The PaxPress is a daily worldwide news agency for the RCC clergy.

Further, Archbishop Zimmerman and several bishops of The Reformed Catholic Church will be convening a Synod of European, African and Middle Eastern Clergy in May of 2008. At that Synod gathering, several bishops will be ordained, with Bishop-Elect Niall Sheridan, of Ireland appointed as Father Protector of the European Communities and Bishop-Elect Bernard Wamalwa of Kenya, appointed as Father Protector of the African Communities of The Reformed Catholic Church.

Emblems of The Reformed Catholic Church

Church Symbols

Reformed Catholic Flag: The flag is white background, with a yellow cross extending from the center of the flag to the edges of the flag, leaving all four quadrants equal in size. The Upper Left quadrant background is light blue with a white dove over three white rings representing the Holy Trinity.

Reformed Catholic Crest: The crest is identical to the flag.

Reformed Catholic Shield: The background is light blue with a yellow cross in the center, a white dove over three white rings representing the Holy Trinity.

Reformed Catholic Logo: The Picture is of a Dove extend form the upper left quadrant to the Lower right. The Globe in the lower half with a white cross on top of the Globe. The name The Reformed Catholic Church on the Left side in the native language of the global region

Click the picture above to dedicate a memorial mass

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