What Is Independent Catholicism?
When members of the Roman Catholic Church encounter an Independent Catholic priests for the first time, they are often surprised to learn that Catholic denominations exist apart from Rome. Understandably, questions are raised about the validity of Orders and Sacraments administered by Independent Catholics .
​
Because we are a part of an Independent Catholic jurisdiction, some Roman Catholic dioceses have accepted the our Sacrament of Holy Matrimony as valid, Other dioceses have not. The official Vatican position is that only a Roman priest can marry a Roman Catholic couple in a Roman Catholic Church. However, a wedding ceremony between a Roman Catholic and a non-Catholic will be considered a valid natural marriage by the Vatican.
​
We are a part of a distinct independent Celtic Rite Catholic jurisdiction, We are an independent catholic and orthodox Church, living our faith in the spirit of the ancient Celtic Church. Our faith is that of the first seven ecumenical councils of the undivided Christian Church--that Church which the Nicene Creed, our confession of faith, calls one, holy, catholic and apostolic. We celebrate the seven sacraments (also called Mysteries) of this Church, and we believe in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist.
We are not affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church or any other jurisdiction. We cannot speak, therefore, for any other jurisdiction just as any other jurisdiction cannot speak for us. We are Catholic as we identify with the Church through Apostolic Succession and a sacramental understanding of the faith as with other jurisdictions in the Independent Catholic tradition, we celebrate the same seven sacraments as those in the Roman, Orthodox and any other Catholic jurisdiction. Your marriage will be legal with the state and, given God's Love and Grace, a Sacrament in the eyes of God.
​
For people who are unable for one reason or another to be wed in a Roman Catholic Church, we are happy to provide this ministry.
​
If it is nessesary for you to have a Roman church blessing, Please contact your diocesean offices before getting married outside of the Roman Church. You may need a special dispensation from your bishop in order to wed outside of the Church.
​​
+Mike is the Abbott Bishop of the Celtic Order of Benedictine Chaplains and Bishop of the Celtic Anglican Communion (Celtic Catholic) (Click the links to learn more.)
​
Most people view the Catholic Church as this great monolithic institution, and are completely unaware that different Rites exist within the Catholic Church. For instance, in the east, there are Byzantine Rite Catholics. Members of the Byzantine Church have a different liturgy and different disciplinary rules than do Roman Catholics, but they are still very much Catholic. One of the reasons we remain so ignorant of other Rites is that in the western part of the Church, the Latin Rite, also called the Roman Rite, long ago became dominant, to the point of eliminating other Rites. Catholics in the West are all Roman Rite Catholics, and so people in the West tend to equate all Catholics with Roman Catholics. But this simply is not the case now, nor was it the case historically in the West. In the West, there also was once a plurality of Rites in the Church (though never as much as in the East), Other Rites of the western Catholic Church do not not in any way, shape, or form a separate and competing version of Christianity.
​
​
In order to perform the sacraments, a priest must have a valid apostolic succession.
Apostolic succession in the Roman Catholic Church, Orthodox Church and Anglican Church is the unbroken line of succession beginning with the apostles and perpetuated through bishops, considered essential for orders and sacraments to be valid.
​
+Mike's apostolic succession can be traced to Christ and the apostles through the Anglican, Greek Orthodox, Russian Orthodox, Coptic Orthodox, Old Catholic, Polish Catholic, Celtic Catholic and Roman Catholic lines.. We share many liturgical and spiritual practices in common with the Church of Rome. We are a part of the Catholic (Universal) Church. Your marriage will be legal with the state and, given God's Love and Grace, a Sacrament in the eyes of God.
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​