To learn more about us, please visit
these pages:
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Greetings from our
Presiding
Bishop
Dominus vobiscum!
Welcome to our church website!
The pages
presented here will give you information about the
Ecumenical Catholic
Church+USA
and introduce you to our
ministries, congregations & clergy.
If you have questions about our church or if you are interested in pursuing
ministry
with us, please email me at
BishopRobert@ecc-usa.org
The mission of the Ecumenical
Catholic Church+USA is fulfilled in ministering to all people by preaching the
Word of God, offering the Seven Sacraments of the Church, and witnessing Christ's
mercy and love using an ecumenical approach that maintains Catholic Faith Tradition.
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We are a small church with long
roots in the Old Catholic Church movement in the USA. A couple of years ago,
we separated from another independent Catholic church because our clergy and
people wanted to more positively witness the liturgy and beliefs of the Roman
Catholic Church especially regarding the Blessed Virgin Mary. At the same time,
we remain totally independent of the Roman Catholic Church in all matters, with
particular reference to papal infallibility and authority, remarriage after
a divorce, family planning, clerical celibacy, and ordination of women. Our
specific beliefs regarding these issues are presented elsewhere on this website.
Being a theologically open and ecumenical church,
we make all sacraments available to anyone who believes in the divinity and
teachings of Jesus Christ. Specifically, the sacrament of Holy Orders at all
levels (deacon, priest, bishop) is open to both men and women. Indeed, women
who are ordained as deacons, priests and bishops serve with the same rights,
privileges, responsibilities, and obligations as our male deacons, priests,
and bishops.
We are a missionary church. Even though ministry
within our church takes many forms, every clergyperson must have an active ministry
which is specifically designed to actualize our church mission statement.
The mission of the Ecumenical
Catholic Church+USA is fulfilled in ministering to all people by preaching the
Word of God, offering the Seven Sacraments of the Church, and witnessing Christ's
mercy and love using an ecumenical approach that maintains Catholic Faith Tradition.
Our clergy serve as pastors of congregations; as
chaplains to nursing homes, police and fire departments, prisons, and hospitals;
and as pastoral directors of religious institutions. Many of our clergy hold
a full time secular job through which they support family and ministry. Some, however, serve as pastors of congregations that support them financially. We
are worker-priests (deacons, bishops) who live in the world and bring Christ
into this world both in the workplace and at the Altar.
There are many places and ways for you to serve
Christ as a clergyperson in the ECC+USA and/or as a member of one of our congregations,
several religious orders and institutes.
If you think you might be interested in joining
with us in the Lord's ministry, let's talk.
Welcome and blessings,
BishopRobert
+Rev. Robert A. Catlett, Jr., M.Div.
Presiding
Bishop
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