The International Old Catholic Congresses

The Beginnings

The first three (Old) Catholic Congresses were international ecumenical meetings mostly attended by Catholics who for reasons of conscience were not prepared to accept the dogmas of Papal Infallibility and Primacy of the Pope with supreme judicial authority formulated atVaticanI 1870. Further congresses held between 1874 and the founding of the Union of Utrecht 1889 were mainly meetings of the newly formed Old Catholic Church of Germany.  They served both the inner strengthening of the church and its external growth. This changed after the founding of the Union of Utrecht in 1889 once the independent catholic churches of western Europe, with the creation of the International Bishops Conference de facto became the Old Catholic denomination.

From German to International Congresses

One year after the foundation of the Union of Utrecht in 1889, the 10. Old Catholic Congress (1890 inCologne) declared itself to be the 'First International Old Catholic Congress'. The second International Old Catholic Congress (1892 inLucerne) developed the common Old Catholic ecclesiology in a list of directional theses. A joint academic Journal was also started, the "Revue Internationale de Théologie", since 1911 "Internationale Kirchliche Zeitschrift". The congresses also attempted from the common ground that had been won -- the old, undivided church of the first millennium -- to move towards friendly churches, whose representatives took a more and more active roll. Later negotiations with the Anglicans and the Orthodox are one result.

After WWII the congresses turned more to questions of parish life. The Congress in Genevain 1990 saw this enlarged to include social and ethical questions

Basics

The Old Catholic Congresses are free meetings without function in church government. In recent decades besides ecumenical themes, pastoral and social questions have been discussed.

Overview of the Old Catholic Congresses

1871                1. Catholic Congress, Munich

1872                2. Old Catholic Congress, Cologne

1873                3. Old Catholic Congress, Constance

1874                4. Old Catholic Congress, Freiburg

1876                5. Old Catholic Congress, Breslau

1877                6. Old Catholic Congress, Mainz

1880                7. Old Catholic Congress, Baden-Baden

1884                8. Old Catholic Congress, Krefeld

1888                9. Old Catholic Congress, Heidelberg

1890                1. International Old Catholic Congress, Köln/Germany

1892                2. International Old Catholic Congress, Lucerne/Switzerland

1894                3. International Old Catholic Congress, Rotterdam/Netherlands

1897                4. International Old Catholic Congress, Vienna/Austria

1902                5. International Old Catholic Congress, Bonn/Gernamy

1904                6. International Old Catholic Congress, Olten/Switzerland

1907                7. International Old Catholic Congress, The Hague/Netherlands

1909                8. International Old Catholic Congress,Vienna/Austria

1913                9. International Old Catholic Congress, Cologne/Germany

1925                10. International Old Catholic Congress, Bern/Switzerland

1928                11. International Old Catholic Congress, Utrecht/Netherlands

1931                12. International Old Catholic Congress, Vienna/Austria

1934                13. International Old Catholic Congress, Constance/Germany

1938                14. International Old Catholic Congress, Zurich/Switzerland

1948                15. International Old Catholic Congress, Hilversum/Netherlands

1953                16. International Old Catholic Congress, Munich/Germany

1957                17. International Old Catholic Congress, Rheinfelden/Switzerland

1961                18. International Old Catholic Congress, Haarlem/Netherlands

1965                19. International Old Catholic Congress, Vienna/Austria

1970                20. International Old Catholic Congress, Bonn/Germany

1974                21. International Old Catholic Congress, Lucerne/Switzerland

1978                22. International Old Catholic Congress, Noordwijkerhout/Netherlands

1982                23. International Old Catholic Congress, Vienna/Austria

1986                24. International Old Catholic Congress, Münster in Westfahlen/Germany

1990                25. International Old Catholic Congress, Geneva/Switzerland

1994                26. International Old Catholic Congress, Delft/Netherlands

1998                27. International Old Catholic Congress, Schloss Seggau bei Graz /Austria

2002                28. International Old Catholic Congress, Prague/ Czech Republic

2006                29. International Old Catholic Congress, Freiburg/Germany

2010                30. International Old Catholic Congress, Zurich/Switzerland

2014                31. International Old Catholic Congress, Utrecht/The Netherlands

2018                32. International Old Catholic Congress, Vienna, Austria

1. Congress 2014