The Other Catholics

The Other Catholics
Author: Julie Byrne
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Total Pages: 433
Release: 2016-05-24
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0231541708

“An excellent study of churches on the fringe that incubate new ideas and shed new light on mainstream religion.”—Times Higher Education Independent Catholics are not formally connected to the pope in Rome. They practice apostolic succession, seven sacraments, and devotion to the saints. But without a pope, they can change quickly and experiment freely—with some affirming communion for the divorced, women’s ordination, clerical marriage, and same-sex marriage. From their early modern origins in the Netherlands to their contemporary proliferation in the United States, these “other Catholics” represent an unusually liberal, mobile, and creative version of America’s largest religion. In The Other Catholics, Julie Byrne shares the remarkable history and current activity of independent Catholics, who number at least two hundred communities and a million members across the United States. She focuses in particular on the Church of Antioch, one of the first Catholic groups to ordain women in modern times. Through archival documents and interviews, Byrne tells the story of the unforgettable leaders and surprising influence of these understudied churches, which, when included in Catholic history, change the narrative arc and total shape of modern Catholicism. As Pope Francis fights to soften Roman doctrines with a pastoral touch and his fellow Roman bishops push back with equal passion, independent Catholics continue to leap ahead of Roman reform, keeping key Catholic traditions but adding a progressive difference. “Byrne’s enlightening research and analysis will undoubtedly raise awareness of these little-known Catholic denominations.”

The Fantasy of Reunion

The Fantasy of Reunion
Author: Mark D. Chapman
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Total Pages: 340
Release: 2014
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0199688060

This book presents a pre-history of Ecumenism. It discusses the different understandings of 'catholicity' that emerged in the interactions between the Church of England and other churches, particularly the Roman Catholic Church and later the Old Catholic Churches, from the early 1830s to the early 1880s.