About Us
The Old Catholic Diocese of the Southeast seeks to actively engage all Gospel-minded people in the celebrations of life and community in the Catholic tradition. We take seriously the freedom of faith and conscience of the individual. We are an inviting and participatory Church, celebrating diversity, accompanying people in their life journey, seeking to end the violence of poverty and the abuse of the poor, a gathering of local communities and ministries that are constantly being renewed, a Church that offers a home and protection, where each person can receive and live out their faith without fear. Our decisions are made by laity, clergy and bishop working together as interdependent voices. Our faith is celebrated together, rooted in the Old Catholic tradition, open to the future. We warmly encourage you to look at our many resources so that you may better understand our household of faith. Our experience as Church and our relationships with one another are strengthened through the life and worship of our Diocese. The Diocese is led by a Diocesan Bishop, elected and called by its laity and clergy, who oversees the spiritual and practical concerns of all the clergy and lay people within the Diocese. We rejoice to be a member Diocese of the Old Catholic Communion. We are blessed and strengthened as a Local Church by our interdependence and relationship with our sisters and brothers of the Old Catholic Communion. |
What is Old Catholic?
Old Catholicism is our "way together," which means, simply, we are all-embracing or inclusive of all. It is listening with sacred trust to the voices of all in the community of faith. Secure in our ancient faith and tradition we hold that all women and men are created in God's image and likeness and that the same divine teaching on how they should live is written in every human heart. All persons are to be treated with dignity and justice. We stand open, with love and respect, to a dialogue with those of other spiritual identities and faith traditions.
Within the Diocese, we work together in Synod - which is our regular meeting - convened to discuss, share and pray over the issues and concerns of our life together. Synod is also where matters are resolved by a consensus of our interdependent voices - laity, clergy and bishop. Synod is the method by which we express our participatory Catholicism. We meet in Synod annually as a local Diocese and in National Assembly every two years. "Catholic" means we are Christians who celebrate our Catholic faith joyfully in the full sacramental Tradition as part of the ancient Catholic Church. |