My name is Guy, I'm a member of the Polish National Catholic Church (PNCC) which some of you may have heard of. In my mind all Catholics, Anglicans, and Orthodox are, to one degree or another, part of the "True Church". Looking forward to some interesting conversations and maybe making a friend or two.
Welcome! Always have been interested to learn more about the PNCC How does it work for you guys, do people ask you about a Pope? Like are people confused when you explain how the Polish National Catholics are not the same thing as the Roman Catholics?
Well very few people have any idea who / what we are. In terms of the Pope what I always say is that I consider the Bishop Of Rome as "first among equals", etc. And I have no trouble with him being the spokes person / face of Christianity. But I think the role of the Pope (and of the Vatican Curia, etc) has become too powerful, to the detriment of the Church.
Welcome Guy! May God richly bless your time here. Please give us a run down of your experience with the PNCC. How does it differ from RCism, Anglicanism, and Orthodoxy. I'd love to hear your perspective.
Welcome Guy. Many continuing Anglicans consider union with the PNCC as the next logical step in getting our act together. And the PNCC has indicated to some degree at various times that if we could make peace with each other, they would hear us out and be amenable to unity.
Welcome, Guy! You'll enjoy your time here, as we certainly do, and I'm glad to meet you! Interesting you're a member of the PNCC! I pray frequently for Bishop Mikovsky and the souls under his charge.
I'm going to be a delegate to our National Synod later this year, and hope to find out more about where things stand in our dialogue with Anglicans....
For me the PNCC keeps what I love about Catholicism (the sacraments, the Saints, Mary, etc) without some things I don't like so much (celibate clergy, various Vatican corruption, etc). We respect the Bishop Of Rome, but feel that the Papacy has become too [powerful in relation to Church Councils. Its sort of traditional yet progressive in some ways. But I have my issues with our Church as well. For instance I think eliminating religious orders was a mistake. That's starting to change in some very small ways. The PNCC has actually gotten more conservative over the years , which is unusual in the 20th - 21st Century. Our founder (Bishop Hodur) was quite radical in some ways - universal salvation, etc. I think deep down he wanted female ordination as well.
Welcome! I know that the Polish National Catholic Church, as part of the 'Old Catholic Church', is one of the few, if only denominations within it to remain largely conservative and faithful to what Christ was sent to establish on earth. Virtually every other denomination within the Old Catholic body has become very liberal and blatantly heretical, and as of late have always wondered what it was like for members of the PNCC to have to see that.
Thanks so much for sharing Guy! I too believe in universal salvation and I was surprised to read that it is a part of PNCC's 11 Great Principles.
A very unique perspective Is it hard defending your label as Catholic, especially among Roman Catholics? Perhaps now less, in the era of Pope Francis