Old Catholic: History, Ministry, Faith & Mission

Rating:
Summary: A good resource
Review: Perhaps the strongest aspect in favour of this text is that it is a book on American Old Catholicism by an American Old Catholic. So many texts about the Old Catholics, American and otherwise, are written by outsiders, who bring the biased lenses of their contexts and communities with them. Sometimes these biases are subtle and unintended, but sometimes they are quite deliberate. Needless to say, those who write from the inside similarly write with bias; in the case of Old Catholicism, there is still a long way to go to achieve a parity in sources that could approximate objectivity.

That being said, this text does strive for some degree of objectivity. There are few texts available on Old Catholicism; it is an obscure-enough denomination and topic that books go out of print very quickly. Also, there are many varieties of Old Catholicism (and arguments as to the validity of the claim 'Old Catholic' by many from many). It is easy to get lost in the fray, and even the most able historian and researcher will find clarity an elusive goal.

Andre Queen is not an historian by profession or training, nor is he a writer. He is, however, bishop of a jurisdiction within American Old Catholicism, based in Chicago, and has various other titles and affiliations that have given him a reputation as a good source of information. Queen made effort to seek the counsel of other leaders in various jurisdictions as he compiled this text, so there was an element of collaboration in the process.

In some ways, this book is a compilation, and Queen would be in some respects more aptly described as the editor and compiler rather than the author. This, of course, is in keeping with the methodology of those who have a care for tradition and history - re-inventing the wheel is not necessary. For example, the longest chapter (comprising almost one-third of the entire text) is a model catechism, reprinted with permission from the catechism of the jurisdiction of the Old Catholic Church of America (James Bostwick, archbishop). Not all Old Catholic jurisdictions follow this catechism, and it is not intended to serve here as a dogmatic imposition, but rather as a paradigm for exploration.

The first several chapters give a brief history of the development of Old Catholicism in Europe (which has several strands), together with the text of important historical documents, and the transference of Old Catholicism into North America, a trek that has not been without incident, intrigue, and the occasional unfortunate occurrence. As a history, it suffers a bit from lack of a narrative framework; it is more like a patch-work quilt (made of documents, principles and brief biographies) that tells a story than a seamless narrative. For those not already acquainted to some degree with the history, it is easy to get lost. Perhaps in a future edition, this will be addressed.

The concluding chapters, 'Why Eastern and Western Expressions Combine in American Old Catholicism' and 'Yesterday's Tomorrow, Today', bring up important points that beg for further development. They address questions that most likely will be ongoing concerns, but further work on these issues would be appreciated.

There are three appendices, which deal with more obscure points (one an essay on married clergy, and two biographical/autobiographical pieces on figures of prominence in the movement). These are not really for the uninitiated - the essay on marriage assumes a familiarity with historical theology and church practice (and some degree of canon law); the other two appendices are more accessible. In particular, a reading of the appendix dealing with Archbishop Vilatte, side-by-side with that out of another text, Episcopi Vagantes, shows the trouble in dealing with Old Catholic history, and how apparent bias can be.

One minor criticism is that, in a day of computers with spell-check and grammar check, there are a few more typographical errors that one would hope; alas, in this day of self-editing even for major publishing houses, the primarily error-free text is becoming a vanishing species. Again, should there be a future edition, perhaps these will be corrected.

With the advent of lightning publishing and print-on-demand, texts such as this can remain available for longer periods of time, which is a blessing, given that in circles drawn as the Old Catholic circles are, it takes time to disseminate the information regarding the text's availability. There is not as yet a tradition of scholarship and publication in the Old Catholic world (European, North American or otherwise); in that instance, most any book is a blessing. This book represents another step in the direction of self-study and self-proclamation by the Old Catholics of their own community and beliefs. Imagine a world in which the only available texts about the Anglican, Presbyterian or Lutheran communions were written by Roman Catholic scholars, or the only texts available on Roman Catholicism were written by Eastern Orthodox scholars - one can begin to appreciate the difficulty of study of the subject.

This book strives to put Old Catholicism in the best possible light - a worthy goal, and one that any leader such as Queen would try to do. However, space should be made for the frank admission of the difficulties in Old Catholic history that Old Catholics have caused for themselves; this is brought up implicitly in some of the text, but never specifically addressed. Future editions might develop this theme, so as to not be subject to the charge of not facing our own origins.

For those interested in Old Catholicism, this is a valuable resource. It should be required of clergy and lay leaders of every jurisdiction in Old and Independent Catholicism; even the areas of disagreement can yield insight, and issues of difference made more explicit can aid in mutual cooperation. One hopes for further developments of this sort among the Old and Independent Catholic communities.

Rating:
Summary: A good resource
Review: Perhaps the strongest aspect in favour of this text is that it is a book on American Old Catholicism by an American Old Catholic. So many texts about the Old Catholics, American and otherwise, are written by outsiders, who bring the biased lenses of their contexts and communities with them. Sometimes these biases are subtle and unintended, but sometimes they are quite deliberate. Needless to say, those who write from the inside similarly write with bias; in the case of Old Catholicism, there is still a long way to go to achieve a parity in sources that could approximate objectivity.

That being said, this text does strive for some degree of objectivity. There are few texts available on Old Catholicism; it is an obscure-enough denomination and topic that books go out of print very quickly. Also, there are many varieties of Old Catholicism (and arguments as to the validity of the claim 'Old Catholic' by many from many). It is easy to get lost in the fray, and even the most able historian and researcher will find clarity an elusive goal.

Andre Queen is not an historian by profession or training, nor is he a writer. He is, however, bishop of a jurisdiction within American Old Catholicism, based in Chicago, and has various other titles and affiliations that have given him a reputation as a good source of information. Queen made effort to seek the counsel of other leaders in various jurisdictions as he compiled this text, so there was an element of collaboration in the process.

In some ways, this book is a compilation, and Queen would be in some respects more aptly described as the editor and compiler rather than the author. This, of course, is in keeping with the methodology of those who have a care for tradition and history - re-inventing the wheel is not necessary. For example, the longest chapter (comprising almost one-third of the entire text) is a model catechism, reprinted with permission from the catechism of the jurisdiction of the Old Catholic Church of America (James Bostwick, archbishop). Not all Old Catholic jurisdictions follow this catechism, and it is not intended to serve here as a dogmatic imposition, but rather as a paradigm for exploration.

The first several chapters give a brief history of the development of Old Catholicism in Europe (which has several strands), together with the text of important historical documents, and the transference of Old Catholicism into North America, a trek that has not been without incident, intrigue, and the occasional unfortunate occurrence. As a history, it suffers a bit from lack of a narrative framework; it is more like a patch-work quilt (made of documents, principles and brief biographies) that tells a story than a seamless narrative. For those not already acquainted to some degree with the history, it is easy to get lost. Perhaps in a future edition, this will be addressed.

The concluding chapters, 'Why Eastern and Western Expressions Combine in American Old Catholicism' and 'Yesterday's Tomorrow, Today', bring up important points that beg for further development. They address questions that most likely will be ongoing concerns, but further work on these issues would be appreciated.

There are three appendices, which deal with more obscure points (one an essay on married clergy, and two biographical/autobiographical pieces on figures of prominence in the movement). These are not really for the uninitiated - the essay on marriage assumes a familiarity with historical theology and church practice (and some degree of canon law); the other two appendices are more accessible. In particular, a reading of the appendix dealing with Archbishop Vilatte, side-by-side with that out of another text, Episcopi Vagantes, shows the trouble in dealing with Old Catholic history, and how apparent bias can be.

One minor criticism is that, in a day of computers with spell-check and grammar check, there are a few more typographical errors that one would hope; alas, in this day of self-editing even for major publishing houses, the primarily error-free text is becoming a vanishing species. Again, should there be a future edition, perhaps these will be corrected.

With the advent of lightning publishing and print-on-demand, texts such as this can remain available for longer periods of time, which is a blessing, given that in circles drawn as the Old Catholic circles are, it takes time to disseminate the information regarding the text's availability. There is not as yet a tradition of scholarship and publication in the Old Catholic world (European, North American or otherwise); in that instance, most any book is a blessing. This book represents another step in the direction of self-study and self-proclamation by the Old Catholics of their own community and beliefs. Imagine a world in which the only available texts about the Anglican, Presbyterian or Lutheran communions were written by Roman Catholic scholars, or the only texts available on Roman Catholicism were written by Eastern Orthodox scholars - one can begin to appreciate the difficulty of study of the subject.

This book strives to put Old Catholicism in the best possible light - a worthy goal, and one that any leader such as Queen would try to do. However, space should be made for the frank admission of the difficulties in Old Catholic history that Old Catholics have caused for themselves; this is brought up implicitly in some of the text, but never specifically addressed. Future editions might develop this theme, so as to not be subject to the charge of not facing our own origins.

For those interested in Old Catholicism, this is a valuable resource. It should be required of clergy and lay leaders of every jurisdiction in Old and Independent Catholicism; even the areas of disagreement can yield insight, and issues of difference made more explicit can aid in mutual cooperation. One hopes for further developments of this sort among the Old and Independent Catholic communities.