Old Catholic Church of The Netherlands - Vatican I

Vatican I

After Pope Pius IX reestablished a Catholic hierarchy in Holland in 1853, the breakaway Church of Utrecht adopted the name "Old Catholic Church" to distinguish itself from the newly created Roman hierarchy by its seniority in Holland. In 1870 the First Vatican Council was convened, and the bishops of the Church of Utrecht were not invited because they were not seen as being in communion with the Holy See. At the First Vatican Council, papal primacy in jurisdiction and the dogma of papal infallibility were defined, to the objection of the Old Catholic Church of Utrecht and some communities in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Several separate communities were formed at this time, seeking to practice pre-Vatican I Catholic ideas. Since no Roman Catholic bishops left over the issues, these communities sought apostolic succession from the Old Catholic Archbishop of Utrecht, thus leading to the formation of the Utrecht Union of Churches, and the final adoption of the name "Old Catholic" by these German speaking communities.