The Catholic Apostolic Church of Antioch is a Catholic Church in the fullest sense of what the word “catholic” means. Thus, we are a Catholic Church in the oldest, universal, orthodox sense of the word as defined by St. Polycarp in the second century. We have valid apostolic succession through both the Roman Catholic line of apostolic succession and Syro-Jacobite line of apostolic succession. We maintain the fidelity of the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church. We are an independent branch of the “one, holy, catholic, apostolic church of Christ” as promulgated in the Nicene Creed and are not a part of the Roman Catholic Church or Orthodox Churches.

The question is, “How did the Church come into existence?” The answer to that question is found in the Jansenism Movement which was a spiritual reform movement within the Roman Catholic Church from the 16th to 18th centuries begun by Dutch theologian Cornelius Otto Jansen. It found its most important stronghold in the Parisian convent of Port-Royal which was a haven for many theologians and writers including Antoione Amauld, Pieere Nicole, Blaise Pascal, and Jean Racine. However, France was dominated by the Jesuits who in 1655 convinced Pope Innocent X to condemn the movement and declare it heretical. Fearing for their lives in Jesuit dominated France, the Jansenists fled to the Netherlands where they were given sanctuary.

However forty-six years later the Jesuits were successful, after two failed attempts, to have Pope Clement XI suspend Bishop Petrus Codde of Utrecht because he would not excommunicate and expel the Jansenists from the Netherlands. However, Bishop Codde refused to accept his suspension and continued to administer the Diocese of Utrecht until he retired in 1703. The Diocese of Utrecht elected Cornelius van Steenoven as bishop as was their right under the 1125 grant by Pope Eugene III which was confirmed by the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215. Van Steenoven was consecrated to the episcopate by Dominique Marie Varlet, the Bishop of Babylon (1678-1742), who was visiting the Netherlands. Pope Clement summarily excommunicated both Bishop Varlet and Bishop Van Steenoven.

Although Clement and several of his successors tried to appoint bishops to the Diocese of Utrecht between 1703 and 1853, all were rejected by Bishop Van Steenover and his successors who maintained their consecration to the episcopate was valid pursuant to the Augustinian Principle and the Council of Trent which had confirmed it.

In 1853, Pope Pius IX received guarantees of religious freedom from the Dutch King Willem II and established a Catholic hierarchy in Utrecht loyal to the Papacy. At this point, the Diocese of Utrecht as well as the dioceses of Deventer, Haarlem, and Gronigen which had been started by Bishop Van Steenoven declared themselves The Old Catholic Church to distinguish themselves from the Roman Catholic Church.

As a consequence of the declaration of Papal Infallibility by the First Vatican Council in 1870, several European countries started their own Catholic Churches by joining with the Old Catholic Church to create the Utrecht Union of Old Catholic Churches. Arnold Harris Mathew, a former Roman Catholic priest, was consecrated to the episcopate by Archbishop Gerardus Gul of Utrecht on April 28, 1908 and was the first Old Catholic bishop in Britain.

J.J Wedgwood was consecrated to the episcopate on February 13, 1916 by Bishop Frederick Samuel Willoughby who had also been consecrated by Archbishop Bishop Mathew. Bishop Wedgewood became the first Presiding Bishop of the Liberal Catholic Church. The Rt. Rev. Irving S. Cooper was a bishop in the Liberal Catholic Church and served as the United States first Regionary Bishop from 1919 through 1935. The second Regionary Bishop of the United States was Bishop Charles Hampton who served from 1935 through 1945.

One of the bishops in the Mathew line of Apostolic Succession was Herman Adrian Spruit who had been a Methodist pastor for over twenty years but longed for the Catholic ritual he remembered from the Old Catholic Church of his childhood. He resigned his pastorate and began a process of several years of independent study of spiritual traditions. During this time, he found that much of Theosophy and esoteric Christianity resonated within his spirit. When he was again ready for ministry, he approached Bishop Hampton and Bishop Hampton consecrated him to the episcopate on June 22, 1957. Two years later Archbishop Spruit founded the Catholic Apostolic Church of Antioch.

Archbishop Spruit was the Patriarch of the Catholic Apostolic Church of Antioch from its founding until his retirement. Meri Louise Spruit was enthroned Matriarch-Archbishop on February 27, 1986 and continued in that position until her retirement. 2 Richard Alston Gundrey was enthroned Patriarch-Archbishop on February 19, 2005 and continued in that position until his retirement. Mark Elliott Newman was installed as Presiding Bishop on September 11, 2009.

The Catholic Apostolic Church of Antioch has its own seminary, Sophia Divinity School. The Curriculum comprises 60 credit hours and courses are taught at both the undergraduate and graduate level. Areas of study include: Holy Scripture, Christology, Theology, Church History, Mysticism, Liturgy, and Ecclesiology. All seminarians must attend two Convocations so they can participate in liturgical praxis prior to ordination to the deaconate. The Church of Antioch has restored the historic Minor Orders and as seminarians proceed through their course of studies they are elevated to the Minor Orders of Cleric, Doorkeeper, Reader, Healer, Acolyte, and Subdeacon. Upon completion of the Minor Orders, seminarians are ordained to the Major Orders of Deacon and Priest.

There are many characteristics that distinguish the Catholic Apostolic Church of Antioch as we strive to live our motto, “Reclaiming the Original Blessing.” These include that we are an Independent Catholic Church that is fully sacramental but without the proscribed dogma of the Roman Catholic Church and other Catholic Rite Churches. Rather, we believe that moral and ethical decisions are best made predicated on one’s informed conscience. We are a modern church that honors the divine feminine and our Holy Orders are open to men, women, gay and straight, as well as people who are married. We are a mystical church and take seriously the words of Jesus when he said the kingdom of heaven is within. As such, we encourage exploration of all spiritual paths, Christian and non-Christian, which enhance our closeness to God. Consequently, we are seekers of the Divine both within ourselves and in the world.