The Old Catholic Mariavite Church

The Old Catholic Mariavite Church became an offshoot of the Roman Catholic Church in the early 20th century, in 1906. The reason for the secession was the refusal of the Polish ecclesiastical hierarchy and the pope in Rome to recognize the activity of the Congregation of Mariavite Priests, established as a result of a divine revelation granted to a religious sister, Maria Franciszka Kozłowska, on 2 August 1893 in Płock. The Congregation was set up with a view to spreading the worship of the Lord Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and the cult of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour. Its members were Roman Catholic priests who saw the need for spiritual rebirth among the clergy and the faithful.

In 1909 the Old Catholic Mariavite Church received apostolic succession from the Bishops of the Old Catholic Church of the Netherlands.

The Old Catholic Mariavite Church bases itself on the old Catholic tenets of faith and morality. These principles are contained in the canonical books of the Holy Scripture of the Old and New Testament and in the early tradition of the catholic Church. They have been determined during seven ecumenical councils in the first millennium. The Church does not recognise the dogmas on the primacy and infallibility of the Pope as adopted at the I Vatican Council in 1870. The Old Catholic Mariavite Church recognises seven holy sacraments. Holy Communion is administered under both kinds, as the Body and the Blood of Christ.

The clergy is composed of bishops, priests and deacons. Celibacy of the clergy is not mandatory.

The Church is a member of the Polish Ecumenical Council, the World Council of Churches, and the Conference of European Churches. It also has friendly relations with the Churches of the Union of Utrecht. Since 1997 a Mixed Commission has been engaged in Theological Dialogue with the Roman Catholic Church.

At present the Old Catholic Mariavite Church numbers around 25,000 faithful in Poland and 5,000 in France. As for its administration, it is divided into three dioceses: Warsaw and Płock, Lublin and Podlasie, Silesian and Łódź, and the French province. The faithful in Poland are gathered in 36 parishes and their affiliated congregations, and in France mainly in Paris. They also live in Diaspora.

The authorities of the Church are as follows: Synod, General Chapter, Head Bishop, Diocesan Bishop, parish community, parish council, and parish priest. The Head Bishop is at the same time the President of the Council of the Church and represents the Church externally. Płock is the seat of the authorities of the Church. Since 1997 the Head Bishop of the Old Catholic Mariavite Church has been Bishop Maria Włodzimierz Jaworski.

The Church is active in publishing and charity projects. It issues the Mariawita periodical.

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