Our worship is based on the liturgies of the ancient Christian West, especially the oldest surviving forms of the Roman rite.
Historical Sketch
The Nordic Catholic Church was founded in 1999 in Norway by numerous clergy and laity of the Norwegian (Lutheran) state church, who objected, for theological reasons, to the ordination of women to the presbyterate and episcopate, and had come to embrace the Orthodox Catholic faith of the undivided Church of the first millennium.
At its inception, the Nordic Catholic Church was formed as an extraterritorial diocese of the Polish National Catholic Church of North America, which belonged to the Union of Utrecht of Old Catholic Churches for more than 96 years (from 1907 to 2003) and indeed was its largest member church. While part of the Union of Utrecht, she remained in communion only with those (few but populous) provinces of the Anglican Communion that had not purported to ordain women to the priesthood.
The Polish National Catholic Church and thus also the Nordic Catholic Church did not recognize, for theological reasons, the female priests which several of the other member churches of the Union of Utrecht had unilaterally begun to ordain. Since the revised Statute of the Union of Utrecht did not allow for this situation of impaired communion to continue, the Polish National Catholic Church and the Nordic Catholic Church had to separate from the Union of Utrecht in 2003.
In 2011, the Nordic Catholic Church became autonomous through the election and consecration of a Norwegian bishop, the Most Rev. Dr. Roald Nikolai Flemestad. In the same year, the Polish National Catholic Church and the Nordic Catholic Church joined to found the Union of Scranton as an orthodox alternative to the Union of Utrecht. The Union of Scranton is open to other catholic churches and is in dialogue, for instance, with several jurisdictions of Anglo-Catholic tradition concerning potential membership.
Since 2021 the Scandinavian Diocese of the Nordic Catholic Church is led by Bishop Ottar Mikael Myrseth, whereas Bishop Roald Nikolai Flemestad, after having consecrated his successor for Scandinavia, remains Bishop of the Nordic Catholic Church in Continental Europe and the United Kingdom.
As of 2022, the Nordic Catholic Church has parishes and missions in Norway, Sweden, Germany, Hungary, Slovakia, France, the United Kingdom, Italy and Spain.
Theology, liturgy, and ecumenical recognition
The Churches of the Union of Scranton (viz. Polish National Catholic Church and Nordic Catholic Church) are theologically Orthodox: They profess the faith of the Undivided Church as summarized in the Old Catholic-Orthodox Agreed Statements, The Road to Unity (1975-1987), which constitute their foundational theological document.
Like the Orthodox Churches, both the Polish National Catholic Church and the Nordic Catholic Church have been in limited intercommunion with the Roman Catholic Church since 2006 (in accordance with Canon 844.2-3). In particular, the validity of the holy orders and all other sacraments of the Polish National Catholic Church and the Nordic Catholic Church have been recognized by the Roman Catholic Church.
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Who we are
The Nordic Catholic Church was established in Norway in 2000 under the auspices of the Polish National Catholic Church (PNCC). We are an Old Catholic Church and, since July 2011, Member Church of the Union of Scranton.
The Nordic Catholic Church outside Scandinavia has parishes and communities in Germany, Hungary, Slovakia, UK, France, Italy and Spain.
Our Bishop
Bishop Roald Nikolai Flemestad remains Bishop Delegate of the Union of Scranton for Europe also after the transfer of the Nordic Catholic Diocese of Scandinavia to his successor Bishop Ottar Mikael Myrseth. He will then continue to give episcopal oversight to the work and mission of the Nordic Catholic Church in Continental Europe and the United Kingdom.
The Bishop's Seal and Motto
Per timorem Domini et sancti Spiritus consolationem.
The Bishop's Calendar
15 January
Annual Member Meeting, Martinuswerk (Germany), video conference.
9-12 February
Theological conference
of the Union of Scranton: "God be in my thinking - The intellectual background of the secularization", Mainz, Germany.
18 February
Clergy meeting of the Nordic Catholic Church in Scandinavia, Oslo.
24 April
The International Catholic Bishops Conference (ICBC), video conference.
12-14 May
Episcopal visitation and Church Event, St. Vincent of Lérins mission, Rožňava, Slovakia.
3-5 August
Theological Conference at Gran, Norway.
Upcoming
Dates of further episcopal visitations in the NCC European administrations will be announced later.
Ongoing
Scheduled video conferences with the local administrations.
Meetings and Events 2023 – NCC Europe
Currently scheduled meetings and events:
9-12 February
Theological conference of the Union of Scranton: “God be in my thinking – The intellectual background of the secularization”, Mainz, Germany.
12-14 May
Church Event, St. Vincent of Lérins mission, Rožňava, Slovakia.
3-5 August
International Theological Conference at Gran, Norway.
