Old Catholic Church of Croatia

The Old Catholic Church of Croatia or Croatian Old Catholic Church (Croatian: Hrvatska starokatolička crkva) consists of the Croatian parishes in full communion with the Union of Utrecht of the Old Catholic Churches. Since 2018, it is administered by Bishop Heinz Lederleitner.[2] The Croatian Old Catholic Church today has about 1,000 believers. [3]

Old Catholic Church of Croatia
ClassificationOld Catholic
TheologyUltrajectine
GovernanceEpiscopal
LeaderHeinz Lederleitner
AssociationsInternational Old Catholic Bishops' Conference
RegionCroatia
HeadquartersZagreb
Membersc. 700 (2011)[1]
Official websitehttp://hrvatska-starokatolicka-crkva.com/

It should not be confused with some alternative organizations of Old Catholic tradition in Croatia, like the Old Catholic General vicariate of St. Method in Croatia.[4]

History
Holy Cross Old Catholic church in Zagreb

The Old Catholic Church of Croatia was created after First World War and was recognized by state authorities of Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (Yugoslavia) in 1923. Its first bishop was Marko Kalogjera (1924–1956). During Second World War, the Old Catholic Church of Croatia was banned by the Ustaše regime. Among executed Old-Catholic clerics were: Ante Donković, Davorin Ivanović, Josip Ivelić, Ivan Cigula and Luka Malinarić.[5]

The church also suffered from several internal divisions (since 1933), and for a long time it was split in two groups that were finally united in 1974.[6] In spite of that, the church never recovered fully, and it was placed by the Union of Utrecht under a delegated administration of Bishop Nikolaus Hummel of the Old Catholic Church of Austria (1975–1994),[7] and his successors.[8] Since 18 November 2018, the administrating Bishop is Heinz Lederleitner, current bishop of the Old Catholic Church of Austria.[9]

Today's president of the Synodal Council of the Old Catholic Church of Croatia is Dr. Damir Boras, grandson of the founder of the church. [10]

Croatian Old-Catholic bishops
  • Marko Kalogjera (1924–1933–1956)
  • Ante Donković elected bishop (1933–1943)
  • Vladimir Kos (died 1959)
  • Vilim Huzjak (1961–1974)

Administrators:

  • Nikolaus Hummel (1975–1994)
  • Bernhard Heitz (1994–2010)
  • John Okoro (2010–2018)
  • Heinz Lederleitner (2018–)

References
  1. "Otkrivamo duhovno utočište rektora Borasa - Starokatolici: Ponosni smo na njega". Jutarnji list (in Croatian). 18 April 2014. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  2. Hrvatska starokatolička crkva (2018): Primopredaja biskupske službe u našoj crkvi
  3. "Šibenski - 'Proroci' i 'spasitelji' koji tvrde da molitvom liječe rak, neplodnost i bebama produžuju noge: u Hrvatskoj djeluju 52 različite crkve i imaju tisuće pristaša". slobodnadalmacija.hr (in Croatian). 2017-11-21. Retrieved 2023-09-02.
  4. Old Catholic General vicariate of St. Method in Croatia
  5. Škiljan 2014, p. 195-213.
  6. Flügel 2014, p. 72-74.
  7. Kolarić 2005, p. 657.
  8. "Hrvatska Starokatolička crkva: Naša povijest". hrvatska-starokatolicka-crkva.com.
  9. Hrvatska starokatolička crkva (2018): Primopredaja biskupske službe u našoj crkvi
  10. "Jutarnji list - OTKRIVAMO DUHOVNO UTOČIŠTE REKTORA BORASA Starokatolici: Ponosni smo na njega". www.jutarnji.hr (in Croatian). 2014-04-18. Retrieved 2023-07-20.

Sources
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