The House of Bishops consists of bishops who, charged with the ministry of apostolicity, receive the fullness of the teaching authority of the Church and therefore it remains in the sole purview of the House to define matters of faith for the Communion and to oversee the sacraments.
The House of Bishops is responsible for a number of tasks which also include:
The following texts are pastoral letters issued by the Communion's House of Bishops since its inception.
The House of Bishops is responsible for a number of tasks which also include:
- Taking the necessary decisions in all organizational and disciplinary matters concerning the maintenance of communion and the implementation of joint projects.
- Taking a stand in controversial questions of faith and related ethical behaviors as well as in the order of the Communion.
- Making statements and pastoral letters on faith and principles of Old Catholicism and of the Communion, if required.
- Providing episcopal oversight and guidance for the Institute of Old Catholic Studies (IOCS), an educational outreach ministry of the Communion.
- Nurturing and ordering relationships with other churches and religious bodies.
- Accepting a local church into the Communion and thus a bishop into the House of Bishops.
The following texts are pastoral letters issued by the Communion's House of Bishops since its inception.
| Reimagine and Rebirth Declaration.OCC.25January2022.pdf | |
| File Size: | 650 kb |
| File Type: | |
| Letter to TEC Presiding Bishop.OCC.November2024.pdf | |
| File Size: | 173 kb |
| File Type: | |
| On Justice Lived in Compassion and Care_Transgender and Non-Binary Persons. January2025.pdf | |
| File Size: | 155 kb |
| File Type: | |
| On the Treatment of Immigrant Persons.OCC.February2025.pdf | |
| File Size: | 844 kb |
| File Type: | |
| On the Passing of Pope Francis_04.23.25.jpg | |
| File Size: | 490 kb |
| File Type: | jpg |
| On Transgender, Non-Binary, Queer Persons.jpg | |
| File Size: | 74 kb |
| File Type: | jpg |
| On Immigration and a Call to Action_8.2025.edited.pdf | |
| File Size: | 671 kb |
| File Type: | |