Questions and Answers
If you have a question that you would like to ask, first look over the other
questions to see if yours is answered here. If not, use the form at the bottom
of the page. We will answer your question as quickly as possible and post the answer here if appropriate.
Questions about the Church itself
? What about Apostolic Succession? Through whom does your bishop trace his succession?
? Are you affiliated with the Celtic Catholic Church in Canada which has a web site?
? Are you affiliated with the Celtic Church in Scotland or the Sacred Kin of St. Columba?
? Is your Church affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church?
? Is your Church affiliated with the Anglican Communion?
? How old is the Celtic Catholic Church? When did you "hop on the Celtic bandwagon"?
? What does Catholic mean? What's the difference between Celtic Catholic and Roman Catholic?
? But what's the difference?
? Is this really the same Celtic Church from the old days?
? How big are you?
Questions about beliefs and practices
? Do Celtic Catholics believe in an infalible Pope?
? Are Celtic Catholics related to the Druids?
? Do Celtic Catholics pray the rosary?
? Why do (Celtic) Catholics pray to saints? (separate article)
? What about holy water?
Questions about vocation and ministry
? How do I become a Celtic Catholic priest?
? What is the process leading to ordination? or What about the Minor Orders?
Other questions
For some questions, the answers got too long. You can read some of these Under the Oak Tree.
What about Apostolic Succession? Through whom does your bishop trace his succession?
I am hesitant to answer this question, because too often in certain small churches with bishops it can seem to become a substitute for the Gospel. But it is asked frequently, so I will try my best.
For those who are not familiar with the term: Apostolic Succession is the process by which the consecration of bishops is handed on from Apostle to bishop to bishop in an unbroken chain. That means that bishops today, in Churches which maintain the Succession, were consecrated with the laying on of hands by those who were consecrated by bishops who were consecrated by the laying on of hands of (if you trace it back far enough) one of the twelve Apostles. Thus, the bishops are seen as successors of the Apostles. The idea is not that a particular bishop is successor to a particular Apostle, but to the office of the Apostles in general. This Succession does not exist for its own sake, but to preserve and guarantee the purity of the Apostolic Faith for the whole Church. Thus, true Apostolic Succession consists in maintaining the Faith delivered by Jesus to the Twelve and nurtured in the Church by the Holy Spirit. (Occasionally you will run across those who seem to collect "valid lines of apostolic succession" as if they were postage stamps. This is far removed from the apostolic spirit. And, unless it is accompanied by the actual Faith of the Apostles, it quite defeats the purpose.)
Our bishop, the Rt. Rev. Dwain E. Houser, traces his succession back through the non-juror Archbishop William Sancroft of Canterbury. (The non-jurors were those English bishops and priests who refused to take the oath of loyalty to William and Mary in 1689.) After the non-jurors were deprived of their positions in the Church of England, some of them went to Wales or were native there, where, according to our oral tradition and written records, they encountered the underground Celtic Catholic Church and, joining it, added strength and their own line of Apostolic Succession to it.
The interesting things is that, according to the written document recording the list of bishops in the succession, just a few generations after Bishop Sancroft the bishops begin to be referred to as "Celtic Catholic Bishop of " wherever.
Are you affiliated with the Celtic Catholic Church in Canada which has a site on the web?
No, we are not, although many of us enjoy reading Bishop Neil Jones' e-mailed Celtic Christian devotionals. If you don't get them, you might want to. You can request to be added to the mailing list.
Are you affiliated with the Celtic Church in Scotland or the Sacred Kin of St. Columba?
No, we are not.
Is your Church affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church?
No, we are not a part of the Church of Rome at all, and are not under the jurisdiction of the Pope.
Is your Church a part of the Anglican Communion?
No, we are not a part of the Anglican Communion, nor are we a "continuing Anglican" group.
How old is the Celtic Catholic Church? When did you "hop on the Celtic bandwagon"?
According to our oral tradition, we are actually ancient. But in verifiable terms, the Bishop of our diocese brought the Celtic Catholic vision to the United States in the 1960s and the Church was incorporated under the name "Celtic Catholic Church" in 1974. This was long before the current intense interest in all things Celtic Christian. It has been gratifying and a bit startling to watch this recent burgeoning fascination. When this diocese was formed, there were few if any popular books on Celtic Christianity, no other "Celtic Christian" Churches, and, of course, no web sites.
What does Catholic mean? What's the difference between Celtic Catholic and Roman Catholic?
The word catholic comes from Greek, and means universal, whole, complete. In the beginning of Christianity, for the first 1400 years or so, all the Church was called Catholic. It meant that the Church preached the entire doctrine of Christ to all people all over the world for all time. The heretics, on the other hand, usually eliminated certain beliefs they could not agree with, or only appealed to the intellectual or down-trodden, or had impossibly high moral standards for membership so nobody qualified. Catholic is, therefore, the name given to the original geographical divisions of the Church, before the Protestant Reformation. In the east, the catholic Churches are generally called Orthodox. The Celtic Catholic Church is that part of the original Catholic Church founded among the Celts. The Roman Catholic Church is the same, founded among the Roman (Italian) people and the territories they controlled in the Empire.
But what's the difference?
We were created among a rural, tribal, family-centered people, not an urbanized, state-centered population. Consequently, we have never had any sort of hierarchy inherited from a imperial bureaucracy. Therefore, there is no solid structure above the local Church with its bishop/abbot and his spiritual family. In other words, no Pope, no Vatican. This has its plus side and its minus side, but it is how God formed us.
We also have never had any illusion that we are the one and only true Church. The Romans naturally felt that they were, since they occupied the entire "known world." If it wasn't part of the Empire it just did not matter. A very understandable position. But we, off in our corner of the globe (literally the corner of what was known to exist) never thought that we were anything special: just us, doing our best to obey God's will, and please just let us do that in peace, thank you very much.
Is this really the same Celtic Church from the old days?
We believe so. Our oral tradition says so. But we freely admit we can not prove conclusively that we are a continuing link to the days of St. Patrick. Nor do we think it too important. We are here, doing our best to obey God's will. If you want to join us in that, we would be more than glad to welcome you.
How big are you?
Tiny. We have one diocese, with only five congregations at the moment. The congregations are located in Southern California, Washington state, and Honolulu. Although we firmly believe in smallness, there is always room for one more.
Does the Celtic Catholic Church believe in an infallible Pope?
No, we don't. "Infallible" is not a concept we think about very much. One jokester who knew about Celtic Christians' traditional high regard for the creation, on being asked this question, replied, "No, they don't have an infallible Pope, just an infallible pine tree."
Are Celtic Catholics related to the Druids?
Not in any meaningful way. Nobody in the modern world is. One person expressed the diffence humorously this way: "Druids pray to the trees; we pray for them." That is probably as good an answer as any.
Do Celtic Catholics pray the rosary?
Some do, some don't. It is entirely optional. For some, it is a deeply moving and important part of their devotional life. Others ignore it completely.
What about holy water?
The use of holy water by Christians can be documented as early as the beginning of the fifth century, in the Apostolic Constitutions. The reference undoubtedly alludes to a much more ancient practice.
Holy water must be understood in connection with the great and holy Vigil of Cáisc (Easter). One of the chief features of this service is the thanksgiving over and blessing of the water for the baptisms which follow. This thanksgiving recalls creation, the Flood on which Noah floated to safety, baby Moses hidden safely in the Nile, Jesus’ walking on water, and all of the story of salvation. It implicitly carries images of physical birth and especially spiritual birth in baptism. The prayers connect this water intimately with Christ’s resurrection and our own.
This water is used, of course, for the baptisms which are so important a part of the Vigil, but it is also sprinkled on the people after they renew their own baptismal vows. The blessing of it is so important a part of the Vigil that it is done even if there are no baptisms. This is because the connection between the Resurrection and Baptism is so strong.
Very early on, this water was kept in the church after the Vigil and even taken home by the people. At home and church, we use it as a continual reminder of our baptisms, when we dip our fingers in and make the sign of the Cross on ourselves. This is not a "rebaptism" in any way at all – such a thing is utterly unthinkable – but a way of expressing a choice and prayer to reconnect to our baptism and its ongoing consequences.
Now, if you understand all that, then everything else makes sense.
We also bless holy water at the feast of the Baptism of Our Lord (which is the Sunday after the Epiphany, January 6). On this day, the water is not intended for baptism (those are done a the Easter Vigil); rather, the Epiphany water is meant for the blessing of the people and their homes. We take this water home and sprinkle it in all the rooms of our houses, on ourselves, and even drink it when ill.
None of this is magic! The water itself is a way of relating our days to our spiritual birth in baptism. It is used to "apply" the prayers of the Church to our selves, our homes, and whatever else it is used for. It is prayer, connection, reminder, conveyer of grace, but never magic or a way to manipulate God.
Priests sprinkle holy water on objects when blessing them. Most often, the things that get "baptized" this way are of a religious nature – church items, rosaries, crosses, etc. – since these items are specifically connected to our baptisms and its ongoing consequences. For example, we are baptized into Christ’s death, so we wear a blessed crucifix to remember; we are baptized into a spiritual life, and so we might pray using a blessed rosary; we are the baptized "Easter people," so the bell which calls us to worship is "baptized" also.
Although Cáisc and Epiphany are the two main times for blessing holy water, each having its own special prayers of blessing, a priest can bless it at any time, except during the three days before Easter. In fact, all holy water is reverently poured out onto the ground on Maundy Thursday so that new can be blessed at the great Feast of the Resurrection.
How do I become a Celtic Catholic priest?
This question is difficult to answer as asked because, phrased this way, it is asked backward. We need to turn it around and begin at the beginning.
Priests are ordained to fill a need in the community of the Church. Admission to the priesthood for its own sake is never the point. Generally what happens is a small group begins to gather, usually called together by one person with a "Celtic Catholic vision." This effort begins as a mission station then, as the group becomes a viable community, it progresses to become a mission. (The next step of commitment and stability is to become a parish.) Naturally this group will need a priest. So God and the Church call one of their number to the priesthood. Ordination happens after many years of fellowship and conversation with the rest of the diocese, study and discussion with academic and spiritual directors, soul searching, the occasional radical transformation in spirit and mind, and lots of love and effort. To become a priest is not an easy process.
We prefer that people come, not with the question, "How can I be ordained?" but rather "How can I be a part of the Celtic Catholic family?" If this is your interest, we suggest you begin by exploring the possibility of forming a Connexion Group. With God's blessing and lots of work, such a group can evolve into an embryonic congregation.
What is the process leading to ordination? or What about the Minor Orders?
We still have the old Minor Orders. A priest-in-training passes through all of them in order, although some people are called specifically to one of these Orders and do not go on to priesthood.
- Tonsure: This is the "holy haircut" which begins the process. Although it is now performed in a token fashion, with just a little hair snipped off, the form is very important to us. We tonsure by cutting the hair in a straight line across the top of the head from ear to ear. The hair in front of that is (theoretically) shaved. This is in contrast to the more familiar Roman tonsure, which is the shaved circle you have probably seen in movies or on Friar Tuck. Holy Tonsure begins the process of training. The Celtic tonsure, our tradition tells us, is the haircut of the Roman slaves, as opposed to the Roman tonsure which was the hair style of the wealthy patrician slave owners. The time after Tonsure before elevation to the first Minor Order is spent in learning, self-development, and beginning to find ways to minister.
- Porter: In the old days, the porter was the gate keeper for a monastery. In modern times, porters do whatever it takes to keep the church up and running. They study things like church growth or such spiritual topics as basic accounting. A permanent Porter might keep the parish's books or be an expert at building congregations and community.
- Lector: The lector studies mainly Scripture and how to teach it. A permanent lector might be a reader at liturgy or a Sunday School teacher.
- Exorcist: Yep, exorcist. In old days, exorcists were psychiatric nurses, carrying a big stick to calm down rambunctious mental patients in the monastery infirmary. Not the prettiest picture, but it was the only effective treatment at the time. Now days, they study counseling mostly, and help people expunge the demons, either literal or figurative, which prevent them from living full lives.
- Acolyte: The acolyte is in charge of the objects used in worship and is the assistant at the Altar. Think grown-up altar boy. It is a time for studying liturgy. A permanent Acolyte might be a member of the parish Altar Guild and care for the chalices, linens, vestments, and such.
- Subdeacon: "The sub-deacon is God's right hand," someone once said. During the sub-diaconate, the candidate continues studying theology and preparing for ordination to the diaconate. But more important, perhaps, is the permanent sub-deacon, who combines all the previous ministries and often is the person really in charge of the running of a congregation. They have to know everything and be able to tell all the other ministers what to do. A real ministry of love.
After the Minor Orders, some continue on to Holy Orders. The Minor Orders were bestowed by "elevation" and are revocable at the Bishop's will. On becoming a Deacon, however, the person is ordained in the Sacrament of Orders, and that ordination is permanent and eternal.
- Deacon:Traditionally, the deacon is seen as the bishop's chief assistant in the diocese. The order was created to minister to the poor, and deacons still often engage in such ministry. They also read the Gospel at the Mass.
- Priest: The priest's main job is to offer the sacraments to the people and to be the "spiritual father" of the parish family under the leadership of the bishop.
- Bishop: The bishop is the successor to the Apostles and the spiritual father of the diocese. It is his job to oversee the life of the church, to teach correct doctrine, to call people into ministry, and to model the essential fellowship which makes the Church.
In 2003, the Holy Synod voted to allow for the ordination of women as deacons and priests.
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