The Rt Rev Seán
Manchester, OSG
Bishop Seán Manchester was appointed by a majority of Old Catholic prelates in Great Britain at the commencement of the third millennium.
The British Old
Catholic Church adheres to the revealed truth in Holy Scripture and the
tradition and Faith of the early Church as formulated in the Ecumenical Symbols
and specified precisely by the unanimously accepted decisions of the seven
Ecumenical Councils and of the Fathers of the Church. All teachings that have
no substance in Holy Writ and were not accepted by the early Apostolic Church
are not received nor held as Articles of Faith by the British Old Catholic
Church whose ecclesiastical jurisdiction (a non-stipendiary ministry) is
confined to Great Britain.
The British Old
Catholic Church holds fast to all seven sacraments, including the doctrine of
the Real Presence. The presence of Christ is held to be in the Host under the
appearance of bread and equally in the Precious Blood under the appearance of
wine. The Church, whose Primate is a representative of Pax Christi, does not subscribe to justum
bellum in contrast to much of mainstream churchianity. Our Lord’s words (Luke
6: 27-36) make the prohibition clear. Jesus Christ’s teaching to “love your enemies and
pray for those who persecute you” must prevail.
The British Old
Catholic Church is not simply an alternative to an unacceptable and divided
Church of England, but a living sanctuary for Christians who cannot reconcile
their Faith with the increasing
drift into modernism and error.