Special Announcement:
Dear Friends and Faithful Members of Our Community,
It is with a mixture of deep gratitude and solemn reflection that we announce the retirement of our beloved Archbishop, who, after more than 20 years of dedicated service to our church, will be stepping down from his duties. His decision comes as he focuses on his ongoing cancer treatments and his journey toward healing.
To honor his extraordinary contributions and unwavering commitment to our spiritual growth, we invite you to join us for the Archbishop's final official Mass, a Christmas Eve celebration, on Tuesday, December 24, 2024, at 7:00 PM in the Cathedral.
This will be a profound moment to express our collective appreciation, offer prayers for his health, and celebrate his decades of faithful leadership. Let us come together as one community to show our love and support for a shepherd who has touched countless lives with his wisdom, compassion, and devotion.
All are welcome to attend this special Mass. Let us fill the Cathedral with our presence, prayers, and heartfelt gratitude as we bid farewell to our Archbishop in this role.
Please spread the word and bring your families and friends. Let us make this evening a memorable testament to his legacy of faith and service.
With blessings and gratitude,
Schema-Archimandrite Barbara Martzall
Our Vision:
The Ohio Orthodox Catholic Church (OhioOCC), which serves the United States and Canada, is an Independent Old Catholic Church consisting of clergy and laity whose core value is to give expression to life in the divine. The church maintains that all Christians share in the priesthood of Christ.
The Ohio Orthodox Catholic Church holds its apostolic succession from the Old Catholic Church of Utrecht (Netherlands) through the Old Catholic Church of England. The Roman Catholic Church sees us as a schismatic church, but recognizes that the Old Catholic Church has valid sacraments and that the clergy ordinations are valid. Old Catholics hold an open view to most issues such as the role of women in the Church within ordained ministry, the role of married people within ordained ministry, the use of one's conscience when deciding to use artificial contraception, and in their liturgical reforms such as open communion (because no human can presume to exclude any Christian from communion) and monastic orders. Some of the members, both clergy and laity, of the Ohio Orthodox Catholic Church bring to the church the monastic orders that they have belonged to from their previous church affiliations. Presently we have a independent Franciscan Order which is headed by our Archbishop who has over 40 year as a professed Franciscan monastic. We also have an independent Eastern Rite monastic community which is headed by our female bishop who has over 40 year as a professed monastic.
The Ohio Orthodox Catholic Church holds the Holy Scriptures and the traditions of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church as means by which the teachings of the Christ have been handed down to his followers and as the recording of the faith journey of the Church. Our members are free to interpret creeds, scriptures and traditions.
The offices of bishops, priests and deacons within the Ohio Orthodox Catholic Church exist for the service of the faithful in providing them with spiritual guidance and support, as well as in the celebration of the liturgy and the sacraments and other functions pertaining to those ordained to holy orders. Holy Orders are open to both women and men who are at least 21 years old.
All those who sincerely wish to join with the Ohio Orthodox Catholic Church as followers of the Christ are welcome to share and participate fully in our liturgies, sacraments and other expressions of our mystical union with God.
The seven sacraments are offered to those who wish to receive them. The Eucharistic liturgy is celebrated in various ancient and modern rituals. In addition to the preceding, contemplative prayer, meditation, spiritual healing, teaching and counseling form an integral part of the life of our congregations and members.
The Ohio Orthodox Catholic Church seeks to be a witness to and be an enabler of community growth in love of God, all humankind and creation in its life of worship and the public endeavors in which its members are called to give service. We recognize the validity of our religious traditions and firmly believe that we can learn and grow more fully by understanding and respecting their teachings.
We believe that God's revelation, in addition to being present in the public life of the Church, also has a personal or individual aspect. We thus believe that understanding the divine comes not only from concepts and public revelation, but also from our personal encounter with God through prayer and meditation. We strive to form a community of faith with love, devotion and abandonment to God as our foundation. We are a small and relatively young church, but we have come to realize that it is not the size of the church that matters, but the people who make up the church and their love of God that truly matter the most!
Our Mission Statement:
To Exemplify Jesus' love through us. To be an inclusive Church, welcoming everyone to our Eucharist and to the joyfulness of God's love and peace.