Are Oriental Orthodox and all Old Catholics allowed to receive communion?

[Londoner]

In the formulation that I’ve most commonly read, which seemingly is American in origin (as it includes a Church which exists almost exclusively in the USA), the three groups of Christians who are permitted to receive communion in the Catholic Church (provided all other requirements are met) are: Eastern Orthodox, Assyrian Church of the East, and Polish National Catholic Church. Sometimes it just says Orthodox, not Eastern Orthodox. Are the Oriental Orthodox (Coptic, Ethiopian, Eritrean, Armenian, Syrian, etc.) also permitted to receive communion?

Also, what about Churches that are very similar to the Polish National Catholic Church, such as the Polish Catholic Church, which as I understand it is effectively the Polish branch of the Polish National Catholic Church? It all gets complicated as the Polish Catholic Church (the one actually in Poland) is part of the Union of Utrecht, which somewhat surprisingly is in communion with the Anglican Communion, whereas the Polish National Catholic Church (the American one) is part of the Union of Scranton, which seems to have a more limited reach. Does it follow that members of the Nordic Catholic Church, which is the other constituent part of the Union of Scranton, are also permitted to receive communion and are just not mentioned because it’s only been around since 1999/2000 and probably has few, if any, members in the USA? In general, are Old Catholics who belong to proper Churches with valid apostolic succession, valid holy orders, and valid sacraments, and who share a Catholic understanding of the Mass, welcome to receive communion, or is there something unique about the Polish National Catholic Church?

 

[twf]

The Oriental Orthodox definitely can… under the same criteria that applies to the Eastern Orthodox.

 

[1ke]

Can. 844 §3. Catholic ministers administer the sacraments of penance, Eucharist, and anointing of the sick licitly to members of Eastern Churches which do not have full communion with the Catholic Church if they seek such on their own accord and are properly disposed. This is also valid for members of other Churches which in the judgment of the Apostolic See are in the same condition in regard to the sacraments as these Eastern Churches.

§4. If the danger of death is present or if, in the judgment of the diocesan bishop or conference of bishops, some other grave necessity urges it, Catholic ministers administer these same sacraments licitly also to other Christians not having full communion with the Catholic Church, who cannot approach a minister of their own community and who seek such on their own accord, provided that they manifest Catholic faith in respect to these sacraments and are properly disposed.

§5. For the cases mentioned in §§2, 3, and 4, the diocesan bishop or conference of bishops is not to issue general norms except after consultation at least with the local competent authority of the interested non-Catholic Church or community.

 

[thistle]

The Polish National Catholic Church and the Polish Catholic Church are NOT in communion with The Holy See and so their members may NOT receive the Eucharist in the Catholic Church.
The same applies to The Union of Utrecht of the Old Catholic Churches who are also NOT in communion with the Holy See.

 

[Londoner]

The Polish National Catholic Church and the Polish Catholic Church are NOT in communion with The Holy See and so their members may NOT receive the Eucharist in the Catholic Church.

The same applies to The Union of Utrecht of the Old Catholic Churches who are also NOT in communion with the Holy See.

Thank you. But I do, of course, understand that Old Catholics are not in communion with the Catholic Church. I’m not sure whether you are correct, however, in saying that they are not permitted to receive the Eucharist in a Catholic Mass. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops explicitly states that members of the Polish National Catholic Church are permitted to receive communion under canon law. So the question wasn’t really about Polish National Catholics, since the US bishops address this explicitly, but about other Christians who belong to similar Churches. It seems that the answer is that the US bishops are explicitly interpreting the canon to allow Polish National Catholics to receive communion because they form a significant group in the USA. Nothing in the canon cited privileges Polish National Catholics over any other kind of Old Catholic. I therefore can’t see why other Old Catholics shouldn’t also be admitted to communion.

 

[FrDavid96]

thistle:

The Polish National Catholic Church and the Polish Catholic Church are NOT in communion with The Holy See and so their members may NOT receive the Eucharist in the Catholic Church.

The same applies to The Union of Utrecht of the Old Catholic Churches who are also NOT in communion with the Holy See.

Thank you. But I do, of course, understand that Old Catholics are not in communion with the Catholic Church. I’m not sure whether you are correct, however, in saying that they are not permitted to receive the Eucharist in a Catholic Mass. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops explicitly states that members of the Polish National Catholic Church are permitted to receive communion under canon law. So the question wasn’t really about Polish National Catholics, since the US bishops address this explicitly, but about other Christians who belong to similar Churches. It seems that the answer is that the US bishops are explicitly interpreting the canon to allow Polish National Catholics to receive communion because they form a significant group in the USA. Nothing in the canon cited privileges Polish National Catholics over any other kind of Old Catholic. I therefore can’t see why other Old Catholics shouldn’t also be admitted to communion.

Here is the distinction:

Only the Holy See can determine whether or not a community has valid Apostolic Succession. It’s not something that can be decided by an individual person, priest, bishop, nor even by a conference of bishops. Only the Holy See can make that determination.

Until recent decades, it used to be taken as a “given” that the Old Catholics has valid ordination (and yes, the criteria that the Holy See decided this was satisfied). The Catholic Church no longer accepts that as a given. Their status has changed.

In contrast to the Old Catholics, the Polish National Catholics have maintained valid Apostolic Succession.

 

[Londoner]

Thanks, this is interesting and useful. So the reason the Polish National Catholics are singled out is because they definitely have a valid apostolic succession, whereas some other Old Catholic Churches may not. I wonder whether the Nordic Catholic Church also has a proven valid succession, given that it is in a Union with the Polish National Catholic Church.