Which Church is Most like Catholic

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Luvtosew said:
but not under Papal Inflallibilty? Thank you.🙂
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Not sure what you mean here. Papal infallibility is a very specific, limited, negative charism that prevents the Pope (and the Magisterium) from issuing definitive teachings on matters of faith and morals incorrectly. So, for example, the Pope couldn’t call together a Church council and announce that the Trinity is actually four beings. That’s simply incorrect, and the Holy Spirit would prevent him from promulgating such a doctrine. Now, if someone wrote a science fiction novel in which the fourth person of the Trinity came to Earth, and the Pope were asked about the novel during a news conference, the Holy Spirit wouldn’t do anything about it, and the Pope could easily screw up his answer. But he would not be able to issue a definitive teaching on faith and morals incorrectly.

So every church outside the Catholic Church is equally “not under Papal infallibility.”

If you’re asking about churches outside papal authority – meaning the ability of the Pope to step in and resolve issues of doctrine or personnel or what have you – then I would have to say that the closest is probably the Orthodox Church (though some might point to schismatic Catholic sects instead).
 
I’m assuming you mean churches that do not believe in papal infallibility?

If so I would say Polish National Catholic Church and Old Catholic churches.
 
The Polish National Church might be a good bet. The Old Catholics less so. While at first they were, they have over the last century grown quite far from the Catholic Church. Most obviously, the PNC left the communion with the Old Catholics over the issue of the ordination of women.

The Eastern Orthodox are very close to the Eastern Catholic Churches. There is much that separates them from the Latin Rite, but not so much the Eastern Rites.
 
I know what you’re asking, though what you mean is those who don’t submit to Papal authority.

Probably the closest would be certain Anglican communties, both inside and outside the Worldwide Anglican Communion. However, many of these that were closest to us are now entering full communion, which is a great thing but it also means this answer is becoming less true.

The sedevacantists and other separated traditionalists also deserve mention.

Then there’s the Polish National Catholic Church and the Orthodox Churches.
 
On the “Journey Home” program, they’ve often mentioned two that are very similar. Methodist and of course Anglican.

I’ve never seen the other two as converts on the program - Polish National and Orthodox.
 
Barbkw said:
On the “Journey Home” program, they’ve often mentioned two that are very similar. Methodist and of course Anglican.

I’ve never seen the other two as converts on the program - Polish National and Orthodox.
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Methodist???
 
Thank you all for replying, I’ll have to do some research, I guess its not Pope Infallibility that I mean thank you. I like the recent Popes so that is not what I mean at all.🙂
 
Well the Anglican Communion, whose head church is the Church of England, considers itself to be both Catholic and reformed (although I don’t know all the details about this). Lutherans have similar practices such as the Eucharist but it is NOT the same as the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church teaches the *real presence * of Jesus in the Eucharist. This can only be done in the Catholic Church, because only the Catholic Church has the valid Apostolic succession. Once the Protestant faiths were started, they broke from the Catholic Church, leaving behind Apostolic succession. Protestants lack Apostolic succession, the Seven Sacraments, the Holy Mass, and so on.

In my opinion, I would say Eastern Orthodoxy and perhaps Oriental Orthodoxy share the closest relationship with Catholics.

The Catholic Church is One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic.
 
A_G said:
Well the Anglican Communion, whose head church is the Church of England, considers itself to be both Catholic and reformed (although I don’t know all the details about this). Lutherans have similar practices such as the Eucharist but it is NOT the same as the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church teaches the *real presence * of Jesus in the Eucharist. This can only be done in the Catholic Church, because only the Catholic Church has the valid Apostolic succession. Once the Protestant faiths were started, they broke from the Catholic Church, leaving behind Apostolic succession. Protestants lack Apostolic succession, the Seven Sacraments, the Holy Mass, and so on.

In my opinion, I would say Eastern Orthodoxy and perhaps Oriental Orthodoxy share the closest relationship with Catholics.

The Catholic Church is One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic.
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The Church of England is not the head church of the Anglican Communion, though it is, in a sense, the mother Church of Anglicanism. The Anglican Communion is made up of 38 autonomous jurisdictions, worldwide. The titular head of the Communion is the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Primate of the Church of England.

GKC
 
A_G said:
Well the Anglican Communion, whose head church is the Church of England, considers itself to be both Catholic and reformed (although I don’t know all the details about this). Lutherans have similar practices such as the Eucharist but it is NOT the same as the Catholic Church. **The Catholic Church teaches the *real presence *** of Jesus in the Eucharist. This can only be done in the Catholic Church, because only the Catholic Church has the valid Apostolic succession. Once the Protestant faiths were started, they broke from the Catholic Church, leaving behind Apostolic succession. Protestants lack Apostolic succession, the Seven Sacraments, the Holy Mass, and so on.

In my opinion, I would say Eastern Orthodoxy and perhaps Oriental Orthodoxy share the closest relationship with Catholics.

The Catholic Church is One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic.
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It is incorrect that only the Catholic Church has valid Apostolic Succession. The Eastern Orthodox Churches, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, the Assyrian Church of the East, and a few others, such as the Polish National Catholic Church, have Apostolic Succession that is recognized by the Catholic Church.
 
Luvtosew said:
but not under Papal Inflallibilty? Thank you.🙂
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You mean not in communion with the Holy See? Orthodox Churches are not, there’s Eastern Orthodox Communion, Assyrian Church of the East, Oriental Orthodox Communion, and Western Orthodox Communion which are nearly in communion with the Catholic Church. There is most similiarty to the Eastern Orthodox Church. The Oriental Orthodox Church has some differences in their views of Christ that are very technical. Neither churches believe the Pope is infallible. The Coptic Orthodox Church which is an Oriental Orthodox Church, has a Pope but that Pope is first amongst equals and is not infallible as the Pope or as the Chair.
 
Barbkw said:
On the “Journey Home” program, they’ve often mentioned two that are very similar. Methodist and of course Anglican.

I’ve never seen the other two as converts on the program - Polish National and Orthodox.
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Anglicans I’d admit can be quite close to the Catholics in many of their beliefs and practices (some of their high church liturgies are more Catholic than the Catholics), but Methodists are different again, despite being a break away group from the Anglican Church.

On the other hand, Methodists are not Reformed, but follow Arminian Theology (I thnk).

spreadinglight.com/theology/arminian.html

John Wesley, who founded the Methodists, was apparently a strong supporter of Arminian theology as the article makes clear.
 
This will be answered from the comfort point of view.
I like the Anglicans, especially their music, and they have a very kind and soft way of practising their faith. I feel more comfortable with them both in a cultural and spiritual way. Their liturgy and preaching is quite good and I guess I have a special soft spot for them.

I think the Lutherans run a close second. They are very nice people, kind as well as spiritual. Very dedicated and are good at their undertakings. Their churchs and liturgy are also a credit to them.

I also met a Methodist minister thru some friends. After a while we started to play golf together and had some wonderful conversations. Great man and great pastor to his people and very spiritual, but I can’t say the same for his golf game. I’ve always felt very enriched to have know him.
 
FrancisB said:
Methodist???
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Methodist-turned-Catholic here!

The Methodists are indeed Arminian. There’s actually a specific term, Wesleyan Arminianism, that applies to them and many (I suspect most, by wide margin) modern Arminians. The defining difference, at least as I understand it, between Classical Arminianism (the Arminianism of Arminius) and Wesleyan Arminianism (the Arminianism of John Wesley) is that Wesley recognized the possibility of truly falling away from the Christian faith and then truly returning. Arminius by contrast taught that a person could freely choose to fall away from the Christian faith but could never again return, or so I’ve read.

Growing up Methodist I was only exposed to a little anti-Catholicism, but a great deal of anti-Calvinism.

Traditional Wesleyan Methodism is similar to Catholicism in its belief in free will and its emphasis on growth in personal holiness and spirituality. Wesley himself read and recommended Catholic and Orthodox spiritual writers, apparently. And these days the practice of spiritual direction is really growing in the United Methodist Church.

Methodists also traditionally believe in baptismal regeneration and practice infant baptism.

Though there is a great deal of variety, worship services are generally liturgical and follow the same basic outline as Catholic liturgies, with some of the same wording in the communion services as in the old English translation of the Roman Liturgy, including the Sanctus and the “The Lord be with you. And also with you. Lift up your hearts. We lift them up to the Lord.” You get the idea. There are exceptions and regional variations, but generally the services are quite mellow like most of ours, though with more hymns, and generally more verses sung of each hymn. If you don’t like singing hymns you probably won’t be a regular attendee at any of the Methodist churches I went to.

You’ll also see old Catholic symbols here and there, like the IHS and the chi rho. And stained glass and pointed arches, likely enough. And always an alter with candles on it. The same liturgical seasons and colors too, and many other customs.

The United Methodist Church also has bishops, though they aren’t thought of in the same way. That was actually a sore point with John Wesley himself, who was a lifelong member of the Church of England, when the first Methodist bishop was “ordained” (not by any other bishop, valid orders or invalid) with neither his permission nor that of the Church of England. Called him a false bishop, as I recall. It sort of made sense though because Methodists have always ultimately believed in two fundamental levels of Holy Orders- deacon and elder (presbyter), with the bishop being a special ministry of authority that an elder is invested in, but not fundamentally a third and most complete level of Holy Orders.

Today there are a lot of things that separate mainstream Methodism much farther from Catholicism than many other Churches. These issues would include female clergy including female bishops, “local ministers” who haven’t been ordained at all but are still allowed to consecrate Holy Communion, belief in only two sacraments (Baptism and Holy Communion) though I know for a fact some like to add anointing of the sick as a third, weak to non-existent belief in the Real Presence among most Methodists in my experience, divorce and remarriage, and official support for legalized abortion.

The last I knew there was still an official position against all drinking of alcohol, though I don’t know of any Methodist who takes that seriously anymore.

Then there’s just the whole Liberal Protestant trend that is so common in the United Methodist Church, with all its variable errors. I already mentioned abortion. Homosexuality, including homosexual marriage, is a topic of controversy which higher levels have not caved on tremendously but you will find many individual laypeople, ministers, even bishops who are very vocal supporters of homosexual marriage and such and don’t seem to face disciplinary action from what I’ve seen. In an extreme case that I would have thought would rub many ordinary Methodists the wrong way, I even once read an article in a Methodist magazine that praised Pelagius and criticized the “Roman” labeling of him as a heretic.

So there are a lot of similarities and many differences between Methodism and Catholicism (far more than I can write here). I think that’s why there seem to be so many former Methodists in the Catholic Church and so many former Catholics in the United Methodist Church. The UMC can be attractive for a certain kind of cafeteria Catholic, and the Catholic Church can be attractive for Methodists searching for real orthodoxy and authority.
 
Yes, Aelred, that was quite helpful, and only further supports my suspicion. Most of what you listed as “similarities” I would see as basic Christianity. The only churches that don’t have infant baptism these days are quite radical. The Chi-Rho is an ancient symbol of the faith. The use of something resembling the Roman Rite marks them as Western.

I suppose it is tempting to view churches as being “like Catholic” because they preserved part of the Roman Rite and some symbols after the Reformation. It may especially seen relevant when looking at “non-denominational” Christians that don’t seem to bear any resemblance to ancient Christianity whatsoever. I would suggest, however, that if you want to figure out who our closest “separated brethren” are you might start looking at the churches that are in schism with Rome that have yet to fall into heresy. By very definition, they believe the same things (or at least close enough to the same thing that they could be considered Catholic if they would heal the rift). Any Protestant Church by its very nature has accepted Sola Scriptura, which makes it essentially different and incompatible with Catholicism.
 
A_G said:
Well the Anglican Communion, whose head church is the Church of England, considers itself to be both Catholic and reformed (although I don’t know all the details about this). Lutherans have similar practices such as the Eucharist but it is NOT the same as the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church teaches the *real presence * of Jesus in the Eucharist. This can only be done in the Catholic Church, because only the Catholic Church has the valid Apostolic succession. Once the Protestant faiths were started, they broke from the Catholic Church, leaving behind Apostolic succession. Protestants lack Apostolic succession, the Seven Sacraments, the Holy Mass, and so on.

In my opinion, I would say Eastern Orthodoxy and perhaps Oriental Orthodoxy share the closest relationship with Catholics.

The Catholic Church is One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic.
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I think you are mistaken when you said that the Roman Catholic church is the only church that celebrates the 7 Sacrements and has Apostolic Succession.
 
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