definition
strict definition
old catholic church
A house of worship in a branch of the Catholic faith which has broken with Roman authority.
An Old Catholic church is a house of worship in a branch of the Catholic faith which is in a state of schism with the Vatican, mainly over the doctrine of papal infallibility.
Old Catholic identifies a religious affiliation within the Catholic tradition, with a separation from Roman authority. The term does not describe the age of a building or the age of its furnishings.
A Roman Catholic church remains under papal authority in the definition used here. A historic Roman Catholic building therefore does not become Old Catholic simply because it is old or retains an earlier liturgy.
