The 5th Old 'Catholic congress was at Breslau, Silesia, Sept. 22-24, 1876, thinly attended, in part ou account of the great distance of. that city from the centers of the Old Catholic movement, and in part also on account of waning interest. The latter circum stance holds good also concerning the 6th congress, held Sept., 1878, at Mayeuce, of which no official report has been published. There is doubtless great disappointment in the comparatively slow progress of the movement, which has failed to enlist popular enthusiasm, but the tide seems to have set in the direction of greater growth and revived energy, as will be seen from a subsequent paragraph.
The national church of Holland, generally but erroneously styled Jansenist, has heartily entered into the Old Catholic movement, and may be regarded as occupying identical ground.
The relation of the Old Catholic church of Germany to the Anglican communion is very friendly. Representatives of the church of England and the Protestant Episcopal church in the United States have been present at most of their congresses, and several of their synods; and the Anglican communion may be said to be in cordial sympathy with the Old Catholics. The presence of bishop Herzog at the general convention (Prot. Epis.) held at New York, Oct., 1880, has tended to strengthen that feeling (see below).
In Switzerland the old Catholic reform had a more pronounced effect on the people than in Germany. At Geneva it carried with it the majority of the Roman Catholics of the city. The cantonal government, moreover, aided it by speedy recognition. An ()Id Catholic conference, held at Olten, Aug. 31, 1873. resolved upon drafting. a. constitution for a Swiss national church. and electing a bishop or bishops. At a like conferettee at the same place, Sept. 21, 1874, a constitution was adopted which provides for a national synod of " the-Christian Catholic chnrch:of Switzerland," by which the Swiss Old Cath olics arc now known. Pastor Herzog of Olten was subsequently choSen and consecrated bishop. The statistics of the church, presented to the synod in 1877, were: 66 parishes and 70 priests; baptisms for the year, 1182; number of persons confirmed, 3,t43.
In Austria the Old Catholic movement has been very slow. There are several con gregations in Bohemia, and under the influence of recent political changes the that law tully authorized Old Catholic of Austria was held at Vienna, June 29, 1880, which adopted synodal and parochial regulations, and decreed the use of the language of the people in divine service.
In Russia, in the province of Volhynia, are also several Bohemian communities attached to the Old Catholic church, served by three priests, recognized and supported by the state, who were, in Dec., 1879, taking steps looking towards the formation of a synodal council.
. At the Swiss Christian Catholic synod, at Geneva, May 20, 18S0, bishop Herzog reported.that owing to peculiar state complications the church had lost in the canton of Bern 12 parishes and 10 priests;. but that they numbered throughout Switzerland 59 priests in 48 established parishes.. At this synod a prayer-book, framed after an Angli
can model, was authoritatively set forth for present use. The executive council of Switzerland has issued a decree defining the right of possession of churches, to wit, that the majority in a parish, be they Roman or Old Catholic, are invested with the owner ship, but that the minority are also entitled to worship in them without paying an indemnity.
The 7th Old Catholic congress, at Baden-Baden, Sept. 12-44, 1880, was attended by 150 delegates, at which bishop Reiukens reported favorably of progress in Germany, in which now are somewhat !ess than 50,000 adherents. The congress resolved unani mously upon the universal use of the German liturgy in public worship, and adopted a number of theses, which accurately describe the present attitude of the Old Catholics towards the Latin church.
1. It is impossible that there should be a real contradiction between belief, based on historical testimony, of the fundamental truths of Christianity, and science, based on the absolute facts of nature and mind. They mutually protect, aid, and complete each other. 2. The independence of national churches accords as much with the universal character of the church as national peculiarities in th.:, state, in art, and in science accord with the genera] objects of culture. 3. It is an unfortunate error of many Protestants to regard that church, which the adherents of the vaticau are bound to acknowledge as alone saving, as a shield of faith, a prop of authority to the state or society, and a bul wark against destructive social tendencies; and to receive its adherents as conservative allies. 4. History, the task and duty of self-preservation compel the German empire to oppose the vatican system. 5. Negotiations with the infallible pope, or his organs, on all matters belonging to the legislative functions and the authority of the state should be repudiated. All such transactions conduce to the dissolution of the national state.
Ground, somewhat similar to that occupied by the Old Catholics, is held by the Armenian church, which, since 1867, felt greatly aggrieved by the course of the pope, who, in his bull Revermru8, changed the manner of choosing their patriarchs and bish ops. The third vatican decree, declaring the pope's universal episcopate, was especially distasteful to them. In Oct., 1870, they declared that while they had not fully decided as to the vatican council, whose decrees many had refused to accept, who yet remained Catholics, they would not receive any decree which set aside that of Florence. In Nov., 1871, the pope excommunicates those of them who would not yield. They deposed their patriarch, and elected in his place Kiepeliau, archbishop of Diarbekir. They have since been put in possession, by the Turkish government, of many of the united Armenian churches.
In France, M. Hyaeinthe-Loyson may be regarded as generally representing Old Catholic views. His aim is the reformation of the Roman Catholic church in that country on the basis and principles of the old Galilean church.