About the Liberal Catholic Apostolic Church

As an esoteric church, the Liberal Catholic Apostolic Church does not impose upon individual conscience and sets no barriers to the exploration of the sacred mysteries. It is open to the knowledge provided by science as well as the insights of philosophy, and also has interests in such areas as person-centred psychology. It believes that every religion contains elements of Truth. There is some emphasis on Gnosticism, on Theosophy, reflecting the strong connections with Liberal Catholicism, and on Christian Spiritualism. The LCAC teaches that there is absolute continuity between our own realm and the spirit realm.

In 2008, upon the death of the minister of the Ancient Catholic Church, the LCAC received a special commission to continue the work of its founder, Archbishop Harold Nicholson (Mar Joannes I) (1905-68), from the senior lay member of that church and the Archbishop's closest friend, Mr Richard Hadingham. This commission charges the LCAC with the preservation of Archbishop Nicholson's traditions and distinctive theological outlook, and thus with the continuation of the Ancient Catholic Church as that body was constituted under his guidance. For a detailed history of the Ancient Catholic Church and Archbishop Nicholson's ministry, please see the history page.

The Sacraments

The work of the Church is expressed through the Seven Sacraments of Holy Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Eucharist, Penance, Holy Orders, Matrimony and Unction. Of these, Penance (Confession and Absolution) is voluntary and there is no restriction on admission to receive Holy Communion. Further details are given on the sacraments page. The Mass is celebrated every day at one or more of our Oratories.

In effect, the sacraments as practiced in other churches, provided they are valid in the Catholic tradition, are accepted. From the outset the Church has been strongly ecumenical to its very heart. The emphasis is on the Liberal Catholic Apostolic Church as a source of Catholic unity and consequently of strength, so that it presents no unreasonable barrier to those whose faith is in the Catholic tradition but who cannot reconcile themselves to the dogmatic positions of other bodies.

Religious orders and societies

The Church incorporates a number of religious orders and societies. These include the Valiant Order of St John the Baptist and the Orders of Ave Maria and of S. Therese - The Little Flower, all of which were originally chartered by Mar Joannes I in the early 1950s and which were regranted charters in the LCAC by Mar Joannes III in 2008 after having been dormant for many years. The Religious Society of St Simon and the Society for Humanistic Potential both came into being as dependent religious societies of The Liberal Rite. In addition, the Church has responsibility for a further religious order in the form of the Companions of the Cross and Passion, based in the Province of Scotland.

Further details are given on the religious orders page and the religious societies page.

Educational outreach

The Church stands in a long tradition of educational outreach through its antecedents the Catholic Apostolic Church (Catholicate of the West), the Free Protestant Episcopal Church and the Pre-Nicene Gnosto-Catholic Church, each of which had its own universities or academies operated for the benefit both of ordinands and the general public, primarily via correspondence-based learning. 

In 2008, the work of the Society for Humanistic Potential, an ecumenical interfaith body that had developed from the former English Liberal Free Church in 2006, was placed under the auspices of LCAC. The SHP is today responsible for the educational outreach of the church in the form of European-American University .

Further information is given in our page devoted to educational outreach.

Research, publications and resources

The Liberal Catholic Apostolic Church is active in promoting scholarship concerning the independent Apostolic churches, and through European-American University Press a number of original works and new editions of classic works are currently available in hardcover print.

The Arnold Harris Mathew Center for the Study of the Independent Sacramental Movement (CSISM) at European-American University exists to further research in these areas, and makes available online for the first time a number of relevant monographs and archival documents. The Church also houses a valuable physical archive of books, documents and vestments, of which the written material is in the process of digitisation.

The Oratory of the Holy Spirit has received a gift of an Altar Stone which contains certified relics of Saints Fortunatus and Felicissimus. The Oratory of St Paul of the Cross contains relics of the True Cross, St Benedicta, St Fortunatus, St Bruno, St Paul of the Cross C.P. and St Teresa Margaret of the Sacred Heart (Carmelite). There are also first class relics in the tabernacle of St Philip Howard, St Justin Martyr and Blessed Isidore of St Joseph C.P. Mar Alexei as Custodian of the Oratory is happy to make available Third Class relics of the True Cross (a piece of cloth touched to the relic).

This website contains a number of online resources on esoteric, Liberal Catholic and spiritual matters, all of which are accessible via the resources page.

Discover a Catholic church serving all people

Whoever you are and wherever you are in your spiritual journey, the Liberal Catholic Apostolic Church welcomes you in the spirit of Jesus Christ. 

"That which is on the Altar is the Mystery of Yourselves. Receive the Mystery of Yourselves."
St. Augustine

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Memberships

The Liberal Catholic Apostolic Church is a member of the International Council of Community Churches (ICCC).

The ICCC is a member of:

The World Council of Churches
Churches Uniting in Christ
The National Council of Churches (USA)
Christian Churches Together in the USA

The Liberal Catholic Apostolic Church is a denominational member of the Independent Liberal Catholic Fellowship.
The members of the College of Bishops of the LCAC are each members of the Sophia Circle, a non prescriptive gathering of free bishops in the esoteric tradition.