To the Monastery, Parishes and Missions of the Order of St. Columba,
Glory to Jesus Christ! It is with great joy that I greet you with this singular message that is that Christ is Risen and the Order is growing in its activities and its brothers. Yet, in such times as these, we must make some clear statements in regard to who we are and to what we are. Today, the name of Old Catholic is not what it used to be. It has fallen away from the goodness that it once had and the devote devotion to the way of Jesus Christ. We use to be the defenders of the faith, but the Union of Utrecht has all but destroyed this with the Ordination of Women, the laxing of the liturgies of the Church and its overall international actions that has caused devastation to the Church and movement as a whole.
As such, although we do feel that we are CATHOLIC and declare our intentions, we at this point have more in common with the Orthodox. We deny Papal Infallibility and Papal Supremacy as false doctrines of the Catholic Pope and do not find any truth in these statements before Rome's declaration in 1870. As such, the Orthodox position has always the same and we believe that the Orthodox Church is correct in these matters. Furthermore, our own lineage comes from Tugdual the Younger, who himself has connections with the Old Catholic and Orthodox Church having joined the Orthodox Church of Britain and founding the Celtic Orthodox Church in 1955.
Whereby, a vote of all brothers was taken, and the result was to choose what we should go by, either Catholic, Orthodox, Old Catholic, or Christian, the brothers voted unanimously to affiliate as Orthodox and specifically the Celtic Orthodox Church. From this vote it will have an effect on all of us. Moving forward, our missions will either be St. N. Celtic Orthodox Mission/Parish, or you may go by St. N. Orthodox Mission/Parish. Our vestments will continue to be that of the Western style. We will continue to use the Catholic Catechism as we have, and the liturgies are approved are the same. I pray that all of you work well with this news. May the Lord Bless you and keep you.
In Christ,
Br. Bartimaeus Cook, OSC Prior of the Order Abbacy of St. Cuthbert Order of St. Columba