Every year in the first two weeks of July, the Old Catholic Seminary at Utrecht University offers two Summer schools in Old Catholic Theology – two weeks of interesting and deepening lectures, meeting people from various cultural and theological backgrounds and enjoying the beautiful city of Utrecht.
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Summer school ‘Old Catholic Theology: Faith, History and Praxis’
The Summer school ‘Old Catholic Theology: Faith, History and Praxis’ will be from 6 to 11 July, 2025. This course offers an introduction to Old Catholic theology in a ecumenical context.
Old Catholic theology is understood as the main theological currents as they exist in the Union of Utrecht of Old Catholic Churches. Students will be taught by experts in Old Catholic theology from the faculty at the Old Catholic Seminary, Utrecht. The topics covered by the course include the following: History of Old Catholicism, Old Catholic Spirituality, Ecumenism and Old Catholicism, Old Catholic Canon Law and Ecclesiology, Old Catholic Liturgy, and Old Catholic Systematic Theology.
Click here for more information about this course and to apply.
Ecumenical Catholicity: The Old Catholic Witness
From 13 to 18 July, 2025, we are offering a brand new in-depth Summer school theme: ‘Ecumenical Catholicity: The Old Catholic Witness’. The course focuses on the ecumenical commitment, witness, highs and lows of ecumenical theology of the Old Catholic Churches of the Union of Utrecht. These churches are part of an exceptional global communion of communions that includes the European Old Catholic churches, the churches of the Anglican Communion, the Mar Thoma Syrian Church, the Philippine Independent Church, and the Church of Sweden. The Old Catholic Churches also maintain a very active role in local, national and international bodies, such as the World Council of the Churches and the Conference of Churches in Europe.
The key question that the course asks, is how and why this life in ecumenical communion came about and what its impact is on catholic theology in the Old Catholic tradition. The course answers this query in four ways:
- by tracking the growth, characteristics and challenges of this worldwide network;
- by exploring the theological and liturgical exchange and enrichment that takes place through life in communion;
- by engaging with dimensions of lived ecumenical catholicity in praxis are explored in relation to churches and communities in Utrecht and beyond;
- by giving attention to the missionary, diaconal, and public theological aspects of being church in ecumenical communion.
Click here for more information about this course and to apply.
If you want to attend both weeks, you can apply for the Summer school track ‘Old Catholic Theology: Contexts and Calling’ which combines both courses. Applying for this track leads to a reduction of the course fee.
Click here for more information about the entire Summer School track and to apply.
The course director of the summer schools in Old Catholic Theology is Prof. dr. Peter-Ben Smit. For any inquiries, you can reach out to p.b.a.smit@uu.nl.
In addition to the two courses in Old Catholic theology, the summer school “Anglicanism in European Perspective” has also been taking place for a number of years. This is an initiative of the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe, which is a part of the Episcopal Church (USA) and it was inspired by the Old Catholic summer schools. The course is academically affiliated with the special chair of the Old Catholic Seminary at Utrecht University. This close collaboration is an expression of the community that has existed between this church and the Old Catholic Church of the Netherlands since the ‘Bonn Agreement’ of 1931. See this page for more info.