Vernieuwend, eigen en oecumenisch. Het Handboek voor Geloofs- en Zedenleer in de Oud-Katholieke Kerk van Nederland als getuige van katholieke theologische ontwikkeling in het interbellum

Abstract

The Handbook for Doctrine of Faith and Morals in the Old Catholic Church of the Netherlands as a witness to Catholic theological development in the interwar period. This contribution considers the Handboek voor Geloofs- en Zedenleer in de Oud-Katholieke Kerk van Nederland (1932) as a witness to ecclesial and theological transformation in the Old Catholic Church of the Netherlands in the interbellum. It shows how in this period a broadly supported new theological paradigm was developed for this church that was both expressive of the ‘Old Catholic’ theological program as it had been developed towards the end of the nineteenth century and ecumenically viable, as it enjoyed a very positive reception beyond the boundaries of the Old Catholic Church as well. The development of the theological reasoning in the Handboek is demonstrated with reference to correspondence, in particular concerning that of its main author, the later Archbishop of Utrecht Andreas Rinkel (1889-1979), thereby also shedding light on this theologian, who would come to shape the Old Catholic tradition in a very significant manner.