The homilies in this volume were all delivered by archdeacon Robert Mitchell Jr. – a transitional archdeacon in the Old Catholic tradition enrolled at Ekklesia Epignostika Church & Seminary in pursuit of Holy Orders of the priesthood – during Holy Communion services between Palm Sunday, March 28, 2021 and Pentecost Sunday, June 5, 2022 in St. Barachiel Chapel in Richmond, VA. They reflect his Old Catholic stance on matters of faith and his deep appreciation for the quadriga – the four most ancient senses of interpreting scripture – the literal, allegorical, moral, and mystical.

What is an Old Catholic?

Old Catholics are not Roman Catholics. They are a relatively small denomination – a loosely-associated group of sister churches, some in communion and others not – who split from the Roman Catholic Church starting in the mid-to-late 19th century over various doctrinal and administrative disputes, primarily papal infallibility, the valid appointment of bishops, and particularities of Marian devotion. Because of their similarities to both the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church, Old Catholics are often described as catholic but not Roman, orthodox but not Eastern.