The Old Catholic Church, International “Office of Chaplains” was established in 2018 by the Conference of Bishops. It became apparent to the Bishops that there are more vocations other than calling to parish priesthood or diaconate. In fact, there are those who are called to “specialized” ministries outside the parish, yet still required ordained clergy, such as full-time, part-time, and volunteer chaplains.
The Office of Chaplains was created and established to provide guidance, leadership and support to Diocesan Bishops and those within their Disocese called to ordained ministry in specialized settings specific to the work of Chaplains. As such, the Office of Chapains will provide to assistance to Old Catholic Church Bishops and their Chaplain Candidates through several programs and services that many secular employers require before hiring and employing Chaplains. Such programs and services may include:
- Foster vocations for full-time paid and/or volunteer chaplains
- Support and encourage priests, permanent and transitional deacons to serve as volunteer chaplains in many of the organizations listed above
- Recruiting and assisting chaplain candidates through their specialized training
- Supporting chaplains and their families
- Providing tools and training to support OCCI Chaplains
- Providing on-going continuing education for Chaplains
- Providing a support system for those ministering in this highly specialized ministry
- Providing a clearinghouse for communications among OCCI chaplains through newsletters and conferences.
- Providing and Monitoring Ecclesiastical Endorsements and OCCI Endorsement requirements including tracking all specialized training OCCI Chaplain candidates and OCCI Chaplains receive for their particualr specialized chaplaincy, including monitoring of each Chaplain’s progress toward certifications by outside professional chaplain organizations, and any continuing eduation units (CEUs), and tracking of all Clinical Pastoral Edcations (CPE) units each OCCI Chaplain candidates and OCCI Chaplains complete as required by professional organizations specifica to their Chaplaincy Type.
- Promoting the specialized ministry of chaplaincy within the church and community
- Participating in national/state/provincial chaplaincy organizations
- Becoming a participating partner and maintaining membership within COMISS Network[1]. For more information, visit www.comissnetwork.org
For more information, please contact the Office of Chaplains at chaplaincy@myocci.org.
[1]OCCI Office of Chaplains is in the process of becoming a partner of COMISS as a “Endorsing Organization” partner.