Altkatholiken

Altkatholiken, designation of the Roman Catholics who refused to accept the dogma of Papal Infallibility promulgated in 1870, and who preferred in consequence to adhere to an independent church. Prominent among them were university theologians, including I. von Döllinger. The ‘Altkatholiken’ (known in Switzerland as ‘Christkatholiken’) were recognized in most German states in the 1870s, but not until 1918 in Bavaria and Austria. They continue to exist as a small minority. Der Pfarrer von Kirchfeld (1871) by L. Anzengruber reflects the stresses which led to the breaking-away of the ‘Altkatholiken’ from Rome.