Old Catholic Province of Our Lady of the Angels

A letter written by the Patriarch to the entire Church, generally concerning matters of doctrine, morals or discipline, pastoral concerns, or significant commemorations. Its formal title is the first few words of its official text, usually in Latin.

From the Latin encyclicus and the Greek enkyklios, circular.

Encyclicals are not divinely inspired and do not contain new revelation, but they are authoritative teaching instruments from the Patriarch. In descending order of formal authority, the Patriarchal documents are: apostolic constitutions, encyclical letters, encyclical epistles, apostolic exhortations, apostolic letters, letters, and messages. An encyclical letter is written for the whole Church, while an encyclical epistle is directed toward part of the Church, e.g., bishops or laity in a particular country, leaders of religious orders, priests, etc.

The original Apostles, particularly St. Paul, used letters to keep in touch with far distant church communities. Twenty-one of these letters were included as part of the New Testament. After the Apostles passed into eternity, bishops often sent letters to one another, and sometimes to the faithful, to promote consistency in faith and discipline, especially about doctrines, feast-day celebrations, and liturgical calendars. The Bishop of Rome wrote epistles to bishops all over the world. He also received a great many letters from bishops all over the world and circulated them to other bishops.