The Polish National Catholic Church (PNCC; Polish: Polski Narodowy Kościół Katolicki, PNKK) is an independent Old Catholic church based in the United States and founded by Polish Americans that is part of the Union of Scranton.
The PNCC is not in communion with the Roman Catholic Church. Since 2004, the PNCC is no longer in communion with the Union of Utrecht.
In the history of Christianity, the first seven ecumenical councils are as follows: the First Council of Nicaea in 325, the First Council of Constantinople in 381, the Council of Ephesus in 431, the Council of Chalcedon in 451, the Second Council of Constantinople in 553, the Third Council of Constantinople from 680 to 681 and finally, the Second Council of Nicaea in 787.
These seven events represented an attempt by Church leaders to reach an orthodox consensus, restore peace and develop a unified Christendom. Among Eastern Christians the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Church of the East (Assyrian) churches and among Western Christians the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Utrecht and Polish National Old Catholic, and some Scandinavian Lutheran churches all trace the legitimacy of their clergy by apostolic succession back to this period and beyond, to the earlier period referred to as the Early Church.
The Union of Scranton is a communion of Old Catholic churches established in 2008 by the Polish National Catholic Church (PNCC) of the United States, due to the fact the Union of Utrecht began ordaining women and blessing same-sex unions.