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Look! The Lord is coming from his dwelling place; he comes down and treads the high places of the earth. Micah 1:3 For an excellent description of Episcopal beliefs and Episcopalian views on the Bible visit the website of St. Raphael's Episcopal Church in Crossville, TN. We believe that there is one God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen. This means that the universe is good, that it is the work of a single loving God who creates, sustains, and directs it and that we are called to enjoy God's world and to care for it in accordance with God's purposes. ABOUT GOD THE SON We believe that Jesus is the only perfect image of the Father, and shows us the nature of God, which is love. We believe that by God's own act, his divine Son received our human nature from the Virgin Mary, his mother. The divine Son became human, so that in him human beings might be adopted as children of God, and be made heirs of God's kingdom. In Jesus we are freed from the power of sin and reconciled to God. We share his victory when we are baptized into the New Covenant and become living members of Christ. ABOUT THE NEW COVENANT The New Covenant is the new relationship with God given by Jesus Christ, the Messiah, to the apostles; and, through them, to all who believe in him. In the New Covenant, Christ promised to bring us into the kingdom of God and give us life in all its fullness. He taught us the Summary of the Law, which states you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and the great commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Christ also taught us the New Commandment, which states that we must love one another as Christ loved us. ABOUT THE HOLY SPIRIT The Holy Spirit is the Third Person of the Trinity, God at work in the world and in the Church even now. It is revealed in the Old Covenant as the giver of life, the One who spoke through the prophets. It is revealed in the Lord who leads us into all truth and enables us to grow in the likeness of Christ. We recognize the presence of the Holy Spirit when we confess Jesus Christ as Lord and are brought into love and harmony with God, with ourselves, with our neighbors, and with all creation. We recognize the truths to be taught by the Holy Spirit when they are in accord with the Scriptures. ABOUT THE OLD COVENANT A covenant is a relationship initiated by God, to which a body of people responds in faith. The Old Covenant is the one given by God to the Hebrew people. He promised that they would be his people to bring all the nations of the world to him. In the Covenant, God required the chosen people to be faithful; to love justice, to do mercy, and to walk humbly with God. This Covenant is to be found in the books which we call the Old Testament. ABOUT THE HOLY SCRIPTURES The Holy Scriptures, commonly called the Bible, are the books of the Old and New Testaments; other books written by the people of the Old Covenant, called the Apocrypha, are often included in the Bible. The Old Testament consists of books written by the people of the Old Covenant, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, to show God at work in nature and history. The New Testament consists of books written by the people of the New Covenant, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, to set forth the life and teachings of Jesus and to proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom for all people. We understand the meaning of the Bible by the help of the Holy Spirit, who guides the Church in the true interpretation of the Scriptures. ABOUT THE TEN COMMANDMENTS The Ten Commandments are the laws given to Moses and the people of Israel. From them we learn two things: our duty to God, and our duty to our neighbors. Since we do not fully obey them, we see more clearly our sin and our need for redemption. ABOUT HUMAN NATURE We are part of God's creation, made in the image of God. This means we are free to make choices: to love, to create, to reason, and to live in harmony with creation and with God. From the beginning, we have misused our freedom and made wrong choices. God helps us by revealing himself and his will, through nature and history, through many seers and saints, and especially through the prophets of Israel. ABOUT SIN AND REDEMPTION Sin is the seeking of our own will instead of the will of God, thus distorting our relationship with God, with other people, and with all creation. Redemption is the act of God which sets us free from the power of evil, sin, and death. The Messiah is one sent by God to free us from the power of sin, so that with the help of God we may live in harmony with God, within ourselves, with our neighbors, and with all creation. ABOUT THE CHURCH The Church is the community of the New Covenant. The Church is described as the Body of which Jesus Christ is the Head and of which all baptized persons are members. The mission of the Church is to restore all people to unity with God and each other in Christ. The Church pursues its mission as it prays and worships, proclaims the Gospel, and promotes justice, peace, and love. The Church carries out its mission through the ministry of all its members. ABOUT THE MINISTRY The ministers of the Church are lay persons, bishops, priests, and deacons. The ministry of lay persons is to represent Christ by bearing witness to him wherever they may be; and according to the gifts given them, to carry on Christ's work of reconciliation in the world. The ministry of the bishop is to represent Christ as an apostle, chief priest, and pastor of a diocese, to guard the faith, unity and discipline of the whole Church; to proclaim the Word of God; and to ordain others to continue Christ's ministry. The ministry of a priest is to represent Christ as a pastor to the people; to share with the bishop in the overseeing of the Church; to proclaim the Gospel; and to administer the sacraments. The ministry of a deacon is to represent Christ, particularly as a servant of those in need; and to assist bishops and priests in the proclamation of the Gospel and the administration of the sacraments. ABOUT PRAYER AND WORSHIP Prayer is responding to God, by thoughts and deeds, with or without words. Christian prayer is response to God the Father, through Jesus Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit. The principle kinds of prayer are adoration, praise, thanksgiving, penitence, oblation, intercession, and petition. ABOUT THE SACRAMENTS The sacraments are outward and visible signs of inward and spiritual grace, given by Christ as sure and certain means by which we receive that grace. Grace is God's favor towards us, unearned and undeserved; by grace God forgives our sins, enlightens our minds, stirs our hearts, and strengthens our wills. The two great sacraments are Holy Baptism and the Holy Eucharist. Other sacraments, which are means of grace but not necessary for all persons in the same way that Baptism and the Eucharist are, include confirmation, ordination, holy matrimony, reconciliation of a penitent, and unction. ABOUT HOLY BAPTISM Holy Baptism is the sacrament by which God adopts us as his children and makes us members of Christ's Body, the Church, and inheritors of the kingdom of God. The outward and visible sign in Baptism is water, in which the person is baptized in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. The inward and spiritual grace in Baptism is union with Christ in his death and resurrection, birth into God's family the Church, forgiveness of sins, and new life in the Holy Spirit. Infants are baptized so that they can share citizenship in the Covenant, membership in Christ and redemption by God. Promises are made for them by their parents and sponsors, who guarantee that the infants with be brought up within the Church, to know Christ and be able to follow him. ABOUT THE HOLY EUCHARIST The Holy Eucharist is the sacrament commanded by Christ for the continual remembrance of his life, death, and resurrection, until his coming again. The outward and visible sign in the Eucharist is bread and wine, given and received according to Christ's command. The inward and spiritual grace in the Holy Communion is the Body and Blood of Christ given to his people, and received by faith. The benefits we receive are the forgiveness of our sins, the strengthening of our union with Christ and one another, and the foretaste of the heavenly banquet which is our nourishment in eternal life. ABOUT CONFIRMATION Confirmation is the rite in which we express a mature commitment to Christ, and receive strength from the Holy Spirit through prayer and the laying on of hands by a bishop. It is required of those to be confirmed that they have been baptized, are sufficiently instructed in the Christian Faith, are penitent for their sins, and are ready to affirm their confession of Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. ABOUT ORDINATION Ordination is the rite in which God gives authority and grace of the Holy Spirit to those being made bishops, priests, or deacons, through prayer and the laying on of hands by bishops. ABOUT HOLY MATRIMONY Holy Matrimony is Christian marriage, in which the woman and man enter into a life-long union, make their vows before God and the Church, and receive the grace and blessing of God to help them fulfill their vows. ABOUT RECONCILIATION OF A PENITENT Reconciliation of a Penitent, or Penance, is the rite in which those who repent of their sins may confess them to God in the presence of a priest, and receive the assurance of pardon and the grace of absolution. ABOUT UNCTION OF THE SICK Unction is the rite of anointing the sick with oil, or the laying on of hands, by which God's grace is given for the healing of spirit, mind, and body. ABOUT HEAVEN AND HELL By heaven, we mean eternal life in our enjoyment of God; by hell, we mean eternal death in our rejection of God. We continue to pray for the dead because we still hold them in our love, and because we trust that in God's presence those who have chosen to serve him will grow in his love, until they see him as he is. ABOUT THE LAST JUDGEMENT AND RESURRECTION OF THE BODY We believe that Christ will come in glory to judge the living and the dead. By resurrection, we mean that God will raise us from death in the fullness of our being, that we may live with Christ in the communion of the saints. ABOUT THE CHRISTIAN HOPE The Christian hope is to live with confidence in newness and fullness of life, and to await the coming of Christ in glory, and the completion of God's purpose for the world. By the coming of Christ in glory, we mean that Christ will come, not in weakness but in power, and will make all things new. By everlasting life, we mean a new existence in which we are united with all the people of God, in the joy of fully knowing and loving God and each other. Our assurance as Christians is that nothing, not even death, shall separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. THE APOSTLES' CREED I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. THE NICENE CREED We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen. We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father, Through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and was made man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and war buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end. We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified. He has spoken through the Prophets. We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen. Return to St. Patrick's Episcopal Church Background provided by Christian Border Designs |