What We Believe
Our beliefs center on the gospel of God's grace, salvation through Jesus Christ, and the authority of the Holy Scriptures. We uphold traditional Anglican doctrine, and embrace the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
The Jerusalem Declaration
The Global Anglican Future Conference, which was held in Jerusalem from June 22–29, 2008, is a spiritual movement to preserve and promote the truth and power of the gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ as we Anglicans have received it. We cherish our Anglican heritage and the Anglican Communion and have no intention of departing from it. And we believe that, in God’s providence, Anglicanism has a bright future in obedience to our Lord’s Great Commission to make disciples of all nations and to build up the church on the foundation of biblical truth. Matthew 28:18-20; Ephesians 2:20
What We Believe
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We rejoice in the gospel of God through which we have been saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. Because God first loved us, we love him and as believers bring forth fruits of love, ongoing repentance, lively hope and thanksgiving to God in all things.
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We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the Word of God written and to contain all things necessary for salvation. The Bible is to be translated, read, preached, taught and obeyed in its plain and canonical sense, respectful of the church’s historic and consensual reading.
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We confess as proved by most certain warrants o the Holy Scripture the historic faith of the undivided church as declared in the three catholic Creeds: the Apostles’, the Nicene, and the Athanasian.
Concerning the Councils of the undivided Church affirm the teaching of the first four: 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.
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We uphold the Thirty-nine Articles as found in the “Book of Common Prayer” of the Anglican Church (ACNA 2019). We believe that this contains the true doctrine of the church agreeing with God’s Word and as authoritative for Anglicans today.
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We gladly proclaim and submit to the unique and universal Lordship of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, humanity’s only Savior from sin, judgement and hell, who lived the life we could not live and died the death that we deserve. By his atoning death and glorious resurrection, he secured the redemption of all who come to him in repentance and faith.
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The Anglican Church in North America is determined by the help of God to hold and maintain, as the Anglican Way has received them, the doctrine, discipline and worship of Christ and to transmit the same, unimpaired, to our posterity. We seek to be and remain in full communion with all Anglican Churches, Dioceses and Provinces that hold and maintain the Historic Faith, Doctrine, Sacraments and Discipline of the One, Holy, catholic, and Apostolic Church.
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We recognize that God has called and gifted bishops, priests and deacons in historic succession to equip all the people of God for their ministry in the world. We uphold the classic Anglican Ordinal as an authoritative standard of clerical orders.
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We acknowledge God’s creation of humankind as male and female and the unchangeable standard of Christian marriage between one man and one woman as the proper place for sexual intimacy and the basis of the family. We repent of our failures to maintain this standard and call for a renewed commitment to lifelong fidelity in marriage and abstinence for those who are not married.
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We gladly accept the Great Commission of the risen Lord to make disciples of all nations, to seek those who do not know Christ and to baptize, teach and bring new believers to maturity.
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We are mindful of our responsibility to be good stewards of God’s creation, to uphold and advocate justice in society, and to seek relief and empowerment of the poor and needy.
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We are committed to the unity of all those who know and love Christ and to building authentic ecumenical relationships. We recognize the orders and jurisdiction of those Anglicans who uphold orthodox faith and practice, and we encourage them to join us in this declaration.
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We free acknowledge that within any congregation that there are different backgrounds, experiences, and needs. At the same time, we all have one thing in common. Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” When we come before a Holy God we are equal in his eyes and share the need to be transformed by him. Together we come before the Lord offering him nothing that he needs. Each of us desperately needs forgiveness of sin and salvation found by faith alone in Christ alone. It’s within that common need that we pursue Jesus Christ together. Together we worship the Lord, serve him and learn to live in peace with one another. That is the goal, but it must be intentionally sought. It’s within that framework we seek unity together, as brothers and sisters in Christ. That is the definition of the Church.
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The foundation of the Christian faith is built on our submission to the authority of the word of God, the Bible. The Bible teaches who God is and how we must live before him in obedience. The Scriptures are not suggestions but the very words and commands of God. The opinions of men or the demands of a culture must be measured by the standard given to us by God. We reject the authority of those denominations, churches, and leaders who have denied the orthodox faith in word or deed. We pray for them and call on them to repent and return to the Lord. The Word of God is our only rule of faith and practice.
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We rejoice at the prospect of Jesus’ coming again in glory, and while we await this final event of history, we praise him for the way he builds up his church through his Spirit by miraculously changing lives.