What We Believe |
What We Believe |
We Episcopalians believe in a loving, liberating, and life-giving God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. As constituent members of the Anglican Communion in the United States, we are descendants of and partners with the Church of England and the Scottish Episcopal Church and are part of the third largest group of Christians in the world.
We believe in following the teachings of Jesus Christ, whose life, death, and resurrection saved the world. We have a legacy of inclusion, aspiring to tell and exemplify God’s love for every human being; women and men serve as bishops, priests, and deacons in our church. Laypeople and clergy cooperate as leaders at all levels of our church. Leadership is a gift from God, and can be expressed by all people in our church, regardless of sexual identity or orientation. We believe that God loves you – no exceptions. |
The TrinityWe believe in God, creator and sustainer of all.
We believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the revelation of the fullness of God. We believe in the Holy Spirit, who lives among God’s people. We believe those who are baptized are family, through a new relationship with Jesus Christ, our savior and brother. |
Church TraditionsThe Creeds are the outline of our faith;
the Bible is our sacred text; and our worship in the tradition of The Book of Common Prayer is central to who we are. |
The Good News of LoveWe believe all Christians are called to the work of spreading the Good News that God has redeemed and transformed the world through Jesus Christ.
Love of neighbor and enemy, love of the poor, the lost, the oppressed, and the imprisoned is essential to the Christian life. Basically, we believe that the love of God and neighbor is the core of the Christian faith and life. |
SacramentsOur Anglican tradition recognizes sacraments as “outward and visible signs of inward and spiritual grace.” (The Book of Common Prayer, p. 857) Holy Baptism and the Eucharist (or Holy Communion) are the two great sacraments given by Christ to his Church.
|
Holy BaptismIn the case of Baptism, the outward and visible sign 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 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. |
Eucharist (Holy Communion)In the case of the Eucharist, the outward and visible sign is bread and wine, given and received according to Christ’s command.
The inward and spiritual grace is the Body and Blood of Christ given to his people and received by faith. |
In addition to these two, there are other spiritual markers in our journey of faith that can serve as means of grace. These include:
|