Articles of Faith

ARTICLES OF FAITH

I. The Holy Trinity

There is but one living and true God, eternal, without body, parts, or passions; omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent; the ground of all wisdom and goodness; the Creator and Preserver of all things, both seen and unseen. And in the unity of this Godhead there are three Persons, of one substance, power, and eternity; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

II. Christ the Logos

The Son, who is the Logos of the Father, begotten from everlasting of the Father, the very and eternal God, and of one substance with the Father, took Man's nature in the womb of the blessed Virgin, of her substance: so that two whole and perfect Natures, that is to say, Deity and Humanity, were joined together in one Person, never to be divided, whereof is one Christ, true God, and true Man; who truly suffered, was crucified, dead, and buried, to reconcile his Father to us, and to be a sacrifice, not only for original guilt, but also for actual sins of men. He died for us, was buried, and descended into Hell. On the third day, he truly rose again bodily from death, with all things pertaining to human nature; he ascended into Heaven, where he sits at the right hand of God the Father, until he returns to judge the living and dead.

III. The Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit, proceeding from the Father and the Son, is of one substance, majesty, and glory with the Father and the Son, true and eternal God.

IV. Sacred Scripture

Sacred Scripture contains all things necessary for salvation: so that whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not to be required as an article of the Faith or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation. In the name of the Sacred Scripture, we mean those canonical Books of the Old and New Testament, whose authority has never been in doubt in the Church.

V. The Apocrypha

These other books the Church reads for example of life, instruction of manners, and context; but does not place them on the same level as the canonical scriptures.

VI. The Creeds

The Nicene Creed, Athanasian Creed, and that which is commonly called the Apostles' Creed, are thoroughly to be received and believed, as they are clearly proven true by Sacred Scripture.

VII. Total Depravity

We believe that Man was created in the image of God; but as the result of Adam's sin, the entire human race was alienated from God and became totally depraved. By nature, we are thus corrupt and fallen, hostile to the Law of God, and utterly unable of ourselves to remedy our lost condition. By the Lord's prevenient grace, God restores moral sensibility to Man, enabling us to freely respond to the offer of salvation or freely reject it. 

VIII. Justification

We are accounted righteous before God, only for the merit of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ by grace through Faith, and not for our own works or merit.

IX. Works of Righteousness

Works of righteousness, which are the fruits of Faith, and follow after Justification, are pleasing and acceptable to God in Christ, and are the fruit of a true and lively Faith insomuch that by them a saving Faith may be as evidently known as a tree is known by its fruit.

X. Sin After Baptism

Christ has left His Church the power to bind or loose sins. The grant of repentance is not to be denied to those who fall into sin after Baptism. After we have received the Holy Spirit, we may depart from grace given, and fall into sin, and by the grace of God we may be restored and amend our lives.

XI. Sanctification

We believe that God calls all believers to sanctification subsequent to their new birth in Jesus Christ. By the Holy Spirit’s filling, we are empowered for continued growth in our relationship with Christ and fruitful service. The process of sanctification is both preceded and followed by growth in grace, dynamically expressed in advancing holiness and increasing spiritual maturity.

XII. Foreknowledge, Predestination, and Election

We believe that God's predestination is grounded in His foreknowledge and is conditional upon faith in Christ, not an unconditional decree that determines who will believe. From eternity, in His perfect wisdom and love, God has foreknown those who would respond to His grace with faith and repentance and has predestined them to be conformed to the image of His Son. Election is therefore in Christ and based upon foreseen faith, not apart from it. God genuinely desires the salvation of all people and has extended sufficient grace to every person to enable a free response to the Gospel, choosing to accept or resist the grace offered.

XIII. The Spiritual Realm

We believe in a literal heaven, the dwelling place of God; and we believe in a literal hell, a place of suffering and eternal separation from God. We also believe in angels, those spirit beings who act as messengers, protectors, and warriors. And we believe in demons, rebellious spirits working against the will of God, tempting Man to sin and self-destruction. Satan, a real, personal spirit being-originally a high-ranking angel-is the enemy of God and Man and seeks our destruction.

XIV. The Church 

The visible Church of Christ is a congregation of the Faithful, in which the pure Word of God is preached, and the Sacraments are duly ministered according to Christ's ordinance. The Church is led by those in the succession of the Apostles and having their authority in a direct line back to our Lord. The Church is a divine institution founded by Christ.

XV. The Sacraments

Sacraments ordained of Christ are not simply signs of Christian profession, but rather they are the core means of grace, and God's good will towards us, by which he works in us to strengthen and confirm our faith. There are two Sacraments ordained of Christ our Lord in the Gospel, that is to say, Baptism, and the Eucharist. Those five commonly called Sacraments, that is to say, Confirmation, Penance, Holy Orders, Matrimony, and Extreme Unction, are Sacraments of the Church which are a means of grace as well and all believers should avail themselves of them as appropriate.

XVI. Baptism

Baptism is not merely a sign of our faith in Christ but is the Sacrament by which we appropriate the justification offered by Christ and our sins are forgiven. It is to be administered by immersion in "living water". If immersion is not possible, Apostolic Tradition allows for pouring.

XVII. The Eucharist

The Eucharist, the Lord's Supper, is not a mere sign of love among Christians, but rather is the Sacrament of our redemption by Christ's passion and a means of grace. The Church Fathers reflect differing understandings of the Presence of Christ, and in unity with that witness we do not define the nature of the Presence. It is a Mystery and all Christians must approach the Body and Blood with due reverence.

XVIII. Holy Orders

We believe in the divinely instituted priesthood of the New Covenant, conferred through the sacrament of Holy Orders in Apostolic Succession. This sacred ministry continues the work of the eternal priesthood of Christ. Bishops and priests act in persona Christi capitis to teach, administer the sacraments, and provide counsel sufficient to sanctification. Priests are the fellow workers of the bishops, while Deacons are the helpers of the priests, their ministry consisting of assisting during the administration of the Sacraments, visitation of the sick, and other duties as shall be assigned by the priest. There is nothing in the Gospel of the Lord that commands them to be celibate; therefore, it is lawful (and indeed preferable) that they marry.

XIX. The New Covenant

We affirm the unchanging truth of Scripture: there is one God, one Mediator between God and man (1 Timothy 2:5), and one people of God united in the New Covenant. We reject every form of political or theological Zionism that treats the modern nation-state of Israel as a distinct covenant people with special promises apart from faith in Jesus Christ. Instead, we embrace biblical New Covenant theology, which teaches that all the promises of God find their “Yes” in Christ (2 Corinthians 1:20) and that the Church is the true Israel of God—composed of believing Jews and Gentiles as one new man in Him. The Lord Jesus is the true Seed of Abraham (Galatians 3:16). In Him, the dividing wall of hostility has been broken down so that Gentiles, once “strangers to the covenants of promise,” are now “fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God” (Ephesians 2:11-19). There is neither Jew nor Greek... for all are one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise (Galatians 3:28-29). The Old Covenant, with its shadows and types, has been fulfilled and superseded by the superior New Covenant in Christ’s blood (Hebrews 8:6 13; Jeremiah 31:31-34). The kingdom has been taken from unbelieving Israel and given to a people producing its fruits—the Church of Jesus Christ (Matthew 21:43). This understanding echoes the teachings of the early Church Fathers. St. Justin Martyr (c. 100–165 AD) declared in his Dialogue with Trypho: “We, who have been quarried out from the bowels of Christ, are the true Israelite race... For the true spiritual Israel, and descendants of Judah, Jacob, Isaac, and Abraham... are we who have been led to God through this crucified Christ.” He affirmed that Christians are the heirs of the promises through faith in Christ, the true Israel. St. Augustine (354–430 AD) similarly taught the fulfillment of the Old in the New while upholding a protective stance toward the Jewish people in their current state of unbelief. He interpreted their preservation as a divine testimony to the truth of the Scriptures and the Gospel, drawing on Psalm 59:11 (“Slay them not”). His “witness doctrine” emphasized that Jews should not be destroyed or forcibly removed but preserved as a living witness, even as he called them to faith in Christ. We wholeheartedly desire and pray for the salvation of the Jewish people. Our heart’s desire and prayers to God is for them are that they may be saved (Romans 10:1). Like the Apostle Paul, a Jew himself, we grieve over their current unbelief yet rejoice that “a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And in this way all Israel will be saved” (Romans 11:25-26)—understood as the full number of the elect remnant from Israel being gathered in through faith in their Messiah. Many Church Fathers anticipated a future turning of the Jewish people to Christ in keeping with this mystery. Jews are saved in exactly the same way as Gentiles: by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. “For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him” (Romans 10:12). We proclaim the Gospel to them with urgency and love, for “if you do not believe that I am he you will die in your sins” (John 8:24).