WHAT WE BELIEVE
The Gospel
Above all else, we believe in the Gospel of Jesus Christ as it was delivered to the church through the Apostles. We believe that “Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,” and we believe that he appeared to his disciples who have since proclaimed this gospel to us by God’s amazing and radical grace (1 Corinthians 15:1-11). This message is good news because it means forgiveness, healing, identity, and union with God for everyone who accepts and believes it.
The Anglican Standards
As an Anglican Church, we also hold to the Fundamental Declarations of the Anglican Church in North America. These short statements point to larger documents, and you can learn more by visiting the FAQ’s on our Being Anglican page.
ACNA FUNDAMENTAL DECLARATIONS
The Word of God
We confess the canonical books of the Old and New Testaments to be the inspired Word of God, containing all things necessary for salvation, and to be the final authority and unchangeable standard for Christian faith and life.
The Sacraments
We confess Baptism and the Supper of the Lord to be Sacraments ordained by Christ Himself in the Gospel, and thus to be ministered with unfailing use of His words of institution and of the elements ordained by Him.
The Creeds
We confess as proved by most certain warrants of Holy Scripture the historic faith of the undivided church as declared in the three Catholic Creeds: the Apostles’, the Nicene, and the Athanasian.
The Episcopate
We confess the godly historic Episcopate as an inherent part of the apostolic faith and practice, and therefore as integral to the fullness and unity of the Body of Christ.
The Ecumenical Councils
Concerning the seven Councils of the undivided Church, we affirm the teaching of the first four Councils and the Christological clarifications of the fifth, sixth and seventh Councils, in so far as they are agreeable to the Holy Scriptures.
The Prayer Book
We receive The Book of Common Prayer as set forth by the Church of England in 1662, together with the Ordinal attached to the same, as a standard for Anglican doctrine and discipline, and, with the Books which preceded it, as the standard for the Anglican tradition of worship.
The Thirty-Nine Articles
We receive the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion of 1571, taken in their literal and grammatical sense, as expressing the Anglican response to certain doctrinal issues controverted at that time, and as expressing fundamental principles of authentic Anglican belief.
Want to learn more about what it means to be Anglican? Head to our Being Anglican page to find out.