The Episcopal Church:
What we Believe

Holy Scriptures of the Old Testament and New Testament, written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, containing all things necessary to salvation.

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The OT reveals God’s mighty acts in creation, the deliverance of the people of Israel from bondage in Egypt, and the making of the old covenant with the chosen people. God’s saving will for His people is made known in the OT through the gift of the Law in the Ten Commandments and through the witness of the prophets. The OT is also known as the “Hebrew Scriptures.” The NT describes the life, death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Messiah, whose coming was foretold in the OT. It also tells the story of the creation of the Christian church through the gift of the Holy Spirit and presents the new covenant, based on love, which is the new relationship with God given by Jesus Christ to all who believe in him.

The term, from the Anglo Saxon, means to pay someone what is their due. It was used in the sixteenth century relative to God and human beings. In the Sarum and English Prayer Book marriage rites, the groom said to the bride, ” . . . with my body I thee worship.” Certain British magistrates are still addressed as “Your Worship.” Today, it refers to the paying of divine honor to God. It is both a verb and a noun, used to translate the Latin verb adorare and the noun cultus and their equivalents in other languages. It was defined by Evelyn Underhill as “the response of the creature to the Eternal.” It is a very broad term concerning acts of adoration, which may be as diverse as private prayer and meditation, public corporate liturgies, prayer services, or cultic sacrifices. Christian worship, both individual and corporate, is offered through and in the name of Jesus Christ.

The experience of corporate or individual nearness with God, through words, acts, or silence. Any act or activity offered to God in a spirit of dedication may be prayerful. This nearness may take the form of addressing God, as in prayers of petition, praise, and thanksgiving; or the form of listening, as in contemplative and meditative prayer. Both forms assume a relationship between God and the one who prays. Prayer is the opening of the direct relationship between God and humanity. The Catechism states, “Christian prayer is response to God the Father, through Jesus Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit”

Outward and visible signs of inward and spiritual grace, given by Christ as sure and certain means for receiving God’s grace. Baptism and Eucharist are the two great sacraments given by Christ to his church. The Episcopal Church recognizes that five other sacramental rites evolved in the church under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, including Confirmation, Ordination, Holy Matrimony, Reconciliation of a Penitent, and Unction (the anointing of the sick with oil, or the laying on of hands)

God’s love freely given to humanity for salvation. The term is from the Latin gratia, a “gift or favor freely given,” translating the Greek NT charis. Various themes concerning grace have been emphasized since the NT. The Pauline epistles present grace as unmerited and effective as God’s forgiving love for humanity. The Johannine scriptures present grace as God’s indwelling of humanity. The western church has generally followed the Pauline emphasis in terms of grace as God’s forgiveness of sin and healing of humanity for salvation. The eastern church has generally followed the Johannine emphasis of grace as bringing about divinization and human participation in the divine life for salvation.

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Anglican theology, notably represented by Richard Hooker, has emphasized the gratuitous nature of grace and the importance of participation in the economy of God’s salvation, especially as known in the life of the church where grace is sacramentally represented and made known. The Catechism notes that 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 Catechism also states that the sacraments and other sacramental rites of the church are means of grace.

The baptismal covenant, found on p. 304-5 of The Book of Common Prayer, is a small catechism for use during the rite of initiation into the Church. It is widely regarded as the normative statement of what it means to follow Christ; in these questions and answers, the congregation expresses the ways each of the faithful will live their faith both inside and outside the church walls. 

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The first four questions are patterned on the Apostles’ Creed, with the liturgy’s celebrant asking the people about their beliefs in each of the members of the Trinity, along with a concise understanding of their natures. Following these questions, the covenant includes five questions regarding how we, as Christians, are called to live out our faith: with firm commitment and a reliance on God’s help. 

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The Baptismal Covenant

Celebrant:    Do you believe in God the Father?
People:          I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.

Celebrant:    Do you believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God?
People:          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.

Celebrant:    Do you believe in God the Holy Spirit?
People:          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.

Celebrant:    Will you continue in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in the prayers?
People:           I will, with God’s help.
 

Celebrant:    Will you persevere in resisting evil, and, whenever you fall into sin, repent and return to the Lord?
People:           I will, with God’s help.
 

Celebrant:    Will you proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ?
People:           I will, with God’s help.
 

Celebrant:    Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself?
People:           I will, with God’s help.
 

Celebrant:    Will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being?
People:           I will, with God’s help.