The Reformed Episcopal Church
Built upon the foundation of the authoritative Word of God, the Holy Scriptures, the Reformed Episcopal Church sets her highest priority on biblical WORSHIP and declares her commitment to the work of EVANGELISM, the bold and unadulterated proclamation of salvation by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 8:4). In keeping the faith once delivered to the saints, the Reformed Episcopal Church, however, does not believe evangelism to be the end, but rather the beginning of her divinely given vocation. In addition to being evangelical, she is deeply committed to DISCIPLESHIP, the work of training evangelized men and women in Christian living (St. Matthew 28:20). When the Gospel is truly proclaimed and the mercies of God are made known, redeemed men and women must be led to offer their bodies as a living sacrifice, which is their spiritual service (Romans 12:1). Thus, the Reformed Episcopal Church understands the Christian life to be necessarily corporate. The Gospel call of salvation is not only to a savior, but also to a visible COMMUNION (I Cor.12:27) which, being indwelt by Christ's Spirit, transcends both temporal and geographic bounds. Therefore, the Reformed Episcopal Church is CREEDAL, following the historic catholic faith as it was confessed by the early undivided Church in the Apostles' (A.D. 150), Nicene (A.D. 325) and Athanasian Creeds (circa. A.D. 401); SACRAMENTAL, practicing the divinely ordained sacraments of Baptism and the Lord's Supper; LITURGICAL, using the historic Book of Common Prayer; and EPISCOPAL, finding unity with the Church of the earliest Christian eras through submission to the government of godly bishops. In this fashion, by embracing the broad base of doctrine and practice inherent in apostolic Christianity received by the Church of the English Reformation and expressed in the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion, the Reformed Episcopal Church has a foundation for effective ministry in the name of Christ to a world which is lost and dying without Him.
REC Authorities, Declarations, Affirmations and Resolutions
The REC holds the Faith as once delivered to the saints, and as transmitted through the Church of England, especially as articulated in her Reformation heritage, the range of her Anglican divines, and as deposited in the founding principles of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America. Furthermore, this Church receives Holy Scripture as the Word of God. We affirm the three ancient creeds, commonly known as the Nicene, Apostles' and Creed of Athanasius, the dogmatic definitions of the first four ecumenical councils of the undivided church and The Thirty-nine Articles of Religion in their 1801 form. Beginning with the Declaration of Principles at the time of her founding (1873), this Church has adopted several doctrinal declarations and affirmations which are consistent with the above authorities, including the Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral (1888), Anglican Belief & Practice (2002), The Jerusalem Declaration (2008) and the Anglican Church in North America Theological Statement (2008). Furthermore, the REC has adopted important resolutions articulating faithful and biblical positions concerning Sexual Ethics, the Sanctity of Human Life and Gender Distinctions.
To learn more about the REC, see www.rechurch.org.
Built upon the foundation of the authoritative Word of God, the Holy Scriptures, the Reformed Episcopal Church sets her highest priority on biblical WORSHIP and declares her commitment to the work of EVANGELISM, the bold and unadulterated proclamation of salvation by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 8:4). In keeping the faith once delivered to the saints, the Reformed Episcopal Church, however, does not believe evangelism to be the end, but rather the beginning of her divinely given vocation. In addition to being evangelical, she is deeply committed to DISCIPLESHIP, the work of training evangelized men and women in Christian living (St. Matthew 28:20). When the Gospel is truly proclaimed and the mercies of God are made known, redeemed men and women must be led to offer their bodies as a living sacrifice, which is their spiritual service (Romans 12:1). Thus, the Reformed Episcopal Church understands the Christian life to be necessarily corporate. The Gospel call of salvation is not only to a savior, but also to a visible COMMUNION (I Cor.12:27) which, being indwelt by Christ's Spirit, transcends both temporal and geographic bounds. Therefore, the Reformed Episcopal Church is CREEDAL, following the historic catholic faith as it was confessed by the early undivided Church in the Apostles' (A.D. 150), Nicene (A.D. 325) and Athanasian Creeds (circa. A.D. 401); SACRAMENTAL, practicing the divinely ordained sacraments of Baptism and the Lord's Supper; LITURGICAL, using the historic Book of Common Prayer; and EPISCOPAL, finding unity with the Church of the earliest Christian eras through submission to the government of godly bishops. In this fashion, by embracing the broad base of doctrine and practice inherent in apostolic Christianity received by the Church of the English Reformation and expressed in the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion, the Reformed Episcopal Church has a foundation for effective ministry in the name of Christ to a world which is lost and dying without Him.
REC Authorities, Declarations, Affirmations and Resolutions
The REC holds the Faith as once delivered to the saints, and as transmitted through the Church of England, especially as articulated in her Reformation heritage, the range of her Anglican divines, and as deposited in the founding principles of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America. Furthermore, this Church receives Holy Scripture as the Word of God. We affirm the three ancient creeds, commonly known as the Nicene, Apostles' and Creed of Athanasius, the dogmatic definitions of the first four ecumenical councils of the undivided church and The Thirty-nine Articles of Religion in their 1801 form. Beginning with the Declaration of Principles at the time of her founding (1873), this Church has adopted several doctrinal declarations and affirmations which are consistent with the above authorities, including the Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral (1888), Anglican Belief & Practice (2002), The Jerusalem Declaration (2008) and the Anglican Church in North America Theological Statement (2008). Furthermore, the REC has adopted important resolutions articulating faithful and biblical positions concerning Sexual Ethics, the Sanctity of Human Life and Gender Distinctions.
To learn more about the REC, see www.rechurch.org.