The
Mission & Foundational Beliefs of the
Reformed Episcopal
Church
5) The Declaration of Principles
Adopted by the Bishops of this Church
December 3,
1992
Revised by the Council of Bishops, October 2, 2003
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) 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 as outward and visible signs of His inward and spiritual grace; 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.
Approved, General Committee, October 5, 2003
I. Of Faith in the Holy Trinity.
There is but
one living and true God, everlasting, without body, parts, or passions; of
infinite power, wisdom, and goodness; the Maker, and Preserver of all things
both visible and invisible. And in unity of this Godhead there be three Persons,
of one substance, power, and eternity; the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Ghost.
II. Of the Word or Son of God, which was made very
Man.
The Son, which is the Word 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, the Godhead
and Manhood, were joined together in one Person, never to be divided, whereof is
one Christ, very God, and very 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.
III. Of the going down of Christ into Hell.
As
Christ died for us, and was buried; so also is it to be believed, that he went
down into hell.
IV. Of the Resurrection of Christ.
Christ did
truly rise again from death, and took again his body, with flesh, bones, and all
things appertaining to the perfection of Man's nature; wherewith he ascended
into Heaven, and there sitteth, until he return to judge all Men at the last
day.
V. Of the Holy Ghost.
The Holy Ghost,
proceeding from the Father and the Son, is of one substance, majesty, and glory,
with the Father and the Son, very and eternal God.
VI. Of the Sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures for
Salvation.
Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to
salvation: so that whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, is
not to be required of any man, that it should be believed as an article of the
Faith, or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation. In the name of the
Holy Scripture we do understand those canonical Books of the Old and New
Testament, of whose authority was never any doubt in the Church.
Genesis
Exodus
Leviticus
Numbers
Deuteronomy
Joshua
Judges
Ruth
The First Book of Samuel
The Second Book of
Samuel
The First Book of Kings
The Second Book of Kings
The First Book
of Chronicles
The Second Book of Chronicles
The First Book of
Esdras
The Second Book of Esdras
The Book of Esther
The Book of
Job
The Psalms
The Proverbs
Ecclesiastes or Preacher
Cantica, or
Songs of Solomon
Four Prophets the greater
Twelve Prophets the less
And the other Books (as Hierome saith) the Church doth read for example of life and instruction of manners; but yet doth it not apply them to establish any doctrine; such are these following:
The Third Book of Esdras
The Fourth Book of Esdras
The Book
of Tobias
The Book of Judith
The rest of the Book of Esther
The Book
of Wisdom
Jesus the Son of Sirach
Baruch the Prophet
The Song of the
Three Children
The Story of Susanna
Of Bel and the Dragon
The Prayer
of Manasses
The First Book of Maccabees
The Second Book of Maccabees
All the Books of the New Testament, as they are commonly received, we do
receive, and account them Canonical.
VII. Of the Old Testament.
The Old Testament
is not contrary to the New: for both in the Old and New Testament everlasting
life is offered to Mankind by Christ, who is the only Mediator between God and
Man, being both God and Man. Wherefore they are not to be heard, which feign
that the old Fathers did look only for transitory promises. Although the Law
given from God by Moses, as touching Ceremonies and Rites, do not bind Christian
men, nor the Civil precepts thereof ought of necessity to be received in any
commonwealth; yet notwithstanding, no Christian man whatsoever is free from the
obedience of the Commandments which are called Moral.
VIII. Of the Creeds.
The Nicene Creed, and
that which is commonly called the Apostles' Creed, ought thoroughly to be
received and believed: for they may be proved by most certain warrants of Holy
Scripture.
IX. Of Original or Birth-Sin.
Original sin
standeth not in the following of Adam, (as the Pelagians do vainly talk;) but it
is the fault and corruption of the Nature of every man, that naturally is
engendered of the offspring of Adam; whereby man is very far gone from original
righteousness, and is of his own nature inclined to evil, so that the flesh
lusteth always contrary to the Spirit; and therefore in every person born into
this world it deserveth God's wrath and damnation. And this infection of nature
doth remain, yea in them that are regenerated; whereby the lust of the flesh,
called in Greek, frohnayma sarkos, (which some do expound the wisdom, some
sensuality, some the affection, some the desire, of the flesh,) is not subject
to the Law of God. And although there is no condemnation for them that believe
and are baptized; yet the Apostle doth confess, that concupiscence and lust hath
of itself the nature of sin.
X. Of Free Will.
The condition of Man after
the fall of Adam is such, that he cannot turn and prepare himself, by his own
natural strength and good works, to faith, and calling upon God. Wherefore we
have no power to do good works pleasant and acceptable to God, without the grace
of God by Christ preventing us, that we may have a good will, and working with
us, when we have that good will.
XI. Of the Justification of Man.
We are
accounted righteous before God, only for the merit of our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ by Faith, and not for our own works or deservings. Wherefore, that we are
justified by Faith only, is a most wholesome Doctrine, and very full of Comfort,
as more largely is expressed in the Homily of Justification.
XII. Of Good Works.
Albeit that Good Works,
which are the fruits of Faith, and follow after Justification, cannot put away
our sins, and endure the severity of God's judgment; yet are they pleasing and
acceptable to God in Christ, and do spring out necessarily of a true and lively
Faith; insomuch that by them a lively Faith may be as evidently known as a tree
discerned by the fruit.
XIII. Of Works Before Justification.
Works
done before the grace of Christ, and the Inspiration of his Spirit, are not
pleasant to God, forasmuch as they spring not of faith in Jesus Christ; neither
do they make men meet to receive grace, or (as the School-authors say) deserve
grace of congruity: yea rather, for that they are not done as God hath willed
and commanded them to be done, we doubt not but they have the nature of sin.
XIV. Of Works of Supererogation.
Voluntary
Works besides, over and above, God's Commandments, which they call Works of
Supererogation, cannot be taught without arrogancy and impiety: for by them men
do declare, that they do not only render unto God as much as they are bound to
do, but that they do more for his sake, than of bounden duty is required:
whereas Christ saith plainly, When ye have done all that are commanded to you,
say, We are unprofitable servants.
XV. Of Christ alone without Sin.
Christ in the
truth of our nature was made like unto us in all things, sin only except, from
which he was clearly void, both in his flesh, and in his spirit. He came to be
the Lamb without spot, who, by sacrifice of himself once made, should take away
the sins of the world; and sin (as Saint John saith) was not in him. But all we
the rest, although baptized, and born again in Christ, yet offend in many
things; and if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not
in us.
XVI. Of Sin after Baptism.
Not every deadly
sin willingly committed after Baptism is sin against the Holy Ghost, and
unpardonable. Wherefore the grant of repentance is not to be denied to such as
fall into sin after Baptism. After we have received the Holy Ghost, we may
depart from grace given, and fall into sin, and by the grace of God we may arise
again, and amend our lives. And therefore they are to be condemned, which say,
they can no more sin as long as they live here, or deny the place of forgiveness
to such as truly repent.
XVII. Of Predestination and
Election.
Predestination to Life is the everlasting purpose of God,
whereby (before the foundations of the world were laid) he hath constantly
decreed by his counsel secret to us, to deliver from curse and damnation those
whom he hath chosen in Christ out of mankind, and to bring them by Christ to
everlasting salvation, as vessels made to honour. Wherefore, they which be
endued with so excellent a benefit of God, be called according to God's purpose
by his Spirit working in due season: they through Grace obey the calling: they
be justified freely: they be made sons of God by adoption: they be made like the
image of his only-begotten Son Jesus Christ: they walk religiously in good
works, and at length, by God's mercy, they attain to everlasting felicity.
As
the godly consideration of Predestination, and our Election in Christ, is full
of sweet, pleasant, and unspeakable comfort to godly persons, and such as feel
in themselves the working of the Spirit of Christ, mortifying the works of the
flesh, and their earthly members, and drawing up their mind to high and heavenly
things, as well because it doth greatly establish and confirm their faith of
eternal Salvation to be enjoyed through Christ, as because it doth fervently
kindle their love towards God: So, for curious and carnal persons, lacking the
Spirit of Christ, to have continually before their eyes the sentence of God's
Predestination, is a most dangerous downfall, whereby the Devil doth thrust them
either into desperation, or into wretchlessness of most unclean living, no less
perilous than desperation.
Furthermore, we must receive God's promises in
such wise, as they be generally set forth to us in Holy Scripture: and, in our
doings, that Will of God is to be followed, which we have expressly declared
unto us in the Word of God.
XVIII. Of obtaining eternal Salvation only by the Name of
Christ.
They also are to be had accursed that presume to say, That
every man shall be saved by the Law or Sect which he professeth, so that he be
diligent to frame his life according to that Law, and the light of Nature. For
Holy Scripture doth set out unto us only the Name of Jesus Christ, whereby men
must be saved.
XIX. Of the Church.
The visible Church of
Christ is a congregation of faithful men, in the which the pure Word of God is
preached, and the Sacraments be duly ministered according to Christ's ordinance,
in all those things that of necessity are requisite to the same.
As the
Church of Jerusalem, Alexandria, and Antioch, have erred; so also the Church of
Rome hath erred, not only in their living and manner of Ceremonies, but also in
matters of Faith.
XX. Of the Authority of the Church.
The Church
hath power to decree Rites or Ceremonies, and authority in Controversies of
Faith: and yet it is not lawful for the Church to ordain any thing that is
contrary to God's Word written, neither may it so expound one place of
Scripture, that it be repugnant to another. Wherefore, although the Church be a
witness and a keeper of Holy Writ, yet, as it ought not to decree any thing
against the same, so besides the same ought it not to enforce any thing to be
believed for necessity of Salvation.
XXI. Of the Authority of General
Councils.
[The Twenty-first of the former Articles is omitted;
because it is partly of a local and civil nature, and is provided for, as to the
remaining parts of it, in other Articles.]
XXII. Of Purgatory.
The Romish Doctrine
concerning Purgatory, Pardons, Worshipping and Adoration, as well of Images as
of Relics, and also Invocation of Saints, is a fond thing, vainly invented, and
grounded upon no warranty of Scripture, but rather repugnant to the Word of
God.
XXIII. Of Ministering in the Congregation.
It
is not lawful for any man to take upon him the office of public preaching, or
ministering the Sacraments in the Congregation, before he be lawfully called,
and sent to execute the same. And those we ought to judge lawfully called and
sent, which be chosen and called to this work by men who have public authority
given unto them in the Congregation, to call and send Ministers into the Lord's
vineyard.
XXIV. Of Speaking in the Congregation in such a Tongue as
the people understandeth.
It is a thing plainly repugnant to the
Word of God, and the custom of the Primitive Church, to have public Prayer in
the Church, or to minister the Sacraments, in a tongue not understood of the
people.
XXV. Of the Sacraments.
Sacraments ordained of
Christ be not only badges or tokens of Christian men's profession, but rather
they be certain sure witnesses, and effectual signs of grace, and God's good
will towards us, by the which he doth work invisibly in us, and doth not only
quicken, but also strengthen and confirm our Faith in him.
There are two
Sacraments ordained of Christ our Lord in the Gospel, that is to say, Baptism,
and the Supper of the Lord.
Those five commonly called Sacraments, that is to
say, Confirmation, Penance, Orders, Matrimony, and Extreme Unction, are not to
be counted for Sacraments of the Gospel, being such as have grown partly of the
corrupt following of the Apostles, partly are states of life allowed in the
Scriptures; but yet have not like nature of Sacraments with Baptism, and the
Lord's Supper, for that they have not any visible sign or ceremony ordained of
God.
The Sacraments were not ordained of Christ to be gazed upon, or to be
carried about, but that we should duly use them. And in such only as worthily
receive the same, they have a wholesome effect or operation: but they that
receive them unworthily, purchase to themselves damnation, as Saint Paul
saith.
XXVI. Of the Unworthiness of the Ministers, which hinders
not the effect of the Sacraments.
Although in the visible Church the
evil be ever mingled with the good, and sometimes the evil have chief authority
in the Ministration of the Word and Sacraments, yet forasmuch as they do not the
same in their own name, but in Christ's, and do minister by his commission and
authority, we may use their Ministry, both in hearing the Word of God, and in
receiving the Sacraments. Neither is the effect of Christ's ordinance taken away
by their wickedness, nor the grace of God's gifts diminished from such as by
faith, and rightly, do receive the Sacraments ministered unto them; which be
effectual, because of Christ's institution and promise, although they be
ministered by evil men.
Nevertheless, it appertaineth to the discipline of
the Church, that inquiry be made of evil Ministers, and that they be accused by
those that have knowledge of their offenses; and finally, being found guilty, by
just judgment be deposed.
XXVII. Of Baptism.
Baptism is not only a sign
of profession, and mark of difference, whereby Christian men are discerned from
others that be not christened, but it is also a sign of Regeneration or
New-Birth, whereby, as by an instrument, they that receive Baptism rightly are
grafted into the Church; the promises of the forgiveness of sin, and of our
adoption to be the sons of God by the Holy Ghost, are visibly signed and sealed;
Faith is confirmed, and Grace increased by virtue of prayer unto God.
The
Baptism of young Children is in any wise to be retained in the Church, as most
agreeable with the institution of Christ.
XXVIII. Of the Lord's Supper.
The Supper of
the Lord is not only a sign of the love that Christians ought to have among
themselves one to another; but rather it is a Sacrament of our Redemption by
Christ's death: insomuch that to such as rightly, worthily, and with faith,
receive the same, the Bread which we break is a partaking of the Body of Christ;
and likewise the Cup of Blessing is a partaking of the Blood of
Christ.
Transubstantiation (or the change of the substance of Bread and Wine)
in the Supper of the Lord, cannot be proved by Holy Writ; but is repugnant to
the plain words of Scripture, overthroweth the nature of a Sacrament, and hath
given occasion to many superstitions.
The Body of Christ is given, taken, and
eaten, in the Supper, only after an heavenly and spiritual manner. And the mean
whereby the Body of Christ is received and eaten in the Supper, is Faith.
The
Sacrament of the Lord's Supper was not by Christ's ordinance reserved, carried
about, lifted up, or worshipped.
XXIX. Of the Wicked, which eat not the Body of Christ in
the use of the Lord's Supper.
The Wicked, and such as be void of a
lively faith, although they do carnally and visibly press with their teeth (as
Saint Augustine saith) the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ; yet in no
wise are they partakers of Christ: but rather, to their condemnation, do eat and
drink the sign or Sacrament of so great a thing.
XXX. Of both Kinds.
The Cup of the Lord is not
to be denied to the Lay-people: for both the parts of the Lord's Sacrament, by
Christ's ordinance and commandment, ought to be ministered to all Christian men
alike.
XXXI. Of the one Oblation of Christ finished upon the
Cross.
The Offering of Christ once made is that perfect redemption,
propitiation, and satisfaction, for all the sins of the whole world, both
original and actual; and there is none other satisfaction for sin, but that
alone. Wherefore the sacrifices of Masses, in the which it was commonly said,
that the Priest did offer Christ for the quick and the dead, to have remission
of pain or guilt, were blasphemous fables, and dangerous deceits.
XXXII. Of the Marriage of Priests.
Bishops,
Presbyters, and Deacons, are not commanded by God's Law, either to vow the
estate of single life, or to abstain from marriage: therefore it is lawful for
them, as for all other Christian men, to marry at their own discretion, as they
shall judge the same to serve better to godliness.
XXXIII. Of excommunicate Persons, how they are to be
avoided.
That person which by open denunciation of the Church is
rightly cut off from the unity of the Church, and excommunicated, ought to be
taken of the whole multitude of the faithful, as an Heathen and Publican, until
he be openly reconciled by penance, and received into the Church by a Judge that
hath authority thereunto.
XXXIV. Of the Traditions of the Church.
It is
not necessary that Traditions and Ceremonies be in all places one, or utterly
like; for at all times they have been divers, and may be changed according to
the diversity of countries, times, and men's manners, so that nothing be
ordained against God's Word. Whosoever, through his private judgment, willingly
and purposely, doth openly break the Traditions and Ceremonies of the Church,
which be not repugnant to the Word of God, and be ordained and approved by
common authority, ought to be rebuked openly, (that others may fear to do the
like,) as he that offendeth against the common order of the Church, and hurteth
the authority of the Magistrate, and woundeth the consciences of the weak
brethren.
Every particular or national Church hath authority to ordain,
change, and abolish, Ceremonies or Rites of the Church ordained only by man's
authority, so that all things be done to edifying.
XXXV. Of the Homilies.
The Second Book of
Homilies, the several titles whereof we have joined under this Article, doth
contain a godly and wholesome Doctrine, and necessary for these times, as doth
the former Book of Homilies, which were set forth in the time of Edward the
Sixth; and therefore we judge them to be read in Churches by the Ministers,
diligently and distinctly, that they may be understanded of the people.
Of the Names of the Homilies.
1 Of the right Use of the
Church.
2 Against Peril of Idolatry.
3 Of repairing and keeping clean of
Churches.
4 Of good Works: first of Fasting.
5 Against Gluttony and
Drunkenness.
6 Against Excess of Apparel.
7 Of Prayer.
8 Of the Place
and Time of Prayer.
9 That Common Prayers and Sacraments ought to be
ministered in a known tongue.
10 Of the reverend Estimation of God's
Word.
11 Of Alms-doing.
12 Of the Nativity of Christ.
13 Of the Passion
of Christ.
14 Of the Resurrection of Christ.
15 Of the worthy receiving of
the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ.
16 Of the Gifts of the Holy
Ghost.
17 For the Rogation-days.
18 Of the State of Matrimony.
19 Of
Repentance.
20 Against Idleness.
21 Against Rebellion.
XXXVI. Of Consecration of Bishops and
Ministers.
The Book of Consecration of Bishops, and Ordering of
Priests and Deacons, as set forth by the General Convention of this church in
1792, doth contain all things necessary to such Consecration and Ordering;
neither hath it any thing that, of itself, is superstitious and ungodly. And,
therefore, whosoever are consecrated or ordered according to said Form, we
decree all such to be rightly, orderly, and lawfully consecrated and
ordered.
XXXVII. Of the Power of the Civil
Magistrates.
The Power of the Civil Magistrate extendeth to all men,
as well Clergy as Laity, in all things temporal; but hath no authority in things
purely spiritual. And we hold it to be the duty of all men who are professors of
the Gospel, to pay respectful obedience to the Civil Authority, regularly and
legitimately constituted.
XXXVIII. Of Christian Men's Goods, which are not
common.
The Riches and Goods of Christians are not common, as
touching the right, title, and possession of the same; as certain Anabaptists do
falsely boast. Notwithstanding, every man ought, of such things as he
possesseth, liberally to give alms to the poor, according to his ability.
XXXIX. Of a Christian Man's Oath.
As we
confess that vain and rash Swearing is forbidden Christian men by our Lord Jesus
Christ, and James his Apostle, so we judge, that Christian Religion doth not
prohibit, but that a man may swear when the Magistrate requireth, in a cause of
faith and charity, so it be done according to the Prophet's teaching, in
justice, judgment, and truth.
The Apostles' Creed
I BELIEVE in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and
earth: And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord: Who was conceived by the Holy
Ghost, Born of the Virgin Mary: Suffered under Pontius Pilate, Was crucified,
dead, and buried: He descended into hell; The third day he rose again from the
dead: He ascended into heaven, And sitteth on the right hand of God the Father
Almighty: From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe
in the Holy Ghost: The holy Catholic Church; The Communion of Saints: The
Forgiveness of sins: The Resurrection of the body: And the Life everlasting.
Amen.
The Nicene Creed
I BELIEVE in one God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven
and earth, And of all things visible and invisible: And in one Lord Jesus
Christ, the only-begotten Son of God; Begotten of his Father before all worlds,
God of God, Light of Light, Very God of very God; Begotten, not made; Being of
one substance with the Father; By whom all things were made: Who for us men and
for our salvation came down from heaven, And was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of
the Virgin Mary, And was made man: And was crucified also for us under Pontius
Pilate; He suffered and was buried: And the third day he rose again according to
the Scriptures: And ascended into heaven, And sitteth on the right hand of the
Father: And he shall come again, with glory, to judge both the quick and the
dead; Whose kingdom shall have no end. And I believe in the Holy Ghost, The
Lord, and Giver of Life, Who proceedeth from the Father and the Son; Who with
the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified; Who spake by the
Prophets: And I believe one Catholic and Apostolic Church: I acknowledge one
Baptism for the remission of sins: And I look for the Resurrection of the dead:
And the Life of the world to come. Amen.
The Athanasian Creed
QUICUNQUE VULT
THE Catholick Faith is this : That we worship one God in
Trinity, and Trinity in Unity; Neither confounding the Persons : nor dividing
the Substance. For there is one Person of the Father, another of the Son : and
another of the Holy Ghost. But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the
Holy Ghost, is all one : the Glory equal, the Majesty co-eternal. Such as the
Father is, such is the Son : and such is the Holy Ghost. The Father uncreate,
the Son uncreate : and the Holy Ghost uncreate. The Father incomprehensible, the
Son incomprehensible : and the Holy Ghost incomprehensible. The Father eternal,
the Son eternal : and the Holy Ghost eternal. And yet there are not three
eternals : but one eternal. As also there are not three incomprehensibles, nor
three uncreated : but one uncreated and one incomprehensible. So likewise the
Father is Almighty, the Son Almighty : and the Holy Ghost Almighty. And yet
there are not three Almighties : but one Almighty. So the Father is God, the Son
is God : and the Holy Ghost is God. And yet there are not three Gods : but one
God. So likewise the Father is Lord, the Son Lord : and the Holy Ghost Lord. And
yet not three Lords : but one Lord. For like as we are compelled by the
Christian verity : to acknowledge every Person by himself to be God and Lord; So
are we forbidden by the Catholick Religion : to say, There be three Gods or
three Lords. The Father is made of none : neither created nor begotten. The Son
is of the Father alone : not made nor created, but begotten. The Holy Ghost is
of the Father and of the Son : neither made, nor created, nor begotten, but
proceeding. So there is one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three Sons :
one Holy Ghost, not three Holy Ghosts. And in this Trinity none is before or
after other : none is greater, or less than another; But the whole three Persons
are co-eternal together : and co-equal. So that in all things, as is aforesaid :
the Unity in Trinity, and the Trinity in Unity is to be worshiped. Furthermore,
it is necessary to everlasting salvation : that he also believe rightly the
Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. For the right Faith is, that we believe
and confess : that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is God and Man; God,
of the Substance of the Father, begotten before the worlds : and Man, of the
substance of His Mother, born in the world; Perfect God and perfect Man : of a
reasonable soul and human flesh subsisting; Equal to the Father, as touching his
Godhead : and inferior to the Father, as touching His Manhood; Who although He
be God and Man : yet He is not two, but one Christ; One; not by conversion of
the Godhead into flesh : but by taking of the Manhood into God; One altogether;
not by confusion of Substance : but by unity of Person. For as the reasonable
soul and flesh is one man : so God and Man is one Christ; Who suffered for our
salvation : descended into hell; rose again the third day from the dead; He
ascended into heaven, he sitteth on the right hand of the Father, God Almighty :
from whence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead. At whose coming all
men shall rise again with their bodies : and shall give an account of their own
works. And they that have done good shall go into life everlasting : and they
that have done evil, into everlasting fire. This is the Catholick Faith : which
except a man believe faithfully, he cannot be saved.
Their Historic Context
In the 19th Century, major changes occurred in the Anglican Communion, especially in the Protestant Episcopal Church in America. As a result of a liberal movement in the previous century (18th), some began to argue that the English Reformation was wrong and that Anglicanism should return to a more Medieval Church. To do so, however, meant a significant departure from historic Episcopalianism. As a result, there was a concern on the part of others to protect what can be called the Anglicanism of the English Reformation. Their view was that liberalism was to be combated by clearly proclaiming the Good News of salvation through faith in Christ, by protecting the integrity of the Holy Scriptures, and by preserving the Prayer Book of Thomas Cranmer, the Archbishop who was martyred for denouncing certain innovative Roman Catholic doctrines of the Middles Ages.
One evangelical priest in the Protestant Episcopal Church,
the Rev. William Augustus Muhlenberg, attempted to summarize the core issues for
evangelicals in the 19th Century by formulating in essence what became known to
the Reformed Episcopal Church as the Declaration of Principles. The Rev. Mr.
Muhlenberg was himself an evangelical who worked in close ecumenical association
with the Old Catholic Church. As such, he was a high church "Gospel Man," which
explains why some evangelicals of his day had a range of liturgical practice,
while uniting around the ancient Reformed Catholic truths. Although he never
became a Reformed Episcopalian, the newly established Reformed Episcopal Church
made good use of his statements.
Some in the latter quarter of the 19th Century concluded
that their beloved Protestant Episcopal Church had so dramatically changed that
they had no alternative but to preserve the old Church by forming another
denomination (though not another church). In 1873, the Rt. Rev. George David
Cummins, the Assistant Bishop of the Diocese of Kentucky in the Protestant
Episcopal Church, believed he must continue the old Church by becoming the
founding Bishop of the Reformed Episcopal Church, thereby maintaining historic
succession of orders to this very day in the REC. It was Bishop Cummins who
utilized the Rev. Mr. Muhlenberg's seminal statement that became the Declaration
of Principles. Cummins even wanted him to become a bishop in the REC. Thus, the
Declaration of Principles are the heart of the essential convictions of the
Reformed Episcopal Church. However, given who the Rev. Mr. Muhlenberg was, his
churchmanship, and what Bishop Cummins said he wanted the Reformed Episcopal
Church to be, the following clarifications should be kept in mind as the reader
attempts to interpret the Declaration of Principles.
First, the opening principle clearly recognizes Scripture
as a primary authoritative document, but not exclusively so. Holy Scripture was
not given in a vacuum apart from the Church, and thus, the ancient creeds as
interpreted by their English commentary, the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion,
are also authoritative.
Second, the statement on the episcopacy is straight out of
Richard Hooker, the late 16th Century Anglican theologian, who wrote the
classical defense of Anglicanism, The Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity. Hooker
endorsed episcopal polity as rooted in Scripture and as historically verified by
its universal, uncontested acceptance for the first 1500 years of church
history. Nevertheless, this classical Anglican resisted being so exclusive as to
unchurch those who did not have bishops (his European Reformed brethren) by
denying the validity of their Baptism or Communion. Those who came later in the
19th Century decided to depart from the English Reformation of Hooker and reject
the Holy Communion of nonepiscopal protestant denominations. As such the second
principle embraces the episcopacy for the well-being but not the being of the
church.
Third, the Prayer Book of the REC is the 1785 American
version of the 1662 BCP. Due to the allowance for revision, the 1928 and the
Australian BCP are permitted for use as long as the Declaration of Principles
are placed in the front of the Prayer Book.
Lastly, the denials of the 4th Principle clearly oppose any
language defined to imply that the sacraments in and of themselves convey
salvation apart from faith. However, a negative does not establish a positive.
Particular terms such as priest, altar, and real presence are not actually
forbidden, only their incorrect use. Specifically, these denials should in no
way be understood as rejecting the clear language of documents subscribed to in
the Declaration of Principles (The Scriptures, Book of Common Prayer,
Thirty-Nine Articles, etc.) (1) The Articles allow the use of the word priest as
the anglicized version of the word presbyter by their consistent use of it to
describe a minister of the Word and Sacrament (XXXII, XXXVI), and not as someone
who can uniquely provide atonement (XXXI) is clear. (2) Table and altar are used
interchangeably in Holy Scripture (Malachai 1:10, 12), suggesting the table of
Holy Communion is an altar of praise and thanksgiving. (3) The Articles affirm
belief in the real presence of Christ when they say, The Body of Christ is
given, taken, and eaten, in the Supper, only after an heavenly and spiritual
manner (XXVIII). (4) The Holy Scriptures (Titus 3:5) and the Catechism of the
BCP speak of baptism as an outward sign of an inward grace such that
regeneration should be understood as normally occurring at Holy Baptism, but not
inseparable with Baptism.
Thus, the Declaration of Principles are not an attempt to
depart from historic Anglican beliefs. Rather, they are an expression of a
return to the old paths of the Protestant Episcopal Church and our English
Reformers, in the words of Bishop Cummins. Moreover, their rejection of peculiar
Medieval errors that have sometimes reappeared in the history of Anglicanism has
held Reformed Episcopalians to orthodoxy for 123 years without a single
occurrence of schism or doctrinal deviation.
The Declaration of Principles
Of the Reformed
Episcopal Church
Adopted, December 2, 1873
I.
The Reformed Episcopal Church, holding "the faith once delivered unto the saints," declares its belief in the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as the Word of God, as the sole rule of Faith and Practice; in the Creed "commonly called the Apostles' Creed;" in the Divine institution of the Sacraments of baptism and the Lord's Supper; and in the doctrines of grace substantially as they are set forth in the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion.
II.
This Church recognizes and adheres to Episcopacy, not as of Divine right, but as a very ancient and desirable form of Church polity.
III.
This Church, retaining a liturgy which shall not be imperative or repressive of freedom in prayer, accepts The Book of Common Prayer, as it was revised, proposed, and recommended for use by the General Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church, A.D. 1785, reserving full liberty to alter, abridge, enlarge, and amend the same, as may seem most conducive to the edification of the people, "provided that the substance of the faith be kept entire."
IV.
This Church condemns and rejects the following erroneous and strange doctrines as contrary to God's Word:
First, that the Church of Christ exists only in one order or form of ecclesiastical polity:
Second, that Christian Ministers are "priests" in another sense than that in which all believers are a "royal priesthood:"
Third, that the Lord's Table is an altar on which the oblation of the Body and Blood of Christ is offered anew to the Father:
Fourth, that the Presence of Christ in the Lord's Supper is a presence in the elements of Bread and Wine:
Fifth, that regeneration is inseparably connected with Baptism.
© 1995, The Reformed Episcopal Church.