We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth...

We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth...

We uphold the “faith which was once delivered unto the saints” (Jude 3:3, KJV) by believing in the following: (often termed the Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral)

1) The Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, as “containing all things necessary to salvation,” and as being the rule and ultimate standard of faith.

2) The Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed as the sufficient statement of the Christian faith.

3) The two Sacraments ordained by Christ Himself - Baptism and the Lord’s Supper - ministered with unfailing use of Christ’s words of Institution, and the elements ordained by Him.

4) The Historic Episcopate, locally adapted in the methods of its administration to the varying needs of the nations and the peoples called of God into the Unity of His Church.

1) 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.

Additionally, we affirm the following:

2) 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.

3) We confess the historic faith of the undivided church as declared in the three Catholic Creeds: the Apostles’, the Nicene, and the Athanasian.

4) 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 Episcopalian doctrine and discipline, and, with the Books that preceded it, as the standard for the Episcopalian tradition of worship.

Our Formularies

  • The Holy Bible was written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and contains all things necessary to salvation. It is divided into the Old Testament and the New Testament.

    The additional books of the Apocrypha are often included in the Bible. Although selections from the Apocrypha are used in the worship of the Episcopal Church, the Apocrphyal books are not considered of equal authority to the Old and New Testaments.

    Old Testament: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, 1 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job, Psalms, Provebs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obediah, Jonah, Micah, Naham, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi

    New Testament: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, Jude, Revelation

  • The Book of Common Prayer (BCP) is the official book of worship of the Episcopal Church. The BCP provides liturgical forms, prayers, and instructions so that all members and orders of the Episcopal Church may appropriately share in common worship. Anglican liturgical piety has been rooted in the Prayer Book tradition since the publication of the first English Prayer Book in 1549. The most recent revision of the BCP used in the Episcopal Church was published in 1979. The 1979 BCP includes both contemporary language (Rite 2) and traditional language (Rite 1) versions of services.

    The BCP notes that “The Holy Eucharist, the principal act of Christian worship on the Lord’s Day and other major Feasts, and Daily Morning and Evening Prayer, as set forth in this Book, are the regular services appointed for public worship in this Church” (p. 13).

    The BCP includes the calendar of the church year, and it provides forms for the Daily Office, the Great Litany, the Collects, Proper Liturgies for Special Days, Holy Baptism, the Holy Eucharist, Pastoral Offices, and Episcopal Services.

    In addition to many forms for communal worship, the BCP also provides forms for Daily Devotions for Individuals and Families (pp. 136-140).

    The BCP also includes the Psalter, or Psalms of David; Prayers and Thanksgivings; An Outline of the Faith, or Catechism; Historical Documents of the Church (including the Articles of Religion); Tables for Finding the Date of Easter and other Holy Days; and lectionaries for the Holy Eucharist and the Daily Office.

  • The Thirty-Nine Articles were the result of a long process in which the Church of England attempted to provide a theological foundation for its existence during the doctrinal conflicts of the sixteenth century. The conflicts arose from the competing views between Protestants and Roman Catholics as well as controversy within the Church of England itself.

  • The Ordinal: since the sixteenth century the word “Ordinal” has been used in Anglicanism to refer to the texts of the rites for ordination. The 1549 BCP did not include the ordination rites. These were printed separately in 1550 with the title “The Form and Manner of Making and Consecrating of Archbishops, Bishops, Priests, and Deacons.” These forms were printed in the BCP beginning with the 1552 revision. In medieval times an ordinal was a book that gave the ordo (ritual and rubrics) for liturgies.

  • The Historic Episcopate is the succesion of bishops in the history of the church from the apostles until the present.