“What do you believe?”
It doesn’t seem like it should be a hard question to answer. Except it is. For followers of Christ in the Episcopal way, also known as Episcopalians, the answer to “What do you believe?” is both simple and complex.
Episcopalians do not have an established doctrine or dogma. Instead, our faith is grounded in our common life together as experienced in worship and community and united by our love of God and others. While Episcopalians don’t have a codified, written doctrine, we do embrace the tenants of faith contained in the ancient creeds (Apostles’ Creed and Nicene Creed.)
We Believe
- We believe in one God, who is a Trinity of Persons.
- We believe the First Person of the Trinity, traditionally called Father, is the Creator and Sustainer of all life from the beginning of time.
- We believe in Jesus, the Second Person of the Trinity, and traditionally called the Son. Jesus walked the earth as middle-eastern Jewish male over 2000 years ago. He was a rabbi, a teacher, who called people to follow him in the Way of Love. Jesus was crucified by Imperial Rome, died, and was buried. After three days, he rose again.
- We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Trinity. The Holy Spirit dwells within us; inviting, encouraging, and calling us to follow the Way of Love as personified in the work and teachings of Jesus.
These beliefs form the core of our faith. These beliefs invite us into relationship with God and others, empowering and encouraging us to love and serve all persons. Beyond that, we embrace the questions, all the questions, and strive to live deeply into community even when we disagree, as we explore our faith together.
We invite you to join us and explore more deeply the width and breadth of beliefs which make our faith unique.
