Our Beliefs

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The official website of the Episcopal Church can be found here . We are part of the Rio Grand Diocese (more information available here ).

Anglicans believe in those essential Christian truths  which have been "believed everywhere, always, and by all."  We believe "in essentials unity, in non-non-essentials liberty, in all things charity." In other words, where the Bible is clear and where Christians have always agreed, we also agree. We find these truths most profoundly and succinctly  described in the Apostle's Creed and the Nicene Creed.  We proclaim every Sunday our belief in the Nicene Creed when we recite it as part of our liturgy. We believe that this creed has accurately captured what the Scriptures teach us about God, the Father, God, the Son, and God, the Holy Spirit.

When it comes to non-essentials, there is room for great diversity within  the Anglican Communion.  There are differing views on such issues as eschatology (end-times), gifts of the Spirit, etc. These secondary issues, while important, are not issues which divide us. We can debate, but still remain in love and in communion.

Most important for us, is our view of the Scriptures. We have a high view of the Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments. We believe that Holy Scripture is God's inspired word and contains everything necessary for our salvation. Only those things that can be proved
by scripture can be required of us.

Also important to the forming of the Anglican Communion was the role of the 39 Articles of Religion. These articles were written early in the Church of England(our mother church) and were meant to be a faithful witness of the biblical message. Again, these "Articles" were meant, much like the early creeds, to capture concisely some important doctrines which could be proved by Scripture.

Anglicans also value the two gospel sacraments: baptism and holy communion. In the sacrament of baptism we are initiated into the universal body of Christ. In the sacrament of Holy Communion we meet Christ in a special way: we feed on Him in our hearts by faith.

Finally, something that makes us distinct, within Protestantism, is we maintain the historic episcopate, or apostolic succession. What this means, is that we can validly trace our bishops back to times of the apostles. The early church had an episcopal form of government, consisting of Bishops, Priests, and Deacons. The Anglican Communion continues in this tradition.  Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy also have apostolic succession.