AFFIRMATIONS AND DECLARATIONS

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

AN OPEN DECLARATION TO THE ONE HOLY CATHOLIC AND APOSTOLIC CHURCH

I solemnly declare and affirm that I believe in God, Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth;

And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord; Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, 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 is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.

I further declare and affirm before God that I do believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the Word of God, and to contain all things necessary to salvation and to be the inspired Word of God.

I do believe the teachings and doctrine of the holy catholic Church as they come to us from the ancient, historical faith; “the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints” (Jude 3).

I do solemnly purpose to conform to the doctrine, discipline, and worship of Christ’s one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church as the Church has received them and in conformity with the doctrinal essentials stated in the Canons of the Continuing Evangelical Episcopal Communion. Relying upon the constant provision of grace through faith in Christ Jesus, by the witness of the Holy Spirit, trusting in the inspiration and supremacy of the Holy Scriptures and with a confirming heart and mind, I affirm the Doctrinal Essentials of the Continuing Evangelical Episcopal Communion. By my signature, as a faithful and accountable parish leader and/or minister of the Gospel, I will endeavor, with God’s help, to live and teach in concord with the spirit and intention of these Doctrinal Essentials. I understand that I will be asked to reaffirm this declaration annually.

I further declare and affirm before God my assent to the fourteen tenets of the GAFCON Jerusalem Declaration that promotes and protects the biblical gospel and mission to the world, solemnly affirming the following tenets of orthodoxy which underpin our Anglican identity. 

1.We rejoice in the gospel of God through which we have been saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. Because God first loved us, we love Him and as believers bring forth fruits of love, ongoing repentance, lively hope and thanksgiving to God in all things.

2.We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the Word of God written and to contain all things necessary for salvation. The Bible is to be translated, read, preached, taught and obeyed in its plain and canonical sense, respectful of the church's historic and consensual reading.

3.We uphold the four Ecumenical Councils and the three historic Creeds as expressing the rule of faith of the one holy catholic and apostolic Church.

4. We uphold the Thirty-Nine Articles as containing the true doctrine of the Church agreeing with God's Word and as authoritative for Anglicans today.

5.We gladly proclaim and submit to the unique and universal Lordship of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, humanity's only Savior from sin, judgement and hell, who lived the life we could not live and died the death that we deserve. By His atoning death and glorious resurrection, He secured the redemption of all who come to Him in repentance and faith.

6.We rejoice in our Anglican sacramental and liturgical heritage as an expression of the gospel, and we uphold the 1662 Book of Common Prayer as a true and authoritative standard of worship and prayer, to be translated and locally adapted for each culture.

7.We recognize that God has called and gifted bishops, priests and deacons in historic succession to equip all the people of God for their ministry in the world. We uphold the classic Anglican Ordinal as an authoritative standard of clerical orders.

8.We acknowledge God's creation of humankind as male and female and the unchangeable standard of Christian marriage between one man and one woman as the proper place for sexual intimacy and the basis of the family. We repent of our failures to maintain this standard and call for a renewed commitment to lifelong fidelity in marriage and abstinence for those who are not married.

9.We gladly accept the Great Commission of the risen Lord to make disciples of all nations, to seek those who do not know Christ and to baptize, teach and bring new believers to maturity.

10.We are mindful of our responsibility to be good stewards of God's creation, to uphold and advocate justice in society, and to seek relief and empowerment of the poor and needy.

11.We are committed to the unity of all those who know and love Christ and to building authentic ecumenical relationships. We recognize the orders and jurisdiction of those Anglicans who uphold orthodox faith and practice, and we encourage them to join us in this declaration.

12. We celebrate the God-given diversity among us which enriches our global fellowship, and we acknowledge freedom in secondary matters. We pledge to work together to seek the mind of Christ on issues that divide us.

13. We reject the authority of those churches and leaders who have denied the orthodox faith in word or deed. We pray for them and call on them to repent and return to the Lord.

14. We rejoice at the prospect of Jesus' coming again in glory, and while we await this final event of history, we praise Him for the way He builds up His church through His Spirit by miraculously changing lives.

I further declare and affirm before God my commitment to a historical, traditional view of purity, as understood in the historical Christian Church since the earliest of times. I reject the move of recent times where portions of Christendom have embraced and accepted biblically prohibited lifestyles such as homosexuality, promiscuity, fornication, adultery, and incestuous relationships. In these matters I determine to follow the example of Jesus Christ, embracing sinners and encouraging them to repent and walk in personal, biblical holiness; all the while utterly rejecting their sinful lifestyles and condemning rather than condoning sin. I embrace the orthodox, historical position of heterosexual marriage between one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others, and sexual relationships as God-designed and God-ordained. I commit myself to purity of life and purity of expression in my sexuality; that purity being lived out and expressed either through sexual abstinence in singleness or monogamous fidelity in marriage.

I further declare and affirm before God my commitment to be faithful in my handling of finances. Financial faithfulness is merely returning to God that which is already His. I commit to the principle, scriptural mandate, and discipline of the tithe, understanding that all members of God's one holy and apostolic Church are commanded to tithe a tenth of their increase. I further commit to be faithful and honest in the handling of all finances that are placed into my hands, recognizing that every area of my life is to be marked by integrity.