The best statement of our faith is from Archbishop
Arnold Harris Mathew which is based upon
Holy Scriptures and the deposit of faith
we have received from the magisterium.
Eternal Salvation is promised to mankind only through the merits of Our Saviour, Jesus Christ, and upon condition of obedience to the teaching of the Holy Gospel, which requires Faith, Hope and Charity, and the due observance of the ordinances of the Orthodox and Catholic Religion.
Faith - is a virtue infused by God, whereby humans accept, and believe without doubting, whatever God has revealed in the Church concerning true Religion.
Hope - is a virtue infused by God, and following upon Faith; by it humans put their entire trust and confidence in the goodness and mercy of God, through Jesus Christ, and look for the fulfillment of the Divine promises made to those who obey the Gospel.
Charity - is a virtue infused by God, and likewise consequent to Faith, whereby humans, loving God above all things for His own sake and their neighbours as themselves for God's sake, yields up their will to a joyful obedience to the revealed will of God in the Church.
God has established the Holy Catholic Church upon earth to be the pillar and the ground of the revealed Truth; and has committed to her the guardianship of the Holy Tradition, and the power of binding and loosing.
The Catholic Church has set forth the principal Doctrines of the Christian Faith in twelve articles as follows:
I - I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, and of all things, visible and invisible;
II - And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all Ages, God of God, Light of Light. Very God of Very God, begotten, not made, of one substance with the Father, by Whom all things were made;
III - Who for us and our salvation came down from heaven, and was Incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary, and was made Man;
IV - And was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, He suffered and was buried;
V - And the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures:
VI - And ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of the Father;
VII - And He shall come again, with glory, to judge the living and the dead; Whose kingdom shall have no end;
VIII - And I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, and Giver of Life, Who proceedeth from the Father, Who with the Father and the Son together are worshipped and glorified, Who spoke to the prophets;
IX - And in One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church;
X - I acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins;
XI - And I look for the Resurrection of the dead;
XII - And the Life in the world to come. Amen.
The fundamental ordinances of the Gospel instituted by Jesus Christ as special means of conveying Divine grace and influence to the souls of men, which are commonly called Mysteries or Sacraments, are Seven in number, namely Baptism, Confirmation, the Holy Eucharist, Holy Orders, Matrimony, Penance and Unction.
Baptism - is the first Sacrament of the Gospel, administered by immersion in, or affusion with, water with the word, "I baptize thee in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit". It admits the recipient into the Church, bestows upon them the forgiveness of sins, original and actual, through the Blood of Christ, and causes in them spiritual change called Regeneration. Without valid Baptism, no other Sacrament can be validly received.
Confirmation - or Chrism is a Sacrament in which the baptized person, on being anointed with Chrism consecrated by the Bishops of the Church, with the imposition of hands, receives the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit to strengthen them in the grace which they received at Baptism, making them a stronger a perfect Christian and a good soldier of Christ.
The Holy Eucharist - is a Sacrament in which, under the appearances of bread and wine, the real and actual Body and Blood of Christ are given and received for the remission of sins, the increase of Divine grace, and the reward of everlasting Life. After the prayer of Invocation of the Holy Spirit in the Liturgy, the bread and wine are entirely converted into the living Body of Christ by an actual change of being, to which change the philosophical term of Transubstantiation and Transmutation are rightly applied. The celebration of this Mystery or Sacrament, commonly called the Mass, constitutes the chief act of Christian worship, being a sacrificial Memorial or re-Presentation of our Lord's death. It is not a repetition of the Sacrifice offered once for all upon Calvary, but is a perpetuation of that Sacrifice by the Church on earth, as our Lord also perpetually offers it in heaven. It is a true and propitiatory Sacrifice, which is offered alike for the living and for the departed.
Holy Orders - is a Sacrament in which the Holy Spirit, through the laying-on of hands of the Bishops, consecrates and ordains the pastors and ministers chosen to serve in the Church, and imparts to them special grace to administer the Sacraments, to forgive sins, and feed the flock of Christ.
Matrimony - is a Sacrament in which the voluntary union of husband and wife is sanctified to become an image of the union between Christ and His Church; and grace is imparted to them to fulfill the duties of their estate and its great responsibilities both of each other and to their children.
Penance - is a Sacrament in which the Holy Spirit bestows the forgiveness of sins, by the ministry of the priest, upon those who, having sinned after Baptism, confess their sins with true repentance, and grace given to amend their lives thereafter.
Unction - is a Sacrament in which the priest of the Church anoint the sick with oil, for the healing of the infirmities of their souls, and if it should please God, those of their bodies also. The efficacy of the Sacraments depends upon the promise and appointment of God; howbeit they benefit only those who receive them worthily with faith, and with due preparation and disposition of mind.
The Scriptures are writings inspired by God, and given to the Church for her instruction and edification. The Church is therefore the custodian and the only Divinely appointed interpreter of holy Scriptures.
The Apostolic and Ecclesiastical Traditions received from the seven General Councils and the early Fathers of the Church may not be rejected; but are to be received and obeyed as being both agreeable to holy Scripture and to that Authority with which Christ endowed His Church. Matters of discipline and ceremony do not rank on the same level with matters of Faith or Morals, but may be altered from time to time and from place to place by the Authority of the Church, according as the welfare and greater devotions of the faithful may be furthered thereby.
There is a Communion of Saints in the Providence of God, wherein the souls of righteous people of all ages are united with Christ in the bond of faith and love. Wherefore it is pleasing to God, and profitable to all humans, to honour the Saints and to invoke them in prayer; and also to pray for the faithful departed.
The relics and representations of Saints are worthy of honour, as are also all other religious emblems; that our minds may be encouraged to devotion and to imitation of the deeds of the just. Honour shown to such objects is purely relative, and in no way implies a confusion of the symbol with the thing signified.
It is the duty of all Christians to join in the worship of the Church, especially in the holy Sacrifice of Mass, in accordance with our Lord's express command; and to conform to the ceremonies prescribed by holy Tradition for the greater dignity of that Sacrifice and for the edification of the faithful.
All Christians are bound to observe the Moral Law contained in the Ten Commandments of the Old Testament, developed with greater strictness in the New, founded upon the law of nature and charity, and defining our duty to God and to mankind. The laws of the Church are also to be obeyed, as proceeding from that Authority which Christ has committed to her for the instruction and salvation of His people.
The monastic life, duly regulated according to the laws of the Church, is a salutary institution in strict accord with the holy Scriptures; and is full of profit to them who, after being carefully tried and examined, make full proof of their calling thereto.
The Foundation Head and Supreme Pastor and Bishop of the Church is our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, from all Bishops and Pastors derive their spiritual powers and jurisdiction.
By the law and institution of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Gospel, all Christians owe obedience and submission in spiritual things to them who have rule and authority within the Church.
Our Lord Jesus Christ did not commit rule and authority with the Church to all the faithful indiscriminately, but only to the Apostles and to their lawful successors in due order.
The only lawful successors of the Apostles are the Orthodox and Catholic Bishops, united by profession of the self-same Belief, participation in the same Sacraments, and mutual recognition of the Faith, by the Sacraments, and by mutual recognition and inter-communion, is the source and depository of all order, authority and jurisdiction in the Church, and is the centre of visible Catholic Unity; so that no Pope, Patriarch or Bishops, or any number of Bishops separated from this united body can possess any authority or jurisdiction whatsoever.
The authority of this collective body is equally binding, however it may be expressed: whether by General Council or by the regular and ordinary consultation and agreement of the bishops themselves.
It is an act of schism to appeal from the known judgment of the Orthodox and Catholic Episcopate, however it may have been ascertained; or to appeal from any dogmatic decree of any General Council even though such appeal be to a future Council. For the Episcopate, being a continuation of the Apostolate, is clearly a Divine institution, and its authority is founded in Divine right. But General Councils are not of themselves of direct Divine appointment; and so Episcopate having clearly the Scriptural promise of Divine guidance into all Truth, cannot be hampered in the exercise of its authority by the necessity of assembling a General Council, which may obviously be rendered impossible through natural circumstances.
The collective body of the Orthodox and Catholic Episcopate, united by profession and Intercommunion. The Bishops of the Church, being true successors of the Apostles, are by Divine right and appointment the rulers of the Church.
In virtue of this appointment each individual Bishop is supreme and independent in that part of the Church which has been committed to his care, so long as he remains in Faith and Communion with the united company of Catholic Bishops, who cannot exclude any from the Church save only them who stray from the path of virtue or err in Faith.
By virtue of the same Divine appointment, the supreme Authority over the whole Church on earth belonging to the collective Orthodox and Catholic Episcopate. They alone from the highest tribunal in spiritual matters, from whose united judgment there can be no appeal; so that it is unlawful for any single Bishop, or any smaller group of Bishops apart from them, or from any secular power or state to usurp this authority, or for any individual Christian to substitute his own private judgment for that interpretation of Scripture or Authority which is approved by the Church.
There have been seven General Councils only, which are recognized by the Whole of Catholic Christendom, held respectively in Nicaea (325 A.D.), Constantinople (553 A.D.), Ephesus (431 A.D.), Chalcedon (451 A.D.), Constantinople (553 A.D.), Constantinople (680 A.D.), and Nicaea (787 A.D.). At no other Councils was the entire body of the Orthodox and Catholic Episcopate representatively assembled; and the decrees and pronouncements of no others must of themselves be accepted as binding upon the conscience of the faithful.
The Authority of the Church can never be in abeyance, even though a General Council cannot be assembled. It is equally to be submitted to and obeyed in whatever way it may be exercised, and although it may be exercised only through the ordinary administration of their respective jurisdictions by individual Bishops.
All Patriarchs, Archbishops, and all Metropolitans (that is to say, all Bishops who exercise any authority over other Bishops) owe that authority solely to the appointment or general consent of the Orthodox and Catholic Episcopate; nor can they ever cease from owing obedience to the collective body of the Episcopate in matters concerning Faith and Morals.
There are five Patriarchates, which ought to be united and form the supreme authority in the administration and government of the Holy Catholic Church. These are Jerusalem, Antioch, Rome, Alexandria and Constantinople. Unfortunately, owing to disputes and differences on the one hand, and to the lust for power and supremacy and domination on the other; the Patriarchs are not at present in Communion; and the welfare of Christendom is jeopardized by their disedifying quarrels, which, we pray, may soon have an end.
