our beliefs
Our Beliefs
A detailed understanding will require reading our Catechism and Canons.
The International Communion of the Charismatic Episcopal Church (ICCEC)(also known as the Charismatic Episcopal Church, CEC ) started with only one bishop and three parishes in 1992 and now reports churches in more than twenty countries all over the world.
The ICCEC currently has churches in Europe, Africa, North America, South America, Central America, and Asia.
The Charismatic Episcopal Church is not and has never been affiliated with the Episcopal Church USA or the Anglican Communion.
About Us
The International Communion of the Charismatic Episcopal Church (ICCEC)(also known as the Charismatic Episcopal Church, CEC ) started with only one bishop and three parishes in 1992 and now reports churches in more than twenty countries all over the world. The ICCEC currently has churches in Europe, Africa, North America, South America, Central America, and Asia.
The Charismatic Episcopal Church is not and has never been affiliated with the Episcopal Church USA or the Anglican Communion. Basic Beliefs
The ICCEC stands squarely on the historic, undisputed teachings of orthodox Christianity as taught by Jesus, spread by the Apostles, defended by the Patriarchs of the Early Church, expressed in the Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds, and exemplified by the undivided Catholic Church during the first millennium of its existence.
We believe that all these things together contain the substantial deposit of Christian Faith and Order delivered to the Church. Theologically we stand in union with all churches that profess the necessary tenets of Faith as outlined in our San Clemente Declaration of 1999, including at the end of this booklet.
The ICCEC is a church that was founded in the pro-life movement. We believe that all life is sacred from conception to natural death and that abortion and euthanasia are the taking of human life and are contrary to God’s Word.
We believe in the sanctity of holy matrimony. Marriage is represented solely by the life-long union of one man and one woman. Divorce is contrary to God’s plan, but we also recognize that in our frail humanity divorce is a fact of life.
Divorced persons and those who are divorced and remarried are welcome to receive Holy Communion in the ICCEC.
We maintain the validity of God’s grace imparted through the seven traditional sacraments of the Church (i.e., Baptism, Eucharist, Confirmation, Confession & Reconciliation, Holy Matrimony, Holy Orders, and Healing/Unction).
Since the ICCEC occupies a unique place between the protestant and catholic formulations of faith, our basic beliefs hold in common the essentials of orthodoxy (i.e., “that faith which has been believed everywhere, always, by all”) found in Eastern Orthodoxy, Western Catholicism, and the Reformed traditions.
Accordingly, we cannot walk in fellowship with those who deny the essentials of faith; those who would “move an ancient boundary stone” (Proverbs 22:28).
Our Core Beliefs
Among those beliefs we would underscore and commend the following:
– The Holy Bible is the Word of God. We believe in Holy Scripture and affirm the critical importance of preaching, public reading of the Word, and personal Bible study;
– The Sacraments impart the grace of God, particularly baptism and the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist;
– A high view of the Church in affirming Cyprian’s claim that, “he who has not the Church for his mother, has not God for his Father;”
– The doctrine of saving grace by faith as reinforced by both the Reformers and the Council of Trent; – The real and present work of the Holy Spirit through gifts and signs as imparted to believers for service and witness as rediscovered during this century by the Pentecostal/Charismatic movements.
In this sense, the ICCEC is wholly orthodox, wholly evangelical, wholly sacramental, and wholly charismatic. Consensus
The objective of consensus government is to hear the voice of the lord for the church, whether the local Church, the National church, or the International Church.
The Church belongs to God. The Church is the Household and family of God, the Body of Christ, the Bride for the Bridegroom, and the Temple of the Holy Spirit. As such she is “the pillar and foundation of truth.”
Consensus Government is a process, which will be difficult to codify, that opens men and women of God to hear and discern the mind and will of God for His Church. In other words, the Church is not led by men but by the Holy Spirit.
The men who are called to sit in Council must, therefore, be men who have proven by their lives and ministries that they are of such Godly character that they can proclaim with Paul – follow me as I follow Christ.
Sanctity of Life
1) Life begins in the mind of God and he alone has absolute dominion over all human life, and over the process by which it comes into being. The human being is to be respected and treated as a person from the moment of fertilization, that is, the union of an ovum and sperm. The respect and protection of ALL innocent human life is necessary for the establishment and maintenance of moral civilization.
2) The Church has the duty and the obligation to proclaim to all the earth the sanctity of human life, the dignity of human life, and respect for human life.
3) Human life begins at conception and ends with natural death.
4) The deliberate and direct destruction of innocent persons, preborn or born, through all forms of direct abortion, infanticide, euthanasia or any other means is considered to be unethical, immoral, evil, and sinful. Nutrition and hydration are considered “ordinary care” not “medical care” and cannot be withheld.
5) Therefore, we affirm that no government has the right to alter the law of God.
- Any legislation by any government that demeans or goes contrary to the law of God concerning the sanctity of life is immoral.
- We affirm the teaching of Holy Scripture and the tradition of the church throughout the centuries that God is the giver of life and thus human life belongs to Him.
- We affirm that this declaration on the sanctity of human life, which is rooted in the teaching of the church and the Holy Scriptures, is not in conflict with good and moral science.
6) Human life, beginning in the mind of God, is sacred from the moment of conception – the union of the human egg and sperm, referred to as fertilization. The ending of this life through abortion is considered by the church to be immoral and sinful and is contrary to the Scriptures as well as the consistent teaching of the historic church.
7) The public support of or participation in the intentional violation of the sanctity of human life by a member of the Charismatic Episcopal Church will result in an automatic referral to the Diocesan Bishop. This would especially include being employed by having or holding the ownership of an abortion facility, or running for a public office as a pro-abortion or pro-choice candidate, or working in any such campaign to promote the agenda of abortion.
Refusal or failure to take part in a process of reconciliation and restoration may result in excommunication by the Bishop. This statement, though containing punitive elements, should never be used as a hindrance to any communicant seeking and receiving the mercy and forgiveness of Christ and His church through the ministry of repentance and reconciliation.
8) Scripture specifies the prohibition contained in the fifth commandment: “Do not slay the innocent and the righteous”. The deliberate murder of an innocent person is gravely contrary to the dignity of the human being, to the golden rule, and to the holiness of the Creator. The law forbidding it is universally valid: it obliges each and everyone, always and everywhere.
9) The purpose of defining and clarifying the deep commitment to the sanctity of human life must always be redemptive in order that mercy and truth would meet one another. (Psalm 85) Doctrine Summary
Our Founding Document | San Clemente Declaration of 1999
The Charismatic Episcopal Church holds to the San Clemente Declaration of 1999 as the minimum standard of catholicity and seeks for theology to be not only intellectual assent but also a living experience with the Holy Trinity and the Church. The Church affirms the Holy Scriptures as the inspired, inerrant Word of God.
1. The ICCEC believes that the 66 universally accepted books of the Old and New Testament are the Word of God containing all things necessary unto salvation. With regard to those several works commonly referred to as the Apocrypha or Deutro-Canonical Books, we further reaffirm the position, that while beneficial for education and teaching, they are not considered part of the Canon of Holy Scripture. They may, therefore, be read in public worship, but not used to establish dogma for doctrine.
2. Bible Version: We hold that Bible translations that are translations of the original Greek and Hebrew are valid for church readings and study. Bible versions that add to or subtract from the original text are not authorized for CEC worship.
3. We hold the Authority of the Holy Scriptures.
- The Charismatic Episcopal Church recognizes the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the inspired, inerrant Word of God.
- The Holy Scriptures serve as the final authority on all matters of faith and practice.
- Scripture is to be understood in light of apostolic tradition and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
- Where Scripture does not speak, we defer to apostolic tradition.
4. We hold the San Clemente Declaration of 1999.
- In earnest anticipation for a future revelation of the fullness of the unity of the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church, the International Communion of the Charismatic Episcopal Church adheres to these articles of unity exemplified by the undivided Catholic Church during the first eleven centuries:
- The Sacred Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as the written Word of God, the chief witness to apostolic teaching, the source of the Church’s nourishment and strength.
- The Apostles’ Creed as the Baptismal Symbol; and the Nicene Creed as the sufficient statement of the Christian faith.
- The Seven Sacraments of the Church, including Baptism, Eucharist, Confirmation, Confession/Reconciliation, Holy Matrimony, Holy Orders, Healing/Unction.
- The historic episcopate in Apostolic Succession, the gift of Christ’s authority to the Church and the trustee of the Church’s fidelity to apostolic teaching.
5. We hold the spirit of the Family.
- That all life is sacred.
- That marriage is between a man and a woman: that it is a covenantal relationship between a man and a woman and God.
- That marriage is a sacrament ordained by God.
- That marriage is a divine picture of the relationship between Christ and his Bride, the Church.
- That all children are a blessing from God.
6. We hold the Spirit of Theology.
- The Charismatic Episcopal Church recognizes that doctrine is not only intellectual assent but a living relationship with Almighty God and His Church.
- It is incumbent upon the leadership of the Charismatic Episcopal Church to develop and maintain an atmosphere of growth and understanding in theology and doctrine. We adhere to the classical statement of ecumenicity: “In essentials unity, in nonessentials liberty, in all things charity.” While celebrating the diversity within orthodoxy, we also strive to avoid a schismatic spirit which would elevate nonessential or nonconsensual beliefs and practices above the Father’s will that there be a spiritual and visible unity of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. Ecumenical Relationship