For over 140 years, the Reformed Episcopal Church (REC) has remained faithful to the inerrant Word of God, powerfully proclaiming the unchanging Gospel of Jesus Christ and worshiping Him in Spirit and in Truth, using the biblical and time-honored Book of Common Prayer. The REC holds to the authority of the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion within the Anglican tradition and upholds the Christian faith as summarized in the three creeds of the Christian Church.
Adopted by the Bishops of this Church, December 3, 1992
Revised by the Council of Bishops, October 2, 2003
Built upon the foundation of the authoritative Word of God, the Holy Scriptures, the Reformed Episcopal Church sets her highest priority on biblical worship and declares her commitment to the work of evangelism, the bold and unadulterated proclamation of salvation by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 8:4). In keeping the faith once delivered to the saints, the Reformed Episcopal Church, however, does not believe evangelism to be the end, but rather the beginning of her divinely given vocation.
In addition to being evangelical, she is deeply committed to discipleship, the work of training evangelized men and women in Christian living (St. Matthew 28:20). When the Gospel is truly proclaimed and the mercies of God are made known, redeemed men and women must be led to offer their bodies as a living sacrifice, which is their spiritual service (Romans 12:1). Thus, the Reformed Episcopal Church understands the Christian life to be necessarily corporate. The Gospel call of salvation is not only to a savior, but also to a visible communion (I Cor.12:27) being indwelt by Christ's Spirit, transcends both temporal and geographic bounds.
Therefore, the Reformed Episcopal Church is creedal, following the historic catholic faith as it was confessed by the early undivided Church in the Apostles' (A.D. 150), Nicene (A.D. 325) and Athanasian Creeds (circa. A.D. 401); sacramental, practicing the divinely ordained sacraments of Baptism and the Lord's Supper as outward and visible signs of His inward and spiritual grace; liturgical, using the historic Book of Common Prayer; and Episcopal, finding unity with the Church of the earliest Christian eras through submission to the government of godly bishops.
In this fashion, by embracing the broad base of doctrine and practice inherent in apostolic Christianity received by the Church of the English Reformation and expressed in the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion, the Reformed Episcopal Church has a foundation for effective ministry in the name of Christ to a world which is lost and dying without Him.
Approved, General Committee, October 5, 2003
© 2003, The Reformed Episcopal Church
RESOLVED, that we, the 46th General Council of the Reformed Episcopal Church, reaffirm the biblical standard given for the well-being of society:
That sexual intercourse should take place only between a man and a woman who are married to each other.
That fornication, adultery, and homosexual acts are sinful in all circumstances.
That Christian leaders are called to be exemplary in all spheres of morality, including sexual morality, as a condition of being appointed or remaining in office.
That the Church is called upon to show Christ-like compassion to those who have fallen into sexual sin, encouraging them to repent and receive forgiveness, and offering the ministry of healing to all who suffer physically or emotionally as a result of such sin.
Adopted by the 46th General Council of the Reformed Episcopal Church
Meeting at St. Mark's Reformed Episcopal Church, Jenkintown, PA, Wednesday, May 23, 1990
© 1997, The Reformed Episcopal Church
On the basis of the teaching of Holy Scripture as set forth in the findings of this study, we propose the following resolution for adoption by this Council:
RESOLVED, that we, the Reformed Episcopal Church, vigorously affirm the biblical teaching of the sanctity of human life, and deplore the practice of permitting abortions, with the possible exception of cases where it has been clearly established that the life of the mother is in danger.
Based on a study done for the 97th Council of the New York and Philadelphia Synod in 1978 (now the Diocese of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic). This has been re-affirmed by the REC's General Councils of 1990 , 1993, and 1996. The complete text of the study is available, upon request and donation to cover postage, from the Office of Bishop Royal Grote.
Adopted by the 46th General Council of the Reformed Episcopal Church
Meeting at St. Mark's Reformed Episcopal Church, Jenkintown, PA, Wednesday, May 23, 1990
© 1997, The Reformed Episcopal Church