Anglicanism is the third-largest segment (denomination) of the Christian Church in the world today, after Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox that traces its roots through the British Isles to the first century.
We Are an Ancient & Liturgical Church . . .
The Anglican Church is an ancient Christian church that dates back to the first few centuries after Christ’s ascension. We are the offspring of the Church of England and part of the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church.
We are a liturgical church. Our services follow the same basic outline of worship gatherings since the days of the earliest Christians.
“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” Acts 2.42
At the same time, we fill in the details of the service with the music and language of the present. Each Sunday, the Lord Jesus gathers with us to forgive our sins, speak to us through his Word, listen to our prayers, and feed us at his table of Holy Communion. He then sends us out once more to serve him in the world.
We Are a Biblical Church . . .
In our effort to be faithful to our Lord Jesus, we follow the same practice of the early church, to follow the apostles’ teaching, to be committed to learning the whole content of Holy Scripture as God’s authoritative, trustworthy, and eternal story of salvation for understanding and interpreting the meaning of life, the world, and our place in it.
Toward this end, we embrace the Anglican understanding of a learned ministry in the offices of preaching and teaching to reverently handle, rightly explain, and relevantly apply the Bible as “God’s Word written” to church life in practice reflected in our personal, family, professional, and cultural life.
Our official doctrinal statement is known as the 39 Articles of Religion, and our service and devotions are structured and practiced through the Common Book of Prayer.
We Are a Sacramental Church . . .
Jesus gave us the gifts of the Sacraments to feed and nurture our faith. These Sacraments are Baptism and Holy Communion, also known as the Eucharist.
In Baptism, we are joined to Jesus through water, in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
In Holy Communion, Jesus feeds us upon his person and works.
Our Core Principles . . .
We, at St. Edmund’s, as Anglicans, are . . .
- Historic. We trace our heritage in the modern church back through the English Reformation, through Medieval Christianity, to the first century Celtic Church in the British Isles, and from there, to the Patristic fathers. Apostles, and Christ.
- Apostolic. Through these historical roots, St. Edmund’s draws its authority and roots back to the life, ministry, and teaching of the Apostles and Jesus Christ.
- Scriptural. While we love tradition, our ultimate authority at St. Edmund’s is in Holy Scripture found in the Old and New Testaments.
- Evangelistic. Since its earliest days rooted in the Celtic Church, Anglicans have embraced the challenge and mission of reaching others with the good news (Gospel) of Jesus Christ, which is the mission of St. Edmund’s.
- Orthodox. St. Edmund’s follows the Scriptural and Orthodox creeds of the Church found in the Apostles Creed, The Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian Creed. We further fellowship together and confirm the 39 Articles of the Church of England.
- Sacramental. St. Edmund’s is a sacramental church whose worship centers on Baptism and Holy Communion as an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace that nourishes the believer.
- Liturgical. While all churches have a liturgy of some form, the liturgy of St. Edmund’s is found in the Book of Common Prayer which is comprised in the historical tradition and roots of the Church down through the ages and follows the historic calendar and seasons of the Church.
- Catholic. St. Edmund’s Anglican Church is catholic, not in Roman Catholic, but in the sense of being self-consciously and intentionally part of the whole body (universal) of Christ and the fellowship of all believers who hold to the historic creeds of the church and the authority of Scripture.