Holy Trinity Photo album
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What do Christians Believe?
There are two important parts to Christian belief. Firstly, Christians believe in a God who is an all-powerful intelligent being, existing independently of the physical Universe, and responsible for its creation. We also believe that God cares deeply about the Universe and all of its inhabitants. This belief is common to many major religions. Jews, Muslims and Christians all worship the same God, in different ways. Secondly, Christians believe that Jesus of Nazareth (c. 6 BC to AD 27) was a manifestation of God on Earth as a human, and that His teaching as recorded in the Bible is therefore a direct insight into God's wishes for humanity.
What about the Anglican Church?
The Anglican Church is an organisation with branches in 164 countries and a total of about 75 million members worldwide. The national Churches have a good deal of autonomy, but all recognise the spiritual leadership of the Archbishop of Canterbury (Canterbury in England, not Canterbury in New Zealand), and they talk to each other via a body called the Anglican Consultative Council. Also, all Anglican bishops come together at the Lambeth Conference, held every ten years. There are many differences between individual Anglican churches, but we hold four things in common: * The Bible as a basis of our faith; * The Nicene and Apostles' Creeds, basic statements of Christian belief; * Recognition of the sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion, and * The historic episcopate; that is, the continuity of the line of bishops since the time of Christ. It has been said that the Anglican Church rests on the three pillars of Faith, Reason and Tradition. The unique strength of Anglicanism lies in our balance of these three aspects of our religion. |
