Statement of Union
These Articles of Belief were originally issued by the Independent Reformed Catholic Church as an extension of the Statement of Faith.
Dogmatic Articles
1. THE WAY OF SALVATION. Eternal Salvation is promised to mankind only through the merits of our Savior Jesus Christ, and upon condition of obedience to the teaching of the Gospel, which requires Faith, Hope and Charity, and the due observance of the ordinances of the Orthodox and Catholic Religion.
2. FAITH, HOPE AND CHARITY. Faith is a virtue infused by God, whereby one accepts, and believes 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 one puts their entire trust and confidence in the goodness and mercy of God, through Jesus Christ, and looks for the fulfillment of the Divine promises made to those who obey the Gospel.
- Charity is a virtue infused by God, and likewise consequent upon Faith, whereby one, loving God above all things for His own sake, and their neighbor as oneself for God’s sake, yields up one will to a joyful obedience to the revealed will of God in the Church.
3. THE CHURCH. God has established the Holy (Universal) Church upon earth to be the pillar and ground of the revealed Truth; and has committed to her the guardianship of the Holy Scriptures and of Holy Tradition, and the power of binding and loosing.
4. THE CREED. The Catholic (universal) Church has set forth the principal Doctrines of the Christian Faith in twelve articles of the Creed, as follows:
- 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, True God of True God, begotten not made, of one substance with the Father, by Whom all things were made;
- III. Who for us men and for 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 also 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 is worshipped and glorified, Who spake by 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 of the world to come. Amen.
This sacred Creed is sufficient for the establishment of the Truth, inasmuch as it explicitly teaches the perfect Doctrine of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.