Scripture & Tradition
The Old and New Testaments are received within the living Holy Tradition of the apostles, councils and fathers of the Church.
The faith we confess
The Gospel received.
The mystery celebrated.
Our faith is the faith of the Triune God revealed in Jesus Christ, handed on in Scripture and Holy Tradition, and lived through worship, sacrament, prayer and love.
At the centre
Jesus Christ is Lord.
We believe in one God — Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We confess Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Saviour of the world: crucified, risen and coming again. We believe the Holy Spirit gives life, renews creation and acts in the Church.
Seven sacraments
Baptism, Chrismation, Eucharist, Confession, Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders and Marriage shape the sacramental life of the Church.
The communion of saints
We honour the saints of God, East and West, and especially the Most Holy Theotokos, the Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Eucharistic centre
Worship is not decoration. It is the life of the Church.
The Divine Liturgy gathers the local church around Christ. In the Eucharist we receive not an idea about God but the Church’s sacramental communion in the Body and Blood of Christ.
Liturgical forms may differ among communities, but renewal is never treated as novelty for its own sake. The Church’s own historical statement describes its principle simply: renewal, without “renovationism” — development disciplined by Scripture, Tradition and the peace of the community.
Orthodox, catholic and apostolic
We believe the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church is manifested in a plurality of local churches and communities joined to the mystery of Christ through faith and the sacraments. The Apostolic Orthodox Church understands itself as participating in that one Church, while acknowledging the real institutional divisions that exist among Christians.
East and West
The Church’s published confession explicitly honours both Eastern and Western Christian theological and liturgical heritage wherever it does not contradict Orthodox faith. This makes ecumenical encounter more than diplomacy: it is a disciplined search for the gifts Christianity still carries across its historic traditions.
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