Who We Are : Principles, Beliefs and Canons : Statement of Belief

We are called to be a part of the Church, Catholic and Independent. We aspire to be an inclusive and compassionate fellowship, teaching the Love of Christ as expressed by him in the great commandment:

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. (Matthew 22:37-39)

We are called to go forth as expressed in the great commission of Christ:

Therefore go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey every thing I have commanded you... (Matthew 28:19-20)

We are called to ministry as expressed in the great compassion of Christ:

For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me….I assure you, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me. (Matthew 25:35-36, 40)

We acknowledge the presence of God in all religions and Christian denominations that teach compassion, love of God and the peace that relationship brings.

Then Peter began to speak to them: "I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears God and does what is right is acceptable to God." (Acts 10:34-35)

and also...

For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. (I Corinthians 12:12-13)

Although we see these religions and denominations as pathways to God, we have chosen the Catholic heritage as our Way. We acknowledge to the following as essential to our understanding of Faith:

1. The historic Creeds: the Apostle's Creed, the Nicene Creed and the Athanasian Creed;
2. the preaching and hearing of the Gospel of Christ, which calls us to love, forgiveness and healing;
3. the acceptance of the Canonical Scriptures of both the Old and New Testaments as the Living Word of God, our understanding of which is guided by the Holy Spirit;
4. the faithful continuation of the Apostolic Succession of the Church of Jesus Christ for the preservation of valid sacraments;
5. the Seven Sacraments (Baptism, Eucharist, Confirmation, Reconciliation, Anointing for Healing, Matrimony and Holy Orders) as the sure means of grace, instituted by Christ, for our salvation;
6. that the consecrated elements of Holy Communion are the body, soul and divinity of Jesus, the Christ;
7. the wisdom of sacred and living tradition; and
8. freedom for the formation of individual conscience, allowing all peoples to worship and grow with God as they are led by the Holy Spirit.

The United American Catholic Church is a fellowship of semi-autonomous ministries, governed by the communal voice of the National Synod, in cooperation with and under the guidance of the Bishops of the UACC.

We rely upon Sacred Tradition as an inspiration and guiding force of the Church. In the light of the Gospel, we accept reason as humanity's attempt to interpret that which cannot be interpreted.

We are a Community of Believers committed to the task of building up of the Body of Christ on this earth. The United American Catholic Church ordains qualified individuals without regard to gender, marital status, ethnicity, social status, citizenship, sexual orientation or upper age. All persons are seen as Children of God and are welcome to worship with us and share the gift of the Sacraments, as appropriate.