Holy Orders
21. The power of the Apostles has descended to this day
through the Apostolic Succession.
22. The Apostolic Succession of the Universal Catholic Church
is derived from the Dutch Old Catholic Church and is complete and
valid.
23. The minor holy orders (Cleric, Doorkeeper, Reader, Exor-
cist, and Acolyte) are intended primarily to assist the candidate in his
own spiritual growth and life. The major holy orders (Subdeacon,
Deacon, Priest, and Bishop) are intended primarily to assist the
Christian community.
The Holy Scriptures, Creeds, and Traditions of the Church
24. The Holy Scriptures, the Creeds, and the Traditions of the
Church are the means by which the teachings of Christ have been
handed down to His followers. They are fundamental, true, and suffi-
cient as a basis for right understanding and right conduct.
25. The Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are
inspired in a general sense only, and can in no way be construed as
verbally infallible. The books of the Old Testament are of unequal
value.
26. All Christian worship is valid, of whatever kind, so long as
it is earnest and true.
27. The use of the sign of the cross can be traced to the earliest
times of Christianity. It is the Christian sign of power; it is a vehicle
of spiritual force, flowing sometimes from the Priest to the congrega-
tion, sometimes from on high into the Priest and people. Made over
ourselves, it will draw around us unseen influences which will tend to
drive away unwholesome thoughts, and at the same time make it
easier to retain what is good.
28. The vestments worn by the Priest date from the earliest
times of Christianity, and they are part of the general scheme by
which spiritual power is spread out upon the congregation.
29. The Seasons of the Church were appointed for our solace
and instruction.
The Life of Faith
30. The efforts of men and women can hasten the coming of the
Kingdom of God.
31. The expectation of faith is victory: that good shall finally
triumph over ill, and that death is but a gateway to eternal life.
The Goal of Faith
32. Everyone shall one day reach His Feet, however far they
stray. The dead pass to a life of higher service, where there is
available to them the felicity of [the]... Presence, evermore.... What
we shall experience at His Feet is conscious life in Christ.
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OFFICIAL TEACHINGS OF THE
UNIVERSAL CATHOLIC CHURCH
The Statement of Principles of the Universal Catholic
Church states, Membership in most Christian Churches
rests on the acceptance of a common belief. There is
frequently wide discrepancy between the real belief of
a thoughtful individual and the official profession that
is expected of him or her. The Universal Catholic
Church permits to lay members entire freedom in the
interpretation of Creeds, Scriptures and Traditions, and
of the Liturgy. That does not mean that the Church is
an empty vessel with no positive teachings; instead, it
means that no member of the laity is excluded from full
participation in its Life because of an excess or defi-
ciency of beliefs.
Our Churchs intention is to construct a circle so
wide that we include most spiritual people. That con-
trasts with the apparent intent of some Churches to
draw a circle so small that only the perfect are in-
cluded.
In order to illustrate the origin of our teachings, the
reverse side of this pamphlet provides a summary of
the development of the main Creeds of Christendom.
Most of our teachings will surprise no Christian but
there are a few that are not unique to us but still set us
appart from many mainline religious bodies.
The Nature of God
1. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are one God; the
Church teaches the Doctrine of the Holy Trinity.
2. God is the Creator and Preserver of mankind and His Love
shall never fail.
The Nature of Christ
3. It is by Christ that all things were made, as the indwelling
the Sacrament of Baptism and thus bestow upon the individual the
life all things exist, and as the transcendent glory all things live and
move and have their being.
4. The historic Jesus is the Christ, who is also the Ancient of
Days. He was incarnated (born of the Virgin Mary), crucified, resur-
rected, and ascended.
5. The Christ lives on as a mighty spiritual Presence in the
world, guiding and sustaining His people.
The Nature of Man
6. We are created in the image of God and we are heirs of
God.
7. We are all immortal.
8. Our bodies are vehicles or expressions of our consciousness,
of the indwelling Spirit.
The Church
9. The Christian Church is the mystical Body of Christ.
The Sacraments
General
10. The Sacraments were instituted by Christ Himself and He is
present in Them.
11. All of the Sacraments are received from the Hand of Christ
Himself and the officiant is but an instrument in that Hand.
12. There are seven Sacraments: Baptism, Holy Eucharist,
Absolution, Confirmation, Holy Matrimony, Holy Unction, and Holy
Orders.
Baptism
13. The Church practices infant Baptism, as a dedication of the
child to Christ, as a grafting of the child into the mystical Body of
Christ, and as a means of opening the childs whole nature to the
most holy Spirit of the living God.
The Holy Eucharist
14. In the Holy Eucharist the substance of the bread and wine
become linked, or polarized, on the Life of the Christ and become
literal outposts of His Life and His consciousness.
15. The Holy Eucharist is the corporate worship of the Church.
It is designed both to help those who physically take part, and to pour
out a great flood of spiritual power upon the surrounding world.
16. We are assisted from the beginning of the Eucharist by the
Angel of the Mass, and later by all of the various Orders of Angels.
Absolution
17. The Christ has given unto the Priests of His Church the
power to absolve the repentant faithful from their sins. This Sacra-
ment of Absolution is a loosening from the bondage of sin, a restora-
tion of the inner harmony which was disturbed by the wrongdoing, so
that the person can make a fresh start towards righteousness. It is not
a way of escaping the consequences of ones misdeeds. Harbor no
illusions; God is not deceived: for whatsoever a man soweth, that
shall he also reap. (Galatians 6:7)
Confirmation
18. The Sacrament of Confirmation is intended to supplement
fullness of complete union with the Mystical Body of Christ, the
Church Universal.
Holy Matrimony
19. In Holy Matrimony, the couple are the celebrants and the
method of sacramentalizing the marriage is the placing of the blessed
ring by the groom on the finger of the bride.
Holy Unction
20. In the Sacrament of Holy Unction we are assisted by a
healing Angel.
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 THE STORY OF CREEDS
Christianity grew from Judaism but it was also new, at
least partly because it turned the Jewish idea of Messiah on
its head: most Jews thought that the Messiah(s) (and there
could be more than one over time) would make the Jewish
Nation preminent in the world. But Jesus turned out to be a
different kind of Messiahthe Son of God preaching love
and peace. The idea of a man/God had been found in some of
the mystery cults in the near east and we could probably look
on them as a second precursor of Christianity in addition to
Judaism.
But what did Christians believe? There exists a so-called
Apostles Creed but the earliest version of it doesnt appear
in writing until 300 years after the Christian Revelation and
seems to reflect developments from that time period. The
following scripture passages are considered by many to be
creeds or declarations of faith. These are taken from both
Lieth's Schaff's books.
Deut. 6:4: Hear O Israel, the LORD is our God, the LORD
alone.
1 Kings. 18:39: And when all the people saw it, they fell
on their faces; and they said, The LORD, he is God;
the LORD, he is God.
Matt. 16:16: Simon Peter replied, You are the Christ, the
Son of the living God.
Matt. 28:19: Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the
Son and of the Holy Spirit.
John 1:49: Nathaniel answered him, Rabbi, you are the
Son of God! You are the King of Israel!
John 6:68-69: Simon Peter answered him, Lord to whom
shall we go? You have the words of eternal life; and
we have believed, and have come to know, that you
are the Holy One of God.
John 20:28: Thomas answered him, My Lord and my
God!
Acts 8:36-37: And as they went along the road they came
to some water, and the eunuch said, See, here is wa-
ter! What is to prevent my being baptized? And
Philip said, If you believe with all your heart, you
may. And he replied, I believe that Jesus Christ is
the Son of God.
Acts 16:31: And they said, Believe in the Lord Jesus, and
you will be saved, you and your household.
1 Cor. 8:6: yet for us there is one God, the Father, from
whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one
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Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and
through whom we exist.
1 Cor. 12:3: Therefore I want you to understand that no
one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says Jesus be
cursed! and no one can say Jesus is Lord except by
the Holy Spirit.
1 Cor. 15:3-7: For I delivered to you as of first importance
what I also received, that Christ died for our sins in
accordance with the scriptures, that he was buried,
that he was raised on the third day in accordance with
the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to
the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hun-
dred brethren at one time, most of whom are still
alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he ap-
peared to James, then to all the apostles.
Phil. 2:6-11: who, though he was in the form of God, did
not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but
emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being
A.D. and produced the The Nicno-stantinopolitan Creed,
born in the likeness of men. And being found in hu-
man form he humbled himself and became obedient
unto death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has
highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name
which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and
under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus
Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
There arose variations in belief so, after Christianity be-
came the official religion of the Roman Empire, a formal,
succinct declaration was needed to determine who was a
Christian. The Roman Emperor Constantine ordered the bish-
ops to meet to draft such a document. In 325 A.D. they pro-
duced the Original Nicene Creed:
We believe in one God, the Father Almighty,
Maker of all things both visible and invisible;
And in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the Son of God;
begotten of the Father, alone-born * , that is, of the
Substance of the Father; God of God, Light of
Light, Very God of Very God, begotten not made,
being of one Substance with the Father, by whom
all things were made, both those in heaven and
those in earth; who for us men and for our salva-
tion descended; (here all genuflect) was incarnate
and was made man, (all rise again) suffered, and
rose the third day, ascended into the heavens, and
cometh to judge the quick and the dead;
+ And in the Holy Ghost. Amen.
There were problems with the Creed including differing
beliefs concerning the Holy Spirit. So the Roman Emperor
Theodosius called a second council, this one ended in 381
commonly called the Nicene treed..
We believe in one God, the Father Almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth and of all things visible
and invisible.
And in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the alone-born* Son
of God, begotten of His Father before all ages; God
of God, Light of Light, Very God of Very God, be-
gotten, not made, being of one Substance with the
Father, by whom all things were made. Who for us
men and for our salvation came down from heaven
(Here all genuflect in reverence for the mystery of
the Incarnation.) and was incarnate of4 the Holy
Ghost and the Virgin Mary, and was made man. (All
rise again.) And was crucified also for us; under
Pontius Pilate He suffered and was buried. And the
third day He rose again according to the Scriptures,
and ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right
hand of the Father. And He shall come again with
glory to judge both the quick and the dead; whose
Kingdom shall have no end.
And we believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord, the
Giver of Life, who proceedeth from the Father and
the Son, who with the Father and the Son together is
worshipped and glorified, who spake by the Proph-
ets. And we believe one holy catholic and apostolic
Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the re-
mission of sins. And we look for the resurrection
of the dead + and the life of the world to come.
Amen.
*
GK Monogenes
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