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NICENE APOSTOLIC CHURCH

AN INDEPENDENT Catholic Jurisdiction


The Nicene Apostolic Church (otherwise known as The Autocephalous Catholic Church of Antioch) is a Christian denomination grounded in the teachings and traditions of the Early Church and the Medieval Church but affirming in regard to these, and in regard to all other matters of religion and belief, the primacy of freedom of human conscience, thought, interpretation and inquiry.

The current Presiding Bishop of the Nicene Apostolic Church is the Most Reverend John Garner.

The Church is, by definition and in fact, Catholic: which is to say that it continues, validly, legitimately and demonstrably , in historical and unbroken succession from the Apostles of Christ. It is thus a living member and constituent part of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. Likewise, by definition and in fact, because it is Independent, like other churches of the Independent Sacramental Tradition it is not in communion with the See of Rome. It is Catholic, but it is not Roman Catholic. 

The Church is in communion with a number of ecclesiastical bodies, among which are the Catholic Apostolic Church of Antioch USA, the Catholic Churches of Antioch in Mexico and Argentina, and the Lutheran Church of St. Peter and St. Paul in Europe (which has succession from the Orthodox Churches of the East).

The Church recognizes and proclaims the deep and abiding sacredness of the Christian life, in the world as in the soul. It honours the teachings of the First Seven Ecumenical Councils of the Undivided Church, and it holds to the Nicene Creed, the Creed of the Universal Church, as the traditional formula of catholic belief. 

The Church administers the Seven Sacraments of Baptism, Holy Eucharist, Confirmation, Reconciliation, Ordination, Marriage and Anointing.

Eucharist is celebrated in due and proper form, with Invocation of the Holy Spirit, Institution Narrative, and the formulated intention of doing what the Universal Church has always intended and done. 

Ordinations are conducted with prayer, invocation of the Holy Spirit and the laying-on of hands, and with the formulated intention of doing what the Universal Church has always intended and done. The rites for Ordination of a Deacon, for Ordination of a Priest and for Consecration of a Bishop accord with those established by the Universal Church.

The Nicene Apostolic Church affirms and promotes ‘unity in essentials, diversity in inessentials, love in all things’. It teaches the Christian way of life in service to God, for the advancement of the common good. It promotes and fosters the study and practice of Christian spirituality, particularly in regard to the transforming effect of divine grace, the divinization of the individual: of which matter St. Irenaeus writes, “the Word of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, who did, through his transcendent love become what we are, that He might bring us to become even what He is Himself”. 

The Church also encourages study of the mystical system of symbolism, 'the Fivefold Pattern of the Spiritual Life', which was established by the Early Church and developed through the centuries by such luminaries as St. Ambrose, St. Augustine, St. Bernard of Clairvaux, St. Bonaventure (to name but a few) and which has formed an effective paradigm for theological dissertation, spiritual technique, ritual process and architectural and artistic presentation.


LION OF ANTIOCH

The Nicene Apostolic Church maintains a list with Googlegroups.com for prayer requests and for discussion of religious topics: this list is called Lion-of-Antioch. Theology and matters of general Christian interest are welcome subjects for this List. Courtesy and respect for the opinions of others are necessary conditions of participation.


INTERNATIONAL OPEN PRAYER CIRCLE

Fellowship in prayer is a bond of strength within the Mystical Body of Christ, a source of inspiration, a fount of blessing. Corporate prayers for World Peace are said on Friday of every week, at 19:00–20:30 GMT. If you are able, please join with us in these prayers, to add your own strength and blessing to the work. General prayers and prayers relating to requests for intercession follow the Prayers for Peace. 


HOLY ORDERS

Clerical progress within the Church involves appropriate and relevant studies, to be accomplished according to the requirements and standards of the Synod of the Church. Seminaries and teaching bodies approved by the Church are:
(1) Blessed Redeemer Institute of Theology; which is the official theological association of the Nicene Apostolic Church.
(2) Sophia Divinity School, which is the official theological association of the Catholic Apostolic Church of Antioch in U.S.A.


​The Nicene Apostolic Church maintains a zero tolerance policy in regard to any form of violence, discrimination or abuse.