Jesus says that “every scribe who is instructed for the kingdom of heaven is like a person who is a householder, who brings forth out of his treasure things new and old.”  (Matthew 13:52). 

The Independent Catholic Christian Church is a small independent sacramental jurisdiction to whom God has entrusted a treasure of things new and old.

THINGS OLD

We believe the historic Christian doctrines as found in the Nicene Creed, placing special emphasis on the incarnation of Jesus Christ as fully God and fully human and His salvation of humankind through His death and resurrection.  We observe the seven sacraments and hold valid apostolic succession through a number of lines.  

STATEMENT OF FAITH

The Independent Catholic Christian Church and its member ministries and individuals accept the following principles:

1. The Old and New Testaments as our Scriptures
2. The Nicene Creed as the sufficient statement of Christian faith
3. The seven sacraments of Baptism, Eucharist, Confirmation, Marriage, Anointing of the Sick, Reconciliation, and Ordination
4. The historic threefold ministry of Bishops, Priests, and Deacons in the apostolic succession
5. The ordination of both male and female and both gay and straight Christians as Bishops, Priests and Deacons and the marriage of both same-sex and opposite-sex couples as sacramentally valid
6. The Ten Commandments and the Summary of the Law as the standard of Christian morality
7. The Christian life of prayer, expressed in its highest form in the Lord’s Prayer

Unity, Liberty, Charity

The members of the Independent Catholic Christian Church follow the ancient rule: “In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity.” The essentials are found in our Statement of Faith. In particular, we believe in the Incarnation, the teaching that Jesus Christ is fully God and fully human; that by his death on the cross and his resurrection he has saved humankind from sin and death; that his work in continued in the church (of which we are one small part) through the preaching of the gospel and the ministry of the seven sacraments, administered by bishops, priests, deacons in the apostolic succession; and that the fullness of the life of the church must be shared with all, regardless of sex or sexual orientation, so that we ordain both men and women, and both heterosexual and lgbt persons. and marry all Christian couples who join in life-long covenant to one another, regardless of their sex or gender makeup. So long as these beliefs are upheld, we welcome a variety of theological expressions into our midst, and our ranks include activists and contemplatives, universalists, Augustinians, Benedictines, and others.

Our Worship

There is great diversity in the liturgical life of the Independent Catholic Church. So long as the scriptures are regularly read and the essential form, matter, and minister of the sacraments are used, great latitude is given to individual members and communities to pray in the forms that best suit them. Some of our communities use very traditional liturgies long discarded by mainstream churches, while others worship using experimental forms. The liturgy of still other communities do not differ much from larger liturgical churches. It is not the outward form of the liturgy that is important, but rather the degree of devotion to God by those praying and the way in which worshippers live their faith in daily life.

Faith in Daily Life

Some Christian churches throughout the ages have focused on “minimum standards” of morality, which have largely focused on a few areas of Christian life to the exclusion of others, reducing ethical behavior to a “laundry list” of sins to avoid.  We reject this approach in favor of the “maximum standards” given by Christ to love God with all of our being, and our neighbors as ourselves.  While we are called to the very difficult task of working for the coming of the Reign of God on earth, we are given the assurance of God’s grace to empower us and God’s forgiveness when we fall short.

Community Life 

We adhere to the traditional three-fold ministry of bishops, priests, and deacons, believing that our bishops stand in the apostolic succession reaching back to the appointment of the apostles by Jesus Christ.  However, at the same time, we value laypeople as equal members of the Body of Christ, and ordination is open to everyone who is able to fulfill the necessary academic, personal, and spiritual requirements.  Our clergy are not paid by the church, but rather work in secular jobs to support themselves.  We encourage our clergy to fulfill a wide variety of ministries and welcome the opportunity to work ecumenically in collaboration with Christians of other churches.