From the Rector:

       Our 1979 Book of Common Prayer gives us yet another way to define “What does it mean to be an Episcopalian or what is an Episcopalian?”  This illustrates how the Anglican Communion and the Episcopal Church have balanced the four strands of scripture, tradition, reason, and experience. 

       In 1886 the House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church meeting in Chicago adopted the Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral.  This resolution affirmed our desire for union with Christians in other Communions.  It affirmed that all who have been baptized with water, in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit are members of the Holy Catholic Church.  The Bishops also affirmed that they were willing to forego all things of human ordering or human choice in worship, discipline, and customs.  The Bishops saw cooperation rather than organic union as the proper goal of union. 

       With those items of conciliation affirmed, the Bishops said that there are principles of the sacred deposit of Christian faith and order given by Christ and the Apostles to the Church for which we are trustees.  This sacred deposit consists of four things:

       1-    The Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testament as the revealed Word of God.

       2-    The Nicene Creed as the sufficient statement of the Christian Faith.

       3-    The two sacraments, Baptism and the Supper of the Lord, ministered with unfailing use of Christ’s words of institution and the elements ordained by him.

       4-    The Historic Episcopate, locally adapted to the methods of its administration to the needs of people of God.

       Interestingly, this resolution passed the House of Bishops, but failed to pass in the House of Deputies.  The resolution was referred for study to a newly created Joint Commission on Christian Reunion.  The resolution was drafted by W.  R.  Huntington, rector of Grace Church, New York City.  The four items of the resolution echo the four items upheld in Acts 2:41-42:

“So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.   And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.”

       James Kiefer points out that these verses lift up the two sacraments of Baptism and Eucharist, the apostles (Episcopate), the teaching of the Apostles (the creeds), the prayers (scripture, preaching, and prayers as in our Word Service). 

       The resolution was adopted by the Lambeth Conference of 1888 with two changes.  The first section was changed to say: “The Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as ‘containing all things necessary to salvation,’ and as being the rule and ultimate standard of faith.”  The Apostles creed was added in the second section as the “Baptismal Symbol.”  These four are still the essential and sacred deposit given by Christ to the Church.  Episcopalians are committed to this core.  Jim+  September 1, 2004