About Us
Our Beliefs

Doctrinal Statement of St. Luke's Anglican

Approved Edition for Official Use

Preamble

St. Luke's Anglican Church stands in continuity with the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church, rooted in the historic Anglican tradition. We uphold the supremacy of Holy Scripture, the doctrine and discipline of the early undivided Church, and the witness of the English Reformation. As inheritors of the classical Prayer Book tradition and apostolic succession, we joyfully confess Jesus Christ as Lord and seek to proclaim His Gospel faithfully in the Southern United States and throughout the world.

I. Holy Scripture

We confess the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the divinely inspired Word of God, written under the guidance of the Holy Ghost. The Scriptures are the final and supreme authority in all matters of faith and practice, containing all things necessary to salvation and rightly interpreted within the Church.

II. The Triune God

We believe in one God, eternally existent in Three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Ghost—of one substance, power, and eternity.

  • The Father is the Creator and Sustainer of all things visible and invisible.

  • The Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, is God incarnate, fully divine and fully human, who lived, died, rose, and ascended for our redemption.

  • The Holy Ghost proceeds from the Father and the Son, and is the Lord and Giver of Life, who sanctifies and empowers the Church.

III. The Person and Work of Christ

Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God, conceived by the Holy Ghost and born of the Virgin Mary. He lived a sinless life, was crucified for our sins, died and was buried, rose bodily on the third day, and ascended into heaven. His sacrifice is full, perfect, and sufficient for the sins of the whole world. He shall come again in glory to judge the living and the dead.

IV. Salvation by Grace through Faith

We affirm that salvation is by God’s grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone. Fallen humanity is incapable of meriting salvation; regeneration and justification are the work of the Holy Ghost. Good works are the fruit of true and lively faith, but do not contribute to justification.

V. The Church

The Church is the Body of Christ, composed of all the faithful united to Him by baptism and faith. It is both visible and invisible. The visible Church is charged with preaching the Word of God, administering the Sacraments, and exercising spiritual discipline.
We maintain the historic episcopate in apostolic succession as part of the Church’s visible order, and affirm the threefold ministry of bishops, priests, and deacons.

VI. The Anglican Heritage

We affirm the Anglican tradition as grounded in:

  • The Holy Scriptures as the rule and ultimate authority in faith and life;

  • The Apostles’ Creed, Nicene Creed, and Athanasian Creed as sufficient summaries of the faith;

  • The Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion (1571) as a faithful expression of Reformed Catholic doctrine;

  • The Book of Common Prayer (1928) as the standard for worship, doctrine, and devotion;

  • The Ordinal of 1662 as the scriptural form of ordination to the sacred ministry.

VII. The Sacraments

We recognize two Sacraments instituted by Christ in the Gospel—Baptism and Holy Communion—as necessary for all Christians when rightly received.

  • Baptism is the sacrament of regeneration and incorporation into the Church.

  • Holy Communion is the sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ, given for the strengthening and nourishment of the faithful.

We also affirm the sacramental nature of Confirmation, Holy Matrimony, Ordination, Confession and Absolution, and Anointing of the Sick, as rites grounded in Holy Scripture and tradition.

VIII. Christian Life and Moral Theology

We uphold the moral law of God as revealed in Holy Scripture and summarized in the Ten Commandments. The Christian life is one of holiness, humility, repentance, and charity.

  • Marriage is a sacred covenant between one man and one woman.

  • Human life is sacred from conception to natural death.

  • The Church is called to proclaim the truth in love and to call all people to repentance, conversion, and obedience to Christ.

IX. The Last Things

We believe in the bodily resurrection of the dead, the final judgment, the eternal joy of the redeemed, and the eternal separation from God of the unrepentant. Christ shall come again to establish His Kingdom in glory and righteousness.

X. Southern Vocation and Cultural Stewardship

Rooted in the distinctive heritage of the American South, we acknowledge God’s providence in shaping our identity. We seek to embody biblical faith in our regional context with reverence for Scripture, strong family bonds, rooted community life, and principled liberty under God. We reject all attempts to conform the Church to modernist ideologies, and instead commit to bold proclamation of the unchanging Gospel in word and deed.

Conclusion

St. Luke's Anglican Church adheres to the faith once delivered to the saints, expressed in the Anglican Way, and seeks to bear witness to Christ faithfully in our time and place.
To the glory of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Amen.