The Ground of the Unity
(Church Order of the Unitas Fratrum, Section I, Part I)
1. The Lord Jesus Christ calls His Church into being
so that it may serve Him here on earth until He comes.
The Unitas Fratrum is, therefore, aware of its
being called in faith to serve humanity by
proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It
recognizes this call to be the source of its
being and the inspiration of its services. As is
the source, so is the aim and end of its being
based upon the will of its Lord.
The Belief of the Church
2. With the whole of Christendom we share faith in God
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We believe
and confess that God has revealed Himself once and
for all in His son Jesus Christ, that our Lord has
redeemed us with the whole of humanity by His
death and His resurrection; and that there is no
salvation apart from Him. We believe that He is
present with us in the Word and the Sacrament
that He directs and unites us through His Spirit
and thus forms us into a Church. We hear Him
summoning us to follow Him, and pray Him to use
us in His service. He joins us together mutually
so that knowing ourselves to be members of His
body we become willing to serve each other.
In the light of divine grace, we recognize ourselves
to be a Church of sinners. We require forgiveness
daily, and live only through the mercy of God in
Christ Jesus our Lord. He redeems us from our
isolation and unites us into a living Church of
Jesus Christ.
Personal Belief
3. The belief of the Church is effected and preserved
through the testimony of Jesus Christ and through
the work of the Holy Spirit. This testimony calls
each individual personally, and leads him or her to
the recognition of sin and to the acceptance of
the redemption achieved by Christ. In fellowship
with Him the love of Christ becomes more and
more the power of the new life, power that
penetrates and shapes the entire person. As
God's spirit so effects living belief in the hearts
of individuals, He grants them the privilege
to share in the fruits of Christ's salvation and
membership in His body.
God's Word and Doctrine
4. The Triune God as revealed in the Holy Scripture of
the Old and New Testaments is the only source of our
life and salvation; and this Scripture is the sole
standard of the doctrine and faith, of the Unitas
Fratrum and therefore shapes our life.
The Unitas Fratrum recognizes the Word of the Cross
as the center of Holy Scriptures and of all
preaching of the Gospel and it sees its primary
mission, and its reason for being, to consist in
bearing witness to this joyful message. We ask our
Lord for power never to stray from this.
The Unitas Fratrum takes part in the continual
search for sound doctrine. In interpreting Scripture
and in the communication of doctrine in the Church,
we look to two millennia of ecumenical Christian
tradition in the wisdom of our Moravian forebears
in the faith to guide us as we pray for fuller
understanding and ever clearer proclamation of
the Gospel of Jesus Christ. But just as the Holy
Scripture does not contain any doctrinal
system, so the Unitas Fratrum also has not
developed any of its own. It knows that the mystery
of Jesus Christ, which is attested to in the
Bible, cannot be comprehended completely by
any human mind or expressed completely in
any human statement. Also it is true that through
the Holy Spirit the recognition of God's will for
salvation in the Bible is revealed completely and
clearly.
Creeds and Confessions
5. The Unitas Fratrum recognizes in the creeds of the
Church the thankful acclaim of the Body of Christ.
These creeds aid the church in formulating a
Scriptural confession, in marking the boundary of
heresies, and in exhorting believers to an
obedient and fearless testimony in every age. The
Unitas Fratrum maintains that all creeds
formulated by the Christian Church stand in need
of constant testing in the light of the Holy
Scriptures. It acknowledges as such true
professions of faith the early Christian
witness: "Jesus Christ is Lord!" and also
especially the ancient Christian creeds and the
fundamental creeds of the Reformation.
* *NOTE: In the various Provinces of the renewed
Unitas Fratrum the following creeds in particular
gained special importance, because in them the main
doctrines of the Christian faith find clear and
simple expression:
The Apostles' Creed
The Athanasian Creed
The Nicene Creed
The Confession of the Unity of the Bohemian Brethren
of 1535
The Twenty-One Articles of the unaltered Augsburg
Confession
The Shorter Catechism of Martin Luther
The Synod of Berne of 1532
The Thirty-Nine Articles of the Church of England
The Theological Declaration of Barmen of 1934
The Heidelberg Catechism
The Unitas Fratrum as a Unity
6. We believe in and confess the Unity of the Church,
given in the one Lord Jesus Christ as God and
Savior. He died that He might unite the scattered
children of God. As the living Lord and Shepherd,
He is leading His flock toward such unity.
The Unitas Fratrum espoused such unity when it took
over the name of the Old Bohemian Brethren's Church,
'Unitas Fratrum' (Unity of the Brethren). Nor can we
ever forget the powerful unifying experience
granted by the crucified and risen Lord to our
forebears in Herrnhut on the occasion of the Holy
Communion of August 13, 1727, in Berthelsdorf.
It is the Lord's will that Christendom should give
evidence of and seek unity in Him with zeal and
love. In our own midst we see how such unity has
been promised us and laid upon us as a charge. We
recognize that through the grace of Christ the
different churches have received many gifts. It
is our desire that we may learn from each other
and rejoice together in the riches of the love
of Christ and the manifold wisdom of God. We
confess our shared guilt, which is manifest
in the severed and divided state of Christendom.
By means of such divisions we ourselves
hinder the message and power of the gospel. We
recognize the danger of self- righteousness
and judging others without love. Since we together
with all Christendom are pilgrims on the way to
meet our coming Lord, we welcome every step that
brings us nearer the goal of unity in Him. He
Himself invites us to communion in His supper.
Through it He leads the Church toward that union
which He has promised. By means of His presence in
the Holy Communion, He makes our unity in Him
evident and certain even today.
The Church as a Fellowship
7. The Church of Jesus Christ, despite all the
distinctions between male and female, poor and rich,
and people of different ethnic origin, is one in the
Lord. The Unitas Fratrum recognizes no distinction
between those who are one in the Lord Jesus
Christ. We are called to testify that God in Jesus
Christ brings His people out of every ethnic
origin and language into one body, pardons
sinners beneath the Cross and brings them
together. We oppose any discrimination in
our midst because of ethnic origin, sex or
social standing, and we regard it as a commandment
of the Lord to bear public witness to this and to
demonstrate by word and deed that we are brothers
and sisters in Christ.
The Church as a Community of Service
8. Jesus Christ came not to be served but to serve.
From this, His Church receives its mission and its
power for its service, to which each of its members
is called. We believe that the Lord has called us
particularly to mission service among the peoples
of the world. In this, and in all other forms of
service both at home and abroad, to which the
Lord commits us, He expects us to confess Him and
witness to His love in unselfish service.
Serving our Neighbor
9. Our Lord Jesus entered into this world's misery to
bear it and to overcome it. We seek to follow Him in
serving His brothers and sisters. Like the love of
Jesus, this service knows no bounds. Therefore we
pray the Lord ever anew to point to us the way to
reach our neighbors, opening our hearts and hands
to them in their need.
Serving the World
10. Jesus Christ maintains in love and faithfulness
His commitment to this fallen world. Therefore we must
remain concerned for this world. We may not
withdraw from it through indifference, pride or
fear. Together with the universal Christian
Church, the Unitas Fratrum challenges humanity
with the message of the love of God, striving to
promote the peace of the world and seeking to
attain what is best for all. For the sake of
this world, the Unitas Fratrum hopes for and looks
to the day when the victory of Christ will be
manifest over sin and death and the new world
will appear.
Conclusion
11. Jesus Christ is the one Lord and Head of His Body,
the Church. Because of this, the Church owes no
allegiance to any authority whatsoever which opposes
His dominion. The Unitas Fratrum treasures in its
history the vital experience of the Headship of
Christ of September 16 and November 13, 1741.
The Unitas Fratrum recognizes that it is called into
being and has been sustained hitherto only by the
incomprehensible grace of God. Thanksgiving and
praise for this grace remains the keynote of its
life and ministry.
In this spirit it awaits the appearing of Jesus
Christ, goes forward to meet its Lord with joy, and
prays to be found ready when He comes.
(Church Order of the Unitas Fratrum, Section I, Part I)
1. The Lord Jesus Christ calls His Church into being
so that it may serve Him here on earth until He comes.
The Unitas Fratrum is, therefore, aware of its
being called in faith to serve humanity by
proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It
recognizes this call to be the source of its
being and the inspiration of its services. As is
the source, so is the aim and end of its being
based upon the will of its Lord.
The Belief of the Church
2. With the whole of Christendom we share faith in God
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We believe
and confess that God has revealed Himself once and
for all in His son Jesus Christ, that our Lord has
redeemed us with the whole of humanity by His
death and His resurrection; and that there is no
salvation apart from Him. We believe that He is
present with us in the Word and the Sacrament
that He directs and unites us through His Spirit
and thus forms us into a Church. We hear Him
summoning us to follow Him, and pray Him to use
us in His service. He joins us together mutually
so that knowing ourselves to be members of His
body we become willing to serve each other.
In the light of divine grace, we recognize ourselves
to be a Church of sinners. We require forgiveness
daily, and live only through the mercy of God in
Christ Jesus our Lord. He redeems us from our
isolation and unites us into a living Church of
Jesus Christ.
Personal Belief
3. The belief of the Church is effected and preserved
through the testimony of Jesus Christ and through
the work of the Holy Spirit. This testimony calls
each individual personally, and leads him or her to
the recognition of sin and to the acceptance of
the redemption achieved by Christ. In fellowship
with Him the love of Christ becomes more and
more the power of the new life, power that
penetrates and shapes the entire person. As
God's spirit so effects living belief in the hearts
of individuals, He grants them the privilege
to share in the fruits of Christ's salvation and
membership in His body.
God's Word and Doctrine
4. The Triune God as revealed in the Holy Scripture of
the Old and New Testaments is the only source of our
life and salvation; and this Scripture is the sole
standard of the doctrine and faith, of the Unitas
Fratrum and therefore shapes our life.
The Unitas Fratrum recognizes the Word of the Cross
as the center of Holy Scriptures and of all
preaching of the Gospel and it sees its primary
mission, and its reason for being, to consist in
bearing witness to this joyful message. We ask our
Lord for power never to stray from this.
The Unitas Fratrum takes part in the continual
search for sound doctrine. In interpreting Scripture
and in the communication of doctrine in the Church,
we look to two millennia of ecumenical Christian
tradition in the wisdom of our Moravian forebears
in the faith to guide us as we pray for fuller
understanding and ever clearer proclamation of
the Gospel of Jesus Christ. But just as the Holy
Scripture does not contain any doctrinal
system, so the Unitas Fratrum also has not
developed any of its own. It knows that the mystery
of Jesus Christ, which is attested to in the
Bible, cannot be comprehended completely by
any human mind or expressed completely in
any human statement. Also it is true that through
the Holy Spirit the recognition of God's will for
salvation in the Bible is revealed completely and
clearly.
Creeds and Confessions
5. The Unitas Fratrum recognizes in the creeds of the
Church the thankful acclaim of the Body of Christ.
These creeds aid the church in formulating a
Scriptural confession, in marking the boundary of
heresies, and in exhorting believers to an
obedient and fearless testimony in every age. The
Unitas Fratrum maintains that all creeds
formulated by the Christian Church stand in need
of constant testing in the light of the Holy
Scriptures. It acknowledges as such true
professions of faith the early Christian
witness: "Jesus Christ is Lord!" and also
especially the ancient Christian creeds and the
fundamental creeds of the Reformation.
* *NOTE: In the various Provinces of the renewed
Unitas Fratrum the following creeds in particular
gained special importance, because in them the main
doctrines of the Christian faith find clear and
simple expression:
The Apostles' Creed
The Athanasian Creed
The Nicene Creed
The Confession of the Unity of the Bohemian Brethren
of 1535
The Twenty-One Articles of the unaltered Augsburg
Confession
The Shorter Catechism of Martin Luther
The Synod of Berne of 1532
The Thirty-Nine Articles of the Church of England
The Theological Declaration of Barmen of 1934
The Heidelberg Catechism
The Unitas Fratrum as a Unity
6. We believe in and confess the Unity of the Church,
given in the one Lord Jesus Christ as God and
Savior. He died that He might unite the scattered
children of God. As the living Lord and Shepherd,
He is leading His flock toward such unity.
The Unitas Fratrum espoused such unity when it took
over the name of the Old Bohemian Brethren's Church,
'Unitas Fratrum' (Unity of the Brethren). Nor can we
ever forget the powerful unifying experience
granted by the crucified and risen Lord to our
forebears in Herrnhut on the occasion of the Holy
Communion of August 13, 1727, in Berthelsdorf.
It is the Lord's will that Christendom should give
evidence of and seek unity in Him with zeal and
love. In our own midst we see how such unity has
been promised us and laid upon us as a charge. We
recognize that through the grace of Christ the
different churches have received many gifts. It
is our desire that we may learn from each other
and rejoice together in the riches of the love
of Christ and the manifold wisdom of God. We
confess our shared guilt, which is manifest
in the severed and divided state of Christendom.
By means of such divisions we ourselves
hinder the message and power of the gospel. We
recognize the danger of self- righteousness
and judging others without love. Since we together
with all Christendom are pilgrims on the way to
meet our coming Lord, we welcome every step that
brings us nearer the goal of unity in Him. He
Himself invites us to communion in His supper.
Through it He leads the Church toward that union
which He has promised. By means of His presence in
the Holy Communion, He makes our unity in Him
evident and certain even today.
The Church as a Fellowship
7. The Church of Jesus Christ, despite all the
distinctions between male and female, poor and rich,
and people of different ethnic origin, is one in the
Lord. The Unitas Fratrum recognizes no distinction
between those who are one in the Lord Jesus
Christ. We are called to testify that God in Jesus
Christ brings His people out of every ethnic
origin and language into one body, pardons
sinners beneath the Cross and brings them
together. We oppose any discrimination in
our midst because of ethnic origin, sex or
social standing, and we regard it as a commandment
of the Lord to bear public witness to this and to
demonstrate by word and deed that we are brothers
and sisters in Christ.
The Church as a Community of Service
8. Jesus Christ came not to be served but to serve.
From this, His Church receives its mission and its
power for its service, to which each of its members
is called. We believe that the Lord has called us
particularly to mission service among the peoples
of the world. In this, and in all other forms of
service both at home and abroad, to which the
Lord commits us, He expects us to confess Him and
witness to His love in unselfish service.
Serving our Neighbor
9. Our Lord Jesus entered into this world's misery to
bear it and to overcome it. We seek to follow Him in
serving His brothers and sisters. Like the love of
Jesus, this service knows no bounds. Therefore we
pray the Lord ever anew to point to us the way to
reach our neighbors, opening our hearts and hands
to them in their need.
Serving the World
10. Jesus Christ maintains in love and faithfulness
His commitment to this fallen world. Therefore we must
remain concerned for this world. We may not
withdraw from it through indifference, pride or
fear. Together with the universal Christian
Church, the Unitas Fratrum challenges humanity
with the message of the love of God, striving to
promote the peace of the world and seeking to
attain what is best for all. For the sake of
this world, the Unitas Fratrum hopes for and looks
to the day when the victory of Christ will be
manifest over sin and death and the new world
will appear.
Conclusion
11. Jesus Christ is the one Lord and Head of His Body,
the Church. Because of this, the Church owes no
allegiance to any authority whatsoever which opposes
His dominion. The Unitas Fratrum treasures in its
history the vital experience of the Headship of
Christ of September 16 and November 13, 1741.
The Unitas Fratrum recognizes that it is called into
being and has been sustained hitherto only by the
incomprehensible grace of God. Thanksgiving and
praise for this grace remains the keynote of its
life and ministry.
In this spirit it awaits the appearing of Jesus
Christ, goes forward to meet its Lord with joy, and
prays to be found ready when He comes.
| Leaksville Moravian Church 712 McConnell St. Eden North Carolina 27288 336-623-9440 |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |