As stated above, we are, a communion of churches within the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church. From this ancient title, reflected in the Nicene Creed, we understand the Church to be:
One: The Church is one even as God is one. The pattern for our oneness is the Holy Trinity. Jesus prayed "that they may be one just as we are one" (John 17:22). The prayer and work of the Evangelical Orthodox Church is towards the true and greater unity of the Church.
Holy: The Church is both holy and called to holiness (Ephesians 5:25-27, I Peter 1:16). To be holy means to be set apart unto God with sufficient grace to live a life of purity and devotion that is pleasing to Him. May the Evangelical Orthodox Church always "hunger and thirst after righteousness" (Matthew 5:6) and be a communion where the mercy and justice of God "kiss" each other (Psalms 85:10).
Catholic:The word "catholic" literally means "according to the whole". The catholic Church is that Church which holds the faith, worship, and practice of the ancient, undivided, and apostolic Church. The Evangelical Orthodox Church desires to hold that faith, worship, and practice which was held "everywhere, always, by all" (from the canon of St. Vincent of Lerins).
Apostolic:The apostolic Church adheres to "the faith which was once and for all delivered to the saints" (Jude 3) by the early apostles: men called, taught, gifted, and sent by our Lord Jesus Christ. This apostolic ministry continues in the Church today through her bishops. May the Evangelical Orthodox Church continually be led into all truth by the Holy Spirit that we might hold the faith, worship, and practice of the apostles (John 16:13).
Church:With Jesus Christ as her chief cornerstone, the Church is a community of God's people, "built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets" (Eph. 2:20). She herself is "the pillar and foundation of truth" (I Tim. 3:15), through which Jesus is present and active in the world today.
We of the Evangelical Orthodox Church believe that we are a part of the glorious Bride of Christ, this Temple of God, this Pillar and Foundation of the Truth, the Holy Church. We also believe that all who are baptized into Christ in the name of the Holy Trinity are our brothers and sisters, despite the divided witness of Christendom. We pray for the day when the Church will not be found in such a state of division here on earth. May she one day be on earth as she is in heaven.
