Who We Are
Our Province: The ACNA
The Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) is a Christian denomination in the Anglican tradition in the United States and Canada. It also includes ten congregations in Mexico, two mission churches in Guatemala, and a missionary diocese in Cuba. On April 15, 2009, the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) was recognized as a province of the global Anglican Communion by the Primates of the Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans, with the intent of renewing biblical, orthodox Anglicanism in North America.
ARCHBISHOP OF THE ACNA
What is an Archbishop? An Archbishop is a bishop of the highest rank who presides over a province within the Anglican Communion.
(the Most Revd Dr) Foley Beach was elected the second Archbishop of the Anglican Church in North America on June 22, 2014. He is also the Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of the South, headquartered in a suburb of Atlanta, Georgia.
Archbishop Beach is a graduate of Georgia State University, the University of the South, and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. He began his ministry by serving teenagers through Young Life. Prior to serving a bishop, he planted Holy Cross Anglican Church in Loganville, Georgia. He and his wife are life-long Georgians and have two adult children.
OUR DIOCESE
The Anglican Communion
We are a member diocese of the Anglican Church in North American (ACNA), centered in the Southeastern United States (ADOTS.) Our church is a part of the global Anglican Fellowship (GAFCON). There are over 80 million Anglicans worldwide in many countries around the world. The Anglican Church is one of the three historic churches in the catholic tradition (along with the Church of Rome and the Eastern Church.) Anglicanism is the result of the Church of England being revitalized and transformed by the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century. The “Reformed Catholic” tradition has been passed down through the Church of England and received by autonomous churches (called “Province”) all over the globe. Though these churches are diverse in many ways, there are certain core beliefs and practices held in common.
Our tradition is grounded in the Bible and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We are ancient and yet contemporary. Our statement of faith is the Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds. There are four foundational affirmations which unite Anglicans.
- The Scripture: The Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as containing all things necessary to salvation and being the rule and ultimate standard of faith.
- The Creeds: The Apostles’ Creed as the Baptismal Symbol and the Nicene Creed as the sufficient statement of the Christian faith.
- The Sacraments: The two Sacraments ordained by Christ himself—Baptism and the Supper of the Lord—ministered with unfailing use of Christ’s words of Institution and of the elements ordained by him.
- The Episcopate: The historic Episcopate locally adapted in the methods of its administration to the varying needs of the nations and peoples called of God into the Unity of His Church.
In addition to these four affirmations, Anglican worship is guided by the Book of Common Prayer.
OUR PARISH IS….
- Liturgical: Everything we do finds its origin and purpose in worship. We worship according to the historic order of the Church, received through the tradition of the English reformation.
- Sacramental: We hold that Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are not only outward signs, but instruments of God’s grace, instituted by Christ himself and sustained by his presence.
- Missional: God sends us into the world to be living members of the Body of Christ. For this reason, we seek to make our work an act of worship and our lives a witness to God’s love.
- Evangelical: We believe in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh. We submit to the final authority of Holy Scripture, and we acknowledge the continuing presence and power of the Holy Spirit.
HISTORY
WHAT IS ANGLICAN?
Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy and identity of the Church of England. It originated sometime in the 2nd century AD by Christians who carried their beliefs with them to the British Isles. Christianity eventually dominated the British Isles and is known today as Celtic Christianity. During the Middle Ages, Celtic Christians merged with the Roman Church and incorporated the liturgical and theological practices of Rome. After many centuries, the English Church broke from the Roman Church and underwent major reforms. This period of time became known as the English Reformation and since then, has been the dominate Christian influence in the English-speaking world. Major reforms of the English Reformation included the publication of the 39 Articles and the Book of Common Prayer, which are the foundations of English Christian theology. Anglicans base their Christian faith on the Bible, traditions of the apostolic church, apostolic succession (“historic episcopate”), and the writings of the Church Fathers.
WHAT DOES GOSPEL-CENTERED MEAN?
The word gospel simply means “good news!” And the good news is that God desires a relationship with human beings as revealed in the person and work of Jesus Christ. To be gospel-centered is to be focused on the life-changing, good news of God in Christ. However, like all forms of Christianity, the tendency of the church to stray from the core focus of this good news and start making other matters more important is a constant force that must be guarded against. By self-describing as “gospel-centered” we are proclaiming that our mission is to make sharing this good news our priority.
ARE YOU CATHOLIC?
The word catholic simply means universal and refers to the entire church both past and present. To be catholic is to affirm the historic faith passed down to us through the millennium by those who have gone before us. To believe in one, holy catholic and apostolic church means that the church is a single, united and global Church which has its basis in Christ Jesus with Jesus as the head. The origins and beliefs of the Church started out with the apostles at Pentecost. So we are connected both past and present to all Christians, which the Bible called the ecclesia or church. This is best summarized in the ancient creedal formulations, The Apostles and Nicene Creeds. There have always been two signs given to the church from Jesus Christ: baptism and communion. In addition to baptism and communion, we also affirm the church’s authority structure that we believe is best represented by three offices of the church: deacon, priest, and bishop.