What does the evangelical church believe?
Papal infallibility
Evangelical churches do not believe in papal infallibility for reasons similar to those of Methodist and Reformed Christians. Evangelicals believe that the Bible alone is infallible or inerrant. Most evangelical churches and ministries have statements of doctrine that explicitly say that the Bible, composed of the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament, is the sole rule for faith and practice. Most of these statements, however, are articles of faith that evangelicals affirm in a positive way, and contain no reference to the papacy or other beliefs that are not part of evangelical doctrine.
Free grace theology
The more recent view of Zane Hodges and the Grace Evangelical Society considers it to be theological legalism to require belief in these aspects of Jesus Christ's person and work for eternal life since this would exceed the requirement of the saving message to simply believe in Jesus for everlasting life. Seeking support mainly from passages in the Gospel of John that speak of Jesus guaranteeing everlasting life to all who believe in him for it (3:16; 5:24; 6:47; 11:25-27). This view leans heavily on the Gospel of John for support, since it is considered to be the only evangelistic book of the Bible which says it was written to bring people to belief in Jesus Christ for eternal life (20:30-31).
National Association of Evangelicals
We believe in the spiritual unity of believers in our Lord Jesus Christ.
Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches
The Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches is an Anglican Christian communion, formed in 1995 largely as a result of the Convergence Movement. The CEEC converges the evangelical, charismatic, liturgical, and sacramental traditions of the Christian faith.
Terry Virgo
Terry Virgo, along with many British New Church Movement leaders, believes the Bible teaches that the ministry of an apostle is for today, and did not end with the death of the first Apostles. He thinks the widespread belief amongst Evangelicals that apostles are no longer for today is largely a result of the Reformers opposition to the Roman Catholic notion of "apostolic succession" which has strongly influenced the Evangelical view ever since. He says: 'We do believe in the ongoing role of apostles and all Ephesians 4 gifts. We do recognize that of course the original twelve Apostles were unique, and that the canon of Scripture is complete. We do see the need however, today, for master builders in helping to establish foundations in local churches and for fathers in the faith." Church historian Derryck Lovegrove has observed that Virgo has "enjoyed a powerful personal hegemony," referring to Virgo's influence both within his own movement, and the wider British New Church Movement.
Christianity in the United States
Although the Evangelical community worldwide is diverse, the ties that bind all Evangelicals are still apparent: a "high view" of Scripture, belief in the Deity of Christ, the Trinity, salvation by grace through faith, and the bodily resurrection of Christ.
Evangelical Baptist Church of Korea
Church doctrines teach that those who were once saved by God are completely detached from the sins they will ever commit in the future and guaranteed a path to heaven. Unlike other Christian organizations, the group is alleged to focus little on repentance ― a reason why it has been described as a cult. The church was held to be a cult by the conservative Christian denomination, the General Assembly of Presbyterian Churches, in 1992. Evangelical Baptist Church is unrelated to the Korea Baptist Convention.
Catholic Apostolic Charismatic Church of Jesus the King
The Church maintains an active commitment to macro–ecumenism, fostering relationships with all types of faith and religious groups, Christian and non-Christian. There is open cooperation and co-celebration with other small churches and missionary congregations, and there have been moves towards communion with the Episcopal Churches in Europe. There is a special interest in the beliefs of the indigenous peoples of Latin America because the Church's founder, Braschi, has lived and worked among various Latin American peoples. While stopping short of pantheism or theological pluralism, the Church believes that "essential truths" are deposited by God in all sincere and life–affirming religions and cultures and that since human beings and their knowledge are, by nature, incomplete and flawed, it is nonsense to talk about superiority and inferiority or gradations of value and truth in comparative religion. All humans' belief systems, by virtue of being held by humans, must therefore be partially reflective of truth (of God) and partially reflective of limitations (of people).
Evangelicalism
The word "evangelical" has its etymological roots in the Greek word for "gospel" or "good news": "euangelion", from "eu" "good", "angel"- the stem of, among other words, "angelos" "messenger, angel", and the neuter suffix -"ion". By the English Middle Ages, the term had expanded semantically to include not only the message, but also the New Testament which contained the message, as well as more specifically the Gospels, which portray the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. The first published use of "evangelical" in English was in 1531, when William Tyndale wrote "He exhorteth them to proceed constantly in the evangelical truth." One year later Sir Thomas More wrote the earliest recorded use in reference to a theological distinction when he spoke of "Tyndale [and] his evangelical brother Barns".
Christian Church International
The Christian Church International follows an evangelical and panentheist approach. It is moderately conservative and has two wings, a fundamentalist evangelical one as well as a socially progressive, apostolic one. The Christian Church International believes in God as “the One and Threefold” and the teachings of the Holy Bible. As panentheists the Christian Church International believes that all beings are part of God. This is because God is thought to be “all that exists and all that exists is God”.
National Association of Evangelicals
We believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His vicarious and atoning death through His shed blood, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father, and in His personal return in power and glory.
Christian denomination
Some traditional and evangelical Protestants draw a distinction between membership in the universal church and fellowship within the local church. Becoming a believer in Christ makes one a member of the universal church; one then may join a fellowship of other local believers. Some evangelical groups describe themselves as interdenominational fellowships, partnering with local churches to strengthen evangelical efforts, usually targeting a particular group with specialized needs, such as students or ethnic groups. A related concept is denominationalism, the belief that some or all Christian groups are legitimate churches of the same religion regardless of their distinguishing labels, beliefs, and practices. (Conversely, "denominationalism" can also refer to "emphasizing of denominational differences to the point of being narrowly exclusive", similar to sectarianism).
Eternal life (Christianity)
The doctrine of conditional immortality states the human soul is naturally mortal, and that immortality is granted by God as a gift. The doctrine is a "significant minority evangelical view" that has "grown within evangelicalism in recent years".
Episcopal Church (United States)
A broad spectrum of theological views is represented within the Episcopal Church. Some Episcopal members or theologians hold evangelical positions, affirming the authority of scripture over all. The Episcopal Church website glossary defines the sources of authority as a balance between scripture, tradition, and reason. These three are characterized as a "three-legged stool" which will topple if any one overbalances the other. It also notes
Evangelical Association of Reformed and Congregational Christian Churches
The EA requires its constituent churches to affirm both the Apostles' Creed and Nicene Creed and to subscribe to a statement of faith, which explicitly proclaims exclusive salvation in Jesus Christ and denounces extramarital sexual activity or encouragement of the same. Other than those requirements for membership, the EA considers each local congregation as a "complete church" that possess all of the rights and responsibilities of the Universal Church as bestowed upon it by the Holy Spirit and set forth in God's Word.
Evangelical Presbyterian Church (United States)
The Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC) is an American church body holding to presbyterian governance and Reformed theology, expressed in an orthodox, conservative vein.
Evangelical Anglicanism
Evangelicals maintain a Reformed view of Holy Communion, believing that Christ is spiritually present in the Eucharist, rather than corporeally present. According to this view, known as receptionism, the body and blood of Christ are received spiritually by faith.
Fellowship of Evangelical Bible Churches
The Fellowship of Evangelical Bible Churches holds an orthodox Trinitarian theology, the infallible inspiration of the Scriptures, and is dispensational premillennial in eschatology. The body recognizes two ordinances — baptism and the Lord's supper. They practice water baptism of believers by immersion, but will recognize as valid other modes when administered by others, or when immersion is impossible due to a medical condition. Open communion is observed with bread and fruit of the vine. The Fellowship of Evangelical Bible Churches exists to increase fellowship between member congregations, promote evangelism and missions, and represent the congregations through membership in boards and organizations outside the FEBC.
Christianity and homosexuality
The positions of the evangelical churches are varied. They range from liberal to conservative, through moderate.
Evangelical environmentalism
Evangelical environmentalism is an environmental movement in the United States in which some Evangelical Christians have emphasized biblical mandates concerning humanity's role as steward and subsequent responsibility for the care taking of Creation. While the movement has focused on different environmental issues, it is best known for its focus of addressing climate action from a biblically-grounded theological perspective.
Evangelicalism in the United States
In the United States, evangelicalism is an umbrella group of Protestant Christians who believe in the necessity of being born again, emphasize the importance of evangelism, and affirm traditional Protestant teachings on the authority and the historicity of the Bible. Nearly a quarter of the US population, evangelicals are diverse and drawn from a variety of denominational backgrounds, including Baptist, Mennonite, Methodist, Holiness, Pentecostal, Reformed and nondenominational churches.
Evangelicalism
The fundamentalists saw the Evangelicals as often being too concerned about social acceptance and intellectual respectability, and being too accommodating to a perverse generation that needed correction. In addition, they saw the efforts of evangelist Billy Graham, who worked with non-Evangelical denominations, such as the Roman Catholics (whom fundamentalists saw as heretical), as a mistake.
Grace Community Church (California)
Grace Community Church is elder-ruled and within the Evangelical Protestant tradition, not to be confused with mainstream Evangelicalism. It teaches Calvinist theology, although it is not aligned with a denomination. Grace Community Church holds to the beliefs of spiritual gifts, Lordship salvation, and the sufficiency of Scripture. Noted for speaking out against movements such as the prosperity gospel and the emerging church, the church also adheres to the view that Christian giving should derive voluntarily from the heart, not from a fixed or mandated percentage.
Evangelical Anglicanism
In contrast to the high-church party, evangelicals emphasize experiential religion of the heart over the importance of liturgical forms. As a result, evangelicals are often described as being low church, but these terms are not always interchangeable because "low church" can also describe individuals or groups that are not evangelical.
Acceptance of evolution by religious groups
The Church of the Nazarene, an evangelical Christian denomination, sees "knowledge acquired by science and human inquiry equal to that acquired by divine revelation," and, while the church "'believes in the Biblical account of creation' and holds that God is the sole creator, it allows latitude 'regarding the "how" of creation.'"
Evangelical Mennonite Conference
Beliefs and practices of the "Evangelical Mennonite Conference" are presented in its "Statement of Faith" and "Church Practices," most recently revised in 1994. They reveal evangelical Christian teachings such as the Trinity, humanity's need, salvation through the substitutionary atonement of Jesus Christ, and the expected return of Christ. Underlying these beliefs are the final authority and infallibility of Scripture. The EMC is Arminian in theology: holding to total depravity, conditional election, unlimited atonement, resistible grace, and conditional security. Some members differ individually, more on the final point.
Evangelical Association
The Evangelical Church or Evangelical Association, also known as the Albright Brethren, is a "body of American Christians chiefly of German descent", Arminian in doctrine and theology; in its form of church government, Methodist Episcopal.
Evangelical Catholic
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada defines its doctrinal basis as such: "We derive our teachings from the Holy Scriptures and confess the three ecumenical creeds of the Christian church. We hold to orthodox catholic theology as enunciated in the ecumenical councils of the first five centuries of Christianity." Some small "Evangelical Catholic" church bodies include the Evangelical Catholic Church, Anglo-Lutheran Catholic Church, Lutheran Church - International and the Lutheran Episcopal Communion. The Nordic Catholic Church in Norway has roots in High Church Lutheranism.
History of Protestantism
Evangelicals are as diverse as the names that appear—Billy Graham, Chuck Colson, J. Vernon McGee, John MacArthur, J.I. Packer, John R.W. Stott, Pat Robertson, Jimmy Carter, etc.—or even Evangelical institutions such as Dallas Theological Seminary (Dallas), Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (Boston), Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (Chicago), The Master's Seminary (California), Wheaton College (Illinois), the Christian Coalition, The Christian Embassy (Jerusalem), etc. Although there exists a diversity in the Evangelical community worldwide, the ties that bind all Evangelicals are still apparent. These include but are not limited to a high view of Scripture, belief in the Deity of Christ, the Trinity, salvation by grace alone through faith alone, and the bodily resurrection of Christ.
Seventh-day Adventist theology
This belief in conditional immortality has been one of the doctrines used by critics (particularly in the past) to claim that the church is not a mainstream Christian denomination. However, this view is becoming more mainstream within evangelicalism, as evidenced by the British Evangelical Alliance "ACUTE" report, which states the doctrine is a "significant minority evangelical view" which has "grown within evangelicalism in recent years". Evangelical theologian and conditionalist Clark Pinnock suggests Adventist Le Roy Edwin Froom's "The Conditionalist Faith of our Fathers", 2 vols. as "a classic defense on conditionalism".
Evangelical Anglicanism
In contrast to Anglo-Catholics, evangelical Anglicans stress the Reformed, Protestant nature of Anglicanism. Historically, evangelicals have come from both moderate Calvinist as well as Arminian backgrounds. Evangelicals stress the need for a conversion experience and the importance of evangelism; they have a high view of biblical inspiration and biblical authority; and the substitutionary atonement of Jesus Christ is the focus of their preaching. Evangelical Anglicans have been particularly fierce critics of ritualism and sacerdotalism.
Ecumenical Catholic Church
The Ecumenical Catholic Church (ECC) is a denomination within the universal Christian Church. It teaches the faith of the Nicene Creed, that one God exists in three coequal and coeternal persons—the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—and that Jesus is the Son of God and redeemer of humanity, uniting Christians through the rebirth of Baptism and the fellowship of the Eucharist. The liturgy of the ECC is similar to that of the Roman Catholic Church, but it is politically independent and not under the jurisdiction of the Vatican or the Roman hierarchy and thus is one of the "Independent Catholic Churches". While the ECC shares the core Christian beliefs with the Roman Church and most Protestant and Orthodox denominations, it is more liberal on many social issues.
Evangelicalism
In the early 20th century, evangelical influence declined within mainline Protestantism and Christian fundamentalism developed as a distinct religious movement. Between 1950 and 2000 a mainstream evangelical consensus developed that sought to be more inclusive and more culturally relevant than fundamentalism, while maintaining conservative Protestant teaching. According to Brian Stanley, professor of world Christianity, this new postwar consensus is termed "neo-evangelicalism", the "new evangelicalism", or simply "evangelicalism" in the United States, while in Great Britain and in other English-speaking countries, it is commonly termed "conservative evangelicalism". Over the years, less-conservative evangelicals have challenged this mainstream consensus to varying degrees. Such movements have been classified by a variety of labels, such as progressive, open, post-conservative, and post-evangelical.
Evangelicalism
"Crucicentrism" is the centrality that evangelicals give to the Atonement, the saving death and resurrection of Jesus, that offers forgiveness of sins and new life. This is understood most commonly in terms of a substitutionary atonement, in which Christ died as a substitute for sinful humanity by taking on himself the guilt and punishment for sin.
Evangelicalism
Fundamentalism (sometimes known as conservative evangelicalism) regards biblical inerrancy, the virgin birth of Jesus, penal substitutionary atonement, the literal resurrection of Christ, and the Second Coming of Christ as fundamental Christian doctrines. Fundamentalism arose among evangelicals in the 1920s to combat modernist or liberal theology in mainline Protestant churches. Failing to reform the mainline churches, fundamentalists separated from them and established their own churches, refusing to participate in ecumenical organizations such as the National Council of Churches (founded in 1950). They also made separatism (rigid separation from non-fundamentalist churches and their culture) a true test of faith. According to historian George Marsden, most fundamentalists are Baptists and dispensationalist.
Christianity in the United States
Evangelicals held the view that the modernist and liberal parties in the Protestant churches had surrendered their heritage as Evangelicals by accommodating the views and values of the world. At the same time, they criticized their fellow Fundamentalists for their separatism and their rejection of the Social Gospel as it had been developed by Protestant activists of the previous century. They charged the modernists with having lost their identity as Evangelicals and the Fundamentalists with having lost the Christ-like heart of Evangelicalism. They argued that the Gospel needed to be reasserted to distinguish it from the innovations of the liberals and the fundamentalists.
Emerging church
Spearheaded by Brian McLaren, some emerging church leaders see interfaith dialogue as a means to share their narratives as they learn from the narratives of others. Some Emerging Church Christians believe there are radically diverse perspectives within Christianity that are valuable for humanity to progress toward truth and a better resulting relationship with God, and that these different perspectives deserve Christian charity rather than condemnation. Reformed and evangelical opponents, like John MacArthur, do not believe that such generosity is appropriate, citing the movement's shift away from traditional evangelical beliefs such as eternal punishment and penal substitution towards a reintroduction of, for example, elements of ancient mysticism.
American Revolution
Historian Bernard Bailyn argues that the evangelicalism of the era challenged traditional notions of natural hierarchy by preaching that the Bible teaches that all men are equal, so that the true value of a man lies in his moral behavior, not in his class. Kidd argues that religious disestablishment, belief in God as the source of human rights, and shared convictions about sin, virtue, and divine providence worked together to unite rationalists and evangelicals and thus encouraged American defiance of the Empire. Bailyn, on the other hand, denies that religion played such a critical role. Alan Heimert argues that New Light anti-authoritarianism was essential to furthering democracy in colonial American society and set the stage for a confrontation with British monarchical and aristocratic rule.
Looking back, John Adams concluded in 1818:
Evangelicalism
In the 21st century there are an estimated 2 million Evangelicals in the UK. According to research performed by the Evangelical Alliance in 2013, 87% of UK evangelicals attend Sunday morning church services every week and 63% attend weekly or fortnightly small groups. An earlier survey conducted in 2012 found that 92% of evangelicals agree it is a Christian's duty to help those in poverty and 45% attend a church which has a fund or scheme that helps people in immediate need, and 42% go to a church that supports or runs a foodbank. 63% believe in tithing, and so give around 10% of their income to their church, Christian organisations and various charities 83% of UK evangelicals believe that the Bible has supreme authority in guiding their beliefs, views and behaviour and 52% read or listen to the Bible daily. The Evangelical Alliance, formed in 1846, was the first ecumenical evangelical body in the world and works to unite evangelicals, helping them listen to, and be heard by, the government, media and society.
Evangelical Anglican Church In America
It differs little in matters of church polity, doctrine or worship from other churches within the Anglican Communion, fully accepting the Thirty-Nine Articles of Faith as the basis of doctrine and its theology is founded on Scripture, Tradition and Reason. Its spectrum of liturgy allows for both a Low church (Evangelical) as well as a High Church (Traditional Catholic) approach to community worship, although the latter predominates.
Approaches to evangelism
Many churches regularly have a gospel message preached in a sermon. Often, this will include an altar call where people are invited to come forward and "accept Christ". The use of altar calls is somewhat controversial, while it is practiced by many evangelical churches, some Calvinists object to it in the grounds it creates false conversions.
Environmentalism
Evangelical environmentalism is an environmental movement in the United States of America in which some Evangelicals have emphasized biblical mandates concerning humanity's role as steward and subsequent responsibility for the caretaking of Creation. While the movement has focused on different environmental issues, it is best known for its focus of addressing climate action from a biblically grounded theological perspective. This movement is controversial among some non-Christian environmentalists due to its rooting in a specific religion.
Evangelism
Throughout most of its history, Christianity has been spread evangelistically, though the extent of evangelism has varied significantly between Christian communities, and denominations. Evangelism, apologetics and apostolic ministry often go hand in hand. An ἀπόστολος ("apostolos") is literally "one who is ordered forth" and refers to the missionary calling of being ordered forth into the world by the initiation of God. An example of an interplay between Evangelism and Apologetics can be seen in the US when upon door to door Evangelism the prospect is an unbeliever and challenges the Evangelist wherein the Evangelist then follows into the role of the Apologist in defense of their faith with the hope that Evangelism may be restarted. Since missionaries often travel to areas or people groups where Jesus is not yet known, they frequently take on an evangelistic role. But the apostolic or missionary calling is not necessarily the same (and it is a misnomer and misinterpretation to equate them), as there are many who serve in missionary, church planting, and ministry development roles who have an apostolic calling or serve in an apostolic role but whose primary duty is not evangelism.
Evangelical Christian Church in Canada
The Evangelical Christian Church (Christian Disciples) in Canada is non-denominational and its member churches are self-governing in the tradition of congregational polity. Ministers who are the Elders of the church are held accountable only to the scriptures, and guaranteed freedom of thought and conscience to practice their faith without doctrinal restrictions. The ECC maintains a high commitment to religious freedom, Christian unity, and the priesthood of all believers who make up the body of Christ. The ECC permits only those practices that it believes are found in the guidelines of New Testament living and worship as taught by the early church. The ECC divides the country into 10 districts assigned to district superintendents for liaison with the congregations and ministers in the appointed province. A hierarchical leadership is in place nationally, including the provincial superintendents, the general minister, the board of directors or general council, and regional field representatives. The general superintendent or constitute the executive staff. Ordinations are approved by the Credentials Standing Committee and ministerial credentials come from Central Office.Ordained or licensed ministers, both male and female, provide leadership for the church and preside over the ordinances.
The early participants in the Evangelical Christian Church (Christian Disciples) consisted of those who came away from a variety of fundamental, evangelical denominations, not in an attempt to reform any particular denomination, but rather in an effort to "restore" the "original" church according to the New Testament pattern, while basing its Biblical mission on the Great Commission found in the gospel of Matthew. They believed that history was moving toward a spiritual climax where God's power will be poured out on the church without the use of self-made religious doctrines. Promoters of restoration believed that this supernatural move could be the Lord's final move where the church will be endued with power to Christianize the world with the gospel of the Kingdom of God. In order for this Kingdom dominion pursuit to be realized, the Five-fold ministry expounded in Eph.4:11 (apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers) needed to be commissioned by the Church at large and given room to exercise their spiritual gifts with authority in the church of Jesus Christ.
Eternal Gospel Church
The Eternal Gospel Church considers themselves a revival ministry, calling for a return to certain Historic Adventist doctrines and the foundational principles of the Great Second Advent Movement. They are best known for their evangelistic work in preaching and publishing end-time theological messages regarding the Three Angels' Messages of as understood by early Adventists to apply chiefly to Sunday worship and the Roman Catholic Church. As an independent ministry, the Eternal Gospel Church is not under the auspices of, or affiliated with the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.
World Evangelical Alliance
The World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) is a global organization of evangelical Christian churches, serving more than 600 million evangelicals, founded in 1846 in London, England to unite evangelicals worldwide. WEA is the largest international organization of evangelical churches, and is now headquartered in New York City, United States. It brings together 7 regional and 129 evangelical alliances of churches, and over 150 member organizations. Some of the national alliances include Protestant churches which are not traditional Evangelical churches in the strict sense (anabaptism), (Networks & Church Denominations). Moreover, the WEA includes a certain percentage of individual evangelical Christian churches. It is open for membership of individual evangelical Christians (as compared to the World Council of Churches (WCC), where individual membership is not possible). The Evangelical Alliance of Great Britain, its founding member, is part of WEA.
Christianity in the United States
Note that the term "Evangelical" does not equal Fundamentalist Christianity, although the latter is sometimes regarded simply as the most theologically conservative subset of the former. The major differences largely hinge upon views of how to regard and approach scripture ("Theology of Scripture"), as well as construing its broader world-view implications. While most conservative Evangelicals believe the label has "broadened" too much beyond its more limiting traditional distinctives, this trend is nonetheless strong enough to create significant ambiguity in the term. As a result, the dichotomy between "evangelical" vs. "mainline" denominations is increasingly complex (particularly with such innovations as the "Emergent Church" movement).
History of Protestantism in the United States
Evangelicals are as diverse as the names that appear: Billy Graham, Chuck Colson, J. Vernon McGee, or Jimmy Carter— or even Evangelical institutions such as Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (Boston) or Trinity Evangelical Divinity School(Chicago). Although there exists a diversity in the Evangelical community worldwide, the ties that bind all Evangelicals are still apparent: a "high view" of Scripture, belief in the Deity of Christ, the Trinity, salvation by grace through faith, and the bodily resurrection of Christ, to mention a few.
Evangelical Anglicanism
Evangelical Anglicanism or evangelical Episcopalianism is a tradition or church party within Anglicanism that shares affinity with broader evangelicalism. Evangelical Anglicans share with other evangelicals the attributes of "conversionism, activism, biblicism and crucicentrism" identified by historian David Bebbington as central to evangelical identity. The emergence of evangelical churchmanship can be traced back to the First Great Awakening in America and the Evangelical Revival in Britain in the 18th century. In the 20th century, prominent figures have included John Stott and J. I. Packer.
Anglican Church in North America
The ACNA has Anglo-Catholic, evangelical, and charismatic members and is considered to be more theologically conservative than the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada. The church allows dioceses to decide if they will or will not ordain women as priests, although it does not permit women to become bishops. Concerning marriage, it holds that it is between one man and one woman; therefore, it opposes same sex unions. Concerning abortion and euthanasia, the ACNA holds a pro-life stance, proclaiming "all members and clergy are called to promote and respect the sanctity of every human life from conception to natural death". The ACNA is associated with Anglicans for Life for promotion of the pro-life ministry. In 2018, ACNA Archbishop Foley Beach signed a letter with several other church leaders stating gender cannot be separated from one's sex as male or female.
Accommodation (religion)
Thus preaching the Gospel is of prime concern to evangelical Christians, for it is "The power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes" (Romans 1:16). It explains also why many evangelical Christians view the Bible so highly – for to remove "sola scriptura" is to essentially remove everything we can know about God. It explains why the New Testament was written, and why churches need people to teach and build up the body of Christ. It also explains why evangelism and missionary activity was and is necessary – both by the Apostles and by the church today.
Evangelicalism
As a trans-denominational movement, evangelicalism occurs in nearly every Protestant denomination and tradition. The Reformed, Baptist, Wesleyan, Pentecostal, Churches of Christ, Plymouth Brethren, charismatic Protestant, and nondenominational Protestant traditions have all had strong influence within contemporary evangelicalism. Some Anabaptist denominations (such as the Brethren Church) are evangelical, and some Lutherans self-identify as evangelicals. There are also evangelical Anglicans.
Evangelical Lutheran Synod
The Evangelical Lutheran Synod (ELS) is a US-based Protestant Christian denomination based in Mankato, Minnesota. It describes itself as a conservative, Confessional Lutheran body. The ELS is in fellowship with the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) and is a member of the international Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference (CELC).
The Evangelical Lutheran Synod teaches that the Bible is the only authoritative and error-free source for doctrine. It subscribes to the Lutheran Confessions (the Book of Concord) not in-so-far-as but because it is an accurate presentation of what scripture teaches. It teaches that Jesus is the center of scripture and the only way to eternal salvation, and that the Holy Spirit uses the gospel alone in Word and Sacraments (Baptism and Holy Communion) to bring people to faith in Jesus as savior and keep them in that faith, strengthening them in their daily life of sanctification.
Universalism
The Catholic church believes that God judges everyone based only on their moral acts, that no one should be subject to human misery, that everyone is equal in dignity yet distinct in individuality before God, that no one should be discriminated against because of their sin or concupiscence, and that apart from coercion God exhausts every means to save mankind from evil: original holiness being intended for everyone, the irrevocable Old Testament covenants, each religion being a share in the truth, elements of sanctification in non-Catholic Christian communities, the good people of every religion and nation, everyone being called to baptism and confession, and purgatory, suffrages, and indulgences for the dead. The church believes that everyone is predestined to heaven, that no one is predestined to hell, that everyone is redeemed by Christ's Passion, that no one is excluded from the church except by sin, and that everyone can either love God by loving others unto going to heaven or reject God by sin unto going to hell. The church believes that God's predestination takes everything into account, and that his providence brings out of evil a greater good, as evidenced, the church believes, by the Passion of Christ being all at once predestined by God, foretold in Scripture, necessitated by original sin, authored by everyone who sins, caused by Christ's executioners, and freely planned and undergone by Christ. The church believes that everyone who goes to heaven joins the church, and that from the beginning God intended Israel to be the beginning of the church, wherein God would unite all persons to each other and to God. The church believes that heaven and hell are eternal.
Pentecostalism
Pentecostalism is an evangelical faith, emphasizing the reliability of the Bible and the need for the transformation of an individual's life through faith in Jesus. Like other evangelicals, Pentecostals generally adhere to the Bible's divine inspiration and inerrancy—the belief that the Bible, in the original manuscripts in which it was written, is without error. Pentecostals emphasize the teaching of the "full gospel" or "foursquare gospel". The term "foursquare" refers to the four fundamental beliefs of Pentecostalism: Jesus saves according to ; baptizes with the Holy Spirit according to Acts 2:4; heals bodily according to James 5:15; and is coming again to receive those who are saved according to 1 Thessalonians 4:16–17.
Evangelical Assembly of Presbyterian Churches in America
The Evangelical Assembly of Presbyterian Churches in America is both Evangelical and Presbyterian in its doctrine and tradition, emphasizing the authority of the Bible and importance of mission and education.
Evangelical Presbyterian Church (United States)
As its name suggests, the EPC is an evangelical denomination. It associates mainly with Reformed bodies holding similar or identical beliefs regarding Christology, ecclesiology, and ethical/moral stances. As with practically all orthodox Presbyterian bodies, the EPC is committed to Biblical interpretation governed by the Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechisms. The EPC is member of the World Communion of Reformed Churches
Evangelical Church Winning All
The Evangelical Church Winning All, previously known as the Evangelical Church of West Africa, is one of the largest Christian denominations in Nigeria, with about ten million members. ECWA is a partner church of the international Christian mission organisation, Serving In Mission (SIM), formerly Sudan Interior Mission. ECWA was founded in 1954 when the SIM-related churches (initially in Nigeria) came together to form an indigenous body. Since that time, mission stations, Bible Schools, academic schools, and medical programs have been transferred to ECWA leadership.
World Evangelical Alliance
The World Evangelical Alliance embraces member-bodies whose identity and vocation are rooted in historic biblical Christianity. WEA affirms and seeks the biblical unity of Christ's body, the Church, celebrating the diversity of practices and theological emphases consistent with the WEA Statement of Faith, recognizing the existing dynamic tension between unity and diversity.
Evangelical Anglicanism
Participation in voluntary societies reflected evangelical Episcopalians' beliefs that every Christian had a responsibility to spread the gospel and righteousness in preparation for the millennial reign of Christ on earth. Like their English counterparts, millennial expectation fuelled an interest in biblical prophecy among evangelical Episcopalians. Bishop John P. K. Henshaw, Benjamin Allen (rector of Old St. Paul's in Philadelphia) and other Episcopal ministers published books or magazines dedicated to millennialism.
Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism (), evangelical Christianity, or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, transdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity which maintains the belief that the essence of the Gospel consists of the doctrine of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ's atonement. Evangelicals believe in the centrality of the conversion or "born again" experience in receiving salvation, in the authority of the Bible as God's revelation to humanity, and in spreading the Christian message. The movement has had a long presence in the Anglosphere before spreading further afield in the 19th, 20th and early 21st centuries.
History of Protestantism
Evangelicalism is not a single, monolithic entity. The Evangelical churches and their adherents cannot be easily stereotyped. Most are not fundamentalist, in the narrow sense that this term has come to represent; though many still refer to themselves as such. There have always been diverse views on issues, such as openness to cooperation with non-Evangelicals, the applicability of the Bible to political choices and social or scientific issues, and even the limited inerrancy of the Bible.
Evangelical Methodist Church
Theologically, the EMC is Wesleyan-Arminian and teaches a Holiness message, emphasizing the inerrancy of the Bible and the power of the Holy Spirit to cleanse a Christian from sin and to keep him or her from falling back into a sinful lifestyle. The EMC believes in salvation through faith by grace. A further doctrine, "prevenient grace," holds that God allows every person to make a choice in response to the Gospel, and apart from that grace man cannot freely choose to follow Christ and be saved from God's future judgment. According to their teachings, the saved Christian will grow in Christ-likeness throughout life via progressive sanctification, but there is also the experience of entire sanctification—a "second, crisis experience" in which a believer's heart is cleansed of self-centered ambition and replaced by a perfect love for God and other people. A fully sanctified Christian is expected by the EMC to live a holy lifestyle that reflects the character of Christ to the world (which they emphasize is neither "sinless perfection" nor legalism).
Evangelical Lutheran Free Church of Norway
The Evangelical Lutheran Free Church is founded on the Bible and the Lutheran Church's confession. In the Free Church it is those who are baptized and confess the Christian faith who have voting rights. It has the authority to call its clergy and all other personnel, and it passes its own church laws.
National Association of Evangelicals
The National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) is an association of evangelical denominations, organizations, schools, churches and individuals. The association represents more than 45,000 local churches from nearly 40 different denominations and serves a constituency of millions. The mission of the NAE is to honor God by connecting and representing evangelicals in the United States.
Christian Evangelistic Assemblies
Conservatively Christian and evangelical. Belief in the present-day manifestation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The Grace International Statement of Faith Believes in the Biblical truth that marriage is only between a man and a women and that human life begins at conception.
Reformed Episcopal Church
The term regeneration has been used differently throughout the church's history, and the objection of the Reformed Episcopal Church's founders was based on the definition of the "new birth" then current amongst Evangelicals. If regeneration is an instantaneous work of the Spirit quickening the heart prior to conversion, a gift from God given only to His elect, then the language of baptismal regeneration would suggest that all the baptized are finally saved. It is for this reason that the Declaration of Principles denies that regeneration is inseparably connected with baptism. This of course has been an important issue for the REC since its founding. According to Guelzo, in his book, "For the Union of Evangelical Christendom" Cummins said, "the regeneration for which we thank God in baptism is not to be taken in any sense as descriptive of the renewing work of the Holy Spirit upon the heart, but only a term equivalent to baptism, a sacramental change, a change of covenant relation."
Evangelical Theological Society
The Evangelical Theological Society (ETS) is a professional society of Biblical scholars, educators, pastors, and students "devoted to the inerrancy and inspiration of the Scriptures and the gospel of Jesus Christ" and "dedicated to the oral exchange and written expression of theological thought and research."
Evangelical Friends Church International
Evangelical Friends Church International (EFCI) is a branch of Quaker yearly meetings (regional associations) around the world that profess evangelical Christian beliefs.
Decision theology
Decision theology is the belief by some fundamentalist and evangelical sects of Christianity that individuals must make a "conscious" decision to "accept" and follow Christ (be "born again"). Some Christian denominations object to the "decision theology" theory as contradicting the monergism of orthodox historic Protestantism. Many fundamentalists and evangelicals expect individuals to make a dramatic decision to commit themselves to Jesus Christ. Lutherans and Reformed Christians reject the "decision theology" of some modern evangelicals, believing that faith receives the gift of salvation rather than causes salvation.
Evangelicalism in the United States
The fundamentalists saw the evangelicals as often being too concerned about social acceptance and intellectual respectability, and being too accommodating to a perverse generation that needed correction. In addition, they saw the efforts of evangelist Billy Graham, who worked with non-evangelical denominations, such as the Catholic Church (which they claimed to be heretical), as a mistake. The post-war period also saw growth of the ecumenical movement and the founding of the World Council of Churches, which was generally regarded with suspicion by the evangelical community.
Evangelical Alliance
The Evangelical Alliance (EA) seeks to represent evangelical Christians in the UK. Formed in 1846, the Alliance aims to bring Christians together and help them listen to, and be heard by, the government, media and society.
Evangelical Missionary Church of Besançon
The church's main beliefs are expressed in a creed, initially composed of twelve articles of faith based on biblical passages and adopted by the church. These beliefs are almost identical to the ones of most evangelical and Pentecostal groups, including biblical authority viewed as the Word of God, literal biblical interpretation and the Trinity, with a special focus on miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit and proselytism. Later, the number of articles of faith were reduced to eight points, and Amiotte-Suchet noted that they were reworded in 1998 to become less explicit concerning issues that were the subject of public controversies. He also said that the pastors' sermons show an evolution linked to a generation gap; René Kennel continues to advocate healthy living, illustrating his speeches with stories of curses resulting from a non-Christian lifestyle, while his son placed more emphasis on "the discernment of spiritual gifts and the depth of faith". On its website the church defines itself as apolitical; it respects current principles of secularism and freedom of conscience, does not discourage medical treatment, encourages believers to participate in social life and does not claim exclusive salvation.
Evangelical Anglican Church of America
The Evangelical Anglican Church of America (EACA) was a traditional and conservative Christian church headquartered in Brea, California. It was constituted in 1992 (incorporated in the State of California on 5 May 1993) in order to stand against the perceived apostasy of the Episcopal Church in matters of theology, liturgy and morality.
Evangelicalism
During the Reformation, Protestant theologians embraced the term as referring to "gospel truth". Martin Luther referred to the "evangelische Kirche" ("evangelical church") to distinguish Protestants from Catholics in the Roman Catholic Church. Into the 21st century, "evangelical" has continued in use as a synonym for (mainline) Protestant in continental Europe, and elsewhere. This usage is reflected in the names of Protestant denominations, such as the Evangelical Church in Germany (a union of Lutheran and Reformed churches) and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
Episcopal Missionary Church
The Episcopal Missionary Church (EMC) is a Continuing Anglican church body in the United States and a member of the Federation of Anglican Churches in the Americas. Its founding in the early 1990s can be traced to the protests of members of The Episcopal Church who were concerned that their church had become massively influenced by secular humanism (i.e., liberal theologies). At first, these clergy and laymen sought to change the direction of their church by working from within it, to which end they formed a voluntary association, the Episcopal Synod of America.
Religious pluralism
Some other Protestants hold that only believers who believe in certain fundamental doctrines know the true pathway to salvation. The core of this doctrine is that Jesus Christ was a perfect man, is the Son of God and that he died and rose again for the wrongdoing of those who will accept the gift of salvation. They continue to believe in "one" church, believing in fundamental issues there is unity and non-fundamental issues there is liberty. Some evangelicals are doubtful if Roman Catholicism or Eastern Orthodoxy are still valid manifestations of the Church and usually reject religious (typically restorationist) movements rooted in 19th century American Christianity, such as Mormonism, Christian Science, or Jehovah's Witnesses as not distinctly Christian.
History of religion in the United States
The fundamental premise of evangelicalism is the conversion of individuals from a state of sin to a "new birth" through preaching of the Bible leading to faith. The First Great Awakening led to changes in American colonial society. In New England, the Great Awakening was influential among many Congregationalists. In the Middle and Southern colonies, especially in the "Backcountry" regions, the Awakening was influential among Presbyterians. In the South Baptist and Methodist preachers converted both whites and enslaved blacks.
Eastern Orthodox theology
The Eastern Orthodox Church considers itself to be the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church established by Christ and his apostles. For the early years of the church, much of what was conveyed to its members was in the form of oral teachings. Within a very short period of time traditions were established to reinforce these teachings. The Eastern Orthodox Church asserts to have been very careful in preserving these traditions. When questions of belief or new concepts arise, the Church always refers back to the original faith. Eastern Orthodox see the Bible as a collection of inspired texts that sprang out of this tradition, not the other way around; and the choices made in forming the New Testament as having come from comparison with already firmly established faith. The Bible has come to be a very important part of "Tradition", but not the only part.
Evangelicalism
Evangelicals dissatisfied with the movement's conservative mainstream have been variously described as progressive evangelicals, post-conservative evangelicals, Open Evangelicals and post-evangelicals. Progressive evangelicals, also known as the evangelical left, share theological or social views with other progressive Christians while also identifying with evangelicalism. Progressive evangelicals commonly advocate for women's equality, pacifism and social justice.
American Association of Christian Colleges and Seminaries
To qualify for membership, institutions must subscribe to a statement of faith whose provisions include the inerrancy of the Bible; belief in creation, not evolution; belief in the Incarnation, the Virgin Birth, and the deity of Jesus Christ; belief in the necessity of the New Birth; and belief in salvation by grace through faith. Additionally, the AACCS asserts that associations with the World Council of Churches, the National Council of Churches, the modern charismatic movement, the ecumenical movement, and new evangelicalism are "contradictory to the mandates of Scripture and inconsistent with [AACCS' purposes]."
Capitol City Baptist Church (West Avenue, Quezon City)
CCBC believes in the Bible as the ultimate source for all its teachings and practices. Specifically, the church believes in the trinity, and that Jesus died for the sins of man so that all who place their faith in him are saved from damnation. CCBC places very strong emphasis on evangelism as is evident in its mission and purpose statements; its mission statement is "In the heart of the nation, with the nations at heart," while its purpose statement is "Strategically Engaged in Nations’ Discipleship through Christ-centered Community Transformation Birthing and Building up Churches (SEND CCBC)."
Emerging church
The emerging church claims they are creating a safe environment for those with opinions ordinarily rejected within modern conservative evangelicalism and fundamentalism. Non-critical, interfaith dialog is preferred over dogmatically-driven evangelism in the movement. Story and narrative replaces the dogmatic:
Evangelical Catholic
Some members of various Christian denominations may use the term "Evangelical Catholic" to indicate the fact that they are evangelical and maintain their catholicity. For example, Methodists and Presbyterians believe their denominations owe their origins to the Apostles and the early church, but do not claim descent from ancient church structures such as the episcopate. However, both of these churches hold that they are a part of the catholic (universal) church. According to "Harper's New Monthly Magazine": As such, according to one viewpoint, for those who "belong to the Church," the term Methodist Catholic, or Presbyterian Catholic, or Baptist Catholic, is as proper as the term Roman Catholic. It simply means that body of Christian believers over the world who agree in their religious views, and accept the same ecclesiastical forms.
Episcopal Missionary Church
The Episcopal Missionary Church affirms the Holy Scriptures as containing all things necessary to salvation and as the ultimate rule and standard of faith. The Church acknowledges the Nicene and Apostles' Creeds and the necessity of the Sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion. It uses the 1928 American edition of the Book of Common Prayer or the Anglican Missal based upon it, and emphasizes the preservation of apostolic succession. The Episcopal Missionary Church embraces a variety of liturgical styles from Low Church to High Church Evangelical to Anglo-Catholic.
National Association of Evangelicals
We believe that for the salvation of lost and sinful people, regeneration by the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential.
National Association of Evangelicals
We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit by whose indwelling the Christian is enabled to live a godly life.
Anglicanism
Anglicans believe the catholic and apostolic faith is revealed in Holy Scripture and the Catholic creeds and interpret these in light of the Christian tradition of the historic church, scholarship, reason and experience.
Evangelical Anglicanism
By 1844, two-thirds of Episcopal clergy were evangelical. Nevertheless, the growing influence of the Anglo-Catholic Oxford Movement on Episcopal Church leaders worried evangelicals. They experienced a loss of confidence in the church's institutions after 1844 when the church's General Convention refused to label the Oxford Movement a heresy. Their own attempts to stem the tide through heresy trials ultimately failed as well. In response, evangelicals chose to form their own distinctly evangelical Episcopal voluntary societies to promote education and evangelism, such as the Protestant Episcopal Society for the Promotion of Evangelical Knowledge (which later merged with what is now known as the Episcopal Evangelism Society) and the American Church Missionary Society (which was modelled on the English society).
Episcopal Church (United States)
The Episcopal Church follows the "via media" or "middle way" between Protestant and Roman Catholic doctrine and practices: that is both Catholic and Reformed. Although many Episcopalians identify with this concept, those whose convictions lean toward either evangelicalism or Anglo-Catholicism may not.
Evangelical charismatic movement
The Evangelical charismatic movement represents the evangelical churches that have an emphasis on the gifts of the Spirit. Started in the United States in the 1960s, the "second wave" has influenced churches of all Christian denominations and contributed to the creation of many independent evangelical churches. The movement is distinguished from Pentecostalism by not making the speaking in tongues (glossolalia) a necessary evidence of Spirit baptism and giving prominence to the diversity of spiritual gifts. According to figures from Pew Research Center in 2011, the movement identifies 305 million believers.
Evangelicalism in the United States
The Institute for the Study of American Evangelicals states:
There are three senses in which the term "evangelical" is used today at the beginning of the 21st-century. The first is to view "evangelical" as all Christians who affirm a few key doctrines and practical emphases. British historian David Bebbington approaches evangelicalism from this direction and notes four specific hallmarks of evangelical religion: conversionism, the belief that lives need to be changed; activism, the expression of the gospel in effort; biblicism, a particular regard for the Bible; and crucicentrism, a stress on the sacrifice of Christ on the cross.
Christianity in the United States
As shown in the table below, some denominations with similar names and historical ties to Evangelical groups are considered Mainline. 
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement. In typical usage, the term "mainline" is contrasted with "evangelical". Theologically conservative critics accuse the mainline churches of "the substitution of leftist social action for Christian evangelizing, and the disappearance of biblical theology," and maintain that "All the Mainline churches have become essentially the same church: their histories, their theologies, and even much of their practice lost to a uniform vision of social progress." Most adherents consider the key characteristics of evangelicalism to be: a belief in the need for personal conversion (or being "born again"); some expression of the gospel in effort; a high regard for Biblical authority; and an emphasis on the death and resurrection of Jesus. David Bebbington has termed these four distinctive aspects "conversionism," "activism", "biblicism", and "crucicentrism", saying, "Together they form a quadrilateral of priorities that is the basis of Evangelicalism."
Evangelical Anglicanism
The new evangelicals would provide the strongest opposition to the liberal trajectory of the Episcopal Church, especially regarding progressive views on homosexuality. In the late 1980s, evangelicals began to form organizations aimed at promoting and defending their understanding of Anglican orthodoxy and changing liberal church policies. In 1996, Alden Hathaway, the Bishop of Pittsburgh, founded the American Anglican Council to represent evangelicals at the national level. Unable to alter the liberal program of the Episcopal Church, evangelical Episcopalians and their Anglo-Catholic allies looked to Anglican churches in the Global South for help in a process called Anglican realignment.
Protestantism
Evangelicalism, or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, transdenominational movement which maintains that the essence of the gospel consists in the doctrine of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ's atonement.
Evangelist (Latter Day Saints)
Joseph Smith echoed Cowdery's statement in 1842, in a letter to a Chicago newspaper editor outlining the church's basic beliefs. Smith said that his religion "believe[s] in the same organization that existed in the primitive church, viz: apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists".
List of Christian denominations
Evangelicalism is a transdenominational Protestant movement which maintains the belief that the essence of the Gospel consists of the doctrine of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ's atonement.These churches are the result of a merger between distinct denominational churches. Churches are listed here when their disparate heritage marks them as inappropriately listed in the particular categories above.
Acceptance of evolution by religious groups
This view is generally accepted by major Christian churches, including the Catholic Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Episcopal Church USA, and some other mainline Protestant denominations; virtually all Jewish denominations; and other religious groups that lack a literalist stance concerning some holy scriptures. Various biblical literalists have accepted or noted openness to this stance, including theologian B.B. Warfield and evangelist Billy Graham. A 2007 poll showed that acceptance among American Buddhists, Hindus and Jews was higher than among any Christian groups (graph below). One recent survey, conducted by physicist Max Tegmark, on "of how different US faith communities view origins science, particularly evolution and Big Bang cosmology." Although "Gallup reports that 46% of Americans believe that God created humans in their present form less than 10,000 years ago", it found "only 11% belong to religions openly rejecting evolution."
Robin Meyers
Meyers eschews evangelical Christianity's emphasis on salvation and does not think that Christians need to believe in conventional marks of the Church, including Jesus' physical resurrection, ascension into heaven, virgin birth or position as the son of God. Rather, he believes that religious leaders should address social issues such as greed, saying that "money is the last taboo in church". He links this issue to social justice and perceptions of inequality in the judicial system, in that "we'll send an African-American teenager off to the slammer who robs a 7-Eleven, but we won't do anything to a banker who helped cause the collapse of the entire banking system".
TEAM (The Evangelical Alliance Mission)
TEAM's purpose is to help churches send missionaries to establish reproducing churches among the nations to the glory of God. TEAM is an evangelical mission agency which, in alliance with churches around the world, has planted and established Bible-believing congregations on every continent. TEAM personnel contribute to this goal as they live out their faith through many avenues, including education, media and literature, relief and development and health-care.Official site of The Evangelical Alliance Mission
Evangelical Catholic
The Augsburg Confession found within the Book of Concord, a compendium of belief of the Lutheran Churches, teaches that "the faith as confessed by Luther and his followers is nothing new, but the true catholic faith, and that their churches represent the true catholic or universal church". When the Lutherans presented the Augsburg Confession to Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor in 1530, they believed it "showed that each article of faith and practice was true first of all to Holy Scripture, and then also to the teaching of the church fathers and the councils".
The Augsburg Confession further states that:...one holy Church is to continue forever. The Church is the congregation of saints, in which the Gospel is rightly taught and the Sacraments are rightly administered.In Lutheranism, the term "evangelical catholic" has a specific meaning. Lutheran Protestantism differs historically from most other kinds of Protestantism in that Lutheranism is the only historical Protestant denomination that confesses belief in the efficacy of the sacraments: regeneration in Holy Baptism, Confession as the sacrament of Absolution, and the Real Presence of Christ in Holy Eucharist. In Anglicanism there has also been a sacramentalism similar to that in orthodox Lutheranism, especially in the high church movement. The Book of Concord states, contrary to "Enthusiast" belief, that salvation can be received only through the means of grace: God's Word and sacraments. The Augsburg Confession stresses that "in doctrine and ceremonies nothing has been received on our part against Scripture or the Catholic Church." Article XXIV of the Augsburg Confession "Of the Mass" states: "Falsely are our churches accused of abolishing the Mass; for the Mass is retained among us, and celebrated with the highest reverence." Some Lutheran church bodies claim to also have retained the historical episcopate and apostolic succession.