An Ancient-Future Communion
The Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches (CEEC) is a communion of Evangelical and Charismatic Christians and churches who have been captured by the great, Apostolic Tradition of the Church. D.H. Williams writes:
"A nerve within contemporary evangelicalism has been hit and its effects are ushering in enormous potential change. Discussion of the place and value of the great Tradition is taking place among pastors and laity in denominations that have normally regarded it as irrelevant or as a hindrance to authentic Christian belief and spirituality."
This is a movement to retrieve what is found in the life and praxis of the ancient Apostolic Church into the modern church. We in the CEEC believe that remembering our Christian “roots” and “identity” in the midst of the decay of Western culture will guide us safely into the future. We contend that the road to the future for American Evangelicals runs through the past.
Standing within the Celtic and Anglican traditions, the CEEC was created by a convergence of the great historical expressions of faith and practice: the evangelical, charismatic, liturgical, and sacramental traditions. The fundamental principles defining inclusion in the Communion are detailed in the Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral of 1886.
The four basic statements are:
1. The Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, as "containing all the things necessary for salvation" and as being the rule and ultimate standard of faith.
2. The Apostles Creed, as the Baptismal Symbol; and the Nicene Creed, as the sufficient statement of faith.
3. The two Sacraments ordained by the Christ Himself - Baptism and the Supper of the Lord, ministered with unfailing use of Christ's words of institution, and the elements ordained by Him.
4. The Historic Episcopate, locally adapted in the methods of its administration to the varying needs of the nations and peoples called of God in the Unity of His Church.
In contrast to a denomination, a “communion” expresses the organic unity Jesus Christ originally established in his Body, the Church. Rather than emerging from divisions created by historic differences over doctrine and practice, a communion represents a return to the unanimity and singularity of the Apostolic and Patristic Church, while encompassing both protestant and catholic traditions, as well as embracing a multiplicity of expressions of worship and practice that proved fruitful throughout the Church’s history.