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Supplement to Class 3:
What is the Episcopal Catechism on the Persons of the Trinity?

The following are excerpted from the catechism found in the 1979 Book of Common Prayer. They describe in question (Q) and answer (A) format some basic tenets of the church's view of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

God the Father

Q. What do we learn about God as creator from the
revelation to Israel?
A. We learn that there is one God, the Father Almighty,
creator of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and
unseen.

Q. What does this mean?
A. This means that the universe is good, that it is the work of
a single loving God who creates, sustains, and directs it.

Q. What does this mean about our place in the universe?
A. It means that the world belongs to its creator; and that
we are called to enjoy it and to care for it in accordance
with God’s purposes.

Q. What does this mean about human life?
A. It means that all people are worthy of respect and
honor, because all are created in the image of God, and
all can respond to the love of God.

Q. How was this revelation handed down to us?
A. This revelation was handed down to us through a
community created by a covenant with God.

God the Son

Q. What do we mean when we say that Jesus is the only
Son of God?
A. We mean that Jesus is the only perfect image of the
Father, and shows us the nature of God.

Q. What is the nature of God revealed in Jesus?
A. God is love.

Q. What do we mean when we say that Jesus was
conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and became
incarnate from the Virgin Mary?
A. We mean that by God’s own act, his divine Son received
our human nature from the Virgin Mary, his mother.

Q. Why did he take our human nature?
A. The divine Son became human, so that in him human
beings might be adopted as children of God, and be
made heirs of God’s kingdom.

Q. What is the great importance of Jesus’ suffering and
death?
A. By his obedience, even to suffering and death, Jesus
made the offering which we could not make; in him we
are freed from the power of sin and reconciled to God.

Q. What is the significance of Jesus’ resurrection?
A. By his resurrection, Jesus overcame death and opened
for us the way of eternal life.

Q. What do we mean when we say that he descended to the
dead?
A. We mean that he went to the departed and offered them
also the benefits of redemption.

Q. What do we mean when we say that he ascended into
heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father?
A. We mean that Jesus took our human nature into
heaven where he now reigns with the Father and
intercedes for us.

Q. How can we share in his victory over sin, suffering, and
death ?
A. We share in his victory when we are baptized into the
New Covenant and become living members of Christ.

The Holy Spirit

Q. Who is the Holy Spirit?
A. The Holy Spirit is the Third Person of the Trinity, God at
work in the world and in the Church even now.

Q. How is the Holy Spirit revealed in the Old Covenant?
A. The Holy Spirit is revealed in the Old Covenant as the
giver of life, the One who spoke through the prophets.

Q. How is the Holy Spirit revealed in the New Covenant?
A. The Holy Spirit is revealed as the Lord who leads us into
all truth and enables us to grow in the likeness of
Christ.

Q. How do we recognize the presence of the Holy Spirit in
our lives?
A. We recognize the presence of the Holy Spirit when we
confess Jesus Christ as Lord and are brought into love
and harmony with God, with ourselves, with our
neighbors, and with all creation.

Q. How do we recognize the truths taught by the Holy
Spirit?
A. We recognize truths to be taught by the Holy Spirit
when they are in accord with the Scriptures.

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