
I, N.,
with a firm faith believe and profess each and everything which is
contained in the Creed which the Holy Roman Church of the Anglican
Rite maketh use of. To wit:
I believe
in one God, The Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of
all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the Only-begotten
Son of God. Born of the Father before all ages. God of God, Light of
Light, true God of true God. Begotten, not made, of one substance
with the Father. By whom all things were made. Who for us men and for
our salvation came down from heaven. And became incarnate by the Holy
Spirit of the Virgin Mary: and was made man. He was also crucified
for us, suffered under Pontius Pilate, and was buried. And on the
third day He rose again according to the Scriptures. He ascended into
heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father. He will come again
in glory to judge the living and the dead and His kingdom will have
no end. And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of life, Who
proceeds from the Father and the Son. Who together with the Father
and the Son is adored and glorified, and who spoke through the
prophets. And one holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. I confess one
baptism for the forgiveness of sins and I await the resurrection of
the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen.
The
Apostolic and Ecclesiastical traditions and all other observances and
constitutions of that same Church I firmly admit to and embrace.
I also
accept the Holy Scripture according to that sense which holy mother
the Church hath held, and doth hold, and to whom it belongeth to
judge the true sense and interpretations of the Scriptures. Neither
will I ever take and interpret them otherwise than according to the
unanimous consent of the Fathers.
I also
profess that there are truly and properly Seven Sacraments of the New
Law, instituted by Jesus Christ our Lord, and necessary for the
salvation of mankind, though not all are necessary for everyone; to
wit, Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist, Penance, Extreme Unction, Holy
Orders, and Matrimony; and that they confer grace; and that of these,
Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Orders cannot be repeated without
sacrilege. I also receive and admit the accepted and approved
ceremonies of the Catholic Church in the solemn administration of the
aforesaid sacraments.
I embrace
and accept each and everything which has been defined and declared in
the holy Council of Trent concerning original sin and justification.
I profess,
likewise, that in the Mass there is offered to God a true, proper,
and propitiatory sacrifice for the living and the dead; and that in
the most holy sacrament of the Eucharist there is truly, really, and
substantially, the Body and Blood, together with the soul and
divinity, of our Lord Jesus Christ; and that a conversion takes place
of the whole substance of the bread into the Body, and of the whole
substance of the wine into the Blood, which conversion the Catholic
Church calleth Transubstantiation. I also confess that under either
species alone Christ is received whole and entire, and a true sacrament.
I
steadfastly hold that there is a Purgatory, and that the souls
therein detained are helped by the suffrages of the faithful.
Likewise, that the saints, reigning together with Christ, are to be
honored and invoked, and that they offer prayers to God for us, and
that their relics are to be venerated. I most firmly assert that the
images of Christ, of the Mother of God, ever virgin, and also of
other Saints, ought to be kept and retained, and that due honor and
veneration is to be given them.
I also
affirm that the power of indulgences was left by Christ in the
Church, and that the use of them is most wholesome to Christian people.
I
acknowledge the Holy Catholic Apostolic Roman Church as the mother
and teacher of all Churches; and I also acknowledge the Bishop of
Rome as successor to Saint Peter, Prince of the Apostles, and Vicar
of Jesus Christ. I further acknowledge the Bishop of Saint Stephen as successor to Pope Leo X,
temporal successor to St. Peter the Apostle in Italy and Britain, and Legate of Christ.
I likewise
undoubtedly receive and profess all other things delivered, defined,
and declared by the sacred Canons, and general Councils, and
particularly by the holy Council of Trent, and by the ecumenical
Council of the Vatican, particularly concerning the primacy of the
Roman Pontiff and his infallible teaching. I condemn, reject, and
anathematize all things contrary thereto, and all heresies which the
Church hath condemned, rejected, and anathematized.
This true
Catholic faith, outside of which no one can be saved, which I now
freely profess and to which I truly adhere, I do so profess and swear
to maintain inviolate and with firm constancy with the help of God
until the last breath of life. And I shall strive, as far as
possible, that this same faith shall be held, taught, and professed
by all those over whom I have charge. I, N., do so pledge, promise,
and swear, so help me God and these Holy Gospels of God.