Apostolic Church (Eurth)

Apostolic Church
Ecclesia Apostolica Den apostoliske kirke
Cathedral of St. Nicholas, Granstad
Type	Latin Christian
Classification	Continuing church
Orientation	Catholic
Scripture	Bible, Apostolicon
Theology	Nicolaitan theology
Polity	Episcopal
Governance	College of Bishops
Structure	Communion
Don	Stefan Rendahl
Particular churches sui iuris	24: Latin Church, and 23 Eastern Catholic Churches
Dioceses	Archdioceses: 640 Dioceses: 2,851
Parishes	221,700
Language	Ecclesiastical Latin, Isen, regional languages
Liturgy	Agenda of Public Worship
Headquarters	Cathedral of St. Nicholas, Granstad, Isenheim
Founder	Jesus Christ
Origin	Pentecost Holy Land
Separated from	Salvian Catholic Church
Absorbed	small numbers of Eastern Christians
Members	XX million
Clergy	Bishops: XX Priests: XX Deacons: XX
Tax status	tax-exempt
Other name(s)	Rosicrucian Church, Marianite Church,

The Nicolaitan Church, known to its communicants variously as the Apostolic Church, Remonstrant Church, or simply the Church, is a Christian church on Eurth. It is the established religion in Isenheim, and the Church in Isenheim is the mother polity of the global communion, which consists otherwise of a number of regionally and nationally organized missionary dioceses. The Archbishop of Granstad, Primate of the church in Isenheim and the ruler of the country, is also ordinary of the Nicolaitan Church, and it was Nicholas Kleven, a bishop of Granstad, who sparked the Nicolaitan Reform. alte

The textual foundations of the Nicolaitan Church are the Bible and the Apostolicon, which it holds contain the essential teachings of the Christian faith that are necessary for membership in the church and thus salvation. The Nicolaitan Church teaches that it is a remnant of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church personally established by Jesus Christ and that it is infallible insofar as it repeats the truths revealed by Christ and doctrinally defined by the Apostles and the Fathers of the church in sacred tradition. It teaches that continuing infallibility in matters of faith and morals was lost to the church as a result of the diarchic compromise of papal authority by the Tacolic-Salvian Catholic Church, holding that there can be only one successor to Saint Peter.

The church recognizes seven sacraments, and teaches that these sacraments, validly instituted in The Salvian Church (but not the Tacolic Church) among others, are the manifestation of the visible church "against which the gates of hell will not prevail" and through which eternal life is made possible, despite the loss of infallibility and the visible papacy. The church teaches that the greatest of these sacraments is the Eucharist, bread and wine which, in the sacramental union, becomes the actual body and blood of Jesus Christ. The Eucharist is the focal point of the Mass, the communal liturgical ritual of the church, which is modeled closely on the Latin Rite of the Salvian Church and can only be celebrated by a minister ordained via laying of hands by a Bishop, under the principle of apostolic succession.

The Nicolaitan Church teaches that salvation is achieved by the Grace of God alone and that, as a result of original sin, man is totally depraved and unable to truly respond to God's call, but that through prevenient grace we are given the ability to freely choose the path of righteousness. It encourages devotion to Mary, the mother of Jesus, ascribing to her the titles Mother of God and Mediatrix of All Graces.

The Nicolaitans are unique in advocating the direct, secular authority of bishops as not only acceptable, but as a positive application of the gospel message. As a result, they have often faced persecution from hostile governments outside of Isenheim, one of the main reasons for the church's failure to attract a diverse international following: however, Isenheim's high levels of immigration and fertility in the twentieth century have led to the establishment of significant diasporic communities worldwide, served by a number of missionary dioceses. In recent decades, the church's teachings on women, sexuality, and soteriology have attracted criticism from other Christian groups and non-Christians.

Name

Nicolaitan was a term used by the Tacolic-Salvian opponents of the followers of Nicholas Kleven. This term was popularized in the tradition of naming perceived heresies after their originators, and also to associate the movement with the heresy of Nicolaism, mentioned in the Book of Revelation. Other exonyms include Marianite, referring to the strong devotion to Mary among Nicolaitans, and Rosicrucian, from the Latin Rosae (rosy) and Crucis (cross), referring to the symbol of the Church. The endonym preferred by Kleven and in widespread use since his time is Apostolic, from the Greek ἀπόστολος (Apostolos), linking his doctrine with that of the Apostles, the Early Church more generally, and apostolic succession. A member of the Apostolic Church is an Apostolic Christian, not an Apostle. When no distinction is necessary, communicants often refer simply to "the Church." The term Remonstrant, in reference to the Articles of Remonstrance, is a neutral one used by both members of the Church and non-members, and is preferred in modern academic literature. Also used is Kirke, Isen for church.