Exalted Church
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 Exalted Church | |
|---|---|
| Ecclesia Elevatum (Latin) | |
 Dismas receiving the Exaltation | |
| Polity | Episcopal |
The Exalted Church, also known as the Exalted Church of the Penitent Faithful, is a Christian church and denomination with a large number of followers. It operates under a supervisory system in which the officials of particular dioceses operate independently, but are subject to review from the church's synod.
The theology of Exaltationism is described by the Apostolic Creed. The Exalted Church teaches that, while there are many paths to salvation described in the Bible, it is the preferred or "exalted" method of Jesus. Exaltation differs from other forms of salvation because of the elevation of St. Dismas, who was personally guaranteed an unconditional place in paradise by Jesus. The church maintains that it alone may grant exalted status and that it may even exalt those who are already dead.
Name
Exalt (from Latin "exaltō") is a term used for the treatment of Saint Dismas by Jesus during the early years of Christianity. Later, Jesus was considered an exalted form of God according to an interpretation of Matthew 28:18. Finally, The church claimed to have discovered the True Cross, which it opted to called the Exalted Cross. These three exaltations form the basis of the church's authority and theology.
Organization
Theology
The theology of exaltationism is drawn primarily from interpretations of the words of Jesus Christ. While there are other forms of truth and other sources which may inform Christians on right action, these are considered secondary and dispensable. Other theology comes through revelations to individuals from God and the testimonies of those individuals. All people experience revelations, which are real and unquestionable contacts with God. The testimonies of individuals are, however, prone to faults. For this reason, the official theology of exaltationism is composed only of testimonies that are accepted by the synod.
While official theology is governed strictly by the synod, there is no effort to the faulty testimonies of individuals. Since the revelations that people experience are real, despite their potential misunderstanding of them, all people are encouraged to share their revelations regularly.
God
Exaltationists believe that there is one supreme God who has several, mutually exclusive incarnations. The first incarnation was the Holy Spirit, which created everything and existed in a primordial state for the eternity prior to creation. After God created mankind and the covenants, the Holy Spirit's godhood was reincarnated as God the Father. The Holy Spirit continues to exist, but is no longer God. God the Son was incarnated as Jesus, who inherited the Father's godhood upon his death. The Father continued to exist, but is no longer God. Only Jesus, the Son, is God.
Trinitarianism is rejected by Exaltationists as a form of idolatry which implies that Jesus is not actually omnipotent and must share power with other persons. This makes it an incomplete form of faith.
Palingenesia
Jesus claims in Matthew 28:18 that he has been given authority over all things in heaven and on earth. Exaltationists believe that this means either God the Father is dead or inferior to Jesus, aka God the Son. Jesus is therefore the totality of God, since he has authority over all things, which means he is God made new in an exalted form.
The transmission of godhood, or the palingenesia, is one of the mysteries of the church which all of its members are encouraged to contemplate. Each stage of God's existence has important lessons for mankind to learn and the church's teachings reveal these truths.
Complete Faith
Complete faith refers to a rejection of vicarious atonement--humans being saved by the sacrifice of Jesus--and exclusive acceptance of the word of Jesus that people are saved. Justifications and explanations for why people are saved by Jesus constitutes an "incomplete" faith to Exaltists, since it depends on human understanding in a very literal sense, and because it implies that there is more information required for faith and salvation than the information provided by Jesus himself.
Part of the complete faith is also the rejection of Jesus as the sacrificial lamb. Jesus, being God, was in no way required to die in order to grant salvation to anyone at any time. The concept of the sacrificial lamb implies a limit to Jesus's authority, which constitutes an incomplete faith.
Only the complete faith results in complete salvation. There are other acceptable, but less complete faiths that may or may not result in salvation, but if they do, that salvation will be less than the exalted, complete form.