Apostolic Church (Eurth)

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Apostolic Church
Ecclesia Apostolica
Den apostoliske kirke
Nidarosdomen east 2006.jpg
Type Arhoman Christian
ClassificationContinuing church
OrientationCatholic
ScriptureBible, Patrum
TheologyRemonstrantism
PolityEpiscopal
GovernanceCollege of Bishops
StructureCommunion
DonStefan Rendahl
Dioceses
Parishes221,700
LanguageEcclesiastical Arhoman, Isenheimar, regional languages
LiturgyAgenda of Public Worship
HeadquartersCathedral of St. Nicholas, Granstad, Isenheim
FounderJesus Christ
OriginPentecost
Holy Land
Separated fromSalvian Catholic Church
Absorbedsmall numbers of Eastern Christians
MembersXX million
Clergy
Tax statustax-exempt
Other name(s)Rosicrucian Church, Marianite Church, Remonstrant Church, Gnesian Church, Evangelical Catholic Church

The Apostolic Church, generally known to non-communicants as the Nicolaitan 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 Patrum, 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 Arhoman 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 Arhoman 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, Isenheimar for church.


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Governance

Doctrine

Trinity

Nature of Christ

Church

consists of all believers

Justification

good works, private masses

Judgement

Free Will and Predestination

Law and Gospel

Theology of the Cross

Communion of Saints

Mary

Sacraments

Evangelical sacraments

Ecclesiastical sacraments

Worship and Practice

Liturgy

sacrifical aspect of the mass

Devotions

Disciplines

Texts

Scripture

The Credo

Patrum

Writings of the Latter Fathers

Worship books

Culture

Calendar

Architecture

rood screens

Art

Music

Clergy

Terminology

Education

Marriage

Dress

Social Teaching and Role

Economics and social justice

Services

The Family

Abortion and Birth control

Oecumene

Missionary work

Ecumenical dialogue and teaching

Interfaith dialogue and teaching

Relationship to Isenheimar Foreign Policy

Priests who fail in their vows are laicized.