What Christians Believe
At its heart Christianity is Christ – Jesus Christ.
When we talk about ‘Christianity’ we are talking about a person rather than simply a set of ideas, and because we are talking about a person we are talking about a relationship. The sort of relationship that Christianity offers can be found in the name Christ.
Christ is actually a title. It means ‘the anointed one’, or in its original language ‘Messiah’. This means that Christians believe that Jesus is God’s anointed one, who came and ‘dwelt among us’ (John 1:14). The reason that this is so important is that in Jesus we receive the offer of reconciliation with God. Jesus was anointed to bear the consequence of our turning aside from God to our own ways, and then provide the way for our estrangement to end.
A Christian is one who accepts the work that Jesus Christ has done to reconcile them to God (2 Cor 5:20). Being a Christian then means ‘following after’, or being a disciple of Jesus. This means that Christians given the wonderful privilege of becoming part of God’s mission to the world.
So our Diocesan Dream is that:
We dream of a Diocese where the love of Jesus transforms individuals and communities.
Summaries of the Christian faith are found in the Apostles and Nicene Creeds. You can find them at here.
The Anglican Diocese of Canberra and Goulburn
The Diocese of Canberra and Goulburn is one of 23 Dioceses that make up the Anglican Church of Australia. Anglican Christianity was shaped in England from the third century and spread to Australia with British settlers in the eighteenth century.
Anglicans hold to the Christian faith as received from apostolic times and believe the scriptures of Old and New Testament are our ultimate rule and standard of life. We are committed to obeying the commands of Christ, teaching his doctrine, administering the sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion and maintaining an ordered ministry of bishops, priests and deacons.
We believe that in following Jesus, people’s lives will be changed for the better. We invite you to take this journey of transformation with us.
Jesus’ vision of life lived God’s way has never dimmed. His life, death, resurrection and ascension means that transformation is not some vague wish but the reality into which we are called to live as players, not bystanders. The diocesan dream shows how we can share in Jesus’ vision. It highlights the principles on which we build and makes clear the priorities that will shape our life together.