Who we Are
We are the Ecumenical Catholic Church + USA. We have maintained valid apostolic succession that can be traced back to the original Apostles and we faithfully dispense all the same seven Sacraments and Sacramentals of the one true Holy Catholic Church.
Even as a small church, the ECC+USA is a national church having ministries (parishes, chaplaincies, and religious institutes) throughout the United States. The ECC+USA is incorporated in the State of Missouri. Our Presiding Bishop and our national offices are in Missouri.
Our church website is: www.ecc-usa.org.
What we Believe
We believe in the Holy Trinity.
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We believe that Jesus is the Christ, that He is God,
and that He is our personal savior.
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We believe that the Blessed Virgin Mary is the Mother of Jesus,
worthy of honor, and worthy of liturgical observance and intercession in prayer.
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We believe in the inerrancy and divine inspiration of Holy Scriptures.
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We believe in the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.
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We believe in the three historic creeds:
Nicene, Apostles, and Athanasian.
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We believe and accept the doctrines of the Seven Early Church
Ecumenical Councils of the undivided catholic church.
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We believe and appreciate the wisdom and guidance of the Early Church Fathers.
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We believe in the seven sacraments of the Church:
Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Eucharist, Anointing and Prayers for the
Sick, Confession --Reconciliation, Marriage, and Holy Orders.
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We believe that Jesus Christ is present in the Eucharist, body and
blood under the appearance of bread and wine.
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We believe in and our clergy share in the Apostolic Succession of Holy Orders.
(All Ecumenical Catholic Church+USA bishops are consecrated in the Vilatte, Utrecht,
and Duarté-Costa lines of Apostolic Succession.)
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We believe that all Holy Orders (bishops, priests, and deacons)
are open to both men and women.
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We believe that celibacy for those in Holy Orders is a personal decision.
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We believe in the sanctity of marriage as a life long
commitment between a man and woman.
We also believe that within certain marriages there may be circumstances or conditions
that make life within that relationship unbearable or dangerous and thus divorce becomes appropriate or even necessary.
Realizing that Jesus is merciful and it is he alone who understands
fully the reality of any human decision,
the church welcomes to all the sacraments those who
have been divorced and/or remarried.
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We believe that all humankind is called to chastity and sexual
purity within their state in life.
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We believe that contraception is a personal decision of the married couple.
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We believe that all life is sacred.
We believe that abortion and euthanasia are the taking of human life.
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We believe that the Gospel commandment to "love others as we
love ourselves" is the key to living the Christian life
and it manifests itself in global concern for all peoples, patriotism for one's nation,
good citizenship, and responsible stewardship of our planet
Bishop David Kocka
