As Christians, we are so grateful that we were made, are sustained and have been completely saved by God Himself, through Jesus, by the Holy Spirit. It is Jesus’ death and physical resurrection that gives us a certain hope that our lives lived in repentance and trust in Him are not in vain, but after death we will be with Him forever. Each day we seek to live remembering this reality.
For a more formal explanation of what we believe, our staff and speakers hold to the reformed Church of England doctrines contained in the 39 Articles of Religion and The Book of Common Prayer.
The following commonly-used doctrinal statement is a useful summary:
- The divine inspiration and infallibility of Holy Scripture, as originally given, and its supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct.
- The unity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit in the Godhead.
- The universal sinfulness and guilt of human nature since the fall, rendering man subject to God’s wrath and condemnation.
- The conception of Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit and his birth of the virgin Mary.
- Redemption from the guilt, penalty and power of sin, only through the sacrificial death, as our representative and substitute, of Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son of God.
- The bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
- The necessity of the work of the Holy Spirit to make the death of Christ effective in the individual sinner, granting him repentance toward God and faith in Jesus Christ.
- The indwelling and work of the Holy Spirit in the believer.
- The expectation of the personal return of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Response to Living in Love and Faith
As a Church of England church, St Botolph’s has had to respond to the recent proposals of the Bishops to allow blessings for same-sex relationships within the Church of England. Here is an extract from a letter sent to the Bishop of London in November 2022, which summarises our theological position on the issue. Following the Bishops’ decision to bring the proposals to General Synod in February 2023, we have sadly been compelled to break partnership with our Diocesan Bishop who has made her own position very clear. The St Botolph’s Guild Church Council sent a letter to Bishop Sarah on 27 March expressing publicly our new state of broken partnership.
Further to this, our Guild Vicar, the Revd P Martin, has become part of a (new) City Deanery Chapter, elected Acting Area Dean. See the video announcement.