Swedenborgian Church of North America

For the General Convention of the Swedenborgian Church, see The New Church.
Cross of the Swedenborgian Church

The Swedenborgian Church in North America (also known as the General Convention of the Church of the New Jerusalem). The Administrative Offices of the denomination are located at 50 Quincy St., Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Beliefs

Church of the Holy City in Washington, D.C.

The Swedenborgian Church draws its faith from the Bible as illuminated by the teachings of Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772). In 2003, the Swedenborgian Church of North America had about 1,800 members, almost identical to the membership it had in 1981 but rather less than the 5,440 it had in 1925.[1]

As a loose affiliation of regional associations, the Swedenborgian Church does not make any statements as to the exact authority of Swedenborg's writings on the Bible or to the correctness of either. Each Society and member is given the responsibility to arrive at their own conclusions, and the denomination allows for discussion and debate. It is also liberal on social issues and sexual ethics, such as the ordination of women, homosexuality, and abortion.

Structure

The Swedenborgian Church has a congregational form of governance. Local churches, often called societies, form regional associations and those associations send delegates to an annual convention.

Affiliations

The Swedenborgian Church in North America is one of the Four Church Organizations that comprise The New Church. It is a member of the National Council of Churches USA. It also operates the Swedenborgian House of Studies at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California.

See also

References

  1. ↑ The Swedenborgian Church The Association of Religion Data Archives

    External links


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