PCANZ Supreme and Subordinate Standards
The Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand is ‘part of the one holy, catholic and apostolic church recognizing Jesus Christ as its Lord and Head’. (See the Book of Order 1.1 (1)).
The Church’s ‘supreme rule of faith and life’ and ‘supreme standard’ is ‘the Word of God contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments’. (See the Book of Order 1.1 (2).)
The Church’s ‘subordinate’ (i.e. secondary) standards are the contemporary Kupu Whakapono (2010) and Commentary, together with its historic reformed standards, the Westminster Confession of Faith (as interpreted by the Declaratory Act) and the Larger and Shorter Catechisms.
- Kupu Whakapono and Commentary (2010)
- Westminster Confession, the Larger and Shorter Catechisms, the Declaratory Act (1892-3),
Other creeds and confessions of faith significant to the PCANZ
The Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand also recognises (see Book of Order / 1.1 (7)) these other creeds and confessions as ‘authoritative statements of our Reformed heritage’:
- The Nicene Creed (381)
- The Apostles' Creed
- The Scots Confession (1560)
- The Heidelberg Catechism (1563)
- The Second Helvetic Confession (1566)
Other PCANZ statements of faith
- The Faith We Affirm Together (1968)
- A Simple Contemporary Statement of Faith (1969)
- An Affirmation of Faith (1993)
Statements of Faith as a single document
All of the confessions of significance to the Presbyterian Church, including Kupu Whakapono, and other relevant statements, can be downloaded as a single document set out in three sections as below:
- Download here the combined STATEMENTS OF FAITH document
- SECTION A | Subordinate Standards | The Kupu Whakapono and Commentary (2010) are subordinate standards of the Church, together with its historic Reformed standards, the Westminster Confession of Faith (as interpreted by the Declaratory Act) and the Larger and Shorter Catechisms.
- SECTION B | Catholic Creeds | As part of the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church, we continue to confess the Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds.
- SECTION C | Other confessional statements | The Church also recognises as authoritative statements of our Reformed heritage: The Scots Confession (1560), The Heidelberg Catechism (1563), The Second Helvetic Confession (1566). Other adopted confessions by our Church are The Faith We Affirm Together (1968), A Simple Contemporary Statement of Faith (1969), and An Affirmation of Faith (1993).