Article I.
We believe that the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments contain a revelation of the character of God, and of the duty, interest, and final destination of humankind.
What we believe
Statements of the Universalist faith
Christian Universalism is the conviction that the God revealed in Jesus Christ will, in the end, reconcile every person to himself. The teaching is older than the Universalist denomination: it was argued by Origen and Gregory of Nyssa in the early church and it has been held by Christians in many communions since. Of the many statements of faith that organised Universalist Christians have professed, the Winchester Profession of 1803 is the most widely and longest used.
The Winchester Profession
Adopted by the General Convention of Universalists at Winchester, New Hampshire, 22 September 1803
Article II.
We believe that there is one God, whose nature is Love, revealed in one Lord Jesus Christ, by one Holy Spirit of Grace, who will finally restore the whole human family to holiness and happiness.
Article III.
We believe that holiness and true happiness are inseparably connected, and that believers ought to be careful to maintain order and practice good works; for these things are good and profitable unto us all.
- Text
- The Profession as adopted in 1803, with “mankind” rendered “humankind”. No other change has been made.
- Source
- Printed in the minutes of the General Convention and in every Universalist manual thereafter; see Denominational Life and Guides in LibHUT.
- Rights
- Public domain.
History
The Winchester Profession is a statement of Universalist belief adopted in 1803 at Winchester, New Hampshire, by the General Convention of Universalists in the New England States. Unlike most historical creeds which were written to exclude, the Profession was deliberately crafted to be broad so that as many Universalists as possible could agree with it, even, if they disagreed on key questions. At the time, these disagreements concerned issues such as the nature of God, God's relationship to humanity, the doctrine of Christ, and the precise form universal salvation would take, specifically, whether the soul would face some punishment after death or be reconciled with God at once. The Profession remains as an inheritance of all Universalists.