What We Believe

As a community of disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ we heartily believe and proclaim that the final authority in matters of faith and life is Scripture alone. We believe the Bible explicitly teaches that salvation is by grace alone, in Christ alone, and that we are justified through faith alone, all to the glory of God alone. These truths stand as central pillars of our faith, worship and witness.

Persuaded that all Scripture is God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:21) we believe our better grasp of Scripture is to be had in connection with the wider Body of Christ, and we affirm the summary of the major doctrines of Scripture as presented in the Westminster Confession of Faith (1647) and Larger and Shorter Catechisms (1647-8).

Though these subordinate standards themselves are not inspired, and open to Scriptural scrutiny, they pursued uniformity in doctrine, worship, discipline and government in England, Scotland and Ireland.  We believe these documents continue to provide strength and stability to Christ’s Church throughout the world as she strives to be truly one in faith, hope and love.

It is a treasured part of our Reformed heritage to have such aids to understanding Scripture, and some of our own Ministers in recent years have written group study guides on these documents.  See our resources.  See also A Brief Guide to PCI.

The following is drawn from the Presbyterian Church in Ireland website and used with permission.

The Mission Statement below was received by the General Assembly in June 1992 at its meeting to mark the 350th anniversary of the establishment of the first Presbytery in Ireland.

THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN IRELAND,
as a Reformed Church within the wider body of Christ
is grounded in the Scriptures,
and exists to love and honour God
through faith in His Son and by the power of His Spirit,
and to enable her members to play their part
in fulfilling God’s mission to our world.

GOD CALLS US TO A SHARED LIFE
in which we love, honour and are reconciled to one another
whilst respecting our diversity
within the Presbyterian Church in Ireland.
We are called to encourage
the exercise of the gifts of every member of the Body
for the work of ministry and,
seeking the renewal of the whole Church,
to co-operate with other parts of Christ’s Church
without betrayal of our convictions.

GOD CALLS US TO WORSHIP HIM with our whole lives,
meeting together in groups large and small
and gathering especially on the Lord’s Day
for the preaching and study of His Word,
the celebration of the sacraments
and the offering of prayer and praise with reverence and joy,
using language, form and music appropriate
both to Scripture and to our time and culture.

GOD CALLS US TO MISSION as witnesses to Christ
through both evangelism and social witness
challenging the values of the world in which we live
with the values of God’s kingdom
and winning men and women to faith and discipleship.
This mission is to be pursued amongst all the people of Ireland
and the peoples of the European Community and the whole world:
those with whom we feel comfortable,
those from whom we feel alienated
and those who are in any way distant from us in culture and faith.

WE OURSELVES ARE CHALLENGED with a biblical discipleship
which is radical in its
self denial,
simplicity of lifestyle,
stewardship of money,
faithful relationships,
prayerfulness,
concern for the world which God has created
and love for its people whom he loves
and for whose salvation He gave his Son.

From Presbyterian Church in Ireland website.