Beliefs and Organization
The ICAB accepts the Nicene, Athanasian, and Apostles' creeds and observes seven sacraments (baptism, Eucharist, confirmation, penance, unction, ordination, and matrimony). ICAB practices open communion for all Christians who acknowledge the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. The church acknowledges divorce as a reality of life and permitted in Holy Scripture, and will marry divorced persons after the Ecclesiastical Process of Investigation and baptize the children of divorced or single parents.
ICAB teaches that birth control is acceptable in certain circumstances (such as for disease prevention). It opposes abortion, euthanasia, capital punishment, and any other taking of human life. The church has three administrative branches, in line with the conception of a nation state: executive (Episcopal Council), legislative (National Council), and judicial (Superior Ecclesiastical Court). There are currently 58 bishops and 47 dioceses within Brazil.
Read more about this topic: Brazilian Catholic Apostolic Church
Famous quotes containing the words beliefs and/or organization:
“It is not to be forgotten that what we call rational grounds for our beliefs are often extremely irrational attempts to justify our instincts.”
—Thomas Henry Huxley (1825–95)
“The art of government is the organization of idolatry. The bureaucracy consists of functionaries; the aristocracy, of idols; the democracy, of idolaters. The populace cannot understand the bureaucracy: it can only worship the national idols.”
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950)