The Episcopal Free Community, Belgrade, Serbia is firmly grounded on the conviction that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is a message of love (the “Great Commandments” St. Matthew 22:36-40) and all Christians are called to share the Good News with others (the “Great Commission” St. Matthew 28:18-20). This responsibility is not limited to those serving in the ordained ministry, but is an integral part of living a peaceful life of faith, reason and justice.
The Episcopal Free Community, Belgrade, Serbia joins other progressive Christians in seeking to reclaim the ancient Christian faith as a relative faith tradition for the contemporary world by returning to the model of community, mission and fellowship that characterized the early Church (Acts 2:46, 47).
The Episcopal Free Community, Belgrade, Serbia is committed to assisting, guiding and serving people who want to make a difference in their lives, their communities and the world, by planting and developing small local faith communities. This is not a new concept, but one that has been tried, proven and continues to be developed around the world. Known as Base Christian Communities, these local networks of people gather together to share, learn and support each other in the quest of telling others about the inclusive and liberating love of God in Christ.
A local faith community is a group of people who gather to pray, study the Scriptures, worship, celebrate the Eucharist and to live out the Baptismal Covenant together. Some of these communities have grown and decided to become a more traditional “parish church” or congregation, while others choose to remain a rather informal community. When the number of people in the community network grows beyond what can be comfortably accommodated in a home or local meeting place, some will start another local community and begin reaching others who were not a part of the community before.
The ancient Church was a communion of local faith communities much like these, united with one another in a network of support, teaching, prayer and fellowship [St. Matthew 18:20, Acts 2: 42-47, Acts 20:20, 1 Cor. 16:19, Romans 16:5, etc.].
The Episcopal Free Community, Belgrade, Serbia seeks to establish, develop and experience the fellowship of Spirit filled apostolic communities, such as those of the ancient Church, in the midst of the complexities of the modern world.
To learn more about starting a progressive Christian community or ministry in your area, contac here.