The Doctrine Committee is appointed by the Faith and Order Board of the General Synod of the Scottish Episcopal Church to advise the Board on matters of doctrine and theology. Theology held within the catholic and living historical traditions of the Christian Church underpins the life and ministry of the SEC and its liturgy.
The theology and doctrine of the Church are grounded in history and yet also held within the changing conditions of culture and society, reflecting both the timelessness of Christian truth and its place within contemporary human history. The Church is called to be ever attentive to the voice of the Holy Spirit, its theology seeking to be an expression of faith and belief that employs the full resources of the human mind, body and spirit.
The Doctrine Committee consists of both lay and ordained members of the SEC dedicated to advise the Church and the College of Bishops in matters of theology and doctrine, either in response to particular requests made through the Faith and Order Board, or in undertaking broader tasks, for example, through the publication of the Grosvenor Essays or the recent volume of essays entitled Truth and the Church in a Secular Age (2019). In recent years the Committee has provided theological material to aid the Church in its consideration of major issues such as the nature of marriage or in the revision of its liturgy.
The Committee is a theological resource of the Church and is available for use as such. Its membership is drawn from practising members of the SEC and its publications do not represent any ‘position’ within the Church. Its role is to teach theology where appropriate and to enable the Church to engage with theological issues at different levels and in different ways.
Members of the Committee participate in the life and teaching of the Scottish Episcopal Institute in its task of training and education.
At present the Doctrine Committee has released the latest Grosvenor Essay, No. 13, Theology of Authority in the Ministry of the Church.
It is contributing to the work of the Liturgy Committee in its task of revising the 1982 Liturgy.
It is embarking on a new book of essays which will be concerned with religious anthropology and what it means for humankind to be created in the image of God.
