Our Formal Position on Extracanonical Scriptures

Like the Roman Catholic Church, the Holy Nicholean Catholic Church affirms that the canonical scriptures produce the only authoritative written source for theological doctrine; however, our tradition derives philosophical inspiration through the careful reflection of other sources. While we consider only canonical scripture to be appropriate for liturgical ceremony, the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of both the Old and New Testament periods form a more complete vision of early Christian diversity. Additionally, the Nag Hammadi library increases our spiritual wealth in the form of mystical truth and reality. Again, while we do not recognize these extracanonical sources to be authoritative within the context of our own theology, we refuse to recognize them as heretical. Early Christianity was an extremely diversified religious experience. As such, we intend to preserve this spirit within the rich mystical tradition of our church.