The Swedenborgian Church in North America (also known as the General Convention of the Church of the New Jerusalem) is one of a few Christian sects that draws its faith from the Bible as illuminated by the teachings of

Emanuel Swedenborg Emanuel Swedenborg (, ; born Emanuel Swedberg; 29 March 1772) was a Swedish pluralistic-Christian theologian, scientist, philosopher and mystic. He became best known for his book on the afterlife, ''Heaven and Hell'' (1758). Swedenborg had ...

(1688–1772). The Administrative Offices of the denomination are located at 50 Quincy St.,

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Greater Boston, Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most ...

Beliefs

The church believes that the writings of Swedenborg expand upon a deeper understanding of the Christian bible. This new understanding began the second coming of Christ which is continually being manifested in spirit and truth rather than a physical appearance. The Swedenborgian Church of North America does not make any statements as to the exact authority of Swedenborg's writings on the Bible or to the correctness of either. Each Society and member is given the responsibility to arrive at their own conclusions, and the denomination allows for discussion and debate. It is also liberal on social issues and sexual ethics, such as the

ordination of women The ordination of women to ministerial or priestly office is an increasingly common practice among some contemporary major religious groups. It remains a controversial issue in certain Christian traditions and most denominations in which "ordin ...

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to pe ...

, and

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...

Structure

The Swedenborgian Church has a congregational form of governance. Local churches, often called societies, form regional associations and those associations send delegates to an annual convention. The

Center for Swedenborgian Studies The Center for Swedenborgian Studies (formerly called the New Church Theological School or NCTS and also previously known as the Swedenborgian House of Studies) is the seminary of the Swedenborgian Church of North America at the Graduate Theologic ...

operates as the denomination's theological training institution and seminary. The center is located at

Graduate Theological Union The Graduate Theological Union (GTU) is a consortium of eight private independent American theological schools and eleven centers and affiliates. Seven of the theological schools are located in Berkeley, California. The GTU was founded in 1962 ...

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and Emer ...

. The church also operates an online church called Swedenborgian Community Online which provides weekly resources on its website and social media. In 2003, the ''Swedenborgian Church of North America'' had about 1,800 members, almost identical to the membership it had in 1981 but rather less than the 5,440 it had in 1925.The Swedenborgian Church
The Association of Religion Data Archives New Jerusalem Church, Bridgewater, Massachusetts

New Jerusalem Church, Bridgewater, Massachusetts

Affiliations

The Swedenborgian Church in North America is one of the Four Church Organizations that comprise The New Church. It is a member of the

National Council of Churches The National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA, usually identified as the National Council of Churches (NCC), is the largest ecumenical body in the United States. NCC is an ecumenical partnership of 38 Christian faith groups in the Uni ...

USA.

Beliefs

Structure

Affiliations

See also

References

External links