— Section 1.0The mandate, in full

"To connect church and state in their highest possible form — pastoral authority paired with civic and diplomatic competence — and so to extend the open door of the Kingdom of God to persons and to institutions, that they may be welcomed, served, and accompanied."

This sentence, entered into the archive under reference CHT-SEC-2024-0914-0001 §I, governs every act of the Embassy.

— Section 2.0What it means in practice

• Pastoral authority paired with civic competence — officers are trained in the care of souls and in diplomatic procedure.
• The open door — eight thresholds, documented and welcomed individually.
• Persons and institutions — the pilgrim and the foreign ministry are received with the same dignity.
• Welcomed, served, accompanied — the three verbs of the mandate. Every act must answer at least one.

— Section 3.0How the mandate measures the work

On 14 September each year, the Office of the Secretariat reads the mandate aloud and reviews the past year's acts against it. Acts that do not serve the mandate are not repeated. This is why the Embassy moves slowly — we measure twice and act once.

— Section 1.0What we believe

We confess the historic Christian faith as summarised in the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds — one God in three Persons; the incarnation, life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ; the sending of the Holy Spirit; one holy catholic and apostolic Church; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; the life everlasting.

We hold the Old and New Testaments to be the inspired Scripture of the Church, read in its liturgy and understood within its living tradition.

— Section 2.0How we hold the Church

The Church is older than any state. She is the body of which Christ is the Head. She is not coterminous with any one communion, though she is made visible in the historic communions. The Embassy is of the Holy Church of Jesus Christ and extends its door to every Christian communion as sister. We do not claim to replace the Holy See, the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Communion of Oriental Churches, the Anglican Communion, or the confessions of the Reformation.

— Section 3.0How we hold the State

The State is God's servant for good (Romans 13). Its authority is real, limited, and accountable. The Embassy honours the legitimate state and expects the same. Where a state asks the Church to cross a line the Church cannot cross, the Church does not cross it.

— Section 4.0The open door, ecumenically

The open door is not indifference. It is hospitality with substance. We do not pretend the differences between communions are trivial; we do confess that the one Lord has one Body, and that our work is to strengthen the visible bonds where it is given us.

— Section 1.0What KGD-HCJC is

KGD-HCJC is an international organisation operating at the intersection of statecraft and faith. It functions in the spirit of a non-governmental organisation with elevated standing, seated at Vienna and New York, active worldwide with primary operations in the United States and Western Europe.

Its mandate is to connect church and state in their highest possible form. Senior officers hold diplomatic credentials issued under the framework of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (1961) through bilateral arrangement.

— Section 2.0What KGD-HCJC is not

Precision about our limits is itself a signal of our seriousness.

• KGD-HCJC is not a sovereign state within the meaning of the Montevideo Convention. We do not issue passports, levy taxes, or lay territorial claim.
• KGD-HCJC is not an impersonation of any existing recognised state or the Holy See. We do not adopt their seals, heraldry, or formal titles.
• KGD-HCJC does not speak for the entirety of the Christian Church. We extend an open door ecumenically; we do not claim to represent any communion other than our own.

— Section 3.0Under the framework of the Vienna Convention

Senior officers hold credentials accredited under the Vienna Convention through bilateral understanding with host states. Diplomatic privileges extended are those agreed in each bilateral instrument — never claimed unilaterally, never exceeding what is granted.

"The receiving State shall accord full facilities for the performance of the functions of the mission." — Vienna Convention, Article 25 (applied here through bilateral arrangement, not universal claim).

— Section 4.0Governing charter

Public document, EN and LA, with further translations rolling in. Signed, dated, sealed, archived under reference CHT-SEC-2024-0914-0001.

— Section 5.0Verifying a credential

Every credential — Pilgrim Testimonium, Letter of Accreditation, Certificate of Educational Service, Consultative Memorandum — carries a permanent reference and a verification URL at kgd-hcjc.int/verify.

— Path 1Officer

Full-time service. Officers hold accreditation, sign acts, and serve under formal commission. Discerned over years, not months.

— Path 2Lay Associate

Dedicated lay service in a defined capacity — pilgrim accompaniment, archive work, ecumenical correspondence, hospitality at a Mission.

— Path 3Friend of the Embassy

The widest path. Friends receive the Embassy's quarterly letter, an invitation to the annual reading on 14 September, and the right to be heard by the Secretariat. Owe nothing in return except courtesy.

— Before any pathWhat we ask

• Are you free — under no contrary commitment that would compromise your service?
• Are you sober — settled in your judgement, not seeking to escape some other situation by entering ours?
• Are you patient — willing to be received slowly, on the Embassy's pace?

— Section 1.0Mandate of the Mission

The Mission at Vienna is the Embassy's Mission of Record. It holds the archive of our official acts in their original languages and serves as the site where accreditations are ceremonially extended and received.

Beyond its archival function, Vienna coordinates the European programme of pilgrim tours, educational services, exchange, and consultation. Pilgrims from continental Europe are received here; students passing through Austria, Germany, Switzerland, and adjacent states are oriented here.

The Mission maintains warm correspondence with the Holy See, the Ecumenical Patriarchate through its Viennese metropolitanate, the Austrian Bishops' Conference, and sister communions — Lutheran, Reformed, Anglican, Free Church, and independent — who have extended their hand. Our doors are open also to the ministries of foreign affairs of the host state and its neighbours.

— Section 2.0Officers of the Mission

• Pro-Nuncio · Head of Mission — accredited under §I of the Vienna Convention framework.
• Secretary of the Mission — keeps the register of official acts.
• Consul · Pilgrim & Travel — receives pilgrim applications; issues testimonia.
• Registrar · Educational & Exchange — oversees certificates and letters of accreditation.

— Section 3.0Services available locally

Every service of the Embassy is available from Vienna. Applications submitted from this Mission are processed on the standard timelines published with each service.

— Section 4.0How to visit

— Section 1.0Mandate of the Mission

Where Vienna holds the archive, New York conducts the audience. The distinctive competence of New York is multilateral — representing the Embassy before international bodies, convening consultation with partner institutions of global reach, and extending the Embassy's welcome to pilgrims, students, and travellers across the Americas.

Correspondence with the United Nations, its agencies, and the network of permanent missions is routed through this Seat. Political and religious consultation engagements with foreign ministries based at the UN are initiated here.

The Mission maintains warm correspondence with sister communions — the Anglican Diocese, the Greek and Armenian Archdioceses, the Reformed Church in America, and chaplaincies at the United Nations and at New York University and Columbia.

— Section 2.0Officers of the Mission

• Apostolic Delegate · Head of Mission — accredited to the UN and the United States.
• Chargé d'Affaires · Multilateral — coordinates engagement with the UN system.
• Consul · Americas Pilgrim & Travel — coordinates pilgrim and travel services across the Americas.
• Registrar · Educational & Exchange — oversees credentials issued in the Americas.

— Section 3.0Services available locally

Every service of the Embassy is available from New York. Consultation engagements with foreign ministries accredited to the United Nations are particularly well-suited to this Seat.

— Section 4.0How to visit

— Section 1.0Juridical status

The Kingdom of God — Holy Church of Jesus Christ ("KGD-HCJC", "the Embassy") is an international religious-diplomatic organisation registered under Austrian law with its Mission of Record at Vienna, and operationally present at New York under bilateral arrangement. The Embassy is not a sovereign state within the meaning of the Montevideo Convention (1933).

The Embassy's juridical character is that of an organised religious body of international scope, analogous to but not identical with other such bodies whose officers hold diplomatic status by bilateral arrangement.

— Section 2.0Applicable framework

Senior officers hold diplomatic credentials under the framework of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (1961), extended to the Embassy by specific bilateral instruments with host states. Where such bilateral recognition exists, it is published in the Register of Accredited Officers.

— Section 3.0Scope of privileges

The privileges and immunities extended to accredited officers are those agreed in each bilateral instrument, and no more. Privileges are functional — granted so that the Embassy's work may be done — and not personal in a broader sense.

— Section 4.0Limits

The Embassy does not issue travel passports for international travel. Does not levy taxes. Does not lay territorial claim. Does not conduct military activity. Does not intervene in the internal political affairs of host states.

— Section 1.0Standard

This site conforms to WCAG 2.2 Level AA in full, and to Level AAA for body-text contrast.

— Section 2.0Specific features

• Keyboard navigation — every interactive element is reachable, with visible focus rings.
• Screen-reader semantics — HTML5 landmarks and descriptive alt text on all imagery.
• Motion — respects prefers-reduced-motion; the spinning sigil stops.
• Contrast — body text 7:1, UI labels 4.5:1.
• Without JavaScript — every content page renders completely without JS.

— Section 3.0Known gaps

Candour matters more than a perfect score. Present gaps with closure dates are listed in the live document at kgd-hcjc.int/legal/accessibility.

— Section 4.0Report a barrier

Write to accessibility@kgd-hcjc.int. Reports acknowledged within one working day.

— Section 1.0What we collect

When you write to us: the content of your correspondence and your reply-to channel. When you apply for a service: the information necessary to evaluate it. When you visit this site: nothing beyond what the host server naturally retains, discarded after 30 days.

— Section 2.0Who sees it

Your information is seen by the officers who need it to do their work, and by no one else. We do not sell, rent, or otherwise transfer personal information to third parties.

— Section 3.0How long we keep it

• Server logs — 30 days, then discarded.
• Correspondence — until the matter is closed, then one further year.
• Credentials and issued acts — retained permanently in the archive (this is their nature).

— Section 4.0Cookies & trackers

This site uses no cookies for tracking, advertising, or profiling. The language preference is held in memory only for the current session. No third-party scripts. No analytics. No external fonts.