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Episcopal Church (United States)
Encyclopedia
The Episcopal Church is a mainline Anglican Christian church
found mainly in the United States
(including its unincorporated territories
), but also in Honduras
, Taiwan
, Colombia
, Ecuador
, Haiti
, the Dominican Republic
, Venezuela
, the British Virgin Islands
and parts of Europe
. The Episcopal Church is the Province of the Anglican Communion
in the United States and most other territories where it has a presence (excluding Europe). The Episcopal Church describes itself as being "Protestant, Yet Catholic
". As of 2011, the Episcopal Church claims a baptized membership of 1,951,907 individuals.
The Church was organized shortly after the American Revolution
when it was forced to separate from the Church of England
, as Church of England clergy were required to swear allegiance to the British monarch. It became, in the words of the 1990 report of the Archbishop of Canterbury
's Group on the Episcopate, "the first Anglican Province outside the British Isles". Today it is divided into nine provinces and has diocese
s outside the U.S. in Taiwan, Central
and South America
, and the Caribbean
. The Episcopal Diocese of the Virgin Islands
encompasses both American and British territory. In Europe, the Church's Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe co-exists with the Church of England's Diocese of Gibraltar in Europe and with the Reformed Episcopal Church of Spain.
The Episcopal Church was active in the Social Gospel
movement of the late 19th century. Since the 1960s and 1970s, it has opposed the death penalty
and supported the civil rights movement
and affirmative action
. Some of its leaders and priests marched with civil rights demonstrators. Today the Church calls for the full civil equality of gay
men and lesbians, and the Church's General Convention
has passed resolutions that allow for gay and lesbian marriages in states where it is legal
. On the question of abortion
, the Church has adopted a nuanced position. About all these issues, individual members and clergy can and do frequently disagree with the stated position of the Church.
The Episcopal Church ordains women to the priesthood as well as the diaconate and the episcopate. The current Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church is Katharine Jefferts Schori
, the first female primate
in the Anglican Communion.
There are two official names of the Episcopal Church specified in its constitution: "The Episcopal Church" and the "Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America". "The Episcopal Church" is the more commonly used name.
"Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America" was the first and only official name in use until 1964. In the 19th century, High Church
men advocated changing the name, which they felt did not acknowledge the church's Catholic heritage. They were opposed by the church's evangelical wing, which felt the "Protestant Episcopal" label accurately reflected the Reformed character of Anglicanism. After 1877, alternative names were regularly proposed and rejected by the General Convention. A commonly proposed alternative was "The American Catholic Church". By the 1960s, opposition to dropping the word "Protestant" had largely subsided. In a 1964 General Convention compromise, priests and lay delegates suggested adding a preamble to the Church's constitution, recognizing "The Episcopal Church" as a lawful alternate designation while still retaining the earlier name. The preamble to the Constitution of the Episcopal Church now reads:
The 66th General Convention voted in 1979 to use the name "Episcopal Church" (dropping the adjective "Protestant") in the Oath of Conformity of the Declaration for Ordination. The evolution of the name can be seen in the Episcopal Church's Book of Common Prayer
(BCP). In the 1928 BCP, the title page said, "According to the use of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America". In contrast, the change in self-identity can be seen in the title page of the 1979 Book of Common Prayer, which states, "'According to the use of The Episcopal Church".
The alternate name "Episcopal Church in the United States of America" is commonly seen but has never been the official name of the Episcopal Church. Because it contains integral jurisdictions in many other countries, it was thought that a name was needed which is not directly tied to the United States. But since several other churches in the Anglican Communion also use the name "Episcopal", the phrase "in the United States of America" is often added, for example by the Anglican Communion
's official website and by Anglicans Online
.
The Episcopal Church worships in Spanish, French and Chinese, as well as English, because it has dioceses in Asia, the Caribbean, Central and South America and Europe. In Spanish the church is called La Iglesia Episcopal Protestante de los Estados Unidos de América or La Iglesia Episcopal and in French L'Église protestante épiscopale dans les États unis d'Amérique or L'Église épiscopale.
A common mistake by non-Episcopalians is over the use of the words "Episcopal" and "Episcopalians". An Episcopalian is a member of the Episcopal Church but it is not the Episcopalian Church. Likewise, a member is not called an Episcopal, like a Methodist is a member of the Methodist Church. Episcopalian is a noun; Episcopal is an adjective.
The full legal name of the national church corporate body is the "Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America", which was incorporated by the legislature of New York and established in 1821. The membership of the corporation "shall be considered as comprehending all persons who are members of the Church".
The Episcopal Church has its origins in the Church of England
in the American colonies, and it stresses its continuity with the early universal Western church and maintains apostolic succession
. The first parish
was founded in Jamestown, Virginia
, in 1607 under the charter of the Virginia Company of London.
Although there was no American bishop in the colonial era, the Church of England had an official status in several colonies, which meant that tax money was paid to the local parish by the local government, and the parish handled some civic functions. The Church of England was designated the established church in Virginia in 1609, in New York
in 1693, in Maryland
in 1702, in South Carolina
in 1706, in North Carolina
in 1730, and in Georgia
in 1758. From 1635, the vestries and the clergy were loosely under the diocesan authority of the Bishop of London
. After 1702, the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts (SPG) began missionary activity throughout the colonies. On the eve of Revolution about 400 independent congregations were reported throughout the colonies.
Embracing the symbols of the British presence in the American colonies, such as the monarchy, the episcopate, and even the language of the Book of Common Prayer, the Church of England almost drove itself to extinction during the upheaval of the American Revolution
. More than any other denomination, the War of Independence internally divided both clergy and laity of the Church of England in America, and opinions covered a wide spectrum of political views: patriots
, conciliators, and loyalists
. On one hand, Patriots saw the Church of England as synonymous with "Tory
" and "redcoat
". On the other hand, about three-quarters of the signers of the Declaration of Independence
were nominally Anglican laymen, including Thomas Jefferson
, William Paca
, and George Wythe
.
Of the approximately three hundred clergy in the Church of England in America between 1776 and 1783, over 80 percent in New England, New York, and New Jersey were loyalists. This is in contrast to the less than 23 percent loyalist clergy in the four southern colonies. Many Church of England clergy remained loyalists as they took their two ordination oaths very seriously. Anglican clergy were obliged to swear allegiance to the king as well as to pray for the king, the royal family, and the British Parliament
. In general, loyalist clergy stayed by their oaths and prayed for the king or else suspended services. By the end of 1776, some Anglican churches were closing. Anglican priests held services in private homes or lay readers who were not bound by the oaths held morning and evening prayer. During 1775 and 1776, the Continental Congress had issued decrees ordering churches to fast and pray on behalf of the patriots. Starting July 4, 1776, Congress and several states passed laws making prayers for the king and British Parliament acts of treason. The patriot clergy in the South were quick to find reasons to transfer their oaths to the American cause and prayed for the success of the Revolution. One precedent was the transfer of oaths during the Glorious Revolution in England. Most of the patriot clergy in the south were able to keep their churches open and services continued.
. By 1786, the church had succeeded in translating episcopacy to America and in revising the Book of Common Prayer to reflect American political realities. Later, through the efforts of Bishop Philander Chase
(1775–1852) of Ohio, Americans successfully sought material assistance from England for the purpose of training Episcopal clergy. The development of the Protestant Episcopal Church provides an example of how Americans in the early republic maintained important cultural ties with England.
When the clergy of Connecticut
elected Samuel Seabury as their bishop in 1783, he sought consecration in England. The Oath of Supremacy
prevented Seabury's consecration in England, so he went to Scotland; the non-juring
Scottish bishops there consecrated him in Aberdeen
on November 14, 1784, making him, in the words of scholar Arthur Carl Piepkorn, "the first Anglican bishop appointed to minister outside the British Isles". On August 3, 1785, the first ordinations on American soil took place there at Christ Church in Middletown
.
In 1787, two priests – William White
of Pennsylvania
and Samuel Provoost of New York
– were consecrated as bishops by the Archbishop of Canterbury
, the Archbishop of York
, and the Bishop of Bath and Wells
, the legal obstacles having been removed by the passage through Parliament of the Consecration of Bishops Abroad Act 1786. Thus there are two branches of Apostolic succession
for the American bishops: through the non-juring bishops of Scotland that consecrated Samuel Seabury and through the English church that consecrated William White and Samuel Provoost. All bishops in the American Church are ordained by at least three bishops. One can trace the succession of each back to Seabury, White and Provoost. (See Succession of Bishops of the Episcopal Church
.)
In 1789, representative clergy from nine dioceses met in Philadelphia to ratify the Church's initial constitution. The Episcopal Church was formally separated from the Church of England in 1789 so that clergy would not be required to accept the supremacy of the British monarch. A revised version of the Book of Common Prayer was written for the new church that same year. The fourth bishop of the Episcopal Church was James Madison
, the first bishop of Virginia. Madison was consecrated in 1790 by the Archbishop of Canterbury and two other Church of England bishops. This third American bishop consecrated within the English line of succession occurred because of continuing unease within the Church of England over Seabury's nonjuring Scottish orders.
, where he became the first African-American bishop on November 8, 1874. As Bishop of Haiti, Holly was the first African American to attend the Lambeth Conference. However, he was consecrated by the American Church Missionary Society, an Evangelical Episcopal branch of the Church.
When the American Civil War
began in 1861, Episcopalians in the South formed their own Protestant Episcopal Church
. However, in the North the separation was never officially recognized. By May 16, 1866, the southern dioceses had rejoined the national church.
By the middle of the 19th century, evangelical Episcopalians disturbed by High Church
Tractarianism, while continuing to work in interdenominational agencies, formed their own voluntary societies, and eventually, in 1874, a faction objecting to the revival of ritual practices established the Reformed Episcopal Church
.
Samuel David Ferguson
was the first black bishop consecrated by the Episcopal Church, the first to practice in the U.S. and the first black person to sit in the House of Bishops
. Bishop Ferguson was consecrated on June 24, 1885, with the then-Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church acting as a consecrator.
During the Gilded Age
, highly prominent laity such as banker J. P. Morgan
, industrialist Henry Ford
, and art collector Isabella Stewart Gardner
played a central role in shaping a distinctive upper class Episcopalian ethos, especially with regard to preserving the arts and history. These philanthropists propelled the Episcopal Church into a quasi-national position of importance while at the same time giving the church a central role in the cultural transformation of the country. Another mark of influence is the fact that more than a quarter of all presidents of the United States
have been Episcopalians (see List of United States Presidential religious affiliations). It was during this period that the Book of Common Prayer was revised, first in 1892 and later in 1928.
The first women were admitted as delegates to General Convention in 1970. In 1975, Vaughan Booker, who confessed to the murder of his wife and was sentenced to life in prison, was ordained to the diaconate in Graterford State Prison's chapel in Pennsylvania
, after having repented of his sins, becoming a symbol of redemption and atonement.
, which had been discussed at Vatican II. This version was adopted as the official prayerbook in 1979 after an initial three-year trial use. Several conservative parishes, however, continued to use the 1928 version. The 1976 General Convention also passed a resolution calling for an end to apartheid in South Africa
and in 1985 called for "dioceses, institutions, and agencies" to create equal opportunity employment
and affirmative action
policies to address any potential "racial inequities" in clergy placement. In 1991 the General Convention declared "the practice of racism is sin" and in 2006 a unanimous House of Bishops endorsed Resolution A123 apologizing for complicity in the institution of slavery and silence over "Jim Crow" laws, segregation, and racial discrimination.
In recent decades, the Episcopal Church, like other mainline churches, has experienced a decline in membership and internal controversy, mainly over women's ordination and the place of homosexuals in the church. In response to what they perceive as a liberal theological agenda, tens of thousands of conservative Episcopalians have joined the churches of the Continuing Anglican movement
or have advocated Anglican realignment
where congregations and, in four cases, dioceses have left the Episcopal Church and aligned themselves with overseas Anglican provinces including the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone of America and the Church of Nigeria
. The phenomena of Continuing Anglicanism and Anglican Realignment have spawned new denominations such as the 800 parish Anglican Church in North America, as well as litigation over church property.
The General Convention permitted the ordination of women in 1976. The first women were canonically ordained to the priesthood in 1977. The first female bishop, Barbara Harris
, was consecrated on February 11, 1989. At the present time, three U.S. dioceses do not ordain women at all. The 2006 election of Jefferts Schori as the Church's 26th presiding bishop was controversial in the wider Anglican Communion because she is a woman, and the full communion does not recognize the ordination of women. She is the only national leader of a church in the Anglican Communion who is a woman. In addition, eight American dioceses have rejected her authority and have asked the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, to assign them another national leader.
The Episcopal Church affirmed at the 1976 General Convention that homosexuals are "children of God" who deserve acceptance and pastoral care
from the church and equal protection under the law. Despite the affirmation of gay rights, the General Convention affirmed in 1991 that "physical sexual expression" is only appropriate within the monogamous, lifelong "union of husband and wife." The first openly homosexual priest, Ellen Barrett
, was ordained in 1977. The first openly homosexual bishop, Gene Robinson
, was elected in June 2003. Robinson's election caused a crisis in both the American church and the wider Anglican Communion. In October 2003, an emergency meeting of the Anglican primates (the heads of the Anglican Communion's 38 member churches) was convened. The meeting's final communiqué included the warning that if Robinson's consecration proceeded, it would "tear the fabric of the communion at its deepest level."
In 2009, the General Convention charged the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music to develop theological and liturgical resources for same-sex blessings and report back to the General Convention in 2012. It also gave bishops an option to provide "generous pastoral support" especially where civil authorities have legalized same-gender marriage, civil unions, or domestic partnerships. On July 14, 2009, the Episcopal Church's House of Bishops voted that "any ordained ministry" is open to gay men and lesbians. The New York Times
said the move was "likely to send shockwaves through the Anglican Communion." This vote ended a moratorium on ordaining gay bishops passed in 2006 and passed in spite of Archbishop Rowan Williams
's personal call at the start of the convention that, "I hope and pray that there won't be decisions in the coming days that will push us further apart."
Those interested in the history might wish to visit the Historical Society of the Episcopal Church
or National Episcopal Historians and Archivists (NEHA)
The Episcopal Church experienced notable growth in the first half of the 20th century, but like many mainline churches, it has had a decline in membership in more recent decades. Membership grew from 1.1 million members in 1925 to a peak of over 3.4 million members in the mid-1960s. Between 1970 and 1990, membership declined from about 3.2 million to about 2.4 million. Once changes in how membership is counted are taken into consideration, the Episcopal Church's membership numbers were broadly flat throughout the 1990s, with a slight growth in the first years of the 21st century. A loss of 115,000 members was reported for the years 2003–5, which has been attributed in part to controversy concerning ordination of homosexuals to the priesthood and the election of Gene Robinson as Bishop of New Hampshire. Membership is concentrated along the east coast. The District of Columbia, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Virginia have the highest rates of adherence. The state of New York has the largest number of members, with over 200,000. In 1965, there were 880,000 children in Episcopal Sunday School programs, by 2001 the number had declined to 297,000.
with its own system of canon law
. This means that the church is organized into dioceses led by bishops in consultation with representative bodies. It is a unitary body
, in that the power of the General Convention
is not limited by the individual dioceses. The church has, however, a highly decentralized structure and characteristics of a confederation
.
or bishop's committee. Subject to the approval of its diocesan bishop
, the vestry of each parish
elects a priest
, called the rector
, who has spiritual jurisdiction in the parish and selects assistant clergy, both deacon
s and priests. (There is a difference between vestry and clergy elections – clergy are ordained members usually selected from outside the parish, whereas any member in good standing of a parish is eligible to serve on the vestry.) The diocesan bishop, however, appoints the clergy for all missions and may choose to do so for non-self-supporting parishes.
The middle judicatory
consists of a diocese headed by a bishop who is assisted by a standing committee. The bishop and standing committee are elected by the diocesan convention whose members are selected by the congregations. The election of a bishop requires the consent of a majority of standing committees and diocesan bishops. Conventions meet annually to consider legislation (such as revisions to the diocesan constitution and canons) and speak for the diocese. Dioceses are organized into nine provinces
. Each province has a synod
and a mission budget, but it has no authority over its member dioceses.
There are 110 dioceses in the United States, Colombia
, the Dominican Republic
, Ecuador
, Haiti
, Honduras
, Puerto Rico
, Taiwan
, Venezuela
and the Virgin Islands
. The Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe and the Navajoland Area Mission
are jurisdictions similar to a diocese. The Presiding Bishop is one of three Anglican primates who together exercise metropolitan
jurisdiction over the Episcopal Church of Cuba
, which is an extraprovincial diocese in the Anglican Communion.
The highest legislative body of the Episcopal Church is the triennial General Convention
, consisting of the House of Deputies
and the House of Bishops
. All active (includes diocesan
, coadjutor
, suffragan
, and assistant bishops
) and retired bishops make up the over 300 members of the House of Bishops. Diocesan conventions elect over 800 representatives (each diocese elects four laity and four clergy) to the House of Deputies. The House of Deputies elects a president and vice-president to preside at meetings. General Convention enacts two types of legislation. The first type is the rules by which the church is governed as contained in the Constitution and Canons
; the second type are broad guidelines on church policy called resolutions. Either house may propose legislation. The House of Deputies only meets as a full body once every three years; however, the House of Bishops meets regularly throughout the triennium between conventions.
The real work of General Convention is done by interim bodies, the most powerful being the Executive Council, which oversees the work of the national church during the triennium. The council has 40 members; 20 are directly elected by the General Convention, 18 are elected by the nine provinces, and the Presiding Bishop and President of the House of Deputies are ex officio members. Other interim bodies include a number of standing commissions which study and draft policy proposals for consideration and report back to General Convention. Each standing commission consists of three bishops, three priests or deacons, and six laypersons. Bishops are appointed by the Presiding Bishop while the other clergy and laypersons are appointed by the president of the House of Deputies.
The Presiding Bishop is elected from and by the House of Bishops and confirmed by the House of Deputies for a nine year term. The Presiding Bishop is the chief pastor and primate of the Episcopal Church and is charged with providing leadership in the development of the Church's program as well as speaking on behalf of the Church. The Presiding Bishop does not possess a territorial see
; since the 1970s, however, the Presiding Bishop has enjoyed extraordinary jurisdiction (metropolitical authority) and has authority to visit dioceses for sacrament
al and preaching ministry, for consulting bishops, and for related purposes. The Presiding Bishop chairs the House of Bishops as well as the Executive Council of the General Convention. In addition, the Presiding Bishop directs the Episcopal Church Center, the national administrative headquarters of the denomination. Located at 815 Second Avenue, New York City, New York, the center is often referred to by Episcopalians simply as "815".
A system of ecclesiastical court
s is provided for under Title IV of the canons of General Convention. These courts are empowered to discipline and depose deacons, priests, and bishops.
Varying degrees of liturgical practice prevail within the church, and one finds a variety of worship styles: traditional hymns and anthems, more modern religious music, Anglican chant, liturgical dance, charismatic prayer, and vested clergy of varying degrees. As varied as services can be, the central binding aspect is the Book of Common Prayer or supplemental liturgies.
Often a congregation or a particular service will be referred to as Low Church or High Church. In theory:
A majority of Episcopal services could be considered to be "High Church" while still falling somewhat short of a typical Anglo-Catholic "very" high church service. In contrast, "Low Church" services are somewhat rarer. However, while some Episcopalians refer to their churches by these labels, often there is overlapping, and the basic rites do not greatly differ. There are also variations that blend elements of all three and have their own unique features, such as New England Episcopal churches, which have elements drawn from Puritan practices, combining the traditions of "high church" with the simplicity of "low church". Typical parish worship features Bible readings from the Old Testament as well as from both the Epistle
s and the Gospel
s of the New Testament.
In the Eucharist or Holy Communion service, the Book of Common Prayer specifies that bread and wine are consecrated for consumption by the people. Those wishing for whatever reason to avoid alcohol are free to decline the cup. A Eucharist can be part of a wedding to celebrate a sacramental marriage and of a funeral
as a thank offering (sacrifice) to God and for the comfort of the mourners.
The veneration of saints in the Episcopal Church
is a continuation of an ancient tradition from the early Church which honors important people of the Christian faith. The usage of the term "saint" is similar to Catholic and Orthodox traditions. Those inclined to the Anglo-Catholic traditions may explicitly invoke saints as intercessors in prayer.
The Episcopal Church publishes
its own Book of Common Prayer
(BCP) (similar to other Anglican BsCP), containing most of the worship services (or "liturgies") used in the Episcopal Church. Because of its widespread use in the church, the BCP is both a reflection of and a source of theology for Episcopalians.
The full name of the BCP is: The Book of Common Prayer and Administration of the Sacraments and Other Rites and Ceremonies of the Church Together with The Psalter or Psalms of David According to the use of The Episcopal Church.
Previous American BCPs were issued in 1789, 1892, and 1928. (A proposed BCP was issued in 1786 but not adopted.) The BCP is in the public domain
; however, any new revisions of the BCP are copyrighted until they are approved by the General Convention. After this happens, the BCP is placed into the public domain.
The current edition dates from 1979 and was marked by a linguistic modernization and, in returning to ancient Christian tradition, it restored the Eucharist as the central liturgy
of the church. The 1979 version reflects the theological and worship changes of the ecumenical reforms of the 1960s and 1970s. On the whole, it changed the theological emphasis of the church to be more Catholic in nature. In 1979, the Convention adopted the revision as the "official" BCP and required churches using the old (1928) prayer book to also use the 1979 revision. There was enough strife in implementing and adopting the 1979 BCP that an apology was issued at the 2000 General Convention for any who were "offended or alienated during the time of liturgical transition to the 1979 Book of Common Prayer". The 2000 General Convention also authorized the occasional use of some parts of the 1928 book, under the direction of the bishop.
The 1979 edition contains a provision for the use of "traditional" (Elizabethan) language under various circumstances not directly provided for in the book, and the Anglican Service Book
was produced accordingly, as "a traditional language adaptation of the 1979 Book of Common Prayer together with the Psalter or Psalms of David and Additional Devotions."
The center of Episcopal teaching is the life and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The basic teachings of the church, or catechism
, include:
The full catechism is included in the Book of Common Prayer and is posted on the Episcopal website. The threefold sources of authority in Anglicanism are scripture, tradition, and reason. These three sources uphold and critique each other in a dynamic way.
The Episcopal Church follows the via media or "middle way" between Protestant and Roman Catholic doctrine and practices: that is both Catholic and Reformed. Not all Episcopalians self-identify with this image, especially those whose convictions lean toward either evangelicalism
or Anglo-Catholicism
. There are many different theologies represented within the Episcopal Church. Some Episcopal theologians hold evangelical positions, affirming the authority of scripture over all. The Episcopal Church website glossary defines the sources of authority as a balance between scripture, tradition, and reason. These three are characterized as a "three-legged stool" which will topple if any one overbalances the other. It also notes
This balance of scripture, tradition and reason is traced to the work of Richard Hooker
, a 16th century apologist. In Hooker's model, scripture is the primary means of arriving at doctrine and things stated plainly in scripture are accepted as true. Issues that are ambiguous are determined by tradition, which is checked by reason. Noting the role of personal experience in Christian life, some Episcopalians have advocated following the example of the Wesleyan Quadrilateral
of Methodist theology by thinking in terms of a "Fourth Leg" of "experience." This understanding is highly dependent on the work of Friedrich Schleiermacher
.
A public example of this struggle between different Christian positions in the church has been the 2003 consecration of the Right Reverend Gene Robinson
, an openly gay man living with a long-term partner. The acceptance/rejection of his consecration is motivated by different views on the authority of and understanding of scripture. This struggle has some members concerned that the church may not continue its relationship with the larger Anglican Church. Others, however, view this pluralism as an asset, allowing a place for both sides to balance each other.
Comedian and Episcopalian Robin Williams
once described the Episcopal faith (and, in a performance in London, specifically the Church of England) as "Catholic Lite – same rituals, half the guilt."
The three "noncompliant" dioceses were San Joaquin
, Quincy
, and Fort Worth. The 2006 directory of the North American Association for the Diaconate lists three women deacons in Quincy, 15 in San Joaquin, and 8 in Fort Worth. Fort Worth also allows parishes that wish to call a woman priest to transfer to the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Dallas
.
written by John Henry Hopkins
attempted to justify slavery based on the New Testament and gave a clear insight into the Episcopal Church's involvement in slavery. Bishop Hopkins Letter on Slavery Ripped Up and his Misuse of the Sacred Scriptures Exposed, written by an anonymous cleric in 1863, opposed the points mentioned in Hopkins' pamphlet and revealed a startling divide in the Episcopal Church over the issue of slavery.
is the international relief and development agency of the Episcopal Church of the United States. It helps to rebuild after disasters and aims to empower people by offering lasting solutions that fight poverty, hunger and disease. Episcopal Relief and Development programs focus on alleviating hunger, improving food supply, creating economic opportunities, strengthening communities, promoting health, fighting disease, responding to disasters, and rebuilding communities.
with the Old Catholic Churches of the Union of Utrecht
, the Philippine Independent Church
, and the Mar Thoma Syrian Church of Malabar. The Episcopal Church is also in a relationship of full communion with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
and the Northern and Southern Provinces of the Moravian Church in America.
The Episcopal Church itself maintains ecumenical dialogs with the United Methodist Church
and the Moravian Church in America, and participates in pan-Anglican dialogs with the Oriental Orthodox Churches, the World Alliance of Reformed Churches
, and the Roman Catholic Church. In 2006 a relation of interim Eucharistic sharing was inaugurated with the United Methodist Church, a step that may ultimately lead to full communion.
Historically Anglican churches have had strong ecumenical ties with the Eastern Orthodox Churches, and the Episcopal Church particularly with the Russian Orthodox Church
, but relations in more recent years have been strained, following the ordination of women
and the ordination of Gene Robinson
to the episcopate. A former relation of full communion with the Polish National Catholic Church
(itself once a part of the Union of Utrecht
) was broken off by the PNCC in 1976 over the ordination of women.
The Episcopal Church was a founding member of the Consultation on Church Union
and participates in its successor, Churches Uniting in Christ
. The Episcopal Church is a founding member of the National Council of Churches
, the World Council of Churches
, and the new Christian Churches Together in the USA
. Dioceses and parishes are frequently members of local ecumenical councils as well.
Christian Church
The Christian Church is the assembly or association of followers of Jesus Christ. The Greek term ἐκκλησία that in its appearances in the New Testament is usually translated as "church" basically means "assembly"...
found mainly in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
(including its unincorporated territories
Unincorporated territories of the United States
Unincorporated territory is a legal term of art in United States law denoting an area controlled by the government of the United States, but which is not a part of the United States proper ....
), but also in Honduras
Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
, Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
, Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
, the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
, Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
, the British Virgin Islands
British Virgin Islands
The Virgin Islands, often called the British Virgin Islands , is a British overseas territory and overseas territory of the European Union, located in the Caribbean to the east of Puerto Rico. The islands make up part of the Virgin Islands archipelago, the remaining islands constituting the U.S...
and parts of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. The Episcopal Church is the Province of the Anglican Communion
Anglican Communion
The Anglican Communion is an international association of national and regional Anglican churches in full communion with the Church of England and specifically with its principal primate, the Archbishop of Canterbury...
in the United States and most other territories where it has a presence (excluding Europe). The Episcopal Church describes itself as being "Protestant, Yet Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
". As of 2011, the Episcopal Church claims a baptized membership of 1,951,907 individuals.
The Church was organized shortly after the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
when it was forced to separate from the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
, as Church of England clergy were required to swear allegiance to the British monarch. It became, in the words of the 1990 report of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
's Group on the Episcopate, "the first Anglican Province outside the British Isles". Today it is divided into nine provinces and has diocese
Diocese
A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...
s outside the U.S. in Taiwan, Central
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
and South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
, and the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
. The Episcopal Diocese of the Virgin Islands
Episcopal Diocese of the Virgin Islands
The Episcopal Diocese of the Virgin Islands is a diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America which includes both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands. The diocese is a part of Province II of the Episcopal Church. The current Diocesan Bishop of the...
encompasses both American and British territory. In Europe, the Church's Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe co-exists with the Church of England's Diocese of Gibraltar in Europe and with the Reformed Episcopal Church of Spain.
The Episcopal Church was active in the Social Gospel
Social Gospel
The Social Gospel movement is a Protestant Christian intellectual movement that was most prominent in the early 20th century United States and Canada...
movement of the late 19th century. Since the 1960s and 1970s, it has opposed the death penalty
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
and supported the civil rights movement
Civil rights movement
The civil rights movement was a worldwide political movement for equality before the law occurring between approximately 1950 and 1980. In many situations it took the form of campaigns of civil resistance aimed at achieving change by nonviolent forms of resistance. In some situations it was...
and affirmative action
Affirmative action
Affirmative action refers to policies that take factors including "race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation or national origin" into consideration in order to benefit an underrepresented group, usually as a means to counter the effects of a history of discrimination.-Origins:The term...
. Some of its leaders and priests marched with civil rights demonstrators. Today the Church calls for the full civil equality of gay
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
men and lesbians, and the Church's General Convention
General Convention of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America
The General Convention is the primary governing and legislative body of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. With the exception of the Bible, the Book of Common Prayer, and the Constitution and Canons, it is the ultimate authority in the Episcopal Church. General Convention...
has passed resolutions that allow for gay and lesbian marriages in states where it is legal
Same-sex marriage legislation around the world
Same-sex marriage is currently carried out throughout ten countries: the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Canada, South Africa, Norway, Sweden, Portugal, Iceland, and Argentina. Six U.S. states and one U.S. district perform same-sex marriages, those being Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont, New...
. On the question of abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
, the Church has adopted a nuanced position. About all these issues, individual members and clergy can and do frequently disagree with the stated position of the Church.
The Episcopal Church ordains women to the priesthood as well as the diaconate and the episcopate. The current Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church is Katharine Jefferts Schori
Katharine Jefferts Schori
Katharine Jefferts Schori is the 26th Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church of the United States. Previously elected as the 9th Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Nevada, she is the first woman elected as a primate of the Anglican Communion...
, the first female primate
Primate (religion)
Primate is a title or rank bestowed on some bishops in certain Christian churches. Depending on the particular tradition, it can denote either jurisdictional authority or ceremonial precedence ....
in the Anglican Communion.
Official names
"Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America" was the first and only official name in use until 1964. In the 19th century, High Church
High church
The term "High Church" refers to beliefs and practices of ecclesiology, liturgy and theology, generally with an emphasis on formality, and resistance to "modernization." Although used in connection with various Christian traditions, the term has traditionally been principally associated with the...
men advocated changing the name, which they felt did not acknowledge the church's Catholic heritage. They were opposed by the church's evangelical wing, which felt the "Protestant Episcopal" label accurately reflected the Reformed character of Anglicanism. After 1877, alternative names were regularly proposed and rejected by the General Convention. A commonly proposed alternative was "The American Catholic Church". By the 1960s, opposition to dropping the word "Protestant" had largely subsided. In a 1964 General Convention compromise, priests and lay delegates suggested adding a preamble to the Church's constitution, recognizing "The Episcopal Church" as a lawful alternate designation while still retaining the earlier name. The preamble to the Constitution of the Episcopal Church now reads:
The 66th General Convention voted in 1979 to use the name "Episcopal Church" (dropping the adjective "Protestant") in the Oath of Conformity of the Declaration for Ordination. The evolution of the name can be seen in the Episcopal Church's Book of Common Prayer
Book of Common Prayer
The Book of Common Prayer is the short title of a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion, as well as by the Continuing Anglican, "Anglican realignment" and other Anglican churches. The original book, published in 1549 , in the reign of Edward VI, was a product of the English...
(BCP). In the 1928 BCP, the title page said, "According to the use of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America". In contrast, the change in self-identity can be seen in the title page of the 1979 Book of Common Prayer, which states, "'According to the use of The Episcopal Church".
The alternate name "Episcopal Church in the United States of America" is commonly seen but has never been the official name of the Episcopal Church. Because it contains integral jurisdictions in many other countries, it was thought that a name was needed which is not directly tied to the United States. But since several other churches in the Anglican Communion also use the name "Episcopal", the phrase "in the United States of America" is often added, for example by the Anglican Communion
Anglican Communion
The Anglican Communion is an international association of national and regional Anglican churches in full communion with the Church of England and specifically with its principal primate, the Archbishop of Canterbury...
's official website and by Anglicans Online
Anglicans online
Anglicans Online is an unofficial weekly news magazine of the Anglican Communion. Its editorial staff is private and unaffiliated. A project of the Society of Archbishop Justus founded in 1994, AO includes more than 30,000 links and has more than 250,000 readers. calls it 'a kind voice in what...
.
The Episcopal Church worships in Spanish, French and Chinese, as well as English, because it has dioceses in Asia, the Caribbean, Central and South America and Europe. In Spanish the church is called La Iglesia Episcopal Protestante de los Estados Unidos de América or La Iglesia Episcopal and in French L'Église protestante épiscopale dans les États unis d'Amérique or L'Église épiscopale.
A common mistake by non-Episcopalians is over the use of the words "Episcopal" and "Episcopalians". An Episcopalian is a member of the Episcopal Church but it is not the Episcopalian Church. Likewise, a member is not called an Episcopal, like a Methodist is a member of the Methodist Church. Episcopalian is a noun; Episcopal is an adjective.
The full legal name of the national church corporate body is the "Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America", which was incorporated by the legislature of New York and established in 1821. The membership of the corporation "shall be considered as comprehending all persons who are members of the Church".
Colonial era and the American Revolution (1604–1783)
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
in the American colonies, and it stresses its continuity with the early universal Western church and maintains apostolic succession
Apostolic Succession
Apostolic succession is a doctrine, held by some Christian denominations, which asserts that the chosen successors of the Twelve Apostles, from the first century to the present day, have inherited the spiritual, ecclesiastical and sacramental authority, power, and responsibility that were...
. The first parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
was founded in Jamestown, Virginia
Jamestown, Virginia
Jamestown was a settlement in the Colony of Virginia. Established by the Virginia Company of London as "James Fort" on May 14, 1607 , it was the first permanent English settlement in what is now the United States, following several earlier failed attempts, including the Lost Colony of Roanoke...
, in 1607 under the charter of the Virginia Company of London.
Although there was no American bishop in the colonial era, the Church of England had an official status in several colonies, which meant that tax money was paid to the local parish by the local government, and the parish handled some civic functions. The Church of England was designated the established church in Virginia in 1609, in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
in 1693, in Maryland
History of Maryland
The history of Maryland included only Native Americans until Europeans, starting with John Cabot in 1498, began exploring the area. The first settlements came in 1634 when the English arrived in significant numbers and created a permanent colony. In 1776, during the American Revolution, Maryland...
in 1702, in South Carolina
History of South Carolina
South Carolina is one of the 13 original colonies of the United States. European exploration began in 1540, but the explorers brought European diseases that decimated the local Indian population. It was founded in 1663...
in 1706, in North Carolina
History of North Carolina
The history of North Carolina from prehistory to the present covers the experiences of the people who have lived in the territory that now comprises the U.S. state of North Carolina....
in 1730, and in Georgia
History of Georgia (U.S. state)
The history of Georgia spans pre-Columbian time to the present day.-Pre-Columbian:Before European contact, Native American cultures are divided into four lengthy archeological time periods: Paleo, Archaic, Woodland and Mississippian....
in 1758. From 1635, the vestries and the clergy were loosely under the diocesan authority of the Bishop of London
Bishop of London
The Bishop of London is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers 458 km² of 17 boroughs of Greater London north of the River Thames and a small part of the County of Surrey...
. After 1702, the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts (SPG) began missionary activity throughout the colonies. On the eve of Revolution about 400 independent congregations were reported throughout the colonies.
Embracing the symbols of the British presence in the American colonies, such as the monarchy, the episcopate, and even the language of the Book of Common Prayer, the Church of England almost drove itself to extinction during the upheaval of the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
. More than any other denomination, the War of Independence internally divided both clergy and laity of the Church of England in America, and opinions covered a wide spectrum of political views: patriots
Patriot (American Revolution)
Patriots is a name often used to describe the colonists of the British Thirteen United Colonies who rebelled against British control during the American Revolution. It was their leading figures who, in July 1776, declared the United States of America an independent nation...
, conciliators, and loyalists
Loyalist (American Revolution)
Loyalists were American colonists who remained loyal to the Kingdom of Great Britain during the American Revolutionary War. At the time they were often called Tories, Royalists, or King's Men. They were opposed by the Patriots, those who supported the revolution...
. On one hand, Patriots saw the Church of England as synonymous with "Tory
Tory
Toryism is a traditionalist and conservative political philosophy which grew out of the Cavalier faction in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. It is a prominent ideology in the politics of the United Kingdom, but also features in parts of The Commonwealth, particularly in Canada...
" and "redcoat
Red coat (British army)
Red coat or Redcoat is a historical term used to refer to soldiers of the British Army because of the red uniforms formerly worn by the majority of regiments. From the late 17th century to the early 20th century, the uniform of most British soldiers, , included a madder red coat or coatee...
". On the other hand, about three-quarters of the signers of the Declaration of Independence
Declaration of independence
A declaration of independence is an assertion of the independence of an aspiring state or states. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another nation or failed nation, or are breakaway territories from within the larger state...
were nominally Anglican laymen, including Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
, William Paca
William Paca
William Paca was a signatory to the United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of Maryland, and later Governor of Maryland and a United States federal judge.-Early life:...
, and George Wythe
George Wythe
George Wythe was an American lawyer, a judge, a prominent law professor and "Virginia's foremost classical scholar." He was a teacher and mentor of Thomas Jefferson. Wythe's signature is positioned at the head of the list of seven Virginia signatories on the United States Declaration of Independence...
.
Of the approximately three hundred clergy in the Church of England in America between 1776 and 1783, over 80 percent in New England, New York, and New Jersey were loyalists. This is in contrast to the less than 23 percent loyalist clergy in the four southern colonies. Many Church of England clergy remained loyalists as they took their two ordination oaths very seriously. Anglican clergy were obliged to swear allegiance to the king as well as to pray for the king, the royal family, and the British Parliament
Parliament of Great Britain
The Parliament of Great Britain was formed in 1707 following the ratification of the Acts of Union by both the Parliament of England and Parliament of Scotland...
. In general, loyalist clergy stayed by their oaths and prayed for the king or else suspended services. By the end of 1776, some Anglican churches were closing. Anglican priests held services in private homes or lay readers who were not bound by the oaths held morning and evening prayer. During 1775 and 1776, the Continental Congress had issued decrees ordering churches to fast and pray on behalf of the patriots. Starting July 4, 1776, Congress and several states passed laws making prayers for the king and British Parliament acts of treason. The patriot clergy in the South were quick to find reasons to transfer their oaths to the American cause and prayed for the success of the Revolution. One precedent was the transfer of oaths during the Glorious Revolution in England. Most of the patriot clergy in the south were able to keep their churches open and services continued.
Early nation: 1783–1800
In the wake of the Revolution, American Episcopalians faced the task of preserving a hierarchical church structure in a society infused with republican valuesRepublicanism in the United States
Republicanism is the political value system that has been a major part of American civic thought since the American Revolution. It stresses liberty and inalienable rights as central values, makes the people as a whole sovereign, supports activist government to promote the common good, rejects...
. By 1786, the church had succeeded in translating episcopacy to America and in revising the Book of Common Prayer to reflect American political realities. Later, through the efforts of Bishop Philander Chase
Philander Chase
Philander Chase was an Episcopal Church bishop, educator, and pioneer of the United States western frontier in Ohio and Illinois.-Life:...
(1775–1852) of Ohio, Americans successfully sought material assistance from England for the purpose of training Episcopal clergy. The development of the Protestant Episcopal Church provides an example of how Americans in the early republic maintained important cultural ties with England.
When the clergy of Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
elected Samuel Seabury as their bishop in 1783, he sought consecration in England. The Oath of Supremacy
Oath of Supremacy
The Oath of Supremacy, originally imposed by King Henry VIII of England through the Act of Supremacy 1534, but repealed by his daughter, Queen Mary I of England and reinstated under Mary's sister, Queen Elizabeth I of England under the Act of Supremacy 1559, provided for any person taking public or...
prevented Seabury's consecration in England, so he went to Scotland; the non-juring
Nonjuring schism
The nonjuring schism was a split in the Church of England in the aftermath of the Glorious Revolution of 1688, over whether William of Orange and his wife Mary could legally be recognised as King and Queen of England....
Scottish bishops there consecrated him in Aberdeen
Aberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
on November 14, 1784, making him, in the words of scholar Arthur Carl Piepkorn, "the first Anglican bishop appointed to minister outside the British Isles". On August 3, 1785, the first ordinations on American soil took place there at Christ Church in Middletown
Middletown, Connecticut
Middletown is a city located in Middlesex County, Connecticut, along the Connecticut River, in the central part of the state, 16 miles south of Hartford. In 1650, it was incorporated as a town under its original Indian name, Mattabeseck. It received its present name in 1653. In 1784, the central...
.
In 1787, two priests – William White
William White (Bishop of Pennsylvania)
The Most Reverend William White was the first and fourth Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, USA , the first Bishop of the Diocese of Pennsylvania , and the second United States Senate Chaplain...
of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
and Samuel Provoost of New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
– were consecrated as bishops by the Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
, the Archbishop of York
Archbishop of York
The Archbishop of York is a high-ranking cleric in the Church of England, second only to the Archbishop of Canterbury. He is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and metropolitan of the Province of York, which covers the northern portion of England as well as the Isle of Man...
, and the Bishop of Bath and Wells
Bishop of Bath and Wells
The Bishop of Bath and Wells heads the Church of England Diocese of Bath and Wells in the Province of Canterbury in England.The present diocese covers the vast majority of the county of Somerset and a small area of Dorset. The Episcopal seat is located in the Cathedral Church of Saint Andrew in...
, the legal obstacles having been removed by the passage through Parliament of the Consecration of Bishops Abroad Act 1786. Thus there are two branches of Apostolic succession
Historical episcopate
The episcopate is the collective body of all bishops of a church. In the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, Eastern Rite Catholic, Oriental Orthodox, Old-Catholic, Moravian Church, and Independent Catholic churches as well as in the Assyrian Church of the East, it is held that only a...
for the American bishops: through the non-juring bishops of Scotland that consecrated Samuel Seabury and through the English church that consecrated William White and Samuel Provoost. All bishops in the American Church are ordained by at least three bishops. One can trace the succession of each back to Seabury, White and Provoost. (See Succession of Bishops of the Episcopal Church
Succession of Bishops of the Episcopal Church in the United States
This list consists of the bishops in the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, an independent province of the Anglican Communion. This shows the historic succession of the episcopate within this denomination.-Key to chart:...
.)
In 1789, representative clergy from nine dioceses met in Philadelphia to ratify the Church's initial constitution. The Episcopal Church was formally separated from the Church of England in 1789 so that clergy would not be required to accept the supremacy of the British monarch. A revised version of the Book of Common Prayer was written for the new church that same year. The fourth bishop of the Episcopal Church was James Madison
James Madison (Episcopal Bishop)
James Madison was the first bishop of the Diocese of Virginia of The Episcopal Church in the United States, one of the first bishops to be consecrated to the new church after the American Revolution...
, the first bishop of Virginia. Madison was consecrated in 1790 by the Archbishop of Canterbury and two other Church of England bishops. This third American bishop consecrated within the English line of succession occurred because of continuing unease within the Church of England over Seabury's nonjuring Scottish orders.
1801–1975
In 1856 the first society for African Americans in the Episcopal Church was founded by James Theodore Holly. Named The Protestant Episcopal Society for Promoting The Extension of The Church Among Colored People, the society argued that blacks should be allowed to participate in seminaries and diocesan conventions. The group lost its focus when Holly emigrated to Haiti, but other groups followed after the Civil War. The current Union of Black Episcopalians traces its history to the society. Holly went on to found the Anglican Church in HaitiEpiscopal Diocese of Haiti
The Episcopal Diocese of Haiti is the Anglican Communion diocese consisting of the entire territory of Haiti. It is part of Province 2 of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. Its cathedral, Holy Trinity located in the corner of Ave. Mgr...
, where he became the first African-American bishop on November 8, 1874. As Bishop of Haiti, Holly was the first African American to attend the Lambeth Conference. However, he was consecrated by the American Church Missionary Society, an Evangelical Episcopal branch of the Church.
When the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
began in 1861, Episcopalians in the South formed their own Protestant Episcopal Church
Protestant Episcopal Church in the Confederate States of America
The Protestant Episcopal Church in the Confederate States of America was an Anglican Christian denomination which existed from 1861 to 1865. It formed from parts of the Episcopal Church in the United States during the American Civil War...
. However, in the North the separation was never officially recognized. By May 16, 1866, the southern dioceses had rejoined the national church.
By the middle of the 19th century, evangelical Episcopalians disturbed by High Church
High church
The term "High Church" refers to beliefs and practices of ecclesiology, liturgy and theology, generally with an emphasis on formality, and resistance to "modernization." Although used in connection with various Christian traditions, the term has traditionally been principally associated with the...
Tractarianism, while continuing to work in interdenominational agencies, formed their own voluntary societies, and eventually, in 1874, a faction objecting to the revival of ritual practices established the Reformed Episcopal Church
Reformed Episcopal Church
The Reformed Episcopal Church is an Anglican church in the United States and Canada and a founding member of the Anglican Church in North America...
.
Samuel David Ferguson
Samuel David Ferguson
Samuel David Ferguson was the first Black person to be elected a bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. He was born at Charleston, South Carolina and died in Cape Palmas, Liberia....
was the first black bishop consecrated by the Episcopal Church, the first to practice in the U.S. and the first black person to sit in the House of Bishops
House of Bishops
The House of Bishops is the third House in a General Synod of some Anglican churches and the second house in the General Convention of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America.-Composition of Houses of Bishops:...
. Bishop Ferguson was consecrated on June 24, 1885, with the then-Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church acting as a consecrator.
During the Gilded Age
Gilded Age
In United States history, the Gilded Age refers to the era of rapid economic and population growth in the United States during the post–Civil War and post-Reconstruction eras of the late 19th century. The term "Gilded Age" was coined by Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner in their book The Gilded...
, highly prominent laity such as banker J. P. Morgan
J. P. Morgan
John Pierpont Morgan was an American financier, banker and art collector who dominated corporate finance and industrial consolidation during his time. In 1892 Morgan arranged the merger of Edison General Electric and Thomson-Houston Electric Company to form General Electric...
, industrialist Henry Ford
Henry Ford
Henry Ford was an American industrialist, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, and sponsor of the development of the assembly line technique of mass production. His introduction of the Model T automobile revolutionized transportation and American industry...
, and art collector Isabella Stewart Gardner
Isabella Stewart Gardner
Isabella Stewart Gardner – founder of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston – was an American art collector, philanthropist, and one of the foremost female patrons of the arts....
played a central role in shaping a distinctive upper class Episcopalian ethos, especially with regard to preserving the arts and history. These philanthropists propelled the Episcopal Church into a quasi-national position of importance while at the same time giving the church a central role in the cultural transformation of the country. Another mark of influence is the fact that more than a quarter of all presidents of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
have been Episcopalians (see List of United States Presidential religious affiliations). It was during this period that the Book of Common Prayer was revised, first in 1892 and later in 1928.
The first women were admitted as delegates to General Convention in 1970. In 1975, Vaughan Booker, who confessed to the murder of his wife and was sentenced to life in prison, was ordained to the diaconate in Graterford State Prison's chapel in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, after having repented of his sins, becoming a symbol of redemption and atonement.
Recent history (1976 to the present)
In 1976, the General Convention adopted a new prayerbook, which was a substantial revision and modernization of the previous 1928 edition. It incorporated many principles of the Roman Catholic Church's liturgical movementLiturgical Movement
The Liturgical Movement began as a movement of scholarship for the reform of worship within the Roman Catholic Church. It has grown over the last century and a half and has affected many other Christian Churches, including the Church of England and other Churches of the Anglican Communion, and some...
, which had been discussed at Vatican II. This version was adopted as the official prayerbook in 1979 after an initial three-year trial use. Several conservative parishes, however, continued to use the 1928 version. The 1976 General Convention also passed a resolution calling for an end to apartheid in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
and in 1985 called for "dioceses, institutions, and agencies" to create equal opportunity employment
Equal Opportunity Employment
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was the first federal law designed to protect most U.S. employees from employment discrimination based upon that employee's race, color, religion, sex, or national origin . The Title also established the U.S...
and affirmative action
Affirmative action
Affirmative action refers to policies that take factors including "race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation or national origin" into consideration in order to benefit an underrepresented group, usually as a means to counter the effects of a history of discrimination.-Origins:The term...
policies to address any potential "racial inequities" in clergy placement. In 1991 the General Convention declared "the practice of racism is sin" and in 2006 a unanimous House of Bishops endorsed Resolution A123 apologizing for complicity in the institution of slavery and silence over "Jim Crow" laws, segregation, and racial discrimination.
In recent decades, the Episcopal Church, like other mainline churches, has experienced a decline in membership and internal controversy, mainly over women's ordination and the place of homosexuals in the church. In response to what they perceive as a liberal theological agenda, tens of thousands of conservative Episcopalians have joined the churches of the Continuing Anglican movement
Continuing Anglican Movement
The term Continuing Anglican movement refers to a number of churches in various countries that have been formed outside of the Anglican Communion. These churches generally believe that "traditional" forms of Anglican faith and worship have been unacceptably revised or abandoned within some...
or have advocated Anglican realignment
Anglican realignment
The term Anglican realignment refers to a movement among some Anglicans to align themselves under new or alternative oversight within or outside the Anglican Communion. This movement is primarily active in parts of the Episcopal Church in the United States and the Anglican Church of Canada...
where congregations and, in four cases, dioceses have left the Episcopal Church and aligned themselves with overseas Anglican provinces including the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone of America and the Church of Nigeria
Church of Nigeria
The Church of Nigeria is the Anglican church in Nigeria. It is the second-largest province in the Anglican Communion, as measured by baptized membership, after the Church of England. It gives its current membership as "over 18 million", out of a total Nigerian population of 140 million.Since 2002...
. The phenomena of Continuing Anglicanism and Anglican Realignment have spawned new denominations such as the 800 parish Anglican Church in North America, as well as litigation over church property.
The General Convention permitted the ordination of women in 1976. The first women were canonically ordained to the priesthood in 1977. The first female bishop, Barbara Harris
Barbara Clementine Harris
Barbara Clementine Harris was the first woman ordained a bishop in the Anglican Communion.-Education:...
, was consecrated on February 11, 1989. At the present time, three U.S. dioceses do not ordain women at all. The 2006 election of Jefferts Schori as the Church's 26th presiding bishop was controversial in the wider Anglican Communion because she is a woman, and the full communion does not recognize the ordination of women. She is the only national leader of a church in the Anglican Communion who is a woman. In addition, eight American dioceses have rejected her authority and have asked the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, to assign them another national leader.
The Episcopal Church affirmed at the 1976 General Convention that homosexuals are "children of God" who deserve acceptance and pastoral care
Pastoral care
Pastoral care is the ministry of care and counseling provided by pastors, chaplains and other religious leaders to members of their church or congregation, or to persons of all faiths and none within institutional settings. This can range anywhere from home visitation to formal counseling provided...
from the church and equal protection under the law. Despite the affirmation of gay rights, the General Convention affirmed in 1991 that "physical sexual expression" is only appropriate within the monogamous, lifelong "union of husband and wife." The first openly homosexual priest, Ellen Barrett
Ellen Barrett
Ellen Marie Barrett was the first openly lesbian priest to be properly ordained by the Episcopal Church, shortly after the General Convention approved the ordination of women in 1977. Barrett's candor about her homosexuality caused great controversy within the church...
, was ordained in 1977. The first openly homosexual bishop, Gene Robinson
Gene Robinson
Vicki Gene Robinson is the ninth bishop of the Diocese of New Hampshire in the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. Robinson was elected bishop in 2003 and entered office in March 2004...
, was elected in June 2003. Robinson's election caused a crisis in both the American church and the wider Anglican Communion. In October 2003, an emergency meeting of the Anglican primates (the heads of the Anglican Communion's 38 member churches) was convened. The meeting's final communiqué included the warning that if Robinson's consecration proceeded, it would "tear the fabric of the communion at its deepest level."
In 2009, the General Convention charged the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music to develop theological and liturgical resources for same-sex blessings and report back to the General Convention in 2012. It also gave bishops an option to provide "generous pastoral support" especially where civil authorities have legalized same-gender marriage, civil unions, or domestic partnerships. On July 14, 2009, the Episcopal Church's House of Bishops voted that "any ordained ministry" is open to gay men and lesbians. The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
said the move was "likely to send shockwaves through the Anglican Communion." This vote ended a moratorium on ordaining gay bishops passed in 2006 and passed in spite of Archbishop Rowan Williams
Rowan Williams
Rowan Douglas Williams FRSL, FBA, FLSW is an Anglican bishop, poet and theologian. He is the 104th and current Archbishop of Canterbury, Metropolitan of the Province of Canterbury and Primate of All England, offices he has held since early 2003.Williams was previously Bishop of Monmouth and...
's personal call at the start of the convention that, "I hope and pray that there won't be decisions in the coming days that will push us further apart."
Those interested in the history might wish to visit the Historical Society of the Episcopal Church
Historical Society of the Episcopal Church
The Historical Society of the Episcopal Church , formerly the Church Historical Society, was founded in Philadelphia in 1910. This voluntary society includes scholars, writers, teachers, ministers as well as others interested in its goals and objectives...
or National Episcopal Historians and Archivists (NEHA)
National Episcopal Historians and Archivists (NEHA)
The National Episcopal Historians and Archivists encourages every congregation, diocese, and organization in the Episcopal Church to collect, preserve and organize its records and share its history.-Vision:...
Membership
As of 2009, the Episcopal Church reports 2,175,616 baptized members. The majority of members are in the United States, where the Church has 2,006,343 members, a decrease of 50,949 persons (-2.5 percent) from 2008. Outside of the U.S. the Church has 169,273 members, an increase of 883 persons (0.5 percent) from 2008. Total average Sunday attendance (ASA) for 2009 was 724,789, a decrease of 3.0 percent from 2008. ASA in the U.S. was 682,963 and outside the U.S. was 41,826.The Episcopal Church experienced notable growth in the first half of the 20th century, but like many mainline churches, it has had a decline in membership in more recent decades. Membership grew from 1.1 million members in 1925 to a peak of over 3.4 million members in the mid-1960s. Between 1970 and 1990, membership declined from about 3.2 million to about 2.4 million. Once changes in how membership is counted are taken into consideration, the Episcopal Church's membership numbers were broadly flat throughout the 1990s, with a slight growth in the first years of the 21st century. A loss of 115,000 members was reported for the years 2003–5, which has been attributed in part to controversy concerning ordination of homosexuals to the priesthood and the election of Gene Robinson as Bishop of New Hampshire. Membership is concentrated along the east coast. The District of Columbia, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Virginia have the highest rates of adherence. The state of New York has the largest number of members, with over 200,000. In 1965, there were 880,000 children in Episcopal Sunday School programs, by 2001 the number had declined to 297,000.
Structure
As its name suggests, the Episcopal Church, as are other Anglican churches, is governed according to episcopal polityEpiscopal polity
Episcopal polity is a form of church governance that is hierarchical in structure with the chief authority over a local Christian church resting in a bishop...
with its own system of canon law
Canon law (Episcopal Church in the United States)
Like the other autonomous member churches of the Anglican Communion, the Episcopal Church in the United States has its own system of Canon law. Unlike the system of canon law in the Church of England, which continues to be drawn from the canon law of the Western church, English ecclesiastical law...
. This means that the church is organized into dioceses led by bishops in consultation with representative bodies. It is a unitary body
Unitary state
A unitary state is a state governed as one single unit in which the central government is supreme and any administrative divisions exercise only powers that their central government chooses to delegate...
, in that the power of the General Convention
General Convention of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America
The General Convention is the primary governing and legislative body of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. With the exception of the Bible, the Book of Common Prayer, and the Constitution and Canons, it is the ultimate authority in the Episcopal Church. General Convention...
is not limited by the individual dioceses. The church has, however, a highly decentralized structure and characteristics of a confederation
Confederation
A confederation in modern political terms is a permanent union of political units for common action in relation to other units. Usually created by treaty but often later adopting a common constitution, confederations tend to be established for dealing with critical issues such as defense, foreign...
.
Parishes and dioceses
At the local level, there are over 7,000 Episcopal congregations, each of which elects a vestryVestry
A vestry is a room in or attached to a church or synagogue in which the vestments, vessels, records, etc., are kept , and in which the clergy and choir robe or don their vestments for divine service....
or bishop's committee. Subject to the approval of its diocesan bishop
Diocesan bishop
A diocesan bishop — in general — is a bishop in charge of a diocese. These are to be distinguished from suffragan bishops, assistant bishops, coadjutor bishops, auxiliary bishops, metropolitans, and primates....
, the vestry of each parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
elects a priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
, called the rector
Rector
The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...
, who has spiritual jurisdiction in the parish and selects assistant clergy, both deacon
Deacon
Deacon is a ministry in the Christian Church that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions...
s and priests. (There is a difference between vestry and clergy elections – clergy are ordained members usually selected from outside the parish, whereas any member in good standing of a parish is eligible to serve on the vestry.) The diocesan bishop, however, appoints the clergy for all missions and may choose to do so for non-self-supporting parishes.
The middle judicatory
Middle judicatory
A middle judicatory is an administrative structure or organization found in a religious denominations between the local congregation and the widest or highest national or international level...
consists of a diocese headed by a bishop who is assisted by a standing committee. The bishop and standing committee are elected by the diocesan convention whose members are selected by the congregations. The election of a bishop requires the consent of a majority of standing committees and diocesan bishops. Conventions meet annually to consider legislation (such as revisions to the diocesan constitution and canons) and speak for the diocese. Dioceses are organized into nine provinces
Ecclesiastical Province
An ecclesiastical province is a large jurisdiction of religious government, so named by analogy with a secular province, existing in certain hierarchical Christian churches, especially in the Catholic Church and Orthodox Churches and in the Anglican Communion...
. Each province has a synod
Synod
A synod historically is a council of a church, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. In modern usage, the word often refers to the governing body of a particular church, whether its members are meeting or not...
and a mission budget, but it has no authority over its member dioceses.
There are 110 dioceses in the United States, Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
, Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
, Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
, Honduras
Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
, Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
, Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
and the Virgin Islands
Virgin Islands
The Virgin Islands are the western island group of the Leeward Islands, which are the northern part of the Lesser Antilles, which form the border between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean...
. The Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe and the Navajoland Area Mission
Navajoland Area Mission
The Navajoland Area Mission, also known as the Episcopal Church in Navajoland, is an Area Mission of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America...
are jurisdictions similar to a diocese. The Presiding Bishop is one of three Anglican primates who together exercise metropolitan
Metropolitan bishop
In Christian churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan, pertains to the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a metropolis; that is, the chief city of a historical Roman province, ecclesiastical province, or regional capital.Before the establishment of...
jurisdiction over the Episcopal Church of Cuba
Iglesia Episcopal de Cuba
The Episcopal Church of Cuba traces its origins to the foundation of an Anglican presence on the island of Cuba in 1901. It consists of forty-six parishes, and about 10,000 members. It is a part of the Anglican Communion though part of no ecclesiastical province, having the status of an...
, which is an extraprovincial diocese in the Anglican Communion.
National church
General Convention of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America
The General Convention is the primary governing and legislative body of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. With the exception of the Bible, the Book of Common Prayer, and the Constitution and Canons, it is the ultimate authority in the Episcopal Church. General Convention...
, consisting of the House of Deputies
House of Deputies
The House of Deputies is one of the legislative houses of the bicameral General Convention of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America...
and the House of Bishops
House of Bishops
The House of Bishops is the third House in a General Synod of some Anglican churches and the second house in the General Convention of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America.-Composition of Houses of Bishops:...
. All active (includes diocesan
Diocesan bishop
A diocesan bishop — in general — is a bishop in charge of a diocese. These are to be distinguished from suffragan bishops, assistant bishops, coadjutor bishops, auxiliary bishops, metropolitans, and primates....
, coadjutor
Coadjutor bishop
A coadjutor bishop is a bishop in the Roman Catholic or Anglican churches who is designated to assist the diocesan bishop in the administration of the diocese, almost as co-bishop of the diocese...
, suffragan
Suffragan bishop
A suffragan bishop is a bishop subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop. He or she may be assigned to an area which does not have a cathedral of its own.-Anglican Communion:...
, and assistant bishops
Assistant Bishop
An assistant bishop in the Anglican Communion is a bishop appointed to assist a diocesan bishop.-Church of England:In the established Church of England, assistant bishops are usually are retired bishops – in which case they are honorary assistant bishops...
) and retired bishops make up the over 300 members of the House of Bishops. Diocesan conventions elect over 800 representatives (each diocese elects four laity and four clergy) to the House of Deputies. The House of Deputies elects a president and vice-president to preside at meetings. General Convention enacts two types of legislation. The first type is the rules by which the church is governed as contained in the Constitution and Canons
Canon law
Canon law is the body of laws & regulations made or adopted by ecclesiastical authority, for the government of the Christian organization and its members. It is the internal ecclesiastical law governing the Catholic Church , the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches, and the Anglican Communion of...
; the second type are broad guidelines on church policy called resolutions. Either house may propose legislation. The House of Deputies only meets as a full body once every three years; however, the House of Bishops meets regularly throughout the triennium between conventions.
The real work of General Convention is done by interim bodies, the most powerful being the Executive Council, which oversees the work of the national church during the triennium. The council has 40 members; 20 are directly elected by the General Convention, 18 are elected by the nine provinces, and the Presiding Bishop and President of the House of Deputies are ex officio members. Other interim bodies include a number of standing commissions which study and draft policy proposals for consideration and report back to General Convention. Each standing commission consists of three bishops, three priests or deacons, and six laypersons. Bishops are appointed by the Presiding Bishop while the other clergy and laypersons are appointed by the president of the House of Deputies.
The Presiding Bishop is elected from and by the House of Bishops and confirmed by the House of Deputies for a nine year term. The Presiding Bishop is the chief pastor and primate of the Episcopal Church and is charged with providing leadership in the development of the Church's program as well as speaking on behalf of the Church. The Presiding Bishop does not possess a territorial see
Episcopal See
An episcopal see is, in the original sense, the official seat of a bishop. This seat, which is also referred to as the bishop's cathedra, is placed in the bishop's principal church, which is therefore called the bishop's cathedral...
; since the 1970s, however, the Presiding Bishop has enjoyed extraordinary jurisdiction (metropolitical authority) and has authority to visit dioceses for sacrament
Sacrament
A sacrament is a sacred rite recognized as of particular importance and significance. There are various views on the existence and meaning of such rites.-General definitions and terms:...
al and preaching ministry, for consulting bishops, and for related purposes. The Presiding Bishop chairs the House of Bishops as well as the Executive Council of the General Convention. In addition, the Presiding Bishop directs the Episcopal Church Center, the national administrative headquarters of the denomination. Located at 815 Second Avenue, New York City, New York, the center is often referred to by Episcopalians simply as "815".
A system of ecclesiastical court
Ecclesiastical court
An ecclesiastical court is any of certain courts having jurisdiction mainly in spiritual or religious matters. In the Middle Ages in many areas of Europe these courts had much wider powers than before the development of nation states...
s is provided for under Title IV of the canons of General Convention. These courts are empowered to discipline and depose deacons, priests, and bishops.
Worship and liturgy
Often a congregation or a particular service will be referred to as Low Church or High Church. In theory:
- High ChurchHigh churchThe term "High Church" refers to beliefs and practices of ecclesiology, liturgy and theology, generally with an emphasis on formality, and resistance to "modernization." Although used in connection with various Christian traditions, the term has traditionally been principally associated with the...
, especially the very high Anglo-Catholic movement, is ritually inclined towards embellishments such as incense, formal hymns, and a higher degree of ceremony. In addition to clergy vesting in albAlbThe alb , one of the liturgical vestments of the Roman Catholic, Anglican and many Protestant churches, is an ample white garment coming down to the ankles and usually girdled with a cincture. It is simply the long linen tunic used by the Romans...
s, stoles and chasubleChasubleThe chasuble is the outermost liturgical vestment worn by clergy for the celebration of the Eucharist in Western-tradition Christian Churches that use full vestments, primarily in the Roman Catholic, Anglican and Lutheran churches, as well as in some parts of the United Methodist Church...
s, the lay assistants may also be vested in cassockCassockThe cassock, an item of clerical clothing, is an ankle-length robe worn by clerics of the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Anglican Church, Lutheran Church and some ministers and ordained officers of Presbyterian and Reformed churches. Ankle-length garment is the meaning of the...
and surpliceSurpliceA surplice is a liturgical vestment of the Western Christian Church...
. The sung Eucharist tends to be emphasized in High Church congregations, with Anglo-Catholic congregations and celebrants using sung services almost exclusively. Often, due to the effects of the Second Vatican CouncilSecond Vatican CouncilThe Second Vatican Council addressed relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the modern world. It was the twenty-first Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church and the second to be held at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. It opened under Pope John XXIII on 11 October 1962 and closed...
on the Roman Catholic Church, some Anglo-Catholic Episcopal services are actually more elaborate than a modern Roman Catholic Mass. - Low ChurchLow churchLow church is a term of distinction in the Church of England or other Anglican churches initially designed to be pejorative. During the series of doctrinal and ecclesiastic challenges to the established church in the 16th and 17th centuries, commentators and others began to refer to those groups...
is simpler and may incorporate other elements such as informal praise and worship music. "Low" congregations tend towards a more "traditional Protestant" outlook with its emphasis of Biblical revelation over symbolism. The spoken Eucharist tends to be emphasized in Low Church congregations. - Broad ChurchBroad churchBroad church is a term referring to latitudinarian churchmanship in the Church of England, in particular, and Anglicanism, in general. From this, the term is often used to refer to secular political organisations, meaning that they encompass a broad range of opinion.-Usage:After the terms high...
incorporates elements of both low church and high church.
A majority of Episcopal services could be considered to be "High Church" while still falling somewhat short of a typical Anglo-Catholic "very" high church service. In contrast, "Low Church" services are somewhat rarer. However, while some Episcopalians refer to their churches by these labels, often there is overlapping, and the basic rites do not greatly differ. There are also variations that blend elements of all three and have their own unique features, such as New England Episcopal churches, which have elements drawn from Puritan practices, combining the traditions of "high church" with the simplicity of "low church". Typical parish worship features Bible readings from the Old Testament as well as from both the Epistle
Epistle
An epistle is a writing directed or sent to a person or group of people, usually an elegant and formal didactic letter. The epistle genre of letter-writing was common in ancient Egypt as part of the scribal-school writing curriculum. The letters in the New Testament from Apostles to Christians...
s and the Gospel
Gospel
A gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. It is primarily used in reference to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...
s of the New Testament.
In the Eucharist or Holy Communion service, the Book of Common Prayer specifies that bread and wine are consecrated for consumption by the people. Those wishing for whatever reason to avoid alcohol are free to decline the cup. A Eucharist can be part of a wedding to celebrate a sacramental marriage and of a funeral
Funeral
A funeral is a ceremony for celebrating, sanctifying, or remembering the life of a person who has died. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember the dead, from interment itself, to various monuments, prayers, and rituals undertaken in their honor...
as a thank offering (sacrifice) to God and for the comfort of the mourners.
The veneration of saints in the Episcopal Church
Calendar of saints (Episcopal Church in the United States of America)
The veneration of saints in the Episcopal Church is a continuation of an ancient tradition from the early Church which honors important people of the Christian faith. The usage of the term "saint" is similar to Roman Catholic and Orthodox traditions. Those in the Anglo-Catholic tradition may...
is a continuation of an ancient tradition from the early Church which honors important people of the Christian faith. The usage of the term "saint" is similar to Catholic and Orthodox traditions. Those inclined to the Anglo-Catholic traditions may explicitly invoke saints as intercessors in prayer.
Book of Common Prayer
Custodian of the Standard Book of Common Prayer
The Custodian of the Standard Book of Common Prayer is responsible for the maintenance of the official text of the Book of Common Prayer used by the Episcopal Church in the United States of America....
its own Book of Common Prayer
Book of Common Prayer
The Book of Common Prayer is the short title of a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion, as well as by the Continuing Anglican, "Anglican realignment" and other Anglican churches. The original book, published in 1549 , in the reign of Edward VI, was a product of the English...
(BCP) (similar to other Anglican BsCP), containing most of the worship services (or "liturgies") used in the Episcopal Church. Because of its widespread use in the church, the BCP is both a reflection of and a source of theology for Episcopalians.
The full name of the BCP is: The Book of Common Prayer and Administration of the Sacraments and Other Rites and Ceremonies of the Church Together with The Psalter or Psalms of David According to the use of The Episcopal Church.
Previous American BCPs were issued in 1789, 1892, and 1928. (A proposed BCP was issued in 1786 but not adopted.) The BCP is in the public domain
Public domain
Works are in the public domain if the intellectual property rights have expired, if the intellectual property rights are forfeited, or if they are not covered by intellectual property rights at all...
; however, any new revisions of the BCP are copyrighted until they are approved by the General Convention. After this happens, the BCP is placed into the public domain.
The current edition dates from 1979 and was marked by a linguistic modernization and, in returning to ancient Christian tradition, it restored the Eucharist as the central liturgy
Liturgy
Liturgy is either the customary public worship done by a specific religious group, according to its particular traditions or a more precise term that distinguishes between those religious groups who believe their ritual requires the "people" to do the "work" of responding to the priest, and those...
of the church. The 1979 version reflects the theological and worship changes of the ecumenical reforms of the 1960s and 1970s. On the whole, it changed the theological emphasis of the church to be more Catholic in nature. In 1979, the Convention adopted the revision as the "official" BCP and required churches using the old (1928) prayer book to also use the 1979 revision. There was enough strife in implementing and adopting the 1979 BCP that an apology was issued at the 2000 General Convention for any who were "offended or alienated during the time of liturgical transition to the 1979 Book of Common Prayer". The 2000 General Convention also authorized the occasional use of some parts of the 1928 book, under the direction of the bishop.
The 1979 edition contains a provision for the use of "traditional" (Elizabethan) language under various circumstances not directly provided for in the book, and the Anglican Service Book
Anglican Service Book
The Anglican Service Book is an edition in traditional language of the Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church . The book was adapted from the 1979 version as well as other sources such as the Anglican Missal, the Sarum Missal and the Book of Occasional Services. The rubrics of the 1979...
was produced accordingly, as "a traditional language adaptation of the 1979 Book of Common Prayer together with the Psalter or Psalms of David and Additional Devotions."
Doctrine and practice
The center of Episcopal teaching is the life and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The basic teachings of the church, or catechism
Catechism
A catechism , i.e. to indoctrinate) is a summary or exposition of doctrine, traditionally used in Christian religious teaching from New Testament times to the present...
, include:
- Jesus Christ is fully human and fully God. He died and was resurrected from the dead.
- Jesus provides the way of eternal life for those who believe.
- God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ), and God the Holy Spirit, are one God, and are called the Holy Trinity, "Three and yet one"
- The Old and New Testaments of the Bible were written by people "under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit." The Apocrypha are additional books that are used in Christian worship, but not for the formation of doctrine.
- The two great and necessary sacramentsAnglican sacramentsIn keeping with its prevailing self-identity as a via media or "middle path" of Western Christianity, Anglican sacramental theology expresses elements in keeping with its status as a church in the Catholic tradition and a church of the Reformation...
are Holy BaptismBaptismIn Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
and Holy EucharistEucharistThe Eucharist , also called Holy Communion, the Sacrament of the Altar, the Blessed Sacrament, the Lord's Supper, and other names, is a Christian sacrament or ordinance...
. - Other sacramental rites are confirmation, ordinationOrdinationIn general religious use, ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart as clergy to perform various religious rites and ceremonies. The process and ceremonies of ordination itself varies by religion and denomination. One who is in preparation for, or who is...
, marriageMarriageMarriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
, reconciliation of a penitentConfessionThis article is for the religious practice of confessing one's sins.Confession is the acknowledgment of sin or wrongs...
, and unction. - Belief in heavenHeavenHeaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit...
, hellHellIn many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
, and Jesus' return in glorySecond ComingIn Christian doctrine, the Second Coming of Christ, the Second Advent, or the Parousia, is the anticipated return of Jesus Christ from Heaven, where he sits at the Right Hand of God, to Earth. This prophecy is found in the canonical gospels and in most Christian and Islamic eschatologies...
. - Emphasis on living out the Great CommandmentGreat CommandmentThe Great Commandment, or Greatest Commandment, is an appellation applied to either the first, or both, of two commandments which appear in , and...
to love God and neighbor fully, as found in the Gospel of Matthew 22:36-40
The full catechism is included in the Book of Common Prayer and is posted on the Episcopal website. The threefold sources of authority in Anglicanism are scripture, tradition, and reason. These three sources uphold and critique each other in a dynamic way.
The Episcopal Church follows the via media or "middle way" between Protestant and Roman Catholic doctrine and practices: that is both Catholic and Reformed. Not all Episcopalians self-identify with this image, especially those whose convictions lean toward either evangelicalism
Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...
or Anglo-Catholicism
Anglo-Catholicism
The terms Anglo-Catholic and Anglo-Catholicism describe people, beliefs and practices within Anglicanism that affirm the Catholic, rather than Protestant, heritage and identity of the Anglican churches....
. There are many different theologies represented within the Episcopal Church. Some Episcopal theologians hold evangelical positions, affirming the authority of scripture over all. The Episcopal Church website glossary defines the sources of authority as a balance between scripture, tradition, and reason. These three are characterized as a "three-legged stool" which will topple if any one overbalances the other. It also notes
- The Anglican balancing of the sources of authority has been criticized as clumsy or "muddy." It has been associated with the Anglican affinity for seeking the mean between extremes and living the via media. It has also been associated with the Anglican willingness to tolerate and comprehend opposing viewpoints instead of imposing tests of orthodoxy or resorting to heresy trials.
This balance of scripture, tradition and reason is traced to the work of Richard Hooker
Richard Hooker
Richard Hooker was an Anglican priest and an influential theologian. Hooker's emphases on reason, tolerance and the value of tradition came to exert a lasting influence on the development of the Church of England...
, a 16th century apologist. In Hooker's model, scripture is the primary means of arriving at doctrine and things stated plainly in scripture are accepted as true. Issues that are ambiguous are determined by tradition, which is checked by reason. Noting the role of personal experience in Christian life, some Episcopalians have advocated following the example of the Wesleyan Quadrilateral
Wesleyan Quadrilateral
The Wesleyan Quadrilateral is a methodology for theological reflection that is credited to John Wesley, leader of the Methodist movement in the late 18th Century. The term itself was coined by 20th century American Methodist Albert C...
of Methodist theology by thinking in terms of a "Fourth Leg" of "experience." This understanding is highly dependent on the work of Friedrich Schleiermacher
Friedrich Daniel Ernst Schleiermacher
Friedrich Daniel Ernst Schleiermacher was a German theologian and philosopher known for his attempt to reconcile the criticisms of the Enlightenment with traditional Protestant orthodoxy. He also became influential in the evolution of Higher Criticism, and his work forms part of the foundation of...
.
A public example of this struggle between different Christian positions in the church has been the 2003 consecration of the Right Reverend Gene Robinson
Gene Robinson
Vicki Gene Robinson is the ninth bishop of the Diocese of New Hampshire in the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. Robinson was elected bishop in 2003 and entered office in March 2004...
, an openly gay man living with a long-term partner. The acceptance/rejection of his consecration is motivated by different views on the authority of and understanding of scripture. This struggle has some members concerned that the church may not continue its relationship with the larger Anglican Church. Others, however, view this pluralism as an asset, allowing a place for both sides to balance each other.
Comedian and Episcopalian Robin Williams
Robin Williams
Robin McLaurin Williams is an American actor and comedian. Rising to fame with his role as the alien Mork in the TV series Mork and Mindy, and later stand-up comedy work, Williams has performed in many feature films since 1980. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance...
once described the Episcopal faith (and, in a performance in London, specifically the Church of England) as "Catholic Lite – same rituals, half the guilt."
Social issues
The preparation materials for delegates to the 2006 General Convention highlighted areas of "Social Teaching/Contentious Resolutions" made by the General Convention in the previous 30 years including race, economic justice, ordination of women, and inclusion. In some areas, such as race, the church has maintained a consistent theme. In other areas, such as human sexuality, the church has faced larger struggles.Race
- In 1976, the Convention called for an end to apartheid while commending the Anglican Church of Southern Africa (formerly the Church of the Province of Southern Africa) for its ministry.
- In 1979, the Convention condemned the Ku Klux KlanKu Klux KlanKu Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
and all similarly racist groups and called on church members to oppose them. - Between 1982 and 1985, equal opportunity employmentEqual Opportunity EmploymentTitle VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was the first federal law designed to protect most U.S. employees from employment discrimination based upon that employee's race, color, religion, sex, or national origin . The Title also established the U.S...
and affirmative actionAffirmative actionAffirmative action refers to policies that take factors including "race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation or national origin" into consideration in order to benefit an underrepresented group, usually as a means to counter the effects of a history of discrimination.-Origins:The term...
were first implemented within the church. - In 1991, the Convention declared that the practice of racismRacismRacism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
is sin and called on all church members to work to remove racism from the US. - In 1994, the Convention condemned the "racist and unjust treatment" of immigrantsImmigration to the United StatesImmigration to the United States has been a major source of population growth and cultural change throughout much of the history of the United States. The economic, social, and political aspects of immigration have caused controversy regarding ethnicity, economic benefits, jobs for non-immigrants,...
.
Economic justice
- During the Great DepressionGreat DepressionThe Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, places like the Cathedral Shelter of ChicagoCathedral Shelter of ChicagoThe Cathedral Shelter of Chicago was founded in 1915. It began as a storefront mission of the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago, attached to the former Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul, providing food and clothing to the poor and homeless. In 1920, they began offering substance abuse treatment...
served the poor. - In 1991, the Convention recommended parity in pay and benefits between clergy and lay employees in equivalent positions.
- Several times between 1979 and 2003, the Convention expressed concern over affordable housingAffordable housingAffordable housing is a term used to describe dwelling units whose total housing costs are deemed "affordable" to those that have a median income. Although the term is often applied to rental housing that is within the financial means of those in the lower income ranges of a geographical area, the...
and supported the church working to provide affordable housing. - In 1982 and 1997, the Convention reaffirmed the Church's commitment to eradicating povertyPovertyPoverty is the lack of a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. About 1.7 billion people are estimated to live...
and malnutritionMalnutritionMalnutrition is the condition that results from taking an unbalanced diet in which certain nutrients are lacking, in excess , or in the wrong proportions....
and challenged parishes to increase ministries to the poor. - In 1997 and 2000, the Convention urged the church to promote living wageLiving wageIn public policy, a living wage is the minimum hourly income necessary for a worker to meet basic needs . These needs include shelter and other incidentals such as clothing and nutrition...
s for all. - In 2003, the Convention urged legislators to raise the US minimum wageMinimum wageA minimum wage is the lowest hourly, daily or monthly remuneration that employers may legally pay to workers. Equivalently, it is the lowest wage at which workers may sell their labour. Although minimum wage laws are in effect in a great many jurisdictions, there are differences of opinion about...
and to establish a living wageLiving wageIn public policy, a living wage is the minimum hourly income necessary for a worker to meet basic needs . These needs include shelter and other incidentals such as clothing and nutrition...
with health benefits as the national standard.
Ordination of women
- The first women were ordained priests in the Episcopal Church on July 29, 1974, though the orders had not been endorsed by General Convention. The so-called Philadelphia 11 were ordained by Bishops Daniel Corrigan, Robert L. DeWitt, Edward R. Welles, assisted by Antonio Ramos. On September 7, 1975, four more women were irregularly ordained by retired Bishop George W. Barrett. The 1976, General Convention, which approved the ordination of women to the priesthood and episcopate, voted to regularize the 15 forerunners.
- In 1994, the Convention affirmed that there is value in the theological position that women should not be ordained
- In 1997, the Convention affirmed that "the canons regarding the ordination, licensing, and deployment of women are mandatory and that dioceses noncompliant in 1997 shall give status reports on their progress toward full implementation."
- In 2006, the convention elected Katharine Jefferts Schori as Presiding Bishop. She is the first woman to serve as primatePrimate (religion)Primate is a title or rank bestowed on some bishops in certain Christian churches. Depending on the particular tradition, it can denote either jurisdictional authority or ceremonial precedence ....
in the Anglican CommunionAnglican CommunionThe Anglican Communion is an international association of national and regional Anglican churches in full communion with the Church of England and specifically with its principal primate, the Archbishop of Canterbury...
.
The three "noncompliant" dioceses were San Joaquin
Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin
The Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin is a diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America , located in central California with its headquarters in Modesto.-Secession from Episcopal Church:...
, Quincy
Episcopal Diocese of Quincy
The Diocese of Quincy is an Anglican diocese in western Illinois, United States. It is a founding member of the Anglican Church in North America...
, and Fort Worth. The 2006 directory of the North American Association for the Diaconate lists three women deacons in Quincy, 15 in San Joaquin, and 8 in Fort Worth. Fort Worth also allows parishes that wish to call a woman priest to transfer to the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Dallas
Episcopal Diocese of Dallas
The Episcopal Diocese of Dallas is a diocese of the Episcopal Church USA which was formed on December 20, 1895, when the Missionary District of Northern Texas was granted diocesan status at the denomination's General Convention the preceding October. The Rt. Rev...
.
Gender and sexuality
- In 1976, the Convention declared that homosexuals are "children of God" and "entitled to full civil rights".
- In 1979, the Convention endorsed the Equal Rights AmendmentEqual Rights AmendmentThe Equal Rights Amendment was a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution. The ERA was originally written by Alice Paul and, in 1923, it was introduced in the Congress for the first time...
and urged legislatures to ratify it. - In 1988, the Convention reaffirmed the expectation of chastity and fidelity in relationships.
- In 1991, the Convention restated that "physical sexual expression" is only appropriate within a monogamous "union of husband and wife". The Convention also called on the church to "continue to reconcile the discontinuity between this teaching and the experience of members", referring both to dioceses that have chosen to bless monogamous same-sex unions and to general tolerance of premarital relations.
- In 2000, the Convention affirmed "the variety of human relationships in and outside of marriage" and acknowledged "disagreement over the Church's traditional teaching on human sexuality."
- The 2006, General Convention affirmed "support of gay and lesbian persons as children of God"; calls on legislatures to provide protections such as bereavement and family leave policies; and opposes any state or federal constitutional amendment that prohibits same-sex civil marriages or civil unions."
- The 2009, General Convention affirmed that "gays and lesbians (that are) in lifelong committed relationships," should be ordained, saying that "God has called and may call such individuals to any ordained ministry in the Episcopal Church." The Convention also voted to allow bishops to decide whether or not to bless same-sex marriages.
Slavery
In 1861, a pamphlet titled A Scriptural, Ecclesiastical, and Historical View of SlaveryA Scriptural, Ecclesiastical, and Historical View of Slavery
A Scriptural, Ecclesiastical, and Historical View of Slavery was a pamphlet written in 1861 by John Henry Hopkins, and addressed to the Reverend Alonzo Potter of Pennsylvania....
written by John Henry Hopkins
John Henry Hopkins
John Henry Hopkins was the first bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Vermont and was the eighth Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America.-Early life and career:...
attempted to justify slavery based on the New Testament and gave a clear insight into the Episcopal Church's involvement in slavery. Bishop Hopkins Letter on Slavery Ripped Up and his Misuse of the Sacred Scriptures Exposed, written by an anonymous cleric in 1863, opposed the points mentioned in Hopkins' pamphlet and revealed a startling divide in the Episcopal Church over the issue of slavery.
Episcopal Relief and Development
Episcopal Relief and DevelopmentEpiscopal Relief and Development
Episcopal Relief & Development is the international relief and development agency of the Episcopal Church. It helps to rebuild after disasters and aims to empower people by offering lasting solutions that fight poverty, hunger and disease...
is the international relief and development agency of the Episcopal Church of the United States. It helps to rebuild after disasters and aims to empower people by offering lasting solutions that fight poverty, hunger and disease. Episcopal Relief and Development programs focus on alleviating hunger, improving food supply, creating economic opportunities, strengthening communities, promoting health, fighting disease, responding to disasters, and rebuilding communities.
Scholarships
There are about 60 trust funds administered by the Episcopal church which offer scholarships to young people affiliated with the church. Qualifying considerations often relate to historical missionary work of the church among American Indians and African-Americans, as well as work in China and other foreign missions. There are special programs for both American Indians and African-Americans interested in training for the ministry.Ecumenical relations
Like the other churches of the Anglican Communion, the Episcopal Church has entered into full communionFull communion
In Christian ecclesiology, full communion is a relationship between church organizations or groups that mutually recognize their sharing the essential doctrines....
with the Old Catholic Churches of the Union of Utrecht
Old Catholic Church
The term Old Catholic Church is commonly used to describe a number of Ultrajectine Christian churches that originated with groups that split from the Roman Catholic Church over certain doctrines, most importantly that of Papal Infallibility...
, the Philippine Independent Church
Philippine Independent Church
The Philippine Independent Church, The Philippine Independent Church, The Philippine Independent Church, (officially the or the IFI, also known as the Philippine Independent Catholic Church or in Ilocano: Siwawayawaya nga Simbaan ti Filipinas (in in Kinaray-a/Hiligaynon: Simbahan Hilway nga...
, and the Mar Thoma Syrian Church of Malabar. The Episcopal Church is also in a relationship of full communion with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is a mainline Protestant denomination headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA officially came into existence on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three churches. As of December 31, 2009, it had 4,543,037 baptized members, with 2,527,941 of them...
and the Northern and Southern Provinces of the Moravian Church in America.
The Episcopal Church itself maintains ecumenical dialogs with the United Methodist Church
United Methodist Church
The United Methodist Church is a Methodist Christian denomination which is both mainline Protestant and evangelical. Founded in 1968 by the union of The Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church, the UMC traces its roots back to the revival movement of John and Charles Wesley...
and the Moravian Church in America, and participates in pan-Anglican dialogs with the Oriental Orthodox Churches, the World Alliance of Reformed Churches
World Alliance of Reformed Churches
The World Alliance of Reformed Churches is a fellowship of more than 200 churches with roots in the 16th-century Reformation, and particularly in the theology of John Calvin...
, and the Roman Catholic Church. In 2006 a relation of interim Eucharistic sharing was inaugurated with the United Methodist Church, a step that may ultimately lead to full communion.
Historically Anglican churches have had strong ecumenical ties with the Eastern Orthodox Churches, and the Episcopal Church particularly with the Russian Orthodox Church
Russian Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...
, but relations in more recent years have been strained, following the ordination of women
Ordination of women
Ordination in general religious usage is the process by which a person is consecrated . The ordination of women is a regular practice among some major religious groups, as it was of several religions of antiquity...
and the ordination of Gene Robinson
Gene Robinson
Vicki Gene Robinson is the ninth bishop of the Diocese of New Hampshire in the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. Robinson was elected bishop in 2003 and entered office in March 2004...
to the episcopate. A former relation of full communion with the Polish National Catholic Church
Polish National Catholic Church
The Polish National Catholic Church is a Christian church founded and based in the United States by Polish-Americans who were Roman Catholic. The PNCC is a breakaway Catholic Church in dialogue with the Catholic Church; it seeks full communion with the Holy See although it differs theologically...
(itself once a part of the Union of Utrecht
Utrecht Union
The Union of Utrecht is a federation of Old Catholic Churches, not in communion with Rome, that seceded from the Roman Catholic Church over the issue of Papal infallibility. The Declaration of Utrecht solidified this movement in 1889...
) was broken off by the PNCC in 1976 over the ordination of women.
The Episcopal Church was a founding member of the Consultation on Church Union
Consultation on Church Union
The Consultation on Church Union was an effort towards church unity in the United States, that began in 1962 and in 2002 became the Churches Uniting in Christ...
and participates in its successor, Churches Uniting in Christ
Churches Uniting in Christ
Churches Uniting in Christ brings together ten mainline American denominations , and was inaugurated on January 20, 2002....
. The Episcopal Church is a founding member of the National Council of Churches
National Council of Churches
The National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA is an ecumenical partnership of 37 Christian faith groups in the United States. Its member denominations, churches, conventions, and archdioceses include Mainline Protestant, Orthodox, African American, Evangelical, and historic peace...
, the World Council of Churches
World Council of Churches
The World Council of Churches is a worldwide fellowship of 349 global, regional and sub-regional, national and local churches seeking unity, a common witness and Christian service. It is a Christian ecumenical organization that is based in the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, Switzerland...
, and the new Christian Churches Together in the USA
Christian Churches Together
Christian Churches Together in the USA is a Christian ecumenical group formed in 2006 to "broaden and expand fellowship, unity and witness among the diverse expressions of Christian faith today"....
. Dioceses and parishes are frequently members of local ecumenical councils as well.
See also
- Complete list of Presiding Bishops
- Dioceses of the Episcopal Church in the United States of AmericaDioceses of the Episcopal Church in the United States of AmericaThe Episcopal Church is governed by a General Convention and consists of 100 dioceses in the United States proper, plus ten dioceses in other countries or outlying U.S. territories and the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe, which is similar to a diocese....
- Succession of Bishops of the Episcopal Church in the United StatesSuccession of Bishops of the Episcopal Church in the United StatesThis list consists of the bishops in the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, an independent province of the Anglican Communion. This shows the historic succession of the episcopate within this denomination.-Key to chart:...
- List of colleges and seminaries affiliated with the Episcopal Church
- Churches Uniting in ChristChurches Uniting in ChristChurches Uniting in Christ brings together ten mainline American denominations , and was inaugurated on January 20, 2002....
- Anglican realignmentAnglican realignmentThe term Anglican realignment refers to a movement among some Anglicans to align themselves under new or alternative oversight within or outside the Anglican Communion. This movement is primarily active in parts of the Episcopal Church in the United States and the Anglican Church of Canada...
Further reading
Chronological order of publication (oldest first)- Anglican & Episcopal HistoryAnglican & Episcopal HistoryAnglican & Episcopal History is published quarterly by the Historical Society of the Episcopal Church, based in Austin, Texas.-History:...
(articles, church reviews, and book reviews). - Articles on leading Episcopalians, both lay (e.g., George WashingtonGeorge WashingtonGeorge Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
, Franklin D. RooseveltFranklin D. RooseveltFranklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
, Frances PerkinsFrances PerkinsFrances Perkins , born Fannie Coralie Perkins, was the U.S. Secretary of Labor from 1933 to 1945, and the first woman appointed to the U.S. Cabinet. As a loyal supporter of her friend, Franklin D. Roosevelt, she helped pull the labor movement into the New Deal coalition...
) and ordained, in American National Biography. (1999). Edited by John A. Garraty and Mark C. Carnes. New York: Oxford Univ. Press. Also 100 biographical articles in Hein and Shattuck, The Episcopalians: see below. - A Brief History of the Episcopal Church. Holmes, David L. (1993). Harrisburg, PA: Trinity Press International.
- Standing against the Whirlwind: Evangelical Episcopalians in Nineteenth-Century America. (1996) Butler, Diana Hochstedt.
- A Dictionary for Episcopalians. Wall, John N. (2000). Boston, MA: Cowley Publications.
- Documents of Witness: A History of the Episcopal Church, 1782–1985. Armentrout, Don S., & Slocum, Robert Boak. (1994). New York: Church Hymnal Corporation.
- Readings from the History of the Episcopal Church. Prichard, Robert W. (Ed.). (1986). Wilton, CT: Morehouse-Barlow.
- The Episcopal Clerical Directory. New York: Church Publishing.
- An Episcopal Dictionary of the Church: A User Friendly Reference for Episcopalians. Armentrout, Don S., & Slocum, Robert Boak. (Eds.). ([1999]). New York: Church Publishing Incorporated.
- The Episcopalians. Hein, David, and Gardiner H. Shattuck Jr. (2005). New York: Church Publishing.
- "Episcopalian Crisis: Authority, Homosexuality & the Future of Anglicanism". Seltser, Barry Jay Commonweal CXXXIII, 10 (May 19, 2006). An essay on Hooker and the present discontents, accessed December 19, 2006.
- The History of the Episcopal Church in America, 1607–1991: A Bibliography. Caldwell, Sandra M., & Caldwell, Ronald J. (1993). New York: Garland Publishing.
- Episcopalians and Race: Civil War to Civil Rights. Gardiner H. Shattuck (2003)
- Mullin, Robert Bruce. "Trends in the Study of the History of the Episcopal Church," Anglican and Episcopal History, June 2003, Vol. 72 Issue 2, pp 153–165, historiography
- New Georgia Encyclopedia article on the Episcopal Church in the U.S. South
- "The Forgotten Evangelicals: Virginia Episcopalians, 1790-1876". Waukechon, John Frank. Dissertation Abstracts International, 2001, Vol. 61 Issue 8, pp 3322–3322
- "Reflections on the Church of England in Colonial Virginia," by Brent Tarter. Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 112, No. 4 (2004), pp. 338–371 in JSTOR
- Noble Powell and the Episcopal Establishment in the Twentieth Century. Hein, David. (2001, 2007). Urbana: University of Illinois Press; paperback reprint, Eugene, Ore.: Wipf & Stock.
- Rewriting History: Scapegoating the Episcopal Church. Savitri Hensman. Ekklesia. 2007.
- A War of Religion: Dissenters, Anglicans, and the American Revolution. James B. Bell. (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008). 323 pp. ISBN 978-0-230-54297-6
External links
- The Episcopal Church
- Profile of the Episcopal Church on the Association of Religion Data Archives website
- Executive Offices of the General Convention
- Resources at the Archives of the Episcopal Church
- 1979 Book of Common Prayer
- Calendar of the Church Year
- Episcopal/Anglican Glossary
- Journals of general conventions of the Protestant Episcopal Church, in the United States, 1785-1835 (Volume 1)
- Journals of general conventions of the Protestant Episcopal Church, in the United States, 1785-1835 (Volume 2)
- Journals of general conventions of the Protestant Episcopal Church, in the United States, 1785-1835 (Volume 3)