Episcopal -
The Episcopal Church in Summary
The "Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society of the Protestant
Episcopal Church in the United States of America", or what
is known as The Episcopal Church is the American arm of the
Anglican Church of England. During the 1500's, King Henry
VIII needed a male heir and his current wife of over 20 years,
Catherine of Aragon had only given him one child that survived
past infancy, Mary. He felt he needed a male heir and for
this reason wanted to divorce Catherine and marry someone
who he hoped could give him a male child. The Roman Catholic
Church who was the only church recognized in England at the
time refused to allow this new marriage. The result was the
split of the Church of England with the Roman Catholic Church
with King Henry at its head. The new church that was formed,
the Church of England, also called the Anglican Church doesn't
claim to trace its roots back to Henry VII, but goes back
to the first English bishop, Saint Augustine who had been
sent to England by the pope in the 6th century. He was the
first archbishop of Canterbury. Because they can trace their
roots back to Saint Augustine, they consider their church
to have Apostolic Succession from the time of Christ.
Over the centuries, the Episcopal Church's beliefs and practices
have been refined to be somewhere between Protestant and Catholic.
Some in the church even consider themselves to be one of the
Catholic branches, although this is not how the Catholics
view them. The most notable difference between Episcopalianism
and Catholicism is the Book of Common Prayer adopted during
the reign of King Henry VIII's only son, Edward VI. They also
split from Catholics on doctrines such as celibacy of clergy,
divorce, transubstantiation, and more modern issues such as
abortion, homosexuality, and women clergy.
The term Episcopal comes from the use of bishops as the authority
in the church. They are currently led by the Archbishop of
Canterbury who is considered the spiritual leader of the "Anglican
Communion" or community of Anglican Churches worldwide. While
he is looked to as a spiritual guide, his teachings are not
seen as binding or authoritative. The Church today is comprised
of approximately 2.3 million members throughout the United
States and over 70 million worldwide. There are many notable
Episcopalians, including many US Presidents. The church tends
to be very open-minded when it comes to differing viewpoints
with parishes varying greatly on many different practices.
One practice, however that the church is greatly divided on
is the issue of homosexuality. This came about when an openly
homosexual priest, Gene Robinson, was elected bishop of New
Hampshire. There has been a strong division on whether or
not the church should support him as a bishop and whether
it should give blessings to homosexual marriages in general.
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