Episcopal Church

The Episcopal Church is a mainline Protestant denomination and the autonomous member church of the Anglican Communion in the United States. It developed from colonial congregations belonging to the Church of England and was formally organized after American independence, when clergy and lay members needed to create an ecclesiastical structure no longer dependent on the British Crown. Representatives from American dioceses adopted a constitution and began regular General Conventions in 1789. The church retained Anglican forms of worship, episcopal governance, and a claim to apostolic succession while adapting its institutions to the republican political order of the new United States. The denomination describes its identity as both Protestant and Catholic. Its worship is centered on the Book of Common Prayer, which contains rites, prayers, liturgies, blessings, and pastoral services. Episcopal congregations vary considerably in theology and worship style, encompassing evangelical, Anglo-Catholic, and broad-church traditions. Governance is shared between bishops, clergy, and lay representatives. The church is divided into nine provinces and dioceses, with the General Convention serving as its highest legislative and policy-making body. The national church's corporate structure is historically associated with the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America. The church's early history includes the consecration of Samuel Seabury by Scottish Episcopal bishops in 1784 and the subsequent consecration of William White, Samuel Provoost, and James Madison by English bishops. These lines of episcopal succession helped establish an American Anglican hierarchy independent of the Church of England. During the nineteenth century, the Episcopal Church expanded through missionary work, the formation of dioceses, educational institutions, publishing, and social ministries. It also developed relationships with other Christian traditions, including historic cooperation and mergers involving some Swedish Lutheran congregations. Episcopalians have historically been prominent in American public life, including government, education, science, business, and the arts. The denomination participated in the Social Gospel movement and, particularly from the twentieth century onward, became associated with ecumenism, civil rights advocacy, opposition to capital punishment, and social-welfare initiatives. Since the 1960s, its official positions have generally moved in a more liberal direction, although substantial theological and political diversity remains among members and dioceses. The church has experienced significant numerical decline since the 1960s, especially in the Northeast and Upper Midwest, reflecting broader changes affecting historic mainline Protestant denominations. It has also faced internal conflict over biblical interpretation, human sexuality, marriage, and the authority of the wider Anglican Communion. Several dioceses and congregations left in the late 2000s, and some joined the Anglican Church in North America, a separate body that is not in full communion with the Episcopal Church. In 2015, the General Convention authorized liturgical and canonical changes supporting the blessing and celebration of same-sex marriages. The church currently operates as a national denomination within the Anglican Communion under the leadership of Presiding Bishop Sean W. Rowe.

The Episcopal Church traces its origins to Anglican congregations established in the North American colonies. A parish was founded at Jamestown in 1607, and the Church of England acquired official or semi-established status in several colonies during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Colonial Anglican life was administered imperfectly from overseas: clergy and parishes had no resident American bishop, while some ecclesiastical and civic responsibilities were handled locally. Missionary organizations such as the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts helped extend Anglican ministry across the colonies. The American Revolution disrupted this system. Anglican clergy and laypeople held different political loyalties, and many clergy could not easily support independence because their ordination oaths required allegiance to the British monarch and prayers for the king. Some loyalist clergy departed or suspended public ministry, while patriot clergy sought ways to adapt Anglican worship and governance to the new republic. After independence, American Episcopalians faced the practical problem of obtaining bishops without relying on the Church of England. In 1783, clergy in Connecticut elected Samuel Seabury as bishop. Because English legal requirements prevented his immediate consecration, Seabury was consecrated in Aberdeen in 1784 by bishops of the non-juring Scottish Episcopal Church. His consecration provided the first episcopal succession for the emerging American church. In 1785, clergy and lay representatives met to develop a constitution, canons, and an American prayer book. Further negotiations with English bishops led to the consecration of William White and Samuel Provoost in 1787, followed by James Madison in 1790. The American church consequently received episcopal succession through both Scottish and English lines. The 1789 General Convention, held in Philadelphia, established the church's enduring constitutional framework. It adopted the name Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America and organized governance through a House of Bishops and a House of Deputies, bringing bishops, clergy, and lay representatives into a national deliberative structure. The church became the first Anglican province outside the British Isles. Its prayer-book tradition and episcopal polity preserved continuity with Anglican Christianity, while its constitution reflected the representative institutions of the United States. During the nineteenth century, the denomination expanded through new dioceses, parishes, missionary districts, seminaries, schools, publishing, and charitable work. Bishop Philander Chase and other leaders promoted the education and training of clergy. The church also participated in ecumenical relationships, including cooperation with Swedish Lutheran communities; a number of Swedish Lutheran congregations eventually entered the Episcopal Church. Its members became influential in American political, educational, scientific, commercial, and cultural institutions, although the denomination's historical demographic base was concentrated disproportionately among white and often affluent communities. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, many Episcopalians participated in the Social Gospel movement, which connected Christian faith with reform of industrial society, poverty relief, labor concerns, and civic responsibility. The church developed a broad network of social ministries and missionary initiatives. Its identity remained internally diverse, with evangelical, Anglo-Catholic, and liberal or broad-church currents competing and cooperating within the same constitutional system. From the mid-twentieth century, the Episcopal Church increasingly supported ecumenical cooperation, civil rights, expanded participation by women, and legal equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people. These positions produced significant internal debate and strained relationships with more conservative Anglican provinces. The church's liberalizing trajectory contributed to departures by some dioceses and congregations in the 2000s. Some departing jurisdictions joined the Anglican Church of the Southern Cone, while other conservative bodies helped establish the Anglican Church in North America in 2008. These organizations remain separate from the Episcopal Church and are not in full communion with it. The church's 1979 Book of Common Prayer became a major expression of modern Episcopal liturgical life, while the denomination continued to debate how tradition, scripture, reason, and contemporary pastoral needs should be balanced. In 2015, the General Convention approved same-sex marriage rites and related canonical changes. The decision formalized a position already present in parts of the church but also intensified disagreement with some Anglican partners. Membership and attendance have declined substantially since the 1960s, especially in regions where historic mainline Protestant institutions were once strongest. Nevertheless, the Episcopal Church remains an active national denomination with parishes, dioceses, schools, seminaries, social-service ministries, and international Anglican relationships. It continues to combine historic liturgy and episcopal governance with advocacy on social and public-policy issues. Sean W. Rowe serves as presiding bishop.

• 2024

  Sean W. Rowe begins tenure as presiding bishop

  [1]Episcopal Church (United States)en.wikipedia.org

  Sean W. Rowe assumed the denomination's senior elected episcopal leadership role.

• 2015

  Same-sex marriage rites authorized

  [1]Episcopal Church (United States)en.wikipedia.org

  General Convention approved official liturgies and canonical provisions for same-sex marriage.

• 2008

  Anglican Church in North America formed

  [1]Episcopal Church (United States)en.wikipedia.org

  Conservative jurisdictions that had separated from the Episcopal Church helped form the Anglican Church in North America.

• 1979

  Modern Book of Common Prayer adopted

  [1]Episcopal Church (United States)en.wikipedia.org

  The church's 1979 prayer book became a defining resource for contemporary Episcopal worship and pastoral practice.

• 1964

  Episcopal Church recognized as an alternate designation

  [1]Episcopal Church (United States)en.wikipedia.org

  A constitutional compromise recognized The Episcopal Church as a lawful alternate designation while retaining the older official name.

• 1821

  Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society incorporated

  [1]Episcopal Church (United States)en.wikipedia.org

  The corporation associated with the national church's domestic and international missionary work was incorporated under New York law.

• 1789

  National church constitution adopted

  [1]Episcopal Church (United States)en.wikipedia.org

  General Convention adopted the church's constitution and established its House of Bishops and House of Deputies.

• 1784

  Samuel Seabury consecrated in Scotland

  [1]Episcopal Church (United States)en.wikipedia.org

  Samuel Seabury was consecrated by Scottish Episcopal bishops, providing the emerging American church with its first episcopal succession.

• 1607

  Anglican parish established at Jamestown

  [1]Episcopal Church (United States)en.wikipedia.org

  The church's colonial Anglican roots include the establishment of a parish at Jamestown in Virginia.

A historically Anglican, episcopally governed Christian denomination presenting itself as both Protestant and Catholic, with liturgical worship, apostolic-succession claims, theological breadth, and a public emphasis on social justice and inclusion.

• Liturgy · 1979

  Book of Common Prayer

  The Book of Common Prayer is the central liturgical resource of Episcopal worship. It contains forms for daily prayer, the Eucharist, baptism, confirmation, marriage, ordination, reconciliation, burial, and other rites. The 1979 edition reflects modern revisions while preserving the Anglican prayer-book tradition. Episcopal communities may supplement it with authorized or locally approved resources.

• Religious services

  Episcopal parish ministry

  Parishes provide regular worship, preaching, Eucharistic celebrations, pastoral care, Christian education, community life, and rites of passage. Their expression varies across the denomination, from evangelical and contemporary forms to ceremonially elaborate Anglo-Catholic worship.

• Mission and community services

  Mission and social ministries

  The Episcopal Church supports domestic and international mission activity, disaster response, poverty relief, community development, advocacy, and other social ministries through national, diocesan, and parish organizations.

• Civil rights and social-justice advocacy

  United States

  The denomination has supported civil-rights initiatives and public advocacy addressing racial justice, poverty, human rights, and legal equality.

  Outcome. Continuing institutional advocacy and social ministries.

  Source
• LGBTQ+ inclusion and equality advocacy

  United States

  The Episcopal Church has advocated full legal equality for LGBT people and developed internal policies and liturgical resources supporting greater inclusion.

  Outcome. Same-sex marriage rites were authorized in 2015.

  Source

• 2015

  Authorize same-sex marriage liturgiesOther

  Background

  The church had moved toward broader LGBT inclusion, while debates over marriage and sexuality continued within the denomination and the wider Anglican Communion.

  Action taken

  The 78th General Convention approved two official marriage liturgies and related canonical changes for same-sex unions.

  Aftermath

  Same-sex marriage became institutionally authorized, while theological and international Anglican disagreements continued.

  Source

• 1979

  Adopt the 1979 Book of Common PrayerProduct launch

  Background

  The church undertook a major revision of its inherited prayer-book tradition to reflect contemporary worship and pastoral practice.

  Action taken

  The denomination introduced a revised Book of Common Prayer for authorized Episcopal liturgical use.

  Aftermath

  The 1979 prayer book became a central reference point for worship and remains widely used.

  Source

• 1789

  Create an independent American Anglican provinceStrategy

  Background

  The American Revolution ended the practical viability of a church structure dependent on the Church of England and the British Crown.

  Action taken

  General Convention adopted a national constitution and organized governance through representative houses of bishops and deputies.

  Aftermath

  The Episcopal Church became the first Anglican province outside the British Isles.

  Source

1. 1Episcopal Church (United States)en.wikipedia.org
2. 2The Episcopal Church official websiteepiscopalchurch.org