The Protestant Episcopal Church today in the United States alone has approximately 2.5 million parishioners. But followers of this branch of Protestantism also live in Honduras, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Taiwan, Ecuador, Colombia, there is a small community in Eastern Europe and even in Russia.
Until the end of the 19th century, almost a third of the American financial and political elite were parishioners of the Episcopal Church. Also, 11 of the 43 presidents of the United States of America were Episcopal Protestants. Presidents Madison, Monroe and Tyler are parishioners of the St. John’s Episcopal Church in Washington. They, along with Ford and Bush Sr. are considered the most deeply religious among all the rulers of America.
Today the church is undergoing a period of schism, it was expelled from the Anglican community for too modernized views on same-sex marriage.
How was the Episcopal denomination created?
The Episcopal Church is an American branch of the English Protestant Church, a version of British Protestantism tailored to the freedom-loving residents of the states. It was created in 1607 by immigrants from Britain in the state of Virginia, then spread to Georgia, Carolina, New York.
The creation of the church was preceded by the US War of Independence, when most of the Anglican churches were destroyed and the bishops were expelled. But for believers, the traditions and values of Protestantism remained true and unbreakable, they did not want to give up their faith. Therefore, in the end, the Anglican community reorganized and began to refer to themselves as: Episcopal Church of America. Samuel Seabury was elected the first bishop; he did not receive a handshake in London, only in opposition Scotland.
The construction of church seminaries, the integration of the church into the social life of American society contributed to the development of the movement. In the 70s, the American version of the Book of Public Services was published.
How has the Episcopal creed developed in recent years?
Although in the history of the church the number of parishioners did not exceed 3.5% of all state citizens, the US Episcopal Church has always been one of the most influential and close to the political elite religious organizations. The church developed along with the evolution of society. In the period of 60-70-ies of the twentieth century, the Episcopal Church began to conduct services for African Americans, decided to shake hands with women. The peak of church liberalization was admission to marriage of same-sex marriage, and in 2003, for the first time in the history of world religion, an open homosexual became a bishop: Gene Robinson became the head of the New Hampshire diocese.
Since the beginning of the late twentieth century, conservative parishioners and Anglican Protestants did not greatly approve of the super-liberal course of the church, but a new grandiose round of disputes occurred just in 2003. Today, the episcopal church is undergoing schism, and the number of parishioners is a historical minimum.
The General Convention is the highest governing body of the Episcopal Church
Church management has a completely democratic color. Even the management of the bishops is conducted in a very American style. The General Convention is a unique governing administrative unit.
It is divided into two chambers: the Chamber of Bishops and the Chamber of Deputies. The first consists only of bishops from each diocese (district). The Chamber of Deputies is larger in the number of representatives; it includes four priests and four lay people from each district. A kind of miniature model of governing the whole country. To achieve the adoption of some important innovation, the consent of both houses is needed.
The Protestant Episcopal Church has always been a kind of elite religious organization, even today its followers include the most educated and influential representatives of society.
Diocesan conventions meet annually, and the general convention every three years.
Who do Episcopal Protestants believe in?
Some commandments of episcopal Protestants coincide with Catholic and Orthodox truths. In fact, the entire Protestant movement in England and Germany originated as a kind of Catholicism, but without the papacy intoxicated by power (as it was in the Middle Ages). At the dawn of his activity, the episcopate was not much different from Anglicanism, but over time he went far into left-wing liberalism.
The commandments of the creed of the Episcopal Church are described in the Book of Public Prayer, which, however, has already been copied several times. With the exception of a few digressions, the Episcopal Book contains many postulates in solidarity with the Church of England.
They believe in the One Lord and in a single mediator between God and people - Jesus Christ. Also, man is saved only by faith and good works. In fact, the religious platform of Catholicism and the episcopate is single, but there are significant differences in ranks (especially communion, baptism, weddings) and symbols of faith. For example, according to the Orthodox and Catholic rites, the sacrament of communion is allowed only to those who fasted, confessed, and all lay people are allowed to participate in communion among bishops. And in other respects, American Protestants are characterized by unprecedented religious democracy and religious tolerance.
Episcopal Church in Washington and other states. Where are the temples located?
The most impressive concentration of episcopal believers is observed in the states of New York, Virginia, Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington.
Logistically in the United States, the Episcopal Church has 76 dioceses. In big cities there are spiritual, theological seminaries, and magazines are published.
The main temple of the United States - the pompous National Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul in Washington, the sixth largest cathedral in the world, is on the balance of the Episcopal Church. It is at the intersection of Massachusetts and Wisconsin Avenue.
Another temple - the Episcopal Church of St. John (Washington), which is also called the "Cathedral of the Presidents", is located a hundred meters from the White House. And the current president, Donald Trump, attended a solemn service in the temple on the day of the inauguration.
In New York, the notorious temple at the intersection of Broadway and Wall Street is Trinity Church, Trinity Church is also Episcopal. This is a recognizable neo-Gothic temple.
Symbols and rites of episcopal believers
The main symbol of faith among bishops is the large red cross, or the cross of St. George. In the upper left corner of the large cross there are nine small crosses. When the Episcopal Church was founded in the states in 1789, it had nine dioceses in the States, hence nine crosses.
With the growth of this religious system, its excessive liberalization began to worry some influential parishioners and the bishops themselves. Several steps to return to the sacraments of ancient churches were made by Bishop Freeman Jung. The second census of the Book of Public Prayer was made on his initiative under the distinct influence of the Orthodox canons in the liturgy. He also wanted to introduce the need for fasting, but he hastily passed away, and after his death the initiative for fasting was not supported, and the church continued to develop in a liberal spirit.
The position of the Episcopal Church in gender, racial and sexual matters
In matters of equality of all representatives of the human race on gender, racial, and sexual grounds, the episcopal religious system is perhaps the most progressive and liberal in the whole world. The Protestant episcopal movement has always been dependent on its influential members, which, apart from the presidents, were stars, politicians, and businessmen. The church had the largest number of donations in proportion to the number of parishioners. Throughout the centuries, it has been the richest religious community, thanks in large part to its democratic leftist views.
In the episcopal faith, the priesthood of women is allowed, they occupy the highest positions in dioceses. Although the church proclaims gender equality and insists that advancement in the church hierarchy depends only on the personal qualities, the intellect of the believer, but in the history of the church only 17 women received top positions in dioceses. However, in most other religions women are not only not becoming priests, but their rights are being squeezed as much as possible, they are not allowed to come to the temple during menstruation (ritual impurity), they can only attend the temple with their heads covered, etc.
If the position of the church for gender equality in the liturgy was accepted calmly or even favorably, then the approval by bishops of same-sex marriage caused a lot of gossip and gave rise to a new round of disputes in the already split church.
And the liberal course for the rights of sexual minorities began in 1982. The General Convention declared that “homosexuals are also God's children and must have all civil rights.”
In 2003, the General Convention confirmed the election of the bastard of New Hampshire as an open homosexual Gene Robinson. In December 2009, open lesbian Mary Douglas Glasspool was elected head of the Diocese of Los Angeles.
And in 2009, the Episcopal Church began to marry same-sex couples in states where gay marriage is legally permitted .
Disputes surrounding the Episcopal Protestant movement, schism within the church
The General Convention of the Episcopal Church suspected that the strongly liberal course of the movement could not but provoke a negative reaction from the world religious community. But if the condemning reaction of Catholics, Orthodox Christians or, especially, Muslims was not unexpected, then the radical position of the Church of England was underestimated. However, at the World Conference of Leaders of Protestant Churches, it was decided to suspend the membership of the Episcopal Church in the Anglican community for a fundamental departure from the creeds of marriage.
Episcopal Church in Russia
The episcopal movement in Russia was founded relatively late, already in 1999, in Moscow. It also began to emerge in Tomsk and St. Petersburg. This may have been the result of the course to the Orthodox East, which was adopted by the Episcopal Church in 1983. In Eastern Europe, especially in Russia, Ukraine, Greece, Orthodoxy prevails in its classical, almost unchanged purity, therefore, studying the traditions of Orthodoxy, many episcopal priests traveled around Russia. But the course towards rapprochement between the episcopate and Orthodoxy was bilateral. And some free dogmas of the American Church have also taken root in Russia, especially in big cities.
In Moscow there is an Episcopal Temple - the Anglican Church of St. Andrew on the per. Voznesensky, 8, Okhotny Ryad metro station. This is an international parish church and the service is held in English.