Episcopal Church: where is it? Reviews

The Protestant Episcopal Church today in the United States alone has approximately 2.5 million parishioners. But the 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 XIX century, almost a third of the American financial and political elite were parishioners of the Episcopal Church. Also 11 out of 43 presidents of the United States of America were episcopal Protestants. Presidents Madison, Monroe and Tyler are parishioners of St. John's Episcopal Church in Washington. Together with Ford and Bush Sr., they are considered the most deeply religious among all the rulers of America.

Today, the church is going through a period of schism, it was expelled from the Anglican community for too modernized views on same-sex marriages.

How was the Episcopal denomination created?

The Episcopal Church is an American branch of the English Protestant Church, a version of British Protestantism that was adapted to the freedom-loving inhabitants of the states. It was created in 1607 by settlers from Britain in Virginia, then spread to Georgia, Carolina, New York State.

The creation of the church was preceded by the US War of Independence, when most Anglican churches were destroyed, and bishops were expelled. But for the believers, the traditions and values of Protestantism remained true and indestructible, they did not want to give up their faith. Therefore, as a result, the Anglican community was reorganized and began to refer to itself as: the Episcopal Church of America. The first bishop was Samuel Sibary, he did not receive a handshake in London, only in opposition to 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 an American version of the Book of Public Services was published.

How has Episcopalism developed in recent years?

Although throughout the history of the church the number of parishioners did not exceed 3.5% of all citizens of the states, the US Episcopal Church has always been one of the most influential religious organizations close to the political elite. The church developed along with the evolution of society. In the period 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 liberalization of the church was the admission to the marriage of same-sex marriage, and in 2003 for the first time in the history of world religion an open homosexual became a bishop: Jean Robinson became head of the Diocese of New Hampshire.

Since the beginning of the late twentieth century, conservative parishioners and Anglican Protestants did not approve of the superliberal course of the church, but a new grandiose spiral of disputes occurred just in 2003. Today, the Episcopal Church is divided, and the number of parishioners is a historical minimum.

The General Convention is the supreme governing body of the Episcopal Church

The management of the church is quite democratic. Even the leadership 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 House of Bishops and the Chamber of Deputies. The first is made up only by bishops from each diocese (district). The Chamber of Deputies is more in number of representatives, it includes four priests and four laymen from each district. A kind of miniature model of governing the entire country. To achieve acceptance of some important innovation, the consent of both chambers is necessary.

The Protestant Episcopal Church has always been a kind of elite religious organization, even today its members include the most educated and influential members of society.

Diocesan conventions are convened annually, and the General Convention is held every three years.

Whom do Episcopal Protestants believe?

Some commandments of episcopal Protestants coincide with Catholic and Orthodox truths. In fact, the whole Protestant movement in England, Germany was born as a kind of Catholicism, but without the papacy in the middle of the intoxication (as it was in the Middle Ages). At the dawn of its activities, the episcopate was little different from Anglicanism, but over time it went far into left-wing liberalism.

The precepts of the creed of the Episcopal Church are described in the "Book of Public Prayer," which nevertheless corresponded several times. With the exception of a few digressions, there are many postulates in the Episcopal Book that are consistent with the Church of England.

They believe in the One Lord and in the one mediator between God and people - Jesus Christ. Also, a person is saved only by faith and good deeds. In fact, the religious platform of Catholicism and episcopate is one, but there are significant differences in ranks (especially communion, baptism, wedding) and the symbols of faith. For example, according to the Orthodox and Catholic rite to the sacrament of communion, only those who fasted and confessed are allowed, and all lay people are allowed to take part in the bishops' communion. And in other aspects, American Protestants are characterized by unprecedented religious democracy and religious tolerance.

Episcopal church in Washington and in other states. Where are the temples?

The most impressive concentration of episcopal believers is observed in the states of New York, Virginia, Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington.

Logically in the US, the Episcopal Church has 76 dioceses. In large cities there are theological and theological seminaries, magazines are published.

The main temple of the United States - the pompous national cathedral of St. Peter and Paul in Washington, the sixth largest cathedral in the world, is on the balance of the Episcopal Church. It is located at the intersection of Massachusetts and Wisconsin Avenue.

Another temple - the Episcopal Church of St. John (Washington), which is also called the "Cathedral of Presidents", is a hundred meters from the White House. And the current president, Donald Trump, attended the ceremonial 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 the Trinity Church, Trinity Church is also Episcopal. It is a recognizable temple in the style of neo-Gothic.

Symbols and Rites of Episcopal Believers

The main symbol of faith in the episcopate 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 in 1789 the Episcopal Church was founded in the states, it had nine dioceses in the States, hence the 9 crosses.

With the growth of this religious system, its excessive liberalization began to bother some influential parishioners and the bishops themselves. Several steps towards the return to the sacraments of the 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 quickly died, and after his death the initiative of fasting was not supported, and the church continued to develop in a liberal manner.

The position of the Episcopal Church in gender, racial and sexual matters

In matters of equality of all representatives of the human race on the basis of gender, race, sex, 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, who, apart from presidents, there were also stars, politicians, businessmen. The church had the largest number of donations in proportion to the number of parishioners. In all centuries it was the richest religious community, largely due to its democratic leftist views.

In the episcopal faith, the priesthood of women is allowed, they occupy the highest positions in the dioceses. Although the church proclaims gender equality and insists that the progress in the church hierarchy depends only on the personal qualities, the believer's intellect, but in the whole history of the church only 17 women received the highest positions in the dioceses. However, in most other religions, women are not that they do not become priests, but their rights are maximally compressed, they are not allowed to come to the temple during menstruation (ritual uncleanness), they can visit the temple only with their heads covered, etc.

If the position of the church for equality of the sexes in the liturgy was accepted calmly or even favorably, the approval of same-sex marriages by the bishops 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 should have all civil rights."

In 2003, the General Convention confirmed the election of the openly homosexual Gene Robinson as bishop of New Hampshire. In December 2009, the head of the diocese of Los Angeles elected an open lesbian Mary Douglas Glasspool.

And in 2009, the Episcopal Church began to marry same-sex couples in states where gay marriage is legally allowed .

Disputes over the Episcopal Protestant movement, a split within the church

The General Convention of the Episcopal Church suspected that the underlined liberal course of the movement could not but cause a negative reaction of the world religious community. But if the condemnatory reaction of Catholics, Orthodox or, especially, Muslims was not unexpected, the radical position of the Church of England was underestimated. However, at the World Conference of Leaders of Protestant Churches a decision was made to suspend the membership of the Episcopal Church in the Anglican community for a fundamental departure from the doctrines 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, perhaps, was the result of the course on 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 unchanging purity, therefore, when studying the traditions of Orthodoxy, many episcopal priests traveled through Russia. But the course toward rapprochement of the episcopate with Orthodoxy turned out to be two-sided. And some free dogmas of the American church also took root in Russia, especially in big cities.

In Moscow there is the Episcopal Temple - Anglican Church of St. Andrew on the lane. Ascension, 8, metro station Okhotny Ryad. This is the church of the international parish and its service is conducted in English.