The Episcopal Church

The Episcopal Church (web page) strives to live by the message of Christ, in which
there are no outcasts and all are welcome.  Walking a middle way between Roman
Catholicism and Protestant traditions, we are a sacramental and worship-oriented
church that promotes thoughtful debate about what God is calling us to do and be,
as followers of Christ.

The Episcopal Church, having its roots in the Church of England, is also an Anglican
Church. Like all Anglican churches, the Episcopal Church is distinguished by the
following characteristics:

Protestant, Yet Catholic
Anglicanism stands squarely in the Reformed tradition, yet considers itself just as
directly descended from the Early Church as the Roman Catholic or Eastern
Orthodox churches. Episcopalians celebrate the “Mass” in ways similar to the
Roman Catholic tradition, yet do not recognize a single authority, such as the Pope
of Rome.

Worship in one’s first language
Episcopalians believe that Christians should be able to worship God and read the
Bible in their first language, which for most Episcopalians, is English, rather than
Latin or Greek, the two earlier, “official” languages of Christianity. Yet the Book of
Common Prayer has been translated into many languages, so that those
Episcopalians who do not speak English can still worship God in their native tongue.

The Book of Common Prayer
Unique to Anglicanism, though, is the Book of Common Prayer, the collection of
worship services that all worshipers in an Anglican church follow. It’s called “common
prayer” because we all pray it together, around the world. The first Book of Common
Prayer was compiled in English by Thomas Cranmer in the 16th Century, and since
then has undergone many revisions for different times and places. But its original
purpose has remained the same: To provide in one place the core of the
instructions and rites for Anglican Christians to worship together.

The present prayer book in the Episcopal Church was published in 1979. Many
other worship resources and prayers exist to enrich our worship, but the Book of
Common Prayer is the authority that governs our worship. The prayer book explains
Christianity, describes the main beliefs of the Church, outlines the requirements for
the sacraments, and in general serves as the main guidelines of the Episcopal life.

Scripture, Tradition, and Reason
The Anglican approach to reading and interpreting the Bible was first articulated by
Richard Hooker, also in the 16th Century. While Christians universally acknowledge
the Bible (or the Holy Scriptures) as the Word of God and completely sufficient to
our reconciliation to God, what the Bible says must always speak to us in our own
time and place.

The Church, as a worshiping body of faithful people, has for two thousand years
amassed experience of God and of loving Jesus, and what they have said to us
through the centuries about the Bible is critical to our understanding it in our own
context. The traditions of the Church in interpreting Scripture connect all
generations of believers together and give us a starting point for our own
understanding.

Episcopalians believe that every Christian must build an understanding and
relationship with God’s Word in the Bible, and to do that, God has given us
intelligence and our own experience, which we refer to as “Reason.” Based on the
text of the Bible itself, and what Christians have taught us about it through the ages,
we then must sort out our own understanding of it as it relates to our own lives.