History of the Episcopal Church in the United States
The Episcopal Church is the official name of the Province of the Anglican Communion in the United States. The Church was organized shortly after the American Revolution when it was forced to break with the Church of England on penalty of treason as Church of England clergy were required to swear allegiance to the British monarch, and became, in the words of the 1990 report of the Archbishop of Canterbury's Group on the Episcopate, "the first Anglican Province outside the British Isles". Today it is divided into nine provinces and has dioceses outside the U.S. in Taiwan, Central and South America, the Caribbean and Europe. The Episcopal Diocese of the Virgin Islands encompasses both American and British territory.
In keeping with Anglican tradition and theology, the Episcopal Church considers itself a via media, or middle way, between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism. The Episcopal Church was active in the Social Gospel movement of the late nineteenth century and since the 1960s and 1970s has played a leading role in the progressive and liberal movements on church and state issues. For example, in its resolutions on state issues the Episcopal Church has opposed the death penalty, and supported the civil rights movement and affirmative action. Some of its leaders and priests marched with demonstrators.
Most dioceses ordain openly homosexual men and women; in some, same-sex unions are celebrated. However, on other issues such as abortion, the church has taken both sides of the debate. In most dioceses, women are ordained to the priesthood and episcopate, as well as the diaconate. The current Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church is Katharine Jefferts Schori, the first female primate in the Anglican Communion. There are two official names of the Episcopal Church specified in its Constitution: "The Episcopal Church" (commonly abbreviated TEC), and "The Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America (commonly abbreviated PECUSA). "The Episcopal Church" is the most commonly used name. In the early days of the church, the name was "The Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America." In the middle of the 19th century, some began trying to drop "Protestant" from the church's title, on the grounds that the original break of the Church of England from the Roman Catholic Church had nothing directly to do with the Protestant Reformation. Also, it had come to mean anti-Catholic rather than anti-papal. In a 1964 General Convention compromise, priests and lay delegates suggested adding a preamble to the church's constitution, recognizing "the Episcopal Church" as a lawful alternate designation while still retaining the earlier name.
The fight continued until the 66th General Convention voted in 1979 to use the name Episcopal Church (dropping the adjective 'Protestant') in the Oath of Conformity of the Declaration for Ordination. The 68th General Convention in 1985 rejected a resolution that would have changed the Constitution to delete the designation of Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America as an official name. The preamble to the Constitution of the Episcopal Church now reads: “ The Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America, otherwise known as The Episcopal Church (which name is hereby recognized as also designating the Church), is a constituent member of the Anglican Communion, a Fellowship within the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church, of those duly constituted Dioceses, Provinces, and regional Churches in communion with the See of Canterbury, upholding and propagating the historic Faith and Order as set forth in the Book of Common Prayer.” The evolution of the name can be seen in The Episcopal Church's Book of Common Prayer (BCP). In the 1928 BCP, the title page said, "According to the use of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America." In contrast, the change in self-identity can be seen in the title page of the 1979 Book of Common Prayer, which states, "'According to the use of The Episcopal Church."
The Episcopal Church communicates in English, Spanish and French because it has dioceses in Asia, Central and South America, and Europe. In Spanish the church is called La Iglesia Episcopal Protestante de los Estados Unidos de América or La Iglesia Episcopal and in French L’Église protestante épiscopale dans les États unis d’Amérique or L'Église épiscopale. The alternate name Episcopal Church in the United States of America (abbreviated "ECUSA") is commonly seen, but has never been the official name of the Episcopal Church. Because it contains integral jurisdictions in many other countries, it has thought that it needs a name that is not directly tied to the United States. But since several other churches in the Anglican Communion also use the name "Episcopal", this article uses the name "Episcopal Church in the United States of America", as do some other sources (Anglicans Online, for example).
The full legal name of the national church corporate body is the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America, and was incorporated by the Legislature of the State of New York and established in 1821. The membership of the corporation "shall be considered as comprehending all persons who are members of the Church".
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