About Us

What is the Episcopal Church About?

The Episcopal Church is the American branch of the worldwide Anglican Communion, the churches around the world that trace their roots to the Church of England, and maintain a "communion" with it, hence the name "Anglican." There are more than 40 other members of the Communion worldwide with a membership of over 76 million in 164 countries.

The Episcopal Church came into existence as an independent denomination after the American Revolution. It is made up of between two and three million worshipers in about 7,500 congregations across the United States, and Central America. These congregations are under the jurisdiction of the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church.

Bishops in the American Episcopal Church are elected by individual dioceses and are consecrated into the Apostolic Succession, considered to witness to an unbroken line of Church leadership beginning with the Apostles themselves. For more than two decades the American Episcopal Church has ordained women to the priesthood.

The member churches of the Anglican Communion are joined together by choice in love, and have no direct authority over one another. The Archbishop of Canterbury, the head of the Church of England, is acknowledged as the spiritual head of the Anglican Communion, but while respected, the Archbishop does not have direct authority over any Anglican Church outside of England.

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 sacraments, such as the "Mass" in ways similar to the Roman Catholic tradition, yet do not recognize a single authority, such as the Pope of Rome.

The above are excerpts from Anglicansonline and The Episcopal Church National Site. For more information, please visits these sites.