First of all, can anyone enlighten me? Is the adjectival form “Episcopalian” or “episcopal”? Or will either adjective work? And are Anglicans located only in Britain and British-influenced countries, or does it have to do with with who’s affiliated with whom? What is the difference between Episcopalians and Anglicans?
The Waffling Anglican offers “thoughts and ruminations about anything that comes up by an ex-Episcopalian as he waffles between embracing a Continuing Anglican parish or swimming the Tiber (or Euphrates?) to an Eastern Catholic church.”
If you’re Anglican or Episcopalian or both and I didn’t mention you, please leave a comment.
3 thoughts on “Episcopal/Anglican Blogs and Bloggers”
Sherry, Thanks for the mention!
You’ve got the right idea by your proper use of the capital E in Episcopalian (which refers to a member of the Episcopal Church) and the small e in episcopal, which refers to oversight by a bishop–as in “episcopal oversight.”
The term Anglican initially described a member of the Church of England. I’m not sure of the history, but the name of the first province established here was called the Episcopal Church of America, while in Africa and the other colonies, Church of England was kept, apparently. So “Anglican” now describes anyone in any country in that tradition, while “Episcopal” largely refers only to those in the Episcopal Church of the USA.
In the US, if someone says they’re Anglican but not Episcopalian, they probably use the same liturgies and the Book of Common Prayer, but their bishops/archbishops are not part of ECUSA. (Conservative Anglicans are leaving that heretical body in droves, so it is more and more likely that folks will encounter this.) Instead they are part of the “worldwide Anglican communion.” which is governed, not by the Archbishop of Canterbury (the “ABC”), as some think, but by the House of Bishops in each province.
Historically, Anglican meant to be in communion with the ABC, but that”s part of what is up for grabs with the current situation. If the ABC supports ECUSA, which the third world bishops agree is outside of orthodoxy, then communion with the ABC will no longer be a common denominator of Anglicanism.
Sorry–this is probably TMI (too much information) for most, but for a few, I must apologize for oversimplifying!
Some historical background. When the first English colonists came to America they brought the Church of England with them. After the Revolution, Anglicans in the Colonies were in a quandary–ties with England had been broken, nothing English was popular, and anyway they had no bishops–and without bishops you can’t ordain more priests. Eventually they made a deal with the Church of Scotland to ordain a bishop for the American church; and since it could no longer be the Church of England they called it the Episcopal Church, the church with bishops. Also, I believe the Church of Scotland calls itself Episcopal rather than Anglican as well; that’s probably another reason.
There are a number of small denominations in the U.S. that now call themselves Anglican, which split off from the Episcopal Church over the last hundred years or so; in general, though calling themselves Anglican they are not members of the worldwide Anglican Communion, which is a loose grouping of national churches all of which originally derive from the Church of England.
My own parish is attempting to have it both ways, by leaving ECUSA and being received by the Anglican Church of Uganda. That’s recognized as a stopgap measure, though; ultimately, we hope to belong to an orthodox Anglican body in the U.S. which is part of the Anglican Communion. With God’s grace, some of the other “Continuing Anglican” churches in the U.S. will join this new body as well.
I would like to submit guest posts regarding my conversion from Judaism to Christianity. My upcoming memoir, A CONGREGATION OF ONE, has been lauded by the acclaimed Christian writer, Philip Yancey. I have submitted articles to Patheos.com under Gail Baker
Sherry, Thanks for the mention!
You’ve got the right idea by your proper use of the capital E in Episcopalian (which refers to a member of the Episcopal Church) and the small e in episcopal, which refers to oversight by a bishop–as in “episcopal oversight.”
The term Anglican initially described a member of the Church of England. I’m not sure of the history, but the name of the first province established here was called the Episcopal Church of America, while in Africa and the other colonies, Church of England was kept, apparently. So “Anglican” now describes anyone in any country in that tradition, while “Episcopal” largely refers only to those in the Episcopal Church of the USA.
In the US, if someone says they’re Anglican but not Episcopalian, they probably use the same liturgies and the Book of Common Prayer, but their bishops/archbishops are not part of ECUSA. (Conservative Anglicans are leaving that heretical body in droves, so it is more and more likely that folks will encounter this.) Instead they are part of the “worldwide Anglican communion.” which is governed, not by the Archbishop of Canterbury (the “ABC”), as some think, but by the House of Bishops in each province.
Historically, Anglican meant to be in communion with the ABC, but that”s part of what is up for grabs with the current situation. If the ABC supports ECUSA, which the third world bishops agree is outside of orthodoxy, then communion with the ABC will no longer be a common denominator of Anglicanism.
Sorry–this is probably TMI (too much information) for most, but for a few, I must apologize for oversimplifying!
Some historical background. When the first English colonists came to America they brought the Church of England with them. After the Revolution, Anglicans in the Colonies were in a quandary–ties with England had been broken, nothing English was popular, and anyway they had no bishops–and without bishops you can’t ordain more priests. Eventually they made a deal with the Church of Scotland to ordain a bishop for the American church; and since it could no longer be the Church of England they called it the Episcopal Church, the church with bishops. Also, I believe the Church of Scotland calls itself Episcopal rather than Anglican as well; that’s probably another reason.
There are a number of small denominations in the U.S. that now call themselves Anglican, which split off from the Episcopal Church over the last hundred years or so; in general, though calling themselves Anglican they are not members of the worldwide Anglican Communion, which is a loose grouping of national churches all of which originally derive from the Church of England.
My own parish is attempting to have it both ways, by leaving ECUSA and being received by the Anglican Church of Uganda. That’s recognized as a stopgap measure, though; ultimately, we hope to belong to an orthodox Anglican body in the U.S. which is part of the Anglican Communion. With God’s grace, some of the other “Continuing Anglican” churches in the U.S. will join this new body as well.
I would like to submit guest posts regarding my conversion from Judaism to Christianity. My upcoming memoir, A CONGREGATION OF ONE, has been lauded by the acclaimed Christian writer, Philip Yancey. I have submitted articles to Patheos.com under Gail Baker