1. The Church of England
2. The Episcopal Church
Christianity had been a major factor in the British Isles for several centuries before Augustine arrived in 596 A.D. It is attested as early as 156 A.D. In 596 A.D., Pope Gregory ordered Augustine to enforce Roman control over the English Church, which practiced Celtic Christianity. They permitted their clergy to marry and encouraged women to take on equal, independent roles.
Augustine became known as Augustine of Canterbury. He worked to stamp out the Celtic Christian modes of religious life and worship to conform the English Church to Roman customs. Despite his efforts, the English church managed to remain somewhat independent from Roman influence.
In 1164, Henry II clashed with Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas a Becket about the Supremacy of the English monarch in his country. Their clash culminated in 1170 with the murder of Becket in Canterbury Cathedral on December 29 as he celebrated Mass. Henry was excommunicated by Rome and required to do penance for Becket's murder before he could return to the good graces of the Roman Church.
In 1351, England declared that "papal provisions to English benefices" were invalid and in 1353 passed legislation to stop appeals to Rome in lawsuits. In 1365 and 1393, Parliament passed laws outlawing benefices and citations to Rome and even sending monetary aid (called 'Peter's Pence") to Rome.
In 1509, Henry VIII became King of England. He was Roman Catholic in doctrine and was given the title "Defender of the Faith" by the Pope. This title was a result of Henry's writings attacking Martin Luther's position on the sacraments.
In 1527, Henry's wife, Catherine of Aragon, turned 40 without producing a male heir to the throne. This could have had politically devastating consequences for the island nation. Henry was convinced that this was a punishment from God as Catherine had been married to Henry's elder brother before marrying Henry. (See Mark 6:17-19.) He asked Pope Clement VII for an annulment of the marriage. This did not occur as Clement was a virtual prisoner of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, Catherine's nephew. There were several rounds of talks. The result was that in 1531 Henry separated Great Britain from Rome and declared himself the Head of the Church. Church services remained the same, but Roman Catholicism was banned and the monasteries and abbeys closed.
In 1549, the first Book of Common Prayer was introduced by Edward VI. It was beautifully written by Thomas Cramner, Archbishop of Canterbury. After Edward's short reign, Mary, daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine, ascended the throne. A devout Roman Catholic, she undid the reforms and tried to return England to the Church of Rome. She became known as "Bloody Mary" for the brutal killings she ordered of leading church reformers. One of the more notable of these martyrs was Thomas Cramner.
In 1558, Elizabeth I assumed the English throne and in 1559 Parliament passed the Acts of Supremacy and of Uniformity. The first made the English monarch the "Supreme Governor" of Church and State as well as allowing the laity to receive communion of both bread and wine. (The Roman Catholic tradition was and is that the laity receive only bread.) The second restored Book of Common Prayer and eliminated the adoration of the Host.
It was not until 1570, though, that the Roman Church broke with the Church of England and ex-communicated Elizabeth. At that time, Parliament outlawed holy pictures, crosses, rosaries and "other superstitious things from the Bishop of the See of Rome."
The Church of England expanded with the British Empire and grew in influence. Then, in 1726, John Wesley, an ordained Anglican priest, joined a group of conservative Anglicans named the Methodists. Originally insisting on loyalty to the Church of England, the Methodists split from the Church after Wesley's death.
A counter-force to Wesley was the Oxford Movement which re-introduced Roman Catholic elements into liturgical practice. John Keble was the loudest voice of this group. The members of the group, called the Tractorians, produced many Tracts calling for a return to Roman Catholic roots. John Newman, one of the Tractorians, left the Church of England in 1845 and became a Roman Catholic deacon, eventually being ordained as a Cardinal.
The Church of England or Anglican Church is found in almost every country today. While its membership outside the United Kingdom is small, its influence is great. Many members become powerful political leaders.
It was from this rich heritage that the Episcopal Church or Protestant Episcopal Church of the United States of America was born.
The Church of England can document its presence in North America with a Book of Common Prayer service led by John Hawkes off the coast of Florida in 1565. On June 16, 1607, the first Anglican Communion was celebrated by John Smith and company in Jamestown, Virginia. The Reverend Robert Hunt was the celebrant.
The New World had considerable religious contention between the Church of England in the southern portions and the Puritans in the northeast. Finally, the Church of England was established in all the colonies and was under the Bishop of London.
The American Revolution severely tested Anglicans in the colonies. Over half of the signers of the Declaration of Independence and of the Constitution were Anglicans, yet the Church, because of its links to the monarchy through the Act of Supremacy, foundered. It also suffered as there were no bishops to confirm members or ordain priests.
Finally, a plan emerged. Reverend Samuel Seabury was sent to the United Kingdom to be ordained a bishop. He was unsuccessful in being ordained in England (due to the Oath of Allegiance to the monarch), so he went to the Independent Church of Scotland. He was ordained a Bishop on November 14, 1784 in Aberdeen, Scotland.
After he returned, he found the Church had begun to organize and in 1785 held its first General Convention to establish Church unity. This precluded establishing many small, independent churches and preserved the apostolic succession. In 1786, Parliament eliminated the Oath of Allegiance from requirements for the clergy and February 4, 1787, the Reverends William White and Samuel Provoost went to England and were consecrated as bishops in the Church. Now, the Church in the United States could operate.
The Episcopal Church chose both Catholic and Protestant elements in liturgy and doctrine, steering a "via media" or middle course between extremes.
The War of 1812 further hindered development of the Episcopal Church as many viewed the church as of outpost of England and sowed distrust of it. The schism of the Methodists further hampered Church growth.
As early as 1811, though, the Church sent 'missionary' priests west to Virginia, Ohio, and Illinois. By 1838, clergy were present in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Indiana, Tennessee, Missouri, Texas, California, and the Northwest Territories (Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana). Then came the War Between the States. The Episcopal Church of the Confederacy established themselves as a separate branch, but at the General Convention in 1862, the Northern Churches included the Southern diocese in the roll call. This aided in the post-war healing of the Church and the nation.
Missionary activity was not restricted to white settlers. Bishop William Hobart Hare went to the Dakota Territories and worked with the Native Tribes. Schools were built to educate the often-ignored black community. People and aid flowed to Haiti, Mexico, southern Brazil, Alaska, and Hawaii. Churches and cathedrals opened in Europe.
In 1865, the first religious order for women, The Sisterhood of St. Mary, was formed. Further, women worked as missionaries and in 1885, the Office of Deaconess was restored in the U.S. Church. The ministry of this office was defined in 1889. In 1970, the Church incorporated women Deacons into the formerly all-male Deaconate.
In 1928, Book of Common Prayer was revised for the first time since 1789. It was revised again in 1979 to reflect modern language and to improve its usability. This led a small group to split from the Church and form its own Anglican Church, recognized neither by the Church of England nor the Episcopal Church.
Women were first ordained in 1976. Our Presiding Bishop, Katherine, is the first woman to be elected as head of the Church. The ordination of women has caused the Diocese of Dallas to grumble. It still refuses to ordain women to the clergy.
A current controversy in the Church is the ordination of gays and lesbians. This issue is, indeed, divisive; yet the Episcopal Church has always walked the path of achieving agreement via dispassionate, reasonable discussion. It is our cherished hope that such rational discussion will be a hallmark of the current debates.
September 17, 2006.
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