The Episcopal Church of Jackson Hole

About the Episcopal Church

A Phenomenon in the Modern Religious World
The Episcopal Church is a strange phenomenon in the religious world. It is a Catholic Church (but not Roman Catholic) and it is a Reformed Church (but not Protestant). It is a uniquely American Church, but its “mother” is the Church of England, and it is part of a worldwide Anglican Communion. It is a Church with a hierarchy of bishops, but its governance is representative and democratic. So, the Episcopal Church does not fit easily into any classification.

Our Name The word Episcopal comes from the Greek work episkopos, which was the word used by the earliest Christian Church to apply what we now call bishops. (In fact, the word bishop is an Anglo-Saxon shortening of the work episkopos through piskop and biskop.) To say that a church is “Episcopal” simply means that it has bishops in the ancient and traditional sense. (So, the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Polish National Catholic Churches are also “Episcopal” in that they have traditional bishops.)

Originally, in the American Colonies, of course, we were simply the Church of England. But after the American Revolution that name became singularly inappropriate, and the word Episcopal was settled on in order to distinguish us from other non-Roman Churches who had given up the idea of bishops.

The word Episcopal is always an adjective modifying a noun. The noun version of the word is Episcopalian. Hence, a member of the Episcopal Church is an Episcopalian, never “an Episcopal.”

The Episcopal Church is the American branch of the Anglican Communion (which is all national and regional churches in union with the Church of England). Other Churches in the Anglican Communion include the Church of England, the Anglican Church of Canada, the Nippon Seikoai in Japan, the Chung Hua Sheng Kung Hui of China, the Lusitanian Church in Portugal, the Episcopal Church in Spain, and Anglican Churches in Australia, South and Central America, Africa, India, Ireland, Scotland, the Middle East, the West Indies and in virtually every area of the world. All these Churches are “interchangeable” in teaching and practice.

Our History
When Pope Gregory sent St. Augustine as a missionary to England in the year 597 AD, Augustine was astounded to find a fully developed Christian Church already there. Called “The Celtic Church”, this branch of Christianity had functioned for hundreds of years with no contact with Rome. (Sts. Patrick and Columba were famous members of this non-Roman Church.) Legend says that this non-Roman Church was established in the first century by St. Joseph of Arimathea who built the first Christian Church on earth in Glastonbury, England. Celtic Bishops attended the Council of Nicea in 325 AD.

In any case, the Church of England is practically as old as Christianity. In the 16th Century, the English Church hierarchy supported Henry VIII's political declaration that the Pope had no more jurisdiction in England.

The “English Reformation” was at its outset a purely political move. The same clergy and the same Churches simply continued as they had before, but without jurisdiction by the Pope. The Church of England did NOT undertake theological changes, as did the Continental Reformers. She continued with the same clergy, the same Sacraments, the same teachings as she always had.

During the history of the Church of England, there were high times and low times, with on-going theological debate and ritualistic struggles. At one point – during the rule of Bloody Mary (Henry's oldest daughter) – England returned for a brief time under the control of the Pope. At another time – during the non-monarchial rule of the Calvinist Protestant Oliver Cromwell – the Church of England's rites were actually outlawed in England. But through it all, the ancient and Catholic Church of England managed to survive. And today, our Episcopal Church represents the American branch of that ancient Church. Unlike the Protestant Churches, our origins are not found in the 16th Century, but in the midst of the earliest centuries of Christianity. Hence, we are a Catholic Church in that we teach and practice the primitive Christian religion without the human additions of later years. And we are a Reformed Church in that we reject the later additions made by the Roman Catholic Church (such as the doctrine of the infallibility of the Pope).

Our Traditions
By and large, the Episcopal Church includes in her tradition all the practices of the Christian Church anywhere – but they are offered, not required.

We teach the primacy and centrality of the Holy Eucharist (sometimes called the Holy Communion Service or the Mass). We follow the ancient practice of Apostolic Succession by which our bishops can trace their “pedigree” back to the Apostles themselves. Most “Catholic” practices are available in the Episcopal Church: Confession, Stations of the Cross, the Invocation of Saints, Seven Sacraments, etc. In most cases these are voluntary in the Episcopal Church. We also provide most “Protestant” practices: Holy Scripture is central to us; we respect a “charismatic” approach, preaching is of great importance, and there is democratic governance in our Church.

Uniqueness
It has been said that the Episcopal Church provides “Catholic doctrine and practice, Gospel preaching and teaching, and Spirit-filled community.” This sums up some of the great gifts of the Episcopal Church: it has the best of all possible worlds! The Episcopal Church is known for the beauty and dignity of its worship, but provides also for very informal liturgy as well. The greatest music in the world written to English texts is part of the Episcopal tradition. Although the Church deeply respects and follows Holy Scripture, it has never required a slavish and anti-intellectual literalism. The vast membership of the Episcopal Church are common people who love its beauty and its adherence to the ancient traditions and doctrine, while appreciating its deep involvement with the contemporary world and its language and needs. Among main-line American Churches, the Episcopal Church and her leadership have a fine record of involvement in social issues from civil rights to nuclear disarmament. For the past 20 years, the Episcopal Church has been in the forefront of efforts on behalf of the poor, the needy, the handicapped, and the oppressed.

Our Presiding Bishop is Katharine Jefferts Schori, the first woman leader of the Episcopal Church. More information about the Church is available at the website, www.episcopalchurch.org.