Episcopal Beliefs
Foundation of the Episcopal Church
The Episcopal Church is the American sister of the Church of England which, along with twelve other world-wide provinces (regional Churches), are members of the Anglican Communion. There are 85 million members of the Anglican Communion, making it the fourth largest Christian communion. Altogether we are recognized as a people of Common Prayer, sharing our Books of Common Prayer that set forth our common faith traditions in particular culturally relevant ways. We are fond of saying, “As we pray, so we believe.”
In the Early Church there was a liturgical tradition (the way the people came together to pray and remember Jesus’ last supper) before there was a creed or even an agreed upon set of books considered to be authoritative scripture (what eventually developed as the Christian New Testament). Finding our roots in the Early Church, Episcopalians look to the way we worship or pray to articulate our understanding of God.
We are Protestant and catholic, ancient and reformed, liberal and conservative. Another way to say this is, we walk the “via media,” the middle way that originates in ancient Greek philosophy and advocates moderation in thought and action.
The Ways We Know God
Historically there are three basic foundations of faith in the Episcopal Church; Scripture, Tradition and Reason.
We understand Scripture to be written, rewritten, and redacted by people inspired by God’s Spirit. The Hebrew and Christian Testaments reveal the presence and action of God in history as well as tell the stories of humanity’s response to God. We understand the Scriptures to be the living, not the literal, word of God, because God, through the Spirit, continues to engage us through the wisdom rooted in Biblical literature.
Tradition is expressed in our Prayers, Worship and Sacraments as handed on to us from early Christians. Tradition preserves the hymns, prayers and rituals that keep our faith alive and embody our response to God in praise, reverence and thanksgiving. Continuing historical traditions promotes consistency and transmission of the essential truths to which our liturgies (prayers and sacraments) point.
Reason is our God given gift given to help us examine and apprehend God’s presence and action in scripture, our lives and the world. Rather than interpret scripture for the people, members of TEC are encouraged to use reason to make moral and ethical decisions and act responsibly in the world. We humbly acknowledge that no one can fully discern the mind and the will of God, which means, we have more questions than we have answers.
Sacraments
Aligning with the Catholic dimension of our Anglican identity, Episcopalians value the sacraments as a means of God given grace expressed in our liturgies. We understand sacraments to be outward and visible signs of inward and spiritual grace. Sacraments include both a liturgical action and a material object, for example, in our Eucharistic Celebration the material objects of bread and wine are consecrated (made holy) with the words of institution said by the priest as well as the presence and affirming AMEN spoken by the congregation.
Leaning toward our identity with Reformation Christianity we recognize two sacraments that were instituted by Jesus as represented in the gospels; Baptism and Holy Eucharist. The sacraments are distinguished from five additional sacramental rites; Confirmation, Ordination, Rite of Reconciliation, Holy Matrimony and Anointing of the Sick.
Baptism
The public affirmation of a person’s membership in the family of God. Water is poured upon the person to wash away all that would turn them away from God. It is understood that when the newly baptized rises up from the water they are rising into new “with God” life. They are then marked as members of God’s family forever by the imposition of chrism on their foreheads in the name of One God in Trinity. For infant Baptism parents and godparents vow to raise the child in the Christian faith and life while the assembled community vows to assist them in so doing. Adults vow their intention to do likewise on their own behalf.
Holy Eucharist
Also called The Great Thanksgiving, was instituted by Jesus during the last supper with his friends before he died. During the Eucharistic Celebration we offer “our selves, our souls and our bodies to be a reasonable, holy and living sacrifice to God.” This prepares us to receive the sacramental conveyance of the risen Christ’s presence with us through the bread and wine made holy. As mentioned above, the material objects of bread and wine are consecrated (made holy) with the words of institution said by the priest as well as the presence and affirming AMEN spoken by the congregation. It is customary to say “Amen” when receiving the bread and wine. This is your bold affirmation that indeed it is so, the presence of the Spirit of God is with you. AMEN.