The Anglican Communion

A lot of coverage has been offered in past weeks throughout broadcast media from television and radio to e-mail and blogs to magazine articles on the state of the Anglican Communion and the Episcopal Church’s place within the organization. But what is this mysterious entity?

We never want to presume that anyone knows anything about Church polity and organization, especially for those who are new to the Episcopal Church. But I wonder even about those of us who have been Episcopalian for many years, even from birth, and what we understand about the Anglican Communion. Over the course of the next few editions of the Eagle, I will try to offer an admittedly simplistic explanation. First we need a bit of history.

The Episcopal Church in the United States of America is the name given since after the Revolutionary War to the American branch of the Church of England, established on these shores with the first British Colonists. At the Revolution (which we celebrate this month in our Independence Day) many who were loyal to the British crown left our new country while others remained behind to carry on the traditions brought here, including the King James Bible (when the Mayflower landed in 1620 this was a radical ‘new’ translation of the Bible - only 10 years old!) and the first Book of Common Prayer (the ‘Standard’ BCP of 1662 was not even out yet!)

Let’s go further back. The Church of England is the continuing catholic Church established on the British isles in the first centuries, brought by the early Roman centurions (some believe Joseph of Aramathea and his followers brought the Christian faith to the tin mining communities of Wales). The “split with Rome” and the Pope began long before Henry VIII, but that’s a long story. Nonetheless, the Church of England, as we know it today, the mother Church of the Anglican Communion, was instrumental in the Reformation following Martin Luther in Germany and John Calvin in Switzerland. The Bible and Prayer Book being translated into the English tongue were major steps in our identity as a people of active faith.

The independent American spirit has made its expression from the first years of our young country. Since we could no longer with integrity pledge allegiance to the King (as all clergy were required on ordination) our first American Bishops went to the Anglican Church of Scotland to be consecrated for this emerging Church on a new continent. Soon an Episcopal Church polity was developed which mirrors the two houses of Congress, and an American Prayer Book (the one used when St. John’s was established as a parish!) was based on the Scottish Church liturgies.

For America to be on the edge of Revolution is not a new thing, as one might expect. It’s who we are. In coming months, we’ll look at some of the other aspects of this broadening Communion.

Father Erb

Rector, St. John's Church

Hamlin, PA

[From the July/August Eagle Newsletter, re-printed with permission]