Summary Information and List of Resources

The Core Issue:
Should, or even can, the Episcopal Church in the U.S. bow to “demands” made by Primates representing other Provinces (countries) on how we determine policy and governance within our own Province?

Special Note: Most of this information comes from the news web page of the Episcopal Church: www.episcopalchurch.org/ens/. This is a great resource with lots of data.

Background Definitions, who are the players?

Who are Anglicans? Who are Episcopalians?
Anglicans are Christians who practice their faith in the context of the 38 autonomous member churches, or provinces, of the Anglican Communion, which spans 164 countries worldwide with 77 million members. One of these provinces is the Episcopal Church in the United States of America (ECUSA.)

Prior to the Revolutionary War, the Anglican Church in the Colonies was a sub-set of the Church of England. Following the Revolutionary war a conference of clergy and lay delegates met and resolved that "the Church formerly known in the Province as the Church of England should now be called the Protestant Episcopal Church." The name has changed over time to the current Episcopal Church in The United States (ECUSA.)

What is the Anglican Communion?
The Anglican Communion is composed of churches, or provinces, in communion with the See of Canterbury throughout the world. Member churches, of which there are currently 38, exercise jurisdictional independence but share a common heritage concerning Anglican identity and commitment to scripture, tradition, and reason as sources of authority. Churches in the Anglican Communion continue to reflect the balance of Protestant and Catholic principles that characterized the "via media" of the Elizabethan settlement. Unity and cooperation in the Anglican Communion are encouraged by the assembly of Anglican bishops every 10 years at Lambeth Conferences. The work and vision of the Lambeth Conferences are continued between meetings by the Anglican Consultative Council, which includes representatives from Anglican churches throughout the world.

Who is a Primate ?
The chief bishop (usually an archbishop) in an Anglican Province is called a primate. Different Provinces use different means for selecting their Primate, who also has differing, levels of authority within his/her Province. The ECUSA does not use the title archbishop, but calls the chief bishop the Presiding Bishop.