dcnovice
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Joined: 8/2/2006 Status: offline
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quote:
Question, is the COE "Church of England" and the Anglican Church one and the same? I thought they were just two different names that it's called by maybe. Also, I wasn't aware that most of their parishoners were "out of country." In the U.S. I believe they're called "Episcopalians" and yes there's been a lot of hoopla in that Church with Gay Bishops etc and people wanting to form a different branch of the Church that don't want Gay Bishops. Popeye, the terms are used a bit loosely, so some confusion is to be expected. The Church of England is the established religion in England, courtesy of Henry VIII. It's sometimes referred to as the Anglican Church. The Archbishop of Canterbury (ABC) is the primate, or leading bishop, of the Church of England, but I'm not sure how much real authority he has. Thanks to the British Empire, the Church of England planted seedlings around the world. These have grown into independent churches which are often called Anglican (thereby muddling the meaning of that adjective.) The U.S. seedling grew up to be the Episcopal Church. Episcopalians who disapprove of the EC's liberal bent sometimes call themselves Anglicans instead, as a way of distancing themselves. (Bonus historical fact: The first U.S. bishop, Samuel Seabury, was actually consecrated by Scottish rather than English bishops. The latter wouldn't consecrate him because he refused to take the oath of allegiance to the king.) To complicate things further, the various national churches band together in a loose structure called the Anglican Communion. The ABC is the titular head, but he has no authority over individual churches. Thus the Episcopal Church was free (and right, imho) to ordain an openly gay bishop despite his disapproval. All this to say that the adjective Anglican can refer to (a) the church in England, (b) a seedling church in another country, such as New Zealand, and (c) the whole wordlwide communion. It depends on the context in which the word is used. Hope this helps!
< Message edited by dcnovice -- 11/25/2007 2:02:07 PM >
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No matter how cynical you become, it's never enough to keep up. JANE WAGNER, THE SEARCH FOR SIGNS OF INTELLIGENT LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE
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