Episcopal Church in the United States of America

The Episcopal Church or the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America is the American national church of the Anglican Communion. It includes 108 dioceses in the United States, the US Virgin Islands, Haiti, Taiwan, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, and Honduras, and has an extra-provincial relationship with the dioceses of Puerto Rico and Venezuela. It is sometimes known as the Episcopal Church in the USA, abbreviated ECUSA.

Church Polity

The basic unit of governance in the Episcopal Church is the diocese. The ordained leader of the diocese is a bishop. Other ordained leaders include priests (or presbyters) and deacons. Laity participate fully in the life and governance of the Church.

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Each diocese is composed of congregations of various kinds: missions, which are supported in whole or part by the diocese; chapels, which are connected to other institutions within the diocese or, in some cases, function for only part of the year; parishes, which are self-supporting; and cathedrals, which act as the mother church of the diocese, and, usually, as a parish as well. Most dioceses have a cathedral, though many do not. The Diocese of Iowa, the Diocese of Minnesota have two cathedrals each. Some dioceses have a pro-cathedral, which is a church that officially hosts diocesan functions, but does not have full cathedral status. A few dioceses, such as the Diocese of Virginia, designate a chapel at a diocesan retreat or conference centre to be a cathedral. The Diocese of Lexington in Kentucky is unique: it has both a traditional cathedral in Lexington as well as a conference centre chapel designated as a cathedral.

Related Topics:
Mission - Chapel - Parish - Cathedral - Mother church - Diocese of Iowa - Diocese of Minnesota - Diocese of Virginia - Diocese of Lexington - Kentucky - Lexington

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Most congregations are parishes. The ordained leader of a parish is a priest, called a rector. Two primary lay leaders of every congregation are the wardens, sometimes referred to as senior and junior. In addition to the rector and wardens, there are additional lay persons elected to support the mission and ministry of the congregation. The rector, the wardens, and these laity comprise what is known as the vestry. The number of these additional laity vary depending on the size of the congregation.

Related Topics:
Rector - Wardens - Vestry

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A mission is governed similarly to an independent parish but is more directly responsible to its diocese. A mission is led by a vicar and a mission committee or bishop's committee, the term varies by diocese. The lay head of a mission is variously called the mission warden or the bishop's warden, reflecting that the diocesan bishop is technically the rector of a mission. Again, terminology varies by diocese.

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A cathedral is led by a dean and may have a governing body called a chapter, as well as a vestry. The clergy person in charge of a chapel may be called a chaplain or a vicar.

Related Topics:
Dean - Chaplain

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The Church holds its General Convention every three years. The General Convention is bicameral. There is the House of Bishops and the House of Deputies, the latter being made up of both priests and lay persons. Each diocese elects four clergy and four laypeople as deputies. The head of the House of Bishops is the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church. The head of the House of Deputies is the president who is either a lay person or priest. The last General Convention was held in 2003. The next one will be held in 2006, in Columbus, Ohio.

Related Topics:
General Convention - 2003 - Columbus, Ohio

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