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Why The Episcopal Church? (2.0) (Part I)
Why The Episcopal Church? This episode, we explore the history that led to The Episcopal Church, tracing our origins from the Acts of the Apostles all the way up to the Revolutionary war. Along the way, we see how the faith continued to evolve, while remaining centered on our creeds and the things we’ve talked about that Christians around the world share in common.
Just joining us? We're so glad you're here for Season 4. This is a new recording of our topic from Season 2-- onfirmation-- with a new member of our team and a fresh take on three important questions:
Join us & our youth this season as we prepare for Confirmation in The Episcopal Church!
Fr. Chris read a quote from A History of Global Anglicanism, by Kevin Ward (2010), about the common history, faith and liturgy of the Anglican Communion. Find out more about the Anglican Communion here: https://www.anglicancommunion.org/
The history of the church, or her birthday, starts at a Pentecost celebration, almost 2000 years ago, as written in the first chapter of Acts of the Apostles. At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit (or Advocate) descended upon the first Apostles and led them out to start the movement we now call “Church.” Not everyone was the same—there was diversity in language, culture, and more from the beginning of Christianity. As Christianity initially spread, it remained in unity about the faith, but the particular expressions were different across different places and times.
The Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D./C.E. set down the Nicene Creed and clarified central pillars of the faith. The Canon of Holy Scripture also came into clearer focus, giving us the selection of books that are in our Bibles today. Finally, Christianity became the religion of the Roman Empire; as the religion of the state instead of a minority of people, it changed a lot of things for the early Christians! Christianity continued to spread, including a leap over to the British Isles.
The Church of England is one of the groups that break away from the Roman Catholic Church. Martin Luther expressed differences and then broke away first, but England was not far behind. One of the main motivations was about power; the church having political and monetary authority over people in many kingdoms was challenged by King Henry VIII, who also challenged the spiritual authority of the church. Both of these challenges led to King Henry VIII separating the English church from Rome. And yes, a divorce was involved too; listen to learn more! Also involved was translating the Bible into the language of the people, as well as the prayers. This led to one of the greatest gifts to the church that the English church has offered, the Book of Common Prayer. Yet they did not depart from the tradition of the church any more than necessary. The polity and structure of the church changed, but the belief in God stayed central.
**One correction: Fr. Ben misspoke. William Tyndale penned the Tyndale version of the Bible, a precursor to the King James Version.**
Reflection Question: If you would change anything in the church, what would you change, and why?
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Why The Episcopal Church? This episode, we explore the history that led to The Episcopal Church, tracing our origins from the Acts of the Apostles all the way up to the Revolutionary war. Along the way, we see how the faith continued to evolve, while remaining centered on our creeds and the things we’ve talked about that Christians around the world share in common.
Just joining us? We're so glad you're here for Season 4. This is a new recording of our topic from Season 2-- onfirmation-- with a new member of our team and a fresh take on three important questions:
Join us & our youth this season as we prepare for Confirmation in The Episcopal Church!
Fr. Chris read a quote from A History of Global Anglicanism, by Kevin Ward (2010), about the common history, faith and liturgy of the Anglican Communion. Find out more about the Anglican Communion here: https://www.anglicancommunion.org/
The history of the church, or her birthday, starts at a Pentecost celebration, almost 2000 years ago, as written in the first chapter of Acts of the Apostles. At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit (or Advocate) descended upon the first Apostles and led them out to start the movement we now call “Church.” Not everyone was the same—there was diversity in language, culture, and more from the beginning of Christianity. As Christianity initially spread, it remained in unity about the faith, but the particular expressions were different across different places and times.
The Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D./C.E. set down the Nicene Creed and clarified central pillars of the faith. The Canon of Holy Scripture also came into clearer focus, giving us the selection of books that are in our Bibles today. Finally, Christianity became the religion of the Roman Empire; as the religion of the state instead of a minority of people, it changed a lot of things for the early Christians! Christianity continued to spread, including a leap over to the British Isles.
The Church of England is one of the groups that break away from the Roman Catholic Church. Martin Luther expressed differences and then broke away first, but England was not far behind. One of the main motivations was about power; the church having political and monetary authority over people in many kingdoms was challenged by King Henry VIII, who also challenged the spiritual authority of the church. Both of these challenges led to King Henry VIII separating the English church from Rome. And yes, a divorce was involved too; listen to learn more! Also involved was translating the Bible into the language of the people, as well as the prayers. This led to one of the greatest gifts to the church that the English church has offered, the Book of Common Prayer. Yet they did not depart from the tradition of the church any more than necessary. The polity and structure of the church changed, but the belief in God stayed central.
**One correction: Fr. Ben misspoke. William Tyndale penned the Tyndale version of the Bible, a precursor to the King James Version.**
Reflection Question: If you would change anything in the church, what would you change, and why?